Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 333: The Boy's First Taste of Sorrow

Liu Huai and Zhang Baiyu mounted their horses and drove to the temporary camp of the Flying Tiger Army.

At this time, except for seven people who were still wearing armor and on guard, the rest of the more than one hundred Flying Tiger Army knights had taken off their armor and were either watering their horses or starting to cook.

This is a custom that has been maintained since the time of the Loyal Army.

The general army only had two meals a day, morning and evening, and the evening meal was mainly liquid. But the Loyal Army was different. Whenever there was war, they would have a dry meal at noon as a snack.

When they were relatively poor, the armored cavalry could only eat dried tofu. Later, they won several battles, seized a large number of wounded and dead horses, cattle, sheep and supplies, and made a large amount of bacon and dried meat, which finally allowed the elite armored cavalry to eat some meat every day.

There was no population explosion in the Song Dynasty, so there were still some places where pigs and sheep could be raised. By the Qing Dynasty, all the gentler slopes had to be used to grow crops. At that time, people really could only eat less than two meals of meat from birth to death.

But even so, not everyone could eat meat every meal. At least the Taiping Prefecture officials who acted as guides could not have such a wealthy life. They all held porcelain bowls and stretched their necks to look at the bacon boiling in the big pot.

"Mr. Dutong."

Soldiers kept bowing and saluting along the way. Liu Huai held his helmet and nodded all the way. He came to the guides and said, "Divide two people and take the military envoy back."

Several guides holding bowls looked at each other, and the youngest and the most experienced officials put down their bowls and stood up.

Liu Huai nodded: "Half a pound per person, we'll set off after we're full."

Ignoring the two men's surprise and joy, and the envy and jealousy of the other minor officials, Liu Huai continued his instructions: "Zhang Balang, Sun Dalang, the two of you turn back. If you encounter the Jingnan Army, have them hurry back the way we came. After dinner, set off."

"Here!"

The two Flying Tigers soldiers bowed in agreement at the same time.

"I need ten men, skilled in archery and horsemanship, to come with me to explore the gold thieves' camp after dinner." Liu Huai stood in the center of the small camp, holding his helmet, and asked loudly, "Who's coming?"

"I!"

"I'm coming!"

"Don't rush, the General is leading the way, so of course I have to go!"

As the saying goes, the speed of a train depends on the locomotive. When Liu Huai, the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army, expressed his intention to lead by example, the demonstration effect he brought was immense. The soldiers of the Flying Tiger Army almost stopped their work at the same time and began to recommend themselves.

"Silang, go pick some people." Liu Huai patted Zhang Baiyu's shoulder, then went to the stable to inspect the condition of the war horses.

Each Flying Tiger soldier had three horses, but due to the rapid march, some horses in poor condition were left on the road and collected by the lagging soldiers, so there were only a little over 200 horses that could arrive at Cai Shi Town at this time.

Fortunately, the main warhorse was only ridden once when encircling the more than 30 Jin soldiers, and it was not damaged at all, so it was still usable.

After personally washing and brushing several war horses, Liu Huai was mixing horse feed with hay and bean cakes in several large barrels when he suddenly saw a gray shadow jumping out from the roof on the side of the stable.

"Who dares to scout the army?!"

Almost at the same time, the armored soldiers patrolling the surrounding area also discovered the person on the roof, and the next moment, there was the sound of bows and arrows.

"Wait." Liu Huai shook off his handful of grass stems and stopped the sentry's attack. He could see clearly that the person on the roof was a boy of about fifteen years old. His hair was messy, but it was still visible that he had a double bun. The hair around the bun was not shaved off and was quite long.

This was a young man who was about to reach adulthood but had not yet been crowned. He was wearing a dirty gray robe and looked at the soldiers in the yard with a pale face.

"Grand...Grand Marshal..."

"Come down and talk." Liu Huai waved his hand.

The boy wanted to turn around and run, but when he looked at the soldier's half-drawn horn bow, then at the big pot in the distance with white smoke rising from it, and smelled the fragrance coming from his nose, he swallowed his saliva and stepped onto the top of the wall, climbing down along the beams like a monkey.

"What's your name?"

The young boy crossed his arms, as if his tattered coat wasn't enough to protect him from the cold wind. "My surname is Zhen, and I don't have a real name yet. I only have a nickname, Baoyu."

"Zhen Baoyu?" Liu Huai smiled, and couldn't help but think of the protagonist of the Four Great Classical Novels. However, after a quick look, he suddenly realized that although the young man named Zhen Baoyu had a dark face and ragged clothes, his skin was fair and delicate. The ragged clothes were also made of high-quality materials. He seemed to be the son of a wealthy family. "Zhen Baoyu, you didn't come to my camp to look for someone, did you?" Liu Huai clapped his hands and said, "Our Jingnan Army came from Shandong, and there is no one you know."

Zhen Baoyu hesitated to speak, and after a moment he pointed to the lintel of a house behind Liu Huai.

Liu Huai looked back, but only saw the three words "Zhenbaozhai" on the lintel, and immediately understood.

"Is this your home?"

Zhen Baoyu nodded: "I dare not deceive the commander, this is my home."

Liu Huai hadn't expected this excuse, so he immediately said, "Tomorrow at the latest, our army will set up camp outside the town."

This is not because Liu Huai has such high moral standards, but because Cai Shi Town was not built for the purpose of city defense. The earthen walls around it, which are more than one person high, were built purely to facilitate the collection of taxes from passing merchants.

The psychological comfort effect of the large army living there is far greater than the actual city defense.

Especially since the Jingnan Army was about to arrive, it was impossible for them to squeeze here with the Huaixi defeated army of similar size, so they would definitely have to set up a separate camp.

However, upon hearing this, Zhen Baoyu hurriedly shook his head: "General... I, I didn't mean that. I just said that my aunt, my brother's wife, and my nephew are starving. I'm going back home to see if there's any food. I don't dare to disturb the army."

Liu Huai turned around and looked around the Zhen family's courtyard again. Although it was dilapidated and even had traces of blackening from fire, one could still see the carved beams and painted pillars, indicating that it was a wealthy home.

But after being looted by the Jin army, they were also swept through by the defeated Song army. All the edible and valuable things must have been swept away. Where could they find food to fill their stomachs?
"Guan Qilang." Liu Huai sighed, "Bring me a bag of grain and a bowl of rice."

Zhen Baoyu was stunned for a moment, and then wanted to bow deeply, but Liu Huai grabbed his arm.

After a while, Guan Chongyan came with a bag of millet in his left hand and a bowl of half-watery stew with some raw food in his right hand, and handed them to Zhen Baoyu.

Zhen Baoyu took it in a hurry, tied the bag of millet on his shoulder, then held the slightly hot porcelain bowl and wanted to kneel down, but was afraid of spilling the delicious rice. He looked embarrassed for a moment.

"I didn't ask you to take it away. That bag of millet is for your family. Now you finish the food in the bowl in front of me." Liu Huai said seriously.

Zhen Baoyu seemed to want to take the bowl of rice back. He was stunned when he heard this and wanted to say something, but under Liu Huai's gaze, he dared not speak. He had to pick up the bowl and start eating.

At first, Zhen Baoyu ate relatively slowly, but later he began to gobble up the food. In just a few moments, he had licked the bowl clean.

"Where are the elders in your family? How could you, a little boy, come here to look for food?" Although he guessed the answer, Liu Huai still asked.

Zhen Baoyu was slightly stunned, and his tone became lower: "They are all gone, the whole family, all gone..."

"They're all gone..." After mumbling to himself for a few words, Zhen Baoyu choked up and burst into tears: "The Jin thieves killed many people, some died of illness, some died of starvation, and some escaped. Now there is only an aunt, two brothers and sisters-in-law, and a nephew hiding in the dilapidated temple..."

Liu Huai sighed again.

Having faced so many tragedies in the world, he originally thought that his heart had become as hard as steel, but when the real situation came, he still had compassion.

But if we want to save the world, shouldn’t we do it out of compassion?

If we can’t even save a few people, how can we save the world?

"If your aunt can do some laundry and sewing, let her join the army. Even if there's not much money, there's always food to eat and shelter from the rain and snow.

The situation is extremely chaotic right now, and it's difficult for you to find relief. Our army's rations are also limited, so we can only recruit you as auxiliary troops."

Liu Huai said sincerely, "I know what you're worried about, but let me be honest with you. My Jingnan Army is made up of good Shandong families, with land and property. Our army has clear rewards and punishments, so there will definitely be no dirty tricks."

Zhen Baoyu nodded repeatedly, but it was obvious that he did not dare to offend Liu Huai, rather than believing Liu Huai's words.

Seeing this, Liu Huai didn't force it and just waved his hand.

Zhen Baoyu carried the cloth bag, wiped his tears, and left with many thanks.

(End of this chapter)