The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 293: Can’t Learn

"leggings?"

Zheng Zhifeng looked at the two long strips of cloth that Zhao Laoba handed her, her face blank.

Zhao Laoba picked up a strip of cloth and demonstrated while explaining:

“That’s right, first bind your legs, that’s what our King taught us back then.”

"I can't quite explain the exact reason, but it seems to be something like improving blood circulation and preventing soreness and swelling in the calves, so that you won't get tired easily when walking long distances."

"Not only that, but binding your legs tightly can also prevent you from being scratched by thorns, snakes, insects, rodents and so on in the forest."

"Just follow along, what could I possibly do to you?"

"Many of our older brothers relied on leg wraps to support their legs during long marches, which is why they didn't have any problems with their feet."

Zheng Zhifeng nodded with some doubt, took the strip of cloth, and, imitating Zhao Laoba, sat on the wooden stool and rolled up her trouser legs.

Zhao Laoba stepped on one end of the cloth strip and began to wrap the other end around his calves and ankles, circle by circle.

"Not too loose, not too tight, ideally you can insert about a finger's width."

"Binding it this way applies even pressure, so it's not too tight and affects blood circulation, nor too loose and loses its effectiveness."

While explaining the key points, Zhao Laoba guided Zheng Zhifeng in her operation.

While wrapping, he deliberately pressed down the edges of the trouser legs to prevent them from coming undone, and only tied a knot to secure them when he wrapped them up to below the knees, demonstrating his extremely skillful technique.

Zheng Zhifeng followed suit, and although her movements were clumsy, she managed to complete it with Zhao Laoba's guidance.

Next came putting on the armor.

After a flurry of activity, Zheng Zhifeng finally put on her cloth armor and fastened the straps.

He jumped around a couple of times, feeling the weight of twenty or thirty pounds on his body. He felt it was still within an acceptable range, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, secretly glad that he didn't have to carry that tiger-squatting cannon.

"Wait!"

Zhao Laoba discovered another problem. He circled around Zheng Zhifeng, listening intently.

Why are there jingling sounds coming from you?

"That won't do! Night raids require absolute silence!"

"The sound of your metal clashing can carry far at night. Isn't that giving the enemy a heads-up?"

As he spoke, he took a few strips of cloth from the auxiliary soldier and handed them to Zheng Zhifeng.
"Take these strips of cloth and use them to tightly wrap up all the exposed iron parts, such as the hilt of the waist knife, the buckle of the quiver, and the edges of the armor plates."

At this moment, Zheng Zhifeng was filled with admiration for this army.

These little details, even if offered money, no one could teach him. Now that he can learn them so easily, how could he dare to have the slightest dissatisfaction?

This trip was absolutely the right one!
With everything prepared, the team assembled at the command of the squad leader and began a 20-mile long march with heavy loads.

At first, when they were traveling three or five miles, Zheng Zhifeng felt quite relaxed and even had the mood to appreciate the surrounding scenery.

Although the mountain road was rugged, the group was in good order, maintained a steady pace, and called out to each other without making a sound.

Sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the ground, accompanied by the soft rustling of footsteps and the occasional chirping of birds.

However, as the journey increased, the slope became steeper and the gravel slope underfoot became increasingly difficult to traverse.

Zheng Zhifeng began to feel short of breath, and sweat kept pouring from her forehead.

The straps of the cloth armor on his shoulders seemed to dig into his flesh, and the water bottle and scabbard at his waist kept hitting his hip bones with each step, making it difficult for him to walk.

In contrast, the Han soldiers around them, though also drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, maintained a steady pace and their formation remained perfectly intact.

The veterans leading the way seemed quite at ease, even reminding their personal guards to watch their step and adjust their breathing as they walked.

Zheng Zhifeng and her group slowed down, and even the three soldiers carrying the tiger-squatting cannon at the back of the group overtook them.

By the end, they had been left far behind and could no longer see the ranks ahead.

Only Zhao Laoba, along with two veterans, stood silently not far away, waiting for Zheng Zhifeng and her group.

Zheng Zhifeng felt like he was about to fall apart. Although he was also a soldier who had experienced storms and battles, he was, after all, a pirate.

Naval battles mostly involved boarding and close combat with brute force, or exchanging cannon fire. I've never experienced such a long, heavily loaded land march before.

The mountain roads in Guizhou, in particular, are winding and steep, which are very physically demanding.

Zheng Zhifeng's legs felt like they were filled with lead, her chest was burning, and sweat blurred her vision. She didn't have time to wipe it away and could only mechanically move slowly along the dirt road.

On the deserted mountain road, only heavy breathing and the occasional cool mountain breeze could be heard.

This twenty-mile stretch of mountainous terrain felt longer than a two-hundred-mile sea voyage.

When she finally reached the finish line, Zheng Zhifeng was almost instantly exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

He lay sprawled on the ground, not wanting to move a single finger, and almost thought he was going to die from exhaustion.

She didn't know how long she had been lying there until the enticing aroma of food wafted in, finally waking Zheng Zhifeng from her deep sleep.

He was helped up by his attendants and staggered to the canteen.

Tonight's meal was exceptionally lavish, with a large pot filled with steaming, glistening stewed meat, a whole basin of chicken and duck, plenty of white rice, and even three bowls of cloudy wine for each person.

After this meal, they were to break camp the next day and head upstream to the Chashan Pass ferry under cover of night.

Zheng Zhifeng was so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back. She didn't care about being dignified anymore and grabbed her bowl and chopsticks to start wolfing down her food.

The stewed meat was tender, savory, and melted in his mouth. One bite filled his exhausted body with satisfaction.

Zheng Zhifeng ate three large bowls of rice before she felt better.

Looking up, I saw that Zhao Laoba across from me was devouring his fifth bowl of rice, which he was eating noisily with meat broth.

Zheng Zhifeng stared in disbelief and couldn't help but ask:
"Squad Leader Zhao, you... have quite an appetite!" A veteran standing nearby chuckled upon hearing this.

"Brother Zheng, you're new here and don't know the situation."

"Why is this guy called Zhao Laoba? It's not because he's the eighth child in his family, it's because he can eat eight bowls of rice."

"Only then did this name become widely known."

Zhao Laoba didn't mind, chuckled, and wiped his mouth:

"Only when you're well-fed will you have the strength to fight the enemy!"

"Tomorrow will be a tough battle!"

Zheng Zhifeng suddenly realized what was going on and started laughing, which immediately lightened the atmosphere considerably.

After the meal, it was completely dark.

Zheng Zhifeng thought she would have to learn to read, but Zhao Laoba shook his head:
"It's free today."

"We need to conserve our energy. We're setting off tomorrow evening. Li Youji has given us twelve hours to rest."

Back in the tent, Zheng Zhifeng felt sore all over, her eyelids were drooping, and she was too lazy to even take off her boots. She just wanted to lie down and sleep.

But as soon as he lay down on the bed, Zhao Laoba pulled him up:
"Don't rush to lay it flat."

"Soak your feet in hot water first, then rinse them."

Zheng Zhifeng was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open.
"what?"

"Why bother soaking your feet? Why pick at the blisters?"

Without wasting words, Zhao Laoba pulled off his boots and socks, then pinched his ankle and said:
"Look for yourself!"

Zheng Zhifeng mustered her strength and looked down by the dim light of the oil lamp in the tent. She couldn't help but gasp.

Several shiny blisters of varying sizes had formed on the soles, sides of his toes, and heels of his feet.

Some of them have even merged into one large area, which is quite frightening to look at.

Seeing his panicked expression, Zhao Laoba comforted him:
“That’s normal. You’re sailors, you haven’t traveled far.”

“Walking such a long mountain road all at once, while carrying a heavy load, it’s no wonder you get blisters.”

"Once you walk more and your skin becomes thicker, it will naturally get better."

"If we don't take care of these blisters, they'll definitely wear out after walking dozens of miles of mountain road tomorrow night, and then we'll really be unable to move an inch."

"Soaking your feet in hot water can improve blood circulation and relieve fatigue."

"Prick the blister, let the fluid out, and then apply some herbal medicine. It will be better tomorrow, otherwise it will hurt like hell."

After listening, Zheng Zhifeng suddenly realized that there was so much to learn about marching and walking. No wonder those veterans were all waiting to get water to soak their feet.

Soon, the auxiliary soldiers helped Zheng Zhilong and his group carry over four basins of hot water.

After thanking him, Zheng Zhifeng slowly immersed his feet in the hot water. The comfortable feeling made him sigh involuntarily, and all his fatigue was relieved.

After soaking for fifteen minutes, until the skin on his feet turned red and wrinkled, Zhao Laoba finally told Zheng Zhifeng to dry his feet and prepare to soak them in water.

He took a thin needle out of his cloth bag and heated it over the oil lamp several times.

Zhao Laoba was skilled; instead of directly puncturing the blister, he used the tip of a needle to prick a small hole on the edge of the blister, and then gently pressed the bulging area.

"Watch carefully, the skin on the surface of the blister must not be torn, otherwise pus and blood will easily grow."

"Wait until the water drains out, then wrap it with a clean cloth..."

As Zhao Laoba operated the machine, he explained the key points in a low voice:

"...The needle must be sterilized; you can't tear the skin off forcefully. You have to let the water drain slowly..."

Despite the stinging pain, Zheng Zhifeng looked at Zhao Laoba's focused expression and couldn't help but ask:
"Captain Zhao, you guys... have you always done it this way?"

"But now that you have occupied Sichuan, you must have a lot of mules and horses in your army, so why do you still need to march on foot?"

"Can't I ride a horse?"

Zhao Laoba didn't even look up, continuing with his work:
What's the use of mules and horses?

"In Guizhou, we can only rely on our own two legs."

“This is not the Great Plains of the North. It is full of deep ravines, dense forests and steep slopes. In many places, mules and horses cannot pass through, and people have to carry the loads.”

"Besides, a beast is still a beast. It doesn't understand human will and it's impossible for it to not make a sound at all."

"During a night raid, the key is to remain completely silent. If the mules or horses snort, slip, or get startled and startle and run around, wouldn't that expose the entire army?"

"On a narrow mountain path, if a horse gets startled and falls, it can completely block the caravan behind it, making it unable to move for a long time."

"Mule and horse animals are especially timid at night. If they encounter an emergency, they are easily startled and their formation will be thrown into chaos."

"As His Majesty has said before, when entering the mountains, one should not contend with horses for the road; these legs that have traversed countless mountains and rivers are the most reliable!"

After saying that, Zhao Laoba handed the tools in his hand to Zheng Zhifeng.
"Alright, you can choose the rest yourself."

"After you've finished picking them out, wrap them in a clean cloth, and you'll be fine the next day."

Zheng Zhifeng took the fine needle and looked at the soldiers in the tent who were focused on preparing for battle. She was filled with emotion.

He couldn't help but ask himself: although he had learned a lot in Guizhou, could he really teach it to the Zheng family when he got back?

Could the pirates under Zheng's command accept such strict discipline and tedious details?

(End of this chapter)