Chapter 1 1 Peasant Soldier
The vast water of the Yangtze River flows into the East China Sea from western Sichuan to the east like a long winding dragon.
Along the river, countless rivers merge into it, making the power of the river even more huge. It is really a river flowing into a big river.
If the Yangtze River is like a giant dragon lying in wait on the land of China, then the vast Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake are like the claws of the dragon, making the whole dragon come to life and seem to be preparing for the final leap into the sea. go.
The Yangtze River has been a golden waterway since ancient times. It not only provides abundant irrigation water for the basins along the river, but also serves as a channel for promoting material exchange between the East and the West. In August, the Yangtze River is clear and clear, with thousands of sails carrying a gentle breeze.
Huguang is well-established and the world is rich, and the developed water transportation makes it very important in the empire, and it is also an important troop transport channel.
"In ancient times, there was the Battle of Chibi, and today there is the Battle of Poyang Lake in the Ming Dynasty. Bah, bah, bah, where did I go? It was all one or two hundred years ago, and it's still today."
At this moment, a teenage boy was sitting by the river, looking at the sailing boats passing by on the river. Occasionally, two fishing boats passed by, showing the prosperity of this golden waterway.
In the distance, on the skyline above the river, the little boy knew that there was Jiujiang Chaoguan Wharf. Although he couldn't see it, the little boy also heard from his father that there were hundreds of taels of silver coming in there every day, which was several dollars a year. For a matter of ten thousand taels of silver, it is really the best place in the world.
In the previous life, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands didn't seem to be a big deal, but now we are in the Ming Dynasty.
The little boy still remembers that he received a piece of silver from his father. He said it was two taels and it was very heavy. He felt that it was not as heavy as the two taels in his time, but it seemed a little lighter.
Although I don’t know how many grams 1 pound was in the Ming Dynasty, I still know that 1 pound in ancient China was 16 taels, so it is estimated that 1 tael of silver is about 30 grams.
I'm still not used to this era.
The little boy sighed in his heart. After more than ten years of education, he had developed the habit of measuring grams and kilograms according to the so-called international standards, but he still couldn't convert them.
I rubbed my still red and swollen palms, and then remembered the palm of my hands that I had received from my husband at the private school in the morning. I felt a dull pain in my palms, so I picked up a stone next to me and threw it into the river, causing a splash of water and ripples in all directions.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong."
At this moment, a sharp sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from a stone castle in the distance behind him. The drums were beating rapidly, which seemed to be very urgent. The little boy unconsciously looked back, and saw a knight on a prancing horse coming from behind. He jumped out of the city gate and flew along the riverside path in the distance. It seemed that the direction should be towards Qianhusuo.
"Yutou, it seems something happened at home. Please go back quickly."
"Let's go, let's go."
"Hurry up, there are spies around, something must have happened."
A few children behind him who were still playing by the river now left the little boy behind, picked up the cloth bag from the ground, and ran towards the stone castle, all bleating.
The little boy named Yutou also stood up at this time, rubbed his muddy hands, bent down and picked up a gray cloth bag beside him and crossed it diagonally before turning around and trotting back with his playmates. The sound of oars paddling could be heard on the river.
Yutou looked back and saw that they were two fishing boats from Baihusuo. No, they should be said to be river patrol boats. They were used to patrol the river defense and just catch a few fish along the way.
This kind of sentinel boat is about ten meters long. It has a canopy in the middle to protect it from rain, and a mast in front of the boat to hang sails. Three or four oars can be mounted on both sides of the boat. It is especially suitable for fishing in extreme weather conditions. Used along the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake.
Yu Tou has heard from a sergeant that this is called Jiujiang sentry ship, which is produced in Hukou County next door. It is said that the ship has a flat bottom, curved hull, shallow draft, high buoyancy, heavy load-bearing, light and sensitive, strong and durable, etc. It seems to have many features and advantages.
However, in Yutou's eyes, it was just a wooden ship that could carry a dozen people. In his day, domestically produced oil tankers of hundreds of thousands of tons and aircraft carriers of tens of thousands of tons were trivial. This ship in front of me really didn't arouse the slightest interest.
It is because of these two boats that I have no shortage of fish these days. By the way, I also had a meal of hare meat, which was brought from the mountains by military households to honor the family.
At this moment, several of the sergeants on the ship were closing the nets, while others were adjusting the sails and sliding the oars on both sides toward the small dock.
When the children in front were about to run to the stone castle, they consciously slowed down and waited for the fish head behind them. The fish head was now trotting over there unhurriedly, looking back from time to time and looking at the boat. The sergeants have gained something.
After getting closer, many people ran into the fields outside the castle. Now they were rushing into the castle gate in a hurry. Most of them were wearing red clothes, but they looked ragged and a little miserable. These people from the fields The soldiers who were guarding the stone fort were running over. I didn't see many of them holding hoes in their hands.
"Yutou, did something happen in the city?"
"Yes, I saw Tan Ma going out first."
"That person is returning to the city, not from our castle. He may be someone from the city who came to report news."
Several children were talking gibberish to the approaching fish head.
"We'll wait until they get in before we go in. Then we'll know if we ask. There should be something wrong."
As he spoke, the sound of gongs and drums in the fort had disappeared, but people still kept coming from a distance and rushed into the fort.
A few little guys wandered through the fort gate and saw a lot of people gathered around the small square. They were the soldiers who had been summoned urgently by the sound of gongs and drums. At this time, they were all standing there. On the earth platform, an officer dressed in a hundred household clothes was speaking.
On one side of the platform, several people were guarding two large vehicles. One vehicle was filled with swords, shields, spears and other weapons to arm the peasant army, while the other vehicle was filled with piles of red war weapons. Clothes.
It's just a battle suit. It's not like those bright silver helmets and bright light armors that you imagined on the ancient battlefield. It's just some red coarse cloth clothes. It's just a little thicker than cloth, because it's the so-called cotton armor. I don't know how much corners have been cut, but at any rate It is still standard equipment, maybe because I am afraid that I can still distinguish the robes clearly after the suit is messed up in a war.
"Go over and listen to what your father is saying there."
A friend said with a smile after seeing this scene.
"You're so happy, didn't you see that your dad is also forming a team down there? I'm afraid there's going to be a war."
Another child said, pointing with his little hand at the two carts under the platform.
"Who to fight? Where to fight?"
"I don't know, Yutou, do you know?"
The children chattered for a long time without saying anything, and they all turned their attention to their boss, Yutou.
"I don't know either. I haven't fought in many years. Come over and listen to what my father has to say."
Several children speeded up their pace unconsciously.