It rained non-stop. The heavy rain that fell in the morning was still falling in the afternoon, and the rain showed no sign of stopping.

The ground had long become a vast expanse of water. The violent rain fell on the stagnant water, and a hazy white mist rose straight from the ground. Li Mengxi's clothes were quite thick, and the waves of coolness rising from the ground made him feel the slightest chill.

It was cold, so he couldn't help but wrap up his clothes tightly. When he looked at the soldiers again, he found that all the country soldiers were shrinking their necks and shivering from the cold. Li Mengxi suddenly realized that he had neglected to prepare clothes.

The Julu Army had already spent most of its energy on preparing food and fodder, and had no time or money to take care of the clothing of the rural soldiers. Now that there was a sudden heavy rain, the clothing problem was immediately exposed.

Li Mengxi had thought that it was April or May and how cold it could get. He didn't expect that the temperature could be so low on a rainy day that even wearing three pieces of clothing would feel cool.

Just when Li Mengxi was worried about whether the rural soldiers would be frozen due to lack of clothing, there was a sudden commotion ahead.

"Drive!" Li Mengxi kicked the horse in the belly, and the old horse, who was quite humane, automatically raised its hoof and moved forward without any guidance.

A group of rural soldiers gathered around the road for unknown reasons. When they saw Li Mengxi coming, they all looked at Li Mengxi for help.

The rain kept falling.

"What happened? Why did you stop?" Li Mengxi asked.

"Someone has gone astray." The soldier replied.

Upon hearing this, Li Mengxi immediately sent someone to call the military doctor. Just as he was about to call the messenger, he saw a doctor dressed as a military doctor running over in the rain with a bundle in his arms and a gourd hanging around his waist.

At this moment, Li Mengxi remembered, Oh, there are already patrolling doctors from our army.

The military doctor didn't just come alone. Along with the military doctor came a small team. The medical team pulled a car with a folded tent and all the medical needs. When the military doctor found the patient, he gave emergency treatment to the patient.

, other members of the medical team lifted a small tent from the car and set it up on the spot in the blink of an eye, and then carried a folding bed with legs in. In just a moment, a field surgery tent and

The operating bed is ready.

Afterwards, the patient was carried into the tent on a stretcher. The military doctor lowered his head and got into the tent, followed closely by Li Mengxi.

There is only one step between the outside of the tent and the inside of the tent, but they are two completely different worlds.

Outside the tent, the rain poured down and the ground was muddy. Inside the tent, there was a tent covering the top of the head, and there was not a drop of rain. Not only that, but after entering the tent, Li Mengxi discovered that the tent had a roof connected to the bottom, and the bottom was made of tung oil cloth.

Made of tung oil cloth, it is laid directly on the ground to completely separate the mud. There is no need to step directly on the wet mud. It is very comfortable. However, because there is no hard object to support it, it seems soft under the feet.

While Li Mengxi was observing the tent, the military doctor completed a preliminary diagnosis of the patient and helped the patient up.

"What's going on?" Li Mengxi asked the military doctor.

"It's nothing serious, it's freezing."

"Frozen?" Li Mengxi was a little surprised. He turned to look at the patient. He saw that the patient beside him was older and looked very old. At this time, the old soldier's lips were white and he was shivering. He looked really good.

Like it's frozen.

Li Mengxi was silent for a moment. He didn't expect that the mere coolness on a rainy day could actually make people pass out from the cold.

Since it is not a disease, but just caused by the cold, it can be easily solved. The Julu Army has complete means to combat the cold.

The first good way to keep out the cold is to warm ginger water.

Li Mengxi wanted someone to boil ginger water immediately. Before the order was given, he suddenly realized that there was no ready-made pot or stove to use. He had to find a place to make a fire and set up a pot before boiling ginger water.

The logistics system is flawed. In the past, when setting up camp at night, we would boil a pot of ginger water to keep the soldiers warm at night. I thought this method was enough, but I didn’t expect that, such as when marching or when the temperature dropped sharply, we would have to wait until night.

It is no longer not enough to boil ginger water in time. Under the special situation of sudden temperature drop, it is necessary to boil ginger water in an hour or even half an hour in time. To be able to respond quickly, you must have stoves and pots always on hand.

And if you want to march, you must always have a stove. The stove cannot be carried by humans, so it can only be carried on a vehicle.

There is a vehicle-mounted pottery kiln in the army. Even if it is a rainy day, the small vehicle-mounted kiln is still firing while walking. Having a vehicle-mounted pottery kiln allows the army to quickly produce pottery at any time. Judging from past experience, the vehicle-mounted pottery kiln

A small kiln is very necessary.

Based on the experience of the vehicle-mounted pottery kiln, combined with the current emergency, Li Mengxi felt that the army must have at least one additional stove with the army. Considering the bumpy road, it is best for the vehicle-mounted stove to have a compact and sealed pot body to survive any bad road conditions.

All can be used normally.

To make such a stove that is impervious to any bumps, you first need a well-sealed boiler. There is no such boiler in the military.

Li Mengxi scratched his head and listened to the noisy rain outside the tent. He felt that under the current weather conditions, if the march was to continue, ginger water would be indispensable. In order to continuously provide ginger water during the march, a vehicle-mounted boiler was also indispensable, so

, it has to be made on a temporary basis.

Based on the demand, what is needed is a stove that combines the stove and the pot, and it requires a certain degree of sealing. It is necessary to integrate the stove, pot and seal into a vehicle.

There was no boiler at the moment, so the military doctor had to temporarily boil ginger water in an earthen pot and give it to the patients. The old soldier, whose lips were white from the cold, drank a large bowl of hot ginger soup after wrapping himself in a quilt to warm him up for a long time.

When I got down, my face immediately turned rosy.

After he recovered, the old soldier felt very embarrassed to be surrounded by a bunch of people busy with each other. He felt sorry for himself and wanted to leave in a hurry.

"There's no rush." ​​Li Mengxi stopped him. He saw that the clothes on the old soldier were very thin. Considering that he was old and frail, it was raining so coldly. If he went out and got wet again, he probably wouldn't be able to bear it.

Then he said to the military doctor, "You can free up one of the Xuanwu chariots and let him live in it."

After explaining, Li Mengxi hurriedly went to do other things.

The fellow soldier listened in confusion. He didn't know what the Xuanwu Chariot was, nor did he know what staying there meant. He wanted to open his mouth several times and say go back, but saw that others were busy, so he couldn't speak several times.

The military doctors braved the rain and folded up the tent that had just been set up. After loading all the necessary items into the truck, the military doctors called on the old soldiers to take them to their place of residence.

During the march, the only place to stay was in a vehicle, and apart from the boxcar, the only vehicle that could provide shelter from the rain was the Xuanwu chariot.

The military doctor took people to the baggage team and explained their purpose. The baggage team immediately vacated half of the Xuanwu Chariot. The reason why it was half a car was because the Xuanwu Chariot, which has a body like a box, is itself a large storage box.

, On weekdays, the Xuanwu chariot would be loaded with supplies and other things like ordinary vehicles. I thought it was troublesome to empty the vehicle, so I emptied half of the vehicle. The captain of the baggage team pointed directly at the tall carriage and said, "It's not completely empty, there's still half of it left."

Chedouzi, you can just sleep in."

The military doctor thought about it and let it go. He nodded, handed a quilt in his arms to the old soldier, and asked him to get in the car and rest.

The old soldier took the quilt and awkwardly climbed onto the carriage. When he got on, he looked into the car and saw that the inside of the carriage was full of yellow beans. The old soldier hesitated and looked at the military doctor helplessly.

The military doctor explained patiently, "Just go to sleep, the car is difficult to move, so we'll make do with it."

After repeatedly making sure that it was okay to just sleep on it, the old soldier carefully laid down one mattress and picked up the other to cover it.

After confirming that the person was lying down, the military doctor gave a brief explanation and asked the transport team to take care of the person for a while, and then left in a hurry.

The old soldier lying in the car couldn't feel the cold at all now. The hot ginger soup he drank was now working hard, and his whole body was warm. There was a quilt under him, and he was also covered with a quilt.

It's covered so tightly that not even a bit of wind can get in, so it won't be cold anywhere.

Lying in such a dark box, the young soldier felt very strange. He looked left, right, and raised his head. There was a big roof above his head, and the rain pattered on the roof.

No, the roof is low, so I had to lie on my stomach to get in. The fellow soldier lying in the car felt it first hand, this car is good, just like a house, it does not leak rain or wind.

After lying down for a while, the fellow soldier felt sleepy. He yawned and sighed happily, feeling so comfortable.

There was a sudden noise from the car, and the fellow soldier couldn't help but look up, and a head poked in from the side of the car.

The visitor's hair was wet, and his head and face were covered with rainwater. He poked his head in and saw that his fourth uncle was sleeping under a quilt. The young man suddenly became happy and said, "Fourth uncle, you can do this. Isn't it warm?"

The fellow soldier stretched out his hand from under the quilt to get up. The young soldier smiled and said, "Okay, you can go to sleep. I'll be back."

After saying that, he jumped down with a loud sound.

——

Soon after, the team set off again.

Li Mengxi sent out a team of craftsmen. He ordered a team of craftsmen to leave the team and go out to find suitable soil and make the boiler mold. When it was done, he would pull the mold back.

In order to go out for work, it is natural to provide corresponding carriages, horses, tents, food and other supplies, especially tents. Because it is a rainy day and it is impossible to work in the rain, so there must be a tent dedicated to the workshop.

The logistical supply method, [Hamster Warfare] has been supplemented.

The hamster strategy can not only store supplies, but also retain the manpower to store materials, and can also leave the manpower to make processing tools. The current Julu Army has kiln carts and iron smelting carts, and the army can produce them.

Small pottery and ironware, etc., but the cast iron boilers needed for this purpose are too big. To cast the boilers, you must have molds. Large molds cannot be produced with the army. The production cycle is long, and they cannot be produced while stationed in the camp.

, so we can only leave the manpower on the spot and wait until it is ready before sending it to the front.

Let’s talk about the old country soldier who was in poor health, had thin clothes, and unfortunately passed out on the roadside due to the cold. This unfortunate old country soldier got a blessing in disguise by living in a “luxury” Xuanwu chariot. He didn’t have to walk while sleeping in the car, and the wind couldn’t catch him.

It was protected from the rain. It was covered with two quilts and was warm. The car was carried by animals and was swaying because half a car of soybeans was under me. The soybeans counteracted the bumps of the vehicle. It was like a soft bed, not to mention too much.

Feeling comfortable.

Besides, the old soldiers from the same hometown were worried about the safety of the fourth uncle, so they sent someone to check on him. The people who visited him said that the fourth uncle had slept in the car, covered with a quilt.

It was extremely comfortable, and the fellow soldiers felt at ease.

Unintentionally, the village soldiers saw that Julu Jun was taking good care of their boss, and they felt reassured by the thought that if they fell on the roadside, someone would take care of them.

Li Mengxi found Liu Bei and discussed the clothing matter with Liu Bei.

Every soldier of the Julu Army has sufficient clothing. The heavy rain has limited impact on the soldiers of the Julu Army headquarters. However, the rural soldiers are generally underprepared. This is something that cannot be helped. With the financial resources, material resources and time of the Julu Army, there is simply no way to prepare.

Provide clothing for thousands of people.

The problem lies with the rural soldiers, but the problems reflected here are worth learning from.

Li Mengxi told Liu Bei with emotion that the people lacked food and drink, and their physical condition was so poor that even a cold rain could cause some people to faint from the cold.

Liu Bei said from the side, "You still have to bring clothes. As the saying goes, bring dry food when you are full and clothes when you are warm. When you are traveling far away, the weather may change, so it is impossible not to prepare thick clothes."

"Bring dry food when you are full, and clothes when you are warm" is such an ordinary rural proverb, but it aroused Li Mengxi's thinking.

If we consider [warm clothes], the Julu Army's own preparations are also insufficient. Although everyone in the Julu Army headquarters has thick clothes, a mere cold rain is nothing, just a little cooler.

It's the same, but what if it gets colder? If it snows suddenly, if the temperature suddenly drops to the point of dripping water and freezing in one day, Sergeant Julu can still withstand it with his current clothing reserves.

Well, obviously I can't bear it.

Although it is warm now in April, it will get hotter and hotter in the future. One or two thick clothes can probably be prepared to cope with all sudden drops in temperature. After all, there will be snow in April for the first time in history.

The possibility of encountering snow in April and May is very slim, but what if, if one day we really encounter such extreme conditions, unless we prepare winter clothes to keep out the cold, we will face the end of annihilation.

If there is a sudden change in the sky and it snows in June, the two armies are facing each other in an anxious battle. Our army has winter clothes and can cope with the sudden change in weather. However, the enemy has no winter clothes and in a heavy snowfall, the whole army will freeze to death.

Countless people suffered frostbite, and the tens of thousands of troops were instantly wiped out.

If it is left to future generations to judge, they must think that our army's miraculous victory was the result of God's help and God's will. But in fact, God's help comes from nowhere. Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. In the same heavy snow, I

If the army is not prepared in advance, it will be completely damaged. When a crisis comes, only those who are better prepared can withstand the test, and only those who are better prepared can say that there are opportunities in crises.
Chapter completed!