Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 369: Reinforcements Arrive
After lunch, Takedaguchi and others leaned against the cabin to rest.

Time passed quietly, and soon it was time for the daily exercise.

Takedaguchi and others lined up and walked out of the cabin and came to the deck of the ship.

Standing on the deck of the ship, looking into the distance.

At Takedaguchi, I only felt that the distant sky was very vast, and the blue sea was like a magnificent sapphire, inlaid between heaven and earth.

The fish jumped out of the sparkling sea surface, and fell back into the water with a splash, creating several splashes of water.

Under the sunlight, the water splashes were dyed into golden powder.

The wind mixed with the smell of the sea blew towards him, blowing on Takedaguchi's face.

Takedaguchi couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, enjoying the feeling of the sea breeze blowing on his face.

He couldn't help but feel relaxed!
Suddenly, Takedaguchi's eyes lit up, and he saw a black land appearing at the end of his sight in the distance.

It was a long and narrow coastline that stretched as far as the eye could see.

At this moment, everyone couldn't help but feel a pause in their hearts, and they had an epiphany.

Vietnam, here we are!
Soon, the lookout time was over, and Takedaguchi and others were driven back to the cabin.

The fleet quickly moved towards the Vietnamese coastline.

Before they had gone far, they saw several warships heading towards them in the distance.

All of these warships were flying the Tang army's battle flags.

Afterwards, the fleet, guided by the warships, headed towards the mouth of the Red River.

As we get closer to the coastline, there are more and more ships on the sea.

Ships set sail from Vietnam and headed towards the Tang Dynasty.

The cabins of these ships were filled with food.

They are transporting Vietnam's grain to the Tang Dynasty.

Finally, the fleet entered the port and continued to sail upstream along the Red River towards Hanoi City.

After another day, the fleet from Japan finally arrived in Hanoi.

After the ship docked, Tokugawa Kohei walked down the deck and came to the port pier.

As soon as he landed, he saw a Tang army general in military uniform coming up to him and greeting him.

"This should be His Excellency Tokugawa Kohei."

"I am Zhang Guoliang, the commander of the 16th Infantry Division of the Tang Dynasty. I am here to greet you on the orders of Commander Chen."

"Commander Chen has already set up a banquet in Hanoi. Please follow me!"

Upon seeing this, Tokugawa Yasuhei quickly clasped his fists in return and then asked.

"Thank you, Commander Zhang, for coming to greet us."

"May I ask what arrangements our soldiers have made?"

As he spoke, Tokugawa Yasuhei pointed to several boats behind him.

On these ships were the troops sent by the Tokugawa shogunate to assist the Tang Dynasty in its war against Vietnam.

Zhang Guoliang said with a smile.

"Don't worry, Tokugawa-kun. Commander Chen has already ordered people to prepare a camp outside Hanoi for the Japanese reinforcements, as well as food, wine, meat and other supplies to reward the troops."

"The Tang Dynasty will never mistreat its allies!"

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Yasuhei felt relaxed and began to speak.

"Then I would like to thank the Tang Dynasty on behalf of the soldiers today."

Zhang Guoliang nodded slightly, then extended his hand to lead the way.

"Tokugawa-kun, please follow me to the banquet."

"Don't keep the Commander waiting any longer."

Tokugawa Yasuhei immediately nodded in agreement, and then followed Zhang Guoliang into Hanoi City.

Behind them, the Japanese samurai on the ships lined up to disembark.

Tang army soldiers maintained order at the dock and directed the samurai from Japan to disembark and line up for disinfection.

Although it is autumn now, the climate in Vietnam is still hot.

These Japanese came by ship and stayed on the ship for such a long time that they might have contracted the disease.

For safety reasons, it is of course necessary to disinfect first.

……

Everyone at Takedaguchi lined up to get off the boat.

As a result, he was taken to an open space as soon as he got off the boat.

In front of them, there was a group of Tang army soldiers wearing masks and carrying spray bottles, spraying alcohol mixed with water on them one by one for disinfection.

There was a very distinct smell of alcohol in the air.

A senior warrior who was leading the team smelled alcohol in the air and couldn't help but ask a Tang soldier who was spraying alcohol with a spray bottle in Chinese with a distinct accent.

"Hey little brother, can I ask why you guys are spraying wine on us?"

"Is this the Tang Dynasty's etiquette for welcoming guests?"

When asking this question, he couldn't help but admire in his heart.

The Tang Dynasty was worthy of being the Celestial Empire. It was rich, but it didn't drink such good wine and just spurted it away.

Upon hearing this, the Tang army soldier showed no impatience and began to explain.

"This is not wine, but alcohol. You can't drink it."

"The reason why we spray alcohol on you is to eliminate the epidemic."

"You came here from Japan by ship. The conditions along the way were difficult. There might be an epidemic."

"Once this alcohol is sprayed, the epidemic will be killed."

The senior warrior was bewildered upon hearing this.

Obviously I don't understand what the plague has to do with spraying alcohol.

The Tang soldier did not intend to continue to explain his doubts to him, but just continued with his actions. Soon, these Japanese warriors had sprayed alcohol one by one.

Then he was taken to the next place.

There was a row of sheds in a very spacious courtyard.

Under the shed was a barber holding a shiny razor.

After spraying alcohol for disinfection, the Japanese warriors lined up one by one to have their heads shaved.

Japan does not have a tradition that hair and skin are given by parents and should not be damaged easily, so these samurai did not have much resistance to shaving their heads.

If they had, they wouldn't have to shave their heads for a month.

They were just a little confused about the act of shaving their heads.

"Why does this military officer need to shave his head?"

It was the same talkative senior warrior who pulled the sleeve of a Tang army soldier who was responsible for maintaining order and started asking questions.

Upon hearing this, the Tang army soldier did not answer, but raised his hand to take off his hat, revealing a shiny head.

In the face of the senior warrior's confused look, he began to explain.

“Everyone has to shave!”

"Everyone in the army has to shave their heads or have short hair. Firstly, it is easier to take care of, it will not breed lice, and it is clean and hygienic."

"Secondly, if you have a head injury, it will be easier to treat it if you are bald."

"Didn't you come to Vietnam to train a new army? The first step in training a new army is to shave your head."

After he finished speaking, the senior warrior nodded with a look of sudden realization.

Although he didn't quite understand the idea of ​​shaving one's head, he had nothing to say when he saw that the Tang army soldiers themselves were all bald or had short hair.

Since Japan wants the Tang Dynasty to help train its new army, it naturally has to abide by the rules set by the Tang Dynasty.

Isn't it just a bald head?

Just shave it!

The people at Takedaguchi lined up to get off the boat. They first sprayed alcohol for disinfection one by one, and then had their heads shaved.

Afterwards, he was taken to a bathhouse.

He was given a towel and a bar of soap and asked to take a bath.

Takedaguchi stepped into the bathhouse and saw white buttocks everywhere.

They were all men, so he didn't think too much about it. He just followed the instructions, walked to a bucket, scooped a bucket of water from the bucket with a ladle, and poured it on himself.

In a tropical place like Vietnam, the weather is still hot even in autumn, so there is no need to boil hot water for taking a bath.

If you draw water from a well or river and leave it in the sun for a while, it will become warm water.

However, as soon as the water was poured on his body, it was stained black by the stains on his body.

Then, it flowed along the curve of his body and onto the ground.

It gathers together with the sewage on the ground and flows into the stinking ditch.

Looking at the dirty water flowing down from his body, Takedaguchi couldn't help but be amazed.

He hasn't taken a bath for almost half a year, so he is really dirty.

Taking a deep breath, he wet the soap in his hands and began to apply it on himself.

Scrub it carefully first, then rinse it.

As the stains on his body were washed away by clean water, Takedaguchi instantly felt refreshed.

The originally dark skin instantly turned more than one shade whiter.

After drying his body with the towel, Takedaguchi picked up his clothes and walked out of the bathhouse.

As soon as he arrived at the bathhouse exit, several Tang army soldiers came up to him and asked him to throw away the patched old clothes in his hands.

Then he was given a brand new military uniform!

Of course, military uniforms are not free.

The Tokugawa shogunate has already given money.

The Tang Dynasty is not a charity. If the Tokugawa shogunate did not give money, why would the Tang Dynasty give these Japanese samurai new uniforms for no reason?

This set of military uniform is similar in form to the Tang Army's uniform, with the same top and skirt, cloth shoes and military cap, but the color is not the gray-black color of the Tang Army's uniform.

But it’s shit yellow!
Well, the reason for using this color was not decided by the Tang Dynasty, but by the Tokugawa Shogunate.

After the Tang Dynasty decided to reorganize the 5,000 people sent by the shogunate into a new army, the shogunate began to design the uniforms for the new army.

Soon, the shogunate came up with a design plan.

The military uniform was of the same shape as that of the Tang army, but the color was shit yellow.

Subsequently, the shogunate placed an order for customized military uniforms with the Tang Dynasty.

After the order was completed, the uniforms were shipped directly to Vietnam, ready to be equipped to the Japanese warriors arriving in Vietnam.

After putting on his brand new military uniform, Takedaguchi left the bathhouse and was led to eat.

When he arrived outside the cafeteria and smelled the faint fragrance coming from afar, Takedakou's stomach began to growl.

After such a long journey since getting off the boat, Takeda was already hungry.

He queued up and entered the cafeteria, first received tableware, and then continued to queue up to receive food.

The food provided to them in the canteen is simple.

It's just white rice, plus a fried fish per person, a portion of pickled vegetables, and a small glass of wine per person.

The only good thing is that there is no limit on the amount of white rice.

After all, in a place like Vietnam, no matter what you lack, you will never lack food.

Since the Tang Dynasty had no shortage of food, it would not be stingy in this regard.

But even such simple food was eaten voraciously by these samurai from Japan.

Because they really haven't had a full meal for a long time.

As he ate the rice that was obviously new rice and savored the aroma of the fried fish, Takeda's eyes became slightly red.

How nice would it be if he could eat these every day in the future?
(End of this chapter)