The rapid sound of the suona blew, and Mao Cheng shivered, then sat up.
"Bang -" The candle was lit and the room became blurry.
"Hurry up and pack your bags, gather urgently!"
The chief was minding his own business, wearing a cotton robe and packing a gift bag, while shouting: "If anyone is late, I will skin him!"
On a row of kangs in the house, a large number of quilts were lifted, and all kinds of stinky smells filled the air. People couldn't help but cover their noses. It was obvious that there was a lack of ventilation.
The briquettes burned last night have not burned out yet, and they still carry residual warmth, making people reluctant to move away from the warm bed.
But emergency gathering was a rule everyone knew. They had to put on their clothes, pack their bedding, put their swords on their backs, and couldn't wait to leave the room and rush to the training ground.
As soon as I went out, the cold wind cut my face like a knife. In an emergency, many people kept screaming in surprise because of the wind leaking from their ears and necks.
"Brothers, work harder, time is running out!" Shi Chang walked at the front, leading the way through the snow.
Mao Cheng raised his head and saw that there were not many stars in the cloudless night sky. The north wind was howling. Even though he was wrapped in several kilograms of cotton, it still made him afraid of winter nights.
After running about two hundred steps, a group of people arrived at the playground and found the battalion and team easily.
The team members were shouting to several people one by one, while the camp team members were squinting their eyes and looking around, as if they hadn't woken up yet.
In the cold playground, only some torches were lit to guide the direction.
On the high platform of the playground, the head of a regiment, who could also be called a guerrilla general, was admiring the messy playground.
Next to him, there was a soldier holding incense, which was as bright as sesame seeds, but was extremely conspicuous in the dark night.
Mao Cheng almost heard Shi Chang and the team leader's relaxed sighs of relief.
After a while, the sound of the suona suddenly started again, and all the noise ended.
And those soldiers who had not returned to the team or could not find the team on the way were all dejected.
The wailing sound was almost in my ears.
"Are all the brothers here?"
Guerrilla asked unceremoniously in front of three thousand people.
"Go and check one by one. Which battalion and how many people are missing in the team must be counted clearly for me!"
More than a dozen people from the regiment hurriedly stepped off the stage, counting one by one.
Anyone whose turn comes will be frightened.
It lasted for almost a quarter of an hour before it was over, and everyone endured the cold wind for a quarter of an hour.
After getting the answer, the guerrilla shouted angrily: "Our regiment, the second town of Yuquan Camp, should have 3,040 people, but the actual number is 2,957, and 83 people have not arrived."
"Two quarters of an hour, not even half an hour. Are you on the way to Midora?"
"Especially the third battalion, which is short of 42 people, half of the team. This month, your battalion will help the whole team heat hot water and clear snow. Don't forget it!"
"Remember, if you finish last three times in a row, Lao Zhan's rules will revoke your official title!"
"Disband——"
After the guerrillas left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Then there was a burst of cheers, everyone was happy that there was no need to clear snow or carry coal.
But Mao Cheng's face was rather bitter.
It had been three years since he came to Beijing Camp. By the winter of the 41st year of Shaowu's reign, he had already transformed from a new recruit to a veteran.
Emergency gatherings, or running with heavy loads, are long-lasting and popular activities in the military camp, because they make most people lazy.
As for him, he was in the third battalion and needed to heat hot water for the entire group, carry and unload briquettes, and clear snow on heavy snow days.
Who doesn’t want cats to winter in winter?
"You bastards are short of people again. How come they don't lack anything? Forty-two people, one-tenth of them, I'm not going to protect my hat, so I'll evacuate you first..."
Ying Zheng was cursing and his eyes were extremely unwilling.
The officers of each team went to have a meeting, while the soldiers went back to sleep.
The next day, before the sound of the suona was heard, everyone got up early and prepared to have dinner.
Although there are only three cooks in the kitchen at the team headquarters, they are all very agile, and the steamed buns, porridge, and pickles have all been arranged.
The black and yellow coarse-grain steamed buns are frozen hard and must be softened by the hot porridge before they can be eaten, two per person.
The amount of pickles is two spoons per person, no more.
Although the multigrain rice porridge is not so thick that I can’t hold my chopsticks, it is not too thin either. Each person is limited to two bowls.
After finishing all the steamed buns and porridge, Mao Cheng felt so comfortable that he burped.
In the countryside, we have two meals a day, but only in the army, we only have three meals a day, so we have enough to fill our stomachs!
Immediately afterwards, everyone cleared the snow all morning before going to have lunch.
While waiting in line, Mao Cheng listened to the complaints of his brothers, but his mind wandered to lunch.
According to the custom of eating meat once every three days, meat can only be eaten tomorrow. I wonder what kind of meat it is?
He was banging on his rice bowl in boredom, so an exclamation came from the front: "Why are there still eggs and meat?"
"Aren't you going to eat meat only tomorrow?"
"What does this mean?"
Everyone paid no attention to the rules at this time. They rushed forward in a hurry, looking at the meat and eggs in the iron basin, and they all swallowed their saliva crazily.
Even when the waiter brought a basin of oil residue, everyone swallowed their saliva in dismay.
This is a big deal!
At this time, the captain of the team came over and said, "This is a kindness from His Highness King Xiang. You can eat it with confidence!"
Everyone praised King Xiang with their mouths, but their eyes were fixed on the oil residue.
It took two days for Mao Cheng to understand that King Xiang was going to select some people from his regiment to serve as guards for the palace.
Single, strong, obedient, and literate.
Most of the children from Jingying satisfy the last three conditions, but less of the first one.
The age limit for joining the army is sixteen, and there are very few people who haven't gotten married after two or three years in the army.
Mao Cheng, on the other hand, meets this standard.
The entire regiment selected about a hundred people, and the second town selected a total of 500 people to form a battalion.
Seeing Team Zheng's slightly sad expression, Mao Cheng had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, in the spring of Shaowu's forty-second year, a thousand soldiers from the Beijing camp, 500 frontier troops, and 500 Mongolian Tatars, including him, totaling 2,000 soldiers, were packed up by the company and sent overseas.
Go and join King Xiang to join the feudal clan.
Thinking of the legendary Nanyang where snakes and insects are infested, smog is rampant, and her husband died young, Mao Cheng regretted it: "If I had known, I wouldn't have joined the army!"
Over the years, a saying has been circulating since Ming Dynasty:
I would rather have a seat in the Ming Dynasty than a brick house in the vassal state.
Inherent in this was the pride of the Celestial Kingdom, but also the fear of the vassal state.
When we got on the boat, everyone's spirits dropped by 10% unconsciously.
The sparse ships and scattered sailors tell the story of the poverty of this city.
Even though it took nearly three years to build, Xiang Guo was not as safe as the capital.
"We're here!" shouted, and a lot of people gathered.
Mao Cheng shakily got off the boat and took a breath, feeling that his nose was filled with moisture.