Days of marching were monotonous, boring, and exhausting. Although they were all sons of Guanzhong, each one brave and skilled in battle, marching under the blazing sun required tremendous endurance.
Vice Commander Niu Jinda wore full helmet and armor, holding his horsewhip and leading the vanguard to open the way ahead. General Cheng Yaojin was fully armored, holding the center of the army. Cheng Chumo pressed along with the grain supplies and military equipment, following at the tail of the central army.
The two commanders received not a shred of preferential treatment, silently marching under the scorching sun. If Cheng Chumo hadn’t found wearing the bright armor unbearably hot, he absolutely would not have climbed onto Yun Ye’s cart to seek temporary shelter. Perhaps this was the integrity of ancient soldiers. In this era when armies were led by personal charisma, this was also the exemplary conduct that a qualified commander must demonstrate.
Old Cheng had already suffered mild heat stroke yesterday. Yun Ye used copper coins to perform gua sha scraping therapy on him. Although the scraping left his back with red marks here and blue marks there—clearly his technique wasn’t up to par—it still allowed Old Cheng to sleep well.
Before the march, Old Cheng specifically had Yun Ye teach the military physicians this simple yet effective treatment method. After all, in recent days the number of heat stroke victims had reached a hundred men. Yun Ye had no way to tell the military physicians that this was a severe electrolyte deficiency phenomenon. He could only learn Cheng Chumo’s educational method and imperiously tell the military physicians not to ask why—just do it. He prepared large quantities of salt-sugar water to pour down the throats of soldiers suffering from heat stroke.
Perhaps Yun Ye had stumbled upon the correct treatment method, or perhaps the soldiers’ constitutions were good. In any case, just now the military physician came to report that the symptoms of the heat stroke soldiers lying in the carts had been alleviated. They could now consume liquid foods, and their overall high fever had receded.
When the military physician reported this news, his eyes were full of respect. It seemed that in the eyes of the military physicians, he had become an unattainably renowned physician. Yun Ye didn’t feel much pride—in the future world, the treatment he himself had received for heat stroke during military training was nothing more than this. Therefore, Yun Ye firmly believed this was the simplest, most effective, and most economical way to treat heat stroke.
After instructing the military physician to continue giving the wounded soldiers salt-sugar water and mung bean soup, and to let them rest well while waiting for their physical strength to recover, the military physician departed with his orders. Yun Ye couldn’t help but worry about Old Cheng. Although still in his prime years, marching during the day and planning routes and defensive issues at night meant he certainly wasn’t resting well—what if something went wrong?
He pulled out his own sunglasses. Though they were cheap goods worth two hundred yuan, they could still effectively block sunlight and prevent it from harming his eyes. He drank two cans of cool ice salt water, then knocked off several large chunks of ice and threw them into the cans. He instructed the civilian driver to speed up and catch up with Old Cheng.
Passing the long column, before long he saw Old Cheng barely keeping his blood-red eyes open, forcibly straightening his body and sitting on horseback as he traveled. He quickly called out to Old Cheng: “Uncle Cheng, please rest for a moment.” As he spoke, he jumped down from the cart and grabbed Old Cheng’s horse reins.
“Get lost, boy! If you obstruct my warhorse again, watch out for military law!” Old Cheng knew Yun Ye was concerned about his health. His heart warmed, but his mouth showed no mercy.
“This subordinate is currently the logistics camp’s march clerk. The commander is the backbone of our Left Guard of Martial Prowess. Your physical condition also falls under this subordinate’s jurisdiction. There is now excellent medicine for heat relief—please, Commander, take it.” Having said this in all seriousness, Yun Ye raised the can and handed it to Old Cheng.
Old Cheng had already drunk a lot of water, yet it felt as if a ball of fire was burning in his chest. No matter how much water he drank, it couldn’t extinguish the flames in his heart. Hearing Yun Ye say this, he grabbed the can, tilted his head back, and fiercely gulped down a large mouthful. He felt a stream of coolness slide from his mouth straight down to his abdomen, and couldn’t help but exhale a long breath. He felt that ball of fire in his chest instantly escape from his body with that long breath. He simply raised the can and poured it over his head. He gave a shiver—his entire body felt refreshed.
He fished out an ice chunk and casually tossed it to a nearby personal guard, then lowered his head and said to Yun Ye: “This old man has taken the medicine. Now get back in your cart. If you wander around without permission again, the military rod will serve you.” Having said this, he saw Yun Ye take out another can, so he instructed his personal soldiers to send the can to Niu Jinda. Yun Ye didn’t know whether the ice in the can would melt by the time it reached Niu Jinda’s hands—after all, Niu Jinda’s vanguard was already thirty li away. Never mind—in any case, his good intentions had been conveyed. He pulled out his sunglasses from his breast and handed them to Old Cheng.
“What is this thing?” Old Cheng held it in his hands, gesturing left and right. Seeing that Old Cheng had the stance of breaking the glasses apart, Yun Ye quickly took them back to demonstrate for Old Cheng. Only after seeing Old Cheng correctly fasten the glasses over his eyes did he bow once and return to the cart, instructing the driver to stop the cart by the roadside and wait for Cheng Chumo.
Yun Ye lifted the cart’s window curtain, watching the great army winding forward, but his heart no longer held its earlier leisure. Cheng Yaojin clearly knew that marching under the scorching sun was a great military taboo, yet regardless of everything, he still forcefully ordered the great army to march forty li under the blazing sun every day. This wasn’t Old Cheng making foolish moves, but rather that the Great Tang was besieged on all sides, with surrounding powers watching covetously like tigers. The new recruits of the Left Guard of Martial Prowess must grow up quickly. Taking advantage of this favorable opportunity in suppressing the Qiang people, the great army must undergo a harsh tempering.
From this Turkic attack on the border, one could see that the Great Tang was weak and immature, not yet grown to the degree where it could resist any crisis. In the future world, every time he read about Emperor Li Shimin’s Zhenguan governance, his heart was forever filled with stirring passion. He would fantasize that he himself was a Great Tang soldier galloping on horseback, holding a horizontal blade and sweeping across the grasslands, expanding the Tang dynasty’s territory to the Onion Range. Carving stone at Yanran was just a joke to the Great Tang—even the North Sea was merely an inland sea of the Great Tang. He had never imagined that before this expansion, the Great Tang’s circumstances were so difficult. Fortunately, there were these iron-blooded men before his eyes, sufficient to pass through the most difficult moments. At this time, Yun Ye’s heart was full of respect for these Great Tang soldiers silently walking under the scorching sun.
Cheng Chumo knocked on the carriage, pulling Yun Ye back from his contemplation. Seeing that ingratiating smiling face, Yun Ye’s respect for Great Tang soldiers immediately dropped by a large margin. Sure enough, scoundrels existed everywhere. His old man would share even one can of ice water with his comrades, but this bastard’s cloth bag on his back was full of ice chunks. With a Fanyang bamboo hat on his head, when the ice melted, water flowed down his back—the extreme heat simply posed no threat to him at all.
“Little brother, we’ll reach today’s destination in another half hour. What shall we two brothers eat tonight?”
Since Yun Ye had crossed over, he had been greatly satisfied with the Great Tang’s humanistic environment. If only he weren’t forced to eat the pig swill made by the army cooks and the turbid wine they brewed, the Great Tang would absolutely be a heavenly existence.
Ever since Yun Ye started cooking his own meals every day, Cheng Chumo came every day without fail, claiming beautifully that he worried his brother would be lonely eating alone, so he specially kept him company to fulfill brotherly righteousness.
“Today this younger brother wishes to invite Uncle Cheng to share dinner. Brother Chumo may come along.”
“Ah, your older brother’s stomach and intestines are somewhat unwell today. I plan to skip a meal to cleanse my digestive system. You just eat dinner with my father.” If Old Cheng was a cat, Cheng Chumo was absolutely a little mouse. Except for necessary moments, Cheng Chumo absolutely avoided meeting Old Cheng. Seeing Cheng Chumo flee in panic, Yun Ye laughed heartily.
In ancient times, places where great armies rested must have sufficient water sources. With mountains at the back and water in front was undoubtedly the best campsite. At this time, Longyou was not yet the barren land of later generations—green mountains and clear waters could be seen everywhere.
Old Cheng governed the army strictly. Even temporary camps where they would stay only one night must have trees felled and stockades erected. The rigorous marching system guaranteed the Great Tang soldiers’ reputation of being invincible in battle. At Yun Ye’s request, the Left Guard of Martial Prowess did not allow anyone to drink raw water. Every day after marching, they must soak their feet in hot water. If conditions permitted, bathing was also daily mandatory work. Now, Yun Ye could proudly declare that the Left Guard of Martial Prowess might not be the strongest in combat power, but it was absolutely the cleanest.