C197 Retreat to camp (1/2)
The biggest difference between Xiao Letian's new army and the decaying late Qing's army was that they had a conscience. When the pitiful captain kowtowed, the young soldier's heart softened.
General Ding, who had escaped, clutched his chest as he panted heavily, ”Xiao Letian, you are so vicious. Killing us once in the summer isn't enough, and now you want to dig us out completely? ”I'm going to sue you in the capital, just you wait …”
At this time, the janissaries by his side said softly, ”Sir, you can rest assured, the captain is my family's relative, he will not sell us out. Wait till the TIANJIN Wei, we will look for the general of the Manchu, so many people died here.
”Shut up! You forgot what Old General Li instructed before he died, no one knows how big Xiao Letian's power is now, who knows how many soldiers he's hidden in the vicinity of Tanggu? Did you know that the only official that was bought was Zhou Mingkui? ”It's not a good idea to show your face here …”
Don't look at how General Ding cursed, he had actually long since lost his courage. He only had one thought in mind now, which was to hurry back to the capital and deliver the news to the emperor and empress dowager. Two massacres a year, this wasn't even human life.
The sound of water splashing could be heard as the ice on both sides of the river was crushed. However, everyone knew that sooner or later, this river would be frozen solid by Zhou Tianhan.
's plan to settle down had worked out in the afternoon. The first were the elderly, weak, and handicapped who did not participate in the night battles, and what they welcomed in the morning light was not Xiao Letian's butcher knife but the organized commoners in the vicinity. There were carts of vegetables, rice noodles, and large fans of pork … Including a load of charcoal.
The ones in charge of transport were the villagers who lost their land in Little Wang Manor. The Chinese people were smart and hardworking, but since the land no longer belonged to them, they had to think of a way to earn money. In addition to the extra care that Xiao Letian had given to the three villages, it allowed them to receive quite a bit of private work.
”Just looking at them and you only know how to stare at them. I wonder if you would be able to help out. Are all of you dead?” Standing on the charcoal cart, the old Village Head had never been so full of herself in her entire life. As the large carriage blocked the entrance of the camp, the old man jumped on the carriage and began to curse with her hands crossed.
”You bunch of big-headed soldiers with heads full of dregs were tricked like stupid dogs by him. That Sun Sanhu confessed everything in the prison, he's a thief in the river, a liar! I wanted to borrow your hands to steal some money, but look at how excited you were last night.
”The has a saintly heart, and knows that you all are bewitched because you are poor to the point of being unable to go on with it. That's why we are the ones to send you all some food that can last through the winter … ”What are you looking at like that for? Open the camp door and help me unload the car …”
Good heavens! The old elder scolded until his face turned red, he looked at Green Battalion, who was so scared that he looked like his third grandson, and inwardly vented his anger.
In the three villages that were represented by the Little Wang Manor, manpower had all come out during the night battles last night. Almost all the young men of the village had participated in the battle. It was this night of hard work that had caused some changes to these simple and unsophisticated peasants.
There was no longer any fear in their eyes, only confidence and pride. Clenching their fists tightly, they could feel the power they possessed. After a night of shouting and waving of flags, Xiao Letian had already opened a hole in their hearts and sowed a handful of seeds. As for when they would sprout, that would depend on their luck.
The garrison soldiers could not believe their ears. ”What the hell?” Send us food? Or was it sent by the Mr. Xiao? You're not playing with us, are you? ”
Pui, the old elder almost spat on his face, ”Fuck, I've already brought you all the meat, eggs, and white rice noodles, what else do you want?” What about waiting for the Mr. Xiao to personally deliver them to you? You deserve... ”Grandma!”
The villagers didn't wait for the soldiers to make a move and directly rushed over. A few of them lifted up the barracks door and moved it away. The young men were even cursing and swearing.
”Mr. Xiao is truly a living Bodhisattva reincarnation, after the great battle, only then did Yue Yang's guards drink a bowl of legume, even if it's just a meal, in the end, they sent meat and food to you shameless raiders. In your previous lives, you guys did count as burning incense … ”Hurry up and set up the pot. Boil the water and stew the meat …”
Under Green Battalion's astonished gaze, the big pot stove was put up, the big axes in the camp were chopped up the hard frozen pork, and on the big wooden board, the tofu and cabbage were sliced up like hills.
In half a day's time, the entire camp was filled with the fragrance of stew and rice, making these soldiers salivate.
The Green Battalion s and Eight Flags Soldier s of the Qing Dynasty were all under the control of the imperial government, and belonged to the most primitive army system. After more than two hundred years, it was needless to say about the quality of soldiers raised by such an old and useless system. Let alone dealing with the foreigners and the Taiping Army, even robbing them was a difficult task for them.
This was a typical example of a soldier eating food. As long as there was a way out, whoever was given the highest treatment would work with that soldier. Of course, this was on the premise that there was no rebellion. Now that Xiao Letian had shown his sincerity, these soldiers had long forgotten about the kindness that the other generals showed him and rushed over to help chop firewood and bring water.
At that time, when the needles were pointed at noon, the soldiers who were retreating back to their campsite appeared to be scattered all over the place. At the beginning, they were all being very careful, but when they saw the guards already starting to eat with bowls in their hands, they completely understood that Xiao Letian's promise was not a joke.