The next day, before dawn, Yang Fan woke up to the noise of people roaring and horses neighing.
After putting on his armor under the guard of his own soldiers, it was still dark outside. Yang Fan knew that this was the darkness before dawn.
After a while, drums were beating, torches were burning, and the army in front had already set off.
As the supervisor of operations, he was naturally placed at the back, so Yang Fan was in no rush to set off.
Out of curiosity about ancient marches, Yang Fan walked out of the camp, ready to see the majestic scene of thousands of troops rushing to the battlefield.
As soon as they walked out of the camp, they saw Zhai Changsun, Changsun Chong, Chai Lingwu and others standing not far away, standing tall in helmets and armor, with excitement on their faces.
Yang Fan walked over and said hello: "Good morning everyone!"
Except for Chai Lingwu, who was used to this novel greeting from Yang Fan, the others were a little awkward, but they understood the meaning and saluted Yang Fan one after another.
However, Yang Fan's casual behavior made everyone get closer at once, and they felt that this young Shangguan was not so difficult to get along with.
Of course, people like Chang Sun Chong who have a grudge against Yang Fan don't know whether they are greeting or cursing!
After seeing the ceremony, Changsun Chong sighed: "With such heroic soldiers in the Tang Dynasty, there is no need to worry about being unable to drive away the barbarians and win every battle. We are lucky enough to live at this time in our lives, and the battlefield will be stained with blood..."
"Haha!" Looking at the army in front of him, Yang Fan was a little disappointed.
At least from the perspective of Yang Fan, a time traveler who has been deeply influenced by the modern military appearance of later generations, the mighty and majestic soldiers of the Tang Dynasty in the eyes of Changsun Chong are actually not very good.
If Zuo Ying trained by Zhai Changsun could barely get into Yang Fan's eyes, then this group of government soldiers are just a bunch of mud-legged soldiers who have changed their military uniforms.
Apart from the strong physique, boldness and cheerful temperament of the Guanzhong men, how can these soldiers look like soldiers?
The marching team was sparse, the pace was heavy and dragging, the military appearance was in a mess, and there was even chatter and laughter while walking...
It’s almost like the aunts of later generations standing in line to get free eggs at the supermarket.
What's even more ridiculous is that these soldiers don't even have uniform weapons. Some carry knives, and some carry axes...
If these soldiers can be said to be mighty and majestic and victorious in every battle, then after the soldiers in your hands are trained and formed, can't they be called heavenly soldiers and generals?
However, Yang Fan could also understand that the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty needed to prepare their own weapons and rations when going on an expedition.
Although the imperial court will prepare some weapons and food for emergencies, the early stage preparations are still left to the soldiers themselves.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the weapons are not unified.
Perhaps sensing what Yang Fan was thinking, Changsun Chong deliberately said: "Marquis Zhongyi doesn't like me, the Guanzhong soldiers of the Tang Dynasty?"
These words are obviously causing hatred for Yang Fan.
As expected, several officials present looked at Yang Fan, with even a hint of displeasure in their eyes, hoping for an explanation.
You must know that these people are all people from Guanzhong. If anyone dares to look down on them, even if Yang Fan is an officer, they will definitely not compromise.
Of course Yang Fan can understand the behavior of these people, just like some people in later generations can complain about their alma mater however they want, but once others attack their alma mater, everyone will stand up to defend it. The principle is the same.
Looking at Changsun Chong who had set a trap for him, Yang Fan gave this guy a hard look and said: "Changsun Changshi, you can eat whatever you want but you can't talk nonsense. Although we are all colleagues, be careful of someone suing you for slander!"
"Besides, which of your ears heard someone say that he doesn't like the Guanzhong soldiers? In my opinion, the most courageous soldiers in the entire Tang Dynasty are the Guanzhong soldiers! If you dare to say that the Guanzhong soldiers are not good, even if Her Royal Highness the Princess has asked me to I will take care of you, and I will definitely not take mercy on you!"
This is really not Yang Fan's quibble or compliment, let alone that he dares not admit it.
It's just that Yang Fan's opinion just now was based on a modern perspective, which is why he looked down upon these Guanzhong soldiers.
After all, there is a difference of more than a thousand years between the professional soldiers of later generations and the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty, so there is no comparison.
Gushu
From this era alone, the Guanzhong soldiers of the Tang Dynasty can definitely rank high among the imperial soldiers.
Otherwise, His Majesty Li Er would not have been able to lead a group of Guanzhong soldiers to conquer the world in the battle of heroes.
The entire Tang Dynasty can be compared with the Guanzhong soldiers. Except for the Yan soldiers who defended against the Western Turks outside the Great Wall, the Yan soldiers who defended Goguryeo, and the Shu soldiers in Yizhou, the soldiers in other places were really inferior.
Unfortunately, Yizhou had relatively few soldiers, so the task of resisting Tibet fell on the Guanzhong soldiers.
Seeing that Yang Fan was not only quibbling, but also describing himself as a timid and cowardly person who needed to go through the back door, Changsun Chong became furious:
"I have been learning the Six Arts since I was a child. If I need your special care, Marquis Zhongyi should not slander anyone."
In his view, this was simply Yang Fanzi's fabrication.
It was just Changsun Chong's furious look that made everyone's eyes look strange.
The army worships the strong, and the most despised ones are those who are greedy for life and afraid of death. No matter who they are, it is impossible for them to regard their own lives as inferior to others.
Therefore, he was full of contempt for Chang Sun Chong's "back door" behavior.
Knowing that no matter how hard he tried to defend himself, it would be useless, Changsun Chong could only snort and stop talking. He even hated Princess Changle in his heart.
Yang Fan was not a pushover, and his eyes returned to the soldiers.
Looking at the groups of soldiers marching forward, Yang Fan asked in confusion: "Didn't the commander order a rapid march? Why are these soldiers walking so slowly?"
In Yang Fan's understanding, fighting in ancient times was nothing more than gathering troops and horses to charge into battle. As long as you were brave and courageous, you could win.
In this case, why not arrive at the battlefield quickly and kill him in the dark, but march slowly here.
However, seeing everyone looking at them like they were idiots, even Yang Fan couldn't help but blush, and muttered in embarrassment: "Did I make a mistake?"
"The military is a major event for the country. Marching and fighting is considered by Marquis Zhongyi to be just playing house?" Seeing Yang Fan asking such a childish question, Changsun Chong teased him in a weird way.
Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Chai Lingwu quickly explained: "General, this is a forced march. Today is the first day of the army's departure, which is why we have such a speed. After today, half the speed is already good."
Hearing Chai Lingwu's words, Yang Fan was stunned and didn't bother to pay attention to Changsun Chong's teasing.
The highway from Chang'an to Songzhou is more than a thousand kilometers long. With the dusty, bumpy, and winding official roads in Datang, the distance is at least nearly two thousand kilometers.
If the current marching speed is followed, it will not take more than two months for the army to reach Songzhou.
I made some calculations secretly in my mind.
One trip and one trip would take nearly four months.
Even if the war goes smoothly, it will take at least three months to destroy or repel Tibet's 200,000-strong army.
Damn it!
Yang Fan directly said a national curse.
I originally wanted to go to the battlefield to gain some military merit, but I didn't know that it would take seven or eight months to go back and forth. Wouldn't it be the coldest month of winter again when I returned to Chang'an City?
Thinking of this, Yang Fan secretly cried out in pain.
What a thing!
You are living a good life, but you risk your life to get such a job. It's really a shame.
Are we going to go back to the days of close contact with the fifth girl in the previous life?