Water Margin people

Chapter 1500 Jingzhao Prefecture

After the scream, Xin Qiji's hands were already red and swollen. Li Qingzhao had used the ruler to the extreme, only injuring the flesh but not the bones.

Xin Qiji cried so sadly that he couldn't stop.

"Vice Principal Li went there because she is proficient in the languages ​​of the Western Regions. What can you do if you don't study hard on weekdays?"

Sun Lei looked at Xin Qiji's miserable appearance and smiled, "Li Qingzhao was well prepared. She started studying the characters and languages ​​of the Western Regions last year, and now she can even bring several teachers with her to the battlefield."

"I can... learn... too!"

Xin Qiji said with sobs.

"Okay, just follow me!"

Sun Lei looked at Xin Qiji's miserable appearance and could only shake his head helplessly.

"Why is he going to the front at such a young age?"

Li Qingzhao disagreed. How could her underage students go to the front line?

"If you don't keep him by your side, who can control him? He will get into trouble every day! You'd better keep him by your side and keep an eye on him!"

Sun Lei said that if Xin Qiji, this gangster, was not kept under control, he would definitely get into big trouble.

Li Qingzhao thought about it and realized that this kid was not well behaved at school. Once she left, the school would be in chaos.

"Behave yourself! If you dare to run around, I'll punish you!"

Li Qingzhao glared at Xin Qiji and said.

"It's okay. Once you are in the army, you have to abide by the military rules. Lu You, this is your little brother, just take him with you. Everything should be done according to military regulations!"

Sun Lei looked at Lu You and said.

After a short interlude, the central army set out.

The weather gradually began to get hotter, and the march became extremely arduous. Even Sun Lei, who was riding a horse, was sweating profusely.

"Your Majesty, will the northwest be hotter than here?"

Shi Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, "It's very hot now, but I heard that the summer in the Western Region is even hotter."

"It's at a high altitude and there are deserts everywhere. The temperature is much higher than in the Central Plains. In addition, the days there are very long in summer, with sunshine lasting seven or eight hours..."

Sun Lei talked about what he knew, that summer in the Western Regions is definitely hot and the climate is changeable.

Everyone was surprised when they heard this. Everyone knew that the days were long in summer, but to have them last for seven or eight hours was a little too scary.

They marched all the way into Guanzhong.

"Shi Jin, it's rare for you to come back, so I'll give you a few days off so you can go home."

After passing Tongguan, Sun Lei looked at Shi Jin and said that Shi Jin had seldom returned home over the years as he had been fighting in many battles. Although there was no one left at home, he still had to go and pay respects to his parents.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Shi Jin did not refuse. After passing Tongguan, he missed his home very much. It had been two years since he had visited his parents to pay homage. Now that he had established a career, a family, and children, it was time to report the good news to his parents in heaven.

Shi Jin led a small group of soldiers and rushed to Huayin County.

"I once received favors from Mr. Shi!"

Wang Jin sighed and said that when he was fleeing with his mother, his mother fell ill. It was thanks to Shi Taigong that he took her in and asked a doctor to help treat her.

However, Wang Jin cannot go. The army is going to war, and all personal matters should be put aside. This is already a grace from Shi Jin.

Jingzhao Mansion.

Zhu Fu arranged everything early on.

"Governor Zhu, we slaughtered five thousand sheep and made tens of thousands of kilograms of noodles. This should be enough."

An official looked at Zhu Fu and said that the 50,000-man army couldn't stay for long. It was hot and fresh meat couldn't be kept for long. "Why is it all meat and noodles? Where are the vegetables? Where are the fruits?"

Zhu Fu frowned when he heard this. The locals might think that mutton and noodles were the best meal, but he knew very well that the military regulations required meat, staple food, vegetables, and fruits, because the nutrition must be balanced.

Although Zhu Fu didn't know the principle behind this regulation, the soldiers became stronger and rarely got sick after this regulation was introduced.

"That's easy. There isn't much else to do at this time of year, except for fruits and vegetables."

The official said immediately.

"Also, remove all these useless ones!"

Zhu Fu pointed at the newly hung lanterns and ribbons on the city wall. This was not the emperor coming to inspect, but he was passing by with his army, so he didn't need these.

"Also, don't impose martial law in the city, don't affect the lives of the people!"

Zhu Fu spoke again to the officials around him.

"Governor, is this okay? His Majesty the Emperor has arrived. According to etiquette, the road should be paved with yellow earth and the streets should be cleaned with water."

An official was a little worried. Jingzhao Prefecture was the former Chang'an. As an ancient capital, the people here knew the royal rules best.

"No, absolutely no. If you dare to use it, His Majesty will punish you! There are so many things to learn, but learning these is useless! Instead of thinking about this, you might as well think about how to ensure the logistics of the army!"

Zhu Fu looked at the officials and scolded them, saying that the emperor did not use such a show in Liangshan City, so how could he use it now? Moreover, he knew the emperor's temper very well, and such useless behavior that wasted people's money and resources could only anger the emperor.

"Governor, the army is already over a hundred miles away and will reach Jingzhao Prefecture tomorrow!"

A soldier came on horseback to report.

"So soon? Let's get ready!"

Zhu Fu instructed the officials that the emperor was marching faster than they had expected.

At dusk the next day, the army slowly arrived at the camp that had been prepared outside Jingzhao Prefecture.

When the army arrived, the aroma of mutton had already spread, and the soldiers, who had been traveling all day, had their stomachs rumbling.

During this period of travel, we had hot meals in the morning and evening, and only dry food and water at noon, to ensure that the daily march was about six hours.

Zhu Fu and a group of officials met the emperor in the military camp.

Sun Lei looked at the officials and nodded slightly.

"Your Majesty, this is the list of officials from Yongxingjun Road and Qinfeng Road."

Zhufu handed a booklet to Sun Lei.

"How is the logistics preparation of the army going?"

Sun Lei glanced at the list and then started asking about the business.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the army's early rations have been prepared and are being transported to the front line!"

Zhu Fu took out another booklet and handed it over.

This time Sun Lei looked through it carefully.

"Such a huge loss? Ten times the loss!"

Sun Lei looked at it for a while and frowned, saying that the front line needed tens of millions of kilograms of food, but the prepared food was as high as 100 million kilograms, which was equivalent to transporting 10 million kilograms of food to the front line, and 90 million kilograms would have to be consumed in the round trip.

"Your Majesty, this place is too far from the Western Regions, and the water route is blocked, so we have to rely on ox carts and horse carts for transportation. Fortunately, our country of Great Qi is stable, and there are no thieves along the way. There are not many people to transport the grain, so only two people are needed to transport the grain..."

Zhu Fu explained that a tenfold loss was already quite good. When Emperor Wu of Han went on a western expedition to Dayuan, the loss in transportation was more than a hundred times.

Last year's expedition to Liaodong relied on sea transportation, so there was almost no loss along the way.

"Alas, this cattle and horse transportation is still not working!"

Sun Lei sighed. The transportation capacity and speed of cattle and horses were limited, which led to limited logistics for the army. It was okay for the expedition to the Western Regions, but if they went further west, the logistics would be completely unacceptable. An army of 200,000 would require food and supplies of more than 2 million troops. No one could withstand such a tenfold loss.