Chapter 854 The War Is About to Start

However, Emperor Qing did not seem to be prepared to let Qin Hao be cannon fodder, and assigned him a task of escorting baggage.

After receiving the transfer order from the Ministry of War, Qin Hao first came to the military camp of the Military Department and gathered a thousand soldiers. These would be his elite troops on the battlefield in the future.

"All the only sons in the family, step out, and those without the latter, step out!"

The soldiers subconsciously stepped out of the queue.

Suddenly, a young soldier shouted: "Commander, although I am the only son in the family, my wife gave birth to two boys, so let me follow you to fight the Qi dog."

"Yes, commander, let me follow you!"

After one or two years of getting along, in the minds of the soldiers of the Military Department, Qin Hao is the best commander, especially for those poor soldiers, it is Qin Hao who has won enough food and wages for them to support their families. Compared with those superiors in other military camps who suck the blood of soldiers, eat empty salaries, and even treat ordinary soldiers as slaves, Qin Hao is simply a savior.

Of course, the reason why these soldiers took the initiative to petition to follow Qin Hao to the battlefield was not entirely because of Qin Hao's personal charm, but mainly because of the laws of Qing.

A few decades ago, Qing was just an inconspicuous vassal state, and the ruler of this continent was the Wei Dynasty.

At the end of a dynasty, there are naturally tyrants and treacherous ministers in power, and exploitation and oppression of Qing is common.

At that time, the people of Qing were exploited and overwhelmed, which led to the fact that Qing later joined other vassal states to rise up, eventually overthrowing the Wei Dynasty, and gradually annexing the remaining vassal states to become the most powerful vassal state in the world.

In such a short period of time, from being oppressed to singing serfs, in addition to the wisdom of the two generations of monarchs of Qing and the existence of Ye Qingmei, who is like a plug-in.

The laws of Qing also played a key role in this. The laws of Qing are somewhat similar to those of Qin. The fastest way for ordinary people to stand out is to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and make merit.

Qin Hao even suspected that Ye Qingmei also made a lot of efforts when Qing State formulated the law.

Although when Qing State gradually became stronger, those noble forces still oppressed ordinary people, but the upward channel was not completely cut off. Ordinary people could still get promoted by going to the battlefield, which was still very attractive to the poor people.

Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh when he saw this scene. No wonder Emperor Qing was confident in unifying the world. The people's hearts were probably like this, right?

"Shut up, everyone. The swords on the battlefield are blind. What's more, if you go to the battlefield, what about the defense of the capital? This time, His Majesty allowed a thousand people to go, which was a special grace. Why did the only son in the family come to join in the fun? If you have any good or bad things on the battlefield in the future, how can I explain to your family?"

"All those who came out, turn around and start walking!"

The soldiers who came out left the queue step by step with tears in their eyes. After Qin Hao counted a thousand people, he led his men to the imperial army camp in the suburbs of Beijing.

Just as Qin Hao expected, the remaining 9,000 troops given to him by the Ministry of War could only be described as misshapen. Not only were they skinny, they had almost no military appearance, and none of them even had leather armor on them. When they lined up, they were all staggering. It was obvious that they neglected training.

Qin Hao did not blame these soldiers. After all, they could not even get enough pay, and they were not well fed or clothed. It was a foolish dream to expect them to become elite troops that could fight ten to one. If they really had this ability, Emperor Qing would have unified the world long ago, and would not have allowed Northern Qi to jump around for so many years.

"Go, after returning to our camp, let the cooks make a full meal for everyone, and then take a hot bath."

"Yes."

Then, Qin Hao led his own 10,000 troops to the lower reaches of Liujing River to camp. The baggage of the Ministry of War was not ready yet, so they did not need to set off immediately. They still had ten days to rest.

Soon, a large pot was set up in the center of the newly built camp, and white steamed buns were put into the steamer. What made the imperial guards even more stunned was that the cooks actually killed several pigs.

"My God, these officials are too good, eating so many pigs in one meal."

"That's right, it's better than what our previous commanders ate."

Hearing the discussion of these imperial guards, the soldiers of the military department were full of disdain.

"Country bumpkin, these are not only for the officials to eat, but also for us to eat."

The imperial guards looked incredulous.

"Here, we can also eat meat?"

"Impossible, how can the officials be so kind, and let us eat meat during the festival? It's good enough to have a sip of soup."

The soldiers of the military department liked their inexperienced look and laughed and scolded them.

"Why don't you ask about the treatment of our Bingmasi? Since the commander came, we have been paid full salary every month. It's just pork. Our military camp has built a special pig farm and kills a few pigs every three or five days."

"That's right, you thought you were still in the Imperial Guards. You can enjoy the good life by following our commander in the future."

Some of the soldiers in the Imperial Guards suddenly exclaimed.

"So you are from the Bingmasi. I heard from the uncle of Erniu's family in the next village that there are several people in their village who are from the Bingmasi. It's true."

"I have also heard that the treatment of the Bingmasi is very good. Not only can you get full salary, but you can also eat meat. But I heard that the training is very hard."

"You can get full salary and eat meat. What does it matter if the training is hard?"

"That's right, it's just a few strengths. I've had enough food and drink, so why should I be stingy with this strength?"

Then, the imperial guards curiously sat around the soldiers of the Bingma Division and asked about the situation of the Bingma Division.

The thousand soldiers of the Bingma Division were willing to follow Qin Hao, so naturally they had to say good things about Qin Hao. In fact, they didn't need to say much. For those imperial guards, as long as they could have enough food and get their pay, they would be very happy.

"The steamed buns are cooked, and the pork and the other dishes are ready. Let's eat!"

With the shouts of the cooks, the whole barracks exploded, especially the imperial guards, who wanted to get into the pot and eat heartily.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're standing here stupidly. Do you think you can get full? Go get a bowl!"

The cooks knocked on the edge of the pot with spoons and laughed and scolded.

The soldiers of the Imperial Guards saw that the soldiers of the Military Department had already lined up to get bowls, and then they woke up from their dreams and hurried over to line up.

Smelling the aroma of the steamed buns and pork in the big pot, the soldiers of the Imperial Guards were so greedy that they wanted to fill the bowls in their hands, but seeing that the soldiers of the Military Department lined up in an orderly manner, they had to line up as well.

Finally, the first soldier of the Imperial Guards got a bowl of pork stew and two big steamed buns.

While chewing the steamed buns and drinking the pork and vegetable soup, the long-lost meaty smell kept stimulating his taste buds.

"Woo woo~~~ If I can have such a meal every month, even if I die, it's worth it!"

At this moment, his former comrades did not laugh at him, because they had the same idea.

The soldiers of the Military Department saw this scene, and they all smiled, but no one laughed, because they saw their own shadows in these imperial guards. Before meeting Qin Hao, they never thought that they would be able to eat meat in the barracks one day.

"General Qin is very skilled, I admire him."

Deputy General Ye Pei bowed to Qin Hao sincerely. Just a meal made the soldiers in the army return to their hearts. This was the first time he had seen such a method since he joined the army.

"It's just empathy. Deputy General Ye, please follow Qin and the soldiers to have a meal together."

Ye Pei originally thought that Qin Hao's words about having a meal together were just talk, but he soon found out that he was wrong. Qin Hao really lined up with a bowl in the back. Those imperial guards had never seen one, so they subconsciously made way.

Qin Hao smiled and shook his head at them, pointing at the soldiers of the Military Department.

"From now on, when eating, everyone in the barracks will be treated equally. If you come late, you will have to line up!"

The imperial guards looked at the soldiers of the military department who were still calm and composed in front, and then they believed that Qin Hao was not pretending.

After eating, Qin Hao asked the cooks to start boiling hot water, and the logistics staff brought lime and sprinkled it in the bucket.

"Everyone go in and wash for a cup of tea, and soak all your hair in it. You are not allowed to sleep if you are not washed clean!"

Qin Hao was too lazy to tell them the common sense that hygiene can prevent diseases. That would be a waste of time and far less effective than a military order.

After eating and drinking, washing, the imperial guards changed into clean military uniforms and walked back to the tent. Each of them even doubted whether they had a dream today.

"Fairy of the temple, if it is a dream, it is best not to let me wake up forever."

The moon sets and the sun rises, and the dawn begins to appear on the horizon, like a shy girl gently lifting the curtain of the night. The air was filled with a faint coolness and the fragrance of soil, and a quick gong sound shattered this quiet morning.

The soldiers of the Imperial Guards who slept peacefully were still in a daze, while the soldiers of the Military Department had already dressed neatly, took up their weapons and ran all the way to the parade ground.

As the Imperial Guards soldiers finished their assembly in a sparse manner, Qin Hao did not punish them too much, but followed the example and asked the soldiers who arrived at the parade ground after three gong sounds to line up separately.

Deputy General Ye Pei looked at the soldiers who were punished to run in circles. Although they were reluctant, no one disobeyed Qin Hao's military orders. He looked at Qin Hao with admiration in his eyes. He knew very well how difficult it was for an army that had just been under his command to enforce discipline, but Qin Hao only took one day to do it.

"No wonder Uncle Ye accepted a person from another family as his apprentice. Even if this boy cannot become a grandmaster in the future, he will surely become a famous general of the Qing Kingdom."

In the following few days, although there was only one extra meal in the military camp, few people complained. After all, eating meat every meal was not something that ordinary people could expect. Moreover, although meat could only be eaten once every seven days, there were enough steamed buns, rice, and porridge on weekdays, and even pickled vegetables to go with the rice. Would you dare to think of such a life in the past?

Whenever someone complained, they would be quickly retorted by the people around them.

"You don't know your surname after just a few days of good life? Don't you know what kind of life we ​​lived before?"

"That's right, you still say weird things in this day, you have no conscience."

During this period of time, Qin Hao was not idle. He selected 500 people from the 1,000 people brought by the original Bingmasi and incorporated them into the new team to serve as the ten leaders, centurions and other grassroots officials.

After two years of training, these people are much better than the imperial guards in all aspects. Even the imperial guards are very convinced of this. In the military camp, whoever has the bigger fist has the more powerful words.

Finally, on the tenth day, the food and supplies allocated by the Ministry of War finally arrived. Qin Hao did not delay and led his soldiers to set off on the same day.

As soon as the army broke camp, Qin Hao saw a flower boat floating down the Liujing River.

"Brother Qin, you must come back safely." Fan Ruoruo stood on the bow of the boat and waved to the shore.

"Well, take care of yourself." Qin Hao replied loudly while sitting on the horse.

Fan Xian also raised his hands to Qin Hao and said loudly: "Old Qin, everything goes well, come back alive!"

"Don't worry, you still owe me a favor. I won't die that easily before you repay it." Qin Hao smiled at Fan Xian. He had originally promised Fan Xian to help him lure Yan Xiaoyi away. However, I heard that Yan Xiaoyi was going to the border this time, so he was helping Fan Xian in disguise.

While Qin Hao was talking to Fan Xian, Si Lili, who was wearing a black and gold flowing dress, also came out of the cabin. She just stood tightly on the bow of the ship, looking in the direction of Qin Hao from a distance, but did not say a word.

Perhaps Si Lili was very conflicted in her heart. She wanted Qingguo to lose this national war, but at the same time she didn't want anything to happen to Qin Hao.

Qin Hao just waved to Si Lili, then whipped up his horse and led the team all the way north.

Going north from the capital, Qin Hao led an army of 10,000 people and walked for nearly two months before arriving in Dingzhou.

According to the march map in the army, Dingzhou borders Langya County of the Northern Qi Dynasty. There had been constant friction between the two sides and they were already close to the battlefield. Therefore, on the day he arrived in Dingzhou, Qin Hao issued a first-level combat readiness order.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful. Apart from encountering a few groups of blind bandits, there was no sneak attack by the Northern Qi army, and they arrived at the Dingzhou camp safely.

Qin Ming, the head coach of Dingzhou Camp, gave Qin Hao a high level of courtesy, partly because of Qin Hao's ninth-level strength, and partly because both of them had the same surname: Qin.

According to Qin Ming, the two parties traced back more than ten generations and still had the same ancestors, so the intention to win over was very obvious.

Naturally, Qin Hao had no reason to offend Qin Ming for nothing, so he agreed.

"What is the relationship between Qin Ming and Qin Ye?"

In the military tent, Qin Hao dismissed all the other soldiers, leaving only a young soldier with a thin body and tender skin.

"In terms of seniority, Qin Ming should call Qin Ye his uncle. Qin Ye is deeply rooted in the Qing army, and even our Ye family cannot shake it."

Ye Ling'er, who was dressed as a soldier, was as good as Jiazhen.

As for Ye Linger, who disguised herself as a woman and sneaked into the military camp, Qin Hao only discovered it when the army was halfway through the march, so he had no choice but to keep her by his side pretending to be a soldier.