Tan Xiaozhuang squatted next to his bundle of firewood, and there were people passing by in front of him, but few people would stop and ask Tan Xiaozhuang what he wanted to exchange for firewood.

A few years ago, Tan Xiaozhuang was an auxiliary soldier in the military tun of Sun Kewang, the king of Qin in the Ming Dynasty, and most of the whip marks on his back were left at that time - to this day, Tan Xiaozhuang often wakes up from nightmares in the dead of night, that must be that he dreamed of life in the military tun again - just on the first day he was brought into the military tun, Tan Xiaozhuang saw rows of bloody human skins, which were shown to the new auxiliary soldiers by the commander of the military tun. The prefect said that any auxiliary soldiers who lagged behind in the production schedule would be sentenced to death, and that human skins would be stripped from their bodies.

His Royal Highness the King of Qin doesn't care if you are accidentally sick or injured in labor, because King Qin can't see through people's minds, and he doesn't have time to pay attention to the thoughts of every soldier, so he can't judge whether the progress lags behind or not. In this case, the production schedule is the only criterion for determining life and death. Of course, His Royal Highness King Qin is not completely unsympathetic, if the production progress is only slightly worse, then he can mercifully pardon you this time, just give you a few lashes as a lesson, as long as you can catch up with the progress within the time limit.

At that time, Tan Xiaozhuang was just sixteen years old, and he worked hard every day to survive, but despite this, the shouts of the officers always echoed in his ears: "This is for the great cause of the Holy Lord!" ”

"We're going to fight the Tartars to the death!"

"The front-line soldiers are fighting with their lives, you don't have to go into battle, what else is there to complain about?"

Many times Tan Xiaozhuang thought that he was going to be tired to death, until he learned some lazy methods, until he got acquainted with the officer in charge of the inspection, knew how to send filial piety, and seized an opportunity to flatter and pat the horse, Tan Xiaozhuang finally felt that Rìzi was a little better and could barely survive. When a familiar companion is sick, Tan Xiaozhuang will share his work, who hasn't had a headache and brain fever? If you help someone today, maybe a friend will save your life tomorrow.

Originally, in Tan Xiaozhuang's impression, King Qin was like Liu Bei, and King Jin and King Shu were Guan Erye and Zhang Sanye, who were brothers of King Qin who took care of each other and shared life and death. In peacetime, the officers of the military tun also said the same, saying that the three princes married Jinlan and wanted to work together to recover the Han River and Mountain. lived like this for two years, and the situation changed abruptly, and "Uncle Liu Huang" and "Second Master" and "Third Master" fought.

"Swear to support the king to the death!"

"We want to fight to the death with Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu!"

"Work hard! Don't let the front-line soldiers go hungry and cold. ”

The king of Qin and the emperor and his two righteous brothers fought, and it was not long before the king of Qin fled Guizhou, and the officers surrendered to the king of Jin with Tan Xiaozhuang and his auxiliaries. Tan Xiaozhuang did not have the slightest sense of humiliation when he surrendered, anyway, it was a war between the brothers of King Qin, and the victory or defeat had nothing to do with the small soldiers.

There has been no change, the original officer is still an officer, the original auxiliary is still an auxiliary soldier, since the military tun has been producing a large number of materials, whether it is the emperor, the court or the king of Jin, there is no intention to change, the production slogan has also been restored to the former appearance, and life seems to have returned to peace.

Soon the peaceful life was broken again, the Huguang front collapsed, and the Tartar army came straight to Guizhou.

"Swear to defend Guiyang to the death!"

"Let the Wu thief have no return."

Although the slogan was shouted loudly, Tan Xiaozhuang did not intend to shed blood for the imperial court - since the victory or defeat of the King of Qin had nothing to do with him, then the fate of the imperial court had nothing to do with it either. After seeing the army of the king of Pingxi coming out of Loushan Pass, Tan Xiaozhuang knelt on the ground with his companions and begged for work.

The king of Pingxi did not embarrass these auxiliary soldiers, and Tan Xiaozhuang and they also tamely began to serve as the baggage soldiers of the Qing army, carrying grain and grass for the Qing army besieging Guiyang.

After the fall of Guiyang, half of the 50,000 Yunnan troops who were ordered to support Guiyang fled, and 30,000 Yunnan auxiliaries surrendered to the Qing army. Tan Xiaozhuang, who was already an auxiliary soldier of the Qing army at that time, looked at these Ming soldiers begging for their lives - their faces were the same as they were at the beginning, only because of the fear of uncertain life and death, no humiliation, no unwillingness, and the victory or defeat of this war had nothing to do with them.

Within a few days, the Qing army in Guizhou became nervous again.

"Swear to defend Guiyang to the death."

"Let the Li thief have no return!"

It is said that the king of Jin led a large army from Yunnan to Guiyang, and the king of Pingxi was nervously dispatching troops to prepare to block Li Dingguo's offensive.

"If King Jin comes back, he will surrender." Tan Xiaozhuang had already made up his mind at that time. Wu Sangui did not disband the military tun, and after the capture of Guiyang, he let these auxiliaries go back to engage in production, and although the officers in charge changed into a set of military uniforms, none of them were unknown to Tan Xiaozhuang. Even the mobilization slogan has been shouted countless times, but the original "Wu" character has been changed to "Li".

However, the king of Jin failed to kill back, and the Ming army's offensive was repelled by the Qing army, and Wu Sangui took advantage of the victory to pursue and entered Yunnan.

When the Son of Yongli fled abroad and Wu Sangui captured Kunming, the military tunli took three days off to celebrate, and also gave rewards and wine. Many of the soldiers were drunk that day, and one of the old soldiers even burst into tears and said, "After more than ten years of fighting, I finally finished fighting, and I survived." More than ten years ago, when he heard that the Tartars had entered the customs, he ordered the Han people to shave their hair and keep braids, and at that time he only hated that his martial arts were not outstanding enough to charge into battle to drive the Tartars out of the customs. But after so many years as an auxiliary soldier in the military tun, now he no longer cares about who is sitting on the dragon chair of běijīng, and only hopes that the war will end sooner and the harsh laws in the military tun can be relaxed.

Then came the Kunming fire. The war was not over, and after King Pingxi returned to Guizhou from Yunnan, the first thing he did was to reiterate Sun Kewang's military system, asking the auxiliaries to work overtime to produce and eliminate the western thieves in Yunnan as soon as possible.

However, a few days later, the shape suddenly changed, and Guizhou became the domain of the king of Pingxi, and soon the Pingxi palace disbanded all the military tuns, and Tan Xiaozhuang was also divided into a small piece of land. Although he had to hand over fifty percent of the harvest to the Pingxi Palace, Tan Xiaozhuang no longer had to worry about whipping, skinning, or even Ling Chi.

Although life was still very difficult, Tan Xiaozhuang could only hope that the war was over, and he imagined in his heart that maybe when there was no war, the Pingxi Royal Mansion would be able to lower the tax rate.

At present, when Tan Xiaozhuang is not working, he chops firewood, hunts, and then comes to the town to change some things. Not far from Tan Xiaozhuang, there was a couple who came to the market, followed by a half-old girl, who was also helping her parents unload the car just now. The stall was set up, and the woman kept rubbing her frozen hands × and breathing into them. When the husband saw it, he put his wife's hand in his collar, and Tan Xiaozhuang heard the man say softly to his wife: "Give you warmth." ”

"Dad, I want to be warm too!" The girl screamed.

The man smiled and nodded as he crouched down and let his daughter's hand reach into his collar. Tan Xiaozhuang saw that the man was tightening his neck, and he was still shivering from time to time, but when he was so cold that he grinned, a pair of eyes narrowed with a smile.

"When the war is over, I will also ask for a mother-in-law." The smile on the face of the man next to him made Tan Xiaozhuang's heart warm: "Work hard, you can always get better with a little bit." ”

Tan Xiaozhuang was looking forward to a better life in the future, and he didn't notice the screams that sounded in the town, and when he was awakened by the noise, several officers and soldiers of the Green Battalion had already walked in front of him. The leading officer rode on his horse, and as he advanced, he glanced around the people around him, and when he saw the strong people, he pointed at them with his horsewhip.

When the officer passed by, he also tapped at Tan Xiaozhuang with his horsewhip, and immediately two soldiers rushed towards Tan Xiaozhuang with a fierce attitude.

"Master Jun." Tan Xiaozhuang bent his waist deeply and squeezed out a smile with all his might: "Do you want firewood?" If you want to take it all, the villain is willing to serve the officers and soldiers. ”

The two soldiers were Daniel Zhang's subordinates, and after reporting the name of their immediate superior, the soldiers told Tan Xiaozhuang that he had been drafted into the army.

Poof, Tan Xiaozhuang's knees weakened and he fell to the ground. In the past, whether it was surrendering to the victor or begging the commander to whip a few less, Tan Xiaozhuang would make this action. After skillfully kneeling on the ground, Tan Xiaozhuang began to beg, begging the two soldiers to let him go.

And the soldiers didn't bother to talk to Tan Xiaozhuang, one of them raised a stick and hit Tan Xiaozhuang in the ear. Covering his ears, Tan Xiaozhuang gritted his teeth and jumped up from the ground. This pain was nothing to him, but he knew that if he continued to resist, he would definitely suffer even more.

Shut down

Seeing that Tan Xiaozhuang no longer resisted, the soldiers no longer used force, but felt out the rope from behind. Tan Xiaozhuang obediently stretched out his arms and put on a restrained appearance.

This action made the soldiers of the Green Battalion stunned, and a smile appeared after a while: "Have you ever been a soldier?" ”

Tan Xiaozhuang reported his previous experience.

"Haha, it's really good, follow us and do a good job." The Green Battalion soldier patted him on the shoulder vigorously: "Then I don't have to tie you up." Brother, be honest, earn me some face too. ”

At this time, there was a woman's cry tearing her heart and lungs beside Tan Xiaozhuang, and her man was also hit by the officer's horsewhip, and was beaten to the head by the soldiers who rushed up, and now he was tied up and forcibly dragged away. And his wife could only hold her daughter at this time, hiding on the side and crying helplessly.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the strong man was swept away by the Qing army. Tan Xiaozhuang and some other lucky people were not tied up, but loaded the grain and cloth from the stalls under the supervision of the Qing army.

"Do you know how to drive?" After seeing Tan Xiaozhuang nodding, the Green Battalion soldier pointed to the donkey cart next to him: "You come to drive this car." ”

"Master Jun! Uncle, no. After seeing Tan Xiaozhuang silently leading her donkey cart, the woman let go of the child, threw herself at the soldier's feet, hugged her boots and cried: "Master Jun, please do well." ”

Tan Xiaozhuang saw that the soldier's face was full of anger, and he raised the stick to whip it, but he didn't pull it down, and after a while, the soldier touched the woman's head and neck, and asked with a smile: "Do you want me to leave the car for you?" ”

"Yes!" The woman didn't make any gestures of resistance, and said resolutely. After losing her husband, this donkey cart may give her and her children a chance to live: "I just ask the military master to be kind and leave the cart to the people's wife." ”

Before the two soldiers could answer, a group of Qing soldiers suddenly came over, and after seeing the scene in front of them, one of them frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

"This woman wants to keep this car." Daniel Zhang's soldiers recognized the few Qing soldiers who had just come over as Zhao Liangdong's subordinates, so they laughed and told them, and then held up the women's faces to show Zhao Liangdong's soldiers: "Oh, it's not bad, right?" ”

"That's good." Zhao Liangdong's soldiers looked twice: "But who will move a cart of grain?" ”

Those Zhao Liangdong's subordinates stepped forward, pulled the woman up from the ground, and looked at her from above: "Tianzu, the waist and legs are still strong, and they can be used as half a man." ”

After saying this, the soldiers took out the rope and tied the woman up as well. At this time, Tan Xiaozhuang saw the Qing soldiers behind him dragging the rope and pulling over a team of women who cried and shook the sky, and the soldiers tied up the woman who had just been tied up to the team.

"What else are you sending?" A soldier shouted at Tan Xiaozhuang.

Startled by the roar, Tan Xiaozhuang hurriedly worked with other strong men to load all the grain of the people in the market onto the cattle cart.

When the woman who set up the stall next to her was tied up, her little girl of about ten years old cried and wanted to follow her mother, but was ruthlessly pushed away by Zhao Liangdong's soldiers: "It's too small, it's useless, it's a waste of food." ”

Again and again, the little girl struggled to get up from the ground, crying and trying to squeeze into the line that had been taken away, and every time she grabbed the corner of the clothes of an unknown person in the procession, she clutched it and refused to let go of anything. But her hands were broken again and again by the soldiers, and she was kicked to the side of the road. For the last time, Tan Xiaozhuang saw the impatient soldiers kick her up again, the little girl's head seemed to hit something hard, her crying stopped abruptly, and her little body lay on the ground motionless.

……

After continuously sweeping the markets and villages they encountered along the way, Zhao Liangdong, Daniel Zhang and others recruited tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers, as well as countless cattle carts, loaded with grain and vegetables.

"If you give a man a half-full meal, the woman doesn't have to give much to eat, and even if you give them food, they won't be able to last long." Zhao Liangdong commanded. Whether it is livestock or strong men, the Qing army has no intention of taking proper care of them, and they are all consumables anyway. Strictly speaking, people are not as good as livestock, and when an animal is tired, it can still eat meat, and when a person is tired, he can only throw it on the side of the road.

If you go any further, you will almost reach Loushan Pass, and Zhao Liangdong glanced back. Now Guiyang probably knew about his captivity along the way, but even if Wu Sangui was angry, it was impossible for him to send an army to pursue them. As for Běijīng's imperial court, compared to the imperial court's army and a few loyal generals, what is it to be worth the destruction of hundreds of thousands of Guizhou people?

The 1,000 soldiers of the pro-military camp had already gathered, and they all raised their faces and looked at their commander-Zhao Liangdong, who was standing on a high place.

"There is no light load on the long distance!" Zhao Liangdong had long known that when they sacked the towns, the soldiers not only seized grain and cloth, but also took a large amount of gold and silver into their own pockets. At that time, Zhao Liangdong did not interfere, and gold and silver may still be useful, but now it is different: "We are about to leave Loushan Pass, and there are no more people along the way, except for food and cloth, we don't need anything." Listen to orders! Leave all the gold and silver treasures behind. ”

"Yes!"

With Zhao Liangdong's order, a thousand soldiers reached into their arms without hesitation, took out the heavy gold, silver and copper coins and threw them on the ground, and then raised their heads and waited for Zhao Liangdong's follow-up order, and no one looked down at the belongings under their feet.

"The road is long, save horsepower, those who have horses will lead the horses, and the non-sick and wounded will not be allowed to ride the horses, and there will be no exception!" Zhao Liangdong issued the second order loudly.

"Yes!"

All the cavalry in the pro-army camp jumped off their horses, held the reins in one hand, and stood in front of their horses waiting for Zhao Liangdong's orders.

But Zhao Liangdong didn't have any more requirements, he led the horse to the front of the team, raised his arm high, and shouted: "Okay! ”

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

……

This order was shouted vigorously by the officers of the pro-barracks one by one, and it was passed on to the end of the line. After shouting, these officers took their subordinates and strode forward, following Zhao Liangdong's general flag to the north. The heavy footsteps of the soldiers stepped on the gold and silver treasures on the road, but they did not stop in the slightest, as if they were no different from dung.

Zhao Liangdong's army was the first to open as the vanguard, and Daniel Zhang, Wang Jinbao, and several other Shaanxi generals stood on the side and watched, all of them dumbfounded. In Deng Ming's previous life, when they heard that Wu Sangui had rebelled, Daniel Zhang, Wang Jinbao, Sun Sike and others rushed to write to Xuanye, saying that Zhao Liangdong could not put down the rebellion.

"Good fellows." After Zhao Liangdong's troops drove away neatly, Wang Jinbao stuck out his tongue and hurriedly ordered his troops to follow.

When passing by Zhao Liangdong's position just now, after seeing the treasures all over the ground, Wang Jinbao's soldiers wanted to bow their heads to pick them up, and under the sharp reprimand of the officers, although these soldiers could obey the order and continue to advance, there were always people who took advantage of the officers' unpreparedness and quickly leaned over and grabbed the most conspicuous piece of silver into their arms.

Several Shaanxi generals who walked behind Wang Jinbao were even more unbearable, and by the time Daniel Zhang passed through Guò, there was not even a single copper plate on the road.

……

"Stop!" After arriving at the scheduled camping site, Zhao Liangdong raised his right arm again and shouted short and powerfully.

"Stop!" The officers once again conveyed Zhao Liangdong's military orders in order.

After the whole army stopped, Zhao Liangdong looked back for a while, and saw a thousand soldiers standing silently in place, quietly waiting for his order, and then smiled with satisfaction - although he had not gone out for a long time, Zhao Liangdong had never neglected to train him, and now the state of the army was also maintained quite well: "Camping." ”

After the Qing army set up camp, Daniel Zhang, Zhao Liangdong and others gathered together to study the military situation in Sichuan.

"The governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi has come several times to urge reinforcements, and Deng Ming has already arrived at the city of Chóngqìng." After leaving Guiyang, they met several groups of envoys sent by Li Guoying, all of whom secretly crossed the Yangtze River and rushed to Guizhou to ask for help. After mentioning the name Deng Ming, the eyes of all the generals moved to Zhao Liangdong's face, and Daniel Zhang asked on behalf of everyone: "General Zhao, how is Deng Ming?" ”

At the dinner in Kunming that day, Wu Sangui only invited Zhao Liangdong among the generals outside the city, so he was the only one who had seen Deng Ming among the people present.

"Deng Ming is much taller than ordinary people, and he looks quite brave." Zhao Liangdong replied: "I have also spoken to him and listened to his military strategic opinions. ”

"How?" Everyone asked nervously, in their opinion, Deng Ming was able to break into such a big reputation, and the military strategy must be very outstanding.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Liangdong shook his head: "Although it's good, it's not a genius, at least not at that time, and I don't know much about the formation of troops." If I confront him head-on, it will not be difficult for me to defeat his 5,000 armor soldiers with my 1,000 soldiers. ”