Chapter 376 Everyone Deserves Respect
When Tianbao and his group followed Duan Dao back to the border of Dai Viet, the New Year had already passed.
Walking through the border town, the red spring couplets posted everywhere are the last lingering taste of the New Year.
Twenty thousand Dai Viet soldiers were stationed at Putan, five miles outside the border town.
The wide and shallow river beach is like a huge ice mirror. Tents are springing up like bamboo shoots after a rain beside the river beach, and their gray color shows the weathering of many years.
Before dawn in the morning, a whistle sounded and the soldiers quickly gathered in the camp's training ground for training.
A short break at noon, and continued martial arts practice in the afternoon.
There are only two meals a day, and each person can get a limited amount, which is only enough to eat 60% to 70% full.
After arriving at the barracks, the few of us were fortunate enough to witness the meal being served. The soldiers lined up in rows, in an orderly and disciplined manner. But as they walked aside after receiving their meal, their manners as they ate were completely different from the disciplined manner they had shown when receiving it.
Eat it whole.
Even Su Wu, who always prided himself on his heroic eating manners, was shocked and suspected that the soldiers poured the food directly into their stomachs.
When night fell, the soldiers returned to their camps and fell asleep as soon as they lay down on their bedding.
There was no fire for heating, and the firewood had to be saved for cooking for the soldiers in the entire camp.
Without sufficient water, taking a hot bath in the winter is a luxury.
Even food has to be saved. If there is a shortage of food supplies one day, the saved food will be the life-saving food to get through the difficult times.
The war horses in the cavalry battalion lived better than the soldiers. At least they had enough fodder to eat every day. The soldiers who cherished the horses treated them as their relatives.
Night falls again.
A bonfire was lit in front of the commander's tent.
The firewood was specially delivered by the soldiers and was a special supply for the commander of the military camp.
"I heard from the deputy general that you are important relatives of the commander-in-chief. Worried that you wouldn't be able to withstand the cold in your new arrival at the barracks, the forage officer, Lord Yang, specifically ordered us to bring you firewood." The soldier who brought the firewood was very responsible, helping to light the campfire and said cheerfully, "This is a special supply for the general, but he never used it before. Lord Yang even joked that the firewood he saved could cook many meals."
Su Wu was the most outgoing and could get along with anyone easily. He immediately started the conversation, "Why does the general never use it?"
"The general said that no matter whether we are generals or soldiers, we all risk our lives to protect the country and the people. Soldiers follow him on the battlefield and shed blood and sacrifice their lives, so he should also share the joys and sorrows with his soldiers. So when the general leads the troops, he eats and lives with us." When the soldiers mentioned the general, their eyes were full of admiration and faith. "In our Yuan family army, this is true no matter who is the general."
"You're also in the Yuan family army, which means you have a long military service as well! You're quite experienced!"
"Hahaha, with less than twenty years, I can't be considered an old veteran. The ones who have followed the general the longest in the barracks should be the deputy general and his group of veterans. Their seniority can be traced back to the time when General Yuan was still here."
"Life in the military is so hard. You could die on the battlefield at any time and never come back. Do you miss home? Do you regret joining the army? Are you scared?"
"Oh! How could I not miss home? It's common for men in their thirties and forties to cry in the middle of the night when they miss home! As for whether I'll regret it later... The country wants to go to war and recruit soldiers, so how can ordinary people say no? We are following the Yuan family army, which never treats soldiers unfairly. Compared with soldiers from other places, we are already lucky... Everyone is afraid of death. We soldiers are ordinary people, right? But when you go to the battlefield, think about it. You are guarding the people of Dai Yue, and you are also protecting your parents, brothers and relatives far away in your hometown. Then you won't be afraid! Only when the country is safe can the people be safe!"
After the bonfire was lit, the soldiers said goodbye and left to do other things.
Tianbao, Du Grandpa and their friends were roasting food around the campfire. In the past, everyone was always laughing and talking at this time of year, but today the atmosphere seemed a bit dull.
The soldiers' tents were not far away. Sitting here, I could sometimes hear the soldiers in the nearby tents talking and laughing heartily, talking about how fierce the battles were, how many enemies they had killed on the battlefield, and how badly they had been injured... feeling proud and proud.
The harsh environment in the military camp could not extinguish the bloodiness in their bodies.
Tianbao looked at the barbecue in his hand. As the flames roasted it, it gradually released oil and gave off an enticing aroma. However, he didn't feel much appetite. What came to his mind was the soldiers' meals he had seen during the day.
The rice is a coarse grain. In order to cook more rice, more water is added. The result is a meal like thick porridge, with each grain of rice swelling and blooming.
The more the amount, the worse the taste.
Even so, the soldiers were given only half a bowl of rice, and they could occasionally bite into the sand mixed in it.
"Grandpa Du, is Daiyue short of food?" she asked.
The old man turned the rabbit meat, which was roasted until it was about 70% done, his triangular eyes dimmed. "Of course we need it. When that old bastard Emperor Hongde was on the throne, he schemed for this and that, but he never considered the people. There are many people who can't even eat. I've seen a lot of them in my travels. Some of them live in worse poverty than the tenant farmers in the exile area. At least the tenant farmers can get a fixed ration year-round, but if the people don't harvest the crops they grow themselves, they really get nothing, and yet they have to pay every penny of grain tax."
After a pause, the old man snorted again, "You are all young. You haven't seen the natural disasters and famines in the past. When the bark and grass are eaten away, they really start to eat people."
Su An, Su Wen and Su Wu were also extremely silent at this moment, feeling unhappy.
The three brothers all came from ordinary families and could remember things when they were three or four years old. At that time, their family and even the entire village were very poor.
It’s not that my grandparents are lazy, they just don’t cook enough food.
The heavy taxes and levies are so heavy that ordinary people simply cannot bear it.
The people depend on the land for their livelihood, and the little money they earn throughout the year is all spent on taxes, leaving them with only a few acres of thin land to make a living. In bad years, the harvest is also poor, so they can only tighten their belts to make ends meet.
Want to buy land because your family has more people?
dream.
An acre of paddy field costs more than ten taels of silver.
For farmers who can only save a few hundred copper coins a year, buying land is something they dare not even think about.
If someone in the family has a headache or fever, they will see a doctor and buy some medicine, and they will have to spend all their money on it.
Although they have never seen natural disasters or famine, they have also experienced hardships.
Wheat Ear and Bing'er have been taken care of since they were born and have never suffered from cold or hunger. However, after arriving at the barracks and seeing the daily life of the soldiers with their own eyes, they were also shocked.
Soldiers are ordinary, but each of them deserves respect.
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