The biting cold wind roared from the north, raising the remaining snow in the wasteland, letting out bursts of evil laughter, and then pounced on a group of people who were still walking outside in this weather.
The sky is gray and black, with large clouds, like the nobles who just want to lie down and do not want to change. Under the constant urging of the north wind, they are forced to gather together and face a tragic future.
, being squeezed to the point of crying and not feeling this misery at all was actually the norm for ordinary people in the past.
The suffering of ordinary people is that they don't even have time to cry, and they work six plus one.
Six plus one is not a single break.
Instead, if you work for six days, you can be rewarded for working one more day.
It’s not enough not to do it.
Tasting the taste of being forced by the north wind, the clouds cried.
An old pine tree stood crookedly on the slope to bear the sorrow of these clouds, and then, perhaps overwhelmed, when the group of people passed by, it shook off the snow water with trembling, causing a burst of yelling.
There are white, yellow, gray and black everywhere.
The occasional green is also very deep and close to black.
Of course, most of them are white, and the other colors are just embellishments.
Nature will give everyone who disrespects him some color, not just white.
Zhang Sheng sat on the horse, shrinking his head. He almost wanted to hide his head in the hair on the horse's neck. Although the horse hair couldn't guarantee much warmth, and it was also covered with some hoarfrost, at least it was better than being exposed.
Feel better.
Other people are similar.
Along the way, no one spoke.
In this kind of weather, walking in the wild, who the hell can still talk at length, and can still be heard clearly by the people around you, that is simply a fairy-like existence...
Zhang Sheng is a good name because many people use it.
The name was given by my parents.
Zhang Sheng himself cannot give opinions, and from a certain perspective, Zhang Sheng's name also represents his parents' expectations for him.
Live longer.
That's all.
It's not like some children who are born with jade in their mouths or with jade in their names, for fear that others won't know the dignity of that child...
And what about Zhang Sheng?
It just has more strokes than soil.
It was so ordinary that it was almost equivalent to the level of Zhang San and Li Si in later generations.
Therefore, with this name, he will often be asked, which Zhang student are you?
Zhang Sheng was about to be forced to tell his previous experiences——
I'm the one who tells stories.
Then others suddenly realized, "Hey! Could you have told me earlier! Did you write that "Don't bully young people into poverty"? It's so well written!"
Then Zhang Sheng could only smile awkwardly.
"Don't bully young people who are poor." The reason why people feel good about this sentence does not mean that it is really good, but that too many "young people" are "poor" and have eaten "
The pain of poverty is why I remember this sentence particularly deeply.
How can one understand the importance of peace without going through the hardships of life?
Zhang Sheng is lucky because he has more knowledge and is better at writing than ordinary people, but he is also unlucky because even though he has knowledge and culture, he still cannot be an official before he goes to Chang'an. Even if he is
More capable than anyone else.
Because he has scars on his face.
The scar is not big.
But such a small scar in Shandong was like a natural chasm, cutting off his path to promotion.
Shandong Confucian scholars and officials shout every day not to treat others with appearance, but in reality?
Zhang Sheng only remembers that his scar was from when he was a child, but he can no longer remember whether he got this scar accidentally, or whether it was...
After all, Shandong families are large and have many people with the same surname. However, the positions available to ordinary families are very few. Each generation has several or even a dozen cousins competing for it.
Zhang Sheng turned his head slightly and looked at the team.
His team all wrote books or storytellers, and some of them had a relationship with each other.
Why let them come to Tongguan on the front line?
Could it be that they were asked to write stories for the soldiers?
Isn't this a joke?
However, it doesn't matter.
As long as the general of the hussars really calls him, then even if they don't use their mouths or their hands, they will have to drag the vehicle, just like the horse behind the team, dragging the vehicle in the wind and snow.
, he is also willing.
As long as the vehicle is a qiaoqi vehicle and not a baggage vehicle, it will be fine.
Zhang Sheng raised his head and looked into the distance.
In the wind and snow, it seemed that the Forbidden Valley was ahead, and on the hilltop far away from the Forbidden Valley, there seemed to be some shadowy figures.
…
…
Tongguan, forbidden ditch.
Fei Qian stood on top of the forbidden ditch, looking down at the forbidden ditch.
In the forbidden ditch, many shacks have been built in sheltered areas.
These shacks built before the arrival of wind and snow will be more effective in avoiding the erosion of the cold wind than the camps on the plateau. The soldiers and horses who were originally in the barracks on the plateau have now basically been moved to the forbidden ditch.
Avoid wind and snow.
This heavy snowfall came quickly and violently.
But the snow in Guanzhong is not the heaviest. A few days ago, Fei Qian received a report of heavy snowfall in Yinshan Mountain.
That poor pigeon…
Maybe it's also a lucky pigeon.
Overnight, heavy snow closed the door.
This "sealed door" is not an exaggeration, but a real snow seal. The snow layer, which is nearly half a person's height, blocked the doors and windows, and even crushed some roof beams.
Fei Qian received the report of the disaster in Yinshan, but what can he do for Yinshan now?
Nothing can be done.
Heavy snow has closed the road. Whether going north or south, it is a disaster. I can only hope that Yinshan can survive it. I hope Yinshan has sufficient preparations beforehand, otherwise it may even eat the pigeons...
On the edge of the plateau, there are some trees growing crookedly.
The position of these trees is relatively poor compared to their previous partners.
Perhaps the birds that ate the tree seeds happened to bring them to the slope or into the barren rock crevices, so that when they grew, they had to be forced to bend their spines and lower their heads, forming a twisted shape.
attitude.
But they are also lucky...
Because many of the other tall, straight trees have become the beams and pillars of temporary sheds, and even the ordinary-looking trees have become firewood. However, these trees grow on the edge of the rocky cliff and are not easy to cut down.
The crooked trees have escaped the disaster and can wait for next spring in the wind and snow.
In the face of such wind and snow, soil and water conservation has become a joke.
Sometimes, it's impossible to want both.
There have to be trade-offs.
For example, under the wind and snow now, if you can't light a bonfire today, you may not be able to see the sun tomorrow. What else will you think about for generations to come and benefit the future of your descendants?
Only if these people at the bottom can feel that there is a future can the country survive for generations to come.
While Fei Qian asked Guanzhong to send as much coal as possible, he also took measures as much as possible to avoid the wind and snow.
In addition, regular military training and field operations have also been suspended to avoid more freezing injuries.
Lu Su left anyway.
Although he seemed to be putting on some pretense when he left, Fei Qian could see that not everyone in the world thinks that the ordinary people are important...
The high-ranking gentry children of the Han Dynasty played with various laws and manipulated various rules. The leadership that was originally entrusted to him by ordinary people became a tool to gain the personal strength of the gentry children. Collusion with each other became a common pattern for generations.
Another generation of inheritance.
Lu Su would be better than these noblemen.
But at his core, he is still a member of the gentry. He doesn't have many big men in his heart, let alone common people.
Lu Su would not stay here with Fei Qian, nor would he stay with Emperor Liu Xie, but would return to Jiangdong.
He has a good name: he does not obey two masters.
This made Fei Qian even more convinced that these celebrities in Shandong were already like the forbidden ditch in front of them, with a deep gap between them and Guanzhong. Even if they saw the scenery of Guanzhong, they still would not easily cross it.
Cross this forbidden ditch.
Shandong’s economic system is a small-scale peasant economy.
This kind of decentralized management of land in a small area, with families or families as the unit, uses the production method of men to farm and women to weave to maintain rule, and forms a self-sufficient economic form and a specific production and life pattern.
China was lucky in the evolution of the feudal dynasty, but it was also unfortunate.
In early China, there was a well-field system.
This early public ownership land system soon fell apart under the influence of technological development and the expansion of people's hearts.
Everyone wants to work less on public land, and everyone wants to work more on private land.
Therefore, the initial change from the publicly owned well field system to the small-scale peasant economic system with household production quotas indeed greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of ordinary people for labor.
However, the minister was not happy.
The minister wants it and wants it again.
So while they were shouting to praise Duke Zhou, they were poaching Duke Zhou at the same time.
The reason for admiring Duke Zhou is that if they don't do this, there is no way to prove that their ancestors have shed blood and died for Duke Zhou, so their current treatment is what they deserve.
Is it poaching Duke Zhou? There’s no need to mention it...
Looking at the appearance of the big man now, you can see how well these guys wield their little hoe and big rake.
"Lord!" A guard shouted pointing into the distance, "Over there...it seems like the last team has arrived!"
…
…
The warm shack, coupled with the sound of snowy ropes, allowed Zhang Sheng and others who arrived at Tongguan ditch in the severe cold to sleep in a dark place. It was not until the copper whistle at Mao o'clock in the morning of the next day that they were awakened.
Wake up.
As Zhang Sheng woke up, various sounds from the camp shack suddenly hit his ears.
Laughter, talking, snoring, mixed with the whistling sound of the wind and snow, and the crackle of the bonfire, converged into a vibrant and lively piece of music, which seemed to declare war on the wind and snow outside.
Showing his tenacity.
"Are you awake?" A voice said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? The general has an order. You have a rest today. You don't need to light the moon."
Zhang Sheng turned around and saw the honest smiling face of the shack leader.
"Yeah." The old cook responded, and then poured a bowl of hot soup from the pot on the campfire. "Drink some soup first to warm yourself up. Are you hungry? It will be breakfast time in a while.
...』
Zhang Sheng thanked him and sat beside the bonfire.
When we arrived yesterday, firstly, we arrived late, and secondly, we were really exhausted, so we basically fell asleep and had no intention of observing carefully. Looking at it now, Zhang Sheng felt that there was something different about the bonfire.
The bonfire was not very bright, only a little residual fire was left. It was not even a bonfire in Zhang Sheng's cognition, it seemed like a stove half buried underground.
"This..." Zhang Sheng couldn't help but stand up and carefully looked at the campfire stove in front of him, "There's something different..."
"This is what General Hussar taught us..." The old man chuckled. He seemed to be happy to see Zhang Sheng's expression. He gestured, "If you burn a fire here, the heat will go there... here."
, all made of fine bricks...』
Zhang Sheng was stunned for a moment, "You mean, bricks are used here... here? That kind of... square bricks?"
"Yeah." The old man said, "So, General Hussar is a good man!"
Unlike the low price of bricks in later generations, firing bricks was not an easy task in the Han Dynasty. Although the labor cost may be lower than in later generations, the costs in other aspects are high.
Perhaps they were awakened by the conversation between Zhang Sheng and the old man, or perhaps they were almost asleep. Several other people in the shack also woke up one after another, and then joined the exploration of the new bonfire tunnel.
"General Hussars, this is..." Zhang Sheng looked at the new discoveries they made with some confusion, "This is not a temporary building, but is it going to be preserved permanently?"
"How is that possible?" the old man said with a smile, "Next summer, there will be water in this ditch, how can we keep it?"
"Then...why?" Zhang Sheng couldn't understand.
Why do more expensive bricks need to be used in temporary shacks for soldiers and people like Zhang Sheng?
"That's not all..." The old man walked to the edge of the shack and patted the "wall" of the shack, "Look what is this?"
"This is...a felt blanket?!"
"No wonder I didn't feel cold last night!"
"Oh my God! This...is this just us...or is it all?"
The old man smiled very proudly, "They are all, they are all nirvana!"
Zhang Sheng was stunned and made a quick calculation in his mind.
This is no small amount!
Who would spend so much money on these ordinary soldiers and low-level officials?
Even if we wait until spring to dismantle and recycle these things, there will definitely be losses, right?
Is it worth it?
But the comfortable sleep last night, and the hot soup that was still warm when he woke up in the morning, seemed to tell him an answer...
Zhang Sheng felt as if something hit him in his heart, then he stood up and pushed open the heavy shed door.
The cold air hit his face, making him shiver. He quickly got out, closed the door of the shed again, and then raised his eyes to look around.
Because we have to choose a location that is both leeward and facing the sun, the shacks in the forbidden trench cannot be as straight as a military camp, but scattered. The shacks are scattered in the forbidden trench and stretch out.
It looks like five or six miles away.
Because it was windy and snowy, not many people were active outside the shack.
Zhang Sheng followed the trampled path and walked to the other shack nearest to him.
I don't know who said something in the shack, but there was laughter, quack, haha, hehe, different laughter overlapped together, making those who heard it couldn't help but raise the corners of their mouths.
Zhang Sheng didn't go in, he just stood outside the shack and looked at the other shack.
The same chimney, the same half-trunk into the ground, the same combination of wood and carpet...
OMG, if these shacks were all the same, how much would they cost?!
Zhang Sheng originally thought that he was going to come here to work as a cow or a horse, and he was mentally prepared to be a cow or a horse. But seeing what he saw in front of him, he suddenly felt that he might have thought wrong.
Unknowingly, perhaps influenced by the laughter in the shack, the corners of Zhang Sheng's mouth began to curl up, showing a smile, heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheijia...
…
…
There is a saying in later generations that if an employee quits, he or she is not happy with his job or the remuneration is not adequate.
I can't even drive away from a place where I am happy and have enough remuneration.
Many people understand this principle, and even often talk about it, but few actually do it.
Pang Tong and others did not understand this principle, and perhaps did not have experience in this area, but Fei Qian understood.
And Fei Qian started doing this...
Happiness or unhappiness is often relative.
Others have to sell their sons and daughters to survive, but if you still have a bowl of gruel at home, then you are happy, but when you turn around and see the rich meat and wine, you will feel that you are really unlucky...
Therefore, whether you have happiness or not depends on how you compare and who you compare with.
In winter rain and snow, it is basically impossible to do either marching or training.
Small troops and elite soldiers may have no problem moving and fighting in this kind of weather, but large troops would be quite troublesome, especially when no one can guarantee that every soldier can still be alive and kicking in the cold conditions of the wild for a long time.
Frostbite on limbs is a common problem, and wind cold may also lead to large-scale epidemics.
This is one of the reasons why Feiqian spent a lot of money and effort to build a decent shack instead of just dealing with it casually.
Dealing with the problem now and saving some money will bring higher risks and more troubles.
The emotional instability of soldiers is caused by war syndrome on the one hand, and uncertainty about the future on the other. People need to have a vision for the future, otherwise they will easily fall into a state of lying flat and blindly pursue immediate interests.
Especially in the army, if soldiers lose hope for the future, it is undoubtedly a very scary thing. Such an army will often fall into endless killing and madness, and the consequences are often disastrous.
At that time, the army may become uncontrollable and carry out indiscriminate attacks on civilians and prisoners of war, causing a large number of casualties and social destruction. At the same time, discipline and order within the army may also collapse, leading to mutual hostilities between soldiers.
Suspicion and conflict may lead to mutiny or rebellion at any time.
Such examples are common throughout the ages. In the late Roman period, due to long civil wars, political corruption and economic decline, many Roman legionnaires lost their loyalty to the empire and their faith in the future. Some of them began to become brutal
and lawlessness, plundering and massacring civilians, exacerbating social unrest and chaos. In the end, these armies that lost hope became one of the important factors in the demise of the Roman Empire.
The end of the Tang Dynasty was similar.
Fei Qian once wanted to set up a position similar to a political commissar in the army, but later found that it was simply not feasible. Not only because of the low culture of the soldiers, but more importantly, the Han Dynasty did not have the living conditions for such a position.
Therefore, Feiqian settled for the next best thing and chose another model that was more in line with the current environment and current needs.
"Remember the bitter and think of the sweet".
Zhang Sheng and the others came, bringing laughter, and the emotions in the soldiers' hearts were soothed by the laughter...