Three Kingdoms

The sun rises from the horizon and gradually climbs into the sky.

All the creatures around seemed to be coming back to life and becoming active again.

More than ten miles south of Zhenlin, about a thousand infantrymen were cooking pots in a mountain col. The steaming mist of porridge mixed with the morning dew and filled the entire camp.

This is a camp hidden on the back of the mountain. Unlike ordinary camps, this camp does not seek danger, but only concealment. Therefore, many tents are even scattered among the rocks, and some are even covered with branches and grass. If it weren't for being so close, it wouldn't be easy to notice that there was a camp here.

Xu Yu pushed open the front of the tent to cover the branches and straw trellises tied together to hide the tent, got out, stretched out, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes due to yawning, and sniffed. I found a stream not far away, squatted down and snored, holding the cold stream water and washed my face, and then I completely woke up.

Xu Yu shook his head and his neck made a rattling sound. He couldn't sleep well last night, so now he felt a little groggy.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't just last night. Xu Yu didn't sleep much during this period. Ever since he took on this hard job, he hasn't been able to sleep well. He was so exhausted every day that even Wei Du came to quietly He said to himself, "Your elder brother is so brave..."

This made Xu Yu himself very embarrassed.

But Xu Yu knew that this was exactly what Xu Huang wanted to achieve.

The eldest brother Xu Huang is still young and has not been in the army for a long time. He just takes this opportunity to establish the rules of discipline in the army. Who asked him to come to his door?

Not taking heavy responsibility on the spot is already a bit of a favor. Now that I am asked to take on such a task, although it is a bit harder, it can be regarded as a death penalty, but a living crime cannot be escaped...

"Xu Junhou, which flag do you think we are going to fly today?" Xu Yu's Qu Chang asked as he brought the breakfast meal.

People in the Han Dynasty had two meals a day at sunrise and early sunset, and soldiers were no exception. However, because both marching and fighting were labor-intensive tasks, the soldiers' meals were less standard than those of ordinary people. It's much higher. At least the rice bowl is thick and full, and there are some wild vegetables and bacon shreds. Unlike some farmers, it's just a pot of soup and water, and they have to fish out the dry ones. The wife and children just drank the soup that seemed to reflect the silhouette of people.

"...Yesterday we flew the horse-character flag. The day before yesterday, we flew the Zhao-character flag or the Zhang-character flag?" Xu Yu said with some uncertainty as he took over the job.

This can't be blamed on Xu Yu. He has been flying too many flags in the past few days, changing them every day. Now he is not sleeping well, he is still a little drowsy, and his brain has not been fully activated.

"...This...seems to be..." The music director was not sure either.

Xu Yu raised his head slightly, blinked, tried hard to recall, and said: "Let's put up a flag with the character Zhao today. It seems that the one with the character Zhao was used the day before yesterday..."

***********************

"Come on, come on, guess what banner Xu Junhou will use today..."

In a tent near the gate of Zhenlin Camp, several soldiers who had not yet taken their turn to be on duty finished their breakfast, then got together and opened the market.

For soldiers who are likely to lose their heads at any time on the battlefield, gambling is the only entertainment in the army.

Although the general knows it, as long as it is not the kind of gambling that affects military discipline, such as gambling in the camp over an open fire during the curfew, it is basically not a big deal if a few people get together like this and just spend a small amount of money to gamble. Tube.

Even among the gentry, the play of Liubo was popular, and some people were awarded high officials because they were proficient in Liubo. Chen Sui, a native of Duling, was a good friend of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty when he was a commoner. He often played gambling with the emperor's great-grandson in trouble. I don't know whether it was due to poor gambling skills or other reasons, but he lost a lot of money to Liu Xun.

Later, when Liu Xun became emperor, he immediately appointed Chen Sui as an official. In the edict appointing him as Taiyuan Prefect, he openly said: "The Taiyuan Prefect is a respected official with a high salary and salary, so I can make up for the gambling losses you lost back then..."

"It's definitely not the horse flag! I just used the horse flag yesterday..."

"Zhao Ziqi! I bet Zhao Ziqi, the day before yesterday was Zhang Ziqi, so today it should be the turn to use Zhao Ziqi!"

"Tch, Ni Zuo is just a melon rind. Xu Junhou pinches it at will. Ni thinks it's his turn..."

The old chief in the tent smiled and did not speak or refute. He took a small wooden sign and wrote down the bets of the soldiers one by one with a knife. Then he read it again, then put it in his arms and said : "Okay, it's almost time for us to take turns, take the guys and go!"

A group of people walked to the front of the camp, just in time to catch up with the shift, and changed posts with the guards at the camp sentry. A few with good eyesight climbed up the tall camp sentry tower, while the others guarded the camp gate. Near the winch...

Of course, the person who is mainly responsible for the camp gate is not the chief, but the music commander. The music commander on duty decides on the opening and closing of the camp door and whether to ring the alarm gong, etc.

"Come on! Come on! Xu Junhou, come on!" The people above the camp sentry shouted to the people below.

A broad sheet of yellow dust rises in the distance, and several flags appear and disappear in the billowing yellow dust.

"What flag did you get?"

"...Can't see clearly, just wait a little longer, I'm so anxious to see the mud..."

"See! It's a Zhang character flag! It's a Zhang character flag!" A soldier on the camp post with the character Zhang on his head laughed, and then shouted to the people below.

Suddenly there were a few low cheers and a few sighs...

As they got closer, Xu Yu arrived in front of the camp and saw Lao Shichang with his head exposed on the wall of the village. He smiled and said, "Old Zhangtou, is it your turn to guard the camp gate today?"

"Yes! Thanks to Junhou..." Lao Shichang responded with a smile.

"Thanks to me?" Xu Yu couldn't react for a moment. What did this mean?

Qu Chang, who was on duty at the camp gate, saw that it was indeed Xu Yu, so he gave the order to open the camp gate.

The old chief led his men and pushed the heavy camp gate winch hard while shouting: "One, two, work harder... One, two, the military lord is back... One, two, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose." ...One or two, I will be reading the book tomorrow..."

"..."

Xu Yu, who was under the camp gate, shook his head speechlessly.

**********************

Just as Xu Yu led his infantry into the Zhenlin Camp, several Xianbei scouts slowly crawled backwards from the grass of a small soil bag about ten miles away from the Zhenlin Camp, and descended to the bottom of the soil bag. He half bent over and ran backwards under the cover of the earthbags. He met two or three other Xianbei scouts who were guarding the horses behind a bush. Then he got on his horse and headed north towards the Xianbei camp...

I am old, my health is not good... my memory is not good... what should I do...