Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 15 Drills (Part Two)

"Starting tomorrow, your four teams will follow my commands."

Pei Qinghe disliked rambling and nonsense, and concisely announced the key points of the training: "You must obey orders without question."

The Pei family is a military family that has been passed down for generations, and they possess military treatises inherited from their ancestors. The way to train soldiers is nothing more than a few principles.

As the commander-in-chief, one must lead by example, be consistent in word and deed, and implement appropriate rewards and punishments to establish authority.

Most importantly, it is essential to ensure that the soldiers under one's command are well-fed, warmly clothed, and receive adequate pay. Only in this way can they remain loyal to their commander. To share one's clothes and food is the highest level of military training.

That's all for later.

The women of the Pei family before me mostly had some martial arts background and were generally healthy. With a little training, they began to take on a certain appearance.

At the current pace, the long and arduous journey of over a thousand miles to exile will be completed in about two months. During these two months, the women of the Pei family should be trained in physical strength, endurance, and formation drills, while also having military discipline and orders instilled into their minds.

Once the words "military order" were imprinted in their minds and ingrained in their blood, the Pei family army began to take shape.

"Yes!"

Pei Yan responded loudly and was the first to agree.

Pei Yun was much more composed and nodded in agreement.

Mao Hongling hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Wouldn't practicing like this be too conspicuous? After all, we're in exile. If we fall into the eyes of someone with ulterior motives and bring trouble upon ourselves, that would be disastrous."

Pei Qinghe's eyes flashed with approval: "Second sister-in-law is thoughtful and makes sense. This kind of training is indeed conspicuous. So, these days I've been feeding Guard Gao with silver, wine and meat, and that's also shut up Captain Sun."

The imperial guards accompanying the entourage provided protection along the way, and the escorting officials remained silent. Who else would dare to interfere or say anything?

On the official road, one would indeed encounter passersby from time to time. Ordinary people would give way to the soldiers on their tall horses from a distance. Merchants dared not cause trouble either. Furthermore, even if someone noticed that the exiled woman was behaving strangely, they would not know where to report it to the authorities.

Admiration shone in Mao Hongling's eyes: "You've thought of everything."

Aunt Wu Xiuniang chimed in, "How you want to train is up to you."

Pei Qinghe was prepared and whispered a few words. The captains silently noted them down, then gathered their respective teams and passed on a few simple military orders.

During the day, Pei Qinghe passed through a bamboo grove and borrowed a knife to cut a section of bamboo. Now, she took it out and carefully used a dagger to make a bamboo whistle.

This dagger, about three inches long, gleamed with a sharp, cold light. Pei Qinghe had acquired it from a square-faced soldier for five taels of silver.

The square-faced soldier happily accepted the silver. With such a windfall, he could finally get married when he got back.

Seeing the square-faced soldier's overjoyed expression, Captain Sun twitched his lips, turning a blind eye and pretending not to know.

The dagger is exquisite and small, and can be hidden in one's bosom without attracting attention. It can save one's life in a critical moment.

Pei Qinghe gripped the dagger and swiftly whistled the bamboo, quickly shaping it into a bamboo whistle.

As Madam Feng was making cotton-padded clothes with her head down, she would occasionally glance up and exclaim in amazement, "Qinghe, how are you so skilled with a dagger!"

The small dagger flew up and down in Pei Qinghe's hands, even more nimbly than the embroidery needle in her hand.

Pei Qinghe casually said, "You'll naturally develop the skills by killing a lot of people."

Mrs. Feng was amused: "You're just talking nonsense."

Pei Qinghe smiled and continued making bamboo whistles with her head down.

In her previous life, after arriving in Youzhou, she was injured on the face by a tiger's claws, leaving her disfigured. She had no time to care about it.

Half of her face was contorted in a terrifying grimace, adding to her intimidating presence. She led the Pei family army, slaughtering bandits and robbing wealthy households; countless lives were lost at her hands, and describing her as a ruthless killer wouldn't be an exaggeration.

More than a decade of fierce fighting honed his skills in killing.

No matter the weapon, in her hands it becomes a deadly killing instrument.

The next day at dawn.

As dawn broke, the steaming aroma wafted over on the breeze.

The square-faced soldier first touched the silver in his pocket, then turned around and grinned, "This smells so good!"

Even the soldier with the black mole was drooling with envy.

For ordinary soldiers, a dry biscuit to fill their stomachs during daily marches was considered a luxury. A bunch of stinking soldiers, even if they wanted something better, didn't have the culinary skills.

Now things are different. The women of the Pei family are strong and agile, walking as fast as the men. They don't stay idle at night either; half of them make cotton-padded clothes to prepare for the harsh life in the north, while the other half knead dough, chop fillings, and make buns, steaming them as early as the fourth watch of the night.

Make another pot of hot soup and eat it with meat buns—it's heavenly!

"Sixth Sister is so open and generous."

The soldiers, their mouths greasy from eating the meat buns, called her "Sixth Sister" affectionately, saying, "We bought two pigs yesterday, and the buns are full of meat."

"And this broth, it smells delicious."

"Sixth Miss is really generous, spending money without batting an eye." The soldier with the mole nudged the square-faced soldier: "Your broken dagger actually sold for five taels of silver!"

The square-faced soldier said smugly, "This is a treasure I found two years ago when I was raiding houses with the boss. It's not some cheap dagger; it can cut through iron like mud! Sixth Miss, you have a good eye! You've wasted your eyes on this!"

The other soldiers were very envious.

They received only two taels of military pay each month, which was often delayed or deducted. They would then spend the money on eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. Each of them was penniless, their wallets cleaner than their faces.

The square-faced soldier was lucky; the dagger he carried caught the eye of the Sixth Sister, who bought it for a high price.

“I have an old bow here,” a round-faced, big-eared soldier said furtively. “It was captured from the battlefield. Although it’s a bit broken, it’s still usable. I wonder if Miss Liu would be willing to buy it.”

The soldier with the mole still had some sense of reason. He glared at them warningly: "The dagger isn't conspicuous. If we don't say anything, no one will know. But the bow and arrow are so eye-catching. If people find out you're selling bows and arrows to exiled criminals, do you still want your head?"

The round-faced soldier agreed verbally, but then quietly went to find Miss Pei to "chat".

When they set off, a bulging gray cloth bag appeared on the middle grain cart, hidden among the grain sacks, completely inconspicuous.

The round-faced soldier suddenly found himself with ten taels of silver.

Lieutenant Sun was amused by the insult, and he called over two soldiers, one with a square face and the other with a round face, and gave them a good scolding. The two soldiers were thoroughly humiliated and hurriedly offered half of their scolding to Lieutenant Sun.

Only then did Captain Sun calm down.

The guard twitched his lips silently and whispered to a few of the Eastern Palace guards, "These soldiers are desperate for money. They've been blinded by greed and even dare to sell weapons to the Pei family."

"You guys better be smart and don't do anything stupid."

The palace guards all nodded.

They would get paid to run errands and deliver messages for the Sixth Sister, so they wouldn't stoop to doing something so taboo.

Beep!
A crisp, clear sound of a bamboo whistle suddenly rang out.

The guard was startled.

Captain Sun was also taken aback and quickly turned his head.

A red string appeared around Pei Liu's neck, and the bamboo whistle tied to the string was blown again.

Training begins! ^_^ Seeing so many comments from readers every day makes me so happy. The greatest joy in writing comes from the love and recognition of my readers. See you every morning at 7 AM! o(*￣︶￣*)o
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(End of this chapter)