Even under the cover of night, Yu Man'er quickly found the location of the Chinese military tent.
It can be seen that the two armies have experienced a fierce battle here. Although the body of Admiral Ding has been buried in advance, the discarded swords and guns of Admiral Ding can still be seen on the ground. During the battle, the tent was completely torn down and set on fire. Several nearby camps collapsed and smoke is still rising.
Yu Manger walked around the military tent twice and saw several huddled corpses. He leaned down and looked carefully, and found that he recognized those distorted and ferocious faces. Among them, there is also a friend who once served rice in the same pot.
Most of Li Quan's elite retainers accompanied the attack and witnessed Li Quan's suicide under Tieling Terrace, and then became prisoners. There were only a few who defended the camp, but they couldn't stop the iron flow at all. Most of them turned into corpses scattered around the Chinese army tent.
Yu Man'er stood slumped motionless and cried for a long time.
Admiral Ding, who was watching the prisoners not far away, noticed him and kept urging him. So he went back to the outside, moved a collapsed Juma, and pulled out the two bodies underneath the Juma.
The corpse had begun to stiffen, and it was very laborious to drag it, so he stopped, first removed the armor and helmet from one of the deceased's bodies, pulled out the spear that had been thrust into his belly, then slung it over his shoulder, heading towards the embankment.
At the end of the road, several military officers were there to register the identity and place of origin of the deceased. After registering one person, a special team of prisoners was called in to carry the body to the piles of firewood and fire behind the embankment.
Yu Man'er didn't know how to read, but he stood in front of the table stubbornly, watching the military officer carefully write two lines on the thick book, and then turned around and went back.
He is Li Quan's general, and he is stronger than the average soldier.
But the defeat took a huge mental toll on him, leaving him more exhausted than ever. What's more, he has to find someone he knows among the corpses. This identification process is also particularly painful.
After admitting it a dozen times, walking a dozen times, and describing it to the military official in charge of recording a dozen times, he felt that all his strength had been used up, so he had to slow down and wait for his strength to recover slightly.
After recovering, he did it again, and then again. By the seventeenth time, Yu Man'er finally collapsed on the edge of the battlefield. His calves were almost cramped and his hands were shaking. He couldn't even hold the pine torch, so he threw it away.
The ground near here was wet, and the torch flickered twice and then went out.
Darkness suddenly enveloped Yu Man'er, and he suddenly became a little nervous.
Looking around, the officers and soldiers of the Dinghai Navy were scattered and busy with their own affairs, and no one cared about him.
Maybe you can take the opportunity to escape?
Yu Manger endured the pain all over his body and sat up suddenly. He asked himself, what about seizing this opportunity to escape?
He then thought, what if Marshal Li died and he escaped? My ability is less than one-tenth of Marshal Li's. Even if I run away, what can I do? Could it be possible to gather the stragglers and continue fighting with Guo Ning?
After being in a daze for a while, a new idea came to his mind.
After this battle, Ding Haijun has captured such a large territory and will definitely expand its army. I can pretend to surrender. With this martial arts, I can easily become a captain or lieutenant. At that time, I will find an opportunity to approach Guo Ning, kill him, and avenge Marshal Li! Avenge your dead companions!
This idea suddenly gave him motivation. He thought of several exciting scenes in an instant, and his whole body was shaking with excitement.
He stood up, looked around, and soon found the Ding navy officer with a scruffy head. So he walked over and wanted to tell him face to face that he wanted to serve in the army.
Halfway through, I found a general coming over and standing with a few officers. Everyone's expressions were somewhat solemn.
That will be none other than Guo Alin.
At this moment, he scolded Tang Jiuyu and others in a deep voice: "You guys, you ate all the meat! I finally got another good piece!"
As he said that, he raised the big bowl in his hand: "Did you see it, including the skin, bones and fat, a whole piece of meat!"
"Old Zeng will definitely like it." Tang Jiuyu nodded repeatedly.
Another soldier asked: "Is there any wheat rice? Lao Zeng likes to mix the broth with wheat rice and eat it."
"Yes, yes!" Guo Alin tapped the big bowl twice: "It's all in it! It's enough for this guy to eat!"
So everyone said: "Great, great, just bury it here!"
Guo Alin stamped his feet: "Are you sure this is here?"
Everyone said: "You can't be wrong. Look, the two holes on the ground were made by Lao Zeng with his shield, and there are still blood stains on them."
Guo Alin was silent for a moment, then pulled out his sword, and together with his companions, they quickly dug a small hole in the ground, and then solemnly buried a bowl of wheat rice with meat and soup.
Several soldiers who were particularly familiar with Zeng Baida murmured: "Eat! Eat! Old Zeng, you have to eat enough."
In fact, the bodies of the Dingjun soldiers who died in the battle had been burned, as had Zeng Baida who died in the battle. Guo Ning also personally led people to pay tribute and observe a moment of silence.
The navy has clear regulations on this matter, requiring that these matters must not be neglected in terms of etiquette, but must be handled quickly. This is not only to prevent the epidemic, but also to prevent the excessive spread of mourning and affecting morale.
There are many veterans like Zeng Baida in the army who have no family members. Their remains and ashes will also be buried in the Martyrs' Shrine in Donglai Mountain, and people from the Quanzhen Sect will be responsible for taking care of them.
But everyone always feels that for these lonely soldiers, the army is home and their comrades are family. Before the ashes are buried in Donglai Mountain, their souls cannot be left without a place to go. During this period, whether it be three days or five days, as a comrade, Pao Ze should take care of them and not let them go hungry.
So Guo Alin specially prepared food and buried it at the place where Zeng Baida died in the battle.
This practice was common when Guo Alin was in the army in Monan. In fact, it was not owned by Han'er. It might have been passed down from the Xi people or Bai Ta tribe in northern Xinjiang. However, everyone doesn't care about that at all. It's better to find a way to express your feelings than to do nothing.
The food was buried, and everyone looked satisfied.
When you are in the army, you see a lot of dead people, and if you feel emotional, you have to get out of your emotions immediately, otherwise there will never be peace, and there will be no way to fight.
So when Guo Alin walked back, someone followed him and looked happy. He and his companions then started to count the achievements they had made, how much land they could exchange for, and maybe they could be promoted to a certain general. There can be more, so that we can have enough manpower to plant jujube trees on the hillsides.
But no one was particularly happy.
When Guo Ning sent the order to send troops, no one doubted that his side would not win. Therefore, I won’t let my tail rise just because of this victory. Perhaps two years ago, they would not have dared to imagine all this, but now, the navy's target is no longer Li Quan and his ilk.
Someone was walking and suddenly said with emotion: "I have lived for thirty years, but only in the past year have I lived a stable life. My family has land, water canals, a house, a newly married mother-in-law and two cheap children. , and also raised pigs and sheep... Even if we die in battle, it will not be in vain!"
"One year? One year to let you do this?" The companion beside him nodded heavily and shook his head again and again: "Li Quan is no match. If you ask me, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court are also fooled. The only ones in trouble now are the Mongols. Let's find a way After defeating the Mongols, everyone can live a comfortable life for several decades!"
Many people laughed. Decades of comfortable life are simply too much for people to think about, but they can't help but think about them.
Someone deliberately complained: "Serving the fields makes people very tired. Year after year, I can't feel comfortable..."
Then someone else said: "You have to be smart when taking care of the fields. If you had used that waterwheel last time, wouldn't it be a lot easier?"
The group of people discussed trivial matters and passed by the busy man.
Yu Manger looked at them blankly.
He suddenly felt that those soldiers had their own lives, and they were willing to maintain these lives. This kind of life, with fields and cultivation, labor and harvest, hardship and stability, was what Yu Man'er had expected before joining the army with his father and uncle.
Under Marshal Li, as long as everyone dares to fight and kill, they will have food, clothing, women and money. Marshal Li is very fair in dealing with things. As long as you have the ability, you can live a crazy life. Marshal Li will give you everything, but you must also risk your life and die for Marshal Li at any time. As for the rest, there is no need to think about anything else.
It seemed like such a good life, but it also seemed like, what was wrong?
After following Marshal Li for so many years, Yu Maanger lost a lot. He has become a ruthless character. In his life, there is only killing and being killed.
But what did he get?
Yu Man'er sat down on the ground again. He looked up at the clear night and felt that his whole body was empty and nothing existed in his mind. This strange feeling hit him and made him cry.
(End of chapter)
