The ambush on the grassland cavalries was a complete victory. When cleaning the battlefield, Yang Erxi, who killed three enemies and wounded two, gained the right to choose the spoils from the dead enemies.
The wealth plundered by these cavalries was naturally handed over to the imperial court. The so-called spoils were nothing more than armor and weapons.
But the leather armor used by the grassland cavalries was like a tattered fig leaf in the eyes of the former regular Tang Army. No one was interested in it, so they could only target those sabers and arrows.
Yang Erxi wanted to change his saber.
The pitchfork was sharpened and could be used to kill people. After many battles, he was very comfortable with it. But after all, it was a farming tool used for weeding, so it was always a little inconvenient.
Before the Tang soldiers left the barracks, they could get the honor of bringing their weapons home by the number of years they had served in the army and their daily achievements. No one would be willing to leave the weapons that had accompanied them for many years. Most people would choose to exchange, and finally it became a tradition of the Tang Army.
Yang Erxi was famous for his archery in the army, so he chose to take the boxwood bow back to his hometown and leave the saber in the army. Now he found that his companions all took the saber home from the barracks, and he felt a little uncomfortable.
So he wanted to change his saber.
The two grassland cavalrymen who were shot dead at the beginning had lost their sabers. That was why he asked his companion to leave the last one to him.
Yang Erxi thanked his considerate companions, picked up the scimitar from the bodies of the grassland cavalries, and twirled it. Although he was still not used to it, he felt it was much better than the pitchfork.
With a sharp and good saber, the pitchfork looked a little clumsy and ugly. But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't bear to throw it away, so he carried the pitchfork on his shoulder and walked into the forest.
After a while, he walked out of the woods with a black object swaying on the pitchfork. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the cured pork leg that he had brought with him when he left. All that was left was the trotter.
His companions watched it for a few days, and finally couldn't stand it anymore. They all laughed, "Erxi, you should stew the poor pig trotters and eat them, or throw them away. Why do you hang them on the pitchfork all day long?"
Yang Erxi wouldn't listen to them, and said, "My wife gave it to you. Eat it slowly. When I pickled it, I used a lot of salt. When I smoked it, I used pine and cypress branches, so it wouldn't go bad."
His companions laughed, and absolutely no one had any interest in the poor pig trotters.
Yang Erxi felt there was some movement beside him. He turned around and saw a little hand gently pulling the corner of his clothes. It was the little girl who had almost been killed by the grassland cavalries.
Looking at the dirty little face, he thought of his daughter, and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. we will drive those bad people away tomorrow."
The little girl wasn't here to talk to him, and there was no fear in her eyes. Instead, there was a luster in them, and a stream of saliva flowed down from the corner of her mouth.
Yang Erxi followed her gaze and found that she had been staring at the pork trotters hanging on the pitchfork.
The little girl. of. "The little girl's eyes kept moving with her, looking face, and, and said.
After thinking for a moment, he removed the pig trotter and stuffed it into the little girl's arms.
The little girl laughed happily, wiped the saliva from her mouth, and bowed to him to express her gratitude. Then she ran to her grandmother, shouting something as she ran.
One of his companions came to Yang Erxi and said, "Her whole family was killed. Only her grandmother and her granddaughter survived by hiding in the cellar."
Yang Erxi looked at the little girl's back and said nothing.
They left half of their rations for the refugees in the village, and then drew a simple map, telling them that there was a temporary government office of the imperial court in charge of gathering the refugees and retreating 17 miles away in the southwest.
After doing these things, they pulled the twenty or so uninjured horses and left the village.
The next morning, these retired Tang soldiers met with the main force.
"Yang Erxi, you're good. You got a knife so quickly."
A cavalryman looked at him and said.
Yang Erxi said proudly, "It's nothing. It took me a lot of effort to kill the three barbarians. Speaking of which, if it weren't for me not wanting to fight for credit, the two who were seriously injured by me would have been on my account."
The cavalryman laughed and said, "Good, good. I won't forget to report to the commander and record your credit."
"Don't forget that I was in the border army in the second year of the Tianqi era. What's with your attitude?"
Yang Erxi laughed and scolded him. He carried the pitchfork and followed his companions into the forest.
The cavalryman held his horse's belly and came to a hillside along another road. He came to the side of the commander's horse and reported in a low voice the military information he had just received.
Liu Si, the commander of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion, nodded solemnly and raised his hand to signal the cavalryman to leave. Then he looked at the middle-aged man beside him and said, "Long Qing sped up and missed us."
The middle-aged man was dressed in cyan and looked calm. He was particularly eye-catching among the hundreds of cavalrymen of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion. It was Chao Xiaoshu.
Chao Xiaoshu said, "Long Qing was too anxious and the defense of the prefecture and county was too weak."
Liu Si said, "The prefecture and county army could fight on foot, but they couldn't do anything against the grassland cavalry. They fought hard and tried their best."
Chao Xiaoshu said, "I don't mean to blame them. Among the prefecture and county army, only the Gushan Commandery has real combat power. Hua Shanyue did a good job as the commander of the three prefectures, but most of his soldiers were transferred to the Northern Military Camp to resist the Golden Tribe Royal Court from the south. So we can't count on him. "
Liu Si was a little depressed. He followed Chao Xiaoshu and eight hundred cavalrymen of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion out of Chang 'an to the Eastern Border. It was difficult and dangerous along the way. They also fought with the grassland cavalry several times, but they couldn't fundamentally change the situation.
Because they were too few in number, they didn't even dare to meet Long Qing's main cavalry.
Chao Xiaoshu said, "Don't think too much. Although they can only harass and chase, at least they can keep the barbarians from being too presumptuous. The people of the Eastern Border will also suffer a little less."
After saying this, he looked at the volunteer soldiers who were gradually disappearing into the forest and said with admiration, "If it weren't for them, the situation would be really unmanageable."
…
…
There were many people like Yang Erxi.
Many farmers left their fields and their homes. They took their travel expenses, luggage, and the sabers or bows and arrows that they brought back from the army to the distant Eastern Border.
At that time, the imperial court's conscription order had not yet arrived in their hometowns, but they left in advance. Logically speaking, this was not a wise thing to do, because they had no organization and didn't even know where the battlefield was.
But this war was different. It was a war that concerned the survival of the Tang Empire. So the news of the invasion of foreign enemies was a military order, a conscription order. If they met a person on the road or in the forest and saw the old saber or bow on his waist, they could confirm that he was a companion, so they could be organized into a powerful force.
As for where the battlefield was? Wherever the enemy was, that was where the battlefield was.
This was Yang Erxi's idea, and it was also the idea of his companions.
According to the post-war statistics, there were more than 20,000 retired Tang soldiers in the central prefectures of the Tang Empire. Before the conscription order arrived, they volunteered to fight against the invaders at the Eastern Border.
This group of earliest and most lovely counterattackers of the Tang Empire, in the end, less than half of them could return home.
…
…
(My body is exhausted, but my mind is still clear. I am very satisfied with these chapters. I hope you all like them. There will be more tonight. Since I said I would fight with my life, I will naturally fight with my life. Please continue to vote for me.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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