Da Kui did not comment on Lao Huo's words. If it was a business matter, he should be impartial and impartial. On ordinary days, Da Kui would like to share joys and sorrows with his subordinates and talk freely with each other.
"I appreciate Brother Huo's kindness," Dakui Dukui said again, "I am new here, and I hope that I can help you with some things."
Old Huo chuckled and said: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. It's all as it should be. Why should Colonel Zhang be so polite?" After that, Old Huo continued: "We will start at noon, we should make some preparations."
Dakui nodded and said humbly: "Brother Lao Huo will give you some advice."
"You're being polite again, Captain Zhang, please," although Lao Huo was a sloppy old man, he was very sophisticated and considerate in his words and deeds. Dakui not only sighed in his heart, but having such a capable person as his deputy saved him a lot of trouble.
Back in the room, Lao Huo preached to all the veterans in the room: "Colonel Zhang is very kind to everyone, but we can't neglect it. What we have to do is as usual, everyone, get up." Although Lao Huo looks unattractive, he is All the veterans obeyed his words, and after hearing the words, they all got up and started working.
There were those holding the pots, those holding the firewood, those who washed the dishes, those who washed the rice and those who made the noodles. Everyone was busy performing their duties, and everything was in order. Dakui stood by the courtyard, having nothing to do. He wanted to help people with something, but everyone refused. Old Huo walked up to him and said with a smile: "Colonel Zhang, please go aside and have a rest. How can you stretch your hands for these menial tasks?"
Da Kui felt very sorry and raised his voice to the crowd: "I, Zhang Da Kui, am not here to be a freeloader in the army. We have to work together and have food to eat together." After saying that, no matter how much the crowd refused, he just started working with his head down. Holding some logs, there was an old soldier chopping firewood. Da Kui went over and grabbed the ax and said: "You go help others, I am here."
Under the surprised gaze of the old army, Dakui began to chop the firewood with his axe, and the ax fell down to separate the firewood very quickly.
When everyone saw that Dakui insisted on doing this, it was hard to say anything. Before noon, the porridge was boiled and the steamed buns were steamed. The old soldiers carried baskets and baskets and sent out the cooked meals.
Lao Huo came to Da Kui and smiled and said: "This is the case in the rear army. In addition to eating and sleeping, there are still one or two hours of rest every day. If you go out with the army, you will not even have time to eat and sleep." Dian Dakui knew that once he went out with the army, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the army would have to eat, so the Tuotou Army would be faced with a very busy situation.
It was already noon when all the veterans returned to the Huotou Army station. Everyone had a hasty meal and then got busy again. They washed the pots and pans one by one. There were still a lot of odd jobs. It was time to finish all the work. It's time to prepare dinner. In the army, except for generals and other leaders, ordinary soldiers do not eat breakfast. Fortunately, they are in the capital now. If they are fighting with the army, they may not even have time to rest.
For three days, the Huotou Army received the order and rushed to Peiping along with the baggage and food team. They stopped in Jeju Prefecture on the way and returned to the army. When Da Kui heard the news, he was filled with emotions. He finally had the opportunity to return to his hometown. I wonder if my mother’s grave is now covered with weeds.
On the day the team set out, there was a lot of traffic. This was the food and grass that was to be transported to the conquest army. Now that the borders of Shandong, Shanxi and Peiping had just been recovered, and the Jiangbei region had been experiencing wars for years, the people no longer wanted to farm, so most of the food and grass had to be transported from the south.
The Huotou Army used ten mules, horses and carts to pull the necessary items and set off north at the end of the grain and grass baggage team. People and horses neighed with joy along the way. The team arrived at Shishi Crossing and was then carried across the river by warships. , the entire baggage team numbered tens of thousands, and it took six days to cross the river.
The warship went down the river and reached the waters of Guazhou. Looking at the turbulent water of the river, Da Kui couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This is where His Royal Highness Prince Xiaoming of the Later Song Dynasty fell into the water. If nothing happened, what would the Ming Dynasty be like today.
After landing on the shore, the gang leader army and the baggage team gathered together, and the team marched north again. They walked for nearly three months before reaching the boundary of Jeju Prefecture. It was late autumn now, and every tree and grass in my hometown was no longer weeds. The miserable autumn leaves are falling.
The Huotou Army was escorted into Jeju City by a group of Ming troops and was separated from the baggage team.
On the streets in Jeju City, patrolling soldiers and horses can often be seen coming and going, but there are very few pedestrians. After the war, even the big city is much more depressed, but everything around it is still the same as before, every street and every lane is the same as before. Da Kui has left Jeju for so many years, but everything about Jeju is still deeply engraved in his heart, but Da Kui has a deep attachment to his hometown.
Dakui and his party came to settle near the Guanyin Temple in the south of the city. Because there were troops stationed here, the Ming army's military regulations strictly prohibited disturbing the people, so the Huotou Army camped in the square in front of the Guanyin Temple.
Guanyin Temple is the temple of Guanyin in the South China Sea. Although it was a year of war, it was still popular. Da Kui once heard his mother say that after marrying Da Kui's father, his stomach had not moved for a year. Later, Da Kui's mother came here. Burning incense in a temple to pray for a son, it turned out to be true, and Dakui was born the next year.
"Why are you waiting so long? Go and set up camp quickly," a school captain galloped to the front of the gang leader's military convoy, reined in his horse, and shouted loudly. All the veterans did not dare to delay, and went to their own business. Dakui was standing there. He was in a daze in front of the Guanyin Temple. Hearing this shout, he felt a little angry. When the captain on horseback saw Da Kui standing alone in front of the Guanyin Temple, he not only dismounted from his saddle but came to Da Kui and asked: "Brother, what are you doing?" He must be the captain of the team,"
Dakui nodded and did not answer. The captain held the horse and said, "It is a rule in the army that the leader of the army must set up camp immediately when they arrive at the camp. You are the captain, so you should know this." Dakui and the captain are of the same rank. Therefore, the captain did not speak rudely to Dakui.
Dakui smiled and said: "I know this. I am from Jeju. I just came from the capital. I am a little homesick after being away for many years."
The captain smiled and said: "This is also human nature. I have said what I need to say. General Pang is very strict in running the army. You can't be careless."
Hearing this, Dakui nodded and said, "Thank you for the heads up. My brothers are busy with military affairs, so I won't bother you."
As they said goodbye, Dakui went to arrange for people to set up camp.
A large tent was simply set up with four tall poles. There were dozens of pots and stoves made of bluestone in the tent. Each person guarded a big pot, and then they started to make a fire. Dakui brought a bundle of firewood to the pot. At the stove, he began to slowly add firewood to the bottom of the pot. As the fire grew stronger, Dakui's mind drifted back to Wulitun. After so many years, he no longer knew what his home was like.
When the meal was ready, there were already soldiers waiting in a long line. The veterans distributed bowls, chopsticks, steamed buns, and porridge and water. Everything was in order. After receiving the meal, the soldiers dispersed and found an open space to squat on the ground to eat and drink. After receiving the meals one by one, Dakui discovered that there were less than two thousand people coming to eat. To seek the truth, Dakui brought a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns to a soldier.
"Brother, you are such a big man. You can't eat enough with two steamed buns. Come and eat mine." Da Kui smiled and chatted with a soldier and handed the steamed bun in his hand over. The soldier saw that Da Kui was a school captain. He didn't dare to take the steamed buns, and he didn't bother to eat, so he hurriedly refused. Da Kui smiled and forced the steamed buns to him, then pretended that nothing happened and sat down on the floor to drink porridge.
"Thank you, big brother," the soldier said, holding two steamed buns and looking at Da Kui with tears in his eyes.
"Why bother? Eat quickly." Da Kui put down the porridge bowl and asked, "I wonder who General Pang is."
The soldier was devouring his food, and he hesitated when he heard the words: "General Pang's name is Pang Heihu, and he is the vanguard general under Governor Tang Hetang." He took a sip of porridge and swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth.
Dakui nodded and asked: "Even if we are the vanguard, why are there only these two thousand people?"
When the soldiers heard this, they stopped eating and drinking. Instead, they sat on the ground with their hands on their knees and began to cry.
"Little brother, why are you doing this?" Dakui asked hurriedly.
The soldier cried for a long time, and then choked up and said: "A few months ago, Governor Tang received military orders to attack Longzhou (now Longxian, Shaanxi), Qinzhou (now west of Tianshui, Gansu), and Fuqiang (now Gangu, Gansu). As the vanguard, General Pang naturally had to bear the brunt. Unexpectedly, he encountered an ambush in Fuqiang, and nearly half of the army was killed or injured. He had no choice but to retreat to Shanxi. Later, General Pang received an order from Governor Tang and ordered me to come to Jeju for preparations."
Hearing this, Dakui couldn't help but praise: "You are very good. You can be ashamed of being defeated. If all the soldiers under Tang Dudu are as shameful as you in defeat, why worry about failure?"
When the soldier heard this sentence, he wailed: "My brother died in the battle, wuwuwuwu," and actually sat on the ground and cried loudly.
Not only was Dakui depressed, it turned out that this brother had something different to grieve about.
After taking the porridge bowl, Dakui stood up and wanted to persuade the soldier, but after opening his mouth several times, he was at a loss for words. Returning to the old army, Dakui took two more steamed buns and put them in the soldier's bowl. Said: "Eat, you will feel better when you are full,"
It turned out that after being forced to withdraw from the Central Plains, the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty headed by Tuohuan Tiemu'er (Huizong of the Yuan Dynasty) still hoped to regain control of the Central Plains and recapture most of the capital. In the second year of Hongwu, Yuan Huizong ordered the prime minister to station his troops in Baihe and attack Tongzhou. At that time, the Ming army sent troops to the Qin and Jin Dynasties, and Tongzhou was weakly defended, with less than a thousand men. The guard general Cao Liangchen expected that although the Yuan soldiers were large, their morale was not high, so he adopted bluff tactics and quickly withdrew without knowing the true situation, thereby eliminating the Yuan army's pressure on the border. To threaten the Ming Dynasty, Chang Yuchun happened to die in the Ming army. His deputy general Li Wenzhong took his place and led his troops northward to seize Shangdu. The Yuan army was unable to defeat the enemy and retreated steadily, and it never recovered.
However, there was Timur (Wang Baobao) in Gansu, Li Siqi in Shaanxi, and Zhang Liangbi in Shanxi. Each of the three Yuanting lords occupied one side. Xu Da led his army in a fierce battle with Zhang Liangbi in Shanxi, and fought all the way to seize the city. Defeated, Zhang Liangbi finally surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in desperation.
As the saying goes: Kill ten thousand enemies and lose three thousand. Under Xu Da's command, Tang He's troops were the sharpest swords in the army, and the vanguard army led by Tang He's vanguard Pang Heihu was also the backbone of Tang He's army. Such an elite division still suffered more than half of its casualties, which shows how tragic the battle was.