Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 311 Troop Training
Straw sandals! Cloth shoes!

"Cloth shoes! Straw sandals!"

"Left! Right! Left!"

A large number of new Red Turban Army recruits are undergoing rigorous training.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they lined up in rows, one on the left and one on the right.

Battlefield is a collective activity, and forming ranks was the most important thing in the era of cold weapons.

"Straw sandals are on the left, cloth shoes are on the right!"

A veteran who had been promoted from a regular soldier to a platoon leader, holding a police baton, shouted, "Repeat after me!"

The new recruits of the first platoon shouted in unison.

It has absolutely no imposing presence.
The squad leader's face darkened, and he swung the stick at the leg.

"Shout again!"

"Shout in unison, loudly!"

After several attempts, there was no significant improvement.

The squad leader was also angry and kept hitting the stick with it.

This is actually quite civilized.

In the army during the era of cold weapons, punishments were extremely cruel.

In earlier times, it involved cutting off noses, ears, hands, and feet.

Later, corporal punishment was abolished and replaced with beatings with military rods and beheading.

Military batons are not the fake beatings shown in movies and TV dramas; they are the real kind that can beat someone to death.

"You're making slow progress like this."

Xu Da, who was patrolling the camp, stopped the squad leader who was resorting to violence and said, "Let's try a different approach."

"Greetings, Deputy General Xu!" Upon seeing that the visitor was actually a general, the squad leader hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.

"We can fight back, but it's too slow."

Xu Da instructed, "It can be arranged that if anyone still can't distinguish clearly after training, their lunch portion should be halved."

"If that doesn't work, we'll assign them to clean outhouses."

Upon hearing this, the new recruits, mainly laborers from various regions, all changed their expressions.

Previously, when they were with the Yuan army, they were fed worse than livestock.

Even so, they often didn't have enough to eat, and some even starved to death on the way to transport supplies.

When they arrived at the Red Turban Army, they passed the examination and became new recruits. For three days, they ate only thick porridge and vegetable soup boiled in water to nourish their stomachs.

When training started, there was plenty of white flour and rice, and we could even have meat for lunch!

Compared to their hometown where people were starving to death, they now live a carefree life like gods.

Getting beaten is fine, but I can't accept having my food halved!
It was obvious that after training resumed, the success rate of judging left and right increased significantly, and the shouts became much more synchronized.

Xu Da nodded and instructed those around him to "promote this throughout the entire battalion."

"Leader!"

Once a person gets serious and has a goal to pursue, their efficiency will improve rapidly.

At lunchtime, only a few unlucky individuals had half of their food deducted as punishment.

The food that was confiscated as punishment was eaten by the other members of the same group; no one dared to take advantage of it.

Those who dared to lay a hand on him before, Ming Wang truly dared to kill.

Many wooden cages hung from the wooden poles outside the camp, containing hideous heads that could be seen by everyone entering and leaving the camp.

Lunch was rice.

There are all kinds of rice, including millet and corn, mainly due to the goods sourcing channels of the forest road.

The meat was boiled, with each new recruit receiving a slice of lean meat.

The energy consumed during training needs to be replenished, but the digestive systems of new recruits who have been in a state of semi-starvation for a long time also need time to adapt.

During the hottest part of the afternoon sun, the new recruits were given a break.

Under the guidance of their respective officers, they learned basic vernacular characters.

The second round of training only began as the sun began to set in the west.

Wearing the cheapest construction safety helmets, costing only a few dollars each, they pretended to be wearing helmets.

Wearing plastic armor made of perforated PVC plastic sheets, pretending to be wearing lamellar armor.

They were wearing liberation shoes, each with the words "left" and "right" written in large characters on it.

In his hand he held a dozen or so pieces of rebar, each about a meter long—this was his weapon.

And a long weapon with a similar cost of a dozen dollars, featuring a wooden shaft as the gun body and a three-edged ice spike at the top.

Donning these protective gear, the recruits continued their drill training.

"When the cavalry charge, point your spears diagonally forward, don't be afraid of them!"

"They should be raised to roughly the same height; uneven heights will only give the cavalry an opportunity."

"Don't be afraid of the arrows. Lower your heads. Your armor is enough to protect you from them."

Not far ahead of the column, some archers were slowly and methodically shooting wooden arrows wrapped in cloth at the column.

Amidst the clanging and clattering sounds, most of the training arrows were blocked.

Some of the terrified recruits looked around, only to have their faces covered.

A stretcher team composed of military dependents stepped forward and carried the injured recruits to the aid station for treatment.

The officers, enraged, brandished their batons.

"Keep your head down! Keep your head down! Keep your head down!"

"General."

Feng Guosheng, who was assigned to Xu Da's command, spoke up to persuade him, "Isn't the training intensity too high?"

"These new recruits were just laborers who couldn't even get enough to eat before."

Xu Da, who was watching the training ground, remained silent for a moment before responding.

"The training next door is even more intense!"

The neighboring unit he mentioned was the Third Battalion of the Imperial Guards, which was the army commanded by Chang Yuchun.

The Imperial Guard was expanded on a large scale.

Besides Zheng Chenggong continuing to lead the First Battalion, only Xu Da and Chang Yuchun were qualified to lead the two newly formed battalions.

Undoubtedly, the competition between the two had begun invisibly.

Chang Yuchun, holding his breath, drilled the troops with extreme rigor and frequency, seizing the time to quickly build up combat capability. Although Xu Da was steady and reliable, he was, after all, still a young man.

Instead of backing down in the face of competition, they chose to compete covertly.

As a result, the intensity of training also increased dramatically.

Training did not end until nearly dusk.

The military dependents arrived in tricycles carrying large aluminum alloy cylinders.

Remove the clasp and open the lid; it's filled with mung bean soup.

"Come on, come on~" the military dependents called out loudly. "Have some to cool off. Drink it all up, don't leave it for tomorrow."

The soldiers who had finished training lined up to receive mung bean soup.

The first lesson in basic training is lining up.

Most new recruits have experienced being hit with batons for trying to cut in line.

Xu Da, after drinking a bowl of mung bean soup, was filled with emotion.

"Your Majesty, you are so kind to us."

The Ming king whom Xu Da was thanking was currently busy working in the modern world.

"Payments for goods over two months' worth of goods will be settled immediately."

"For amounts exceeding one month, half will be settled."

"The fertilizer you ordered last time hasn't been loaded onto the ship yet? Don't just wait around, try to urge them on. If the supplier is intentionally delaying, then we'll switch to another manufacturer in the future."

"We also need to expedite the order of steel bars and cement from before."

“There is a huge demand for abandoned railway tracks in Africa. You should go to the head office of a certain railway company and talk to them about buying more.”

Although Lin Dao doesn't come to the company often, none of the well-paid employees slack off in the slightest.

After the meeting, everyone went back to their work.

Lin Dao wasn't unable to pay the full amount for the goods; rather, doing so was not in line with market practices.

The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind.
Offend your competitors, or you might get reported!
The large-scale ordering of fertilizers is in preparation for the crucial planting season.

There is a huge demand for fertilizers in all places and times.

Lin Dao has been to farmland, farmland in various times and places.

He had personally witnessed the enormous differences between crops grown without chemical fertilizers and those grown with chemical fertilizers in every aspect.

Frankly speaking, the foundation of modern agriculture, which feeds so many people, lies in the widespread use of chemical fertilizers.

Crops treated with chemical fertilizers not only grow rapidly and produce plump fruits, but also have higher resistance to diseases and pests.

In ancient farmlands, many ears of wheat were even shriveled.

As for the large-scale purchase of steel bars and cement, that occurred several times in time, after the post-war reconstruction and development phase.

Road construction, house building, water conservancy facilities, infrastructure projects in various places, forward bases in border areas, etc., all require massive amounts of steel bars and cement.

What surprised Lin Dao the most was the recycling of old railway tracks.

Making a steam engine is not difficult. With rails, railways can be continuously laid, greatly enhancing communication and the transportation of personnel and materials.

It could even be said that wherever the railway extended, that was the territory of the Central Plains.

What surprised him was that the scrap rail business was not something ordinary people could get involved in.

The head office of a certain railway company has a specialized process and partner companies for handling scrapped railway tracks.

Lin Dao had only inquired tentatively before, but he never expected that the head office of a certain company would agree so readily.

Not only did they agree, but they also said that they were open to discussing the quantity, the price was fair, and the delivery was quite timely.

This situation, which shouldn't have happened, made Lin Dao suspicious.

Someone, or rather, some powerful force, is secretly helping him to smooth things over in business.

He purchased a large quantity of goods and almost never encountered any problems.

There may be occasional setbacks, but they will quickly resolve themselves.

Moreover, he transported supplies from various places and times.

Whether it's precious metals as hard currency, various gemstones with limited industry capacity, or a variety of precious spices and medicinal herbs, or timber and minerals with large shipment volumes, etc.

As soon as they were put up for sale, they were immediately snapped up by buyers.

When it came to paying the bill, they were extremely quick and efficient, with almost no delays in payment.

In fact, his company has never been audited for taxes.

Of course, Lin Dao never cheated and always paid what he was owed.

All of this led him to a moment of clarity.

"If you don't bring it up yourself, I'll pretend I don't know."

"Since you've brought it up, I'm running away!"

He ran away on his own initiative, so naturally he was able to escape.

But it's difficult with people you're close to.

For example, Su Tongtong, who was sitting on the sofa fiddling with her phone, waiting for him to finish his work.

Su Tongtong is the legal representative of Lindao Company, so she has nowhere to run.

"Okay."

After getting ready, Lin Dao stood up and walked towards Su Tongtong. "Such a wonderful day, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Su Tongtong put away her phone, stepped forward and hugged Lin Dao, "As long as I can be with you, even if it's just watching you work, I'm happy."

During this period, many high-quality women have also come into contact with Lin Dao through various channels.

Unfortunately, Lin Dao had long since had his fill of lavish meals and was very discerning.

Moreover, those in his line of work are also worried that one day their business will be exposed. It doesn't matter if they run away, but it would be troublesome if they left behind their close associates.

So apart from Su Tongtong, whom he had been in contact with for a long time, he also kept his heart sealed with cement, not giving her any chance.

Of course, now that he's dragging along his ex-girlfriend with a child, he'd be happy if he got the short end of the stick.

"Let's go."

Taking Su Tongtong's hand, Lin Dao led her out of the office.

"Today is your birthday, and the rest of my time belongs to you."

Su Tongtong was overjoyed, her smile bright as she said, "Let's go home!"

"Wait a minute."

Lin Dao was both amused and exasperated. "Buy a gift first."

(End of this chapter)