The first rain after autumn comes after all.
The swarthy boy came back from the wounded barracks full of thoughts. The autumn rain had begun to drip on the metal armor, sliding down to the ground, and then being sucked into his arms by the loess, turning into raw energy.
Loess is the most kind and the most unkind. She said nothing and silently allowed people to work on her body. People greedily took from her body. Everyone has been eating loess throughout their lives. We take the essence nurtured in the loess and make it our own. Strength, tossing day after day, but never asking about the feeling of the ground.
In the end, the earth took one bite, and then everything was gone.
A person eats the earth for his whole life, and the earth eats a person's bite!
Even if there is a thousand-year iron threshold, there will eventually be a piece of earthen bread!
In the Wounded Barracks, people are buried in the soil almost every day, giving the soil their last bite.
"I don't know if one day I will be eaten by the soil!" The swarthy boy sighed in his heart. Looking at the current situation of Suiyang City, it can no longer be described as difficult. God knows how long it can last!
Just thinking about it like this, he had returned to his barracks. In the courtyard of the barracks, dozens of newly recruited chicks were standing in the courtyard. They had just listened to the officers' instructions. They had only half-understanding of some of the disciplinary requirements in the army, and now they were familiar with each other. They gathered together and whispered to each other. It was obvious that there were two black nests in the belly of this group and that group. This group of chicks became less timid, their sense of belonging doubled, and their state of mind also became lively.
The young master and the other three young sergeants have already completed the formalities for the roster. Each child has also put a red fingerprint on the roster. This bright red fingerprint is like the mark of the soul drawn by the judge of the underworld. Sooner or later, it will have to be returned. . When the swarthy boy came back, a few people took the new recruits to the ordnance department to get their military uniforms, and began to formally put on the life-threatening protective clothing.
Although the armor is thick, it can save lives, but the arrows are tricky and are designed to shoot people.
If you don't wear armor, arrows won't shoot you. If you wear armor, arrows will find ways to shoot you. But whether you are a new soldier or a veteran, if you are targeted by a man-eating arrow, it will kill you. .
It's just that these little chickens don't know this yet. They are still excited, especially full of longing and expectation for more black corn buns in the future. They have no idea that the two black corn buns they ate this morning are very... It might be the last meal I eat in this life.
Of course, they are only thirteen or fourteen years old, so how can they know how long a life is? They don't know, not even the swarthy boy and the young master's family know, but Zhang Zhongcheng knows. No one knows better than him how many roads he has to walk, how many people he has to meet, and how many cornucopias he has to eat in his lifetime. So whenever the personnel roster was uploaded from below, Zhang Zhongcheng would recite that individual name silently in his mind when he looked at the names of those individuals, whether they were killed in battle or newly recruited. Every name in the roster was the one he wanted. The debt of life.
In his lifetime, if there really is a Nine Yin Underworld, he must have descended from it.
A group of people from the young master's family took these new recruits to the ordnance camp. Along the way, these newbies looked around and felt emotional no matter what they saw. For example, the most common things on the school field, the stone locks and stone burdens used by soldiers to practice strength, the straw man targets tied to wooden posts for practicing archery, and the neatly arranged long weapons and short blades. They said whatever they saw, one by one. Scrambling to be first, always wanting to appear to know more than others. Walking further back, we passed the War Horse Camp. The legendary war horses tied in those sheds were all there.
After all, he is a child from a poor family. Although adults say that donkeys and mules look very similar to horses, donkeys and mules are also common in the fields. As for real horses, only occasionally the young men from the landlord's family will get a few when they go out to welcome brides or something. Real horses are here to mention the status, but they are also horses raised by ordinary people. Although they are much more expensive than ordinary livestock, they are of inferior quality after all. Just like these people, they are all inferior goods. But the horses we see now are all military horses, and they all belong to the emperor's family. According to the old men, this horse can be exchanged for dozens of acres of land. It is very valuable, much more valuable than our lives.
Hearing that these little boys were fascinated, looking at the majestic horses with boundless envy, and bursts of praise from their mouths, the young master and the others couldn't help but turn their heads to the stables. There will be about 1,670 horses tied up in the stable, which is almost their entire number of horses. Before the war started, Taishou Xu collected more than 2,000 horses. You have to know what a huge wealth more than 2,000 horses are. When Anlu Mountain paid tribute to the emperor, he only donated 3,000 horses. It is conceivable what a thorough plan Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun made for Suiyang. Unfortunately, more than 700 horses were later divided by Song Yanzong, leaving only 1,230 horses. Later, as the war progressed, more than 700 horses were left. When the moon comes down, there are only less than two hundred horses left. The more than a thousand tall horses have been fed with loess by their masters on the expedition, and their bodies have been wrapped in horse leather.
These war horses played an unprecedented role in the entire battle to defend the city. Zhang Zhongcheng and others used their skillful tactics to play an unprecedented role. If high walls and deep rivers are the foundation of defense, then these war horses and cavalry are the spiritual pillars of the city defenders. They were seen as inspiration and hope by the entire city.
According to military common sense, the defender of the city is in a weak position and basically does not have the conditions to go out of the city to annihilate the enemy. What's more, like Suiyang City, the enemy is ten times more powerful than itself. However, Zhang Zhongcheng and Xu Taishou's soldiers were dangerous, foresighted, and combined offense and defense. They studied and used famous examples of city defense battles in history books, and therefore created various tactics and techniques to confuse the enemy soldiers. Surrounded by a large army, not only did the defense be almost perfect, but they also used cavalry to attack the camp many times. They killed generals with lightning in front of the formation, burned the opponent's camp, intercepted the opponent's backup supplies, etc., and miraculously forced the opponent to fight. Retreating again and again boosted the morale of the soldiers and civilians in Suiyang. In everyone's mind, if it were not for the shortage of men and horses, General Nan Jiyun might not be able to reproduce the bravery of the champions of the Han Dynasty!
Therefore, the people guarding Suiyang City not only did not have the same fear and abandonment as those who were besieged in the history books, but also had high fighting spirit, always looking forward to leaving the city to kill the enemy. The cavalry led by Nan Jiyun gave all the city defenders great confidence. In their hearts, they all agreed that, let alone your mere 100,000 thieves, if we, General Nan, could get thousands of war horses, we city dwellers would not even bother to climb up the city wall, we would just open the city gates and get on those tall horses. , holding the horizontal sword in his hand high, guaranteed to kill hundreds of thousands of enemies without even being able to pull up their pants. It's a pity that the thieves are blind, and there aren't that many soldiers and horses to use. Now I can only hold my breath. Fortunately, on the top of the city, I asked the thieves to try grandpa's arrow skills. They can't shoot seventeen or eight of you. The transparent hole means you are lucky to live longer. Zhang Zhongcheng advised everyone that at this moment, they must compromise and defend the city. When the emperor frees up his hands, when the time comes, the army will press the border and cooperate inside and outside to ensure that none of the rebels besieging the city can escape.
But what the soldiers and civilians guarding the city in Suiyang didn't understand was that more than seven months had passed, and the emperor still hadn't released his hands to rescue him. It was really annoying to wait in such a hurry!
The war horses in the stable are all fat and strong, and they are full of energy. They seem to have understood human nature, and they all want to run out of the city so that they can follow their masters and trample the fearless rats besieging the city. It's just that the horses don't know that their owners can't be like them. They eat feed wheat straw to keep them full, but their owners cannot eat grass and starve without food.
A group of people left the stable and came to the Ordnance Department. At this time, the Ordnance Department was bustling with people. More than two hundred recruits were chattering and holding mighty armored military boots in their hands. They were all chattering and showing off to the people around them. , as if the little chicken has transformed into a majestic general on the battlefield, beheading enemy generals in the midst of thousands of troops, just like picking something out of a bag!
The Ordnance Department is the most abundant place in the entire city defense headquarters. There are piles of armor and weapons here. On the one hand, it benefits from the abundant preparations made by Prefect Xu in the early stage, and some of them were captured by Zhang Zhongcheng during the war.
The Tang Dynasty was prosperous and attracted the attention of the world. Recalling the heyday of Kaiyuan in the past, Xiaoyi had thousands of families. The decades of stability and peace before and after the Kaiyuan Dynasty made the country strong and the people rich in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the entire Tang Empire had more than enough food, money, weapons and armor. Just ordinary sergeants are all equipped with iron armor and hard bows, and their weapons such as swords and guns are also of high quality, gleaming with cold light. There are many types of crossbows prepared in Suiyang City. The Weiwu twelve-stone crossbow, the Qin crossbow, the Han six-stone crossbow, and the Zhuge Liannu are all as sophisticated and domineering as the Tang crossbow. There are also many large bed crossbows and chariot crossbows used for siege. The arrows were arranged neatly and piled up like a mountain. There are many types of arrows, including light arrows, heavy arrows, blunt arrows, armor-piercing arrows, rockets, and sentry arrows. There are also abundant arrows seized from the rebels on the opposite side, thousands of them of all kinds.
According to general military practice, if the city has been defended for more than seven months, the arrows prepared in Suiyang City should have been exhausted. However, looking at this scene, there is not much left as the enemy suspected, and there is simply no need for it. Endless use! Speaking of which. I have to mention Zhang Zhongcheng, he is truly a god!
As early as when Zhang Zhongcheng was still the little county magistrate, when the world heard about the rebellion in Anlu Mountain, Zhang Xun immediately raised the flag of rebellion to resist the thieves. When he was defending the city in Yongqiu, something was urgent. There were many people in Linghu Chao, so he defended the city for a section. After a while, the arrows were not enough, so he borrowed arrows from Sun Quan, the overlord of the late Han Dynasty, and ordered hundreds of straw men to be stabbed. He then put the straw men in leather armor and tied them with ropes and hung them in the sky. On the Yongqiu city wall, war drums were beating. Linghu Chao became suspicious and thought that Zhang Xun was sending people to steal the camp again at night. He quickly ordered thousands of arrows to be fired. When the rain of arrows fell, Zhang Xun ordered his people to pull back the straw men and silence the drums. . A few hours later, he did the same thing again, and got tens of thousands of arrows in one night. After that, he combined the virtual and the real, and gained even more.
After arriving in Suiyang City, he went out of his way to make more ingenious plans, so that Yin Ziqi knew that Linghu Chao had been deceived before, but he had to follow in his footsteps and suffered heavy losses. So this is also the confidence that Suiyang can hold on for more than seven months and still have extraordinary fighting power.
The more than twenty instructors, including the young master and the swarthy boy, worked with the garrison soldiers from the Ordnance Department to receive a set of armor equipment for each recruit according to the recruit roster and according to the warrior standards. After the distribution was completed, each recruit was assigned a set of armor equipment based on height, weight, and weight. Adjust armor size. After more than an hour of commotion, the distribution was finally in place. Each recruit received a suit of armor that suited him or her, regardless of the drizzle blowing on their face. Everyone looked flushed and excited. Looking at the shining armor in their arms, they didn't feel heavy at all. I can't wait to put it on immediately and show off my dignity.
Seeing that everyone had been assigned to their respective positions, each team leader gathered his troops, divided them into four teams again, and braved the red sun and drizzle to return home with a full load. After returning to the barracks courtyard, the young master, as the leader of this group of people, invited everyone to take a short rest. He asked the dark-skinned young man to lead a group of people to the empty barracks, and set up beds for these child soldiers to stay, and waited. After lunch, we gathered in the courtyard again to begin formal training.
The black steamed buns for lunch made these babies very excited. They ate hot rice soup and rice, which made them full of strength. Looking at the neatly stacked armors, the recruits were like ants on a hot pot. , expecting the teacher to give the order quickly so that they can put on the majestic bright armor as soon as possible.
Finally, in response to the expectations of these children, the young master's family issued an order, and everyone immediately came to the courtyard to practice with their armors on.
This newly packed barracks is a courtyard surrounded by wing rooms on three sides. The place is quite spacious. The last batch of soldiers who lived in have been on the battlefield for more than a month. There are no people there on weekdays. The courtyard is empty today. With so many new recruits pouring in all of a sudden, it seemed to be full of life.
The first item of training is the item that these chicks have been looking forward to for a long time:
"Armored".
Because the number of armors was already abundant, and the war lasted for a long time, many people wearing armors died, leaving more equipment. Therefore, everyone in Suiyang City is now equipped with Mingguang Armor.
"Mingguang armor" is also the standard equipment for sergeants in the Tang Dynasty nowadays. There are several styles. It first appeared in the late Han Dynasty, but it is not as rich and sophisticated as the current styles. Mingguang Armor is a very bright armor with polished nails. Nowadays, due to the wealth of the country and the introduction of smelting and forging technology from the Western Regions into the country, the armament forging technology has been greatly improved compared to the past. It is no longer as crude as the iron armor of the Han Dynasty. . At this time, the Mingguang armor pieces are tight and the force is reasonable. The head, neck, shoulders, hands, arms, chest, abdomen, legs, and feet are complete. The protection and aesthetics are greatly improved. It has truly achieved "seeing the sun." The light of the world will be bright."
The young master had heard from the blacksmith before that the entire set of Mingguang Armor was made of a combination of iron and leather. Each piece of armor was made up of 1,590 pieces of fish scale armor and 644 pieces of long strip armor. The armor on the front and back has been changed from the previous plate shape to a metal round guard, which better protects the safe parts of the wearer's chest, abdomen and internal organs. Compared with the previous plate armor structure, the metal round guard has a different shape through the elliptical structure. , increases the unloading buffer, greatly weakens the penetrating power of bows and arrows and spears, and reduces the puncture injuries and internal shock injuries suffered by the wearer as much as possible. Armor penetration is equivalent to possessing the super power of one being equal to ten. Moreover, each metal round guard is polished extremely smooth, like a mirror. The dazzling light reflected under the sunlight is not only beautiful, but also a deterrent to invading enemies. The defenders at the Tang Dynasty border can destroy the country. There are countless of them, among which the sophisticated armors and weapons are indispensable. A complete set of armor requires thirty or forty craftsmen and takes more than half a year to complete. The cost is very high, almost as much as half a military horse.
Of course, the Mingguang Armor that they now provide as standard equipment for these recruits is not a complete set of equipment. After all, it is not that the army cannot afford a complete set of armor, but that it is too heavy. Generals like Nan Ji Yun Lei Wanchun, who have ten thousand enemies, wear the most complete armor. From the red tassel on the head to the combat boots on the soles of the feet, a complete set of armor weighs more than 40 kilograms. Even a normal adult, let alone a big-ass kid, cannot run away wearing such a suit of armor without professional training. A few steps away, let alone going into battle to kill the enemy.
The current task assigned to the Young Master family by above is to teach these children how to wear armor, how to go to the battlefield, and how to survive in the rain of guns and arrows. It can be said that if you wear armor on the battlefield, you will have a few more lives. Similarly, if you wear armor, your life may be harvested faster. This is like Chu people's busy city contradicting itself. Although it sounds ridiculous at first, upon closer inspection, it reveals more helplessness and unknown sadness.
Taoism talks about the responsibilities of yin and yang, Confucianism talks about the cycle of heavenly principles, and explanations about karma and retribution. This is the truth!
Although the armor of the Suiyang garrison was the same as that of the entire Tang Dynasty army, Zhang Zhongcheng added a small change on this basis. He made everyone wear a silk lining next to theirs. Don't underestimate this. A piece of silk underwear, this thin silk material, in Zhang Xun's heart is a gift that can save his life.
Silk has always been a true luxury product in any era, dating back to the Yan and Huang Dynasties and as recently as the Tang Dynasty when rice was dripping with fat. The value of silk is equivalent to real gold and silver, and it has always been a standard dress for the upper class. Not only is it soft in texture, colorful and comfortable to wear, but it is also "expensive". Ordinary people wear coarse cloth clothes spun and sewn by their own women, and the colors are also dyed into stain-resistant and cheap colors like black and gray. No one would dye the cloth into fancy colors like red, red, and green. This kind of stupid behavior that costs a lot of money and is not durable, is definitely a prodigal mother-in-law who cannot live a good life. These clothes, pants, shoes and socks made of coarse cloth only fulfilled their original functions of covering up shame and keeping warm. There are even worse families who don't even have this coarse cloth, and the whole family can only wear linen clothes. How can those rich people who are used to wearing silk clothes know how it feels.
Silk fabrics are very different from coarse linen clothes. Each silk product consumes a lot of silk and artificial craftsmanship, and silk fabrics come in various colors and styles. The brighter and more gorgeous the silk, the more expensive it will be. Naturally, it is known that the price is high. For those nobles, it is a status symbol and a silent show off. It is colorful and golden. Just like Gan Ning and Yang Guang, who used brocade to make cables, what they cared about more than the brocade itself was the blood and sweat of the "silkworms" and "people" oozing out of every silk thread.
Those who are covered with silkworms are naturally not sericulture people.
Although Zhang Xun is upright and frugal, after all, his family has a business and he is famous. The wealthy royal family distributes silk materials to every official every year. Zhang Xun asked his family to make these materials into underwear and wear them next to his body. It doesn't show up, but after all, it's much more comfortable than ordinary coarse cloth. Over time, he developed a habit. Later, he joined the army, put on armor, and habitually wore silk underwear. It was precisely because of this inconspicuous habit that Zhang Xun discovered an unexpected and wonderful use of silk clothes between life and death.
It is said that at that time, Zhang Xun led his troops to defend Yongqiu. Tens of thousands of people from Linghu's Chao tribe attacked the city. Zhang Xun took the lead to hold on to the city wall. Arrows from both sides came and went like locusts. Linghu's Chao tribe had a fierce general who learned from the military strategist Fang. Outside "Yimen", he had excellent archery skills. About 120 steps away from the city, he took a bow and shot an arrow, hitting Zhang Xun's left shoulder. Fortunately, he had armor to block it, but the arrow still penetrated his flesh. Although Zhang Xun was in pain, he still couldn't. Still gritting his teeth and persisting, he raised his arms and shouted loudly. Seeing that his master was injured by an arrow but not falling down, his sergeants were inspired and fought bravely to kill the enemy. When Nan Jiyun saw Zhang Xun being shot by an enemy general, he was even more ashamed and angry. Angry that he was not well protected, he fired back at the general with all his killing intent through arrows.
Seeing Zhang Xun hit the arrow, Nan Jiyun was filled with thunder. He snatched the long bow of the person next to him, put the arrow on it and drew the bow to full length. His true energy circulated throughout his body, gathering together the power of heaven and earth in his personal field, squeezing it into Throughout the arrow, he followed the airflow of the arrow, his eyes searching for the archery master on the opposite side like electricity. From the power of heaven and earth contained in the opponent's arrow, Nan Jiyun judged that this person should be like him. , the art of shooting comes from the same place. After a while, he locked the target among the enemy troops. At this moment, he ignored his fellow disciples and yelled "die" angrily. He released his hand and shot an arrow towards the opponent. The earth-shattering arrow was full of blood. With Nan Jiyun's anger, the void was split, and a sharp sound broke out. It penetrated the helmet in front of the general's forehead like lightning, and shot into the head and out of the back of the head. The arrow connected with the opponent's body, killing more than a hundred kilograms. His body was dragged from the horseback to the big tree behind him, and he nailed the general to the tree trunk. His feet were dangling in the air, his eyes were wide open, and he died in an instant!
Linghu Chao looked at his beloved general who was very close at hand. At this moment, he was shot all over by someone one hundred and twenty steps away. He was so frightened that he fell off his horse and ran back in piss. When the sergeants saw that their invincible general was nailed to a tree, the commander was so frightened that he fled. He also saw the momentum on the other side, the suspension bridge of Yongqiu City Gate was already halfway down, and the elite cavalrymen holding swords were ready to jump through the gate. When they came out, they were not interested in fighting at the moment. They threw away the military flags in their hands and ran away with their heads in their hands. As soon as the military flag fell, the entire army was as panic-stricken as if they were blind. Suddenly the entire army was thrown into confusion. The bow and crossbow troops were the first to bear the brunt. They dropped their crossbows and ran for their lives in all directions. On the left and right were the cavalry troops, and in the rear were the long troops. The troops on all sides lost command of the battle formation and were like headless flies, running around desperately, just hoping. The farther away from Yongqiu City the better, they collide with each other, you come and I go. The rider on horseback did not care about his comrades who were tripped at his feet. He rode up and only urged the horse to run fast to save his own life. The long soldiers were in chaos at the moment. They were heavily armored and the long soldiers in their hands were in the way. When they were hit by the lightly-armed crossbowmen, they were even more frightened and angry. They threw down the spears and spears in their hands. Thinking of pushing aside the obstacles in front of him so that he could escape with his life.
Before the suspension bridge could be stabilized, hundreds of murderous cavalry had already rushed out. They raised their spears high in their hands, shouted "kill the sky", and stabbed at the swarm of wasps in front of them at high speed. These hundreds of cavalrymen quickly rushed into the enemy army. The weapons in their hands were like hot knives cutting butter or sharp blades cutting tofu, killing several of them. Those rebels only hated their parents for losing a few legs. They rolled and crawled, and eventually lost thousands of lives. Only half of them survived. When they returned to the camp, more than a thousand people escaped on the road. This battle The beating made Linghu Chao tremble with fear. He didn't care about his hatred for Zhang Xun and just wanted to stay as far away as possible from that lunatic named Nan Jiyun. More than 40,000 people were expelled by more than 3,000 people and could not be found. Mom and Dad.
There are rumors all over the world that Nan Jiyun is the best in the world in archery, and he truly deserves his reputation!
The battle was over, and Zhang Xun was helped into the inner room for treatment. While everyone was anxious and worried, the medical officer opened the wound and discovered that although the arrow had penetrated the armor and entered the flesh several inches, it had not completely penetrated. The most deadly barb was Still staying outside, although there is only a thin line between them, it blocks life and death. According to past practice, the force of armor-piercing arrows fired by masters of that level is very terrifying. The arrow tip and blade can definitely cause penetrating wounds. Although the armor block blocked a huge amount of damage, such a result occurred. It was also extremely lucky. The arrowhead pierces through, which can cause life-threatening injuries or even destroy an entire arm. Even if it only penetrates the flesh, it will cause a large wound. During treatment, it is necessary to cut a larger wound and then dig out the arrowhead. , so whether it is bleeding damage during treatment or post-care to prevent infection, they all bear huge risks. A generation of god Guan Yunchang suffered from an arrow injury in his arm, which caused his combat power to be greatly reduced. The difference between life and death is not trivial.
Seeing that the barb of the arrowhead was now blocked outside the body, the generals were relatively easy to deal with. Knowing that Master Zhang's injury was much lighter than expected, they all secretly called God for protection in their hearts. They watched the military medical officer bandage and treat the wound properly. Finally, after repeated instructions, they all left and left the inner room to arrange the war affairs for their men.
Zhang Xun also knew in his heart that he was extremely lucky. Apart from God's blessing, he could not think of any better explanation than this. Maybe God would not let him die and he still had to live. Taking advantage of the time to recuperate, he repeatedly studied the various factors that caused such a result at that time, combined his thoughts, consulted the medical officer, and studied experiments together. Finally, he came up with a whim and insisted that the factor that provided the last layer of protection at that time might be That lined silk coat.
Silk is fine in texture and has good toughness. Although it is light and transparent, it is softer than ordinary cloth. When facing the tough arrowhead, it uses its softness to absorb the last part of the force and reduce the wound surface. This is the explanation given by Zhang Xun. He said that "Tao Zang" says that all things are mutually reinforcing and interfering with each other, and that there must be a lot of truth between heaven and earth. Afterwards, Zhang Xun ordered that when putting on armor, all sergeants must first wear a piece of silk underwear, without any mistakes. He prayed that the thin silk garment would bring God's favor and save the lives of some of the city defenders.
But with such a far-fetched explanation, other than for masturbation, I’m afraid it’s hard to deceive ghosts and gods!
How do these children from poor families know these truths? They just sigh in their hearts. The official master is rich and gives everyone a silk dress. Fortunately, there is enough silk in the treasury, so they can become a wealthy family for once. Wear silk clothes and feel luxurious. When you go back later, you can brag to your family and friends.
