Chapter 424 Preparing for War (Part 2)

The news of the flag change in Jinghu County was like a hot summer rain, falling from the sky, causing pedestrians who were caught off guard to take cover in a hurry. However, once the rain stopped, the rainwater was quickly evaporated, leaving only some light white traces on the leaves, and the pedestrians continued on their way, cursing.

Just looking at the approaching dark clouds on the horizon, no one would doubt that this shower was just a preview of a more terrible storm.

…

[Gewardin]

[Temporary camp housing "redemptors"]

"We can choose where we want to go - at least that's what that guy Winters Montagne promised."

Facing the "redemptors" who were in ragged clothes and with sallow faces, Major Seb Carrington leaned against a simple chair with no bark off, and spoke in the unique "redemption" style of the Knights of Plato. He said in a tone that he doesn’t care much about anything except women and honor:

"Those who want to go home will be given passes and travel expenses; those who want to stay, the land will be distributed according to the standards of pioneers; those who have made meritorious service to the Tiefeng County garrison, the reward standard will be the same as that of Montagne's soldiers. What do they have? , you have nothing. Each of them has a hundred acres, and you also have a hundred acres."

The officers and soldiers of the expeditionary force who had returned to Plato after hardships gathered around Major Seber and listened nervously to the major's announcement of their fate.

"Major, Montagne spent a lot of effort to redeem us." A lieutenant who shaved his head to cure lice and had sunken cheeks due to long-term malnutrition stood up and asked suspiciously: "What happened? You don’t want them and just let us go for free? Will Veneta people really be so generous?”

"Oh, you don't believe it, do you?" Major Seb showed two wolf-like fangs and suggested with a smile: "Then you go and ask him face to face?"

The lieutenant closed his mouth.

Seb crossed his arms and glanced from left to right at the comrades, colleagues, and subordinates gathered in the low shack.

Among the faces he saw, some had fought side by side with him and sang triumphant songs, some had cuddled up with him to keep warm in the windy and rainy wasteland, and some he didn't know, but they had shared the same kind of love with him. destiny.

He turned to look out the window and waved his hand impatiently: "That's all I can get for you! If you feel dissatisfied, go find the wolf's blood yourself! That's it! Disband! Think carefully before making a decision."

The other people present looked at me and I looked at you, not because they were dissatisfied, but because the terms offered by the other party were so good that it was unbelievable.

"Major." A thin auxiliary soldier, leaning on two crutches, struggled to the front and asked timidly: "Can someone like me... also be assigned a place?"

The thin auxiliary soldier's trouser leg below his left knee was empty, with nothing left.

Seb couldn't bear to look. He turned his head and replied stiffly: "Yes! Why not? There are all of them!"

The wooden shack suddenly became noisy. Those who didn't hear clearly were asking others in a panic what the major said, while those who heard clearly had more questions.

"Can you put it on the account first? Sir." A soldier asked eagerly: "I want to go home first and pick up my family before I claim the land. Is that okay?"

Another officer frowned and asked: "Sir, if we want to return to Jiangbei Province, does Captain Montagne have a ship?"

"Where will the land be divided? Will Montagne directly allocate it to us, or will we have to divide it ourselves?"

"Are we only going to be given land? Where are the farm tools and livestock?"

“Can the allocated land be sold?”

Major Seb felt a thousand mosquitoes buzzing in his ear canals, which made him extremely irritated. He kicked the chair under him to pieces with his whip and shouted angrily: "Shut up!"

The shack suddenly became quiet.

The major showed a ferocious look like a wolf again, and shouted sternly: "Ask me this and that, I'm not from Winters Montagne, how can I know?!"

Everyone present unconsciously avoided the major's gaze.

After taking a few deep breaths, Major Seber slapped his thigh and said helplessly: "Let's do this! I'll go find Richard Mason and let him answer your questions."

The tense atmosphere in the shack relaxed, and everyone's hearts settled down.

"That's right." Major Seber suddenly remembered something and scratched his hair: "Whether you leave or stay, your matters will have to wait for a while to be processed."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's hearts, which had just been relieved, rose to their throats again.

"Major." An officer asked tentatively: "Please wait for a while...how long do you want to wait?"

"When to wait? Of course, wait until there is no war in the newly cultivated land." Major Seb sneered: "Don't you know yet? Arpad's troops have already occupied Jinghu County, and outside Jinghu County is the Great Council. Soldier. Even if I issue you a pass now, would you dare to go on the road?"

After listening to the major's words, everyone was either thoughtful or whispering.

A sergeant plucked up the courage and asked from behind the crowd: "Sir, are you leaving or staying?"

"I'll stay and help Montagne fight another war." Seb Carrington answered simply. He was silent for a moment, raised his head, and said indifferently: "The war is coming, and he is short of manpower. Although that kid said nothing about himself Neither, but I don’t want to owe him a favor.”

…

[Gewardin]

[New Army Barracks]

"Sergeant!" The monkey ran into the barracks happily, and his shout could be heard from a distance: "Sergeant! Good news!"

In the barracks, veteran Lu Xirong was sewing tents. He raised his head and scolded the monkey with a stern face: "Keep your voice down! The military camp is quiet and there is no room for arrogance. Be careful that the military police will hang you up and whip you!"

The monkey heard the words and gave himself a mouthful. He stood next to Lu Xirong, holding his knees with his hands and finally catching his breath, and asked mysteriously: "Have you heard about it?"

Lu Xirong concentrated on mending the holes in the tent and ignored the monkey.

"Hi! Let me tell you!" Monkey couldn't hold it back and announced the good news with great joy: "The commendation order has been issued! Mr. Tamas has been officially promoted to battalion commander!"

"Oh." Lu Xirong didn't even raise his head.

"Why don't you understand?" Monkey pulled a bench, sat down next to Lu Xirong, and came closer in a cowardly manner: "Is this a good thing?"

"What's so good about it?"

Monkey slapped his thigh and said with a smile: "Think about it! Now that Mr. Tamas has been promoted to battalion commander, will the position of company commander become vacant?"

"oh."

"Since Master Tamas has been promoted to one level, should Sergeant Bunir be promoted to another level as well?" Monkey analyzed lucidly: "If Sergeant Bunir also takes a step up, wouldn't you be..."

Old Lu Xirong bit off the thread, tied a knot, then checked the stitches in the light, and then stuffed the tent cloth into the monkey's arms; "It hasn't been used for a while, take it out to dry in the sun to remove the musty smell." .”

Without saying a word, the monkey hugged Mengbu and ran out. After drying the cloth three times, five times and two times, he ran back in a hurry.

By the time he returned to the barracks, Lu Xirong had already taken out all the backpacks of his "room mates".

The monkey squatted next to Lu Xirong and complained: "Please stop being busy! I'm telling you something important!"

Lu Xirong opened his backpack and poured out the contents for inspection. There was no emotion on his weather-beaten, ravaged face: "This is the most important thing."

"You can do this kind of thing anytime." Monkey approached Lu Xirong and couldn't hide his excitement: "Let me tell you - you are going to be a sergeant again! A real sergeant! Eh? What do you think? Aren't you happy?"

Lu Xirong ignored the monkey, but took the monkey's bag in front of him and opened it. Then he was stunned and asked: "What is this?"

"What?" Monkey tried to play dumb.

Roussillon reached into the monkey's backpack and pulled out a messy fishing net. The latter's backpack deflated in an instant.

The monkey swallowed his saliva and said with a playful smile: "Fishing net? Don't you recognize it?"

As he spoke, he took the fishing net and tried to spread it out. Unfortunately, because they were placed too casually, the knots of the fishing net were entangled with each other and could not be untangled.

Although old Lu Xirong was used to seeing all kinds of people, he was trembling with anger at the monkey: "You don't bring anything you want to use seriously! Why are you bringing a broken fishing net?!"

"Believe me! This thing is useful!" The monkey held the fishing net and said aggrievedly and proudly: "I have fully realized that the fishing net is the most useful thing on the battlefield! No matter how strong you are or how good your martial arts skills are, I will see it right. As soon as the opportunity catches up with the net - hey! You can only catch him without any help. That is to say, during the battle of blood and mud, I didn't have a fishing net in my hand, otherwise that Qing Ling Yu would definitely be beheaded by me!"

"You know what war is like! You know what things are useful! You know everything! You know best!" Old Lu Xirong was so angry that he raised his hand and slapped the monkey's head twice. It’s because the cesspit hasn’t been dug enough!”

"The tribune punished me for digging a toilet because I beat the prisoner." The monkey nimbly avoided the old sergeant's slap and ran out the door while defending himself: "But didn't the tribune also take that man's sword? Rewarded me? That’s the credit of the fishing net! If I didn’t have the fishing net, how could I be credited with capturing that guy?”

"Stay tough!" Lu Xirong picked up the fire stick and chased after him.

The two of them ran away and chased each other. Lu Xirong was older and felt exhausted after just a few steps after chasing him.

He stopped, panting heavily, pressing his back, and ordered the monkey: "Okay! Stop running! Come here! I have something really important to tell you!"

The monkey held the fishing net, his eyes full of vigilance. He moved closer to the old sergeant little by little, like a squirming snail, and was ready to run again at any time.

"come over!"

"Put the stick down first."

"Come here!" Lu Xirong hit the ground with a stick angrily.

Realizing that the old sergeant was really unhappy, the monkey reluctantly returned to Lu Xirong.

The sophisticated Lu Xirong seized the monkey's flaw, grabbed the hem of the recruit Danzi's clothes, swung the fire stick and beat the monkey violently, making the monkey cry and howl for mercy.

After venting his anger, Old Lu Xirong panted and threw away the fire stick and sat down outside the barracks: "In the army, the most taboo thing is to be stubborn and tough! You have to stand up straight after being beaten! Do you understand?"

Monkey rubbed his butt and thighs and almost burst into tears: "Why am I so stubborn?"

"This is a stubborn mouth!" Lu Xirong frowned and waved to the monkey: "Come and sit."

"I'd better stand. My butt hurts."

Old Lu Xirong let out a long sigh, patted his sore knees, looked at the monkey, and said, "You kid...actually you have always been very lucky."

"What kind of luck?" The monkey cried sadly: "After two battles, I didn't get a single first-level skill! After finally capturing a guy, I got a sword and was punished by digging a toilet for a month."

Old Lu Xirong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "You... the first time you went into battle was a blood-mud battle. You can still walk off the battlefield alive and kicking. Doesn't that mean you are lucky?"

The monkey said "Oh" disapprovingly. He was thinking of Sergeant Bunir and his childhood.

"Besides, not every big-headed soldier can act as if nothing happened after offending a nobleman. Who are they? Who are you? If they just talk, you have to sweat and bleed! Even risk your life. Get in!" Lu Xirong continued to say earnestly:

"But you are lucky. Montagne is a rare and fair commander in the military camp. Punishment is punishment, reward is reward, and there is no favoritism. Do you think asking you to dig a toilet is a punishment for you? That is partiality for you! Do you believe it or not, if Mr. Montagne wants to punish you, but even if he doesn't speak, there are many people rushing to punish you for him?"

The monkey sat next to the old sergeant and said "Oh" dejectedly.

"So, little monkey." Old Lu Xirong sighed again: "I'm afraid you will use up all your luck too early. What will you do by then?"

The monkey stopped talking.

"I heard that Monsignor Montagne is going to re-run his school and is selecting soldiers who are loyal, reliable and smart." Old Roussillon told the serious thing he really wanted to tell the monkey - that he was a soldier for the monkey. Pondering the way out: "I have already begged Sergeant Bunir, and he promised to add your name to it. You are still young and smart, and you still have a chance... don't waste it."

"I won't go!" Hearing that he was about to be separated from the old sergeant, Monkey subconsciously resisted and begged hurriedly: "Sergeant, my parents died early. No one has been nice to me except Gouzi and you. ——From now on, I will call you daddy! I have had a headache since I was a child when I read the word. Dad, please don’t drive me away! I will listen to you in everything from now on! Let’s cut off our heads in exchange for military honors. It’s no better than What kind of bullshit school is it?”

There was reluctance in Lu Xirong's eyes, but his tone did not soften. Instead, he lectured more sternly and resolutely: "You kid, you don't understand anything! That's not an ordinary school, it's a school for training officers. Sir Tamas , Chief Xia Ling... Those people you dare not look up now are all from the same training class. If you go in and study hard, you will be an officer when you come out! Isn't it better than being an officer all your life? Is the big-headed soldier strong?"

"What does an officer have?" Monkey wiped his tears: "I don't care about it!"

Lu Xirong suddenly stood up, slapped the monkey hard, and said sadly: "Open your eyes and look! We just finished fighting! There is going to be another war! There will always be endless wars! No matter how lucky you are, , there will be a day when it will be used up! Do you want to be like me, childless, homeless, jobless - nothing! Are you destined to die on the battlefield?!"

The monkey grabbed the hem of Lu Xirong's clothes and cried loudly.

…

At the same time, on the other side of the barracks, in the office area belonging to the officers.

"You must make it clear to everyone. Say it repeatedly to make sure everyone understands." Tamas signed his name on the supply list crookedly and said without looking up: "The Battle of Shovel Harbor is The last head will be recorded for merit. From now on, indiscriminate killing of prisoners will be severely punished. Let everyone not worry, the tribunes are formulating a new set of regulations for recording merit and distribution of spoils, which will be promulgated soon."

Peter Burnier nodded.

Tamas frowned again, squinted his eyes, and signed a few documents awkwardly with his pen. When he looked up, Peter Bunier was still where he was.

"Anything else?" Tamas asked.

"Battal Commander." Shorty Peter lowered his head and asked nonchalantly: "Can I really be a company commander? Can I really...can I manage hundreds of people? When I think about it, if I do something wrong, they might die. , I just... my legs are weak..."

Tamas thought for a while, put away the pen and paper, and asked seriously: "Then do you think I am qualified to be the battalion commander?"

"Yes!" Shorty Peter replied without hesitation.

"But I never thought I was qualified." Tamas was silent for a long time and said hoarsely: "I was just a soldier feeding the horses. I would do whatever they asked me to do, and I would go wherever they asked me to. Where are we going? I was taught how to read by the tribune, and I can’t even write my own name! Am I worthy of commanding others? Am I worthy of shouldering the lives of four hundred and eighty soldiers? Bart Summer Ling is far more qualified than me to be the commander of the first battalion. Why me? Why? I don’t understand either."

Shorty Peter didn't know how to answer.

"But sometimes..." Tamas struggled to organize his words: "What happens to us doesn't matter what we think. I don't want to lose the battle, but we lost in the wilderness. I just want to save money to buy a piece of land. , live peacefully, but now I sit here... Do you understand? Peter? It doesn't matter what we think - it should be said that it doesn't matter! What matters is how we choose and what we do."

Shorty Peter nodded confusedly.

"You have been on the battlefield, charged in the most dangerous places, and made meritorious service many times. The soldiers respect you. When you were in charge of a company alone, you also completed the assigned responsibilities." Tamas picked up the quill again:

"Whether you are brave or cowardly, capable or lucky, given your resume, His Excellency the Tribune believes that you can temporarily act as the commander of the first company. In the future, you will be determined based on your performance. Formal appointment. So—congratulations, Captain Bunir.”

Tamas lowered his head and continued to check the supply list: "Now, go back to your company."

"yes."

Peter Bunier raised his hand in salute, turned and left.

[82332/100000]

[Unsurprisingly, it should be up, middle and down...]

[Characters in this chapter]

[Major Seb Carrington: Once the No. 1 troll in the Plato Army, currently the No. 2 troll; member of the Expeditionary Force, captured in the Battle of the Great Waste, and later ransomed by Winters; Plato People used to use sabers to refer to the number of cavalry, and Seb was the only one who was called "that saber" because he was so brave that he was almost crazy;]

[Veteran Lu Xirong: When he was drafted into the army by lot, Lu Xirong was only eighteen years old, but now, he is already fifty-one years old. He hates the army and war, but for him, the army is also a place like home, and war is the only thing he is familiar with]

[Monkey: Another 18-year-old soldier who is arrogant yet timid, clever yet reckless, naughty yet loyal; he will be kind to whoever treats him well, and he is still a child who is easy to understand]

[Tamas: The leader of Winters' twelve Arhats... no, no, it should be said to be the leader of his twelve soldiers; because the second company commander is too "competent", he has been feeling ashamed and embarrassed for a long time. In self-doubt...]

[Peter Burnier: This man is surprisingly short and sometimes brave; he’s lucky]

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