The Chishui Army was once a very powerful army. It was an army established by Emperor Taizong himself and was the starting point for the Tang Dynasty to expand into the Western Regions.
The first attack envoy of the Chishui Army was Duan Zhixuan, the founding father of the Tang Dynasty.
It should be an honor to join such an army, but in the more than 100 years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the Chishui Army has also deteriorated.
Shi Wulang was not a military household. He was originally a farmer in Wuwei City, living on a few acres of thin farmland.
Later, when he really couldn't live anymore and saw that the Chishui Army was recruiting soldiers, Shi Wulang gritted his teeth and signed up to join the Chishui Army.
When recruiting soldiers, the officer in charge said kindly that as long as you join the Chishui Army, you will get a monthly salary of 50 yuan. If you go out to fight or return triumphant, there will be additional rewards.
This is the reason why Shi Wulang joined the Chishui Army. He was not looking for a career, he just wanted to survive.
But after Shi Wulang joined the Chishui Army, the originally promised fifty coins was reduced to thirty coins. At this time, Shi Wulang already regretted it.
According to today's rice prices, the rice, flour, grain and oil exchanged for 50 yuan, plus the few acres of thin farmland at home, are just enough for Shi Wulang's family of four to survive.
But the monthly payment became 30 cash, which was not even enough for a year's supply of food.
But after signing the deed and joining the government's military register, Shi Wulang could not leave just because he didn't want to join the army.
The military judge continued to read out military laws. Once a deserter became a deserter, not only would he be beheaded, but his family would also be implicated.
For the sake of his family, Shi Wulang could only grit his teeth and continue working in the army.
Fortunately, a few years before Shi Wulang joined the army, the Chishui Army still fought a few small battles.
Relying on the rewards from these small battles, Shigoro's family survived.
Many grassroots soldiers like Shi Wulang relied on a little reward from the court to support their families.
But since Fang Guan, the governor of Hexi Province, took office, not only had his monthly salary been withheld, but even the rewards that were supposed to be given have been delayed.
Shi Wulang was naturally angry. His salary, which was not enough to support his family in the first place, was even less than before, and now that no reward was given, the family was already in trouble!
The last time he went to the city for public office, when Shi Wulang passed by the Hexi Governor's Mansion, he saw that the Hexi Governor's Mansion was installing glass windows.
Shi Wulang knew that this was a new thing from Longyou. The glass was more transparent than window paper and looked cleaner and brighter.
This piece of glass is equivalent to Ishigoro's annual income.
When he thought of this, Shi Wulang became so angry that he picked up a stone on the ground, smashed the glass, and shouted "I'll pay you back," loudly.
After he calmed down, he smashed the glass of Jiedushi's mansion, fearing that it was not the crime of beheading. Shi Wulang shouted twice and quickly left the scene.
There are many soldiers like Ishigoro who join the army just to support their families.
When their rewards were not met, they naturally became rebellious.
But Shi Wulang didn't know that the monthly payment given by the Hexi Jiedushi to each recruit was 100 Wen, of which 70 Wen was deducted by officers from top to bottom in various ways.
Even Shigoro didn't know that his name was not in the military register.
The captain recorded a non-existent Shi Dalang in the military register. Shi Wulang's monthly records were all collected in the name of Shi Dalang, and then he took out thirty coins from it and gave them to Shi Wulang.
The same is true for the rewards before and after the expedition. Most of the money given by the Hexi Jiedu Envoy Office went into the pockets of officers at all levels.
Shi Wulang feebly repaired the city wall. Relying on this ancient city wall left over from the Han Dynasty, the Chishui Army built a small castle to the west of Wuwei.
A thousand Chishui troops were stationed in this castle, and together with the three surrounding castles, they built the defense fortifications of the Qilian Pass.
The daily repair work made Shi Wulang feel bored. He didn't know how long the history of this city wall was. He only knew that the broken city wall had to be repaired every month, and the weathered and fallen stones had to be repaired with rice paste and clay.
However, Shi Wulang had never seen any Tubo people on the other side of the Qilian Mountains. He could not understand the meaning of this and who this castle was used to defend.
The heavy work day after day made Ishigoro very bored. Fortunately, the work of repairing the city wall did not last long. The team was blowing the assembly whistle and they were about to go to the farmland outside the castle to work.
It is said that the fields outside the castle belong to the captain's family. The most important job of these soldiers every day is not to repair the city wall or to train for combat, but to farm the fields for the captain's family.
Ishigoro had no objection to this matter. He was originally a farmer, and he preferred farming to repairing city walls.
I heard from the old men in the army that these fields once belonged to the Chishui Army. At that time, everyone worked very hard in farming, and when it was time to harvest, everyone would rush into the fields.
During the harvest season every year, each soldier can get a lot of food, enough to feed his family for a year.
It's a pity that Ishigoro didn't catch up with such good days. Those veterans were very perfunctory about farming, just holding a hoe and making random gestures in the field.
Even the captain just urged everyone to pretend, because the captain's field was still waiting for everyone to plant it, and the captain couldn't see it anyway, so there was no need to waste effort on his field.
Ishigoro is a serious person, he just can't bear to part with such a good field.
He used a hoe to break up the compacted soil. Such fine fertile land was now overgrown with weeds and the soil was compacted.
At this moment, a veteran shouted hurriedly:
"Enemies! There are enemies!"
enemy?
Shi Wulang disagreed. What kind of enemies could there be in Wuwei?
Aren’t they just bandits and the Qiang people in the mountains?
But the veteran shouted in horror: "It's the Tibetans! The Tibetans are coming! There are many Tibetans!"
The team rushed out quickly, and Shi Wulang followed. They climbed up a small hill and saw the densely packed Tibetan army in front of them. Shi Wulang was completely dumbfounded.
The horn of emergency assembly sounded behind him, and Shigoro quickly followed the team and retreated into the castle.
Standing on the city wall, looking at the endless Tubo army, Shi Wulang's legs were completely weak.
Since he joined the army, he has only wiped out the Qiang people in the mountains. He has never seen such a battle.
Not only Shi Wulang, but also the captain of the Chishui Army had never seen so many Tubo people.
Panic spread throughout the Chishui Army.
Dai Ze, the Tibetan vanguard general and the parent and son of the host Da Lun Shang Qi Xin'er, looked at the castle besieged by the army, and all he could think of was military exploits.
With so many Tang troops, this is a lot of military exploits!
How can we let them return to Wuwei City!
Not far from the battlefield, a hot air balloon was slowly inflating and rising into the sky little by little.
The players sitting on the hot air balloon are nervously live broadcasting the battle.