Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 189 The Fundamental

Wuchuan, South Parade Ground.

The soldiers, wearing winter clothes and holding various weapons, were scattered around the training ground.

A soldier piled up a few stones against the wall of the parade ground, stepped on the stones, stuck his head out and looked inside the parade ground.

Then they burst into laughter.

"This is not a battle array, this is herding sheep!"

"Look, look at that guy, he walked into the next formation!"

"Yes! Yes!"

They clapped their hands and watched the auxiliary soldiers' training in the parade ground, laughing so hard that they fell over. Some even laughed so hard that they fell down from a great height, triggering even louder laughter.

The scene in the parade grounds was indeed horrific.

The 'auxiliary corps' composed of civilian laborers has just started preliminary training. This step is to teach them to know which squad, team, or unit they belong to. As long as they can stand in their respective positions and not cause confusion, it will be fine.

Even this first step is not easy.

These auxiliary soldiers who had just changed their identities were not yet accustomed to their new identities. They had dull looks, hunched bodies, and eyes full of fear. The bodyguards roared and gave orders. Because of their "astonishing" performance, the bodyguards who became officers were so angry that they jumped to their feet. Some of them could not bear it any longer and rushed out with whips and started beating them.

Most of these civilians had never received military training. Before their arrival, they had been living a life of eating one day and starving for three days, and a life of 'live today and die tomorrow'.

Whether it is strength, reaction, physical strength, courage, or even the speed of learning new things, they cannot compare with the military households in the city.

When facing their own officers, their first reaction was not how to learn the knowledge they taught, but how to survive from them just like they did in the past.

Yao Xiong frowned, his face gloomy, and stood on the platform, looking at the chaotic situation below without saying a word.

Over on the west parade ground, all that could be heard were the sound of horse hooves, the sound of soldiers drawing their bows, and their roars.

But when we arrived at the South Parade Ground, all we could hear was the officers' roars.

The enthusiasm of the soldiers who had just been promoted was also dampened by the performance of these people. They really didn't understand, just line up in a row, and advance or retreat according to military orders, what was so difficult about it? !

Why do these people seem to not understand what people are saying? How can they be so stupid? !
An officer rushed to Yao Xiong's side, threw away the whip in his hand, and said with a red face, "General Yao! Dismiss me!"

"Three days!! Three days!!"

"You can't even teach me how to march in formation! I'd better go and guard the gate and feed the horses for the general!!"

Yao Xiong was furious. He bent down, picked up the whip, and hit the officer, making the officer scream and quickly dodge.

"How do you hide? Isn't that what you were taught? If you can't do it, you'll get beaten? I'm going to teach you the same way today. I want to see if you can learn it!!"

After being whipped several more times, the officer dared not to argue again, "General Yao, I will go back and teach you again."

Yao Xiong angrily watched the guy roll down. He then suddenly looked at the people peeking on the wall in the distance, pointed at them and shouted, "Shoot those idiots down for me!!"

The officers rushed forward, raised their bows and arrows and pretended to shoot. The soldiers then laughed and jumped down, no longer watching.

"Keep practicing!!!"

Yao Xiong yelled.

There were still roars coming from the parade ground. The strong wind blew away the roars and then made them intertwined again. The soldiers were shivering, either because of the wind or because of the scolding.

It was getting dark.

Surrounded by several soldiers, Yao Xiong walked quickly towards the government office.

The office was being expanded, the west wall had been demolished, and laborers were busy working on it. As Liu Taozi's power increased, the office could no longer accommodate the administrative staff and needed to be expanded.

Yao Xiong avoided the working laborers and walked quickly to the main house in the backyard.

The two soldiers at the door did not dare to stop him, so he walked forward and knocked on the door.

When he walked into the room, Cui Gang led two military officers to sit next to Liu Taozi, with all kinds of documents piled in front of them.

They didn't pay any attention to Yao Xiong who walked in, and Cui Gang continued his story.

"Brother, now there are law schools in seven big towns. I have assigned four people to teach in each school, which uses up 28 places. I don't think it is necessary to set up separate schools for the remaining small garrisons and small checkpoints. You can let them go to the places with law schools to enroll."

"Let them train literate people to serve as minor officials."

"The military staffing in various places on the border is in disarray and unmanned. I have searched many documents and found the original arrangement. For borders with less than 300 households, there should be 18 military staff and 4 casual staff."

"More than 300 people, 28 military officers and 6 civilian officials."

"Forty military officers and eight civilian officials are required for those above five hundred."

"For more than a thousand people, there are fifty-three military officers and twelve civilian officials. There is no need to consider those above that level right now."

"These are local military officials who assist the local garrison commanders and guards. In addition, I plan to appoint a scribe under the name of a town general. For households with less than 1,000 households, one scribe, assistant, and chief will be appointed. For households with more than 1,000 households, one scribe, assistant, and chief will be appointed."

The system of the Northern Qi Dynasty was very advanced. Even for the border areas, an effective administrative system was arranged, with dedicated military officials to assist local officers in governance.

The only flaw was that there was no one to enforce it. For these people who were fed and only needed to go out to fight from time to time, governance did not exist. What officials were needed? What governance was needed? The garrison commanders directly used their own slaves and assistants to take over the tasks that the military officials should have done. Anyway, there was nothing else to do, just withholding some food and fodder, arresting some people and selling them, which was easier for their own people to do.

Yao Xiong stood aside. As a civil servant, he could understand what was said.

"The clerks sent by the Wei Gong are not enough. We have to wait for the Law School to train more clerks. There are not many people who can read and write here."

Cui Gang and others reported for a long time before taking these things and leaving.

Yao Xiong watched them leave and asked, "Brother, are you going to open a law school in the frontier?"

"Not just the law school. We also need to teach people to read. Those soldiers are good candidates."

“Learn to read??”

Yao Xiong suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit. He showed an exaggerated expression, "Brother, do you still want those auxiliary soldiers to learn to read?"

"Let them first distinguish left, right, front and back!!"

"Brother! I, the auxiliary general, have become a joke!!"

Yao Xiong said aggrievedly: "It's been three days, and they still can't teach me anything. What can I do? They can't even learn the simplest battle formation. Tian Zili said that this army is the foundation for my future. Relying on them as the foundation is even more unreliable than using County Lieutenant Changsun as a scout!"

Liu Taozi looked straight at Yao Xiong.

Yao Xiong looked at him for a moment and put away the grievance on his face.

"Brother, what should I do?"

"Xiong, you also came from the Law School. If you were suddenly sent from the Law School to the Classics School, and let those people be your lecturers and lead you to study the classics, what would you think?"

Yao Xiong imagined the scene and immediately replied, "I'm afraid he was so scared that he couldn't even speak clearly."

"Isn't it the same with the civilians?"

“Find a way to eliminate their fear first, and then teach them.”

“Although they are weak, they have things that the strong do not have. They should not be underestimated.”

"only!!"

Yao Xiong walked out of the government office, muttering something to clear up the barriers, touched his head, and walked towards the north of the city resolutely.

Outside a mansion in the north of the city, dozens of people were standing outside, talking about something.

When Yao Xiong walked in, Chu Jiande was cleaning someone's wound.

Yao Xiong didn't dare to disturb them and just stood aside. Chu Jiande was busy for a long time and then asked his disciples to take over while he pulled Yao Xiong back to the backyard.

Chu Jiande wiped the sweat off his face and looked at Yao Xiong beside him, "Has the wound recurred again?"

"No, no, this time, I have something important to ask you."

Chu Jiande washed his hands while looking at Yao Xiong, his face full of surprise, "You have something important to ask me? Do you want me to predict when to start a rebellion against the general?"

"How dare you."

"It's a military matter."

"How strange! Why don't you go find Tian Zili and Cui Gang?"

"Mr. Cui is very busy. Old Tian has a lot of reasons to talk about, but he can't get to the point. You have to come."

Chu Jiande laughed and pulled Yao Xiong into the inner room. Someone had prepared food, and the two of them enjoyed it together.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Yao Xiong then told Chu Jiande what Liu Taozi had told him. He said, "Now that you've explained it to me, I know where the problem lies, but I don't know how to solve it."

"So I'm asking you to come and give me some advice. My brother is very busy right now. He is in charge of these dozens of garrisons, so I can't keep asking."

Chu Jiande stroked his beard and said, "The general is right. These people didn't know each other before, but they were suddenly brought together and trained so harshly. They were terrified. Even if they could learn, they couldn't learn anymore."

"If you ask me, it would be better to let them slow down a bit." "How?"

"Don't rush the training. Even the Xianbei people train three days and rest once. Some even train once and rest once. How can these civilians endure three days of hard training? Even if they are well fed, you can't be so strict."

"If you listen to me, let them rest for three days."

"For the next three days, don't do any drills. Let the officers, especially those in the detachment, lead the soldiers to have fun."

"Ah?? Fun??"

"Look at the Xianbei army, they are so good at playing games. They play pot tossing, horse fighting, Chupu, lance, and cover shooting every day. They are all played by the garrison commander."

"Let the officers take the soldiers to play some games that are not too intense and suitable for most people to play together."

"Play for three days, then practice, then play for two days, then practice again, and adjust slowly in this way."

"Let them get familiar with each other, let them get rid of their past identities, let them not be so afraid and nervous. Soon they will be able to adapt."

"You can't do anything about the soldiers, but you have to personally step in and make the officers understand these principles."

Yao Xiong was silent for a long time before he stood up.

"it is good."

"I'll give it a try, if it doesn't work!"

He looked at Chu Jiande suddenly, and Chu Jiande was furious, "No, what are you going to do?"

"Then go find Tian Zili."

After Yao Xiong left here and returned to the parade ground, he immediately summoned the generals of the auxiliary army to his house.

The generals sat on both sides of him, looking quite intimidating.

However, their spirits were not very good at the moment, and they did not dare to complain in person.

Yao Xiong looked around and said, "After three days of training, there was no improvement. I went to the general and confessed my guilt to him."

Everyone was in an uproar.

"General Yao, what did the general say?"

At the frontier, when facing those superiors who hold the rank of general, everyone generally addresses them by their surname plus "General". However, there is only one person who simply calls them "General" without adding their surname.

Yao Xiong replied: "The general told me that the way to train soldiers is to relax and tighten alternately."

"These auxiliary soldiers were selected from the common people. They are afraid of you and are beaten and scolded by us. How can they study with peace of mind?"

"Starting tomorrow, we will temporarily stop the training. When you go back, tell your officers to lead their soldiers to have fun for a few days. Do not threaten them without reason, do not beat or scold them without reason. Even if we cannot be as close as brothers, we cannot be as enemies anymore! Let them remember the names of their soldiers, and let the soldiers remember their names, so that they can get to know each other. I will personally monitor and inquire. If anyone dares to disobey the military order, he will be executed!!"

"If you can complete it well, there will be a reward!"

Yao Xiong gritted his teeth, a hint of hesitation flashing across his face.

He said loudly: "I got my Red Hare by killing more than ten knights. Whoever can accomplish this task well and win the loyalty of his subordinates will be rewarded with this warhorse!!"

Everyone was shocked. Zhang Heizu cleared his throat and said, "General Yao has given us his own reward. Why should we use your favorite horse?"

"I have made up my mind! No need to say more!"

"Send a message to the army immediately! Let all the generals know!!"

"only!!"

Coming out of Yao Xiong's house, everyone changed their previous repressed attitude and looked quite excited.

For a military general, a good warhorse is extremely attractive. Even the people directly under Yao Xiong want that horse.

Everyone returned to various places and summoned the lower-level officers.

That night, the South Parade Ground was particularly lively.

The next day, some soldiers had already climbed up to the top of the wall, ready to watch today's happy event at the South Parade Ground.

Because of the prohibition of wandering outside, these soldiers have relatively limited entertainment activities. Although there are many games, they cannot play them every day. Therefore, they are best at finding fun.

Watching the auxiliary troops training is quite entertaining.

Unfortunately, the auxiliary soldiers did not come out for training today. Instead, they gathered in groups of three or four, and no one knew what they were doing.

Everyone found it boring and left.

At this moment, the sergeants in the army looked at the soldiers under their command, remembered the meeting last night, and forced a smile.

"Everyone, the training in the past three days has achieved some results. The general is very satisfied and has specially allowed us to rest for a few days so that we can get to know each other better."

Hearing the familiar voice, the soldiers standing in front of them turned even paler and lowered their heads.

Someone trembled and said, "General, I really don't have much money."

The head of the platoon turned black and said, "Who the hell wants that?"

He took a deep breath and said, "It's not about asking for money, it's about having fun together. What did you do when you were in the countryside?"

He looked at the people in front of him. They looked at each other with confusion in their eyes.

Play?
From the time he became the governor, he had to work day after day. He had to get up at dawn to prepare for a whole day's work, and as soon as it got dark, he had to go to bed so that he wouldn't be hungry.

Play?
Just when the chief couldn't help himself, someone finally answered: "When I was in my hometown, I often played with stones."

"Oh? How do you play this?"

"It's throwing stones, hitting stones, and flying stones."

The man explained hesitantly, and the captain waved his hand, "Okay, let's play this today!"

"Don't be so nervous, it's just for fun. From now on, we will be in the same army. As the educated people say, we are comrades in arms!"

"Come on, introduce yourself first, let me start!"

This situation happened in different places. Everyone had their own way of doing things. Some people were lazy and just followed the instructions from their superiors to lead them to play. Others opened up new ways, such as gathering together to tell obscene jokes.

Not everyone progressed smoothly. Some officers felt that they had really let their subordinates down because of their resistance and negative reactions, and they flew into a rage, roaring and beating them.

Yao Xiong led the soldiers and walked quickly through the many tents, observing the situation in each place.

"Oh shit!"

"How come you lost again? You're quite good at playing!"

Yao Xiong suddenly heard shouting and cursing again. He turned around and saw a burly officer laughing and scolding his soldiers. The soldiers had a look of fear on their faces, and they didn't seem to know how they won.

I saw the officer take the wine bag off and hand it to the soldier, letting the victorious soldier take a sip before he snatched it back.

"We just agreed that if you win you'll only have a small bite, but you ate half the bag of wine!"

Several soldiers around laughed, and the officer changed someone else to continue playing.

After a while, those people gathered around him. They seemed to be playing rock-paper-scissors or something, and the atmosphere became more and more harmonious.

Yao Xiong looked at him for a long time and continued moving forward.

They had fun at the South Parade Ground for a few days, during which there were some personnel changes. Some officers who were unable to get close to the soldiers were replaced by Yao Xiong.

Until the fourth day, the drills continued again.

This time, the soldiers stood still, and the fear was finally gone from their eyes. The officers still frowned and scolded loudly, but their response was much better. They were no longer flustered and showed obvious progress.

The officers were a little surprised. The soldiers lined up, advanced, and retreated. Although it was still chaotic, they were willing to change and learn.

Yao Xiong stood on a high place, watching their training. He suddenly got on his horse and walked quickly downwards.

Everyone looked in his direction.

Yao Xiong came in front of an officer. The officer looked burly. At this moment, the soldiers behind him were also standing straight, and their training speed was astonishing.

Yao Xiong threw the reins and the officer took them.

"General Yao"

"Well done, you have some talent in training soldiers. This horse is for you. You must be more careful in the future and don't let the general down."

"only!!!"

Yao Xiong looked at Red Hare again with some reluctance in his eyes, and turned around immediately.

"What are you standing there for?!"

"Keep practicing!!!"

(End of this chapter)