Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"The essence of military training lies in three things: diligence, ruthlessness, and a touch of 'foolishness.' Only by mastering these three essentials can one train a good soldier!"

Li Dalang's Three Essentials of Military Training

"Time to report for duty at Chen Shi (7-9 AM)!!"

"one two three----"

"Twenty-five!!"

"Young Master, these are the personal guards currently registered."

Hu Wu handed the roster to Li Yuanheng, who was dressed in a smart short-sleeved shirt and had a tiger-skin belt around his waist. After taking the roster, Li Yuanheng glanced at it casually and then spoke:

Where is Jiang Taisheng??

"I'm here!!"

A young man dressed in uniform gray stepped out from the queue. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be a few years younger than Li Yuanheng.

Li Yuanheng sized the man up, his eyes widening slightly when he noticed the scar on the man's hand.

"I remember you. In the first battle against the Qing demons, you single-handedly fought three people with a shield, which greatly enhanced the prestige of the men of Jinshan."

"If you, young master, can remember me, I will never forget you in this lifetime."

Jiang Taisheng probably never expected that someone as insignificant as himself would be remembered, and he was so moved that he knelt down on the ground.

"Get up, don't kneel. You were selected into the Eagle Guard when you were young. Although you and I, Li Yuanheng, are master and servant, in my heart, you are my closest relatives besides my parents, elders and brothers. You are my brothers and friends."

In Turkic languages, "eagle division" specifically refers to a military organization.

Li Yuanheng's words were forceful and full of "sincere" emotion, prompting the twenty-five guards, including Jiang Taisheng, to shout in unison:

"I swear to serve the young lord to the death!!"

Li Yuanheng saw this scene, but didn't take it to heart. He knew that even if these twenty-five people were his personal guards who had grown up with him and carried his mission for more than ten years, people's hearts were the most unreliable thing. Anyone who believed that there were absolutely loyal ministers in the world was not far from death.

However, the concept of "loyalty" cannot be disregarded, so the only option is for Li Yuanheng to play the good guy:

"You are all my comrades-in-arms, my own flesh and blood. Naturally, I will give you the best of everything. I have already begged my father three times before he finally agreed---"

Looking at Li Yuanheng's tired but excited expression, the guards around him were all looking forward to the good news he was talking about. But the next sentence made everyone excited.

"Starting next month, our Eagle Guard will be officially renamed Eagle Battalion, with 600 registered personnel. That means from now on, you will all be officers."

With a loud "boom," like a thunderclap from the sky, everyone was stunned and speechless. If someone hadn't taken the lead in pledging allegiance, some people wouldn't even know what to say.

Hearing the constant sounds of gratitude and shouts of loyalty from all around, Li Yuanheng's mind raced slightly, but his face only showed a formulaic smile, while his eyes were constantly scrutinizing the expressions of the twenty-six people present, including Hu Wu.

When Li Yuanheng saw that Hu Wu was only leading the shouts of loyalty and that all he saw on his face was fanaticism, his suspicions lessened slightly. However, he still harbored the same skepticism towards the others.

Li Yuanheng coughed and pressed his hands down a few times in the air, which finally silenced the noise in front of him. However, the eager gazes did not disappear with the noise; instead, they became even more fervent. But for Li Yuanheng, who was relatively thick-skinned, this was just part of a drama of promising official positions.

"But having officials is useless without people. The government can't possibly provide six hundred able-bodied men. After all, the able-bodied men currently registered have long been enlisted in the military. They can only be gathered together during wartime and the autumn training after the harvest each year. In normal times, it would be harder to get six hundred men than to beg my father three times. So we'll probably be all alone for a long time."

Upon hearing this, the previously eager gazes instantly turned cold, and some even looked on with complaints, blaming Li Yuanheng for being unreliable and causing them to be disappointed.

All of this was observed and noted by Li Yuanheng, who had been watching the reactions afterward, and he was ready to clean up the mess once it was over.

"What do we do without soldiers? A grown man can't just die from holding his pee!!"

"Hu Wu".

"Your subordinate is here!!"

Hu Wu clasped his hands in a fist and stepped forward, standing at the very front, looking up at his eldest son, whom he regarded as a god of war.

"Ten days of training, after which you will join the government guards to venture deep into the grasslands and capture savages!!"

Hu Wu nodded excitedly, eager to go right now. As for the so-called savages, he believed that with the assistance of the government guards, they would be easy to capture without any problem.

As for whether there were actually six hundred strong savages to serve in the army, that was none of Hu Wu's business. Besides, even if he couldn't capture six hundred, would Da Lang really be short of soldiers?

The "wild men" were actually nomadic hunting and fishing tribes outside the Altai Mountains. They weren't truly savages; most were small tribes that depended on the Qing army's border fortresses, paying annual tribute to ensure their survival. Jinshan was located near the front line between the Dzungar Khanate and the Qing Dynasty. To suppress their rivals and reduce the manpower and resources available to the Qing army on the border, every few years Jinshan Prefecture would cross the Altai Mountains under the guise of "driving out the wild men," raiding areas right under the Qing army's noses where they often couldn't react in time. As a result, every few years Jinshan Prefecture would acquire a new population, most of whom became slaves for mining and land reclamation.

Once the order was given, the ten days of grueling training began. As for those few unlucky guys, they were brought to the government office under the pretext of "transfer." What fate awaited them? All that was known was that a few more people arrived after a few days. Those people also came from the government office, ostensibly to make up for the vacancies. But some people heard that those who were transferred were later fed to wolves.

As for how he knew, I don't know; he just heard about it from others.

-----------

"shoot!!"

A volley of arrows flew past, leaving marks on the straw man like those of a hedgehog.

"Bring me my precious bow."

Li Yuanheng reached out and took the gilded, wolf-skin-covered bow. Compared to the others' bows and arrows, his was larger, more beautiful, and heavier, weighing a full three stones. You must know that in an era when a two-stone bow was considered a sign of bravery and skill in battle, a three-stone bow was definitely the standard equipment for a famous general.

With a "clang," the precious bow, which looked like a monster to ordinary people, was drawn. As the arrow was unleashed, the muscles in Li Yuanheng's arms and the strength in his waist instantly became one.

As the arrow shot out with a whooshing sound, in a few instants, even though I had witnessed such miracles countless times, I was still overwhelmed by the power of that arrow.

Li Yuanheng silently watched the straw man that had been shot through three times, casually put down his precious bow, and then signaled Hu Wu to continue training.

When training resumed, it was obvious that everyone's attitude was more than 30% better than before. After all, in this era, no matter how brilliant your general's strategy is, his personal charisma can never compare to this naked display of strength.

As a military general, if you don't achieve dominance in terms of military strength and demonstrate your achievements, it will be difficult for you to win the respect of the people.

After mastering archery, the next step is riding. Many people consider riding and archery as one, which is both right and wrong. It is right that they are indeed one tactic, but in reality, dismounting to shoot arrows is the true method used by large armies in war.

Don't be fooled by novels and historical exaggerations that often depict tens of thousands of cavalry firing simultaneously or engaging in mounted archery. That's all nonsense. Putting aside everything else, how big is a horse? And how much area would ten thousand horses occupy if they gathered in one place? This is something most people haven't even considered.

In a real war, mounted archery is always a wave-based battle, one wave after another. The key is to keep the enemy constantly harassed by a hail of arrows, keeping them in a kite-like position. Then, by coordinating with cavalry charges to break through the weaknesses of the enemy infantry, it can be effective.

The archery tactics that could be used on a large scale were precisely foot archery, because people are most stable on land, and practicing archery on the ground is actually the mainstream. As for mounted archery, it is more of an upgraded version of foot archery, just like practicing basic skills, which cannot be abandoned.

In terms of horsemanship, Li Yuanheng's performance once again amazed everyone. If Li Yuanheng's horsemanship was still within everyone's expectations before, then this time, even the best riders on the grassland would have to exclaim, "A god among men!"

Witnessing all this, Hu Wu, along with several of his personal guards who had accompanied him on the expedition, spoke with a mixture of indifference and pride to his colleagues who had not witnessed Li Yuanheng's transformation over the past few months:

"Big Brother was like this a few months ago. Back then, Big Brother led us, chasing Qing demons like lambs to the slaughter, it was so much fun!!"

As for why Li's eldest son was so valiant after not seeing him for several months, in Hu Wu's words it was:

"The eldest son is a celestial being descended to earth; he must have received divine instruction in a dream, hence his extraordinary abilities!!"

And so it went, day after day, practicing boxing in the morning, archery and horsemanship in the afternoon, and swordsmanship and spear fighting in the evening. They worked hard almost every day, and before they knew it, ten days had passed.

Fortunately, most of these twenty-five men were veteran guards who had been placed by Li Yuanheng's side since childhood, and a few were elites transferred from the government office. Although they were young, they were skilled in archery and horsemanship and were sharp with swords and spears. Otherwise, they would have only trained for ten days.

If this were to happen to ordinary herders or farmers, even though grassland people are somewhat capable of fighting, they would need at least two or three months of training. Otherwise, if a fight broke out, their discipline would be similar to that of the nomadic tribes on the grasslands.

One day in early November, after the Double Ninth Festival, in a makeshift Eagle Division camp next to the Guard Camp, Li Yuanheng stood on the command platform, looking down at the group of guards who were like wolves and tigers, but most of them lacked "beastly might". His eyes gradually became extremely sharp.

After looking around for a moment, amidst the tense yet excited gazes of everyone, he uttered a calm yet convincing voice:

"Go deep into the grasslands, make a name for yourself, eat his mother's food, rob his mother's food!!"