As night fell, under the escort of Zhao Yun's cavalry, Chen Dao's White-Eared Soldiers safely returned to White Emperor City. The moment the troops entered the city, the soldiers in the city lined up on both sides of the road, watching the last troop returning to the country. Yang Zhen hugged Zhang Biao tightly on the horse's back. Gradually, he felt that the horse was no longer swaying. He opened his eyes and saw the soldiers gathered on both sides of the road to welcome their return. He felt a sense of pride and honor.
The troops went straight to the government office. More than ten civil servants were waiting there. When they saw the troops, they all smiled. When the troops stopped, a man walked up and stopped in front of Zhao Yun and Chen Dao. He said,"It is truly gratifying for the two generals to be able to return to the country safely. His Majesty has long ordered that the two of you please go in and see His Majesty.”
Zhao Yun and Chen Dao dismounted at the same time and cupped their hands."Thank you, General Ma." With that, the two of them entered the government office together.
" Cavalry units, return to your respective camps," the man said to the troops." I'll have to trouble the White-Eared brothers to carry the corpses to the backyard. There will be people to bury them one by one."”
Thus, the White-Eared soldiers jumped off their horses, each carrying a corpse on their shoulders, and walked towards the backyard. The cavalry led their horses and returned to their respective camps.
The moment Yang Zhen jumped down from the horse, he felt much more relaxed. Ever since he joined the army, he had imagined riding on a horse and galloping on the battlefield. However, these two horse riding experiences had told him that riding a horse was actually not very good. At least, that was what he thought.
Yang Zhen and the white-eared soldiers carried the corpses of the dead soldiers to the backyard. There was already a squad of soldiers waiting there. The man led a dozen civil servants and gave them some instructions. The civil servants left according to his instructions. The soldiers in the backyard also took the corpses from the white-eared soldiers and placed them in coffins one by one. They covered the coffins and wrote everyone's name on them. The series of movements were very smooth and fast. Seeing that the brothers who had been with them day and night could sleep peacefully in the coffin, the White-Eared soldiers were very gratified.
" General Chen has gone to see His Majesty," the man said to the white-eared soldiers." You must be very hungry and tired after experiencing many fierce battles. Please follow me!"”
Yang Zhen had arranged everything in an orderly manner, so he asked Zhang Biao beside him,"Big Brother Zhang, who is this general? Why haven't I seen it before?"
"Him?" Zhang Biao asked. I don't know him either. I just heard the general call him General Ma, so he should be General Ma. But looking at his weak appearance, he's definitely not General Ma Chao.”
Yang Zhen smiled. Before he could say anything, the man turned to look at Yang Zhen and said,""My surname is Ma, and my name is Su." Ma Su turned around and walked away without saying a word. Yang Zhen looked at Ma Su's back and recalled the five simple words he had just said. He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Zhang Biao glanced at Yang Zhen, and Yang Zhen stuck out his tongue at Zhang Biao. The two of them stopped talking.
Ma Su brought the White-Eared soldiers to the dining hall and ordered people to serve good wine and dishes. He picked up a pot of wine and poured a cup into it. He raised the cup and said to the White-Eared soldiers,""Brothers, you've worked hard. Ma Su, a toast to you!"
The white-eared soldiers raised their cups and drank with Ma Su. After drinking the wine, Yang Zhen felt as if his stomach was on fire and his throat was slightly hot. " Brothers," Ma Su said," you'll have a good meal here. I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave first." Your camp has already been arranged. You can go ahead later.”With that, he turned around and walked out of the dining hall without waiting for anyone to reply.
Yang Zhen counted the number of brothers who were eating. There were a total of 421 people. This meant that 379 people had died in the desperate battle. Yang Zhen raised a cup of wine and gulped it down. Looking at the white-eared soldiers, he thought of his brothers from the battalion he was originally in. They were all dead. Thinking of this, Yang Zhen felt even more upset.
After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Yang Zhen was already completely drunk. With Zhang Biao's help, he returned to the camp and fell asleep. Early the next morning, Yang Zhen vaguely heard the sound of drums, followed by " The mighty Han Army!”He hurriedly opened his eyes and saw that the camp he was sleeping in was empty. Beside his pillow was a clean and tidy military uniform. Yang Zhen knew that this was the uniform of the White-Eared Soldier and hurriedly put on the new uniform. Seeing the only remaining set of weapons and armor on the weapon rack in the camp, Yang Zhen put on the armor without hesitation and picked up the weapon. After leaving the tent, Yang Zhen followed the drumbeats and ran towards the drill ground.
When they arrived at the drill ground, Yang Zhen saw a person standing on the high platform. That person was wearing a golden armor. It was His Majesty the Emperor. There was a person standing behind the Emperor. It was Chen Dao, Yang Zhen's general. The platform was surrounded by a group of dignified and mighty White-Eared Soldiers. Below the platform, various troops were gathered. Yang Zhen had a bad feeling. How could he dare to barge into the drill ground in such a situation? Yang Zhen hid under a tree not far away from the drill ground. He looked at the soldiers and generals who were waiting for him. He did not know what to do.
Suddenly, Yang Zhen had an idea. He quickly ran into the camp, passing through three camps from behind the tent and arriving behind the high platform of the drill ground. Panting, Yang Zhen looked at the platform. Looking at the steps that were more than three meters tall, he began to feel troubled. Yang Zhen scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously. He looked around the high platform and saw a person standing under a military flag on the high platform. Yang Zhen smiled. He quickly ran to the bottom of the platform and shouted softly to the person under the flag,"Li Erniu! Li Erniu!"
Li Erniu was standing under the military flag when he suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked around and didn't see anyone, so he didn't take it seriously. Who knew that not long after, he heard someone calling him again. Moreover, the voice was so urgent. Li Erniu stood behind the side of the high platform. This was a blind spot. No one below the high platform could see him. Thus, Li Erniu followed the voice and took a few steps forward. What greeted his eyes was indeed Yang Zhen. "You…Why are you here?" Li Erniu was shocked.”
"Lower your voice, lower your voice, quickly pull me up," Yang Zhen said softly.”
"How?" Li Erniu asked softly.”
Yang Zhen handed the spear in his hand to Li Erniu. Li Erniu caught the end of the spear and pulled Yang Zhen up. As soon as Yang Zhen was pulled up, he asked,"What happened today? I drank too much last night. I only woke up today when I heard the drums.”"What yesterday?" Li Erniu asked. You slept for a whole day yesterday, and the drinking happened the day before yesterday.”Yang Zhen exclaimed and asked,""No way, how can I sleep so much?”
Li Erniu said," Yesterday, the entire army rested for a day. General Chen saw that you were sound asleep and did not allow anyone to disturb you. This morning, His Majesty gathered the troops at the drill ground. The general saw that you were still sleeping soundly and said that you were too tired, so he did not wake you up. Moreover, today is not a big deal. It is just the selection of soldiers.”
"What soldiers?" Yang Zhen asked.
"What soldiers can we choose?" Li Erniu said. Three thousand White-Ears, and now only a few hundred of us are left. How can we do that? Therefore, they had to select outstanding soldiers from the various armies to expand the guards.”
"So that's how it is!" Yang Zhen said.”
Li Erniu nodded and said to Yang Zhen,"You stand in front, that's your position, under the flag between me and Zhang Biao.”
Yang Zhen nodded, tidied his military uniform, and walked towards the flag in front. Li Erniu stood under the flag again. Yang Zhen walked to the flag in front of him and stood under the platform like the other white-eared soldiers. As soon as Yang Zhen appeared under the flag, Zhang Biao, who was standing under the flag in front, glanced at Yang Zhen. He was shocked at first, but then he smiled. Yang Zhen also smiled at him and then stood there meticulously.
There were nine steps on the platform. The steps between two steps were two meters apart, but the higher the step, the smaller the space. Yang Zhen stood at the bottom of the steps and looked at the soldiers who were neatly arranged in front of him. Looking at the soldiers who were fighting hard to enter the guards below the steps, he felt how happy and dignified he was.
After a busy morning, they finally selected thirty soldiers with better skills from the drill ground. The slow speed and strict selection made Yang Zhen feel a little gratified. This was because he had been appointed by the Emperor to join the army. However, Yang Zhen also admired these shortlisted soldiers. If they were selected according to this standard, Yang Zhen would definitely not be selected because he did not know how to ride a horse. This also became a pain in his heart.
The selection process lasted for half a month. Other than the first day when the Emperor was present, the rest of the selections were hosted by Chen Dao. However, the generals would still appear on the drill ground on time. In this half a month, Yang Zhen had also met many generals on the drill ground. Yang Zhen had made many friends with the constantly strengthening personal guards. Zhang Biao and Li Erniu even taught Yang Zhen riding in private. Half a month later, the 3,000 personal guards had been fully strengthened. Zhang Biao was promoted to a commandant due to his military achievements, managing the 1,000 soldiers under Yang Zhen and Li Erniu.
As a guard, Yang Zhen was arranged to stand guard around the Emperor every night. However, in the past half a month, Yang Zhen had never seen the Emperor. Li Erniu, who had been on duty for the emperor, said that the emperor lay in bed all day, even when meeting the ministers. Yang Zhen was grateful for the emperor who had appointed him and silently wished him well in his heart. He hoped that he could get better soon and see him again.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]