pappabearbooks Chapter 8 Lantian Camp
Chapter 8 Lantian Camp
After leaving the palace, Liu Hu had become a cavalry commander of the Lantian Camp, personally appointed by Emperor Anping.
This treatment is already the same as that of the illegitimate sons of the Ning and Rong mansions.
Not only that, Emperor Anping also rewarded him with a set of cavalry equipment.
Liu Hu was dressed in mountain armor, with a fine steel Miao sword at his waist, and leading a magnificent black warhorse.
A powerful bow and a heavy lance were also hanging on the saddle.
Of course, there was also some gold, silver, and money.
Let alone Jia Dun, even Zhang Wannian almost snatched Liu Hu away at this moment.
However, I wouldn't dare to steal it, since it has unique markings on it.
After promising to treat the two of them to meals in the future, Liu Hu went back to his room to pack his things.
That's right, Liu Hu can finally go home.
After the summer harvest, the Lantian camp will break camp and move westward, and grain and fodder from various places will also be gathered in Guanzhong and Hexi. Therefore, there is no need to hide the news of the Great Zhou's westward expedition.
Ancient military expeditions were no child's play. Although it was said that the troops would set out in the autumn, Liu Hu guessed that the imperial court had already made preparations for this expedition.
The Lantian camp broke camp and marched westward in July. Even without any unexpected events, it would take the army more than forty days to reach the Hexi front. After a few days of rest, it would be autumn.
Jia Daishan gave him three days off to settle things at home, and then he would go to Guanzhong with him three days later.
The westward expedition was uncertain in terms of duration, so Liu Hu didn't waste a moment and went home after packing his things.
"mother!"
"Kitty, why are you back?"
When Liu Hu arrived home, the gate was open, and his mother, Liu, was in the yard holding his daughter and talking to two strong men.
Hearing the sound of horses' hooves at the door, Liu looked up and saw the horse. She quickly stood up and asked nervously.
After Liu Hu dismounted, he led his horse in. Seeing the two men's dark, thin faces and the sickles beside them, he knew that they were wheat harvesters from the north.
Because the summer harvest in the north is about a month later than here, people from the north go south every year at this time to help others harvest wheat and earn some food.
The two men looked somewhat flustered when they saw Liu Hu, so they got up to say goodbye.
Before leaving, the two made a promise with their mother that they would start harvesting the next day.
After seeing the two off, Liu immediately pulled Liu Hu aside and asked as soon as she entered the room, "Cat, why are you back? Did they abandon you?"
Seeing his mother's cautious look, Liu Hu smiled and said, "I'm going to Guanzhong with the Duke of Rong in a couple of days, so I'm coming home to visit."
Upon hearing this, Liu was stunned. Although she was not very knowledgeable, she had lived through the era of Emperor Taizong and knew what this meant after a little thought.
"Is there going to be a war?" Liu asked, her lips trembling as she stared at Liu Hu.
"Yes!" Liu Hu nodded. "But don't worry, I'm a centurion now."
"I even saw the Emperor today. He praised me as a brave warrior and rewarded me with a set of armor and this horse."
As he spoke, he pulled Liu's hand and placed it on the horse's back.
At this moment, Liu had no other thoughts but that her only son was about to go out to fight!
Although I knew this day would come, I thought I was prepared.
But when that day actually came, Liu found herself experiencing unprecedented fear and terror, and even considered abandoning her family and property to run away with her son and daughter.
"Can't we not go? Mother is scared!" Liu turned to look at her son, her eyes red and her lips trembling as she pleaded.
Liu Hu was also very reluctant at this moment, but he still shook his head: "The imperial decree cannot be disobeyed!"
Liu Hu suddenly felt Liu Shi's body go limp. If Liu Hu hadn't been holding her hand the whole time, she probably would have fallen to the ground.
"Mother! Mother, don't scare me!" Liu Hu hurriedly helped his mother up, but before he could help her up, the girl in his mother's arms seemed to have bumped into something and started crying loudly.
Liu Hu quickly supported his mother with one hand and took the baby girl from her arms with the other, comforting the baby girl while helping his mother back into the house.
"Mother, this time you forgot that I am the personal guard of the Duke of Rong, and I am by his side."
"What danger could there be around someone as noble as the Duke of Rongguo?"
Seeing that his mother, Liu, was still sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with a blank expression and no words, Liu Hu could only try to coax her.
Sure enough, upon hearing Liu Hu say this, Liu's eyes lit up again.
"real?"
In her limited knowledge, the steward of the Jia family estate next door was already a noble person from heaven, and the Duke of Rongguo was a figure who only appeared in legends.
With my son around someone like that, I don't have to worry about his safety.
"Of course it's true!"
Liu Hu nodded affirmatively.
"That's good."
The mother seemed genuinely relieved, touched her face, and then sniffed deeply.
For the next two days, like other mothers who sent their sons off on long journeys, Liu prepared a variety of delicious meals for Liu Hu.
Although the food was not as good as what he usually ate at the Jia family mansion, Liu Hu ate with peace of mind.
Two days later, with the help of the harvesters, the wheat was finally brought home.
Although the exact yield was still unclear, seeing that the wheat ears were much larger than those of other farmers, Liu could no longer worry about her son and happily busied herself with preparing to thresh the wheat.
These days, the grain from the fields is the lifeblood of a family; if anything goes wrong, the whole family will have no way to survive.
However, on the night before Liu Hu set off, his mother, Liu, stayed in the kitchen alone for most of the night, preparing a large bag of dry food and fried dough.
"Mother, please don't be reluctant to use the money and silk I brought back. Your son is not at home, so please take good care of yourself and your daughter, and don't skimp on yourselves."
Early in the morning, Liu Hu first offered incense to his ancestors, and then, with his mother's help, put on the armor bestowed upon him by Emperor Anping.
Looking at her tall and handsome son, Liu nodded and wiped away her tears: "You don't need to worry about the family. When you're out and about, be careful and don't cause trouble for no reason."
"Also, keep your eyes open and be alert, so as not to annoy the Duke of Rong."
"On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes; don't go forward..."
Listening to Liu's rambling, Liu Hu could only obediently nod.
"Alright, go quickly, don't delay the Duke of Rong's business."
After saying this, Liu wiped away her tears and gently pushed Liu Hu.
"Then, Mother, I'm leaving."
After saying this, Liu Hu knelt down and kowtowed three times to Liu Shi.
Then he stood up, took the horse, and left without looking back.
As soon as Liu Hu stepped out the door, he was startled by what he saw. The villagers, young and old, had gathered in a dark mass around his door.
Leading the group was the oldest elder in the village, followed by Liu Hu's mentor, Scholar Li, and the village head of Wangjiazhuang.
Upon seeing Liu Hu emerge, the village headman shouted loudly, "The village lads are setting off on a campaign, and the elders have come to see them off!"
"Bring the wine!" After the shout, several young men from the village immediately brought several jars of homemade wine. Regardless of gender, as long as they were of legal age, each person was given a bowl.
The village elder, his hands trembling, picked up a bowl of wine, walked up to Liu Hu, stared at him for a moment, then smiled and nodded, saying, "He's a good one!"
He then handed over the bowl of wine he was holding: "Here, have one more bowl of wine from home before you set off!"
Looking at the elders around him who were raising their glasses of wine, Liu Hu accepted the wine offered by one of the village elders and said, "I thank you all here!"
"Please look after things at home, everyone!"
"Drink heartily!"
He then picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
"Drink heartily!"
The surrounding villagers also shouted in unison, raised their glasses, and drank the wine in one gulp.
"good!"
The village headman walked over and patted Liu Hu on the shoulder: "Don't worry about home. I hope you will be loyal to the country, relieve your worries, and not be afraid of battle!"
The village head's words were a kind of oath: telling the young men going to war that their families and fellow villagers would take good care of them, and that everyone present was a witness, so they could go out and fight for the country with peace of mind.
"Please, everyone—uncles, brothers, aunts, and sisters!"
After saying this, Liu Hu smashed the wine bowl in his hand, then leaped onto his horse and galloped away.
At this moment, Liu Hu finally understood why the ancients valued their hometown so much.
People may have good or bad relationships on a daily basis, but when you encounter difficulties, those who are willing to lend a helping hand are often the neighbors you see regularly.
Here are my childhood playmates, my uncles and aunts who watched me fool around, and my life has been deeply rooted in this land since birth. It is my roots.
After defeating the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, only wanted to return home in glory. After becoming emperor, Emperor Gaozu of Han returned to his hometown and sang "The Song of the Great Wind," exempting his hometown from taxes. Emperor Taizong of Tang bestowed the most honorable title of his hometown upon his favorite children. Emperor Taizu of Ming even wanted to move the capital to his hometown.
Throughout history, regardless of whether a person is good or bad, they will always try to save face for their hometown.
Upon arriving in Shenjing, Liu Hu first went to the Ministry of War to report his arrival. He didn't go to the Jia family mansion, but instead found an inn, made arrangements, and then went directly to the East City Market.
Of the reward given by Emperor Anping, Liu Hu kept twenty taels of silver for himself and kept the rest at home.
With the money, Liu Hu began a large-scale procurement, mainly of rice seeds from the Jiangnan region.
In a few years, the Little Ice Age will be at its peak, and Liu Hu needs to make preparations early.
In fact, during this period, whether in the original history or in this time and space, the Central Plains was never short of silver.
Putting aside past accumulations, after the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Taizu had long seen through the despicable intentions of the former Ming officials who opposed opening the seas, and directly abolished the former Ming's sea ban policy.
Shipping bureaus were established in Songjiang, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou, allowing private individuals to engage in maritime trade.
It was precisely because of this that not only did the Japanese pirate problem that plagued the Ming Dynasty disappear, but it also accumulated a large amount of money and grain for Emperor Taizong's later northern expedition.
The same thing happened in the Ming Dynasty. Ministers always talked about banning the sea to prevent Japanese pirates and never agreed to open the sea, but the Japanese pirates could never be completely eradicated.
After the opening of the seas, a large amount of silver flowed into the Great Zhou every year, but when the Little Ice Age was at its worst, it was difficult to buy food even with silver.
The Great Zhou Dynasty fared better, not only recapturing Annam but also receiving a large influx of grain from Southeast Asia.
Judging from the current situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is unlikely that the country will perish in the next few decades, but life will definitely not be easy.
"Greetings to Commander Jia, Commander Zhang, and Commander Sun!"
The next day, after meeting up with the Rongguo Duke's personal guards, Liu Hu first greeted several of the guards and then looked at them with a puzzled expression.
At this moment, most of the fully armed guards looked listless, and some even had faint dark circles under their eyes. Even Zhang Wannian, riding on his horse, seemed a bit dispirited.
"Commander Liu!" The three of them first looked at Liu Hu with envy, then smiled sheepishly.
"Hehe, you'll understand after you get married. It's just a lot of stuff for a grown man!"
Seeing that Liu Hu was still staring at them, Zhang Wannian leaned closer to him and whispered something.
"Oh~" Liu Hu suddenly realized.
"No way~" Seeing that Liu Hu understood immediately, it was Zhang Wannian and the others' turn to be surprised: "You understand now? You're not even married!"
Liu Hu gave him a disdainful look: "You may not have been married, but when it comes to this, you're all novices. You really wasted those terabytes of information you had in your previous life."
After the Jia family finally finished the departure ceremony, Liu Hu, along with his personal guards, escorted Jia Daishan on his journey.
After leaving the capital, the group traveled westward, and the further they went from the capital, the more desolate the scenery became.
Because the Great Zhou Dynasty established its capital in Luoyang, the old course of the Sui-Tang Grand Canal was repaired starting with Emperor Taizu.
Therefore, the northern region east of Shenjing (Beijing) was able to recover some vitality because the Sui-Tang Grand Canal and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal connected it to the south.
West of Shenjing, despite decades of restoration during the Great Zhou Dynasty, it remains a desolate wasteland.
When traversing the ancient Xiaoshan Road, apart from the post stations set up by the imperial court, Liu Hu only encountered a handful of merchant caravans in three days.
After traveling for more than half a month, Liu Hu and his group finally arrived at Chang'an, the ancient capital with a history of thousands of years.
It was only then that Liu Hu realized that Emperor Anping had arrived here ahead of time.
After meeting up with Emperor Anping, the group rested in Chang'an for a few days. Then, the two groups of people marched south together and arrived at the Lantian camp on the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains.
Liu Hu then learned that Emperor Anping's purpose in coming was to appoint Jia Daishan as a general.
This time, Jia Daishan will lead 100,000 troops from the Lantian camp on a westward expedition, while also controlling 70,000 troops from Hexi.
The provisions for nearly 200,000 troops had to be almost entirely transferred from Jiangnan, which was almost all the resources that the Great Zhou Dynasty could mobilize.
"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!"
The garrison commanders and local officials of Lantian were already waiting there. Upon seeing the emperor's carriage, they bowed and shouted "Long live the emperor!"
"Rise!" The emperor stepped out of his carriage and gestured for him to stand.
The eunuch accompanying him immediately shouted, "Rise!"
The emperor's carriage then entered the camp, surrounded by his generals.
It is said that once a person reaches ten thousand, there is no end in sight.
At this moment, a full 100,000 soldiers have gathered in the enormous Lantian camp.
One hundred thousand soldiers stood in gleaming armor, their swords and spears arrayed in a forest. As Liu Hu rode on his horse and looked out, he truly understood what it meant to be surrounded by a sea of people.
After ascending the platform and being appointed general, Emperor Anping returned to Luoyang.
Liu Hu finally met his subordinates.
"Your subordinate pays respects to the centurion!"
As soon as Liu Hu arrived outside the camp, he saw two people wearing lamellar armor walking towards him.
Upon seeing Liu Hu, the two men were taken aback for a moment, then bowed respectfully.