Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 568 I Really Can’t Stand It
On the endless grassland, hundreds of white tents were closely arranged in a certain order. Outside these tents, there was a shallow trench and several towers that were not too tall.
"Captain Hei, it's time to change shifts. Please go downstairs and have breakfast."
"Okay, it's my turn to work on Deputy Lian next."
Because the conversation with the other party's nobleman ended in a bad mood, Sun Zushou's army did not receive the other party's hospitality. But it doesn't matter. If you don't invite me to your house, I will dig a trench and set up a tent. If you don't invite me to dinner, I will cook it myself.
After a night on duty, the youngest son of Hei Yunlong, commander of the 14th Division of the Ming Army, Hei Minglian, now only 23 years old, captain and company commander, came down from his post, went to his tent to wash up briefly, then stood at the end of his company and lined up in an orderly manner to receive breakfast.
"Hey, Captain, you're here. Did you have any problems last night?"
"Nothing happened. A few wild wolves wandered around the trench at night, but they retreated when they saw the torches."
"Well, that's boring. Our class leader didn't allow us to take off our clothes before going to bed last night. He said he was afraid that the Tibetan leaders would lead a team to attack us at night."
"It's never wrong to be cautious. In this unfamiliar place, it's never too careful. Oh, thank you."
The reason why I said thank you is that the officers of the army's camp office are starting to distribute medicines to every officer and soldier: this is a pill that can effectively relieve altitude sickness, jointly developed by professors from Fangshan Medical College based on Zhu Youdong's opinions. The main ingredient is Rhodiola rosea.
After swallowing two pieces of Rhodiola rosea, Hei Minglian slowly stood in front of the company's cook.
"What are you eating today?"
"Noodles cooked in beef bone soup, and two sausages per person."
"Eating ham again, I'm going to throw up."
"There's no other way. Ever since we changed our transport vehicles from mules to yaks, it's become very rare to encounter animals dying of exhaustion. As for the sausages, hey, the company commander doesn't need me to teach you, right? This is the rule of the military doctor. When marching on the plateau, you have to maintain your strength and ensure your nutrition. You have to eat two sausages a day."
"Oh, I know. Um, put more chili in it, or I really won't be able to swallow it."
"Okay, Captain, have a good meal. Next."
He took his lunch box, left the place where he got his meals, found an open space in the camp, sat down, and stared at the two long, pink sausages in the bowl for a long time. Finally, he helplessly took big bites.
While he was chewing painfully, he suddenly felt a black sensation on his head. He raised his head and looked: "Huh? Sixth brother? Why are you dressed like this? What's wrong?"
The person who came was Hei Minglian's sixth brother Hei Mingxiao. He was already wearing a field army uniform, with a pistol, a saber, and a bullet belt neatly hung on his body. "Commander Sun ordered my company to go out for reconnaissance today. Seventh brother, according to the analysis of the guide last night, we offended the leader here yesterday, and it is very likely that we will be attacked today, so Commander Sun asked me to bring more people. You need to select twenty people from your company, and they must be elite. I am your sixth brother, don't fool me with those crooked people."
"Hey, Sixth Brother, it's meaningless for you to say that. How about I give myself to you?"
"I heard you were on duty last night. Can you handle a whole night without sleep?"
"It's okay. Didn't you and I not get much sleep for three consecutive days during the field training at the foot of Tianshan Mountain?"
"Okay, hurry up and grab some breakfast. In twenty minutes, bring your people and gather at the south gate of the camp."
"yes!"
…
Twenty minutes later, Hei Minglian and his twenty brothers appeared in front of Hei Mingxiao on time.
"Brothers, today we are tasked to advance 50 miles to the south. I heard from the Mongolian guide named Bater that there is a big temple 50 miles south of here. Ah, before we came here, we all learned that this snowy area is now a combination of politics and religion. Therefore, where there is a Buddhist temple, there is often a town nearby. This can also be said to be the first authentic snowy town we will see on this journey. Therefore, our team requires all brothers to, first, be vigilant and protect yourself. Second, don't force yourself. Don't be afraid of embarrassment if you can't hold on. It doesn't matter if you hold on and lose your life, but if you don't die for a while and keep groaning there, I have to assign people to take care of you, and that's not okay."
"Hahaha, Captain, the one who can't hold on might be you, right?"
"That's right, Captain. If you can't hold on any longer, do you want us to find some Tibetan girls to serve you? Hahaha..."
"Bah, you bastards, you are so disrespectful all day long. Okay, let me talk about the third rule, military discipline! I have emphasized it many times before and on the way here. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have not sent regular troops to Tibet for more than 200 years. We are the first to do so. If anyone violates military discipline and damages the image of our Celestial Empire's army, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
As soon as these words came out, the casual atmosphere suddenly became tense. From Hei Minglian down, everyone on their horses bowed and said, "Yes!"
At a speed of more than 50 miles, if the warhorse really galloped at full speed, it would only take more than an hour. The reason why they had to set off in the morning was, of course, that Hei Mingxiao and others needed to do a good job of negotiation in the local area: Sun Zushou also knew that such a large army could not rely entirely on supplies delivered from the rear during the long march, and must obtain at least some of them along the way. Apart from anything else, the soldiers were almost going crazy eating ham sausages. And now that Daming's refrigerated trucks were not known for decades or years to be developed, if they wanted to eat fresh meat, they still had to rely on the local Tibetans.
But in the present snowy region, the serfdom that originated in the tenth century has now become fully developed: in the entire snowy region, all cattle and sheep belong to the serf owners.
Moreover, unlike the Snow Region during the Qing Dynasty, where the Dalai Lama was at the top, he had to rely on secular people such as Kalon, Deben, and Diba to manage the civil affairs, and there was already some sign of separation of religion and politics. The Snow Region at this time was a pure integration of religion and politics: there was no supreme religious leader like the Dalai Lama, but each temple was a city, and the living Buddha in the temple was the lord of the city. In other words, all the property in the Snow Region belonged to the living Buddha in each temple. If the living Buddha did not nod, and the Ming soldiers could not rob openly due to military discipline, then they really could not eat fresh meat.
Therefore, it is necessary to negotiate face to face with the living Buddha nearby.
This is a plateau with an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters. Hei Mingxiao did not dare to drive his horse to gallop at full speed. However, fifty miles is not far after all, so at noon that day, the Ming army of more than 300 people arrived at this snowy town with Chaka Temple as its center.
When they were still some distance away from the town, the top of the magnificent temple on the top of the mountain was already glittering in the sunlight. Then, as the men and horses approached, the white courtyard wall and the wide reddish-brown wall foundation gradually appeared in everyone's eyes.
"Sixth brother, the Buddhist temples in this snowy area are very different from those in our Central Plains."
"Yes, indeed . The Buddhist temples in our Central Plains, the Zen sect, are hidden in the mountains, deep and quiet. Even the Pure Land sect, which is built in the downtown area and opens the door to convenience, has a moderate and peaceful architecture. Compared with the majesty and solemnity of this Tibetan Buddhist temple, it seems much more plain."
"Hey, Sixth Brother, I seem to understand suddenly."
"Yes, I understand too."
When the group of people appeared in the sight of the fortress, they naturally alarmed the monks on the fortress. After a flurry of preparations, the monks finally managed to stand firm on the city wall. Then Hei Mingxiao and others greeted and waited for about an hour under the city wall before the nobles in the city came out to answer.
"Why are you here, my army?"
"I am here to visit the Rinpoche on the orders of my commander Sun."
There was silence on the city wall for a long time, and then someone answered: "Chaka Rinpoche said that the Celestial Empire's army is welcome to visit our temple. However, the army is too large, and if all of them come in, it will disturb the believers in the city, which is very bad. Therefore, please ask the army to send someone into the city to talk to Chaka Rinpoche."
"Hahahaha, no problem." Hei Mingxiao pulled the reins in a very cool manner and dismounted: "Seventh brother, help me keep an eye on the team. I will bring an interpreter and a soldier in."
"...Yes, brother, be careful on your journey."
"Hmph, look at the equipment these monks are equipped with, including swords and spears. What is there to be afraid of? Just be patient and wait."
A group of three left the team and arrived at the foot of the city wall. With a creaking sound, the door opened.
The first thing that caught Hei Mingxiao's eye was not the several well-dressed nobles standing at the door to greet him, but a person at the doorway...
The reason why I noticed him first was because he smelled so bad!
The reason why he could be called a human being was because his eyes had been gouged out and his knees had been chopped off. Under his disheveled hair and dirty face, there was a dirty broken bowl in front of him. The bowl was empty, and the residue left showed that it had been filled with barley flour paste before.
"They actually let beggars beg in the city gate? It seems that the Tibetans are very down-to-earth and don't care about appearances. But, how come the eyes were gouged out and the legs were chopped off?"
Hei Mingxiao was puzzled but did not stop. He walked straight over and wanted to give the sausage in his arms to the beggar. But just after he took a few steps closer, the strong stench almost made him vomit his breakfast .
"Forget it." He gave up the idea of approaching and threw the sausage into the beggar's bowl from a distance.
With a "click" sound, the beggar felt that there was something in his bowl. He quickly stretched out his hands, grabbed the sausage, and began to gobble it up with the oil paper casing.
"Hey." Hei Mingxiao turned around and said to the translator, "Tell him that the casing is inedible."
"It's useless." The translator looked at the beggar with pity: "Captain, the man's tongue has been cut off and his ears have been deafened."
"What?"
"You know, Captain, I'm a Mongolian living in Qinghai. I know the nobles around here very well. This man..." The translator pointed to the beggar in the doorway: "He must have offended a noble in the city and was punished. The reason they didn't kill him was that they were going to fatten him up and send him to the temple on the top of the mountain, where they would skin him alive and make a human skin thangka."
"What?! Skinned alive?"
"Yes, this is something that the nobles of our tribe cannot stand."
"Fuck! Before the Emperor implemented the military reform, the Ming Dynasty also had corporal punishment in the army. But the worst that happened was cutting off hands and feet, and most people would just be stabbed with arrows and paraded around. Not to mention that after the Emperor implemented the military reform, the Ming Dynasty army only had military sticks and confinement... I, I can't stand this kind of skinning alive!"
