The sun was half-done, and the two young men bid farewell to the blacksmith with tears. Then they arrived at the military training ground, fully dressed.
At this time, there was already a group of thinly dressed teenagers standing in the corner of the spacious school ground. There were about a hundred or dozens of them. They were all thin, short, and looked pretty. Wearing uniform gray and black coarse clothes and trousers, full of patches, many children were still barefoot, and their black feet were covered with thick calluses. A group of people gathered together. They looked at the weapons and equipment piled on both sides of the school ground. Although they were very curious, they did not dare to speak loudly, let alone come forward to touch. More than a hundred people were like more than a hundred chickens, leaving the shelter of the chicken coop, full of curiosity and uneasiness about this strange environment. .
They were a group of children who were so hungry that they couldn't stand it any longer. They had been huddled at home for several days with no food. Their parents just cried and told them that they would not be hungry when they got to this place. The brothers next door were They all came, and now the brothers' families were given two buckets of rice every seven days. The little kids who called them brother no longer cried hungry, but they never saw those brothers come back. As for what they were doing here, the adults didn't say anything. They just told them that when they get here, they should listen to the officials and do whatever others ask them to do. Don't be stubborn, don't run around, don't be afraid of hardship, and don't be afraid of being rejected by others. After being chased back, mother, brothers and sisters would be hungry again.
Young men know best what it feels like to be hungry, so naturally they cannot ask others to send them back. They all secretly swear in their hearts that no matter how hard and tired they are, no matter how hard they are, they will never be sent back, even if they are whipped. As others said, even if you risk your life when you come here, you can't go back. Although in their ignorant hearts they don’t quite understand what life is, they still know that it will never be an ordinary thing, because every time the word “fate” is mentioned, grandma’s tears are like tears rising from the sky. It's raining and it won't stop. My grandpa is already gone. In order for grandma and my younger brothers and sisters not to starve, it doesn’t matter if the eldest brother loses his life.
The two young masters came to the school grounds and met the leader, Captain Wang. They replied to the military order, and then stood behind the captain with several others. A line of more than a dozen young sergeants looked at the group of chicks in front of them coldly. Boy, I have mixed feelings in my heart.
Dozens more children arrived at the school one after another. Seeing that the number of children was almost there, Captain Wang ordered the arrangements to be made. First, they were divided into four columns according to age and size, and then their names and places of origin were registered, and different training contents were assigned according to personal conditions. The dozen or so people in Shaodong's family were also very familiar with the task of training new recruits. They quickly sorted the more than two hundred dolls into four rows according to their height. The dolls in the lowest row were all shorter than the tallest row. Throughout their heads, the shorter dolls felt even more uneasy due to the obvious height contrast, fearing that they would be kicked home because of their thin bodies. That would be too bad. Fortunately, the officers in armor only registered their names and birthplaces one by one, but they didn't ask about the age that the children were most worried about, as if they had forgotten.
I am afraid of walking at night if I have a ghost in my heart.
These children who are worried about being asked about their age are naturally worried. I heard from the adults that the recruitment age mentioned by the officials above is no less than thirteen years old. Twenty-three out of ten of them are under the age of thirteen. , those who are naturally taller and stronger, although they know that they are not old enough, but take advantage of their height advantage to raise their heads and chests, and can barely get through, but those who are short and short can be estimated by others at a glance. , this must be a Xibei guy, they were afraid of being found out. Fortunately, the officers didn't seem to be planning to measure them one by one with a tape measure. They didn't know if they could get through this. The children couldn't help but feel uneasy, and they just hated their parents for delaying their birth for so long.
The children who were worried about their age were not the most anxious in the whole group. The ones who were most upset were the twenty or so children among them, who thought that this level of difficulty was really difficult to pass. Although their mother-in-law and grandmother had specially dressed them up before coming here, at the moment when they were standing in the school grounds for examination, they themselves seemed to be the little monsters under the mirror. They were afraid that their true colors would be revealed at a glance and others would see through them. .
Nothing else, because they are girls.
Since ancient times, no matter who is an emperor or a general, they will not use women to fight. Who knows whether the Fuhao and Hua Mulan mentioned in the play are true or false? At least in their knowledge, they have never heard of girls. There is a precedent of going into battle to kill the enemy, because let alone the current war, even if there was no war before, girls were not allowed to run around outside often. But in the current situation, I can no longer care about that much. God doesn’t choose between men and women when he starves people to death. The adults of these girl dolls' families were forced to do nothing, and they treated dead horses as live horses. They cut off their braids, smeared their hands and faces black, and made them wear the clothes of their father and brother. , mixed among a group of boys, hoping to join the army so that he could change his family's food rations. My grandfather and father have long since died, and so have my brothers. Only my grandmother, mother, and brothers are left in the family. They, the girls, are the only hope for survival. Although they knew there was little chance of success, these more than 20 female dolls were sent over to try. I heard that some people used this method to dress up female dolls as male dolls and sneak them into the military camp. Until now None were found. The family also received some food rations because of these female dolls, and the remaining people managed to survive until now. Maybe the people in the army are blind and can't see their own background. Maybe with luck, they can sneak in, so that the family doesn't have to go hungry and have nothing to eat.
The swarthy boy and the instructors from the young master's family are naturally not blind. Their eyes are the magic mirrors that reveal everything. Those who are not old enough and those who are disguised as men do not need to ask questions. They can only judge from their evasive expressions and special attire. You can see clearly the details of these children. But the interrogating soldiers like Wang Erxiao chose to pretend to be deaf and mute, turning a blind eye to these poor disguises. They behaved like an official envoy handling the case and made a fool of the matter. When they recorded the girls, they used The pen made a circle in front of their names to distinguish them.
More than half an hour has passed, and the registration of more than two hundred chicks who came to apply has been completed. The roster has been reported. Compared with the preliminary count yesterday, there are twenty or thirty more people. This is also normal. Every time the number of people recruited is either more or less, the reason is that the family is reluctant to let the baby die, and would rather starve to keep the baby with them, hoping that with the blessing of gods and Buddhas, something will turn around. The reason for the increase is that many family members were undecided when they first applied for the job, and they also couldn't bear to put their own flesh and blood there to die. But after crying and fighting all night, I really couldn't endure it anymore at home. Maybe I could live a little longer when I got there, so I could only grit my teeth and send the baby here.
It is better to live a little longer than to live a little less.
More than two hundred chicks were divided into four groups, led by more than twenty young sergeants, and went to their respective barracks. Four soldiers had already taken their rosters and went to the dining room. According to the number of people on the roster, one person had two buns. Under the gaze of the kitchen knives, the four soldiers each took two large black bundles and returned. In his barracks, he distributed the dozens of newly recruited chicks to him on a per-capita basis.
Looking at the black nests distributed in their hands, these dolls, who had been hungry for several meals, still looked timid. They only knew one hand, holding them tightly. Looking at the black nests in their hands, they were not sure. Whether it was really given to them, no one dared to bite it.
The young master sighed and said loudly and somewhat majestically:
"Everyone listens to the order. Eat the rations in your hands immediately. After eating, gather at the door of the barracks. No mistakes!"
After hearing this vicious order, these frightened little chickens just picked up the steamed buns in their hands, took a tentative bite, and did not dare to chew much. When they saw that the cold officers disappeared, a group of children Then he stuffed the steamed buns in his mouth fiercely. After being hungry for so long, he finally had something to eat. Each of the chickens instantly turned into ferocious little wolf cubs. He finished making the steamed buns in a few seconds and used them after eating. The tongue licked clean the residue in the crevices of the palms. Everyone was satisfied, smiling, and happy in their hearts. This place seemed pretty good, and it seemed that they had come to the right place. Some even resented their grandma for not sending them here earlier. I have been hungry for so many days in vain!
The dark-skinned boy was not in the barracks at the moment. He was walking to a barracks in the inner city with more than twenty female dolls in disguise. Before we even got there, the scent of herbs and the faint smell of blood could already be heard in the air. The place where more than 20 people in their group are going now is the wounded soldiers camp, where soldiers who are recovering from injuries live there. From a long distance away, they can see many white cloth strips hanging on the branches of the trees, all of which have been washed and turned white. , drying in the sun.
In fact, every time the military department recruits new soldiers, the details are clear. Zhang Zhongcheng and Governor Xu are well aware of the situation inside. The war was tense in the first three months. Most of the people recruited from the city were young and powerful adult men. Although these people had no real combat experience, they were mostly poor farmers after all. Of course, they were rich and powerful. Who is willing to sacrifice his life? Although these people don't know how to wield swords or guns, they are still very strong from years of farming in the fields. It may not be easy to stand on the top of the city with a bow and arrow, but they can raise a shield to protect the archers, push and pull defensive equipment, and carry arrows and crossbows. Machine, repairing the city wall fortifications is indeed very effective. It perfectly solves the worries of the thousands of veterans who actually defend the city, allowing the thousands of veterans who defend the city to free up their hands to attack at will. In addition, the city is high, the walls are thick, and the moat is wide. Deep down, the thieves' many attacks failed to succeed.
Although the thieves came with great force and claimed to have an army of 140,000, there were only tens of thousands who could really be used to attack the city. Suiyang City has a long history and has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Therefore, the city walls of Suiyang City were built in accordance with military standards. They are more than three feet high and two and a half feet wide. They are equipped with four gates in the east, west, north and south. There is a moat six feet wide and five feet deep on all sides of the Weng City. Although Yin Ziqi's army has many people and arrows, due to the limited space, the number of people directly involved in the attack at each city gate is only more than 10,000 people. . Including the span of the moat, the range of Hu Bing's crossbows was only fifteen feet. When they arrived at the bottom of the city and entered the effective shooting range, before they even pulled the bow string from bottom to top, the arrows from top to bottom on the other side of the city wall had already hit them. Shot into a hedgehog.
Although the soldiers guarding the city had the right time and place, there were many thieves who could not resist the attack. On the defender's side, there are only a few hundred crossbows that can directly participate in the defense of the city on one side of the city gate, but there are thousands of them on the opposite side. In addition, there is a dense accumulation of arrows. One hundred arrows can only hit the city wall, and one hundred arrows can only hit the city wall. There will always be one who can hit the defenders. Although the number of hits is not good, the defenders cannot afford to lose any of them. Fortunately, the farm men who were helping were also nimble. When they saw someone hit by an arrow, they immediately carried the person to the city for treatment. Although they did not directly attack the enemy, they still played a decisive role.
However, as the war lasted for several months, more and more people fell. Some of the peasant men who helped out also transformed into masters who could wield bows and crossbows, while the people below who were responsible for helping and covering became their nephews. . When the father dies, the son comes up, when the brother dies, the younger brother takes over, life and death take turns. Slowly, the enemy's offensive became less intensive. After all, thousands of people were killed and injured in each battle, and no one could hold it back.
In this way, the offensive and defensive sides formed their troops and each came up with their own strategies. The battle turned from a violent storm at the beginning to a tug-of-war. The generals on both sides were also racking their brains, and various tactics emerged one after another. Just like this see-saw situation, it is very difficult for the defenders of the city, because their own resources are limited, both manpower and food and grass are being exposed to the sun and snow, and they are stretched thin. On the other side of the siege, there are constant reinforcements and plenty of men and horses. As one goes and the other goes, the life of every defender becomes extremely precious.
What can protect these city defenders are not only high walls, deep rivers, tactical armor, but also life-saving medical herbs. Fortunately, before defending the city, Zhang Zhongcheng and Prefect Xu had already calculated the huge loss of medicinal herbs. They spent huge sums of money to hoard a large amount of medicinal materials and many doctors, so the wounded camp was able to save a lot of money through treatment in this protracted war. The wounded soldiers played an immeasurable role in the entire city defense campaign.
The war is getting longer and longer, and there are more and more wounded soldiers. Naturally, more manpower is needed. Many personnel who do not have battlefield capabilities are recruited. Zhang Zhongcheng and Prefect Xu also use their talents to arrange them in rear camps such as the Ordnance Department of the Wounded Soldiers Camp, so that They were there to help fuel the entire war.
When the first woman was recruited, Zhang Zhongcheng and the others knew about it. They discussed it for a long time and finally chose to acquiesce. Although women have rarely participated in wars since ancient times, the current situation is special. Those who risk their lives to disguise themselves as men must be at their wits' end, otherwise they would not let the female prostitutes come to see the blood and fight. What's more, although these women cannot It is still possible to directly participate in the defense of the city wall, but to help serve the wounded soldiers in the wounded barracks, and to make crossbows and repair armor in the ordnance department. After weighing the pros and cons, the adults gritted their teeth and accepted these girls.
The swarthy young man also understood the orders from above. Although he did not encourage them, he did recruit them and assigned them to their appropriate places according to the usual practice.
A group of people entered the courtyard of the wounded barracks and saw busy figures everywhere. Many young soldiers were either taking care of the wounded or cooking medicine around the stove. There were also a group of people washing bloody cloth strips by the well. Those field doctors in special clothes were also coming and going, with silver needles flying in their hands, treating Different wounded soldiers.
The conditions of the wounded soldiers vary, some are minor, maybe they are only slightly injured, or they have been recuperating for a long time, their arms are just covered with some cloth strips, some are resting, and some are walking back and forth, helping out as much as possible; some The injuries were more serious, and there were faint blood stains oozing out from the cloth strips. They were lying so helplessly. Many of them were covered in cold sweat because of the pain. They could only grit their teeth and endure it. Only when they couldn't help it, did they moan in pain. The doctor They took pulses and acupuncture on their bodies to analyze their injuries and discussed how to use medicine to save them. As for those critically ill patients with amputated arms and legs, they are all closely cared for in the rooms at the back of the hospital. Those more miserable scenes are not easily visible outside.
The dark-skinned boy had a low-spirited conversation with the sergeant guarding here, pointed at the twenty-odd girls, explained the general situation clearly, gave the twenty-odd girls a few words, and quickly left the wounded barracks. .
The place the dark-skinned boy least wanted to go in this city was not Nancheng, which was full of rich families, but this miserable wounded soldier camp. There were too many familiar faces here, all of them were suffering great pain at the moment, but he couldn't do anything when he looked at these faces. Every time he went there, his heart hurt even more. This was purgatory, his inner demon. So he quickly arranged the recruits and fled that place without looking back. If he stayed for another quarter of an hour, he would have an extra scar in his heart.
In fact, everyone is the same. The wounded barracks is not only the inner demon of the swarthy boy, but also the inner demon of the young master's family, and also the inner demon of every city defender. They can face life and death, but they just can't face life and death. Therefore, many veterans, after being seriously injured, would rather choose to commit suicide than go to the wounded barracks for treatment. On the one hand, they do not want to increase the burden on their comrades, and on the other hand, they do not want to bear the process of life passing by. .
They are very afraid of death, but when that time comes, they hope to die faster, die less painfully, die not so long, and die with dignity.
After all, doctors are not gods. Even though they have tried their best, the injuries can no longer be saved. No matter how hard they try, it will be in vain. It is better to die quickly, die early and be born early. Eighteen years later, I will be a good man again!
Life is full of vegetation and autumn,
A person's appearance and admiration for life,
If you don’t know life, how can you know death?
Far away from the wounded barracks, the swarthy boy slowed down and looked up at the gray sky, thinking that it might rain.
He didn't know how many more times he could watch it rain.
The sky continues to be so gloomy, just like a young man's thoughts.
