A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Zhao Daxuan stopped and turned to his soldiers behind him, saying, "Keep running. If I come back and find anyone has fallen behind, make them run ten more laps!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of wails erupted.

Zhao Daxuan smiled and ignored him, turning to walk towards the camp gate.

Upon arriving at the camp gate, Li Tiezhu saw Zhao Daxuan and couldn't stop smiling. He took the initiative to greet him.

"Brother Xuan, you have no idea, when I got home last night, my wife was overjoyed to see the huge bag of silver I had slammed on the table!"

"We've been together for so many years, and you've never been so gentle with me before. It's like you've become a completely different person! Hahaha..."

Zhao Daxuan raised an eyebrow and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"This is nothing! There's a long road ahead. Follow me, and I'll make sure you live the high life every day!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tiezhu beamed with joy, scratching the back of his head and nodding, saying, "Absolutely! If Brother Xuan tells me to go east, I'll never go west!"

Zhao Daxuan nodded in satisfaction, then said, "I asked you to come see me yesterday because I have something for you to do. I need you to bring over a hundred meals when we finish training at noon. Don't skimp on the portions; make sure there are plenty!"

Li Tiezhu was taken aback and looked at Zhao Daxuan with confusion.

"What? Brother Xuan, don't your city guards provide meals?"

Zhao Daxuan shook his head and explained with a smile.

"They provide meals, but it's just watery soup; they're hardly full. So I added more food for them; they have to eat their fill!"

Li Tiezhu suddenly realized what was going on and couldn't help but give Zhao Daxuan a thumbs up.

"Brother Xuan, it's still you! You even provide extra meals for your subordinates. It's so great to work with you!"

Zhao Daxuan couldn't help but laugh and scold, "When did you learn this trick? Stop flattering me and get on with it right now. Remember to give me the full weight!"

Li Tiezhu smiled and nodded, but then frowned.

"Brother Xuan, if I may ask, is the military camp paying for this meal, or are you paying? It's such a large sum; I estimate it's at least six taels of silver. If you're paying, you should think twice!"

Zhao Daxuan waved his hand: "It's just a small amount of money, don't worry about it, just go."

Upon hearing this, Li Tiezhu knew that Zhao Daxuan was now wealthy and powerful, so he patted his chest and agreed. Then he turned around and jogged away, heading towards the Sifang Restaurant.

Zhao Daxuan turned and returned to the training ground. At this time, the city guards who were training in other teams on the training ground were already resting. They gathered in groups of three or five, watching Zhao Daxuan's troops still running around the training ground, and couldn't help but discuss among themselves.

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at this bunch of idiots, why are they working so hard? Who will they blame if they get exhausted?"

"Hehe, I'm curious to see if they'll be able to get up tomorrow!"

"Tch, don't even mention tomorrow, I said they all have to go back and lie down this afternoon!"

The crowd burst into laughter. Just then, Zhao Daxuan's soldiers ran past the group. Hearing their mockery, they all turned red in the face, but were powerless to refute them.

Although they were surprised that they could run for so long, they knew that such physical exertion would make recovery difficult and might even damage their foundation.

However, due to the pressure from Zhao Daxuan, they dared not stop unless Zhao Daxuan told them to.

Zhao Daxuan ignored the people who were mocking him, and simply ran again to the front of the group to continue leading the team.

Upon seeing Zhao Daxuan return, Li Erlong and Zhao Fubao, who were running at the front of the group, both had a glimmer of hope before their eyes dimmed again.

Li Erlong said sullenly, "Huff~ Lord Zhao~ Huff~ If you make us keep running like this, not to mention we'll be laughed at by others, I'm also afraid the brothers' bodies won't be able to take it. I'm afraid we won't be able to continue training this afternoon, and it'll be a problem if we can even get out of bed tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan shook his head and said firmly, "Only the weak are afraid of being ridiculed. Just run, I guarantee you'll be fine."

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong and the others gritted their teeth and continued running forward, their legs feeling like they were filled with lead.

After running forty laps, Zhao Daxuan saw that many people had turned pale and were only able to keep going thanks to the help of his skills, and he knew that it was almost time.

"That's enough! Let's stop and rest!"

When Zhao Daxuan shouted these words, his soldiers seemed to hear a pardon, and they cheered with their last bit of strength before collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.

Only Li Erlong and Zhao Fubao remained standing beside Zhao Daxuan, gritting their teeth, supporting their legs, bending over, and sweating profusely.

Zhao Daxuan looked at the two of them with appreciation and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, you two, especially Fu Bao. You did a good job today. Our team is still short of a squad leader. You can fill in. I'll ask the captain for an official document later."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fubao's eyes lit up with excitement. He didn't even care that his legs were still weak, and immediately stood up straight and bowed to Zhao Daxuan.

"Thank you for your promotion, sir. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Zhao Daxuan smiled and patted Zhao Fubao on the shoulder, giving him an approving look.

The others lying on the ground looked at Zhao Fubao with envy upon hearing this.

If only I had persevered a little longer, I might be the one who collapsed to the ground right now.

Li Erlong, standing to the side, looked at Zhao Fubao with envy.

He spent seven or eight years in the city guards before becoming a squad leader, while Zhao Fubao only joined the army last year.

"Brother Fu Bao, to have gained Lord Zhao's favor is sure to bring you a bright future. Congratulations!"

Zhao Fubao looked at Li Erlong with a simple smile: "Brother Li, you flatter me. We're in the same boat."

At that moment, the sound of drums rang out in the camp, signaling everyone to end training and go have lunch.

The other training teams in the drill ground finished their training and rushed to the canteen.

Immediately, the people lying on the ground perked up, struggled to get up, and looked at Zhao Daxuan with longing expressions.

At this moment, they felt their stomachs contracting violently and aching slightly, as if they were being tightly gripped by a hand.

They felt like they could devour a whole cow. As soon as Zhao Daxuan gave the order to end training, they would rush to the mess hall and leave in a flurry.

However, Zhao Daxuan did not dismiss them, but waved his hand, telling them to continue resting where they were.

Unable to comprehend, the crowd slumped down, collapsing back to the ground as if they had lost their last ounce of strength.

Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, he knew they had misunderstood, but he was too lazy to explain. They would understand soon enough.

He waved to Zhao Fubao and told him to wait for Li Tiezhu at the gate of the military camp. Zhao Fubao obeyed and quickly left.

After a while, a rich aroma of rice mixed with meat wafted from afar.

Everyone felt even hungrier, their mouths watered uncontrollably, and they couldn't help but swallow.

The city guards, who had been lying on the ground like dead fish, suddenly sat up and looked in the direction from which the aroma was coming.