The students did not disappoint Xie Xin, and all the students set off together with Xie Xin.
For them, this is the first time in their lives that they have faced death. What lies ahead of them is full of confusion and unknowns. In fact, it is this kind of unrealistic thing that is the most torturous.
But before they could endure this, this forced march was the first test of their journey.
"The insides of my feet hurt so much, the skin is going to be scratched!" After walking for more than a hundred miles, some students began to shout.
"The horse's back is so bumpy and my head feels so dizzy!" One student was obviously motion sick, oh no, probably horse sick.
"I've come all the way and haven't had breakfast yet. It's almost noon now and I'm so hungry!" complained a greedy student.
"The ones in the back!" Xie Xin listened to their shouting and couldn't help but shout back.
"The march must be quiet! Your complaints will affect the mood of others!
As for the problem you mentioned: abrasion on the inside of the foot is inevitable for novices, just get used to it. You are not a young man or young lady who stays at home, so don’t be so delicate, okay?!
And since it’s on horseback, bumpy spots are normal. Isn’t there an old saying? It’s called ‘vomit, vomit, then get used to it.’ If you want to feel better in the future, just endure it now!
The problem of food is even simpler. There is no time for you to stop and cook here. If you bring dry food, just take it out and eat it right away. Is it possible for you to let go of one hand to eat dry food?
is it hard?!
Remember, now we are marching and rushing to the battlefield! Even if we are one day late, the people of Jiangxia County will suffer more casualties because of you! If we are one day late, Xiling City will even be captured by the bandit army!
What if they become soldiers and commanders? Are you going to put tens of thousands of Han people to death just for the sake of personal comfort?!"
In response to their complaints, Xie Xin gave them a harsh lesson.
Although the words were a bit harsh, they were like a wake-up call and immediately made these students wake up.
yes!
While I was complaining, the people of Jiangxia County were living under the knife of the Shanyue barbarians.
Compared to their already precarious situation, what right do I have to complain?!
After the journey, the students no longer complained. Even if the skin on the inside of their feet was scratched, they gritted their teeth and continued on their way.
"These little brats..." Seeing them like this, Xie Xin smiled knowingly.
"They seem to have thought that they were also part of the army going south?!" Gongsun Du rode his horse to Xie Xin's side and said to him.
"Actually, if this were not the case, then this trip south would be meaningless, wouldn't it?!" Lou Gui also rode forward and said to the two of them with a wry smile.
"But having said that, this is the first time I have experienced this feeling of being a quarter of an hour late and worrying that someone will die because of me!" Ji Ling said lightly.
"For the moment, it can be considered a good experience!" Li Feng smiled.
"It's just a bit reluctant for us literati." Mao Jie said helplessly.
In fact, Xie Xin's treatment for these small troops who lagged behind the big troops was already very good.
At least because there are stirrups, they don't have to clamp the horse's belly, and they can even have one hand free to eat dry food, drink water, etc. on the horse.
But those soldiers, under Huang Zhong's order, ate nothing, drank nothing, and kept marching forward.
Fortunately, Huang Zhong was somewhat humane and allowed everyone to rest for ten minutes every twenty miles.
During this time, everyone can relax a little, drink water, eat some solid food or something.
Finally, when night fell, the group finally arrived at the ancient city.
Because of Zhang Ku's rebellion, the ancient city is now empty of all ten rooms. Many residents moved in later. The entire town also appears to be in a state of depression.
But it is precisely because of this that there are enough houses to accommodate so many soldiers for one night.
After all, when marching in a hurry, building camps and other things is really a waste of time.
During this march, Huang Zhong did not carry any military tents or anything with him.
The carriages carrying these things will be transported to Jiangxia County in Wancheng one after another. They will be transported to Huang Zhong's position probably three or four days after Huang Zhong arrived in Jiangxia.
"Everyone bury the pot and cook on the spot, and have a good rest! In the next three days, we will have to march urgently, and we will not have a good rest until the fourth day approaches Jiangxia!" Huang Zhong waited for everyone to enter the ancient city, and said to everyone
commanded.
"Here!" Huang Zhong said, and naturally no one dared to resist.
After Huang Zhong finished speaking, Xie Xin also turned back to the many students and said: "Next, you will all need help from the Military Supplies Department. During the war, you will have to earn the military rations and materials you consume by yourself!"
"Yes!" Although the students were a little reluctant, they still agreed.
Indeed, after a day's journey, although it was not as miserable as those of the mounted infantry, it was not much better.
Almost everyone feels that their bodies are about to fall apart. Now everyone just wants to have a good rest, so why are they willing to continue working?!
Just a word of thanks made them a little excited.
What you consume, you earn!
It is also a good experience for them to not have to rely on their parents and only rely on their own abilities to support themselves. Moreover, it is also an experience that gives them a sense of accomplishment.
Therefore, regardless of their fatigue, they rushed to the military supplies office to help.
"You guys, watch carefully!" Xie Xin turned around and said to Lou Gui and others.
"Here!" Several people understood the meaning of the thank you letter and ran towards the military supplies office one after another.
"As for you, rest on the spot! If you still have the energy, help them cut some horse grass and come back. I will give them lessons later, but there is no time for them to do physical work!" Xie Xin said to Wubaidian again.
The clan soldiers gave orders.
"Here!" the crowd shouted, dismounted and left the city.
An hour later, the students returned to Xie Xin one after another.
During this period of time, they helped the quartermaster distribute food and count the number of soldiers. If there were not more than thirty of them, they would not be able to do these tasks for a whole night.
"Okay, you are tired too. Let's take a rest for half an hour and have a good dinner. Then, start class!" Xie Xin said to them with a smile.
"Ah?! We still have class?!" everyone shouted in disbelief.
"Of course! Are you not proficient in mathematics? In order to enable you to do things more efficiently, on the one hand we have to summarize today's events, and on the other hand we have to learn new knowledge so that we can work more efficiently.
Face everything well.
In other words, in these three days, you have to learn a lot of knowledge!
From mathematics to military affairs, from strategy to intelligence, you must accept this knowledge!" Xie Xin replied calmly as if it was "natural".
"Oh my God!" Zhang Ming cried sadly.
And these four words he said are actually the aspirations of most people.
As for the few, they were thinking 'Oh my God!'.
Looking at their looks, Xie Xin could not help but murmur to himself: Hehe, it would be a good experience if we could have such a military training at the beginning of the school year every year!
To be honest, in Xie Xin's eyes, this Jiangxia counterinsurgency was nothing more than military training for the students.
Such a powerful military training for the beginning of the school year is not unprecedented, but it is also unprecedented.
In the next three days, under the heavy pressure of the letter of thanks, the students were indoctrinated with various knowledge while marching with the army.
If you dare to get distracted, Xie Xin will use ten tortures to make an eight-year-old student recall whether he existed in his father's body ten years ago.
Since the day when the top ten tortures were announced, Xie Xin has been regretting that he never had a chance to carry out these tortures.
There is no way, the students are so good, no one can keep up...
During the three-day march, the students were greatly tempered and learned a lot of knowledge that they usually cannot learn in the classroom.
Compared with three days ago, the students have matured a lot. Their ability to respond to emergencies is not at the same level as before. It is definitely higher but not lower.
In three days, they learned the application of multiplication and division. They were able to really help the quartermaster and handle some trivial matters.
And because of their presence, the solemn atmosphere in the military camp was somewhat relaxed.
The tension of the soldiers rushing to the front line was greatly relieved. Even because of the presence of these students, the fatigue of the soldiers after a long day's journey was also relieved.
"I didn't expect that students like you would also be of great benefit to the army!" Huang Zhong drank the water in the water bag and said with a smile to the thank you letter beside him.
"Haha, in fact, my students have also benefited a lot from their relationship with the army. At least after sharing the joys and sorrows, their future relationship will be stronger.
In this land of China, as long as they are willing to help each other, there will be a bright road wherever they go." Xie Xin smiled faintly.
"Is this your true purpose?!" Huang Zhong handed over the water bag.
"This is one of the purposes..." Xie Xin took the water bag and took a sip of water.
On the fourth day, under the arrangement and guidance of Xie Xin, the students not only practiced with the soldiers for a whole morning. Afterwards, the students also massaged the hands and feet of the soldiers to relieve the fatigue of the three days of rapid march.
"Report! The enemy is still thirty miles away from Xiling, but they did not launch an attack immediately. They are stationed anyway!" The scouts in the army suddenly came back to report.
"Do you know what the reason is?!" Huang Zhong asked.
"There were bursts of women's cries coming from the enemy camp, as well as the laughter of the barbarians. They probably planned to hold a big feast to boost the morale of the army before attacking the city?!" the scout answered honestly.
"Those damn barbarians!" After hearing the scout's report, Huang Zhong and others couldn't help but cursed angrily.
"There's one more thing!" the scout said cautiously.
"If there's anything else, just say it!" Huang Zhong hates when others only say half of what they say.
"The opponent's men and horses, after visual inspection, are about 50,000! Forty thousand are barbarians, and the remaining 10,000 are slave soldiers composed of captured Han people!" The scout hesitated for a moment, and finally reported the truth.
"What!? Were they voluntary or forced?!" Huang Zhong also hated traitors.
"I guess they were forced, because after the banquet started, they were all locked in a circle and took turns being guarded by the barbarians!" the scout replied loudly.
"That's good! Their presence will have a bad impact on our offense after all." Huang Zhong breathed a sigh of relief, but then his face was full of helplessness.
It is true that there are Han prisoners in the enemy camp. If they send out troops hastily, it is one thing whether they can defeat the opponent's 40,000 barbarians. But if they kill these 10,000 prisoners first and submit the battle report, they will inevitably be recorded.
Passed last time.
Thinking of this, he accidentally looked at Xie Xin.
"Don't look at me, just discuss it with the lieutenants!" Seeing Huang Zhong looking at him, Xie Xin turned his head aside.
Seeing Xie Xin's attitude, Huang Zhong knew that he might not be able to call him.
In desperation, he could only summon his lieutenants to discuss the matter. However, when they gathered, there were more than thirty childlike figures around them.
"General, is this okay?" a deputy general asked with a wry smile.