Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 316 Transformation
The soldiers of the Liaoxi Army deeply understood the suffering endured by the five hundred soldiers of the Fanyang Army.

Before the arrival of the Fanyang army, the Liaoxi army had already been under Pei Qinghe's command and training for two months. They endured it day by day, and the story is filled with blood and tears.

During this period, it was inevitable that some people would not be able to endure it and would secretly run away from the military camp to desert.

The Pei family army dealt with deserters extremely harshly. Not a single deserter was spared; hundreds of men were mobilized to capture them. Once captured, the deserters were hung from wooden stakes in an open area beside the training ground. Even after they died, their bodies were left uncollected, swaying in the wind day and night until they were completely decomposed before being buried.

Twenty wooden stakes were buried in the open space, and at its peak, most of them were used.

This ruthless and cold-blooded approach completely intimidated the undisciplined Liaoxi Army. The newly recruited soldiers were also quickly adapting to life in the barracks.

The Liaoxi Army today has undergone a complete transformation, and that would be no exaggeration.

The soldiers from western Liaoning, drenched by the torrential rain, were delighted to watch the soldiers from Fanyang put on a show. This feeling of "I'm suffering, and you can't escape either" was simply too intoxicating.

Even Li Chi couldn't help but look at Lü Erlang with sympathy: "If you really can't hold on, I'll go to the general and put in a good word for you, brother. Everyone knows what kind of people the Fanyang army used to be. Please ask the general to be more lenient with you."

Lu Erlang was furious and retorted with a cold laugh: "The pot calling the kettle black. The Fanyang Army may not have been as good as the Liaoxi Army in fighting, but in terms of military discipline, they were much better than you."

"I heard that they used to catch deserters every day, so the wooden stakes were never idle."

"None of the men I brought escaped from the camp."

Li Chi: "..."

Lu Erlang wagged his tail in front of Pei Xuan like a puppy that hadn't been around for months. This gave everyone the illusion that Lu Erlang was weak and easily bullied. They never expected him to be so eloquent.

Li Chi gave a forced smile: "I meant well, but you don't appreciate it. In a few days, it will be the monthly military skills competition. We'll see who's the best then."

Private fights are strictly prohibited within the Pei family army.

If we happen to run into each other on the day of the martial arts competition, we can have a fair fight.

Lu Erlang, not to be outdone, stood tall and replied, "Then I'll be waiting for General Li."

The conversation between the two reached Pei Qinghe's ears.

Pei Qinghe twitched the corner of her mouth and said to Shi Yan, "Li Chi is full of tricks. Compared to him, Lu Erlang is still much more inexperienced."

Li Chi's behavior was meant to show her that he would never collude with the Lü brothers in private.

Lu Erlang was completely oblivious to this, eagerly anticipating a fierce battle with Li Chi!

Thinking of Lü Erlang's eager appearance, Shi Yan also laughed: "Lü Erlang is still young and lacks experience. How can he possibly defeat Li Chi?"

Li Chi joined the army at the age of twelve and spent over a decade fighting on the battlefield, developing a ruthless and thick-skinned nature. Even if it were Lü Erlang or Lü Feng, they wouldn't stand a chance against Li Chi.

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled: "It's not up to the two of them to decide this; it depends on the draw. Only those who draw the lot can fight. According to the Pei family army's tradition, they are divided into battalions of one hundred men each. With over a hundred battalions to be drawn, it won't be easy to be selected."

The lottery is always fair and impartial. The only person who could manipulate it is Pei Qinghe himself.

Therefore, whether Li Chi and Lü Erlang can meet depends on Pei Qinghe's feelings.

Pei Qinghe always knew how to train troops, how to win over the soldiers, and how to manage subordinates. Shi Yan rarely spoke; after a few casual words, he washed up and went to bed.

With someone by your side, you can fall asleep in each other's arms, completely shielding you from the cold of the winter night.

...The training continued as usual the following day.

Pei Qinghe stepped to Li Chi's side, as there was no need for Pei Jiajun to worry too much.

Li Chi reflexively straightened up, and his voice suddenly rose considerably as he gave commands. The soldiers stood tall and proud, afraid of appearing lazy in front of their general.

Pei Qinghe looked at it for a moment, pointed out a few shortcomings, and Li Chi corrected them on the spot.

Pei Qinghe then went to the Fanyang army. The five hundred elite Fanyang soldiers, who were said to be strong, had suffered repeated defeats and had to undergo another baptism of reading and writing every night. After several days, they were much more demoralized.

With Pei Qinghe's arrival, the soldiers perked up and trained with extra enthusiasm.

During the break, Pei Qinghe praised Lü Erlang for his effective training of soldiers in front of everyone, and also praised the soldiers for their rapid progress: "Everyone has worked hard in training, and we will have meat for lunch today."

This reward is the most substantial. The soldiers cheered with joy.

For lunch, we had brown rice and braised meat chunks the size of a baby's fist, two pieces per person. A spoonful of rich, oily broth could also be poured over it. Vegetables are scarce in winter, and with so many soldiers, providing enough vegetables is even more difficult than feeding meat. Today's braised pork included some radish. Each person also received a bowl of dried vegetable soup.

After you've eaten your fill, there's another surprise.

General Pei came personally to distribute brand-new military uniforms and shoes to the soldiers.

The soldiers happily received their brand-new clothes and shoes, and put them on that very afternoon.

What else is there to say?

I no longer find the drills tiring, and even the scribbles that look like gibberish at night are much more pleasing to the eye.

Several soldiers who recited the military regulations perfectly were richly rewarded by the general and each received a new knife.

This made the soldiers extremely envious. Their enthusiasm for reciting military regulations surged.

Lu Erlang also figured it out and sighed to his personal guard in private, "Before, my brother praised the Pei family army so highly, but I was half-believing and half-doubting. I always felt that my brother was exaggerating. Our Fanyang army also has heroes. How could we be so much worse than the Pei family army? Now I realize that what he said was too vague."

"This group of lazy and undisciplined soldiers has been trained by General Pei to be quite disciplined in just half a month, and their morale is far better than before. Given time, they will surely become an elite force."

The guard whispered a reminder: "Don't mention the Fanyang Army anymore. The military flag has been changed, and we've also received the Pei family army. We probably won't be going back."

Lu Erlang sighed, "That's right. We can't go back."

The guard coughed and said, "Although it's much harder, I'd rather stay here. We're well-fed and warmly dressed, and we follow our general to fight the Xiongnu barbarians and protect the people. Before, we were infamous, and the people would rather avoid us. Now, wherever we go, they look at us differently. It feels pretty good."

Lu Erlang: "..."

Lu Erlang stared at his personal guard in surprise, trying hard to find a familiar feeling in that rough, stubble-covered face: "You really think so?"

The guard chuckled a few times: "To be honest, young master, I used to be muddle-headed and never thought much. Now I memorize military regulations every day and read books and learn to read every night. I've learned so many big characters that I've suddenly had some thoughts that I never had before."

"Why did I join the army? Besides food, drink, and a salary, shouldn't there be something else?"

What is the use of reading?
Why did General Pei want all soldiers to be literate?

Looking into the piercing eyes of his personal guard, Lü Erlang fell silent.

(End of this chapter)