Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 156 Competitive Spirit (Part Two)

On this day of the martial arts competition, Mao Hongling's battalion won first place, and Sun Cheng's battalion ranked second overall. The battalion leader who ranked third overall was named Tao Feng, who came from the Beiping Army and was now Zhou's son-in-law.

When Meng Liulang left, five soldiers stayed behind to become Pei's sons-in-law, and they are now all highly regarded. Tao Feng is the most valiant and capable of them all.

The top three in the overall standings meant they could eat meat for three consecutive meals. These three battalions were overjoyed. The other battalions were not discouraged either, and they were all eager to win the top three in next month's competition.

Pei Yan wasn't upset about losing to her second sister-in-law. However, she was quite annoyed by the constant teasing from Pei Xuan and Pei Feng. Glaring with her large, round eyes, she raised her fist to threaten them: "If either of you says another word, I'll punch you flat, you believe me?"

Pei Xuan and Pei Feng tacitly hid behind Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe rolled her eyes and smiled. Pei Yan then withdrew her fist and said with a shameless grin, "I want to eat meat too."

Pei Qinghe replied slowly, "The rules for the martial arts competition were set two years ago. Whoever wins gets the meat, and the loser just watches."

Rules are rules, and Pei Qinghe never makes exceptions.

Pei Yan touched her nose and had an idea: "Then I'll lead a group into the mountains to hunt tomorrow."

The usual practice was to store half of the hunted game and give the other half to the whole village as a treat to improve their meals. Without violating military regulations, Pei Qinghe was quite lenient with Pei Yan and nodded in agreement.

Sun Cheng and the others ate meat for three days. On the fourth day, Pei Yan's camp brought down the mountain with a lot of prey, and everyone had a hearty meal.

These days, everyone is short of food, and the sight of meat makes everyone's eyes light up.

The veterans were so moved as they ate the meat that they almost cried: "What kind of life did we have in the military? Our superiors drank and ate meat, while we ate worse than pig swill."

"With the arrival of the Pei family army, we have new clothes to wear, and every meal is hot. If we win the martial arts competition, we get meat to eat."

“Sixth Sister eats with us every day, and she eats whatever we eat. We feel at ease with Sixth Sister.”

Amidst the cacophony of voices around him, Sun Cheng, annoyed by their noise, said, "Alright, all of you, shut up and eat. After you finish, go train. Do you still want to eat meat next month?"

of course!

Of course I do!

Not only do they want to eat meat, they also want to be number one!
With something to look forward to, everyone was motivated and stopped complaining about how hard the training was. After dinner, they went to the training ground. Unexpectedly, another battalion had arrived even earlier.

Sun Cheng waved to Feng Chang from a distance, which was considered a greeting.

Feng Changye smiled and waved, instructing Wang Erhe, "Keep an eye on them and see how they train their troops."

Wang Erhe muttered to himself, "Isn't it a bad idea to steal someone's skills?"

Feng Changdi was very flexible: "What's wrong with learning from others' strengths to make up for one's own weaknesses? Besides, we are all Sixth Miss's people, and we are all in the Pei family army. Our common goal is to learn from each other and train into elite soldiers. How can this be called stealing skills?"

Okay! You'll say you're right.

Wang Erhe secretly observed for a few days and reported to Feng Chang: "Their battalion is different from ours. We select people to practice stone lifting, fist fighting, and archery, while they practice all events. They probably select people just before the competition."

"Boss Feng, I think their training method is the right one. Our previous methods were a bit too opportunistic. They might be useful in competitions, but in real battles, we're probably no match for them."

Training is both tedious and arduous. But true elite soldiers are forged through this kind of training, day after day.

Feng Chang was silent for a moment before saying, "We'll practice like this tomorrow too."

……

The next day, Pei Qinghe walked around the training ground and stopped next to Feng Chang.

Before Pei Qinghe could ask, Feng Chang whispered, "Sixth Miss, I used to take shortcuts in training troops, specifically selecting people to train in the first three events of the competition. From today onwards, I will change my training methods." Pei Qinghe glanced at Feng Chang with a smile, "Sun Cheng has served as a captain in the Imperial Guard for many years. He knows how to lead troops in battle and is also very skilled at training them. You've only trained for three years at most, so it's inevitable that you're somewhat inferior to Sun Cheng. You have your advantages: you arrived earlier, you're quick-witted, and your subordinates trust you. I trust you more too."

Feng Chang was deeply moved, his heart warmed: "I've remembered everything Sixth Miss said."

However, he still really wanted to beat Sun Cheng.

Pei Qinghe looked at Feng Chang, whose eyes were brimming with ambition, smiled, and said nothing more. Half an hour later, she went to Sun Cheng's side.

Pei Qinghe did not interfere with Sun Cheng's training of the troops, only reminding him, "Don't train them too hard. Many of them are new recruits."

Sun Cheng nodded: "Don't worry, Sixth Miss, I know what I'm doing."

He really wanted to win. Not only did he want to beat Feng Chang, but he also wanted to beat Pei Yan and Mao Hongling.

Pei Qinghe looked at Sun Cheng, whose eyes were shining, and smiled slightly.

"It's all over!" That night, Pei Yan jumped onto the bed like a dove, hugged the thick pillow and lamented, "Ever since Sun Cheng came, everyone's training has been like they've been injected with chicken blood. Feng Chang trains fiercely every day, Tao Feng trains relentlessly, and even my second sister-in-law is getting more and more enthusiastic about training."

"I have to train like crazy too. I'm exhausted!"

Pei Qinghe chuckled: "What? Are you afraid of losing too?"

Pei Yan was furious: "Losing to my second sister-in-law is one thing. But if I lose to Sun Cheng in the next martial arts competition, or lose to Feng Changtao, where will I put my face?"

"No, I have to start training harder tomorrow too."

He then begged, "Come to my camp tomorrow and instruct them on how to train their troops."

Pei Qinghe picked up the military book and shoved it into Pei Yan's hand: "I asked you to study military books and tactics, but you always slack off. Now you're in a hurry."

"Study military texts yourself. Ask me if you don't understand anything."

Pei Yan strained her eyes to read the military treatise intently.

Pei Qinghe also studied military books, occasionally taking out a charcoal pencil to write and draw on the paper. Upon closer inspection, he drew various different military formations, with their advantages and disadvantages marked on the side.

Fighting requires bravery. However, bravery alone cannot create an elite army. Just like King Qiao in the previous life, who led hundreds of thousands of men into the capital, conquered the country but failed to govern, causing numerous problems. Soon, the morale of his army collapsed, and he was overthrown by the later rebel army.

In this life, King Qiao once again sat on the dragon throne. It remains to be seen how long he will remain on it.

She wasn't in a hurry to conquer territory; instead, she quietly stockpiled grain and trained her troops.

One day, she will have the Pei banner planted all over Youzhou, standing at the highest point.

I haven't heard Pei Yan rambling on for a while.

Pei Qinghe looked up and saw Pei Yan holding a military treatise in both hands, her eyes closed, her head nodding to the right from time to time, like a chick pecking at rice.

He gets sleepy as soon as he looks at a military book. It's an old problem of Pei Yan's.

Pei Qinghe was both amused and exasperated, and took the book from Pei Yan's hand: "Go to sleep if you're sleepy."

Pei Yan mumbled a response, climbed onto the bed, and fell fast asleep.

……

(End of this chapter)