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

The next morning, Zhao Daxuan quietly got out of bed and went out alone early.

As they passed the gatehouse, they found that Sixi and the other two had already gotten up. Chunmei and Xiahe were busy in the kitchen, while Sixi was sitting at the kitchen doorway, lost in thought.

"Sixi, how did you sleep last night?"

Si Xi hurriedly went out and bowed to Zhao Daxuan, "Reporting to Master, I slept very well last night. I haven't slept so soundly in a long time, and I still feel like I'm in a dream."

"That's good. Once the ladies are awake, tell them to buy a carriage when you have time, so you can put your skills to good use." Zhao Daxuan nodded, gave the instructions, and strode out the door.

When he arrived at the training ground of the core camp, Li Erlong had already led everyone to line up in formation, each standing straight with their heads held high, waiting for Zhao Daxuan to come and take attendance.

In the past few days, Zhao Daxuan has also taken the time to address their issue with standing at attention, so their posture is much better now than it was a few days ago.

As soon as Zhao Daxuan stood in front of the ranks, he saw Li Erlong lead several young soldiers out of the ranks and shout, "Reporting, sir, the camp has replenished our team's personnel today, and we are now at full strength of one hundred men."

The men behind Li Erlong also stepped forward and bowed, their eyes shining as they looked at Zhao Daxuan. "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

They were already part of Zhang Xiaoshan's other hundred-man team, and they had seen the perks of Zhao Daxuan's team at the training ground these past few days, where they ate fish and meat every day, which made them extremely envious.

They were overjoyed to receive the notification last night that they would be transferred to Zhao Daxuan's team today, and they were so excited that they couldn't fall asleep until midnight.

Zhao Daxuan grinned. Zhang Xiaoshan was quite efficient; he had filled all the positions for him in just one night. He hoped that these people wouldn't be dumbfounded when they heard the news he announced later.

"Train hard, everyone, and don't fall too far behind the others. Okay, get back to the team."

After the others returned to the group, Zhao Daxuan looked at the team again, composed himself, and said in a deep voice, "Brothers, I have bad news and good news today."

He looked around at the curious gazes of the crowd, completely unaware of the terrible news he was about to reveal.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Daxuan continued, "Let me start with the bad news, so you're all prepared. To prevent harassment from the Tartars, our team will be stationed in the northernmost village in half a month."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, their hearts sinking, followed by waves of panic welling up from the depths of their hearts.

Silence, dead silence.

After a long silence, Li Erlong broke the silence first, saying bitterly, "My lord, why us?"

"Perhaps you can blame me. We were only assigned to be stationed there, but we weren't necessarily required to be stationed at the northernmost point."

Zhao Daxuan shook his head, "But in order to equip everyone with good equipment, I had no choice but to agree to go and guard the northernmost village."

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong immediately felt much better. He took a deep breath, rallied his spirits, and looked at Zhao Daxuan with a determined gaze.

"Sir, we've seen how good you've been to us these past few days. We trust you won't send us to our deaths! We'll do whatever you ask!"

With that, Li Erlong puffed out his chest, raised one hand above his head, and shouted, "We will never back down!"

The remaining soldiers under Zhao Daxuan's command also shouted in unison, "We will never retreat!"

Only the few newly joined soldiers standing at the back of the line looked at each other, their faces showing expressions of wanting to cry but having no tears.

Looking at the spirited crowd, Zhao Daxuan pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "Very good, you are stronger than I imagined."

He looked around and continued, "Since you trust me, I won't let you down. And the good news that follows is the foundation that will give you the confidence to weather this crisis."

"I plan to build our team into a heavy swordsman and shield infantry, with each member equipped with a heavy standing shield, a heavy halberd, and a heavy chainmail, all of them top-quality!"

These words caused an uproar. No unit in the entire city guard possessed such luxurious equipment.

Li Erlong couldn't help but ask, "Sir, are you sure the higher-ups are willing to equip us with so much gear?"

Zhao Daxuan shook his head decisively, "Of course I wouldn't agree, so I paid out of my own pocket to provide everyone with a set."

The entire venue was immediately filled with gasps of astonishment.

If each of the hundred people is given one set, that's a total of one hundred sets. How much would that cost?

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Li Erlong looked at Zhao Daxuan, hesitant to speak.

Zhao Daxuan chuckled, "Don't overthink it. I'm not giving it to you; I'm just lending it to you temporarily."

Although Zhao Daxuan said this, his subordinates still showed expressions of gratitude.

At that moment, heavy footsteps approached. Two city guards led a group of men, including a group of burly men carrying about a dozen wooden crates, who walked slowly until they stopped in front of Zhao Daxuan's group.

When the procession stopped, a burly middle-aged man emerged from the crowd; he was none other than Mo, the manager of Bailianfang.

Mo Hanfeng strode up to Zhao Daxuan, smiled, and bowed respectfully, "Lord Zhao, I've brought you ten sets of equipment."

Zhao Daxuan's eyes lit up. He stepped forward to check and confirmed that it was indeed the same batch of equipment from yesterday. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Mo. I'll accept the equipment. Please expedite the rest of the process."

Mo Hanfeng smiled and said, "Of course, sir, there's no need to worry. We'll take our leave now."

After saying that, he turned and left with a group of burly men.

After Mo Hanfeng and the others left, Li Erlong looked at the fine equipment in the box and tentatively asked, "Sir, could this equipment be...?"

Zhao Daxuan chuckled inwardly at the other's cautious demeanor. "Yes, it's the equipment I just mentioned. Erlong, go try on a set and see how it looks."

Li Erlong was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately nodded in agreement. With the help of others, he was dressed in no time.

Li Erlong, clad in heavy chainmail, wielding a heavy shield and gripping a heavy saber, exuded an aura of disdain for the entire scene, making him appear like a cold killing machine on the battlefield.

Zhao Daxuan nodded in satisfaction. "Go up a few men and stab him a few times."

Upon hearing of such a good opportunity, the surrounding men immediately smiled, drew their long knives from their waists, rushed towards Li Erlong, their fingers clenched so tightly they turned white, and slashed directly at his head.

"Damn it, do you have to be so ruthless!" Li Erlong exclaimed, instinctively raising his heavy shield and sweeping it in front of them.

"Ding!" "Ding!" "Ding!"...

After a few sharp sounds, the men who rushed forward with knives were forced back a few steps by the impact.

Looking down, he saw that the blade of the long sword in his hand had been chipped open.

The shield in Li Erlong's hand only had a few faint white marks.

Li Erlong looked at the few faint white marks on the shield in his hand, reached out and wiped them away, and the white marks disappeared without a trace. He immediately gasped.

The crowd surrounding him looked on with envy, their eyes constantly glancing at the remaining sets of equipment in the wooden crate, wondering how Zhao Daxuan planned to distribute them.