The Seventeenth Section Will

  Day after day of marching is dull and exhausting. Although the people from Guanzhong are all brave and skilled in battle, marching under the scorching sun requires great endurance.

  Deputy General Niu Jin led the vanguard, wearing a helmet and armor, holding a horse whip, leading the front army to open the way ahead. General-in-Chief Cheng Yaojin was fully armed and arrayed in the middle of the army, quietly suppressing the grain and fodder, with the military equipment following closely behind.

  The two generals did not receive any preferential treatment, marching silently under the scorching sun. If Cheng Chumu wasn't wearing his bright armor and couldn't bear the heat, he wouldn't have climbed onto Yun Ye's carriage to take a temporary refuge.

  Perhaps this is the integrity of ancient soldiers, in an era where personal charm leads the army, and it is also a model that a qualified commander must do.

  Lao Cheng had a mild heat stroke the day before, and Yun Ye used copper coins to scrape his back. Although it was obvious that the technique was not good enough, with a red stripe on his back and a green stripe, he still slept well. Before marching, Lao Cheng specially asked Yun Ye to teach the military doctor this simple and effective treatment method. After all, there have been over a hundred heat stroke cases in the past few days. Yun Ye couldn't tell the military doctor that this was a serious case of electrolyte deficiency, so he could only use Lao Cheng's silent education method, roughly telling the military doctor not to ask why, just do it. He prepared large amounts of salt and sugar water and had the heat-stricken soldiers drink it down.

  Perhaps it was Yun Yan's correct treatment method, or perhaps the soldier's physique was good. In short, just now the military doctor came to report that the heatstroke soldier lying in the carriage had alleviated symptoms and could already eat liquid food, and the whole body high fever had receded.

  The military doctor reported the news with great respect in his eyes. It seems that he is already a renowned doctor in front of the military doctor, and Yun Ye has no pride in this. The treatment he received during his military training was nothing more than this, so Yun Ye firmly believes that this is the simplest, most effective, and most economical way to treat heatstroke. After instructing the military doctor to continue giving the wounded soldiers salt water and mung bean soup to drink, he let them rest well and wait for their physical strength to recover.

  The military doctor took orders and left. Yun Hao couldn't help but worry about Old Cheng, who was still in his prime years, but with daytime marching and nighttime planning of routes and defensive issues, he definitely didn't get enough rest, hoping nothing went wrong.

  He pulled out his sunglasses, a cheap 200-yuan pair that could still effectively block the sun's rays from hurting his eyes. He poured two cans of cool salted water and added several large ice cubes to the canister.

  He ordered the laborers to hurry up and catch up with Old Cheng. After passing by the long queue, they soon saw Old Cheng struggling to open his bloodshot eyes and sitting upright on horseback. Hurriedly shouting to stop Old Cheng: "Old Master Cheng, please rest for a moment," he jumped down from the carriage and grabbed the reins of Old Cheng's horse.

  "Scram, kid! If you block my warhorse again, I'll have you dealt with by military law!" Old Cheng knew Yun Ye was concerned about his body, but he didn't show any mercy on the surface.

  "I am now the logistics camp's military secretary, and you are the mainstay of my Left Guard. Your physical condition is also within my jurisdiction. I have a good medicine for heatstroke, please take it, General." Yun Ye said seriously, holding out the jar to Old Cheng.

  Lao Cheng had already drunk a lot of water, but his chest still felt like it was burning with a raging fire. No matter how much water he drank, the flames in his heart couldn't be extinguished. When Yun Ye said this, he grabbed the jug and poured a big mouthful down his throat. He felt a cool sensation slide from his mouth to his abdomen, and he let out a long sigh of relief as the fire in his chest seemed to dissipate instantly. He then lifted the jug again and drenched himself with it, shivering with cold, but feeling refreshed all over.

  He fished out an ice cube and casually tossed it to one side, where his personal guard was standing. Lowering his head, he said to Yun Ye, "I've taken my medicine, now get back in the carriage. If you dare to run around again without permission, you'll be punished with a military rod." After finishing speaking, he saw Yun Ye take out another jug and instructed his guards to send it to Niu Jin Da.

  Yun Ye didn't know whether the ice in the jug would melt by the time it reached Niu Jin Da's hands, since Niu Jin Da's vanguard was already thirty miles away. Never mind, at least he had done what he intended to do. He took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and handed them to Lao Cheng.

  "What is this thing?" Old Cheng held it in his hand and compared it left and right. Yun Yan saw that Old Cheng was about to take off his glasses, so he hurried over to perform for him. After Old Cheng correctly put on his glasses, he bowed and returned to the horse carriage, instructing the coachman to stop the carriage by the side of the road and wait for Cheng Chu Mo.

  Yun Ye lifted the curtain of the horse carriage, watching the army march forward in a long line, but his heart had lost its previous leisure.

  Cheng Yaojin knew that marching in the scorching sun was a major taboo for military leaders, but he disregarded it and ordered the army to march 40 miles every day under the scorching sun. This wasn't Cheng's foolish move, but rather the desperate situation of the Tang Dynasty being surrounded by enemies on all sides, with neighboring warlords eyeing them covetously. The new recruits of the Left Imperial Guard had to grow up quickly and seize the opportunity to eliminate the Qiang people, subjecting the army to a rigorous test.

  From this Turkic knock on the door, it can be seen that the Tang Dynasty is weak and immature, and has not yet grown to the point where it can resist any crisis.

  Every time I read about Li Shimin's governance of Zhenguan, my heart is always filled with a sense of grandeur and heroism. I imagine myself as a galloping Tang Dynasty soldier, wielding a horizontal sword to sweep across the steppes, expanding the Tang Empire to the Altai Mountains, where the inscription on the stone monument at Yanran would be nothing but a joke, and even the North Sea would be just an inland sea of the Tang. I never thought that before expansion, the Tang Dynasty was in such a difficult situation. Fortunately, there are these iron-blooded men in front of me, enough to get through the most difficult moment. Yun Ye's heart is filled with respect for these Tang soldiers who walk silently under the scorching sun.

  Cheng Chu's gentle knock on the carriage door brought Yun Ye back from his reverie. Seeing that fawning smile, Yun Ye's respect for the soldiers of the Great Tang suddenly dropped a notch. Indeed, scum was everywhere.

  He even wants to share a can of ice water with his comrades, this bastard has a bundle on his back full of ice cubes, and he wears a sun hat on his head, after the ice melts, the water flows down from his back, the scorching heat doesn't threaten him at all.

  "Brother, let's walk for another half an hour and we'll reach today's destination. What shall we eat tonight?" Yun Yan was very satisfied with the cultural environment of the Tang Dynasty since he crossed over. If it weren't for being forced to eat the pig food made by Huo Tou Jun and the turbid wine brewed, the Tang Dynasty would be a paradise-like existence. Since Yun Yan started cooking every day, Cheng Chu Mo came every day, under the pretext of worrying that his brother would eat alone, and accompanied him in the name of brotherly love.

  "Today my younger brother wants to invite Uncle Cheng to have dinner together, can Brother Chu come along?"

  "Ah, brother's stomach is a bit uncomfortable today, so he's going to starve for a day to clear his intestines. You and dad can just have dinner." If Old Cheng was a cat, Cheng Chumou would definitely be a little mouse, except for necessary moments, Cheng Chumou absolutely wouldn't meet with Old Cheng. Seeing Cheng Chumou fleeing in panic, Yun Hao burst out laughing.

  In ancient times, the place where a large army was stationed had to have sufficient water sources. Backing onto mountains and facing water is undoubtedly the best campsite. At that time, Longyou was not yet the barren land of later generations, with green hills and clear waters visible everywhere.

  Lao Cheng's military discipline was strict, and even temporary camps that only stayed for one night would necessarily cut down trees to build a camp. The rigorous marching system guaranteed the reputation of the Tang army being invincible in battle. Under Yun Ye's requirements, no one in the Left Imperial Guard was allowed to drink raw water. Every day after marching, they had to soak their feet in hot water, and if conditions permitted, taking a bath was also a daily necessity. Now, Yun Ye could proudly declare that the Left Imperial Guard might not be the strongest in combat, but it was absolutely the cleanest.