The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 373 How could the morale of the army be unstable?
Fu Songqing was a civil official, and physical strength was his weakness; he was not good at long-distance travel.

The thought of having to travel hundreds of miles to fight made him extremely nervous. Furthermore, the thought of the exploitation and mistreatment of lower-ranking soldiers by the army made him very worried about whether he would be able to return alive.

However, the march that day was not arduous.

They simply walked to the dock, boarded a boat, entered the Sishui River via the Grand Canal, and then entered Hongze Lake via the Sishui River...

The bandits of Hongze Lake had long been wiped out, and the eastern side of the lake had now become a paradise on earth. The fertile fields along the lake had been allocated to a large number of farmers for cultivation.

The army did not land here, but instead crossed Hongze Lake directly and deployed 5,000 troops to the west bank of the lake.

This is the territory of Sizhou!

The scene suddenly changed!

The east bank remained a desolate yet harmonious scene, but the west bank was utterly barren. The fertile farmland along the lake lay abandoned, uncultivated. The lakeside village was reduced to ruins, crumbling walls, and the roads littered with bones…

Fu Songqing was a traditional civil official, and he was very sentimental. The huge difference in elevation between the two sides of Hongze Lake made him burst into tears on the spot.

But no one laughed at him. Many people in the Northern Song army were shedding tears, and he was not the only one.

Because most of the soldiers came from poor families, they couldn't help but sympathize with the plight of Sizhou.

The army marched through a desolate area and continued its advance...

They didn't travel much that day, only thirty li, before the army stopped to rest.

After a day of trekking, Fu Songqing discovered something: the Northern Song army did not treat its lower-ranking soldiers as badly as the Southern Song army. Officers did not mistreat their subordinates; in fact, they showed them great care, and the entire unit was united like a family.

The atmosphere in his hundred-man musketeer squad was excellent; no one bullied him, the newcomer, and they even made a point of building rapport with him during the march.

Seeing that his shoulders ached from carrying the musket, his teammates offered to help him carry it for a while, but the captain stopped them, telling him to train properly, so the teammates had no choice but to give up.

When it was time to eat, the cooks set up their pots and cooked, and the food allocated to each person was very good. There was no instance of officers withholding the soldiers' rations.

Fu Songqing couldn't help but ask the captain, "Why is the atmosphere in our army so good? Doesn't anyone bully their comrades?"

The captain laughed and said, "There are occasional instances of bullying between teams, but within the same team, no one ever bullies their teammates."

Fu Songqing was greatly shocked: "How did you do that?"

Captain: "Because a team is like family! Bullying each other will only get you killed on the battlefield."

Fu Songqing: "What do you mean?"

The captain grinned, revealing a sinister smile: "When our Northern Song army was first formed, it didn't have arquebus units like it does now. Instead, it started by fighting in twelve-man squads. Back then, the military regulations were that if the squad leader died in battle, the entire squad would be beheaded. If a ranged soldier died, a melee soldier would be beheaded. Regardless of who killed the enemy, the messenger would cut off their ear, and the entire squad would share the credit..."

Fu Songqing was shocked when he heard this.

The captain said, "So from that time on, an atmosphere formed in our army: people in the same unit are like family, sharing life and death. If you bully someone in your unit, what good will it do you besides getting yourself killed?" Fu Songqing nodded blankly, "I see."

The captain laughed and said, "However, our team is a bit special. We are no longer the traditional Mandarin Duck Squad. There are no melee soldiers in the team, not even shield soldiers. Apart from me, the captain, there are only musketeers and cooks. There are no other types of soldiers. So the rule of beheading melee soldiers when ranged soldiers die in battle is naturally gone."

“But…who cares?” the captain said. “The idea that a team is like family has long been the rule of our entire Northern Song army.”

Fu Songqing took a bowl of fried noodles from the cook, took a bite, and found it delicious.

"It's getting late, we won't be marching anymore today." The captain patted Fu Songqing on the shoulder: "I'll teach you how to use a musket after dinner. You poor greenhorn, you just joined the army and haven't learned anything before you have to go on a campaign. You can only learn everything in your spare time on the road. Study hard, or you'll die."

Since it concerned his own life and death, Fu Songqing dared not be negligent. He quickly finished the fried noodles and humbly asked, "How exactly does this iron rod kill enemies?"

"Come, come with me."

The captain pulled him to a corner of the barracks and carefully explained to him how to use the musket.

This thing wasn't hard to learn. In no time, Fu Songqing learned how to use it, but he couldn't actually do it right now.

As darkness fell, Fu Songqing repeatedly practiced loading ammunition into the musket.

Just then, the barracks suddenly became lively, with someone shouting, "Young Master Yue and Lady Gong are here..."

"Quickly, get yourself ready."

"Clean up the barracks and prepare to welcome them!"

"Haha, I can tell you're all greenhorns at a glance." The captain laughed. "We don't do that kind of thing in the army. All that tidying up and welcoming people will only get you into trouble... cough... into Young Master Yue's hands. Just go around him normally."

He didn't bother to tidy himself up; he just stayed as usual and didn't call for the whole team to line up and greet him. Instead, he casually headed towards the entrance of the barracks.

Fu Songqing was astonished. Gong Erniangzi held the position of Privy Councilor in the Northern Song Dynasty, which was the highest military commander. She was coming to the barracks, and this captain actually didn't organize the soldiers to line up and greet her? Wasn't he afraid of being punished by his superiors for such a careless handling?
Fu Songqing followed behind the captain and walked towards the entrance of the barracks.

Soon they saw Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi.

The two's positioning is also quite interesting. Yue Wenxuan is in front, while Gong Erniangzi is half a step behind. It is obvious that Yue Wenxuan has a higher status, but he does not hold any position in the Northern Song Dynasty, which is ridiculous.

As Yue Wenxuan walked, he greeted the soldiers who surrounded him, asking, "How are your rations?"

The soldiers were deeply moved: "Very good! We're well-fed, and there's even meat. Thank you for your concern, Young Master Yue."

"Ouch, you're injured." Yue Wenxuan pointed to a soldier's calf. The man had probably tripped over a stone while marching and cut his calf. He didn't want the blood to stain his pants, so he rolled up his trousers, exposing the wound.

Yue Wenxuan actually took out a box of wound medicine and personally applied it to the soldier: "You must be more careful when marching in the future. You have family waiting for you to return home, so you must take care of yourself."

Fu Songqing knew this guy was acting, but even knowing that, he was still incredibly astonished, because Southern Song officials wouldn't even bother to put on an act. The soldier, receiving such "favor," must have been deeply moved; if Yue Wenxuan asked him to be a suicide soldier, he wouldn't even flinch.

How could the morale of the Northern Song army be unstable?
(End of this chapter)