A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 456 Heat Stroke
Wang Dou and Yang Guozhu looked back, and saw Wang Pu, the general of Datong, yelling and running, he was in a hurry, accompanied only by dozens of personal guards.
Wang Dou and Yang Guozhu stopped and waited, Wang Puce rode the horse, and rushed to the front of the two of them, then exhaled and said with a smile: "Hurry up early, and finally catch up with the two elder brothers."
Seeing him panting, dusty, even his ornate iron helmet was crooked, he was obviously running in a hurry, and everyone around him was also panting and sweating profusely.
In fact, Wang Dou will not turn 30 until November this year. Wang Pu is at least three or four years older than him, but he is not embarrassed to call Wang Dou his brother.And the expression is natural, sincere, Jiangmen and merchant family background, as expected, he is good at communication.
Wang Dou smiled and said, "General Wang has worked hard, where are your troops?"
Hearing Wang Dou's kind tone, Wang Pu felt elated, and hurriedly said: "No hard work, no hard work, the younger brother's soldiers and horses have already passed by, and they are less than ten miles away from here, and they will arrive soon."
It turned out that when Wang Pu led the army to Huailai, he heard that Wang Dou's army had arrived in Yulin Fort, and immediately left the brigade's luggage behind. He only led dozens of personal guards and chased them all the way. Sure enough, they caught up with Wang Dou and others.
He flattered his tone and said: "Since my army entered the East Road, the soldiers have been full of praise for the prosperity and stability of the territory. Of course, my brother has also issued strict military orders. The soldiers are not allowed to disturb the people and violate the law. Otherwise, the military law will not tolerate it and will be severely punished."
The military discipline of Wang Pu's army is quite poor, but Wang Putian dared not make trouble in the East Road because of his courage.
He even issued strict orders to restrain the soldiers, and those who dared to disturb the people on the east road would be executed immediately.
Wang Pu was chattering, while carefully arranging his clothes and armour, and throwing a few strands of hair behind him.
Among the general soldiers who value appearance, Wang Pu is the number one.
Yang Guozhu looked at Wang Pu and asked, "How many soldiers and horses did General Wang lead this time?"
Wang Pu beamed brightly, and said: "I have 3000 cavalry in the main barracks, and [-] new troops. In Datong Town, there are many generals who go out to fight, and there are [-] people in total."
Yang Guozhu said loudly: "There are 3000 people, and there are nearly 5 troops on the side of Shanxi General Li Shuai. If this is the case, our Xuanda Army will dispatch a total of [-] troops."
Wang Pu was in high spirits, and laughed loudly: "Now I declare Dajun, and my voice is the loudest."
Shanxi General Li Fuming, a native of Liaodong, was originally a subordinate of Zu Kuan. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, he was promoted to Shanxi General Army Officer, and he left the customs with Hong Chengchou.
As for Wang Pu, because his father, Wang Wei, was the governor of Zuo, with the seal of Jiupei general, he had been the governor of the town for 50 years, so under the influence of his father, he was promoted all the way to the general army, and was even promoted to the governor of Tongzhi in the 11th year of Chongzhen.His own military achievements are not much, and the generals are polite on the surface, but they look down on him in their hearts.
How could Wang Pu not know this?So he is the best at standing in line and fighting. How can he not be elated when he hugs Wang Dou's thigh and sees Xuan Da's army strong and strong?
Afterwards, the army joined together and marched. Wang Dou's department was the front army, Yang Guozhu's department was the middle army, and Wang Pu's department was the rear army. More than [-] people marched towards Badaling.However, Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu are both in Wang Douzhong's military headquarters and are parallel to Wang Dou.
At this time, Wang Pu noticed the handsome flag car of Wang Dou and Yang Guozhu, and couldn't help being envious: "How can I not remember such a magnificent flag car? How about building a car like this?"
……
All the troops marched, passed Chadao City all the way, passed Badaling Pass City, and there were lofty mountains in front of them. Compared with the flat official road on the East Road, the mountainous official road here is much more difficult to walk.
The cavalry, soldiers and infantry of all armies are okay, but the baggage carts and artillery carts are difficult to move. At noon, the sun is even more violent.The mountains between Badaling and Juyongguan are not as good as later generations. There are few trees, and everywhere is bare. The rocks and soil reflect the sunlight, making people extremely hot.
All the soldiers marched in helmets and armor, and they often sweated profusely after walking for a long time.
Wang Dou was also a little worried, whether the soldiers would get heatstroke if they walked in the sun in such weather.
At the end of the day, the army rested in a shaded place, drank water, and ate some dry food. When Wang Pu came back from inspecting the army, he shouted again and again: "No, no, no, my soldiers in Datong have fainted while marching, and some horses have suffered from heatstroke and died. I can't save it."
He had a mournful face. Horses have relatively strong stamina, so it is difficult to see that they are sick. When they fall ill, they often cannot be rescued.Because ice is needed to cool the horse, where can I find ice?To Wang Pu, the mule was precious, so it was a pity to die like this.
Wang Dou frowned. It was extremely hot today. Horse mules and other animals were prone to get sick in the sweltering weather. Fortunately, there were many veterinarians in the Jingbian Army who could detect the signs in advance. However, what happened to Wang Pu also sounded the alarm for himself.
Yang Guozhu also frowned. The situation in his army was fine, but when marching in hot weather, men and horses were prone to diseases, and non-combat attrition was something he didn't want to see.
Wang Pu shouted: "Brothers, according to my younger brother, we'd better go out at night, so that the journey is cooler, and the soldiers don't have to worry about heat stroke."
Yang Guozhu looked at him with a sullen face: "Sleep by day and go out at night? How much can you walk in that day? When can you reach Liaodong?"
Wang Dou said in a low voice to Zhong Tiaoyang, the chief guard and officer beside him, "Cousin, go and call Medical Officer Wang."
Zhong Tiaoyang will be 40 years old in three years' time. After he was appointed as the commander in chief, his demeanor became more stable, and he cupped his hands and said, "Yes, General."
He gave a few orders to a messenger, and soon, a middle-aged scholar with a head as big as a bucket hurried over. It was Wang Tianxue, a senior medical officer in the army.He was followed by a person, but it was his former boss, Wang Biao of the Department of Medicine of Zhoucheng, who was also serving in the Jingbian Army at this time, serving as a doctor under Wang Tianxue.
Compared with the previous decadence, Wang Tianxue is now in high spirits, and the clothes on his body are straight, not as crumpled as before.
He is still a good drinker, but he is no longer drinking too much, enough is enough.
Wang Tianxue came over, shook his head and saluted Wang Dou: "I have met Uncle Zhongyong."
Wang Dou waved his hands and said, "Doctor Wang, what's the situation in the army now? Is there a sergeant's horse mule suffering from heatstroke?"
Wang Tianxue said proudly: "Uncle Zhongyong, don't worry, the students have already expected this before going to the expedition, so the medical department has developed a large number of heat-repelling pills and heat-relieving pills, which are enough for the soldiers to use."
Wang Dou was very happy and said, "Okay."
Then he said to Zhong Tiaoyang: "Cousin, you send some people to send a batch of heat-relief pills and heat-relief pills to General Wang and Yang Shuai's tent."
Zhong Tiaoyang agreed, and Wang Pu listened cordially, and said happily: "Thank you Uncle Zhongyong, thank you Uncle Zhongyong, brother Gao Yi, and younger brother, I am really grateful."
Yang Guozhu also thanked them solemnly. They also have doctors in the army, but if a large number of soldiers fall ill, they can't be saved.
After Wang Tianxue was asked to retreat, Wang Dou sighed: "In the summer march, the weather is hot, and there will be many epidemics. General Wang is right, we can't travel long distances in the sun... Let's do this. When we arrive at Shenshi at noon, the army rests. Before midnight, the army can hurry."
Wang Pu immediately agreed and agreed repeatedly.
Yang Guozhu pondered: "In this way, the sergeant will have less time to rest, fearing that his energy will be weak and he will not be able to go on his way."
Wang Pu hurriedly said: "Isn't it possible to make up at noon? There are five hours in total."
Yang Guozhu thought for a long time, and this is the only way.
Wang Pu said again: "There is no battle now, let the soldiers take off their armor, it will be cooler."
Yang Guozhu and Wang Dou were still groaning, but Chi Dacheng, the governor, said: "No, General, according to the military law of our Jingbian army, you must wear full armor when marching. How can you take off the armor? If it is not a militia, what is it? soldiers?"
At this time, the military law, whether it is the armies of the Ming Dynasty or the Jingbian army, must be fully armed and march.
Fortunately, the armor has been improved and is much lighter. In the early and middle Ming Dynasty, the load was heavier, and marching and fighting was very hard.
In the Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou once said "Yongzhi Frontier Army Works Hard": "When you join the army, don't follow the mouth of the army. You carry 45 catties of war equipment. The helmet and brain bag are heavy, and the head is covered with five theories. Only the armor is [-], and the waist knife Guduo two, four, six. Twenty-five bows and arrows and their clothes, and the clothes they carry with them are eighty feet..."
The armor alone weighed 88 catties, as well as dry food, water bottles, clothes, etc. The hard work of the border guards at that time was really hard to describe.
Yang Guozhu looked at Chi Dacheng, admiration flashed in his eyes, and he said: "The governor is right. The army is out for fun. They are not just playing around. How could they just want to be refreshed? What kind of army is that? Take off your armor today to cool off." , Will you throw away your weapons tomorrow for convenience? No way!"
Wang Dou also nodded, seeing that Uncle Zhongyong and Yang Guozhu disagreed with him, Wang Pu had no choice but to give up.
Taking advantage of their vigor, the army continued to advance soon, and today they could not march at night. The area from Badaling to Juyongguan is full of high mountains, and it is quite dangerous to walk on the mountain road at night.Especially chariots, horses and artillery, it is easy to turn over the mountain.
So the army marched forward with strides, and the soldiers of the heavy battalion and the artillery battalion pushed the chariots and horses, and followed behind with difficulty.
There are no tunnels at this time, and the official roads with potholes circle up and down the mountains, and it is not easy to go up and down the mountains.
Although the entire army of the Jingbian Army has turned into mules and horses, and the artillery and luggage are all dragged by horse mules, but whenever the artillery vehicles go up the mountain, all the sergeants must follow behind to push the cannons, and when going down the mountain, they must pay attention to the vehicle's artillery fire. Go too fast lest you turn over the road.
In Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu's army, there were not as many horse mules as in the Jingbian army, and many of them had to be pushed and pulled by manpower, which was even more difficult.
"Everyone work hard."
In Sun Sanjie's supply camp, Chen Xu, the armor chief with a handsome face, was speaking to the brothers Jiazhong in his strong Shandong dialect, while taking the lead in pushing a Jingbian army chariot vigorously.
The two wheels of this chariot are made of hardwood. There are shafts on the left and right fronts, and there are holes on them, which can be inserted into movable playing cards during the war.The whole body of the chariot is covered with iron nails, and it looks solid. It has one more wheel than the one-wheeled chariot used by the Shunxiang Army before. It weighs more than 300 catties, which is considered a light cart style.
Considering that the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty now use a lot of firearms instead of bows and arrows as before, the Jingbian army today is different from playing cards on white boards in the past. The cards are wrapped with iron leaves and leather to enhance their protection.There are also patterns of flying dragons, tiger heads, and lion heads painted on it, which are used to frighten enemy horses, similar to the chariots used by the Beijing camp.
Originally, a mule and horse could easily pull such a light cart even if it was plugged in with cards, but since it was full of grain and grass and it was going uphill, it was more difficult for the mule to pull it.Need sergeant to help push and pull.
Wang Dou left [-] shi of grain and grass in Laishui, enough for an army of almost [-] people to eat for a month, but at this time, the supply camp still had to carry part of it.
Many chariots and carriages are full of grain and grass, which is quite heavy.

(End of this chapter)