In front of the cherry orchard, the Ming army lit a pile of bonfires and began to cook. The Ming soldiers, who had been hungry and cold for most of the day, sat around the blazing bonfires, stretching out their hands to warm themselves, staring at the gradually boiling broth in the pot, and their eyes could not help but become moist.
They had been suffering from hunger and cold for most of the day, and finally they had a blazing bonfire and hot soup. How could they not be excited
However, the weather was too cold, and the human body is not a good conductor of heat. Especially since the Ming army was wearing ice-like iron armor on the outside, it was difficult for heat to be transferred inside. People roasted their hands around the campfire, but only their hands were warmed up. As for their arms, torsos, etc., they were still very cold, especially their feet in their shoes, which were still cold and numb, in stark contrast to their warm hands.
So, one Ming soldier couldn't stand the cold feet anymore, so he took off his shoes and stretched out his toes to warm them by the fire.
One followed suit, and the rest of the Ming army followed suit.
People's hygiene habits are not very good these days. Washing feet every day is something only the rich will do. It is normal for poor people to wash their feet once every ten days or half a month, and it is not uncommon to wash their feet once more than a month.
The feet of the Ming army were basically comparable to salted fish and stinky tofu.
All of a sudden, each dancing fire began to emit a strong smell of salted fish and tofu, covering up the smell of the broth.
Hu Zongxian, who was surrounded by a group of generals, noticed that many Ming soldiers took off their shoes to warm themselves by the fire. He frowned and turned to look at the commander of the Zhenwei Camp, Lord Zhang, and said unhappily, "Lord Zhang, please quickly order the troops to enforce strict military discipline. This is not decent. If the Japanese pirates attack, how can they fight barefoot?"
Hu Zongxian was very disappointed with the soldiers of Zhenwei Camp and other Beijing Camps. Over the years, the Beijing Camps have become increasingly desolate. These are the elite troops in the army, but their military discipline has been so corrupt that they are far worse than the border troops in Datong and other places...
Upon hearing this, Lord Zhang smiled bitterly and replied, "Lord Hu, you need to be relaxed when commanding troops. The weather is really too cold. After all, the soldiers are made of flesh and blood, and they can't stand the cold. Taking off their shoes and warming themselves by the fire is a last resort. If you are too harsh, these illiterate people may easily quarrel among themselves... Now the priority is to destroy the Japanese, so don't be too demanding on these details."
Hu Zongxian remained silent, narrowing his eyes and slowly looking at the entire army, taking in the expressions of every soldier. When they saw Hu Zongxian's eyes, some soldiers became nervous, some were dissatisfied, some were indignant, and some were clamoring...
Hu Zongxian narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed that what Lord Zhang said was not too exaggerated. If an order was given to enforce military discipline, these soldiers who could not even endure the cold and hunger might really change.
In addition, morale should be boosted but not dampened. If the army is forced to enforce discipline, the morale that has just been boosted with great difficulty will probably plummet.
Thinking that he still had to rely on them to wipe out the Japanese pirates, Hu Zongxian finally sighed and said quietly: "I am not demanding too much from the soldiers, but this is an extraordinary time. The Japanese pirates in Shangyu may attack at any time. If we are not ready for battle at any time, we may be easily taken advantage of by the Japanese pirates! Yingtian has been the imperial capital for hundreds of years, and we cannot afford any mistakes! The evil disaster of the Japanese pirates must not appear under the city of Yingtian, otherwise, a catastrophe will come in an instant! The situation in the camp is so... Oh, forget it, then let's do as Lord Zhang said, relax in moderation... However, although there is a degree of relaxation, there is also relaxation. Lord Zhang, please order your officers to divide the soldiers into two groups, one group to rest and eat, and the other group to be on guard with weapons to prevent surprise attacks by the Japanese pirates. In addition, send three teams of scouts to the east, west, and south to explore. Make sure to find out every blade of grass and every tree within a radius of ten miles, and don't slack off at all."
"Don't worry, Lord Hu. This is an extraordinary period. I have been in the army for many years, so how can I not know the importance of this matter? I will definitely discipline the soldiers well and will not give the Japanese pirates any chance to take advantage of me. In addition, I have already sent out three scouts. According to the time, they will be back soon."
Seeing that Hu Zongxian adopted his suggestion, Lord Zhang couldn't help but smile and replied with confidence.
Finally it proves that you are not a good-for-nothing...
Hearing that Lord Zhang had already sent out three scouts, Hu Zongxian smiled and praised him, "Lord Zhang is worthy of being from a military family! This time, we will have to rely on Lord Zhang to wipe out the Japanese pirates in Shangyu."
"Lord Hu is too polite. It is my duty to wipe out the Japanese pirates, serve the emperor, and eliminate harm for the people. I will do my best. If the Japanese pirates don't come this time, it's fine. If they do, I will make them die without a burial place!"
When Lord Zhang heard Hu Zongxian's praise, the smile on his face became even wider. He patted his chest's bright silver fish scale armor vigorously, making a bang bang bang sound, and spoke passionately with a look of confidence.
"Good!" Hu Zongxian praised again.
Immediately, Zhang's smile became even brighter. He waved his hand to call his four deputy generals and quietly gave them the order. The two deputy generals then summoned their officers and passed the order down layer by layer.
After a while, the order in the camp improved. The number of soldiers taking off their shoes and warming themselves by the fire was significantly reduced by half, and the number of soldiers holding weapons and standing guard increased significantly.
Seeing that the discipline in the camp had improved a lot, Hu Zongxian's complexion became much better.
About a cup of tea later, more than ten scouts came running and reported the news to Hu Zongxian, Zhang and others, "Reporting to the adults, there are no traces of Japanese pirates within ten miles to the south!"
"Ten miles ahead, what's the general situation now? Are there any mistakes or abnormalities in the villages within ten miles?..."
Hu Zongxian asked a few more questions in detail, and the scout reported back one by one. Hu Zongxian nodded slightly after listening.
The scouts' answers were very detailed, and it was clear that they had indeed conducted a thorough investigation. There were indeed no traces of the Japanese pirates within ten miles to the south, and no villages or towns within a ten-mile radius had ever encountered the pirates. There was nothing unusual.
Soon, scouts from the east and west came back one after another, reporting that they had not found any trace of the Japanese pirates in their respective directions.
Hu Zongxian also asked a few questions one by one and confirmed that the scouts in both directions had also conducted careful investigations and found that there were indeed no traces of Japanese pirates. The villages and towns within a radius of ten miles had also not encountered Japanese pirates and there were no abnormalities either.
The Japanese pirates are gone! Where did they go
Hu Zongxian frowned slightly. This situation was a bit strange. Why was there no trace of the Japanese pirates?!
This is very wrong.
He didn't believe that the Japanese pirates would give up harassing Yingtian. This group of Japanese pirates was so bold that they had just succeeded in Jiangning. It was impossible for them to give up harassing Yingtian! Could it be that the Japanese pirates deliberately captured Jiangning to attract our attention here, and then they would go to other directions to harass Yingtian? !
Hu Zongxian fell into deep thought.