Chapter 35: Always be prepared
The cold current blowing from the distant North Sea has chilled the entire world. The last yellow leaf clinging to the branch has been stripped and is now fluttering in the cold wind.
The various training in the barracks continued unabated. Cheng Chumo wrapped a cloth around his hand and punched the wooden post over and over again. The cloth was already bloody, but he kept punching the post with his fist as if he hadn’t seen it.
Li Huai Ren and Chang Sun Chong, standing next to him, were also hitting the wooden stakes, their hands also bloody.
No one cares. More than 200 people don’t care if their hands are bleeding, they only care about when they can break the stakes. The sweat drips from their naked backs, and the heat from their heads is swirling. They breathe in and punch, and exhale and hit, like tireless iron men.
Li Chengqian and Yun Ye stood on the sidelines watching. Cheng Yaojin only allowed them to participate in morning exercises, which meant running 20 miles a day with weights.
At this moment, the two of them were wearing heavy leather coats, their hands tucked into their sleeves, laughing and joking. Since sending the potatoes away, Li Chengqian has always found time to chat with Yun Ye. Of course, all the fine wine he brought from the capital has also gone to Yun Ye.
Li Chengqian is a good boy, Yun Ye thinks so. He is very knowledgeable at a young age, treats people with great courtesy, never smiles or talks, and you can’t tell at all that he is a royal noble. He worries when he sees soldiers suffering, and he is also anxious when he sees the surrounding people without food or clothing. Such a kind and intelligent teenager will become extremely tyrannical and psychopathic in a few years. Playing real-life battles with Li Tai is really desperate, and every blow is bloody. He was happy with his handsome boyfriend, and they played hide-and-seek in the mountains. At one point, he even tried to kill his own father. What was the reason? Yun Ye was a little curious.
Li Chengqian saw Yun Ye looking at him and was a little puzzled. Yun Ye’s eyes were strange, a little pitiful, but mostly strange.
“Xiao Ye, why are you looking at me? Is there something wrong?” He touched his face, and the traces of the pork that he had just eaten were already wiped clean.
After spending so many days together, Li Chengqian had long lost his sense of nobility in Yun Ye’s eyes. Since that day he had eaten the beef and potatoes, he had no appetite for the food made by the imperial chef. After learning that Yun Ye had a small kitchen of his own, he came every day to eat and drink.
Huang Zhi’en would come over from time to time to discuss mathematics with Yun Ye, and he would listen on the side, occasionally adding a word or two. Although it was not considered profound, he also had his own insights, which amazed Huang Zhi’en, who complimented him as a genius. If he devoted himself to studying mathematics, he would definitely be a great master in the future.
Of course, since the level of mathematics in the Tang Dynasty was generally low, in Yun Ye’s eyes it was the difficulty of the first year of junior high school. Most of the time, he was talking, Huang Zhi’en was listening, and Li Chengqian was taking notes. In these days, he has already recorded a thick stack of them. It seems that he understands or not, he first records them, and then slowly studies them later.
This is the right attitude to learning. Cheng Chumo would just sit there and doze off. He hadn’t even memorized the Arabic numerals in ten days. When Yun Ye got angry, he even argued, “We are brothers, right?”
Yun Ye nodded, “Then what is the difference between your knowledge and my knowledge? Knowledge is for use. When it comes time to use it, I can just find you. Why should I study so hard?”
Yun Ye completely lost interest in educating Cheng Chumo. Fortunately, there was Li Chengqian, a good student who understood everything at once and learned quickly, which greatly comforted Yun Ye.
“You are a royal child and the future master of our Tang Dynasty. How come I haven’t noticed any kingly aura in you?”
“What is the aura of a king?” He still has the bad habit of asking questions to the root.
“It is the strong personal charm that exudes from the body, giving the world’s talented people the momentum to bow to you. For example, your father, who gathered the world’s talents for his own use, had a lot of strategists and generals under his command at the time, and the heroes were wiped out in the blink of an eye. This is the specific manifestation of the king’s charm.”
“It’s the aura of a king, not the aura of a king’s son. Good, you dare to speak ill of my father and make up stories about me. If I don’t stuff my mouth with delicious food today, I’ll tell my father about this when I get back to the capital. Hmph!”
I’m surprised that there is already a name for a turtle. You should know that turtles were auspicious animals in the Tang Dynasty, and many people had turtle names, such as Li Guinian. This kid is bluffing me.
“What nonsense! How could I say anything bad about Your Majesty? You better explain yourself clearly. You’re still young, but you’re not very bright.”
Li Chengqian stammered and couldn’t say anything.
“Stop stalling, Xiaomo, Xiaochong, the bad guys have all left. Let’s not stand here like a pair of frozen turtles.”
It was the same old routine, soaking in the medicinal water, only without the wailing and howling. Everyone closed their eyes in the buckets, completely relaxing their muscles and allowing their bodies to recuperate to the fullest.
After half an hour, the water in the tubs began to cool, and one by one, they climbed out of the tubs and began to receive massages by the huge fire.
After five months of hard training, they had all become muscular men. Cheng Chumo was wearing shorts, but he didn’t feel cold in the cold wind. His bronze skin and muscles were taut, and the muscles on his stomach formed two beautiful characters.
Nowadays, daily training is a piece of cake for him, and hitting the wooden stake is purely a new kind of stimulation they have found for themselves. Chang Sun Chong and Li Huai Ren are not much different from him. The three of them stand forward, and the term “hunk” is the most appropriate for them.
“Xiao Mo, Xiaochong, bad guys, I made hot pot today. I don’t know if you guys want to eat it.” As soon as Yun Ye finished speaking, the three hunks immediately turned into three cheap guys, bowing their backs and drooling, looking extremely wretched. They quickly put on their leather coats and ran towards the tent with their chests exposed, grabbing Yun Ye.
Li Chengqian was putting an iron pot on the stove, which was specially made by Yun Ye. He found a large bamboo pole and cut it open to make a chimney for the stove, which burned coal. At first, Lao Cheng was worried that it would be poisoned by carbon monoxide, but after the bamboo pole was installed, there was no trace of carbon monoxide in the tent, and it was very warm. After building one for himself, he didn’t ask any more.
The five of them sat around the stove, passing around a pot of strong liquor. Not much, just two taels each, just to warm up. The spicy aroma came from the pot, and Yun Ye opened the lid. A large pot of beef stew with dried vegetables appeared in front of everyone. The dried vegetables, which had been soaked in plenty of butter, made the appetites of the five people open. The slight spicy flavor covered the smell of the beef, and there was no chili. Yun Ye had to use cornus instead. Although the spicy flavor was not authentic, it was better than nothing.
While eating and chatting, they talked about the Turks. The humiliation at the beginning of the year was deeply etched in the minds of the young soldiers. When they thought of Wei Qing, Huo Qubing’s great achievements in sealing the wolf’s residence, and Ban Chao’s brilliant achievements in the Western Regions, they could not help but feel angry.
Chang Sun Chong mentioned the sword and struck the back of the sword with chopsticks: “The wind and snow are long and the clouds are dark, the snow-capped mountains are dark, the general’s iron horse crosses the cold river, and death is commonplace.