It was getting late, and more and more people were eating porridge. After many days of clear soup and little water, they finally had a full meal, and they all devoured it.
People who have been hungry for a long time must not eat too much, so Chen Wang ordered people to prepare 370 steamed buns, and each person could only receive one.
However, you can still drink a little more rice porridge. Rice porridge is easy to digest. As long as you don't drink too much, it won't hurt anyone.
More than 300 people crowded around the big pot, and one pot of rice porridge was definitely not enough.
The fire soldier in charge of cooking set up three more large pots, and several new recruits who had finished eating rice porridge and steamed buns were called up to help set up a simple porridge shed.
Chen Wang selected the soldiers and registered them in the register. Chen Gong was not idle either. He directed the surrounding soldiers to expand the area of the open space and drove the hungry people who gathered outside the circle.
Although all the hungry people were greedy for the fragrant rice porridge, the shining steel knife was no joke. Although everyone had thoughts in their minds, no one dared to step forward to snatch it.
In almost two hours, all 370 people had been recruited.
Chen Wang put down the pen in his hand, held the sore wrist of his right hand with his left hand, and turned his head to look at the porridge shed.
Many of the recruits around the porridge shed had finished eating their steamed buns and rice porridge, and were now sitting on the ground.
No one was talking to each other, and no one was walking around.
Around the porridge shed, apart from the recruits, there were also many family members of the recruits, all staying together honestly.
This time when recruiting troops, most of Chen Wang recruited people who were alone, but he also recruited some who were not too many with their families. The number of places given by the governor of Pizhou was limited, and there was only a small amount of space in the city that could be freed.
Chen Wang stood up and looked around. The recruitment had ended, but the people surrounding him still had no intention of leaving.
Those who came late and those who were not chosen either beat their chests or sighed.
Some people even knelt on the ground, pulling the soldiers guarding outside to beg for more recruits.
But all this was of course in vain, as the army only had 370 soldiers.
Even Chen Wang has no way to make the decision without permission, unless he recruits servants in the name of recruiting servants, and Chen Wang has no idea of recruiting any servants.
The porridge shed has begun to be dismantled, and the several large pots that have been eaten have also been put away. It is still dark when we return to the camp, and we can still deal with some things.
"Brother."
Chen Wang was asking Hu Zhili about the weapons, when Chen Gong came forward from the other side.
Seeing Chen Gong coming, Chen Wang gave Hu Zhili a few more instructions and asked him to go back to the camp to mobilize ordnance.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Wang turned to look at Chen Gong and greeted him.
"The handover with the people in Pizhou has been completed. The families of these soldiers will follow them to the city soon, but it may take some time..."
Chen Wang looked in the direction of Chen Gong's finger, and happened to see seven or eight government officials wearing flat-top scarves and light cyan t-shirts, and one official wearing an official scarf and a cyan plate-collar shirt.
These people were obviously the ones who came to pick them up, and many of them were reluctant to leave when they parted.
However, the world is difficult. Now being able to enter the city and be paid as a soldier is at least a guarantee. The separation between everyone is not that unbearable, but some people still couldn't help crying.
"Wait a little longer, it's okay."
Chen Wang didn't urge him, his eyes just stayed on the porridge shed for a while and then moved elsewhere.
"Let the soldiers below load up their vehicles and get ready first. It's getting late, so don't waste the time."
Chen Wang closed the roster that was placed on the square table and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
He knows better than anyone else that this separation is actually an eternal farewell.
"In July of the eighth year of Chongzhen, Gao Yingxiang burned Pingliang Helinfan to the ground, then turned eastward and attacked the Ming army again.
Hong Chengchou's troops were weak and suffered defeats one after another. After several defeats, most of them were defeated and evacuated all the way to Sanyuan and Jingyang.
The invading army was as powerful as a rainbow. Gao Yingxiang gathered the 13 families and 72 battalions of rebels in Guanzhong, gathering 200,000 troops and a company of 60 miles.
The cities of Yilu, Pizhou, Yongshou, Chunhua, and Qianzhou were all captured.
Gao Yingxiang ordered all the troops to be mobilized, raised the royal flag, gathered all the troops and marched south again, marching into Xi'an..."
I don't know how many of these people who followed Zao Li into Pizhou City will survive after the city is destroyed.
And among the 370 newly recruited soldiers he recruited, he didn't know how many of them would be able to walk off the battlefield.
When the rogues advance eastward again, these 370 soldiers will be alone.
Chen Wang mounted the war horse and grasped the Yan Ling knife at his waist.
The feeling of stepping on the stirrups made him feel at ease. Only when his hand held the handle of the knife did he feel that his destiny was in his own hands.
Seeing the last pair of hands separated, Chen Wang raised the riding crop in his hand.
"Woo——————"
The low and melodious sound of the horn slowly sounded in the wilderness, and the breeze blowing from the northwest blew countless flags on Pizhou City.
A group of new soldiers began to line up under the command of the veterans. Most of them were just farmers who spent all day digging in the fields. They were not from military households. There was some confusion for a while.
However, the chaos did not last long. Although they did not understand queues or how to arrange themselves, their greatest advantage was that they were obedient.
Under the orders of the team officers of each team, they quickly lined up.
Although the queues were loose and scattered in many places, Chen Wang was very satisfied with everything.
It only takes more than ten days of queue training before they can look like an army.
Queues actually appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, with chariots as the core, the formation of vehicles required a strict formation.
In the thousands of years of war, the methods of fighting have been changing, but the essence of war has basically never changed.
From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the present, formation is basically something that a regular army must learn first.
Only by being able to arrange queues can we march in an orderly manner, and can we arrange military formations on the battlefield to fight the enemy.
Chen Wang led the war horse and walked on the right side of the queue, inspecting the entire array.
Three hundred and seventy people, ten in a row, a total of thirty-seven rows, all looked forward, no one looked around, left or right.
While lining up, someone already told them several things they were not allowed to do.
"On the march, silence is the key. Looking left and right, talking noisily, and those who disobey the order will be beaten for thirty years."
This was also the first military order they heard. Of course, these were not the original words. If they were the original words, some people would really not understand them.
The officer leading the team described this overly written military order in concise words, so that everyone could understand this military order.
Chen Wang withdrew his gaze, raised the riding crop in his hand, looked into the distance, and lowered his voice.
"Set off."
Chen Wang kicked the horse's belly, and the horse beneath him shook its head, snorted, and walked forward.
"Set off!"
The officer armed with the Yanling Sword stood on the left side of the queue and repeated Chen Wang's orders loudly.
When the new soldiers in the wilderness heard the order, they all hurriedly moved forward.
As soon as they took a step, the array began to scatter, but with the officers standing on the side constraining them, they were still able to keep moving.
Although the array was chaotic and the movement was bumpy, they still maintained their formation.
