blue sky.

White clouds.

The vast Gobi desert.

Thousands of civilians pushed grain carts and followed the Western Expeditionary Army from east to west through the depths of the Gobi.

Jiang Chen raised his eyes and looked around, still unwilling to believe that when he woke up, he actually became an unlucky civilian in the Western Region Army (Qingzhou Division) of the David Wu Dynasty.

Confused.

Shock.

Indescribable fear!

The Chinese people have always been the most tolerant ethnic group. Even so, they are often afraid of military service and fear that one day they will die in a foreign country without leaving their bones...

"The Book of Songs: Bustards and Feathers" says: "The bustards and feathers gathered in Baoxu. The king's affairs are too busy, and he can't cultivate rice and millet. Where are the parents? The sky is long! What is there for him?"

The great bustards flapped their wings and perched in groups on the thick oak trees.

The hard work in the prince's family is endless, and I can't go home to cultivate grains.

How do my poor parents live?

It’s so unattainable, God, when can I return to my hometown?

…………

Jiang Chen didn't expect that this 9-point test question on "Ancient Poetry Reading" that he had done in high school could now be answered with personal experience.

Just five words can perfectly explain the mood of the working people at that time:

***, refund your money!

The people at the bottom pay the heaviest taxes, but still have to bear the assigned corvee, year after year, endlessly, and even call it "king's business". How unfair is this?

Jiang Chen held his breath, held back his anger, and recalled the experience of the original owner.

They have the same name, their parents were chased by gangsters, and they both fell off a cliff and died.

The tax collector was covetous of the three acres of paddy fields left by his parents, and it just so happened that the current old emperor was so pleased with his achievements that he went on a military rampage and gathered the mighty soldiers from all over the country to attack the Western Regions, so he was assigned to serve as a civilian in the Western Army (Qingzhou Division), waiting for the news of his death.

Come, you can plunder the precious family property accumulated by the original owner for generations.

When traveling through Ji and Liang prefectures, the Qingzhou soldiers, a group of arrogant and fierce generals, could always forcefully ask for supplies from various counties. If they refused to give them, they would kill the county magistrate's master or wife in front of everyone.

"It is like a comb, a soldier is like a gourd, an official is like a shave", so he has a strong reputation for being fierce, and his logistics supplies are relatively sufficient. Even the civilians can eat a bowl of smelly pig sesame from time to time.

But once you enter the Gobi, the death rate skyrockets at an alarming rate!

Thirty thousand Qingzhou soldiers suffered more than twenty casualties;

Of the 60,000 civilians, more than 8,000 died. Some died of heat, some died of thirst, some died of exhaustion, some had their heads chopped off by horse bandits, some were hanged on flagpoles after escaping, and some like the original owner

Like being stung to death by scorpions!

When I think of this.

Jiang Chen couldn't help but turn around and ask the old man beside him:

"Why did only dozens of soldiers die?"

The air was stuffy and hot. The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked around and whispered:

"I heard from the veterans in the village that the elites selected from thousands of states have all undergone the Laoshizi Qingyang Ceremony. Not only can they prolong their lives, but their bodies are stronger than bears!"

He frowned and wanted to continue asking, but the old man waved his hand and said that he only heard the veteran miss a few words when he was drunk, and didn't know the rest.

Jiang Chen stared ahead. The tall state soldiers raised their heads and held their chests high, with proud expressions on their faces, as if they were treating the Gobi desert as a tourist attraction.

Even if he had to face the enemy head-on, the survival rate was much higher than that of a civilian like himself. He couldn't help but think to himself:

"If you want to survive this war to conquer the Western Regions - you must become a Qingzhou soldier, and you must find ways to become one of them!"

…………

In the next five or six days, Jiang Chen followed the Expeditionary Army and continued deep into the Gobi, becoming more and more certain of his initial judgment.

Being promoted from a civilian husband to a Qingzhou soldier is his only way to survive!

If you just work as a farmer transporting grain, you will one day be like other people... die of heat, thirst, exhaustion, disease, or even be stung alive by scorpions!

At this moment.

Hundreds of meters away, a desolate horn sound suddenly sounded throughout the audience:

"Woo-woo!"

Jiang Chen's eyebrows stung, and he suddenly raised his head and stared at the sunset in the distance. The afterglow that should have been gentle and warm was now tinged with blood!

Since coming to this world, he seems to have awakened some kind of danger perception ability that is beyond ordinary people. Whenever he senses danger, his eyebrows will tingle slightly.

The others didn’t take it seriously, they all smiled and said:

"You kid, you've been stung by a scorpion!"

But afterwards, Jiang Chen's correct predictions, as if possessed by ghosts and gods, gradually made him somewhat famous among the people.

"Is it possible to predict with just one step?"

In short, his status among the people has been upgraded from "nobody" to "folk diviner". Whenever something happens, someone will always come to consult him.

Jiang Chen stretched out his hand, grabbed the old man beside him, and asked in a low voice:

"Uncle Chen, should we find a place to hide? I always feel like something is going to happen."

The old man called "Uncle Chen", whose real name is Chen Buxu, is a fellow villager of the original owner and a distant relative who has passed the fifth level of service.

Because he once delivered a few bowls of hot rice to the hungry and cold fellow villagers during the winter labor service, he was somewhat unpopular among the people, so he was nicknamed "rice in the snow".

Chen Buxu was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly and said:

"You kid, why did you pretend to be a ghost on me? In my opinion, they are just horse bandits. Afterwards, maybe you can get one or two pieces of roasted horse meat to try."

"Although we don't like those guys with high chins, when these state soldiers wielded their swords and guns, they were not ordinary ferocious. They escorted the two thousand men of the grain team and killed 60,000 civilians.

It’s like cooking a sheep and slaughtering a chicken, it takes no effort!”

"Just keep your mind at ease, nothing will happen!"

Say it.

Chen Buxu took advantage of the moment when the whole army was waiting for the enemy, and quietly took out a bag of salted pebbles from his arms, and licked it happily, as if he was eating a delicious snack, so happy.

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"Perhaps I am the one who made the fuss..." Jiang Chen still had doubts in his heart. He carefully looked at the surrounding terrain and silently planned out several escape routes in case of emergency.

But at this time.

The sharp-eyed civilians looked into the distance and shouted in horror:

"Horse Bandit!"

"The horse bandits are coming!"

Chen Buxu licked the pebbles and said slightly proudly:

"Look, I'll just call him a horse bandit."

The words just fell.

On the western horizon of the Gobi Desert, a black line suddenly appeared.

Although he couldn't see clearly due to the distance of three or four miles, Jiang Chen's heart trembled, and he felt the force of an iron-blooded army spanning the battlefield!

The huge setting sun and the vast Gobi desert seemed to be enveloped by this soaring force, suppressing it and bowing to it!

"wrong!"

"This definitely can't be a horse bandit!" Jiang Chen's heart was alarmed, and he immediately grabbed Chen Buxu's hand and said anxiously in a low voice:

"Uncle, stop licking!"

"Something big is going to happen!"

"ah?"

Chen Buxu was surprised.

The salted pebbles fell to the ground in his hands.

Jiang Chen frowned, pointed at the Qingzhou soldiers in the distance, and said quickly: "Uncle Chen, you don't believe me, but you have to believe those guys, right?"

"Look carefully at what they look like now!"

Following the direction of his index finger, Chen Buxuan raised his head in confusion and looked at the Qingzhou soldiers responsible for escorting the grain. His eyes suddenly widened:

"Damn it, these guys with their eyes above their heads are actually afraid of one day?"

Just as Chen Buxing said.

The Qingzhou soldiers, who were originally straight-backed and proud by nature, pretended to be ready for battle on the surface, but if you look closely, you can see that many of the soldiers were clenching the weapons in their hands with panic on their faces.
To be continued...