There were more or less men pouring out of every row of houses in the house. Some of them wore simple leather armor, while others were just ordinary robes. They hold long and short wooden sticks in their hands; some people tie a small piece of stone of various shapes to the stick, and it is hard to tell whether it is suitable for stabbing or striking.
These people gathered in the square in front, about thirty people. The headman had already dressed up as much as he could, holding a wooden stick in his hand, and was already standing there; his two sons were small and thin, obviously not yet mature. There are several old people standing behind him, they should be old people from various families in the village. There is a flag next to it, with twists and turns on it. I don’t know what is painted on it, but everyone in the village knows that this flag is their own battle flag.
The queue is divided by family, and the clan leader is the captain. The heads of each family in the clan lined up in a row with their families. Those with a large family would have seven or eight people in a row, while those with a small family would have three or two people in a row with their neighbors.
Zheng Anping was not related to anyone and stood alone. He is a military soldier, so he should naturally return to the inn and join the team, but he is unwilling to go back alone early. He would rather stay in the village for a while, go to the front line with the people in the village, and then return to the team.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the chief began to lecture loudly: "Since the city was built, no one has dared to come here. The city is ten feet high and has hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Now there are people who are not afraid of death who are coming, so don't worry. In terms of courage, I don’t have a big ball.” He turned around, gave a salute, and said, “Please teach me, the elders!”
One of the elderly people, who was obviously the oldest, said in a slightly trembling and hoarse voice: "You guys still don't know, twenty years ago, I followed Lord Mengchang all the way to Hangu Pass. , the Qin people didn’t even dare to come out. Ten years ago, you remember this, the Qin people came to our Daliang City, took one look, and ran away. Why? The city was too high and there were too many soldiers. This time the Qin people If you don’t give up, come back. You have to show them whether Daliang City is high or not and whether there are many soldiers! Don’t be afraid of him in battle. Look at his forehead and he will be afraid of you!”
The old man stepped back, and another old man came out: "Do you remember everything the great elder said just now?"
Everyone replied: "Remember!"
"Don't lose face, don't relax, follow the leader, don't lose yourself. Remember?"
Everyone replied: "I remember!"
"What should I do if I lose it? Find this flag and lean under it. Remember?"
Everyone replied: "I remember!"
The elder waved his hand and retreated.
Seeing that the two elders had spoken to each other, the village chief shouted: "Sacrifice the flag!"
Two more old men came up and carried out a chicken coop with a big rooster in it. The great elder caught the struggling rooster, skillfully twisted its neck, and slashed it with his sickle, causing blood to spurt out. The elder swung his hand violently, and chicken blood splashed onto the flag, dots of scarlet.
The great elder immediately shouted: "Please support me!"
The two sons of the eldest son, who had not yet grown up, turned around and unhooked the carriage from the horse post in front of the door and led it to the front of the square. It is said to be a flag and drum, but in fact there is no drum in the empty car. A bow is hung on the left side of the car and a long stick is supported on the right side.
The elder took out the big flag with difficulty and handed it to the chief. The chief took it, inserted it into the car, and tied it with a belt with the help of one of his sons.
The commander picked up a broken earthen jar from the car, knocked it, and said to everyone: "This is the sound of a drum in the formation, do you understand?"
Everyone agreed: "I understand!"
"When you hear the sound of the drum, you have to move forward. One step at a time. If you beat it slowly, you will go slower. If you beat it faster, you will go faster. Do you understand?"
Everyone agreed: "I understand!"
The chief took out another copper thing from the car. It was too old to recognize what it was originally. He struck it and said, "This is the sound of a bell in the formation, do you understand?"
Everyone agreed: "I understand!"
"When you hear the sound of the bell, you have to step back. Don't turn around. Walk backward. This way... Take a step back when the bell rings. If you ring the bell slowly, you will retreat slowly. If you strike it fast, you will retreat quickly. Do you understand?" Li Chang demonstrated, while explain.
Everyone agreed: "I understand!"
The chief said: "Do it again!"
He knocked on the earthen pot, and everyone started to move forward; as the knocking sound became faster, everyone speeded up their pace; finally, the chief of staff took turns knocking hard with two sticks, and everyone started running. Seeing that everyone was about to leave, the chief knocked on the broken copper. Everyone stopped and backed away following the sound. When they retreated to where they were, the chief stopped and everyone stopped. It seems that everyone is familiar with this routine and there are no obstacles.
The commander reorganized his team and changed his orders. Everyone also followed his orders, moving forward and backward, walking fast and walking slowly.
While practicing, the drums from each door started to sound louder again. The faces of those who were practicing suddenly became serious.
The head of the village also waved his hand: "Put the guy on the bullock cart and form a team!"
Everyone put all the wooden sticks in their hands on an empty ox cart and lined up again. The chief and his two sons climbed onto the carriage and stood in the carriage. The eldest son took the horse's reins and whip and prepared to drive the cart, while the second son stood aside, holding on to the wooden stick that was twice as long as he was. There was a trombone sound, the eldest son shook the horse's reins, and the carriage drove out slowly. The people who went out to fight in Satonaka followed the car and moved forward slowly. Zheng Anping walked last. Behind him were two bullock carts loaded with grain, grass and weapons.
Not far from Donghongli is Ximen Avenue, where all the towns in this township are concentrated. The commander stopped his team by the roadside and asked everyone to sit down and rest. One after another, teams from other villages gathered at the roadside; before long, all the people from ten miles in the same township had gathered.
Not long after, the sound of horse hoofbeats came from the direction of the city gate, and the village chiefs returned from the city. There are ten townships thirty miles outside the west gate. When the first drum sounds, the township chiefs enter the city in a carriage to receive instructions. After the three-tone drum sounded, according to the rules, they returned to their hometown after receiving the mission and led the troops to set off according to the mission they received.
The township chief came to the gathering place of the villagers. Regardless of the inquiring looks of others, he shouted: "The soldiers will return to the team immediately!"
Zheng Anping could only say goodbye to the mayor and run to the inn. On the way, he saw the villagers along the way starting to form a team one after another. From the looks of it, they seemed to be heading west.
"Aren't you going to enter the city?" Zheng Anping was confused. He remembered that the last time the Qin army approached Daliang, the king of Liang withdrew all the strong men and soldiers into the city.
"Your Majesty wants a decisive battle outside the city?!" Zheng Anping thought of this, and his heart tightened again.
"When a new king takes the throne, it is natural for him to establish his authority." Zheng Anping felt that he had found a reason, "But..." Obviously, as a soldier fighting on the front line, the prospect is not very good. Fighting is inherently life-threatening, and fighting in the field is even more deadly. It is simply gambling with your life.
Suddenly, a four-horse carriage came speeding down the road. Zheng Anping was out of breath while running. He glanced briefly and the carriage flashed past him.
"A big shot is out of town. It looks like there's going to be a big fight!" Zheng Anping thought ominously.
