On the fifth day of the first month of April, Brother Guan got up early, there was no training today, he was ready to go to work in the fields, and by the way, he repaired the canals on the side of his own land. If the maintenance is not done well on weekdays, the tun chief may have to deduct points, and if the points are deducted too much, the land may be taken back.

He went to the yard to wash his face, ate two coarse grain buns, the little sister has also gotten up, the younger brother who is studying is not there, he took the civil affairs selection examination last month, was admitted to a science and technology school, was transferred to Weihai, only once in half a year for ten days off, then can come back.

The entire Wendeng camp system is nearly 50,000 people, only more than 30 are selected, the Department of Civil Affairs specially posted a red list at the door of Tunpu, the tunchang came to congratulate, they Tunpu was admitted to a total of two people, there is food and accommodation, and there is a monthly money of one or two silver, I heard that the famous Mr. Liu will often give them personal teaching, the whole Tunpu people know that this little brother has a bright future, a lot of honest people ask people to come to kiss, and his mother is happy or something, and he spent five dollars of silver to hold a banquet, and invite the neighborhood to eat, Now I have to tell people how this little son is capable.

Brother Guan bites the steamed bun in his hand, which is mixed with coarse grains such as millet beams, the staple food of Shandong in the Ming Dynasty is wheat, which accounts for about half of the grain, and other millet and corn are collectively called millet by Shandong people, accounting for the other half. He also took a bowl of rice soup in his right hand, and ate very happily with the steamed buns, which were boiled from a small amount of rice they bought, and were often used as a substitute for tea among ordinary people.

It turns out that it is rare to eat steamed buns in the mountains, and many times there is no salt. Since the second brother entered the Wendeng camp and they arrived on the flat land, their lives began to improve, and they were much better than before.

Brother Guan has a strong physique, and his life in the mountains since he was a child also made him tenacious, and he was very willing to work after arriving in Tunpu, and he studied farming very seriously. Even with the training of peasant soldiers, he did not feel fortunate, but he did not have much contact with the outside world since he was a child. The head was a little dumbfounded.

When the little sister also eats well, the eldest brother Guan brings a hoe and shovel and goes out with the little sister. The two drove five sheep, which was a side business that their family did last year, because their land was on the side, and outside was the land of some households, some of which were abandoned land that no one cultivated by the gentleman's family, and Wendeng Camp did not dare to occupy it for the time being, it was overgrown with all kinds of wild grass, and it was okay to put the sheep in to eat grass.

The little sister wore a new blue cotton coat, skillfully drove the sheep with a stick, and saw that some sheep had pulled dung. They are clamped up and put in a back basket, and the animal manure can be used as fuel after drying, and if it is pulled on the streets of the Tunpu, it will be fined.

She is fourteen years old this year, and her mother is also showing her suitable people everywhere. Brother Guan doesn't want her to get married too soon, many of the things that the family does on weekdays such as cooking, collecting firewood, and herding sheep are done by the younger sister, and once she gets married, things can all depend on him.

Brother Guan kept greeting the neighbors and peasants he knew along the way, and there were many people who went out at this time, and most of these people who were born as homeless people did not pay much attention to it. All those who had their families went with them to help in the fields, and they went to their fields together. They are all in the same place, far away from the tunpu, and only a few neighbors are left on the same road.

When they reached the field, the little sister took the sheep to the wasteland, and then went around the neighborhood, first picked up all the dung she saw in the basket, and then went to collect a bundle of firewood, tied it with a belt, hunched her back to the roadside, and then came to weed in the field.

They are interplanted wheat and white radish, because the irrigation is guaranteed, the wheat grows very well, and it can be harvested in May and June, and the radish is planted after the beginning of spring, and it can be harvested in mid-April.

The little sister looked at the crops in the field and said happily: "Big brother, our family will collect so much grain next month, I'm afraid it won't be more than a thousand catties." ”

Brother Guan loved this sister very much, and replied with a smile, "We harvested radishes in April, you pick up those shops in the old camp to sell some, I will plant mung beans and soybeans after harvesting, and then plant late grains after harvesting beans, and miscellaneous grains will be enough." ”

The little sister said: "Brother, I heard that cotton is good to sell this year, and it is collected in the store. ”

Brother Guan scratched his head, "I, we still grow and eat this year, and if we can't sell it, we can eat it ourselves, if we can't sell the cotton, it's useless for us to keep it, and we won't spin it." ”

Xiaomei said excitedly: "There is a meeting in our tun, hand over the cotton, she will help you weave it after collecting some wages, and she can also make clothes." ”

Brother Guan smiled, but still didn't agree, he was hungry and scared, and he always felt that it was important not to eat anything. The little sister pouted and continued to weed, while the eldest brother Guan sweated like rain and cleaned the canal along his own land, and was busy for nearly an hour, before the two stopped to rest, the little sister went to the wasteland to drive the sheep to the canal to drink, and the two found a ridge to sit down and took out the things they brought to eat.

The little sister sang mountain songs by herself, her voice was very loud, and Brother Guan liked to listen to her sing the most.

Brother Guan waited for the younger sister to finish singing, and asked hehehe: "Sister, who will you marry in the future?" ”

"I want to marry a soldier like my second brother, you see that the walls of the fort are full of propaganda posters, the clothes of the soldiers are so beautiful to wear, and the monthly salary is also high, and the family can divide the land first in the future."

Brother Guan smiled and nodded, and was just about to continue speaking, when he suddenly heard a trumpet sound in the distance, which was not very clear at first, but then became clearer and clearer, and was accompanied by the sound of gongs.

"What's this?"

"Rally!" The little sister laughed loudly, she had gone to the training several times, and she had already heard it well, this brother still couldn't remember it after practicing for so long.

"Ahh Brother Guan yelled, jumped up and put on his shoes, and said loudly to the little sister: "Hurry up and drive the sheep back, beat the gong and blow the trumpet, it seems that something is going on, let's hurry back to the fort, don't come to the bandits." ”

The little sister said disdainfully: "Brother, when will a bandit dare to come to rob the Wendeng camp, we are so close to those battalion soldiers here, you invite the bandits to come." He didn't dare to come. ”

Brother Guan scratched his head, didn't speak again, and rushed back to Tunpu with a smoke, and countless peasant soldiers and tunhu on the road were also rushing back, and many people hadn't even put down their trouser legs.

Brother Guan has been in the mountains since he was a child, and his body is very good, and his long-distance running training has always been among the best in the castle. Although it was the farthest away, it left the others behind and rushed to the school grounds. Zhong Laosi is using an hourglass to keep time. He hastened to take his spear and took up his position.

Near the end of the hourglass, Zhong Laosi stood at the intersection of the school field. Whipped the last person to arrive, and scolded loudly, "Your mother's shit, just got up from the girl, and those who are late will be fifty military sticks, and kill you turtle grandchildren...... At the end of the hourglass, a few people were still late and were pressed to the ground and beaten with 50 sticks.

Zhong Laosi walked to the front of the queue in a hurry, opened his male goose throat, and said loudly to them: "Let's get down to business first." I received an order from the Military Command Department today, Dongjiang Town, opposite our Wendeng, there was a accident again, or Liu Xingzhi's broken person, Lao Tzu had already said that he was not a good thing. Sure enough, it was still him, he instigated a group of people to rebel on Phi Dao, including the general Li Dengke, the guerrilla Cui Yaozu, Du Sima Liang, Li Shi'an, the garrison Wang Cai, etc., there is no clearer news at present, and the Military Command Department believes that Jiannu is likely to take the opportunity to attack Phi Dao and receive the order of General Chen. All the troops in our Wendeng battalion must be mobilized, what is mobilization, I have taught you before, I won't say much, half of the soldiers are going to Weihai to assemble, let's go to their vacated barracks today to strengthen training, I don't know when we will fight, you say that there will be no war in which year, anyway, Lao Tzu is fighting every year, you have to imagine that Lao Tzu is alive, you must practice seriously from tomorrow, there are many things to practice, and the cooperation with the infantry team, with the artillery, and the cooperation with the cavalry, the better you practice, the more you can survive, before the mobilization order is lifted, Don't go home, if there is anything about the mother-in-law and mother-in-law, just go home and do a good job, roll call at the end of the afternoon, and then go to the barracks, and if you are late, Lao Tzu slashed him. ”

There was a sound of inhalation in the queue, but Brother Guan was not afraid, he was only worried that there was no race, but he was not afraid of fighting, which seemed to attract him more than the current plain days.

"Disbanded...... Brother Guan was dressed in a straight red military uniform, sitting on the threshold of the main house, the little sister squatted on the ground, while crying, while tying a circle of leggings to the lower leg of Brother Guan, tears dripped on Brother Guan's leggings one by one.

His mother is busy in the kitchen, I hope to bring more for Brother Guan,

Brother Guan helped his sister wipe away his tears and said softly: "I won't die, I only said that I would go to the barracks for training, but I didn't say that I would go to war, what are you afraid of, I heard that the monthly salary is one or two, which is twice as much as the original." ”

The little sister choked up and said: "How can I say the war clearly, that Instructor Zhong also said that there is no year without fighting, and that year he also said that he beat the demon of the Xiangxiang Sect, and as a result, he killed the Tartars, so many Tartars ......" The little sister looked at Brother Guan's face, and finally began to cry, Brother Guan didn't persuade her again, lowered her head and looked at the ground, and the kitchen was quiet.

The little sister cried and said: "Brother, we don't want the land, go back to the mountains to live in our own house, we won't sell our lives to others." ”

Brother Guan looked at this sister lovingly, "Then what's the matter, the houses are all here, not to mention that the deserters are caught and want to kill their heads, you just say what is on the mountain, we can't eat salt before, and it's rare to eat white noodles during the New Year, and now you can eat it several times a month, go back to the mountain, who wants to marry you, what should the younger brother do." ”

The voice in the kitchen continued to sound again, and Brother Guan tightened the leggings himself, this thing is called Xingtang, which looks the same as the later leggings, the Ming army has this kind of equipment very early, and it is very beneficial when marching long distances. It is now one of the standard equipment of the Wenden battalion.

Brother Guan took out his backpack in the house and began to pack up other things, in fact, there were only a few pieces, and the rest were agreed to be distributed by the army, and the younger sister suddenly rushed out of the door, Brother Guan put away the backpack, sat down on his favorite threshold, and looked at the scene in the courtyard in a daze.

The little sister soon ran back, took a few new packs of cigarettes, lowered her head and stuffed them into the pocket of Brother Guan's military uniform, tears were still dripping down one by one, Brother Guan's throat was bitter, he knew that this was bought by the little sister with the money she earned from helping the aunt next door to take soles on weekdays, and she was reluctant to use it when the third brother went to study.

Brother Guan took out a pack, printed with the words "Wen Dengxiang", he was reluctant to smoke paper cigarettes on weekdays, often bought some tobacco leaves to smoke with a cigarette tube, the little sister lit it for him, Brother Guan took a comfortable sip in, the tobacco leaves with wine were more mellow after burning, and there was a slight paralysis on his lips, which tasted better than the paper cigarettes he had smoked, and he couldn't help but spit out a puff of smoke comfortably.

Guan Xiaomei grinned, "Brother, what do you think?" The eldest sister said that this is new, and it is better than the original. ”

"That's good." Brother Guan smiled at his sister, touched her head and said: "The work in the field depends on you, when you harvest the wheat, spend some money to hire those homeless people to help, and when you plough the land, you must often go to the chief A to inquire, don't mistake the time to use the ox, otherwise you will have to wait for everyone to run out." ”

At this time, his mother finally rushed out of the cakes, all wrapped in paper and put them in his pocket, Brother Guan hurriedly went out after lunch, and all the families outside were sending their relatives, there were two families who had just become married, and the daughter-in-law was crying with tears in her eyes.

Brother Guan pursed his lips, he turned back to his mother and sister and said, "Don't send me, I can't see people crying." ”

His mother said happily: "Who is going to cry, you remember to listen to the chief, don't use the silver, keep it and bring it back, I can build a big house for your brother in the future." ”

Brother Guan turned around depressedly, walked out of the crowd of send-offs, and came to the school field, where there were already a few instructors standing, as well as a few officers who had never seen them, all of them were new-style military uniforms with large lapels, and on their heads were cylindrical brimmed hats......

The peasants and soldiers quickly arrived, and the commanders of each general armor counted the people they belonged to, and then handed over clearly with several officers one by one, and finally signed and confirmed by Zhong Laosi and the tun chief.

Because everyone was tied to the land, and their property was attached to the tunpu, there was not a single deserter, more than 200 peasant soldiers stood quietly on the school ground, and Brother Guan stood in the front row, he looked at the officers on the stage with some envy.

After counting the officers and tun chiefs on the stage, they talked and laughed with each other for a while, and then stood up a Sven instructor, Brother Guan recognized this person, called Zhao Xuan, who had come to preach several times on weekdays, and had been a Wenxiang sect before, and he told everyone about the tricks of the Wenxiang Sect, and now basically no one in Tunpu believes in that thing anymore.

"Soldiers, starting today, you are not peasant soldiers, before the mobilization order is lifted, you are the official soldiers of my Wendeng Battalion, our Wendeng Battalion is famous all over the world, and you are also carefully selected from the Tunpu, I believe you will not lose the face of the Tunpu." Zhao Xuan coughed and continued: "The reason for this mobilization, to put it mildly, is still a matter of the Tartars, they want to buy that Liu Xingzhi, lay down Phi Island, and then occupy Lushun along the coast, what is Lushun, it will only take two or three days to take a boat from us at the earliest, and we can let Jiannu occupy it?" No, everyone knows what Jiannu is, I tell you, if Jiannu takes a boat to Wendeng one day, and robs everything in your house, the house has to be lived in for them, you go back to live in a shack, the men shave their heads, the women have to shave their heads, and they have to sleep with the Tartars......"

Zhao Xuan spitted and told about his own revised version of the propaganda, and the surrounding family members heard loudly scolding Jiannu, Zhong Laosi didn't sound right, but he couldn't correct it, this Zhao Xuan was famous for being able to speak, as long as he didn't speak for more than a quarter of an hour, it would be considered face.

"Kill the dog Tartar!"

"Kill Jiannu!"

Zhao Xuan was quite fast this time, a quarter of an hour later, with a burst of slogans to end the mobilization, the peasants and soldiers below were fooled by him and filled with righteous indignation, Zhao Xuan said those articles, Brother Guan could not accept any of them, in fact, there was no need to mobilize, Jiannu was his enemy who did not share the sky, because his younger brother died at their hands.

"After entering the barracks, we will be combined with the peasants and soldiers of the Fourth Tunbao to form a division, and our number is the Second Division of the 1000th Headquarters of the Reserve Battalion...... Brother Guan saw his mother and sister in the crowd, his sister was wiping her tears, Brother Guan squinted at his comrades-in-arms, and with a red uniform, everyone looked very energetic.

Brother Guan said, "I like to be a soldier." ”rs