weaving

Chapter 1615 Could the Emperor possibly know?
On the side of Dongjia Ancient Post closest to the official road, there is a wide and deep ditch that runs directly to the official road, serving as a traffic trench to facilitate mutual support and assistance between the official road and Dongjia Ancient Post.

The excavated soil was piled on the north side of the long ditch. About three zhang away, there was a thick earthen wall, as high as chest height. It could be seen that many wooden planks and tree trunks were mixed into the earthen wall to increase its defensive strength.

A middle-aged man wearing a red padded jacket was leaning against the earthen wall, fanning himself with his hand. He was covered in sweat, and his collar was open, but it did not reduce the heat on his body.

The setting sun shone on the wooden handle of the shovel beside the burly man, making the glistening sweat stains particularly noticeable. It was clear that he must have been the one who worked very hard when digging the trench and piling up the earth.

A slightly young, muscular man, with one arm bare, walked over carrying a shovel. He casually stuck the shovel into the newly piled-up earthen wall, leaned against the side of the wall, and said with a smile, "Hey Han, have a cigarette to relieve your fatigue."

The middle-aged man known as Han Tou stopped fanning himself, reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The crumpled pack had the two large, gold-embossed characters "Yunzhou" clearly written on it.

"Oh ho, it's a Yunzhou brand again."

Han Tou didn't rush to pay him any attention. He carefully opened the tobacco pack, took out a cigarette and tossed it over, then said irritably, "When we left the camp yesterday, the commander gave each of us captains a pack of Yunzhou cigarettes. You got them all for free, kid."

"Hey...who can you blame? Those idiots didn't get to have this opportunity, how can you blame me?" The young man said, but his hands were not idle either.

The young man caught the cigarette that was thrown to him, then got up from the earthen wall he was leaning against, casually reached for a tinderbox, took two steps forward and approached Han Tou, grinning, "Han Tou, how many cigarettes are left?"

Han Tou glared at him irritably, then pulled out a Yunzhou cigarette and held it between his fingers, laughing and scolding, "What, you little brat, trying to take the whole pack?"

The young man blew on a tinderbox, handed it to Han Tou's mouth, and lit the cigarette for him. He said with a smile, "Hey... this Yunzhou cigarette is very precious. We send all our wages home, but we can't afford to smoke this Yunzhou cigarette. The Beizhaguan cigarette we usually smoke is too strong."

Han Tou knew he wanted the pack of Yunzhou cigarettes, glared at him, and said, "When the Tartars come, you, Zhang Fangyuan, better fire your gun for me. If you kill two Tartars, this half pack of Yunzhou cigarettes is yours."

"Two Tartars... and you just gave them to me?"

"Hmph." Han Tou seemed somewhat displeased: "Would I, Old Han, lie to you, kid?"

"That's impossible... Han Tou, you're the most trustworthy person." Only then did Zhang Fangyuan relight the tinderbox, light his Yunzhou cigarette, take a deep drag, let it swirl in his lungs, and then reluctantly exhale.

"Tsk tsk... Yunzhou cigarettes are so good! They're not pungent at all and have a pleasant fragrance. When will we be able to smoke this stuff every day?"

"Practice your long gun well. Once you become the best soldier in our camp, the lord will reward you with a pack every two days, enough to keep you smoking... enough to kill you, kid."

Zhang Fangyuan smiled mysteriously, took another drag of his cigarette, exhaled a beautiful smoke ring, and asked, "Han, you've killed Tartars in Liaodong, tell me, are those Tartars easy to kill?"

Han Tou paused for a moment, seemingly recalling the fierce battle to reinforce Jinzhou years ago. His expression changed several times overnight. After a long while, he finally spoke: "The Tartars aren't two-headed monsters. What's so hard about killing them? Your long gun is a weapon for killing Tartars. As long as they come within fifty paces, I guarantee you'll hit them every time." Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan felt reassured. He took another light drag on his cigarette, holding it in his lungs, reluctant to exhale immediately. He carefully stubbed it out, then took out a crumpled old tobacco pouch and cautiously placed half a Yunzhou cigarette inside.

"Han, do you think the emperor in Beijing will know that we're fighting so hard to kill the Tartars here?"

Han Tou was enjoying his Yunzhou cigarette and didn't reply immediately. After a while, he exhaled a puff of smoke and said with great disdain, "So what if the old emperor in the capital knows? We're not working for him!"

After he finished speaking, he took another puff of his cigarette, enjoying the comfort of exhaling smoke, before continuing, "Zhang Fangyuan, you better remember this: our Yongyi Army is paid by the Earl of Yongning. We haven't taken a single copper coin from the Zhu family, so why should we risk our lives for them?"

Zhang Fangyuan asked with a puzzled look, "But... wasn't our trip to Shandong to kill the Tartars also ordered by the emperor in the capital?"

"Hey... I don't care whether it's the Emperor's decree or not. I, Old Han, only recognize the Commander's orders of the Marquis of Yongning and the military orders of our General Grandfather."

Han Tou stared at Zhang Fangyuan with a serious expression and said in a deep voice, "You better remember this: the Emperor and the court officials are not the foundation of our Yongyi Army. Only the Earl of Yongning is our commander. You should work for whoever pays you."

He took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a large cloud of smoke, threw the butt on the ground, and stomped it out viciously before glaring at Zhang Fangyuan and instructing him: "We've taken the salary from the Earl of Yongning, so we have to give our lives to him. We're here in Shandong to kill the Tartars on the orders of the Earl of Yongning, not some damned imperial decree."

"Yes, indeed." Zhang Fangyuan said decisively, "I, Zhang Fangyuan, only recognize your words, only obey the military orders of our General Grandfather, and only serve the Earl of Yongning!"

"Alright, let's stop bickering here and get to the team leader to report."

…………

A bloody battle is destined to take place at Jiagushao and Gaomiyu, but whichever side emerges victorious will have nothing to do with Yanzhou.

Even if Baiyintu and Suna suddenly attacked from these two places, they would be blocked by the two government troops of Li Fuming, the general of Shanxi, and Ge Ruzhi, the commander of Xuanzhen Yangbiao. They were destined not to be able to reach Yanzhou to help Turge.

…………

Just as the Tatar troops led by Baiyintu and others were blocked by Zhang Guangda's Zhuque Battalion at the Jiagushao and Gaomiyu line, Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng also achieved new victories.

Shi Tingzhu dispatched 1,500 Han soldiers of the Plain White Banner to aid the vinegar village, but they were ambushed on the way and surrounded by the Tengshe Battalion led by Wei Zhice. Not a single one of the 1,500 traitorous soldiers survived!
After learning that the reinforcements had been intercepted, Buyandai personally led his Mongol warriors to meet them, but they were intercepted by Chen De and Hu Zichen.

As a result, the reinforcements failed to arrive, and his own Mongolian Bordered Red Banner lost more than a hundred warriors, which truly pained him!
A swift horse galloped out of the vinegar factory, carrying letters pleading for help, and disappeared into the vast night...