Three thousand armored soldiers left Bianjing,
Kill all the Tartar soldiers.
Wait till the day when the king's army returns victorious,
The inner city gate welcomed them with joy.
The poem tells the story of Zhu Qing leading 3,000 armored cavalrymen out of the capital to the west to attack Mongolia. The author of this poem is a poor scholar in Bianjing. This man is a peculiar talent, and no one knows his name.
Because he loved food, he called himself the Foodie. Later, he made friends with a group of foodies in Bianjing and formed an alliance called the Foodie Alliance.
So the author of this poem became a member of the Foodie Alliance, and later it became a nursery rhyme sung by everyone in the streets and alleys of Bianjing City.
We don't care how much this poem of the Foodie Alliance is written, but the poem says that three thousand armored soldiers left the capital and killed millions of Tartar soldiers. Although it is an exaggeration, these three thousand armored soldiers did show the power of the Song Dynasty.
Zhu Qing, dressed in military uniform and carrying an ancestral sword, set out on a journey with his three thousand armored cavalrymen.
Going to war is always tragic. These 3,000 Song Dynasty men did not know at this time what kind of purgatory battlefield would be waiting for them ahead.
There were no grand speeches or passionate speeches. This was a silent army, marching silently like a pack of wolves.
Apart from this team, no one knew how Zhu Qing trained them in the past month.
Zhu Qing asked Zhao Huan for a military camp and conducted a month-long closed-door training for the 3,000 soldiers. The content of the training was unknown to outsiders, but after it was over, Zhao Huan clearly felt that this army was different.
Zhao Huan named this army the "Iron Wolf Army", and their flag was also a lone wolf in iron armor.
Priority rations and advanced equipment are the most enviable aspects of this Iron Wolf Army.
Zhu Qing did not play by the rules. They camped in the open and marched at night.
The organization of this army is also different. They don't have things like lieutenant colonels, chief military commanders, or general military commanders.
Instead, they used code names, with a dozen people in a team, and the team leader was called Coyote. Coyote Team One, Coyote Team Two, and so on.
Zhao Huan discussed with Zhu Qing and decided to organize the army using modern military terminology.
Nine Coyote Teams form a Gray Wolf Battalion, Gray Wolf Battalion One, Gray Wolf Battalion Two, and so on.
Several Gray Wolf Battalions formed a Blue Wolf Regiment.
Zhu Qing is the Wolf Leader, also known as the White Wolf. Under the White Wolf are three Blue Wolf Squadrons: Blue Wolf First, Blue Wolf Second, and Blue Wolf Third. (Sorry, using battalions and regiments to represent the army is a bit awkward, but it makes it easier for readers to understand and avoid confusion.)
The Iron Wolf Army did not have a military supervisor, and Zhu Qing gave the generals absolute power and freedom.
In other words, the leader of this team is... All orders from the leader must be obeyed unconditionally. Even if the officials deliberately bully you, you can only endure it because this team will not give you the right to appeal.
The higher the rank, the more powerful the subordinate. This is especially true in the Iron Wolf Army. However, there is one thing that is strictly prohibited in the Iron Wolf Army: corporal punishment of subordinates. Of course, scolding is allowed, but beating is not.
Therefore, everyone in the Iron Wolf Army has a hot temper and gets angry easily.
"Qing Yituan, why are you so damn slow? Have you set up the tent?" Zhu Qing shouted angrily.
Ma Wen, the leader of the Blue Wolf Regiment, had no temper at all and ran over happily: "Wolf Chief, it's almost done, it will be ready soon."
Zhu Qing took a look and said, "This is about to change. Tell the Second Regiment Commander Kong Fuzi that the stables must be properly maintained. The most important thing for our Iron Wolf Army is not the people, but the horses. Make sure that no horse is exposed to the rain!"
Ma Wen clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Wolf Head. I'll be there right away!"
When Ma Wen found Confucius from the Second Youth League, Confucius was setting up a tent to shelter from the rain.
The tents were wide and large, not for soldiers, but for tying horses.
The place where they were stationed was in the middle of nowhere, with no village or shop nearby. As heavy rain was approaching, they had to hurry.
Confucius was yelling, "Hurry up! If you're slow, I'll tear your heads off!"
The soldiers were all busy. Marvin walked over, his armor making a clanging sound as he walked. "Mad Kong, Wolf Head wants you to hurry up. If you get a horse wet, Wolf Head will throw you out in the rain!"
The pronunciations of "Kong Fuzi" and "Kong the Crazy" are similar, and since he fought like a madman and was reckless, everyone called him Kong the Crazy.
The Wolf Leader's order was like an imperial decree. Confucius was furious: "Did you all hear that? Hurry up! People from the Second Gray Battalion, bring the horses in! People from the First Gray Wolf Battalion, quickly hitch the horse posts! People from the Third Battalion, set up the tents!"
Everyone was busy. The place they chose to camp was very high to prevent rain.
Zhu Qing's face was ashen. Although he was only sixteen years old, he already had absolute prestige in the Iron Wolf Army.
"Blue Wolf Third Regiment, how are the logistical equipment?" Zhu Qing asked.
The Third Regiment Commander, Luo Shiqi, was a loudmouth. "Wolf Head, all the weapons, equipment, and rations and fodder have been moved into the tents."
"Boom!" Before he could finish his words, a loud thunderclap sounded in the air, followed by a downpour of rain as big as beans.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Everyone, get into the tent!" Luo Shiqi shouted.
The Iron Wolf Army was in a chaotic but orderly state, with the soldiers heading to their respective tents in an orderly manner. By the time they had packed up everything, a heavy rain had arrived.
In the tent of Zhu Qing, the commander of the White Wolf, the wolf flag on the top of the tent was no longer stretched due to the heavy rain. Inside the tent, Zhu Qing was looking at the map on the table.
Ma Wen from the first group of the Blue Wolf, Kong Fuzi from the second group, and Luo Shiqi from the third group were all there.
Zhu Qing's face was solemn: "I don't know how long this rain will last. If it lasts for a long time, I'm afraid it will delay our arrival at Qinghe Prefecture."
Luo Shiqi shouted, "Wolf Head, we only have enough rations and fodder for three men. We could have gone to Daling Town ahead to resupply, but who knew we'd run into this mess?"
Confucius said: "No matter how much it rains, it can't rain for three days in a row. When the rain stops, we will set off!"
Marvin pointed to a pipeline on the map and said, "The road we're on is a dirt road. It gets really muddy when it rains. Even if the rain stops, even though we're cavalry, with all this baggage and equipment, the road will be very difficult to travel."
Zhu Qing looked up at Ma Wen and asked, "If we set out after the rain stops, how many days will it take to reach Daling Town?"
Marvin looked troubled. "If it hadn't rained, we'd have arrived in less than two days. But with this downpour, if we carry our equipment and continue on, it'll take at least four or five days, assuming the rain stops tomorrow."
"We have enough food and fodder for three of them. If we make do, we can get four or five of them. The skirt is good, but I'm afraid the horses will have nothing to eat." Luo Shiqi said.
Zhu Qing frowned and said, "We can't let the horses suffer no matter what. If the rain doesn't stop tomorrow, everyone should put on their straw raincoats, take their tools and go to the mountains to cut grass."
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