Chapter 13: Burying the Pot to Make Rice

The midday sun at the end of May (July in the Gregorian calendar) was at its most brutal, and hundreds of Ming soldiers continued to flee like zombies under the scorching sun.

When the shouts of fighting can no longer be heard, when the smoke and enemy shadows can no longer be seen, when everything begins to become silent for a long time and only the sound of birdsong and running water can be heard, extreme hunger, thirst and exhaustion begin to quickly destroy every life.

The vast majority of people are already on the verge of collapse.

Two nights and one and a half days of running have exhausted the last bit of energy these people had left.

When a mule fell to the ground frothing, everyone realized that they had to stop and take a long rest. This was already the fifth big animal to fall!

Even animals can’t hold on, let alone people?

If you continue to run and don't need the enemy to deal with it, they will have to finish the game on their own first.

The team was finally led into a dense forest, and several horses were immediately whipped. Shi Ming, Wang Chengwu and Song Baolai separated their horses and galloped away left and right. They decided to conduct a simple reconnaissance first.

Li Ping did not go to conduct reconnaissance. He hugged Gao Lei, who was still sleeping, on his horse, and cooperated with Zhao Jin to keep telling the troops not to lie down or close their eyes, otherwise it would be difficult to wake them up once they fell asleep.

Although most of them have only known each other for a short time, and it was at such a critical moment, Zhao Jin has already established a very high prestige among this group of soldiers who are mostly strangers.

Providing food for everyone, providing help to every weak person, and suppressing the rioters without mercy, most people not only owed him a debt of gratitude, but also recognized his authority.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Shi Ming and others had returned one after another. At this time, there was actually nothing to investigate. They neither dared to run far nor had the ability to search the surroundings carefully. They could only do a hasty exploration.

When Zhao Jin announced that they could rest, many people lay down on the spot and fell asleep, and for a while there was a sound of snoring.

With the help of Chief Duan Qiang, Liu San and others, Li Ping carefully lifted Gao Lei off the horse, then found a dry and soft ground with thick grass, and used the clothes in the package she had been carrying as a mat.

Then he laid her down.

The small package that this woman refused to give up when she was running for her life was actually filled with a change of clothes. You must know that Li Ping had thrown away except for the half of the broken leather armor and the mandarin duck battle jacket. Even the white felt hat was nowhere to be seen.

Where has it gone?

Women's brain circuits are indeed different from men's.

However, such a big movement only made Gao Lei twist her body a few times. It seemed that this young lady was really exhausted.

Along the way, Gao Lei was like a shy little daughter-in-law, following Li Ping closely. It seemed that only Li Ping could gain her trust.

Of course, Gao Lei did not ride on the horse all the time, otherwise the horse would have been exhausted.

Horses are delicate animals, and their endurance is much lower than most people imagine. Gao Lei gritted his teeth and walked with Li Ping most of the time, and only got on the horse to rest for a while when he couldn't hold on any longer.

Not long ago, Li Ping, who seldom mounted a horse, couldn't bear it anymore, so he had no choice but to ride for a while with Gao Lei, who had completely collapsed.

At this time, Gao Lei no longer had so many worries, and she naturally leaned into Li Ping's arms, and fell asleep very quickly, and she slept very deeply.

This time Li Ping was spoiled.

She hadn't showered or washed clothes for many days, and then she had eaten ashes and sweated all the way. Gao Lei's hair exuded a sour smell next to Li Ping's nose. She was sleeping soundly and was swaying left and right on her horse.

Li Ping had to hug and support him back and forth, which was extremely painful.

Fortunately, the order to rest saved him.

When Gao Lei was finally settled, Li Ping noticed that Zhao Lanyue had been staring at him with red eyes. This woman did not fall asleep like most people, but was waiting for something else.

Along the way, Zhao Lanyue spent most of the time walking in silence. She was almost completely different from Zhao Meiling beside her, who kept barking and complaining and spent most of her time on the mule. Li Ping was very surprised by her endurance and resilience.

It was even more inconsistent with the initial impression she left on Li Ping.

Li Ping smiled politely at Zhao Lanyue, and Zhao Lanyue immediately returned his smile.

When Li Ping looked for Zhao Jin again, he found that Zhao Jin was preparing to cook, and many people had already taken the initiative to come over to listen to his orders. Only then did he understand what Zhao Lanyue was waiting for.

When it came to whether to sleep or eat first, Zhao Jin decisively chose the former.

What they urgently need now is energy. If they still just make do with some nutritious rice or nothing at all, I am afraid some people will not be able to sleep at all.

When Li Ping also hurried to help, Zhao Jin immediately gave him the job of digging holes and burying pots. On this issue, Zhao Jin could only choose Li Ping, whom he knew best and could best command.

Li Ping did not disappoint Zhao Jin's trust. He quickly started digging holes using simple tools, and attracted a crowd of onlookers. However, the onlookers were very interested in his skillful digging skills and what he wanted to do.

In addition to curiosity, there is also an obvious look of worry.

No matter how stupid a soldier is, they know that the smoke produced by a fire will potentially expose them to the enemy and bring them disaster.

But what Li Ping dug was the Dakota Fire Cave.

The Dakota Fire Hole is a fire stove with strong firepower but very little smoke. It can even be regarded as smokeless at only a slightly farther distance. It is most suitable for use when you need to hide your whereabouts in the wild. It is about two large and one large.

The small pits are connected at the bottom, and the fire is lit in the large pit.

The reason why they have to dig two Dakota fire holes is because they only have two pots. Although the pots are a bit small, fortunately, the pots in the army are relatively large, and a few more pots can meet the needs. And these two pots are just right.

Use it to cook meat and one mouthful to cook rice.

"You're pretty good at digging a Dakota fire hole. Have you done it before?" Shi Ming, who wasn't sleeping, suddenly asked from the side.

Being able to be called famous means that Shi Ming should know about this kind of fire stove that comes from the Indians, but he never helped. Instead, he just watched Li Ping choose the site and do it by himself.

Li Ping unexpectedly raised his head and glanced at Shi Ming, paused for a moment and then said casually: "This is called the Dakota Fire Cave? I really don't know. I learned this when I went camping with my friends in the wild. I know that there is less smoke when there is a fire."

."

"Well, I also know it from playing outdoors." Shi Ming suddenly smiled, and then began to instruct the soldiers who were transporting firewood here how to select dry firewood. The choice of firewood also plays a big role in controlling the amount of smoke. This Shi Ming said

He looks like a veteran.

When the pot was set up and the fire was lit, sure enough, there was only a thin layer of smoke for a long time. The onlookers were amazed and attracted even more onlookers, including a man who was busy working nearby with a nervous expression.

The skinny old man finally couldn't help asking cautiously.

This old man is the guy who worked with Li Ping to build the bridge at the bottom of the ditch. It is really not easy for him to be able to escape here and still have some energy left.

Li Ping didn't hide his secrets. He politely told the surrounding soldiers about the basic principles and precautions of the stove, as well as the terms related to oxygen and other later generations. He also changed the terminology of later generations into words that can be understood by this era.

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At this time, a sturdy man with Chinese character face squeezed directly to the front to listen.

This man Li Ping was also deeply impressed. He was one of the two strong men who used bows and arrows to kill the fleeing people on the top of the ditch. It is difficult to remember such a rare good archer and god of death.

Moreover, these two strong men each had a mule, which made them more conspicuous along the way.

When the smell of meat began to waft, almost all the dozens of people who had been awake gathered around.

The reason they had meat was all thanks to the fallen mule.

However, the four previous animals were all abandoned. At the most difficult moment of escaping, no one had the energy to cut them into pieces, which also meant that they could not be carried.

Facing the jealous crowd, Zhao Jin once again exercised his authority as commander.

He forbade anyone to snatch mule meat, and strictly distributed the meat, and his authority was respected without any surprise.

But Zhao Jin had no requirements for the pot used to cook the rice. There was still plenty of rice at the moment, and he didn't want to interfere too much with people who were going crazy with hunger. So, many people ran to use various simple tools to cook the rice quickly.

Eat porridge, but the first pot of porridge was eaten before it was fully cooked.

After everyone who had not slept had finished eating, Zhao Jin ordered those who were asleep to be woken up, and asked each of them to eat something first before continuing to sleep.

Li Ping used a bamboo tube that was originally filled with water to fill some thick porridge and mixed some minced meat and brought it to Gao Lei. It took a lot of effort for him to wake Gao Lei up. Although he was still in a daze, he

Gao Lei still wolfed down the meat porridge, and then fell asleep again.

After everyone had eaten, Li Ping still didn't lie down. Although he was very sleepy now, he had to continue to persevere.

Not everyone can sleep there, someone has to be on duty, so Li Ping took the initiative and chose to be on guard duty on the first shift.

Facing this group that cannot be trusted yet, one person between him and Zhao Jin must always be awake, and the one who needs to rest first is of course Zhao Jin. After all, if something happens, hundreds of people here can be restrained best.

It's Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin not only established initial prestige, but he was also the person with the highest position here.

There were only a few people standing on the first sentry line, and they were all active. Besides Li Ping, there was Wang Chengwu, and the other one was the sturdy man with a Chinese character.

Wang Chengwu had actually been squinting for a while just now. He had been resting before eating, and waited until Shi Ming called him after eating. The two of them had obviously discussed it in advance, and they should have the same idea as Li Ping and others.

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Being on duty on the first shift was the most painful. The long-term fatigue made all three of them drowsy. Everyone was looking for something to do for themselves, fearing that they would fall asleep as soon as they calmed down.

After Li Ping took good care of his horses for a while, he began to count them back and forth. For such a long time, no one could tell how many people and supplies they had.

Seeing Li Ping counting, the man with the Chinese character came over to help. However, he was illiterate and couldn't do simple calculations, so he could only help Li Ping check the numbers. Wang Chengwu, on the other hand, kept guarding Shi Ming and the animals with a knife.

He stayed close to the group.

263 people, this is the total number of people.

However, Li Ping couldn't figure out how many of the people here were from his sentry, because he didn't recognize all of the more than 100 people in the first place. There were less than half of the sentry left, and he only saw how the people gathered when he ran away.

Estimate.

He is the only one left among the three captains, and there must be less than twenty people in his team.

Of the three commanders in his team, one was missing and another was killed by Zhao Jin. Only the silent Duan Qiang followed him faithfully, and he was also there when he was exerting force at the bottom of the ditch.

The remaining Du Guerrilla soldier was nowhere to be seen, and Li Ping suspected that Shi Ming had tampered with it. However, this Du Guerrilla was probably in danger. If he could escape this time, it would be convenient in the future.

Five horses, twelve horses and mules, twenty-nine donkeys, 35 bags of rice and 6 bags of flour (estimated to be more than 2,000 kilograms in total), 1 and a half bags of rice, two bags of coarse salt, and two large piles of coarse cloth
To be continued...