In 1888, the snowflakes in Tianshan Mountain were as big as a mat, and they blew down Xuanyuan Terrace.
The cavalrymen of the Jia Ding Regiment looked with their own eyes at the small town at the wind outlet at the foot of the mountain. A strong wind suddenly broke out all around, with a strong wind of level 6 or 7.
It's winter now, and it's already -15 or 16 degrees below zero. Now there's a strong wind, which makes their coats rustle. The wind and sand are also blowing, and the sand is flying around, making it hard to keep their eyes open.
Everyone quickly put on their goggles. The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and it was already blurring their eyes.
The Mongolians below did not expect the wind to suddenly rise.
Soon, the sky was filled with strong winds, and snowflakes began to drift. The snowflakes were very large, each piece was like half a piece of cotton, and soon the people and horses were covered with it. There was also a layer of snow on the ground.
Heshuote people are familiar with this place and know that Dabancheng is a strong wind outlet.
Normally, when nothing happens, there are often strong winds of level 5 or 6. Once there is a snowstorm, it will be even more severe.
But they had no choice. They received orders to block the Ming army here.
Because after passing here, the Ming army will face Tingzhou directly. Tingzhou is the last barrier to the Junggar Basin and the pastures at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Once Tingzhou is lost, the situation will completely collapse.
As a vanguard force, they must hold off the Ming army and buy time for the Great Khan's army. Now the Great Khan's large army has arrived in Tingzhou. They must hold on.
They can't retreat even if they bite the bullet.
Although they clearly knew that if a blizzard broke out, they would be frozen to death. Because the wind in the valley must be much stronger than in the mountains. The airflow goes out from here. Because the mountains on both sides block it, some parts will go uphill.
It flows slowly upward, but the airflow at the bottom of the valley below flows very fast.
Zhang Qida frowned. The place below was obviously a vent.
If he gives the order and the entire regiment rushes down, these two thousand people can be defeated in an instant.
But even if they were defeated and occupied this shabby town with no walls and only adobe houses, it would be of no value.
Instead, he exposed his troops to the strong wind.
At least the wind on the mountain is lighter. The wind is really strong down below.
"Everyone dismount. Let the horses lie down on the ground. Don't take off the saddles. Wait until the wind stops." Zhang Geda thought for a while and said.
He felt that it was better for him to be more cautious and not to rush in at this time to avoid causing widespread frostbite.
It was cold standing on the mountain, and it was colder while riding on the horse. Zhang Goda could feel the horse's four legs shaking slightly.
This is still on a hillside. Their horses are wearing riding clothes.
This kind of horse jacket is made of modern materials. Camouflage anti-stab fabric and Velcro, it is very easy to put on and take off. It can completely surround the horse's head, neck, torso, and belly.
Only the four legs and tail, the peeing and pooping parts are exposed.
Moreover, this time I came to the northwest to protect myself from the cold. There was also a layer of cotton horse clothing inside the horse jacket. There was a centimeter-thick insulation layer.
In this way, the horse clothing can not only be immune to assassinations and slashings with swords and guns, but also protect against arrows. It can also reduce the damage caused by smashed weapons to the horses while keeping them warm.
But even so, the horse's limbs were still trembling from the cold.
Because the atmospheric temperature and the body temperature are two different things. At the same temperature, if there is strong wind, the heat will be lost faster. Even if it is only a few degrees below zero, you can freeze to death.
So Zhang Goda made an immediate decision and asked all the horses to lie down on the ground and curl up their four legs. This way, the horse clothes can protect the horses to the greatest extent. People huddled behind the horse wall and used the horses to avoid the wind.
As the wind intensified, the snow below was blown up the mountain.
The snow from the sky also fell like goose feathers, and soon the hillsides and valleys turned into a vast white world.
Most of the people in the Jia Ding Group were people fleeing famine from the four provinces of Shanhe. They grew up in the Central Plains and had never seen such a strong wind or such a heavy snow.
"The gravel in the river is as big as a bucket, and the wind blows all over the ground. The snowflakes in Tianshan are as big as a mat, and they blow down Xuanyuan Terrace."
A thin figure looked at the spectacle of howling wind and falling snowflakes, and couldn't help but sigh.
Only after he joined the army did he realize the vastness of the world and how superficial he was back then.
Xue Haifeng, the clerk of the First Battalion, was a scholar from Kaifeng Prefecture in Henan Province. His family fled from Zunhua and joined the Yang family as a slave. He was one of the few slaves in the Yang family with a relatively high level of education.
However, at that time, he maintained his aloofness and was unwilling to farm or serve as a soldier, so he never made a fortune.
The literate people who came from the same period became officers in the army, and those who were engaged in administration became petty officials and lower-level retainers.
The Yang Mansion did not prohibit domestic slaves from participating in the imperial examination. He was always unwilling to give up his career, but he always failed in the imperial examination.
The land allocated to the family, because there are more than 30 people in the family, totaling more than 500 acres, is cultivated by his cousins. The family is still supporting him to study, hoping to have a Jinshi, so that he can have a good life.
Better development.
Later, the big families were divided into small families. The land in his own home was farmed by his parents and his wife, and the girls were farming. He refused to let go of his pretense of being a scholar.
However, with the development of Yang Mansion, he finally changed his mind and realized the bad habits of a scholar in himself. Only then did he realize that Bai Wuyi was a scholar.
However, considering that I have been studying, I cannot carry the basket with my shoulders, and I have no strength to farm. However, although I have not been able to pass the exam, my level of knowledge is higher than 90% of the slaves in the Yang Mansion.
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He decisively applied for the Lecture Hall of Xinghe Academy.
This is another way out.
People from the Yang family join the army. One is to start from scratch as a soldier. If they perform well and have military merit, they will be recommended to join the three officer training groups. The other is that the military academy directly recruits students from outside the army and applies for the military academy---Xinghe Academy Lecture Hall
.
The martial arts hall cultivates various technical talents and staff command talents. It is also responsible for the advanced training courses for officers before their promotion. The Yang family's regular army, that is, the infantry army, cavalry army, local garrison troops, lieutenants are promoted to school officers, and school officers
All promoted generals must go to the martial arts hall to attend school, and they can only be awarded titles and commissions after graduation.
He committed a terrible crime in the recruit camp and suffered all the hardships he had ever experienced in his life, almost in one month. He gritted his teeth and endured it. Finally, six months later, he graduated.
He was assigned to the Jia Ding Regiment for further training and became the clerical officer of the First Battalion. He was awarded the rank of Second Lieutenant.
These days, there are many illiterate soldiers who serve as soldiers, and there are also many illiterate officers who serve as officers.
Therefore, senior officers have staff to handle paperwork. Mid-level officers need clerical assistance. In ordinary times, officers and soldiers need help from literate people to write, read family letters, and deal with various problems in life.
Therefore, each battalion has a clerical officer who manages several small clerical officers and is responsible for writing work.
Clerks are officers, with the rank of second lieutenant. Clerks are soldiers, usually non-commissioned officers.
However, those who can enter the three officer training corps are all trained as officers. Sooner or later, these people will go to the first-line troops and the second-line local garrison troops to become the lowest officers.