Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 326 Training (Part Two)

Lu Erlang almost rolled his eyes at Li Chi.

What are you showing off?
You're the only one who knows how to say yes!

Pei Qinghe caught a glimpse of Lü Erlang's jealous face out of the corner of her eye and smiled slightly: "Li Chi, it's truly remarkable that you could think of these things."

"The reputation of the Liaoxi Army was terrible. The people and the army should live in harmony, supporting and relying on each other. The long swords in the hands of the soldiers should be used to kill the Xiongnu barbarians, not to show off their power to unarmed and innocent people."

"I will have to go back sooner or later. Liaoxi City must be handed over to you. I hope you can be a good general who cherishes the people and not let me down!"

Li Chi's heart surged with passion, and he replied solemnly, "Over the past few months, General, you have taught and guided me in every way. I, Li Chi, admire you to the core. In the future, I will definitely continue your methods of military management and train a truly elite army."

Not wanting to be left out, Lü Erlang loudly chimed in, "I want to stay by the general's side and learn from him at any time. Just give me the hardest and most tiring tasks, and I, Lü Sheng, will have no objections."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "No need for nice words. I just want to see what you two do. The fields outside the city haven't been planted yet. You two will have to work hard for a while longer."

Li Chi and Lü Erlang bowed and accepted the order.

Pei Qinghe was ruthless in disciplining and training his subordinates. Without hesitation, he sent the two men back to the city to farm. Half a month later, spring planting finally ended.

Lu Erlang was so exhausted that he slept for two days before he recovered.

Li Chi was feeling a little better and had rested for two days.

Pei Qinghe instructed the kitchen to provide the soldiers of the Fifth Battalion who were plowing the fields with two extra meals of meat. The soldiers were overjoyed, and no one complained about being tired anymore.

Time flies, and March has arrived.

The warm spring air melted away the chill of Liaoxi County. The people lived peaceful and contented lives, their faces beaming with smiles. The soldiers in the barracks had also grown accustomed to their daily rigorous training.

In the latest competition, Li Chi's battalion defeated strong opponents and made it into the top five.

Lu Erlang was out of luck and ran into Pei Yan. He was utterly defeated by Pei Yan and suffered another crushing defeat.

Li Chi didn't tease Lü Erlang; in fact, he was somewhat reluctant to part with him: "In a few days, you will be returning to Peijia Village with the general. Being able to follow the general around all the time is much better than me being stuck guarding Liaoxi."

Impressed by Li Chi's flattery, Lü Erlang forgot the bitterness of his beating and laughed smugly: "When you have some free time, come to Peijia Village, and I will definitely do my best to be a good host and treat you well."

Bah! Shameless! You're not a member of the Pei family, what kind of host's hospitality are you showing?

Li Chi inwardly grumbled, but outwardly smiled and agreed.

Lu Erlang glanced at Li Chi and said with a smile, "I will marry into the Pei family in the future and become a Pei family member. Actually, the Li family also has good sons. You can learn from my brother and shamelessly send the Li family's sons to the general's side."

Li Chi wasn't stupid; he had been planning this for a while. He pretended to thank Lu Erlang.

At the end of March, when Pei Qinghe led his troops on their journey, he was followed by five young men from the Li family and two thousand veterans from western Liaoning.

These sons of the Li family and a thousand elite veterans were Li China's pledge of allegiance.

Those who needed to be disciplined have been disciplined, and those who needed to be trained have been trained.

Before leaving, Pei Qinghe only left Li Chi with one sentence: "Defend Liaoxi City."

Li Chi bowed deeply: "Yes, the city stands as long as we live. The city falls, and so do we!" Pei Qinghe raised the corners of her mouth and waved her hand. The Pei banner fluttered in the wind, and the army stirred up dust as they embarked on their return journey.

……

Pei Qinghe took all the Pei family army and two thousand Liaoxi veterans with her. Three thousand Liaoxi veterans remained in the military camp, along with five thousand new recruits recruited and trained in the past six months, for a total of eight thousand people.

These five thousand new recruits were all trained by Pei Qinghe. They may lack experience and be inexperienced in battle, but they all adhere to military regulations, train diligently, and are all promising soldiers.

Li Chi had no complaints.

Pei Qinghe had already shown mercy. If anyone else had taken Liaoxi City, their first action would have been to kill the entire Li family, completely eradicating them from the military camp. They would have wiped out the Li family's legacy and then appointed a capable subordinate to lead the troops.

The Pei family army is full of talented people. It wouldn't take much effort; they could easily find at least ten or eight people who could replace Li Chi.

The general wasn't that ruthless.

The general kept him on and allowed him to continue leading troops.

The general had given him his trust and respect. He also had to use all his abilities to command these eight thousand soldiers and guard Liaoxi City.

The day after the general left, the sound of the military drums rang out as usual at dawn.

Li Chi nimbly got up and led the soldiers on a run of eight li (approximately 4 kilometers). Then they lined up to eat breakfast. The cooks had been learning from the Pei family army's kitchen staff for half a year, and now their meals were much more refined. The mixed-grain steamed buns were chewy, and there were even bits of meat in the vegetable soup.

In the morning, they practiced fist and footwork, horsemanship and archery; in the afternoon, they practiced troop formation combat; and in the evening, they learned to read and study military books.

No matter how hard they practiced during the day, no one complained. But when it came time to read at night, some people became restless and whispered, "The general is gone, so let's change our nightly reading routine and read every other night."

Li Chi sneered: "Why don't you change your eating habits too? How about eating once every other day?"

The talkative soldier awkwardly shut up.

The soldiers soon discovered that after the general left, the camp not only did not relax, but became even more vigilant.

Li Chi trained relentlessly every day, studied diligently at night, and patrolled the camp frequently. Anyone who dared to leave the camp without permission was treated as a deserter. After three soldiers were hanged in succession, the soldiers became completely obedient, and the camp became orderly and well-organized.

After a couple of weeks of peace, the people of western Liaoning, who had been living in fear, breathed a sigh of relief.

"This General Li Chi is much better than the old Li the scoundrel. At least he's willing to keep the troops in check, and the soldiers aren't going out to harm us civilians anymore."

"He may have the desire to steal, but he doesn't have the guts. General Pei has issued a military order that anyone who dares to disobey will have their head chopped off by General Pei himself!"

"You're making it sound so convincing. Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"My wife's maternal uncle's nephew-in-law is a soldier in the army, and he's one of Li Chi's personal guards. He said it himself, how could it be false?"

These gossips among the common people did not reach Li Chi's ears. While Li Chi was rigorously training his troops, he also began to send troops to suppress bandits.

Within Youzhou, the bandits in Yan County had long been wiped out by Pei Qinghe. Guangning County was also relatively peaceful. Fanyang County had seen a significant increase in bandits, while Liaoxi County had the largest number. In the past few months, many bandits had quietly returned home, picked up hoes, and returned to being ordinary citizens. Others continued their wandering and evil deeds.

Suppressing the bandits and restoring peace to the people also provides an opportunity for soldiers to train in actual combat, achieving two goals at once.

(End of this chapter)