Chapter 379 A Volunteer Army

Guanzhong, Xinfeng.

The beacon fires burned successively from Hongnong to the west. The officials and people of Xinfeng County could see the smoke rising after daybreak.

On the south bank of the Wei River, columns of wolf smoke connected east and west.

The young and strong men in the teams under the jurisdiction of each hundred households gathered at the hundred households, carrying short weapons, bows and crossbows, and dry food.

Long-pole weapons, iron armor, and leather armor were distributed in the centurions' office, and each centurions had 120 regular soldiers.

The remaining young and strong men wore sleeveless leather armor and wooden armor and were assigned to guard different teams.

Before noon, the only people on the wide road were messengers riding their horses back and forth.

Even the soldiers and civilians who had farm work to do had now returned to their teams and villages, waiting for instructions from higher-level units.

In the mountain valley southeast of Xinfeng, the militia gathered in front of the famous monk Bao Chuji nearby.

Bao Chujia's home has undergone great changes this year. The original low fence wall made of stacked firewood has been renovated into a wall made of earth boards, the wooden door has been replaced with a pair of pine wood doors, and a flight of steps has been built.

Bao Chu stayed indoors and just sat under a tree in the yard sharpening his sword.

He is very strong. Even though he is now in his thirties, his face is still full and he looks like a young man.

For a man like him who was naturally very strong, the damage to his weapons during fierce fighting was very alarming.

But when he was sharpening the sword, Bao Chu looked worried and sighed endlessly.

After he had sharpened his last heavy and long double-handled knife, I walked out of the room, leaning on a rattan stick and supported by my eldest brother.

She couldn't see anyone outside the yard through the wall, but she could see hunting forks and spears standing outside the yard.

When he came and sat down under the shade of the tree, he said, "Since my son has the heart to kill the enemy and serve his country, why should he worry about family affairs?"

Bao Chu looked up at his elder brother who kept his head down, and said helplessly: "I am worried about the harassment of the rebel army, so I sharpened my sword."

The old lady smiled and pushed her eldest son's arm. The eldest son blushed, smiled awkwardly, and stepped back.

As the eldest brother walked away, Bao Chu heard his mother say, "Since the Grand Marshal entered Guanzhong, the village has had more than fifty more cattle and horses. Every family in the village has received great favors from the Grand Marshal, so what's the harm if one person dies? If the rebel army disrupts Guanzhong again, who in the village will be better off?"

"Your brother is incompetent. I hope you can serve the Grand Marshal and avoid regrets later."

"Mother, there is no recruitment or call for soldiers in the county. If I gather a group of people, I might get into trouble."

Bao Chu was still making excuses. He just didn't trust his elder brother.

He was at home, and no matter how bad the situation was, he could carry his mother on his back and escape to Nanshan for refuge.

"How foolish is my son?"

His mother raised a cane to hit him. Bao Chu lowered his head to receive the cane, and then he heard his mother scolding him: "Guanzhong is peaceful, and the enemy is kept out, so every family can be saved. If the enemy army invades, how will the Grand Marshal look upon us, the children of Guanzhong? If you don't go, I, an old man, will go and kill the enemy!"

"Mother, calm down. My brother won't go, so I will go!"

Brother Bao Chu walked quickly over, knelt on one knee beside the old lady, and raised his hand to pat her on the back.

Bao Chu saw it and heaved a sigh of relief, "Mother is right. The child will die."

The old lady then stopped and looked at Bao's back as he went out to open the door, feeling a little reluctant.

She had experienced the scene when Han Sui's 100,000 rebel troops from Xiliang invaded Guanzhong. It was also at that time that they moved away from Fufeng. Later, when Li Jue and Guo Si caused chaos in Guanzhong, they fled to Nanyang. When they returned to Guanzhong, they lived in Xinfeng, where the security was relatively the best.

Bao Chu opened the door and first looked around at the various leaders crowded in front of the door. He did not see the three elders of the village or other people who received a salary. However, he saw the sons of several village elders and the younger brother of the pavilion chief standing in the front row.

These good family boys generally wore sleeveless leather armor, with swords hanging on their waists and shields on their backs. They either had light crossbows on their shields, or unstrung bows and quivers, and generally held spears in their hands.

Others were either hunters' shortbows, longbows, hunting forks, hoes, and there was even a young man wearing a wicker hat, holding an axe in one hand and a simple wooden shield like a pot cover in the other.

Everyone looked at Bao Chu, and the pavilion chief's brother said, "The beacon fire in Hongnong is a warning, and the official document from the county has not yet arrived. We all want to kill the bandits and defend our hometown, so we beg Mr. Bao to be our leader!"

Bao Chu looked around at the crowd and saw several fathers and sons, and brothers who came together. He frowned and said, "If you want me to be the leader, I have one condition. The only son in the family can go back, the sons who came with their father and son can go back, and the younger brothers who came with their brothers can go back!"

"Uncle Bao, I am the only one in my family, can I go?"

A young man called out, and Bao Chu recognized him. Knowing that he had military experience, he nodded and said, "You can do it."

Then he looked at another young man who was about to ask: "You can't."

"I don't accept it, but I'm going too!"

The young man was dissatisfied. Seeing Bao Chu had a cold face and didn't say anything, the relatives and elders around him elbowed him. The young man saw that others were also looking at him, so he left in anger.

After walking a dozen steps, he came back, took off the package of dry food hanging on his shoulder and handed it to other relatives.

Afterwards, Bao Chu carefully selected the people and eliminated several weak and sick young men; finally, he organized twenty horses to carry dry food and pull vehicles, and then led more than 111 people down the mountain road.

When their team walked out of the ravine and onto the road, they gathered together with other groups of mountain people, totaling more than 300 people.

Going eastward along the Chidao Road, when passing Zheng County in the evening, we stayed overnight at a roadside inn.

After nightfall, many people fell asleep. Bao Chu sat in front of an oil lamp, holding a scroll of bamboo slips, which recorded the various supplies of the team.

Suddenly, he heard the neighing of horses. When Bao Chu walked out of the tent, he saw that the gate of the Hundred Households Office was wide open and teams of soldiers were entering, leading their horses.

The horses were kept in the open space in the middle, while the soldiers squeezed into warehouses and other houses for the night.

Bao Chu thought it was none of his business, but soon a military officer came to see him and asked, "Is it Lord Bao of Fufeng?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Team Commander Shi Guiping, the other captains are discussing matters and have ordered me to come and invite Lord Bao."

After the officer finished speaking, he turned sideways and stretched out his arms, with no intention of continuing to speak. Bao Chu hung his sword in front of him and followed him to the main hall in the north.

There were already five centurions and seven team officers seated in the hall. Bao Chu followed the team officers' instructions and sat down in a centurion-level seat.

When he sat down, a centurion sitting at the head said, "The Ganquan Mountain military order has been issued to the four counties. According to the plan, we will meet up with the armies of the six eastern counties of Jingzhao at Tongguan. Since there are already five centurions, we should merge into one battalion. Do you have any objections?"

Bao Chu said nothing. Seeing that the other four centurions agreed, the leading centurion continued, "We have joined forces with the volunteer soldiers led by Lord Bao. There are actually 800 soldiers. I will lead the battalion and Lord Bao's troops will serve as auxiliary troops. Is that okay?"

At this time, the other centurions also agreed, and Bao Chu discovered that the chief centurion had obvious Taiping Dao decorations and patterns on his body.

There are also differences between centurions. Some centurions have made outstanding contributions, while others are simply there to fill positions.

Bao Chu heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the other four centurions were lacking in confidence, for he was afraid of internal strife.

Seeing that the internal command was established, the captain who was promoted to the position of battalion commander during the war said: "Since it is correct, go back and comfort the officers and soldiers and let them have a good rest. We will set out at four o'clock tomorrow morning!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)