dognovel Chapter 253 Sun Quan Must Never Return to Jiangdong
Chapter 253 Sun Quan Must Never Return to Jiangdong
The uniforms were passed down through several levels before finally reaching the platoon leader, who then distributed them to the troops.
Zhou Laosan is thirty-seven years old this year. He is illiterate and has no great abilities. Because of his age, he was promoted to platoon leader. All nine soldiers under his command are his nephews and nieces from the same village.
After waiting patiently for a long time, Zhou Laosan finally saw the captain return carrying clothes. He hurriedly greeted him with a warm smile and said, "Captain, let me help you."
They promised to help, but after counting out ten sets of clothes, they grabbed them and ran off, infuriating the captain who gritted his teeth and cursed them out.
Zhou Laosan pretended not to hear, went back and threw the clothes to his soldiers one by one, then eagerly took off his own clothes and picked up the new clothes to put them on. But when he unfolded the folded clothes, he was dumbfounded. He held up the unopened clothes and asked, "Captain, what is this? How do I wear it?"
The captain scolded irritably, "Now you know to beg me? General Guan said that thing is called a body tube, you just slip it around your neck. Watch me."
After saying that, he took off his shirt, picked up the girdle, and, in front of all the nearby soldiers, put it around his neck following the captain's earlier demonstration.
The newly issued military uniforms were very simple: a T-shirt, a jacket, and a pair of trousers, with a rope attached to the trousers for leg bindings.
The forests of Jiangnan are teeming with poisonous insects, and if trousers are left open like in the north, snakes, insects, and rodents can easily crawl inside, so they must be tied up.
As for the coat, Guan Xing originally intended to make it like the ones from later generations, but unfortunately there weren't enough buttons, and he couldn't make zippers, so he could only follow the old system of the Han Dynasty and tie it with two ropes.
This wicked era, even the most common button in later generations is a luxury item, it's truly damnable.
Despite this, Zhou Laosan, dressed in his new clothes, excitedly spun around in place and kept asking, "How is it? Does it look good?"
The soldiers under his command, having also changed into their new uniforms, sincerely praised, "Looks good, looks good! You look much more energetic in your new clothes. Look at me, look at me, how do I look?"
As the saying goes, "Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse," and after the soldiers put on their new clothes, their morale and spirits were noticeably boosted.
Looking at their newly transformed teammates and themselves, the soldiers who received their new uniforms were as excited as children.
After the initial excitement, Zhou Laosan carefully put away his old clothes, which he had worn for over ten years. Looking at the clothes, which were dirtier and more tattered than a rag, he said, "I have to keep these safe. I'll see if I can make a set for my wife later."
While the soldiers were overjoyed at their new clothes, Guan Xing was looking at his own palm on the platform where he was to be appointed general and complaining incessantly.
He changed clothes on the spot just like the soldiers. As soon as he got the clothes, his originally clean palms turned black. This damn tattered clothes were actually fading.
The new military uniforms are all black, and since there are so many of them, they naturally don't use any good dyes. In addition, due to the rush to meet the deadline, various perfunctory measures were taken, resulting in a bunch of inferior products that started to fade before they were even washed.
If this happened in later generations, netizens would definitely condemn it.
Guan Xing changed his clothes while cursing and swearing, then lay down on the platform to be appointed general and slept for a quarter of an hour. When he got up, he found that the soldiers had all changed and immediately ordered them to assemble.
The soldiers lined up again and stood together. Looking around, tens of thousands of black figures appeared as one, exuding an unparalleled aura. Just standing there, doing nothing, gave people an extreme sense of oppression.
Feeling the overwhelming pressure, Shen Yi said with slight shock, "The effect of the costume change is too immediate. Even if the army in this state stands still, it will still make people feel scared."
Guan Xing laughed and said, "This is the benefit of unity. We are a collective, and we must always be consistent in our clothing, food, housing, and transportation. Only in this way can we be completely united and calmly deal with any invading enemy."
Guan Xing has a deep understanding of this, because when he was in police academy, he often participated in various training programs, including military training. During military training, everyone wore training uniforms or camouflage uniforms, but when holding daily meetings, they wore their own clothes. If you were lucky enough to stand on the teaching building and observe, you would find that the atmosphere created by uniform clothing and colorful clothing standing together is completely different.
This is why Guan Xing risked his life to re-equip the army.
Guan Xing picked up the megaphone again and shouted, "I was originally planning to provide everyone with a pair of shoes, but the shoes are too difficult and time-consuming to make, so I really can't make them for the time being. But I promise you all, you will definitely have new shoes in three months at most."
What the heck? There are shoes too?
The soldiers instinctively looked down at the broken shoes at their feet, the soles separated from the uppers, and excitedly cheered in unison, "General is mighty! General is mighty..."
In those days, there were no airplanes or high-speed trains, and Jiangdong didn't have enough warhorses. Soldiers like them weren't qualified to ride in carriages, and they basically relied on walking for transportation.
Especially during large-scale military expeditions, they run non-stop every day, often covering hundreds or even thousands of miles. Such long distances rely entirely on the soles of their feet, so the importance of shoes to them is self-evident.
But because of poverty, most people only deserve to wear straw sandals, and many have never seen new shoes in their entire lives. Now, General Guan is promising to give them shoes in front of everyone. How could they not be excited?
As soon as Guan Xing finished speaking, someone burst into tears. You see, for these ordinary soldiers who were always on the move, shoes were much more important than clothes.
Guan Xing ignored their tears and continued shouting, "Shoes and clothes are a small matter. Now I have something more important to tell you all. As you all know, we are soldiers of the King of Hanzhong, and we are now on the territory of Sun Quan, the Marquis of Wu. Sun Quan will definitely not agree to us occupying his land. I have received news that Sun Quan has mobilized a total of 200,000 troops to attack us. We are in big trouble."
He hasn't received any news at all. Not a single word of what he said earlier was true. The so-called 200,000 was just to scare these soldiers.
The soldiers were truly terrified; their faces were blank and their eyes were vacant, and the scene fell into a deathly silence.
After a moment of silence, someone raised their fist and roared, "We don't recognize the so-called Marquis of Wu! The world belongs to the Liu family, and Jiangdong should belong to the King of Hanzhong. What does it have to do with the Sun family? We'll fight the Suns!"
Everyone turned around and were surprised to find that it was Zhou Laosan who had shouted.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhou Laosan became nervous. After a moment of hesitation, he steeled himself and continued to shout, "My family is from Shanyin. Our ancestors were tenant farmers for the He family of Shanyin for generations. Before coming to Damo, Prefect Xie Chong just allocated eight mu of land to my family. This is the first time since my great-grandfather that our Zhou family has owned our own land. If Sun Quan takes it back, my family's land will be taken away by the He family. For my family's land, I will fight that Sun family no matter what."
There were quite a few people from Kuaiji present. Those from northern Kuaiji, which is in Zhejiang, had basically all been allocated land. Upon hearing this, they all roared indignantly, "That's right! For our own land, for our wives and children, we will never allow Sun Quan to fight back. Jiangdong belongs to the King of Hanzhong, not to Sun Quan. We'll fight Sun Quan!"
In an instant, thousands of people shouted in unison, their voices converging and soaring into the sky.
Guan Xing waited a moment before raising his hand to silence them, and then continued, "The land reform in Kuaiji Commandery is basically complete, while the land reform in Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery is still underway. Many brothers from Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery may not have received their land yet, but please don't worry. The newly appointed Prefect of Wu Commandery, Deng Zhi, is actively carrying out land reform, and I believe that it won't be long before you will be able to get your own land."
"I've digressed. Let's get back to the main point. What I want to say is that war kills people, and this is a matter between me and Sun Quan. Those of you who have families and livelihoods really don't need to take this risk with me."
"Also, many of you were captured by me and were summoned to fight in the Wu army before being captured. I guess you haven't been home for a long time. I understand your longing for your wives and children and I can't bear to see you separated from your families for so long. So I've decided to let you go back. If you miss home, you can go back today. Just report to your hamlet chief and you can leave."