Chapter Thirty-Six: Gathering the Crowd

  What is a soldier's responsibility? Many people will answer this question without hesitation, to protect the country and defend the nation. Even Zhao Shi, who has experienced the baptism of blood and fire and does not have much sense of belonging to the country, would not refute it. Although the country may not have given you anything, after all, you have yellow skin, black eyes, black hair, and speak a language different from other countries. All these things destined you to belong to this nation, and when needed, you will also pay something for this nation. This is nationality, something that every modern person can truly feel.

  But Zhao Shi is now in a different era, the people here or the common people who join the army will not think so much, maybe just one sentence of Marquis but taking it on horseback, and shining the gate is enough.

  So, when Li Jinhua decided to stay put and act accordingly, these native-born Guanzhong Han people, although still worried about their own lives, all agreed. There was some blind faith in the commander, as well as an instinctive reaction to obey the general's orders on the battlefield, but more importantly, there was the temptation of merit for possibly repelling the Western Xia and quelling the Qingyang rebellion. Thus, these robust, resilient, and disciplined Guanzhong Han people under Li Jinhua's command began to establish a more solid camp around the small hill, while others set out to gather intelligence on the enemy.

  In less than a day, the two grain transport teams behind also caught up. They only knew that something had happened in Qingyang and did not know about the appearance of the Western Xia people, let alone what exactly had happened in Qingyang. The delay in understanding military changes here made Zhao Shi deeply realize the importance of a general's ability to make decisions on the spot when faced with changes. It can be said that the saying "it is easy to get an army, but hard to find a general" is not exaggerated at all. In modern warfare, the spirit of teamwork has penetrated into the bones of all soldiers and civilians, and individual factors have less and less influence on the progress of war. However, here, one person dominating a war seems not unusual at all.

  The two grain teams combined had only over 4,000 people. It seems that Li Jinhua's uncle really took care of his niece. The two grain teams had a total of 900 guards, no cavalry, and the two military officers leading them were not even one level higher than Li Jinhua in rank. This made things much simpler. The three grain protection armies merged into one, with Li Jinhua having the highest rank. Although the three teams did not belong to the same unit, after the two military officers knew the situation on the battlefield, they handed over their command without hesitation, and Li Jinhua took charge.

  The scouts sent out continuously brought back news that roughly matched Zhao Shi's estimates, and they could still encounter the Western Xia people's scouts from time to time, but they had never encountered a large army of over a thousand people. However, as a precaution, the grain-protecting army did not move forward one step, but only stationed on a small hill, waiting for Du Shantiger's news.

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  "Stone... Tell Uncle the truth, what does General think? Is he going to fight again?" Zhao Dogzi asked in a low voice. Shang Yanzu sat silently beside him, and their team surrounded them in a circle. The young people didn't care about these things; they had survived the war and were considered worldly. Before, they discussed how much military pay they would receive after returning home and what their future lives would be like. Some even planned to build a house, marry a wife, and live a simple life after returning home. But now it was different. Except for Shang Yanzu and Zhao Dogzi, who were older and more mature, the others began to feel restless in their hearts. In their opinion, they had seen so many dead people that they were no longer afraid of anything. Moreover, after this battle, according to what the traveling generals said, everyone would be able to share a portion of the credit. Who knows, when they returned to Zhaojia Village, they might even be able to wear a formal military uniform back home, which would be an impressive thing! Most importantly, that female general who led the army had a high opinion of Stone. Those generals who usually didn't even give them a glance now came over to chat with Stone whenever he returned to their midst. Their traveling general, that rough and hairy guy, although he was wounded in the previous battle, would still smile and hobble over to surround Stone, treating him like his superior. It seemed that Zhaojia Village producing a general was only a matter of time. If Stone were promoted, wouldn't they benefit from following him?

  Young people are hot-blooded and forgetful, they think that the pain of their loved ones' deaths will gradually fade away, and in its place, a sense of expectation will grow. As they look at these young boys with many hopes pinned on them, their eyes can't help but be filled with reverence and a desire to please.

  But Shang Yan and Zu were different, they were more worried that these children from Zhaojia Village would never return home, the women and children at home had no one to take care of them, if they all died here, it could be imagined that the orphans and widows at home had no one to support them, how could they get by in the future? Even if they died, they couldn't close their eyes.

  "Don't worry, we'll all be back alive..." Zhao Shi smiled and said, but the smile seemed to hide something that made Zhao Dogzi shudder. He looked away unnaturally, thinking to himself, "I've seen a ghost." His own child was about the same age, but didn't have the same ruthless streak as this kid. Just thinking about it made his neck hair stand on end. However, he then thought about how he had risked his life to save this kid during the battle, and that took some courage too. Although he was still shaken by the memory, he also felt a sense of pride whenever he thought about it. As someone in their 40s with not much time left, Zhao Shi seemed like a capable person, and most importantly, the kid had a conscience. His own child had grown up, and this kid would surely repay the debt of gratitude someday. Maybe he could even give him a decent job to do...

  "Stone... Ah... The team is right... " At this time, a tall and sturdy guy came over, stuttering and saying: "I discussed with Big Cow and the others, can I follow you in the future?" With a face full of shyness and sincerity, this simple and unsophisticated man directly expressed his intention.

  His voice was not small, and the young people next to him immediately perked up their ears, and their eyes glanced over, more or less. In this era, the saying "one party in the countryside" is truly apt, just like what modern people say about "three brothers who have gone through thick and thin together", namely, those who have been through guns, windows, and brothels together. Here, as long as one person has an official position, distant relatives and neighbors will immediately surround him to form large and small interest groups, either watching each other's backs or promoting each other, with their power growing more and more enormous. As long as they don't cross some conventional boundaries, people won't think it's strange, and many will even praise them for being loyal to old friends and having a kind heart. Even when superiors are evaluating the character of their subordinates, they will more or less use this as a basis. If you know that a relative or friend has come to seek refuge with you but ends up being thrown out, then one sentence about being "heartless" can ruin your future prospects... Therefore, whether in official circles or in the military, if there isn't a suitable person to rely on, it's very difficult for someone without any backing to advance further.

  All this is beside the point, Zhao Shi knew very little about history, let alone these customs and folkways. When he heard this, he just glanced at the speaker, a man named Tugen'er, who was over 20 years old and had no courtesy name as a commoner. His name was as rustic as it could be. He happened to be Zhao Shi's cousin. On the battlefield, these fellow villagers and relatives surrounded him, suffering heavy casualties, but not one of them deserted or fled. Although he was iron-hearted, in such circumstances, his heart was also inevitably moved.

  Looking at this robust man, who was blushing in front of him, with his rough hands that didn't know where to put themselves, yet full of hopeful color, he said casually: "Alright, as long as we're both still alive afterwards..." The young people naturally didn't care about the meaning behind his words, their faces were instantly filled with wild joy, maybe they could mix in the military and get a official position, and when they return to the village, they would be respected and admired by others, that's probably their greatest wish right now.

  "Thank... ...stone... ...team is positive... ..." The man with a face full of excitement stuttered to finish, immediately turned around and hurried back to a group of young people, gesturing as if he had already become a great general. Amidst the admiring or envious eyes of the crowd, he laughed and chatted happily with several companions.

  Next to him, Shang Yan Zu let out a silent sigh, his eyes scanning over these excited young people, yet seemingly seeing himself in them from years ago. However, he didn't feel even the slightest bit of joy. His gaze drifted towards the distant green hills as he silently wished that these children wouldn't regret their decision today. How many of them would be able to see the clear stream in front of Zhao Jia Village again?

  Looking at the apathetic-looking young man beside me, I couldn't help but let out another sigh.