Wang Erdan, a Tatar slave wrapped in a white flag, was in a trance. He saw his best friend Zhu Yiqi in a dream, and the other party also prepared roast chicken and stew for him.
But just when he was about to meet Zhu Yiqi in front of the mountain, Zhou Heihu and Zhu Hongwu, both fellow villagers, appeared behind Zhu Yiqi and glared at him. This scene made him full of guilt and he did not dare to take another step forward.
Wang Erdan had a look of confusion on his face, and murmured to the other side: "Am I wrong? I just want to farm the land well, marry a wife, and continue the legacy of the Wang family. Where did I go wrong?"
But no matter how many times he asked, there was no sound from the other side, as if they didn't hear what he said at all, and Zhu Yiqi and the other three had expressions full of ridicule on their faces.
Wang Erdan was already feeling depressed. He had always thought that the Tatars were fierce, and each of them had more than one horse. Even the lords and officers in the state capital could not do anything about them, so what could he do?
He even believed that Zhu Yiqi must have been caught and killed by the Tatar master when he escaped with Zhou Heihu and the others.
In fact, after the escape incident that year, the Tatars did capture thousands of escaped captives, and nearly half of them were killed on the spot as a punishment and as a warning to the rest.
At that time, Wang Erdan also actively requested to participate in burying and disposing the bodies of the murdered people. However, Zhu Yiqi, Zhou Heihu and others were not seen among the people who were executed.
He didn't know whether he should be happy for Zhu Yiqi and others. Anyway, at that moment, he felt very disappointed: "How could they escape?"
"The Tatar master has so many horses and mules. He will definitely be able to catch them up and behead them outside."
"Alas, you don't even listen to me, so you've become a lonely ghost."
"Especially Xiaoqi, he's still a baby, he doesn't even have a wife, he's an absolute queen... I'm sorry to my parents..."
"Hmph, do you think you can do it? If not one of you listens to me, you are going to die!"
This was what Wang Erdan was thinking at the time. First he did not believe that they could escape the Tatar pursuit, and then he concluded that Zhu Yiqi and the others must have been overtaken and killed by the Tatars.
Thinking of this, Wang Erdan couldn't help but feel sad. Although he was an honest and responsible farmer, he never caused trouble outside. He had nothing to do with Zhou Heihu, Zhu Hongwu and others.
But this Zhu Yiqi is different. He is Wang Erdan's neighbor. He has been chasing Wang Erdan since he was a child. He calls "Brother Wang" to his left and "Brother Wang" to his right.
Moreover, after Zhu Yiqi lost his father when he was young, life became more and more difficult. His mother couldn't hold on and cruelly abandoned him. He lived with his grandmother and had to rely on Wang Er to help him at home.
It is precisely because of this that not only Wang Erdan regarded Zhu Yiqi as his biological brother, but Zhu Yiqi also regarded him as his biological brother.
Therefore, his sadness was mainly because of Zhu Yiqi, and he was full of resentment towards Zhou Heihu and Zhu Hongwu. If they had not tempted him, Zhu Yiqi would have followed him to farm land for the Tatar master.
By then, even if you can't be rich and powerful, according to the words of the Tatar master, at least you will have enough to eat every day throughout the year.
In the past, Wang Erdan also had a very strong body, and in terms of size alone, although he could not compare to Zhou Heihu, he was not inferior to Zhu Hongwu, but he was as fearful as a tiger.
On weekdays, when encountering big or small problems, it was Zhu Yiqi who could mediate and resolve them one by one, and Zhu Yiqi gradually got together with Zhou Heihu and others.
He often advised Zhu Yiqi to have less contact with Zhou Heihu and others, so as not to cause trouble in the future, but Zhu Yiqi was like lard that had clouded his mind.
"Then...that...what is that?"
"Oh. It's better to die... It's better to die... It'll save you troubles if you die. You won't drag me down, and you will have to cause trouble for me when I get to Liaodong. Don't drag me down anymore, and I will be looked at by the Tatar master! "
This is good, now I am not dragged down by that idiot Zhou Heihu. He was hacked to death by the Tatar master at such a young age. How can he be worthy of his dead old father?
Wang Erdan was thinking wildly when he suddenly saw Zhou Heihu opposite him holding out a black iron lump with a thread on it, sparks popping out.
At a glance, he remembered the "enemy of ten thousand people" mentioned among the slaves after the Mongolian soldiers attacked the mountain yesterday. It is said that once this thing explodes, the surrounding area will be razed to the ground dozens of feet away, leaving no life for humans or animals.
He couldn't help but panicked, but he didn't know what kind of magic the other party had cast. He couldn't scream no matter how hard he tried, and his feet were as if they had been filled with lead water. They were so heavy that he couldn't lift them up.
Wang Erdan's face was full of panic and anger. He raised his right hand and pointed at Zhu Yiqi, Zhou Heihu and others opposite him. He opened his mouth wide but could not make a sound.
In panic, Wang Erdan's forehead and face were covered with big beads of sweat.
Suddenly, Zhou Heihu threw out the black iron knot in his hand and came straight towards him. He saw that the flaming thread was getting shorter and shorter, but he was still unable to move.
"It's over... It's over now... I haven't lived enough... I haven't got a wife yet..."
In the blink of an eye, the iron lump flew closer, and the thread was burned to the root at this moment. There was a loud "bang" sound, and the black iron lump in front of him exploded instantly.
There was a blaze of fire coming from the pavement, but I couldn't feel the slightest heat.
However, the shock caused by the explosion was extremely real. Wang Erdan felt as if a powerful wind wave was coming, and his body was so stirred that he flew into the air and fell heavily.
He only felt that all his stomach and six internal organs seemed to have shifted, and he seemed to be floating in the air. This feeling was like a dream, but his whole body was very stiff, pain spread throughout his body, and there was a hint of sweetness on his lips. a feeling of.
…………
Suddenly, a large mouthful of bright red stuff spurted out of Wang Erdan's mouth, and others woke up instantly!
It turned out that during this period of time, as the army with the white flag was marching east and west, I could neither eat well nor sleep well. I was too tired. Just now, when I was exposed to the warm sunshine, I fell into a deep sleep.
And when he was sleeping, the moment when the enemy bomb exploded, in reality, the Xuanfu army's artillery also ignited, and a cannon hit the shield car where he was hiding.
Fortunately, there were three or four rows of people in front of him, so he was not stabbed by the splinters of the shield car. However, the strong impact not only smashed the shield car, but also scattered the crowd behind it.
In a daze, Wang Erdan was first knocked down by several people, and then trampled by everyone. It seemed that his internal organs were injured, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood.
However, after the mouthful of blood spurted out, he seemed to feel much relieved, and it seemed that all the previous frustrations in his heart had been spurted out.
Wang Erdan did not dare to escape at first, but was eventually incorporated into the Baibai Banner and became the slave of one of the armored soldiers. He seemed to be a high-ranking figure among the Tatar armored soldiers and was quite respected on weekdays.
Moreover, this Tatar family has a lot of land. The only drawback is that there are really few people working on the land!
In addition, he only had eight people. When he went to the Jinzhou front line this time, there was another slave who was beaten to death for stealing the grain stored in his master's house.
Wang Erdan was quite lucky. Because he was from a farming background, he was well-received by his master, and because he had such a good figure, he was even more favored.
In addition to farming, he was also involved in many affairs in the family house. He often helped his master put on and take off his armor, and he also got to know a female slave in his master's house.
For his own future, he also works harder in the fields, and even takes care of everything in his master's house, so that he can often see his beloved and win his master's favor.
Why not do it?
Before this expedition, the master called him to come to him. Originally, there were two coated Aha accompanying him to the battle, but one of them died on the battlefield the year before. Now he saw that Wang Erdan was still strong and had learned to help the master. After taking off his armor, he was ready to take him with him to the battle.
At that time, he told Wang Erdan quite kindly that if he could successfully defeat Ming Gou this time, not only would they be rewarded when they came back, but their status would also be improved and they would become stewards of the house.
Precisely because the pie laid out for him by his master was so tempting, Wang Erdan not only followed him happily, but also acted eagerly in every aspect, and was always praised by his master.
Today, the coated slaves were recruited to fill the trenches. Due to his master's status as a Bagala warrior, noble slaves like them could not appear in this turn. However, Wang Erdan was so eager to perform his service that he stepped forward and asked for a fight.
Le Qihun, a warrior of Bagala, was the most surprised person!
He cherished Wang Erdan very much, mainly because of his outstanding farming ability. Since he had Wang Erdan as a slave, Leqhun's family's field harvest has also increased year by year.
However, at this moment, Wang Erdan had already stood up. In front of many Shangguan, he could not tell Wang Erdan not to go. Faced with the approving look that Baya La Niulu Zhangjing cast towards him, he had no choice but to proudly accept it.
It can be seen from this that the Han people are not actually unable or afraid to fight.
Even Wang Erdan, a timid and cowardly person, dared to take the initiative and fight for a future for his master's promise of a small profit in the harsh environment of the Tatar hierarchy.
But the Han people living in the mainland are like rabbits. Anyone can hunt them, even a street gangster can silence them.
Just like Wang Erdan, when he was farming in the countryside of Linyi, Shandong, he was also an honest and authentic farmer. He was afraid of officials and gangsters. He only wanted to cultivate the small fields at home and hoped that God would reward him with a good harvest. , after paying the land rent, I can still have enough to eat for the first half of the year.
When he was kidnapped by the Tatars, he didn't dare to follow the others to escape when there was such a good opportunity. But once he arrived in the Liaodong Tatar territory, he was raised like a newborn tiger.
It can be seen that it is not entirely unreasonable for the Tatars to rise in such a bitter and cold place.
This is just like Xuanfu, which was originally an important military center of the Ming Dynasty and was extremely rich in materials and manpower. However, in the last years of the dynasty, all industries were withered, the people were poor, and the soldiers had no fighting spirit. Both the Tatars and the northern barbarians could do whatever they wanted. Wreaking havoc, breaking through the gates and entering the bandits at will.
However, under Zhang Cheng's drastic and powerful rectification, in just half a year, a huge change was made. Not only did two battalions of new troops be organized and trained, but bandits were wiped out from far and near.
Why is this so?
It’s not just about clear rewards and punishments, so that workers can get their food, and those who get something for nothing are eliminated or forced to work, and all existing resources are concentrated to pick out useful things to do first.
In this way, after the accumulation of time, it will naturally change drastically!
It's just that doing this has its own difficulties. Otherwise, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty be prosperous and prosperous everywhere, with people everywhere happy and with strong soldiers and horses?
If that's true, what's the matter with the Tatars?
Although there was a lot of luck involved in Zhang Cheng's success in Xuanbei, Zhang Cheng's determination of personal will was the biggest reason.
It is precisely because of Zhang Cheng's determination that Xuanbei and even Xuanfu are what they are today!
As for the favor of Emperor Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng, Chen Xinjia, Yang Sichang and others appreciated and even promoted Zhang Cheng, and they cared for and protected him everywhere afterwards.
All of these are just assistance, not the main cause.
Whenever a person wants to achieve something, personal will is always the most important thing.
Everything in the outside world, whether it is assistance or resistance, is actually not the most important. The belief of the person in charge is the most important.
As long as the person in charge is determined, he will be able to overcome all assistance. And when you show your strong personal will, there will naturally be like-minded people who will join you in this grand event.
…………
Wang Erdan moved his arms with some difficulty and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He felt weak all over and found it very difficult to even get up.
He lay down weakly again, turned around and looked around, only to see chaos all around. Many shield vehicles were blown to pieces by the Ming army's artillery, and those shield vehicles that were lucky enough to be bombarded were slowly pushing forward.
Yesterday, Wang Erdan only vaguely heard that the Ming army on this mountain range was not simple. The warriors of the Qing Dynasty attacked twice in a row, but could not even break through the first line of defense.
At that time, he was very disdainful and declared to everyone: "Hmph. Dogs are just guinea pigs. When my master Leqihun goes to battle tomorrow, he will definitely kill all these hateful Nikans."
Although the slaves gathered around him did not dare to refute him, many of them secretly cast very disdainful looks, but more people gathered around and chatted with him in a very flattering manner.
Wang Erdan enjoyed this feeling very much. This feeling of being high and being sought after by everyone was really wonderful.
This should be the legendary "stars holding the moon"!
Once upon a time, Wang Erdan would have the illusion that he was just like his master Le Qihun, wearing white armor with a sword hanging from his waist. Many of his subordinates gathered in front of and behind him, scolding Fang Qiu.
Of course, at this moment, he couldn't think of the idiom "to scold Fang Qiu", but he still understood this feeling of being superior to others.
But now he was no longer able to enjoy this feeling. Looking at the shield car in front of him that was slowly pushing through the second trench, he felt a surge of strength in his heart.
Despite the pain all over his body, he stood up strong and walked slowly towards the direction of the shield car.
Wang Er thought worriedly: "We are going to attack this time, right? Let's go up and chop off the heads of the two bright dogs. We can't go back. The master will reward me with Li'er as soon as he is happy!"
