Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

In the early morning, feeling the heat shining on his face, he subconsciously lifted the four pairs of arms pressing against his chest, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and as soon as he got up, the beauty who was still fast asleep seemed to get up reflexively to help Li Yuanheng dress.

He subconsciously turned his head and bumped into those emerald green eyes. Looking at the charming face, Li Yuanheng cursed himself in his heart for being "careless," and then comfortably stretched out his hands and put them through his sleeves.

After the jade belt was put on, Li Yuanheng finally spoke:

"You two will stay here from now on. I will take you back to Jinshan when I return, and then we will make a decision."

"The Shebatkern Award----"

Two scantily clad beauties from Yili, their bodies barely concealing their cleavage, tenderly escorted Li Yuanheng to the door. Before leaving, Li Yuanheng left behind a bag of gold leaves for his expenses in Yili City.

As for the other eight beauties, they were all given to his subordinates, and he only kept the two most beautiful ones for himself.

As the saying goes, food and sex are human nature. Li Yuanheng was neither a saint nor a hypocrite. He was not stupid to be tempted by beautiful women offered to him, especially those with obvious promises of power and reward. If he overreacted, the Khan would probably not be able to sleep tonight and would certainly not allow him to go and hunt for grain.

It should be understood that to capture the Grass Valley, the main force on the Western Regions front must cooperate; otherwise, they will be attacked from both sides as soon as they start fighting, and they will die without even knowing how they died.

Yesterday evening, Ce Ling summoned Li Yuanheng again, this time in the inner palace of the royal court, rather than in the royal tent during the day.

At first, Ce Ling actually wanted Li Yuanheng to take the lead, or even to cut off the supply lines, but in the end he compromised. It wasn't because Li Yuanheng was easy to talk to, but because he made too many promises.

Half of the spoils from raiding the grasslands were first given to the Dzungar royal court, and the captured people were also given priority to the royal court, namely Ce Ling himself.

Ce Ling agreed without hesitation, promising to hold back the Qing army on the flank and ensure the success of the raid.

It all seemed like a sure-fire deal, but in Ce Ling's mind, even if the Li family's troops successfully seized the Grass Valley, they would suffer heavy losses. In the end, he would have to take half of the spoils, thus gaining benefits and suppressing the enemy. He could even use this tactic on other tribes that wanted to attack the Grass Valley, getting all the benefits without doing anything and reducing the possibility of rebellion.

If they accidentally die on the way to gather supplies, it's even less of a problem. The Dzungar Khanate lacks everything except henchmen to be used. Someone like Li Yuanheng might die this year, but there are probably others in a few months. What's there to be afraid of?

"Hurry up and get ready, don't let him die in a woman's belly!!"

When passing by the courtyard where Hu Wu lived, you could still hear the sounds of rummaging inside.

"Ah, Dalang is here, he's here----"

Inside the room, Hu Wu hurriedly climbed off the bed and ran outside with his upper body bare, even putting on his pants hastily. However, when he came out, he couldn't see Li Yuanheng's figure. He could only call out "Da Lang" a few times before running back into the room in embarrassment. When he came out, he was already fully dressed, but the bite mark on his neck still made people think of him.

"What are you all looking at? I'm giving you orders on my face!!"

"Damn it, I shouldn't have given you any beauties! Look at this, how the hell can we fight a war like this?!"

"Soldiers who don't think about fighting but sleep in with women deserve to die!!"

Looking at the group of soldiers with their heads hanging low, not daring to look at him, Li Yuanheng felt more anger burning towards himself. If he hadn't been so generous yesterday and hadn't distributed the beauties on the way back, but had done so on the spot, he probably wouldn't be so weak in the knees now.

"Brother, calm down. These young women are all so beautiful they're bewitching. I promise I won't do it again. I'll get up early, I'll get up early—"

"Next time, there absolutely has to be a next time!!"

As soon as Hu Wu finished speaking, he was given a good scolding. Fortunately, he was used to it at times. He lowered his head and pretended to be wronged as he accepted it all.

Seeing this, the others dared not say anything more, but lowered their heads even further, as if they wanted to bury themselves in the floor.

"run----"

"Run! What are you waiting for?"

With a few shouts, the soldiers led by Hu Wu began running laps in the courtyard. They were arranged in a fairly neat line, and the only difference between them and later armies was probably their different uniforms and slogans.

This training method can be considered a little something that Li Yuanheng added to this era. After all, running laps is essentially a way to train physical fitness and obedience.

In terms of physical fitness, it is difficult for people in ancient times to compare with people in later generations. The idea that people in ancient times were stronger than modern people is mostly due to the hard work of farming. The physical condition of most people in ancient times is simply no match for that of modern humans who have been carefully raised.

Take height as an example. In this period, 1.5 meters was considered the average height, while in later generations it was 1.7 meters, or even 1.75 meters. People who were 1.8 meters tall would only increase. In ancient times, when food and clothing were scarce, especially on the grasslands where productivity was low, this was almost unimaginable.

A height of just over 1.5 meters is normal, 1.6 meters is considered above average, 1.7 meters is practically unheard of, this person is most likely a lord, and 1.4 meters is also quite common.

Under such circumstances, attempting to completely replicate the training rhythm of later generations would be tantamount to murder.

Running laps is one of the tests that test cardiopulmonary function and willpower. Under normal circumstances, registered soldiers of the Eagle Division must be guaranteed to eat meat porridge in the morning. The meat can be fresh or dried, but it must at least be meat. Otherwise, running five miles in the morning is no joke. Those with slightly poor physical fitness may even die.

"A bunch of lecherous scoundrels, I'm ashamed to associate with them!!"

Seeing the group of soldiers still running laps, but whose steps were clearly unsteady, Li Yuanheng regretted his words as soon as he finished cursing. However, he was still making excuses for himself, saying that it was all for the sake of the greater cause, and what did this little humiliation matter?

------

Dust filled the sky, the procession stretched for miles, and birds circled in the sky for a long time, reluctant to come down. The banners at the head of the procession displayed the words "Li" and "Jinshan," while the small flag bestowed by the Dzungar Khan was just mixed in with the others and could not be seen at all without careful observation.

The central cavalry unit, numbering around 500 men, was mainly composed of the expanded Eagle Guard, while the front and rear units were grassland soldiers who had recently been incorporated into the Eagle Wolf Army.

[The expanded staff will number 800]

The entire unit consisted of no infantrymen; even the musketeers carrying muskets rode warhorses, not to mention the cooks.

The army carried a total of more than 9,000 warhorses, of which only more than 3,000 were warhorses. The rest were draft horses used to transport food and ammunition. Among these draft horses were several hundred mares, whose role was to provide milk to the army.

This method of warfare is also very much in line with the characteristics of the grasslands. Mare's milk can be produced as long as there is grass. The mare's milk produced can be used to make mare's milk wine, cheese, or even dried into milk powder for storage. All of these ensure the logistical needs of the march and greatly increase the marching speed.

The ability to march a hundred li or even several hundred li in a day was the privilege of famous generals and strong armies in the Central Plains, but it was the norm on the grasslands where horses were plentiful.

"A scout reports urgently that there appear to be signs of Qing troops."

"We've only just approached the northern desert, and the Qing army has already arrived. Their marching speed is quite fast."

Hu Wu turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"I request to be appointed as the vanguard, to kill some enemies, and to achieve the greatest merit."

"Don't rush into battle. It would be disadvantageous to the raid. Let's wait for further news."

Li Yuanheng accepted the milk tea offered by his attendant, touched the roof of his mouth with his tongue, and gazed at the barren, dusty northern desert. His thoughts drifted back to the time when Genghis Khan rose to power. Comparing the present, the northern desert was ultimately inferior to the southern desert. It was inherently disadvantaged and could not support its population. Even raiding was extremely difficult. If he wanted to get rich, he should go to the southern grasslands as soon as possible.

"Order that the army be in full battle gear, with the central army becoming the vanguard, the vanguard becoming the rearguard, and the rearguard becoming the central army, alternating in this manner without fail!!"