After the fall of Fu'an City, the surrendered troops, numbering only two thousand soldiers, were all sent by Gu Qian to Ganzhou City to farm.
He practices the path of benevolence and righteousness, and seeks the support of the people.
Influenced by Qiu Yan, he loved the countryside and farming, and his ideal life was one of men tilling the fields and women weaving.
Gu Qian dispatched a few personal guards and left three thousand soldiers to defend the city gates.
The remaining three thousand soldiers included some wounded soldiers.
Gu Qian meant that they should stay here to defend the city and recuperate.
Zhao Jun, Zhao Zheng, and Xia Minhan were all injured and were originally supposed to stay in Fu'an City.
However, the three men simply bandaged themselves up, reported to their superiors, and then joined the marching column.
If they win this battle, the honor will be paramount to them.
The army rested for a day and continued their journey the following day.
As dusk fell, after marching more than 300 li, the weather turned dark.
Gu Qian had just given the order for the soldiers to set up camp.
The camp was ready in no time.
The cooks set up their pots and pans to prepare meals, continuing their daily lives.
Qiu Dayu and the others then rested.
Zhao Chuan continued to lament the unfairness of fate.
"Why aren't we among the soldiers assigned to defend the city walls?"
Zhao Yi shook his head, not wanting to pay any more attention to Zhao Chuan.
Qiu Dayu patted Zhao Chuan on the shoulder.
"Isn't it good to go on military campaigns and hone one's skills?"
He is still waiting to make a name for himself and return home in military uniform. At that time, they will surely be very impressive.
"Oh no, I'm scared." Zhao Chuan shrank back, silently shedding tears.
Qiu Dayu sighed, "Why is a grown man crying?"
"I didn't," Zhao Chuan said, turning his head away and refusing to admit it.
Qiu Dayu knew Zhao Chuan was in a bad mood and felt somewhat guilty.
If I had known Zhao Chuan was so cowardly, I should have pleaded with General Gu on his behalf today and let him stay in Fu'an.
After dinner, he met up with Zhao Chuan and Zhao Yi again and chatted about everyday things.
Before they knew it, Zhao Jun and Zhao Zheng also came to listen. Normally, they never liked to talk about family matters, but since joining the army, their hearts had become much closer, and their relationship was much closer than that of the people in Lingnan Village.
Before Qiu Dayu, he was not familiar with Zhao Jun and Zhao Zheng and had almost no contact with them.
In their Lingnan Village, Zhao Jun and Zhao Zheng are the embodiment of justice, while he and Zhao Chuan, Zhao Yi, and others are the village's recognized scoundrels, and are simply not on the same side.
At some point, Xia Minhan and her fellow villagers also came to listen.
Upon seeing Xia Minhan, Zhao Zheng recalled the events of the day and felt extremely grateful.
Although their injuries had not yet healed, none of them uttered a single complaint.
Gradually, Qiu Dayu, as usual, began to gesticulate wildly, telling the soldiers around him amusing stories about the restaurant.
"Let me tell you, I'm not bragging, but I'm the second-in-command of Xingyue Restaurant in Baiyang. Under my management, the business is booming."
"Why did you give up your perfectly good business to join the army?"
Qiu Dayu: "The rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every citizen."
“Brother Yu is ambitious. I am only here because my family is poor, and I just want to have food to eat in the army.”
“My family was also short of money and couldn’t pay their taxes, so they used me to pay off their debts.”
Qiu Dayu: "You were all forced to participate. In our village, Zhao Jun and Zhao Zheng participated voluntarily."
"I also volunteered to join the army. There are dozens of taels of military pay every year."
"I heard that the court is in dire straits, and this year's military pay will probably only be a little over twenty taels."
"Why is there so little?"
"That's better than nothing. We peasants can't even earn a few taels of silver a year."
"..."
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