Time passed by minute by minute, and it was already past noon. The weather became increasingly gloomy, the wind became stronger and stronger, and the temperature became lower and lower. Gusts of cold wind howled after another, damp and cold that chilled me to the bone.
In front of the cherry orchard and the deep ditch, the Ming army, ready for battle, had been waiting in the cold wind for most of the day.
Not a drop of water!
Not a grain of rice has been eaten!
suffer hunger and cold!
As the ancients said, "The first blow is a great victory, the second is weaker, and the third is exhausted." This was the case at this time. After waiting for a long time, the morale of more than 1,300 Ming soldiers gradually weakened as they waited in hunger and cold for most of the day.
They had been here since they received the news in the morning that the Japanese pirates had captured Jiangning, and had been on high alert and ready to take advantage of the opportunity.
As a result, up to now, most of the day had passed and the Japanese pirates had not arrived yet! In order to be ready to fight with the Japanese pirates who attacked Yingtian at any time, the Ming army kept their armor and weapons in hand. They had not drunk a drop of water or eaten a grain of rice for most of the day, and were so hungry that their stomachs were growling.
I am really hungry and cold!
Since they were all fully armed and wearing heavy armor, they didn't feel it at ordinary times, but now after being hungry for most of the day, they felt that the armor was too heavy and they began to lose their strength.
Not only heavy, but also cold!
I believe everyone is familiar with the word "Lao Tie". There is a joke in Northeast China that says the word "Lao Tie" is because people who have a good relationship have licked iron railings together. The winter in Northeast China is extremely cold, and the temperature of iron pillars, iron railings and other metals is very low in winter. If you lick iron, your tongue will be frozen to the iron railings and you can't pull it off. You have to help each other blow hot air to rescue yourself. "Lao Tie" symbolizes that people who have licked iron together and shed blood together have an extraordinary close relationship.
This joke fully illustrates how cold metals such as iron and copper are outdoors in winter.
The Ming army fully realized this at this moment. Wearing iron armor was like wearing ice. The bone-chilling coldness of the armor penetrated through the clothes and penetrated into the muscles and bones all the time, giving the cold people goose bumps all over their bodies!
"Damn, this armor is too cold. The iron crotch guard is so cold that I can't feel my penis belt. It's so cold that my stomach is surging. No, I have to go to the bathroom..."
"Haha, don't do such a stupid thing as taking off your pants to fart. You need to have something in your stomach to fart. We haven't had a drop of water since morning, what can you do to fart? It's just a fart, just fart it here. Didn't you see that Shangfeng's nose is not a nose and his eyes are not eyes, and you dare to sneak away and squat in the toilet?!"
"Yeah, that makes sense... Damn it, Hu Laoqi, I believed your lies, you have to compensate me for my pants..."
"You really pulled your trouser pocket?! Hahahaha..."
Amidst the hunger and cold, a few rough men in the army burst into laughter.
This is also a microcosm of the military formation. The soldiers have been hungry and cold for most of the day, and the morale gained from the heavy rewards has long been lost. The soldiers are full of complaints, whispering, cursing, and rubbing their hands and stamping their feet to keep out the cold. The formation has also begun to become chaotic... ... Some people even started to sit on the ground. Of course, they were stopped by the officers with scolding, but the formation was no longer as strict as it was at the beginning.
Moreover, as time went on, the chaos became worse and worse.
Hu Zongxian ordered officers at all levels to strictly enforce military discipline, but as time went on, some officers were no longer able to control themselves.
They were suffering from hunger and cold. They hadn't eaten for most of the day and were freezing to the point of having diarrhea. It was strange that the soldiers could live in peace because they couldn't even solve the immediate problem of food and clothing. Forcing them to suppress the rebellion was indeed a bit unreasonable.
As for the two hundred taels of silver reward for killing the Japanese, it is still a bit far away. In the face of hunger and cold, food and clothing are the soldiers' first needs.
If the first need cannot be met, who will care about your second need
"This damn weather is so scary. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling in my heart."
"Bullshit, today is like this, it's strange that I can have more details! This damn weather is so cold, my bones are almost frozen, and I haven't eaten for most of the day. I'm cold and hungry, and my eyes are blurry. I estimate that if the Japanese pirates don't come in another hour, the Black and White Impermanence brothers will come to pick me up and set me on my way."
"Why haven't the Japanese pirates come yet? Didn't they capture Jiangning this morning and head towards Yingtian? They should have come a long time ago after such a short distance. Why haven't they come yet? I feel uneasy. Look, my right eye has started to twitch. As the saying goes, a twitching left eye means good fortune, a twitching right eye means disaster. Is something going to happen?"
"Puh, puh, puh, your crow mouth, what nonsense are you talking about? It gives me goose bumps. How could anything go wrong? We are more than 1,300 people, and we are well prepared. There are only more than 50 bandits. What can go wrong? Besides, we have been waiting for so long, and we haven't even seen the shadow of the damn Japanese pirates. Maybe the bandits found out that there are so many of us here and were scared away."
"Yes, that makes sense. If the Japanese pirates were going to come, they should have come a long time ago. If they don't come now, maybe they will be scared away. Also, it's possible that the Japanese pirates won't take this road. We have so many gates in Yingtian, and it's possible that the Japanese pirates will go around in a semicircle and attack the city from the north."
"Don't go, these pirates are walking gold bars. One pirate can be exchanged for one gold bar. I still want to make a fortune."
... ...
Suffering from hunger and cold, the soldiers rubbed their hands and stamped their feet, and the whole cherry orchard seemed to be noisy and chaotic.
After waiting for another half an hour, there was still no sign of the Japanese pirates. Hu Zongxian sent scouts to investigate, but they still found no trace of the Japanese pirates.
Finally the soldiers couldn't bear it anymore.
"We have been cold and hungry since this morning. If this continues, we will freeze to death before the Japanese pirates arrive."
"We need to eat! If we don't eat, I'll starve to death."
"I'd rather die than starve to death! We want to eat! We want to eat!"
"Let me drink some hot soup, I'm almost freezing. If I don't eat and drink something, I won't be able to hold my weapon."
"If you don't even let me eat, and I have no strength left, how can I fight?"
"Commander, tell me the truth, are you colluding with the Japanese pirates? Do you want to freeze and starve us to death here so that the Japanese pirates can take advantage of us?!"
"If you don't give me food, I'll quit!"
The Ming army started to make a fuss, clamoring for food. For a moment, the situation was out of control.
It looked like the camp was about to collapse.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, the commander of the Zhenwei Camp, Lord Zhang, found Hu Zongxian and suggested, "Lord Hu, the weather is too cold. It's already afternoon and we haven't had a drop of water. We have no strength left. How can we fight in this state? The soldiers below are almost out of control. Can you light a fire and cook for everyone to eat and drink some hot water? Only when they are full will they have the strength to fight the pirates."
Hu Zongxian frowned and looked around the whole place. He saw a group of soldiers shivering in the cold wind, clamoring for food and water. They were really hungry and cold, and the situation was really getting out of control. After thinking for a moment, he nodded slowly, "Okay, light a fire and cook for everyone to fill their stomachs. Remember, split everyone into two groups, one to eat and the other to be on guard. We must not be taken advantage of by the Japanese pirates!"