Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 319 Military Spirit (Part 3)

Lu Erlang was in pain all over his body, but the most painful part was his perfectly intact face.

Pei Feng, now displaying considerable composure, reached out and helped Lü Erlang to his feet. The other soldiers who had been knocked to the ground were also helped to their feet. Several with more serious external injuries were helped to have medicine applied. Even those with minor external injuries had no desire to stay.

What fun are you watching?
They are the biggest excitement!

Every battle has winners and losers. The standard for judging victory is how many men the losing side has left. Li Chi, who suffered the most crushing defeat, only had about ten men left in the end! Their entire battalion was truly wiped out!

Thank goodness this wasn't a real battlefield. Otherwise, their corpses would be cold by now.

“Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war.” Pei Qinghe came over to comfort Lü Erlang: “You are new here and are not yet familiar with the training methods of the Pei family army, nor are your soldiers. After a few months of training, they will get used to it.”

Lu Erlang forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace: "The general is right."

Pei Qinghe's gaze swept over the dejected and ashamed soldiers from Fanyang, and she said gently, "You should go and apply medicine to treat your wounds and rest first."

The soldiers responded weakly and helped each other out of the training ground.

Pei Yan, with her loud voice, muttered something that carried on the wind: "This is supposed to be the elite of the Fanyang army? They're utterly useless!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Pei Qinghe reprimanded sternly.

Pei Yan responded with an "Oh".

Lu Erlang's face burned, almost to the point of flaring up. Ignoring the pain in his left leg, he quickened his pace considerably. The soldiers marched forward silently until they returned to their tents.

In truth, the fight only lasted about half an hour, and the injuries were mostly superficial. After applying some ointment and resting, they were fine in no time. What was truly hurt today was my pride and self-esteem.

Several leaders gathered around Lü Erlang.

“We were indeed the elite in the Fanyang Army before,” one of the leaders said with a wronged expression. “I even ranked in the top ten during our Fanyang Army’s drills and competitions.”

Another leader sighed listlessly, "What's the use of saying all this? We've lost all face today. How old is Pei Feng? None of the boys in his battalion are over eighteen. We've been beaten to a pulp; it's so shameful!"

"How could they be so powerful?"

"You've all seen the food the Pei family army eats; they're well-fed and well-clothed every day. Besides, they get up early every morning to run ten miles, and then they train all day long. We, on the other hand, only train for an hour or two before giving up. How can we compare?"

"Their teamwork is also extremely good. They can change formations quickly and coordinate their troops well. They are much better than us."

The leaders chattered amongst themselves, and as they talked, their frustration dissipated considerably, and they grew to admire the young soldiers of the Pei family army more and more.

Lu Erlang finally spoke up: "It's not just these. They have an indescribable aura about them."

"Pride, confidence, resilience, and fearlessness. This is the unique military spirit of the Pei family army."

"We didn't lose unjustly at all."

Lu Erlang let out a long sigh: "Don't be discouraged, everyone. General Pei said that we're new here and there are still many things we're not used to. From now on, we'll try our best to get rid of our lazy habits and train like crazy. We'll make up for lost face in next month's assessment." The leaders were somewhat encouraged and responded in varying degrees.

No matter how ashamed I am, I can't keep hiding from people forever. I still have to eat dinner.

On the day of the martial arts practice, the food was better than usual. There were plenty of fist-sized meat buns, each one sizzling with oil. Pickled mustard greens were shredded, stir-fried in oil, and seasoned with some dogwood—a savory and spicy dish that whetted the appetite. The millet porridge was a beautiful golden yellow.

After three meat buns, two bowls of millet porridge, and half a bowl of pickled vegetables, my depressed mood was mostly swept away.

After a full meal, one cannot simply rest and idle; one must read and learn to read.

Today, the teacher giving lessons to Lü Erlang and the others was not Pei Xuan, but Pei Qinghe.

The soldiers were thrilled. They sat upright, their backs straight, their ears perked up, their eyes gleaming, not wanting to miss a single word.

Pei Xuan clicked her tongue inwardly. These old rascals were always complaining and shirking their duties; their study progress had never been good. But tonight, with the general's arrival, they finally started to behave.

Pei Qinghe didn't talk about anything profound, but simply picked out the most important military rules and explained them: "The first rule of the Pei family army is that military orders are like mountains, and all actions must be carried out in accordance with military orders. Everyone here has been through thick and thin in the military camp, so I don't need to go into details about these rules."

"The second rule is that desertion is forbidden. In battle, the worst thing is to flee without a fight. Once someone deserts, it will cause the morale of the entire army to collapse. Anyone who deserts will only have one fate: death."

"The third military rule is that you must not bully or plunder the people. We serve as soldiers to protect our homes and country. Thirty percent of the grain that the people work hard to grow must be given to the Pei family army. The rice you eat every day is all produced by the people who work hard from dawn till dusk. Since we eat the people's grain, we must protect them. We must treat them as our own family. We must not rob them of their food and property, and we must not bully their wives and daughters..."

The soldiers primarily focused on literacy. The Pei family army's military regulations consisted of over thirty articles, totaling more than six hundred characters. Upon joining the Pei family army, they began with the regulations, first reading and memorizing them before learning the characters. Normally, after one or two months, the soldiers could memorize the regulations. After another three or four months, they would recognize all the characters in the regulations.

Pei Qinghe spoke for half an hour, then had the soldiers take turns reciting the military regulations.

Lu Erlang had put in the effort and could recite it fluently. Several leaders could manage. The other soldiers were not so good; some stuttered, some missed words or forgot sentences, and some were even worse, getting stuck after reciting only a few sentences.

Pei Qinghe remained silent and expressionless, her gaze cold.

The soldier lowered his head under the general's cold, sharp gaze: "I can't recite it. Please punish me, General!"

Lu Erlang, feeling utterly humiliated, also apologized, saying, "It was my fault for not supervising properly; please punish me as well, General."

"That's it for today." Pei Qinghe coldly reprimanded Lü Erlang: "I'll give you ten more days. I'll come to check after ten days. Anyone who can't recite the military regulations will be punished with twenty lashes."

Lu Erlang wished he could bury his head in the ground: "Yes."

After Pei Qinghe left, Lü Erlang angrily kicked the few stutterers who couldn't recite their lines: "A bunch of useless bastards. You can't fight, and you can't even recite military regulations. Is your brain filled with shit?"

In his anger, he also swore.

Everyone has a sense of shame. Even seasoned veterans can't resist! The soldiers gritted their teeth and swore a solemn oath, guaranteeing that everyone would memorize the military regulations within ten days.

Lu Erlang, his face sour, said, "Go to sleep, everyone. We're going to have morning drills tomorrow, so get your act together and train like crazy!"

(End of this chapter)