11, Grinding (thanks to the first book friend 007 for the third time
Hundreds of thousands of people marched all the way on the road, and on the seventh day, winter arrived.
The sky became increasingly gloomy, and there was no sunshine for many days.
As the temperature dropped sharply, the marching speed of the entire team also changed.
That’s a slowdown that’s visibly slowed down by the naked eye!
Under the severe cold, the soldiers of the Heavenly Army who had been blessed by the system became sluggish and inflexible, let alone the more than 100,000 refugees behind them?
The various changes in the team fell into the eyes of everyone, with different expressions.
Just like Yu Jin and others, their eyes were filled with worry and there was doubt on their foreheads.
Leaving Linzi has left them puzzled...
And choosing to leave at this time is even more difficult to accept.
This is the end of the year and the end of winter.
Leading an army on a long journey at this time?
Now the expected scene has indeed appeared.
And it is foreseeable that it will become more severe!
Everyone looked at each other with concern.
.....
The changes in the generals were seen by Wang Zheng.
He also knew that few people would choose this time to dispatch armies in the cold weapon era.
Just like taking advantage of the rain to attack Linzi that day, this is common sense and common sense.
You should know that even in modern times with floor heating, air conditioning, and down jackets, some people still get sores on their hands due to cold, let alone the ancient times when supplies are scarce.
not to mention...
This is the winter of the late Eastern Han Dynasty...
A real harsh winter.
Because at this time, it was the second Little Ice Age in the history of China.
In the vast thousand-year history of China, there are only four well-documented Little Ice Ages.
It first appeared in the last years of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, which directly led to the 800th anniversary of Jiang Ziya's rise to the Zhou Dynasty and the ascension of King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty to the supreme throne.
The third time was in the late Tang Dynasty, when the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms appeared, then Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao rebelled, and the yellow robes were added to their bodies, which led to the Northern Song Dynasty.
As for the fourth time...
It was the end of the Ming Dynasty.
The final result was the raging of alien races, the collapse of China, and the last page in the feudal history of the Celestial Dynasty. Every sentence is sad and full of slave words.
Wang Zheng knew that the winter in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was difficult, and he also understood that what Yu Jin and others said was reasonable...
But even though everyone warned him, in the end, he still insisted on leaving Linzi.
and moved eastward at this time.
...
With the continuous military turmoil, all official roads in Qingzhou have long been unable to operate.
At this time, the Heavenly Army set foot on an official road that had been neglected for many years since its construction in the Western Han Dynasty.
It is now overgrown with weeds and bumpy.
There are gravel and potholes all the way.
With a bang.
A large cart that was struggling to move forward and loaded with baggage suddenly sank, completely motionless.
The farmer pulling the animals in front tried hard for a long time, but when he saw no response, he turned around and squatted down, sighing immediately.
"Another one!"
Looking at the broken axle, the civilian husband couldn't help but patted the beam of the car and complained:
"Seven or eight large trucks have had accidents today alone, right? The person who supervised the construction of the large trucks at that time was careless!
There was another creak, but the hemp rope was loosened, and several sacks filled with rice rolled down one after another.
"Why don't you worry?"
At this time, the supervising soldier came closer, looked at it, and snorted coldly:
"This car is made of all good wood, and the carpenter who made it is also a skilled carpenter from Linzi. How could it be so inoperable?"
"It's not like you're not using your hands and feet lightly, you're just pulling me hard!"
"Uh..." The coachman heard the other party put the pot on his head, his legs went weak, and he quickly explained:
"Brother, see for yourself..." He stretched out his hands weakly: "My hands are covered with frostbite."
"At the end of the day, every time I exert force, it breaks open. The wound gets better and worse..."
"I'm trying my best to endure the pain, but you still want me to be gentle or not?"
"Oh, I don't know what General Tian Gong is thinking. When is the wrong time to choose, why would you choose to travel in such horrible weather?"
"Be bold!"
The soldier snorted coldly: "The general is a god, and Huang Tian will tell you everything he does. How can a countryman like you guess it?"
"Why are you still lingering here? Go and unharness the mule first and push the cart to the side of the road. Wouldn't it block the road if you put it here?"
"There are hundreds of cars waiting to pass behind!"
The soldier yelled loudly, and his red cheeks, which were already frozen by the cold wind, became even redder.
"Come here."
As the chant sounded, five or six people worked together to finally move the uncooperative cart and clear the way forward.
Soon, another carpenter hurried over with tools and wood to start repairs.
While supervising, the soldiers watched countless carts passing by and sighed in their hearts.
Every car is so slow.
He looked at the sky, rubbed his hands, tightened the hem of his clothes, and prayed secretly.
Holy Huang Tian, it’s getting cold when it’s cold...
Can you please stop blowing the air?
I can't afford it.
...
On the seventeenth day, the wind and snow filled the air, and the flags were cracked.
The weather is getting more severe.
The snow has blocked the roads and made it difficult to pass.
The severe cold has caused more and more people with frostbite in the team.
The refugees began to flee and die.
Complaints began to grow and spread throughout the team.
Even the Heavenly Army headquarters began to show the same negative emotions.
Morale quickly slipped from the initial high to the low.
After all, all the system can guarantee is their loyalty to the royal government.
But it is impossible for people to completely lose their thoughts and humanity.
At this time, Wu Sheng couldn't help but came to Wang Zheng to propose to him.
How about we find a county town and capture it first, and everyone can settle down for a while to survive the severe cold season before heading eastward.
"Let them hold on for a few more days." Wang Zheng, who was immersed in the map, didn't even raise his head and just said casually: "We're almost there."
"General, you said this ten days ago, you said it five days ago, and this is the third time."
Wu Sheng muttered: "Don't talk about it, brothers, my ears are getting calloused from hearing it."
"You still have the nerve to say that?" Wang Zheng finally raised his head, snorted coldly, and stared at him: "It's only been more than ten days, and you can't hold it anymore?"
"You still come to me to complain? Do you want me to appease your soldiers?"
"I have to do everything, so what's the use of you as the commander of the Tianzhu Battalion?"
"It's not like everyone can't hold on..."
Wu Shengqiang raised his head and defended himself: "But I think it's unnecessary!"
"Cao Cao didn't send troops to pursue us, so why are we in such a hurry to go to Xuzhou?"
"What do you know!" Wang Zheng looked at him: "Stop talking nonsense and get back immediately!"
"promise!"
Looking at Wu Sheng sneaking out with his head raised, he looked around at the team behind him and saw that everyone had some resentment on their faces and their morale was low.
Wang Zheng also secretly wiped away the cold sweat.
If it weren't for the strong guarantee of the system, the soldiers would not rebel no matter how unhappy they complained. I really wouldn't dare to do something like this.
Taking advantage of the severe cold to march was indeed Wang Zheng's intention.
Take the initiative to cause trouble for your own army.
The main reason was actually the promotion process of Wu Sheng and Xu Fang, which made him a little disappointed.
The experience required for the fourth-level yellow turban platoon soldier is too high, and although the combat effectiveness is good, compared with the cost, the price/performance ratio is not high.
This suddenly made him afraid to rely solely on the power of the system to strengthen the army.
In essence, Wang Zheng had already had this idea. This reason can only be said to have strengthened this idea.
He has discovered the biggest problem currently facing the Heavenly Army.
Since the incident, everything has been going smoothly!
Under the influence of the system and the prophet, he rebelled while Cao Cao was attacking Xuzhou. Except for Yu Jinniu Gai, all the battles before and after were won too easily.
This certainly boosted the morale of the Heavenly Army and boosted their morale, but it also made Wang Zheng worried.
If one day they encounter a strong enemy and are at a disadvantage, how will they perform?
It is impossible to have a tailwind advantage forever.
Therefore, Wang Zheng chose to create adversity to temper them when he took the initiative.
The most powerful infantry in the history of the Chinese soldiers was formerly the Red Army.
It was the Long March that forcibly trained the invincible elites with an iron will.
Compared to the Long March, just marching in the cold wind, where is this?
The hardships, fatigue, cold, and continuous casualties incurred during the long period are not harmful to the overall strength, but they should test the will and physical strength of each soldier.
Also tempered.
Wang Zheng hoped that this trek and the severe cold would give his heavenly army a will in addition to confidence and a sense of honor.
Even if it is temporarily impossible to achieve a heart of steel like the Red Army...
It's better than nothing.
Everyone knows that this eastward advance is a strategic shift.
But only Wang Zheng knew that this was still a fiery tempering of the sword he held.