Ma Erniang's Splendid Pastoral

Chapter 275
Counting nine cold days, a world of ice and snow, gloomy weather, the sky is full of thick, low, gray-yellow turbid clouds.The northwestern wind howled and ran wildly in the wilderness. It was like a soldier holding a sharp sword, which could pierce through the clothes wrapped around people, not to mention the exposed skin, which seemed to be scratched by it. One knife after another, the pain was unbearable.

Shan Xiaodan quickly wrapped up the scarf, with only two eyes exposed, hurried through the corridor, arrived in front of Xing'er's office, and shouted: "Xing'er, Young Madam asked you to go to Mr. Wei to discuss the New Year's Eve dinner in the army. "

In the room, Xing'er just wanted Xiao Dan to help her out, but when she heard about the New Year's Eve dinner, she gave up, put down her pen, and went out.

"Xing'er—" Shan Xiaoxiang looked at the young but calm little lady.

"Miss Shan!"

"It's cold outside, you still wear a scarf." Shan Xiaodan wanted to say something, but this was what came out of his mouth.

Xing'er looked at the sky outside the corridor, turned around and entered the room, took a towel, wrapped it around her neck, and threw it behind her, "Miss Shan, go and do your work, I'll call someone and go to the young lady's side. "

"Well, then I'll go back." Shan Xiaodan was not a broken-mouthed person, he thought about something in his heart but couldn't say it, nodded and smiled and left.

Xing'er lowered her head slightly, walked out of the small yard quickly, walked up the street, and went to the military affairs command post. Looking up, the wartime office building built from the abandoned yamen base was right in front of her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued to walk. forward.

It has been almost a month since I came back from the capital, and it is almost a month before the New Year. Not only the soldiers are anxious, but even Wei Ren is a little restless. When he sees the content of the document that he is not satisfied with, he directly scolds: "Wo *, what the hell!" He tossed it casually, and the paper flew past the eyes of the servants and scribes, scaring them out of the way.

The little clerk quickly picked up the paper and held it in front of him, "First... sir..."

"go away."

"Yes, yes, I understand." The little clerk hurriedly moved aside, looked down at the content on the paper, and it turned out that there were a few soldiers with broken legs and arms, who needed to eat, wear and go back to their hometowns.

"Fuck, if it weren't for the good logistics support this year, mother, their lives would have been dead long ago, and there is still a war ahead, and they are still chattering and staring at their mother's nose..." Wei Ren was yelled at by soldiers who didn't understand current affairs, and he completely lost his usual manners in front of others.

The servant gave him a light bump.

"What the hell, think I didn't beat you up, b***..."

When Xing'er entered, Wei Ren was sitting at the table with his back facing her. There were many guards, generals, aides, and general affairs officers coming in and out of the door. There was no carbon brazier in the entire official command post, but it was bustling with activity.

Just a short while after she came in, Wei Ren received several people and dealt with several matters while cursing.

"This won't work, just say what I said."

"Yes, sir."

"General Lin, it's your turn to be on duty tomorrow...don't tell me the reason...you are the one who arranges..."

General Lin couldn't get in the conversation at all, and was dragged away by two guards beside him.

"Sir, has the food delivered by the old general arrived?" the general affairs officer yelled as he walked up to him with a headache.

"A hundred miles away."

"Sir, there is a war going on outside, the food can..."

"This is not something you are worried about, I have already arranged..."

"Oh...then..." The general officer was about to say something, but the people who came later had already squeezed him out, "Sir... sir, the general asked you to draw your weapon quickly..."

"Mr. Fang—"

"Let me handle it?"

"Yes, hurry up and take the bronze medal to open warehouse No. [-]."

"Yes, see you, I'll go right away." Taking the bronze medal, Mr. Fang rushed towards the door in a hurry, and when he saw Wei Zi's friend, he called out: "Ms. Xing—" and ran out to do some business.

Xing... the military was so busy, Wei Ren still heard it, and immediately turned his head, looking back at the person who was asking the question, and looked at Xing'er.

Xing'er lowered her head.

She hardly looked for her, Wei Ren immediately called out: "Mr. Bai——"

"The old man is here, I'll go out for a while, and you can handle the rest."

"Okay, you all come here." Mr. Bai put away the document in his hand, "tell me, what's the matter?"

Wei Ren moved his long legs and left the seat, walked up to Xing'er, "What's the matter?" Although it was not good to ask straightforwardly like this, but he was too busy to say extra words .

Xing'er raised her head, the stubble on the young man's chin fell into her eyes first, followed by her haggard and sallow complexion, she was really too busy, didn't eat and sleep well, and for some reason felt pain and pity in her heart.

The little lady gave him a good look, she should have been secretly happy, but Wei Ren knew that he was sloppy now, so he turned his head away embarrassedly.

"Young Madam is calling you." The man turned his eyes away, and only then did Xing'er realize that she had lost her composure.

It turned out that Madam asked her to come over, "What's the matter?"

Xing'er didn't answer, turned around and left the official command post.

Wei Ren looked at the room and said to his servant: "I'm going to the Young Madam's place. If there's something urgent, look for me there."

"Yes, sir."

Wei Ren stepped out of the room, Xing'er stood in the yard waiting for him, saw him come out, turned around and walked out of the courtyard door, onto the street.

He has long legs, and he followed her within a few steps. He may have been indoors all the time, with few clothes on his body, and the cold outside made him rub his hands, "Ha... hehe..." The hot air from his mouth and nostrils In an instant, it condensed into layers of frost flowers, numb from the cold, and I forgot to take my cloak just now in a hurry.

When Xing'er heard the breath, she looked at his clothes, lowered her head, took the gray scarf around her neck, and handed it to him.

Wei Ren stood still but didn't take the scarf. He really wanted to ask why he kept avoiding himself, but he really didn't have time to deal with his personal affairs. His eyes were clear and firm, and he tilted his head slightly, meaning to help me wrap it up.

Xing'er frowned.

"Young Madam is waiting." If you come up if you don't want to, then I'll make a fool of myself.

Xing'er pursed her lips, and stretched out her hand to help him wrap it up. Since she often worked indoors and did some accounting work such as writing and writing, the cold winter didn't make her hands suffer from frostbite or dryness. Her hands were still delicate and white, and looked pleasing to the eye.

The time to put on the scarf was very short, as short as a blink of an eye. Seeing that Xing'er's hand was about to leave, Wei Ren stretched out his hand and held it, and it was as he thought, warm and soft.

The moment Xing'er was about to change her face, Wei Ren let go of her hand and strode towards the young lady's small courtyard.

Xing'er was so angry that she stomped her foot on the spot, she was really... really a disciple.

Wei Ren, who was walking in front, could think of the distraught little lady behind him, but he pleased him, the corners of his mouth rose, and his restless heart was instantly soothed.

-

Tie Lizi is reluctant to use it, but salt is willing to use it!What?Salt?What are you using salt for?Oh, by the way, salt can melt snow and ice, which is good for killing enemies on the battlefield.

Hey, isn't this the cavalry that is beneficial to the enemy? The ice and snow are so slippery, and the role of the cavalry is greatly reduced. Why does Xia Zhen want to sprinkle salt?Several captains surrounded Xia Zhen, ambushed behind the trench, and looked into the distance.

The Jin Liao cavalry was advancing slowly, the ground was too slippery and icy, and their cavalry was also hindered. Seeing that they were about to enter the open land that had been melted by salt, Xia Zhen's heart tightened, and he thought to himself, can it be done?

The guard who reported the news pulled up and went to his side, "Little General, the food has been a hundred miles away, and it is about to fall into the eyes of the people of Jinliao?"

"Let the general in front hold you back, and don't let the Jin Liao people find out."

"Yes, the little one will go right away."

Another person said, "Little general, the general in the encirclement on the left asked, is this method feasible?"

"I'll know right away."

"Yes, little general." The guard ran away quickly.

The cold was soaking into the bones, and the cheeks were like ice cubes, and the chilly wind was blowing.The bare trees, like bald old men, could not withstand the attack of the northwest wind and swayed in the cold wind.

Boom... Boom... Seeing a large piece of unfrozen flat land, the Crown Prince stretched out his hand, and the nearly ten thousand cavalry behind him all stopped with a beep. .

"Your Highness..." the general who followed him called out in surprise.

"Go and find out what's going on?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The general who followed him immediately mobilized a small group of people, rode forward, and walked slowly, slowly, for a place or two, but there was no abnormality, neither iron lizards, ice jabbers, nor trap ropes. Turn around and shout: "Your Highness, there is nothing?"

The golden crown prince Yelu Haorong squinted his eyes, he didn't believe such a good thing would happen, "Is there an ambush?"

"Return to Your Highness, there is the Third Prince of Liao outside, if there is an ambush, there should be news coming."

The golden crown prince, Yelu Haorong, did not dare to be careless. During the month of confrontation with Xia Zhen, they only retreated but did not advance. They were worried, and while waving their hands, another team stepped forward to test.During the silence, infantry and cavalry stepped forward in turn, without any abnormality.

"Don't welcome the enemy, this is definitely not the style of Xia's army. Where is the problem?" Golden Crown Prince Yelu Haorong turned to ask the military adviser, "Hurry up and investigate."

"It's Your Highness!" The military adviser quickly mobilized his able men to start the investigation.

The most vanguard team consisted of only a dozen people. Seeing that they were safe in front of them, they turned their horses around, but they couldn't hold the horse's head at all. At some point, the horses lowered their heads and gnawed on the ground, and they didn't cooperate with pulling the reins.

The cavalry thought that only his own horse was like this, but when he looked up to report to the captain, he found that everyone's horses were like this.But they are the most forward, and there is no problem in the subsequent investigation, and the large force has already followed.

The leader of the vanguard jumped off his horse in a hurry, pinched the dirt on the ground with his fingers, and vomited in one gulp, "Bah, it's actually salt, it's salt..." He waved his hands anxiously and shouted: "Your Highness, General, don't let me Come in the cavalry, there's salt... there's salt..."

It's a pity that it's too late, most of the army has already entered the open land that has been salted. The nearly ten thousand cavalry horses of the golden prince Yelu Haorong encountered the "herd effect" and lowered their heads to eat the salty ground. command.

At this moment, Xia Zhen, who was ambushing ten miles away, charged up with his infantry. This time, he almost sent out all the Xia's army, and he wanted to wipe out the people of Liao and Jin in one fell swoop.

Kill... kill... With the sound of war drums, the Xia family army of the Great Wei Dynasty rushed towards the enemy's camp like a tide. position.

"Hiss... woo..."

The reins of the horses were pulled up vigorously by the riders, but they were greedy for the salt water on the ground. They had been short of salt and food for too long, and they were willing to give up because of the salty air in Chad. up.

All the generals shouted in unison, "Your Highness... Your Highness... What should I do?"

Golden Crown Prince Yelu Haorong was also pulling his horse, and it took a lot of effort for him to pull the horse's head up. Looking at the defeated cavalry, his heart ached.

"Smack... give me a whip..."

"General, the war horse has lost its fighting spirit, what should we do?"

How to do?The golden crown prince Yelu Haorong looked at the vast army of the Wei Dynasty, saw their swords slashing at his compatriots, and he was heartbroken and roared: "Withdraw...withdraw..."

The big knives screamed, the swords were waving, the guns were stabbing, the axes and hooks were chopping non-stop, and the cavalry infantry of the Kingdom of Jin, because of their uncooperative horses, were instantly chased and killed by the army of the Wei Dynasty like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. with...

Outside, Xia Zetao heard the roar of the army's killing, and knew that his daughter-in-law's method had worked. He raised his long sword and shouted: "Kill!"

"Kill!" The generals of the three armies roared together, their morale shaking.

The third prince of Liao came to kill the general, the two armies faced each other, the sound of drums and killing shook the sky...

"Report...Report to the prince, the Jin army is going west...The Jin army is going west..."

"what happened?"

"The people of the Great Wei Dynasty used treacherous tricks to make horses eat salt and have no intention of fighting. The golden prince has given up the battlefield..."

The third prince of Liao, whose morale was high, suddenly took a breather. Once he took a breather, the soldiers were defeated at the speed of the naked eye. It seems that the outcome of the battle has been decided. Let's cut into a digression.

The use of salt to lure war horses to fight unintentionally is indeed a trick given to Xia Zhen by the modern Ma Miner. She knows this little knowledge, not because she has read similar war stories somewhere, but because "a certain Ya posted it. 'A bosom friend asked a question, and someone replied, she found it novel, and always remembered the reason in her heart.

A few days ago, when Xia Zhen said that people from Liao and Jin had been robbing food and supplies, this strange incident suddenly came to her mind. We know that people cannot lack water or salt. Without water, people will be thirsty in three days. Death, leaving the salt, although not death for the time being, but no spirit is certain.

The same is true for horses. Ma Miner didn’t know about raising horses in ancient times, but in modern farms, a salt block is often hung in the stables, because the lack of salt (Na) in horses will lead to loss of appetite, slow growth and development, and fatigue. Phenomena, sports horses need to add enough salt.

When a horse is short of salt, it will automatically find salt to eat. For example, a horse will lick a sweaty bridle after exercise.Because Na ions play an important role in nerve and muscle excitation, severe Na deficiency can also cause symptoms of cessation of perspiration and muscle cramps.

The shortage of food in the Jinliao camp was serious. Not only did people have nothing to eat, but horses, an important tool of war, naturally could not escape the lack of food.If it was summer, it would be fine, at least there would be grass to eat, but now the world of ice and snow, the withered grass was frozen, and the horses were even more seriously short of food.

In addition to lack of food, horses in winter are not easy to perspire. Without sweat, they don’t even have to sweat on their own body, and sweat contains high salt content. Without sweat, it means that there is no way to replenish salt. Tired, no desire to fight at all.

Watching the enemy retreat like a tide, Xia Zhen tore off his helmet, let the cold wind soak his forehead, and looked into the distance.

"Little general, do you want to follow?"

"Pioneer Battalion—"

"The end will be—"

"Send your battalion to keep an eye on the defeated army in front, and report the situation to the main battalion at any time."

"Yes, little general." The Vanguard Battalion led the way.

"General Zhu—"

"The last general is—"

"Go to the east to meet the food team sent by the old general, and..." Xia Zhen paused, "and the imperial envoy."

"Yes, General!" General Zhu led the order and left, but his subordinates almost cheered when they heard the grain team, and they suppressed their joy, and ran away with the general.

That's great, food has been delivered, they don't need to be hungry anymore, and the exhausted generals are all elated.

Xia Zhen shouted: "Other generals, withdraw to the defense building and wait for orders."

"Yes, little general!"

After arranging his subordinates, Xia Zhen walked quickly, and soon saw Xia Zetao: "Father—"

"Zhen'er, I heard your arrangement just now, why don't you catch up now?"

"If my guess is correct, they should flee to Liangzhou City and join the people there."

Xia Zetao nodded, "The analysis is."

"So I want to have a full meal before chasing after him." Xia Zhen smiled slightly on his bearded face.

"Haha..." Xia Zetao, who was exhausted, was amused by his son's childish words. Yes, no matter how brave and capable a son is, no matter how old he is, in the eyes of his parents, he will always be a child. He couldn't help but pat his son proudly Shoulder: "Good job, Zhen'er."

"Let's go back to eat." Xia Zhen grinned, no matter what, being by her parents' side is the greatest happiness.

"Okay, let's go."

-

Ma Min'er was worried about food, but Wei Ren told her that the old general had come from Pingding to adjust food, "Oh my God, that's great."

Wei Ren said embarrassingly, "I'm sorry, Young Madam, I've been busy for the past few days, so I didn't have time to tell you that among the grains from Pingding, your chief steward, Guo Daping, also brought twenty or thirty carts of supplies."

"Really."

"Yes."

Ma Min'er was so happy that she almost jumped up, "Now we finally don't have to worry about the New Year's Eve dinner, and finally we can let the soldiers have a full meal."

When they were about to discuss how to eat and have fun for the New Year's Eve dinner, a little guard outside ran in, "Good news...good news..."

"Won the battle?"

Wei Ren said, "There are often victories, and it must be better news than victories."

"Could it be... Could it be that my 'salt' plan was successful?" Ma Min'er exclaimed excitedly.

Wei Ren nodded, "It should be." He thought to himself, after all, all the salt used for food was thrown on the battlefield, and he didn't cook the rice, so he was worried about how to eat the next meal.

Ma Min'er was about to run out to have a look, but held her footsteps again, "No, no, we should prepare a sumptuous dinner for the tired soldiers now."

"What to eat, you give me the list, and I'll make arrangements for those in the army." Wei Ren asked with a smile.

Ma Min'er said happily: "Since the food and supplies have arrived, let's make all the remaining noodles into big white steamed buns, six for each person, and then boil mutton soup, a big bowl for each person, and two more for each person." A radish stick, I think it should be enough to eat, big meat and vegetables, I will make it for them at the New Year's Eve dinner."

(End of this chapter)