The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 36 Rectifying Military Discipline
These border soldiers from Jingbian Camp were all emaciated and unsteady on their feet. If they weren't carrying knives, Jiang Han would have thought they were beggars.

There was nothing Jiang Han could do but let them recover first, and then train them once they were feeling better.

For seven or eight days in a row, Jiang Han had them eat and live with the others, providing them with three meals a day to fill their stomachs and supplement their nutrition.

Jiang Han originally had more than 1,200 men under his command, and later Hei Zi brought another 200 to 300 men, so now he has about 1,500 soldiers.

Following the customs of the border troops, he dispersed and reorganized the men into five squads, each with three hundred men and a squad leader.

Each sentry post has six captains, each with fifty men; each squad is further divided into five platoons, each with ten men, and each platoon has a platoon leader.

Li Laowai, Shao Yong, Hei Zi, Dong Erzhu, and Jiang Han each led a sentry post.

He decided to start with military discipline, since Shao Yong and his gang had almost gotten themselves into serious trouble in Ansai.

Although Shao Yong and Li Laowai explained the reason afterward, Jiang Han still had to teach these lawless old soldiers a lesson.

Even with strong combat capabilities, lax military discipline will inevitably lead to great trouble in the future.

After all, the examples of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period are still fresh in our minds.

The training ground was chosen to be the threshing ground behind Baijia Village. A few days ago, Zhuzi had already led people to clear the surrounding area.

Jiang Han specially took out all the meat he brought back from Ansai and placed it in the center of the threshing ground.

He winked at Dong Erzhu and Heizi, signaling them to bring up one of the sheep.

Jiang Han specially asked the innkeeper to buy this, and it cost him a lot of money.

The cooks immediately removed the bones and meat from the grain, set up a large pot, and started cooking it in the threshing ground.

Before long, the aroma of mutton soup filled the entire threshing ground, making the soldiers below drool.

Although they have been able to eat every day since following Jiang Han, meat is a rare treat.

Jiang Han pointed at the large pot of mutton soup and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Did you see them all?"

"This meat was specially brought from Ansai by Laozi to treat everyone and help them recover!"

Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this, their Adam's apples bobbing and their eyes filled with anticipation.

But Jiang Han suddenly changed the subject and said in a deep voice:
"But whether you can get meat depends on whether you obey and whether you have the ability!"

His gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping across the entire room.
“Some of you are simply audacious and reckless! You dare to act without my orders!”

"No matter what your reasons are, for a soldier, that is absolutely unacceptable!"

As Jiang Han spoke, he glared at Shao Yong and Li Laowai, who lowered their heads like quails, not daring to meet his gaze.

"I'll take this into account for now, but if it happens again, I'll execute him without mercy!"

Jiang Han's words were harsh. Although the two men had good intentions, as soldiers, they had to take obeying orders as their duty.

Since taking over this border army, food shortages have been a major problem, but even so, Jiang Han did not allow his troops to plunder the people.

As a commander-in-chief, he might cheat, rob, or extort for food and money, but he absolutely could not allow his soldiers to plunder.

Once this loophole is opened, military discipline will inevitably deteriorate rapidly, and once military discipline deteriorates, combat effectiveness will inevitably weaken.

In the end, it will be a losing proposition; we won't have seized much grain, and instead, we'll have corrupted our troops.

In order to rectify military discipline, Jiang Han decided to start with the most basic and simplest thing—standing at attention.

His goal was to train this group to the point where they would obey orders without question and remain in formation even in the rain.

Jiang Han scooped a lamb rib from the mutton soup, waved it in front of everyone, and said in a deep voice:
"If you want meat, stand still and don't move!"

"Legs straight, back upright, head held high!"

"Whichever team can stand for the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the whole team gets to eat mutton soup with flatbread!" He then pointed at Shao Yong and Li Laowai, adding menacingly:

"You two, stand there for a full hour!"

Shao Yong and Li Laowai dared not refute at all; they could stand there for a whole day, let alone an hour.

The two men were filled with boundless gratitude; Lord Jiang had been far too lenient with them.

If they were strictly following the border army's regulations, at best they would be paraded through the camp with arrows through their ears (a military punishment where arrows are pierced through the ears and the person is paraded through the camp), and at worst they would be beheaded.

Jiang Han roared at the top of his lungs:
"have you understood?"

A few scattered responses came from the sidelines. Jiang Han frowned and shook his head in dissatisfaction.

"What, you don't want to eat meat anymore?"

"You all look so listless, is it because I didn't feed you?"

He stomped his foot and roared angrily.
"Speak louder! I can't hear you!"

This time, the noise in the arena was much louder, with the soldiers shouting their responses in unison.

Jiang Han frowned and gave a cold laugh:
"It's all a mess, whose advice should I listen to?"

"You veterans of the border army, can't even shout the slogans in unison? You're not even as good as the garrison troops, a bunch of useless trash!"

He paused, his tone becoming even more stern.
"I'm telling you, I only need to hear one voice, a loud and clear voice!"

"If we can't get everyone together, we won't get any mutton soup or flatbread, not even dry rations!"

Jiang Han shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Did you understand!?"

These veterans usually looked down on the spineless garrison soldiers, and now that Jiang Han was using them as a comparison, they were even more indignant, and immediately roared:
"understand!"

Jiang Han nodded in satisfaction.

"Now you all stand in line! You five sentries, take turns!"

"If even one person in the queue can't hold on, falls down, or moves around, the whole team will be punished!"

"Not only do we not get to eat, but we also have to empty the sewage for the whole camp, dig an ice cellar for me, and stand guard!"

On the threshing ground, Shao Yong and Li Laowai, along with two sentries, stood still, each of them tense and steadfast like wooden stakes.

Jiang Han stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over each row like a hawk's, occasionally kicking a guy with a crooked posture and cursing him a couple of times.

Dong Erzhu and Hei Zi stood on either side, holding whistle sticks in their hands, watching the old foxes who wanted to cheat and slack off, ready to take action at any time.

Time passed slowly, one incense stick at a time, the cold wind howled, stinging people's faces, but no one dared to move an inch.

The aroma of the mutton soup grew stronger and stronger, making mouths water, but no one dared to do anything reckless, for fear of implicating the whole team.

Shao Yong and Li Laowai stood at the front, gritting their teeth and enduring the hardship, beads of sweat appearing on their foreheads.

Jiang Han stood in front, coldly watching the two without saying a word. He was determined to teach these two lawless guys a lesson.

Jiang Han glanced at the incense burner, saw that it was almost time, and nodded:

"First team, time's up! Time to eat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers in the first team breathed a sigh of relief and cheered as they rushed toward the large pot, lining up to scoop up mutton soup and eat flatbread.

The soldiers from the other teams watched longingly, their Adam's apples bobbing, their mouths watering. But when Jiang Han glanced at them, they stood obediently and dared not cause any trouble.

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(End of this chapter)