Late Tang

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Every year in February, it is the annual day when veterans leave the army and recruits enter the camp.

Iron-clad soldiers, the Qin army has insisted on implementing the compulsory military system over the years. Under this military system, ordinary soldiers are discharged after three years of service, sergeants six years, non-commissioned officers nine years, and officers need to serve 12 years.Of course, after the end of the service, if you want to continue to postpone the service, it is also possible.If you don't want to continue serving, you can change jobs and arrange a local job.

Since the implementation of this system, the biggest result is that Qin Fan has a large number of soldiers returning from military camps in various places every year, and then a large number of young men of the right age put on new uniforms and join the army.Although this led to an increase in the training tasks of the Qin army and the retirement of many young and elite soldiers, Li Jing has always insisted on this system.In his view, the army is just a big melting pot, in which young people from Hedi can be put into it for unified forging, so that they can be trained to be more in line with the values ​​of the Qin army and more loyal to Qin Fan.At the same time, after returning to their hometowns, these well-trained and good young people can become the vanguard of changing this era. The retired soldiers will join all walks of life and become the pacesetters of all walks of life.Veterans who have been trained and forged in the army will become the backbone of all walks of life.

Of course, there is another very important point. After these young people who have been in the army for several years are discharged, they will become a qualified reserve army. At that time, these people did not know soldiers and did not know how to fight.

For these reasons, although this system has increased the annual armament budget, the military and the Ministry of Finance and other government departments have never objected to this.

In December, Na Qibo, a young man from the Xi nationality in the Red Fox Village of the Xi nationality market town at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, received a letter from Tolerance, asking him to report to the conscription station in Chengde.The Xi clan has been completely destroyed in these years of war. Today's Xi clan has no distinction between East Xixi and Xixi, and even King Xi's tent is gone.The current Xi was completely divided and incorporated into the three provinces of Shanxi, Rehe, and Western Liaoning of the Qin Fan.A large number of Xi people were relocated to various parts of the Central Plains to the south of Yanshan Mountain, and only a small number of Xi people remained in the north of Yanshan Mountain. Now, like the large number of Han people who immigrated, they have been divided into fields and pastures for farming and grazing.Now they no longer migrate and graze like before, but have fixed-point grazing, growing grain and even pasture.

Xi people also have to pay taxes and serve in the military. Na Qibo is eighteen this year, which is the standard time for enlisting in the army.

Somewhat different from the Han people, the youths of those tribes are generally automatically included in the cavalry when they serve.They are even different from the cavalry of the Han people. The cavalry of the Han people are assigned horses after enlisting in the army, but they bring their own horses to report when they enlist.They also need to purchase part of their own uniforms and weapons, but the military will also give each soldier who enlists a sum of money for equipment.That Qibo received one hundred coins at the conscription station.

However, after returning from the conscription station, he was still a little bit battered. It seemed that spring was about to begin, but he still had a lot of things that he was not ready for.Using the money issued by the government and his own savings, he bought two horses for 140 guan in a village in the upper reaches of the Luan River.He went with his grandfather. His grandfather was also a warrior of the Xi tribe, very strong and brave. Later, he injured a leg in the battle and became a lame man. However, his ability to watch horses is still very good.The two horses they bought were very good, both were only six years old, and both were bay horses, and one of them had some old injuries that were not easy to see, and he saw it. His grandfather stroked his beard and said to him: "140 guan, you can't buy two cheaper war horses. The grassland has been fighting non-stop these years, not only the price of war horses has risen sharply, but the price of draft horses has also increased a lot. In the early years, two war horses could be cheaper many."

Qibo's family also had several war horses, but some were too old, they were war horses used by his grandfather and father, while the remaining two younger horses were his brother's war horses.His elder brother Na Qishi was also a warrior of the Xi tribe, and now he is a village soldier in the Rehe province of the Qin army, and his horses are also used.

After buying the horse back, Na Qibo began to ride the two horses every day to get used to it, trying to walk slowly and fast, training tacit understanding with the usual method used by Xi Ren soldiers.He took turns riding them up and down hills, crossing ditches and hurdles, beating gongs and drums, and even jumping over fires.

Only a few days before Jing Zhe, his father and elder brother came back together.

The older brother was a village soldier, and his father was a united soldier. Both of them would go to the county for training in the winter, and they drove home with their horses and a sledge.Grandfather came out limping when he heard the sound, untied the two war horses, drove them into the courtyard, and tied them to the fence.Na Qibo saw his father and brother from the window and hurried out.

That Qibo's father, Agulang, walked into the room with a chill, took off his wolf-skin hat, and looked around the room with slow eyes.

"You guys are having a good time."

That Qibo got married last year, and the bride he chose was the daughter of a warrior from the Xi clan in the village next door. She was very strong and pretty. Her father and A Gulang once fought side by side with King Xixi. However, he used two pairs of bulls and a full set of gold ornaments to bring his daughter to his second son as his wife.Because Xi was merged into the Qin Dynasty, young men of all ages had to be drafted into the army, so now a new custom of men getting married before enlisting in the army has gradually formed.

Na Qibo got married in the early spring of last year, and by the end of the year his wife had already given birth to a girl.

"Hello, father, hello brother!" Alia, who had not yet passed the hundred days after giving birth, came out with her daughter wrapped in swaddling clothes, and greeted her father-in-law and her husband's brother.

A Gulang looked at his granddaughter, and asked without raising his head, "Are you going to join the army?"

"Yeah." Na Qibo didn't seem to be against enlisting in the army, he said, "Actually, if Xi Wang Hanting hadn't disappeared, I might have become a Xi clan soldier a few years ago."

Agulang didn't speak, and looked at his youngest son carefully.

"Take off your outer clothes and bake them, father, you must be freezing to death?" Alia said.

"It doesn't matter, we are all soldiers, we can't be restrained." The elder brother of the village soldier who abandoned his hair said to his sister-in-law with a smile.

"We brought you the equipment. It was made to order in a shop in Chengde. There are two coats, two pairs of leather pants, and a pair of saddles. Go and bring them in. They are all here." Agulang turned to his eldest son. road.

Without wearing his hat, he followed his brother out and brought in two bags from the sledge.

"In addition, some equipment is at home, so you don't need to spend money to order it outside. Your grandfather's equipment, he intends to give it to you, although it is a bit old, it is well maintained. There is a riding bow, Three strings, two cowhide round shields, a hatchet, a thirteen-jointed whip, a hard spear, a machete, two short knives, a hundred arrows, and a Leather armor. Take it all."

"Thank you." Na Qibo said happily, "But in fact, you don't need all of them. Armor and weapons will be distributed after enlisting in the army. I can just bring the secondary weapons steel ax and steel whip."

"When are we leaving?" Akuro asked.

"The day of the Waking of Insects."

Agulang nodded, got up again and said something to his crippled old father, and then they were about to leave. They had to return to the training camp to continue training.Today is also because the higher-ups know that their relatives are going to join the army, so they are given a day off. They must go back immediately, otherwise they will miss the time.

"We have to go back soon."

The grandpa, grandson, father and son said goodbye. He walked towards the gate of the courtyard and said, "I went to the house first when I came. Your mother asked me to greet you. Her leg hurts again. There is her bag in the pocket." You can keep some of the dry food you made for yourself." He was silent for a while, and then said: "On the day of the Waking of Insects, I will come and send you to Chengde to report for duty, and you can make preparations in the next few days to see if there is anything else you need. Forgot."

After speaking, he put on thick wool gloves and walked out.

The day before the Jingzhe, the abandoned tree tied up the horse and took his grandfather who was a guest back to his father's house. He picked up the mother who suffered from leg pain and the sister-in-law who was at home with the child. The family went to the temple to pray .On the way back, his grandfather sat beside him and said to him, "Don't miss your daughter-in-law, she will live well. Your mother has already said that after you go to serve, you will take her and the children to live with you." You have to serve well. Your father and I are both very brave Xi tribe warriors, and even our family has been brave Xi tribe warriors for generations. Although the people we serve are different now, but you are the same You have to be an outstanding soldier, and you must not lose the face of your ancestors." The old soldier's voice became even deeper, "You must maintain the glory of me and your father. In the military parade of the various tribes of the Xi tribe, he was awarded by the leaders of the tribes for his superb riding skills and amazing archery skills, and he is recognized as a warrior of the Xi tribe."

"Yes, both grandpa and father are recognized warriors by the Xi clan, and the eldest brother is also very powerful. Now he is a sergeant in the village soldiers."

"Okay, that's how it should be!" The old centurion finished his stern and boastful conversation, and hid his face in his leather robe on the way back.

At night, Na Qibo and his wife, who were about to report for duty, couldn't fall asleep, they sat on the bed chatting about trivial matters.Alia sat on the bed, her face full of resentment and unhappiness, she just gave birth and was breastfeeding, her two breasts were swollen and hard, and the little clothes were stretched high, and there was even a little The block was soaked with spilled milk.After giving birth, she obviously gained a lot of weight, and compared to the original girl, she added a more confident and mature charm.

They couldn't sleep all the time, Alia leaned against her young husband, tears and the child's endless milk flow soaked her blouse, she whispered, "You have been away for three years, how can I live alone? Yeah, I think you're going to want to die..."

"Don't worry." Na Qibo comforted his wife who was also young.

"Long nights, how do I fall asleep, think about it, three years, more than 1000 days and nights!"

"In other feudal towns in the Central Plains, many troops serve for life, and they cannot be discharged until they are 50 years old."

"What do other feudal towns have anything to do with me?"

"Okay, stop talking."

"This damn military service spreads the family and destroys the couple!" Alia muttered.

"Don't worry, I'll be back when I'm on vacation."

"On vacation?" Alia curled her lips, "Who knows where you will go to serve, the Qin Fan is from south to north, from east to west, the territory is much larger than the previous Xijing. If you are assigned to that distant If you go to Liaodong, or even further to the south of the Yangtze River, how much water will the Luan River have to flow to wait for you back?"

"Don't cry...you look like autumn drizzle: there is no end to crying."

"Tell you to try me instead!"

The discarded bob didn't fall asleep until it was almost dawn. Alia had nursed the child, supported her body with her arms, looked at the hard lines on her husband's face without blinking, and said goodbye to him in her heart.

Alia also wanted to fall asleep, but her thoughts were ups and downs, and her thoughts were surging, just like the wind blowing hay, all the sleepiness was swept away.Until dawn, she was still thinking about her husband who was about to leave, and how she would live without her husband for the next more than 1000 days.

In the early morning, as soon as the window was covered with frost, Agulang, his eldest son, his wife, eldest daughter-in-law, and the old father and his family all rushed over on a sledge.

"Then Qibo, get up quickly, it's almost dawn, you have to report to the conscription station today!"

With a long sigh, Alia pushed her sleeping husband, found her skirt, and began to get out of bed.

In the morning, after breakfast, Na Qibo said goodbye to his mother, wife, and grandfather one by one, loaded the horse with luggage, prepared the saddle, took the equipment, and went out with his father and elder brothers.Their village was far away from Chengde, and halfway they stayed overnight in a village by the Luan River. There were many lodgers like them in the village, all of whom brought their children to report to the conscription station.These people include Xi people, Uighurs, Tuyuhun people, Shatuo people, Tatars, etc. Of course, the Han people are the most.

Early the next morning, they got together and formed a team to set off for Chengde. On the way, the young people who were about to join the army chatted together and got to know each other.Outside the infirmary of the conscription station, Na Qibo also saw some acquaintances of the same age in their village and several nearby villages.Saw even Monley, his wife's brother, on a tall light-brown horse with a shiny new saddle, gorgeous girdle, and shining silver bridle, and galloped at once coming.

The recruits who reported for duty had to undergo a routine physical examination in the infirmary, where several military officers and clerks in charge of recruiting were busy. Looking at all this very curiously.

"Five foot five!"

"Old Zhang, this is obviously too short. He can't be an infantryman, and he's too short to be a cavalryman." A hoarse voice said from a row of people in white robes behind a few tables in the room.

"The artillery is not good either. The artillery has to be big. Otherwise, let him go to the navy or the air force." Another person interjected.

When it was Na Qibo's turn, he wasn't used to being naked in front of a group of men, and was looked at with picky eyes by them, so he stretched out his hand to cover his body.As a result, someone immediately shouted: "What are you covering with your hands? You're not a big girl. It's possible that you didn't bring a handle. Then why did you come here?"

The witty words elicited bursts of laughter, and Qibo had no choice but to put his hands down.

As a result, he immediately said, "Old Zhang, look at this guy, he is so strong, he looks like a calf."

Lao Zhang took a look at Qibo, and said with a smile: "I think this guy looks like an elephant, especially if you look at his bottom, does it look like an elephant's nose?"

"Good guy, no wonder I kept covering it just now. It is really different. It really looks like an elephant's nose. Let me tell you, when I went to Yanjing for business last year, I went to the zoo on purpose. Don't say it, it's so fucking Like. It's a pity that although we have female soldiers, it's a pity that the female soldiers don't need the men's battalion, otherwise let him go, just relying on this guy, it's definitely not a waste of his capital."

These words did not attract everyone's response, but a few people glared at him.After all, female soldiers are like treasures in the Qin army, so such a joke is a bit out of date.

The man stopped embarrassingly, and lowered his head to look at the form to hide his embarrassment. "That Qibo!"

"Yes!" Na Qibo was teased by a group of people, his face flushed a little.He was born with a big guy, and he was often laughed at by others because of this, but he was used to it, but today, after all, he was in front of a group of strange soldiers, so he was a little concerned.

Goosebumps appeared on his frozen body, and he only hoped that this level would be over soon.

"Are you Xi Ren?"

"Yes."

Someone instructed him to measure his height and weight. He was six feet three and weighed 140 catties (one catty in Tang Dynasty was about 680 grams, and 140 catties is equivalent to more than 90 kilograms in modern times), and then a military doctor listened to his instructions. Heart, turned his eyes, looked at his tongue, and carefully watched his whole body, even untied his hair, looking for the scar on his head.

Finally, the doctor handed over the report of the physical examination to the group behind the desk.

"Six foot three, weight one hundred and four, no disease, no serious injury, great body."

Another human said, "Here are the files sent by their county. The family has been Xi warriors for generations. Both grandfather and father are Xi warriors. My grandfather used to be the centurion of King Xi's bodyguard, and my father was also a centurion. Now they are united in the county. Ying, my elder brother is doing well in the county and township. Na Qibo is a law-abiding and well-behaved man in the village. He is married and has a daughter..."

"The physical condition is very good, and the family background is also good. He is a good seedling."

"Send it to the Sixth Army of the Guards?" The chief officer of the military depot bent his head to the ear of the person at the table next to him and asked softly.

"Well, the Sixth Guards Army has a quota for soldiers of all ethnic groups. This guy is in good condition in all aspects. Well, send him to the new barracks of the Sixth Guards Army, and decide which army to send to after the training is over."

The chief officer of the military station immediately said loudly: "Then Qibo, you are assigned to the Sixth Guards Army. Did you hear that, boy, you are the first one assigned to the Sixth Guards Army today. You have a bright future."

He thanked everyone, then turned and went out.When I went out, I heard the voices of the people behind.

"This guy, the physical condition is really good. The standard figure, the whole body is full of muscles."

"And the body is also very clean, without any disease."

"Looking at the performance of his grandfather, father, and brothers, it can be imagined that this guy has an excellent cavalry lineage and is a natural warrior. The sky is booming."

......

The fellow villagers who were waiting in line outside surrounded him and asked one after another, "Hey, how's it going, that Qibo?"

"Brother-in-law, where did you go?" the wife and brother asked.

"Well, assigned to the Sixth Guards Army."

Na Qi Bo answered calmly as much as possible, but at this moment he was extremely excited, like ten thousand horses galloping.He is still in a daze until now, he was actually assigned to the Sixth Guards Army, which is King Qin's Imperial Guards.He was too excited, so he didn't even notice the exclamation, admiration, and even the voices and eyes of envy and envy from his partners. (To be continued.)