......
"Woo woo woo..."
"Woo woo woo..."
The wind outside the house sounded like a child crying, or like a female ghost singing.
It was a very mournful cry.
It made people feel uneasy.
The soldiers in the barracks, who should have been frightened and fearful upon hearing this sound, were completely preoccupied at the moment.
They were listening to a story.
A young soldier was reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future.
The story was ordinary; it was about fighting the local landlord, distributing grain and land to everyone, and working together in the fields and training together. Whenever there was a need, they would step up, but at home, they had fields, land, and wives, and they were willing to go...
......
The style of storytelling was something Jiang Feng started when he took command of the troops.
He continued this practice all the way from the Capital City to the border.
He selected soldiers from the Jingzhou training camp to tell stories, while also privately giving lectures to the more intelligent young men in the new units.
In a world where literacy was rare, knowledge was monopolized by the upper class, and knowledge was as precious as private property, passed down only within families,
Jiang Feng implemented a systematic theoretical education.
He initiated a storm of ideas and propaganda, the effects of which were akin to a pyramid scheme.
It struck at the heart and soul, making people tremble from head to toe.
Everyone was like a chicken pumped with adrenaline, becoming more energetic and excited with each step.
As they marched, they continuously reorganized the troops and purified their thoughts.
By the time they reached the border, even Old General Meng was shocked.
When did their country have such a formidable army? Were they drugged?
Each of them looked unnaturally excited and enthusiastic.
In the past, when troops arrived at the border, they had to execute a couple of deserters to instill fear and keep the rest in line.
There was no other way.
The border was too harsh.
Without killing a few, the morale would collapse before any battles were fought.
It was cruel but normal.
Because it had always been this way.
Only through war, each time risking life and death, fighting together, and surviving together, could one become a steadfast warrior and comrade, and grow stronger continuously.
Death was the most effective training.
To forge a powerful army, two-thirds of the troops would be lost.
Out of ten thousand soldiers, only three thousand might remain, and these three thousand could truly be called warriors.
Old General Meng himself had come through countless life-and-death experiences.
That was how he had his current troops.
But the current troops, before even engaging in battle,
Why did they have such a frenzied fighting spirit, as if they were the noblemen in the city who took drugs, feeling no pain or cold?
However, drugs were extremely expensive, costing more than gold, and could not be used on a large scale.
Moreover, those who took drugs were rendered useless after just a couple of uses; they would need to continue taking drugs to maintain their sanity, otherwise, they would go mad, even losing control of their bladder and bowels.
The nobility, too bored, indulged in the momentary clarity of mind from taking drugs, hoping to write poems that would be passed down through the ages, and in the strong body and powerful heartbeat during the drug's effect, thinking they had taken elixirs of immortality, when in fact, they were merely exhausting their lives.
This time, although Minister Lu was not present, the supply of food still encountered various accidents.
Fortunately, Inspector He made a significant contribution, and the He Family had been well-prepared.
The war situation was very favorable.
But according to the previous agreement,
The letters sent to the Capital City to report the situation were still increasingly severe.
And the channels for sending these letters were controlled by someone.
One by one, the severe letters of distress were replaced with letters of good news.
The Seventh Prince went to the palace to visit his father.
Shortly after, the Ninth Prince also arrived.
Then came the good news from the border.
Great joy, great victory!
The Emperor, lying on his sickbed, looked flushed, as if infused with spiritual vigor, greedily reading the good news.
Eunuch Yan returned, taking over Eunuch Duan's position.
He did not mind the old and decaying smell emanating from the Emperor's aged body.
The two princes, both dutiful sons, stood by the bedside.
They all smelled the strange odor.
It was a stench.
There could not be any hygiene dead spots in the palace.
The floors were spotless.
The stench came from their father's body.
The smell of an old man.
The scent of a rotting tree, on the verge of collapse.
"Good, very good!"
"Cough cough cough."
The Emperor coughed violently, his whole body shaking.
Eunuch Yan immediately handed him a handkerchief.
One hand patted the Emperor's back, the other took the handkerchief, wrapped the Emperor's phlegm, and tucked it back into his clothes.
The Seventh Prince and the Ninth Prince both saw the crimson on the handkerchief, saw their father's trembling body.
The Ninth Prince's eyes were red, the Seventh Prince directly weeping.
"Father."
Aliali: 674843b7c4f3f33ac47659ac
"Father."
The Emperor reached out and grabbed both sons' hands, one in each.
The Emperor held the Seventh Prince's hand, his son's hand was strong but not warm, cold and clammy.
The Ninth Prince's hand was warm.
"Tomorrow is New Year's Day, I'm afraid I won't last long, tomorrow we'll have a family banquet, bring your children, let me see them, I won't have any regrets, I, have important matters to announce." The Emperor's hand was trembling as he spoke.
The Ninth Prince was stunned.
The Seventh Prince wailed.
"Father, I don't want to hear it, I don't want it, I have no ambitions, I only wish Father would look at me more, I don't want anything, I just hope to be by Father's side."
In the antique shelf of the hall, the previously drowned flowers had been replaced, new flowers, bright and gorgeous, silently watched the scene before them.
......