After listening to Jia Rong's words, Old Man Li didn't express any opinion, but just sighed.
"If I unfortunately die on the battlefield and am buried in horse leather, please ask me to find a good son-in-law for Xiuer. I have made an agreement with Xiuer. If there is no news from me in three years, I will let her marry someone else." Jia Rong continued.
Old Man Li said: "Actually, I think the young master is a very human being. He has his own unique style in words, deeds and opinions. It would actually be a good choice for Xiu'er to follow you."
"But selfishly, I don't want you to be a soldier. I never told you that Xiu'er's brother died on the battlefield. I want you and Xiu'er to live and work in peace and contentment in the village and live a normal life.
For a lifetime." Old Man Li continued.
"My old man's words are wrong. In my opinion, the world today will be in chaos. Now the eunuchs are in power, deceiving the imperial power, and people's livelihood is in ruins. In a few years, the world will be in chaos. As the saying goes, how can there be a complete egg under the overthrow of the nest? Even if there is no
If you go to be a soldier, you won’t live an ordinary life as the old man said." Jia Rong said.
After hearing Jia Rong's words, Old Man Li's expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly said: "Young master can't say these remarks in front of others in the future, as this will lead to death. In fact, I also know that today's world has changed, but
It’s just that I love my daughter very much and don’t want you to become a soldier.”
Afterwards, Old Man Li and Jia Rong talked about some issues that should be paid attention to on the battlefield. Although Old Man Li has never been on the battlefield personally, he has lived for more than half his life and still knows many things about the battlefield.
Jia Rong has always been grateful to Old Man Li. When he first came to the Han Dynasty, he was the one who took him in, taught him how to behave, and cared for him like his elders. Now, judging from his tone, he planned to let him go.
Xiu'er followed him, and Jia Rong secretly vowed in his heart that he would win fame on the battlefield and let Old Man Li and Xiu'er live a stable and happy life.
Early the next morning, the adults in the village had already taken the initiative to gather with their children at the usual training ground. It seemed that Old Man Li had done a good job yesterday when he went to various households to do work.
There are about sixty or seventy families in the village, some of which have no boys, so there are more than fifty young men aged fourteen or five in total, a few more than expected yesterday, including Li Xi, who has escaped several conscriptions.
He is also in the team, maybe he was touched by Jia Rong's words yesterday.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Old Man Li stepped forward and said, "This time when you go to serve as soldiers, you will be led by Mr. Jia, who usually trains you. I hope you will obey Mr. Jia's instructions on the way, don't get into trouble, and follow Mr. Jia's arrangements in everything."
.”
After hearing Old Man Li's words, the young men were very excited, because everyone recognized Jia Rong's skills as good, and they usually admired him. From the bottom of their hearts, everyone thought it was perfect for Jia Rong to be the leader.
.
Next, Old Man Li asked Jia Rong some things to pay attention to on the road, and the parents also said some farewell words to their children. Xiuer hid behind the big tree behind the usual training ground and looked at Jia Rong with tears in her eyes, whispering
He was murmuring, expressing his reluctance to leave Jia Rong.
About half an hour later, Jia Rong gathered the team. There were fifty-four people in total. Under the reluctant eyes of the parents, he led a group of young men to leave. The parents followed the team for several miles, but still couldn't.
Would like to go back.
Jia Rong persuaded them all to go back after a long time. Seeing their reluctance to let go of their children, some even shed tears all the way, Jia Rong felt that the burden on his shoulders became heavier in an instant. He was
Their leader.
Jia Rong did not go to Xiu'er to say goodbye before leaving, because he was afraid that it would make him even more reluctant to leave.
When they walked to a flat ground to rest, Jia Rong asked the children to gather together and sit down, and then said: "From today on, you must remember that you are no longer children, but soldiers; what is a soldier?
All I know is obeying orders and following orders and prohibitions. This is even more true on the battlefield."
"Maybe you are respected at home, but in the army, you are just a soldier. It is your duty to protect the border and kill the enemy on the battlefield. Do you understand?" Jia Rong continued.
"I understand." A group of children replied in unison.
After hearing this, Jia Rong shook his head dissatisfied and said: "Louder, wouldn't it be embarrassing for a group of big men to shout so loudly? Answer again, do you understand?"
"Understood!" the children replied with all their might, and the sound of fluttering birds came from a small forest in the distance.
Seeing this, Jia Rong nodded with satisfaction.
Now I will divide you into two columns. Please be careful when walking in the future. You are soldiers, not hooligans, so you must show your temperament and hold your head high when you walk. In the next few days, Li Xilai will serve as the commander-in-chief.
Captain, Li Li serves as deputy captain, cooperating with me in command. Do you have any opinions? Jia Rongdao.
"No!" the children replied, but their voices were not as loud as before. Everyone was confused. Aren't Jia Rong and Li Xi at odds? How could he be made the captain?
Seemingly seeing the children's doubts, Jia Rong continued: "Li Xi has trained us for a long time and is very familiar with our situation. It is very suitable for him to serve as the captain of this team."
At this time, Li Xi cast a grateful look at Jia Rong.
Next, Jia Rong taught the children how to stand in two columns and how to walk neatly. It looked much better.
Jia Rong emphasized military discipline to the children, that is, not leaving the team without authorization, not destroying people's crops, etc. After that, he marched towards the county town with "vigor".
On the way forward, Jia Rong met "soldiers" selected from several nearby villages. Several leaders who were responsible for taking these "soldiers" to the county town saw that Jia Rong and the others were doing well, so they approached Jia Rong.
Rong discussed it and got together to go on the road together. The total number of people in several villages was more than 300, and it seemed that something was going on.
This time Jia Rong divided the team into five columns and selected five team captains. With Li Xi as the leader of the team captains, Li Xi's original position was replaced by Li Li.
After several days of running around, Jia Rong and his party finally arrived at the local county town of Hechi County. The team also walked in a good manner. The "soldiers" in several villages were quite convinced of Jia Rong. Passers-by saw such a group of people.
The young soldiers who were walking neatly were also pointing.
Jia Rong looked at the vicissitudes of the city wall in Hechi County. Jia Rong really doubted whether it could withstand an enemy charge once a war broke out.
There is a place outside the city specifically to receive "soldiers" from all over the country. In a large open-air square, every village gathers together. The people living in them are all temporary thatched houses, and you can see those thatched houses swaying in the wind.
It fell, as if a gust of wind could blow it over.
Jia Rong and the leaders of several villages he met on the road chose adjacent accommodation places to facilitate taking care of each other.
Since the "soldiers" from many villages have not yet arrived, we still need to wait for a few more days.
After setting up these "soldiers" and having nothing to do, Jia Rong took Li Xi, Li Li, Li Shun and Li Hu to the county town to have fun.
The county town is bustling with people coming and going, which is completely different from the small town Jia Rong went to in the countryside. There are shouts and cries, and it has a somewhat peaceful atmosphere.
A few days later, "soldiers from all walks of life" arrived one after another. In some villages, the "soldiers" came in a group without any organizational discipline.
At this time, the county government will send a leader. Different from the leaders of each village, everyone will call him the general.
This general's surname was Zhu, and he was as his name suggests. He had a fat head, big ears, and a big belly. He didn't look like a general at all. Instead, he looked like a rich man. It was said that he was the county magistrate's brother-in-law.
On the first day that the general named Zhu took office, he took a few followers and walked to the high platform of the training ground.
A long, formal man in a robe came out from behind General Zhu and read out the regulations in the army.
Jia Rong listened very seriously, because he was the leader of the No. 54 people in Lijia Village and was responsible for them. The regulations in the army were very strict. He probably knew that the soldiers this time were almost all young soldiers, so he was even stricter.
.
One of them is that if there is a person who escapes, the person who escapes will be beheaded, and the leader will be punished with twenty pieces of stone; if two people escape, the person who escapes will be beheaded, and the leader will be fined with forty pieces of stone; if there are three people who escape, they will be beheaded together with the leader. Jia listened.
Rong felt a chill. There was no humanitarianism here, just mountains of military orders.
In the coming days, these young soldiers will undergo training for one month, and they are said to be sent to the county town after one month.
Every day, the task of Jia Rong and these young soldiers is to train. The training items are very boring and boring. There is a soldier holding a gun standing in front of the team. Every time he teaches, the soldiers below will learn a lesson. In fact, he is holding a wooden gun and forking.
There is absolutely nothing new about Ci Zha, and he doesn't care whether you learn or not. He will be sent away in a month anyway.
The soldiers' meals consisted of two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge per meal, which had no nutrition at all, and the steamed buns were also gray in color. According to a soldier who fled from other places, the food was still good. Natural disasters continue to occur in many places.
Many people starved to death.
After a few days, not to mention the other young soldiers, even Jia Rong was impatient with the torture of this training mode, not to mention the efficiency of the training. To put it bluntly, it was a complete waste of work.
After eating, Jia Rong thought for a long time and decided to go find General Zhu. He came to General Zhu's barracks. In fact, it was a higher-end house made of wood than the one Jia Rong and the others lived in. Let's call it a barracks.
.
Just as he approached the barracks, a tall, tall and thick soldier with a sword hanging from his waist blocked the way and said: "The military camp is an important place. You are not allowed to trespass."
Hearing this roar, Jia Rong was startled. Jia Rong knew this person. He was one of the entourage brought by General Zhu when he took office...
