I am not a seventh-generation descendant of Lord Wu'an from the Qin Dynasty.

[Your thousand soldiers are currently undergoing a 360-mile weighted cross-country training exercise. Command +8]

[Your thousand soldiers are currently undergoing a 360-mile weighted cross-country training exercise. Command +5]

[Your thousand soldiers are currently undergoing a 360-mile weighted cross-country training exercise. Command +3]

The night was as dark as the tide.

On the seemingly endless Qin Straight Road.

Bai Qi tried his best to endure the tingling numbness in his knees, panting heavily through his mouth and nose, with a wisp of white steam rising from his head.

Just after midnight, he looked at the system's settlement rewards that appeared before his eyes, and a victorious smile appeared on his lips.

He traveled at a steady pace from the Lishan camp, passing two rest stops with bonfires lit along the way.

He ran about 120 li (approximately 60 kilometers) in six hours without taking a break, and his physical strength was nearing the limit of human endurance.

Even so, compared to the beasts of pre-Qin who lived by fighting and conquering, only about fifty out of the first thousand who set out made it into the top ranks.

In other words, some of the thousand trainees from Shanglin Garden who set off at the same time as him had already covered no less than 120 to 150 li in six hours.

Behind him, at least half of the group, or five hundred people, ran nearly a hundred miles in six hours.

Based on the system's reward system and the training time, it is estimated that each person can gain 1 experience point for every 100 miles of intense training.

By the same token, there have been three batches of 1,000 people who set off from the Lishan camp for the trial, totaling 3,000 people.

Logically speaking, this should add thirty points to his position as the Chief Inspector of Military Affairs at Shanglin Garden.

There are now a total of sixteen, likely due to the varying physical abilities of the participants and the fact that there is only half a day allotted for the trials.

According to his estimate, the Qin army stationed at the Lishan camp numbered 60,000 elite troops, and the population of Xianyang City numbered in the hundreds of thousands. In addition, there were a group of people that King Zheng of Qin had gathered to build the Shanglin Garden, as well as the old Qin people who had followed him into Xianyang.

The total number is two to three hundred thousand. It is estimated that the Shanglin Garden Trial will be conducted in no less than two rounds and six batches, which is 6,000 people.

Six thousand men, three days of trials, 360 miles of cross-country running with heavy loads, should have gained no less than 180 experience points.

This will be the starting point for his meteoric rise!

"But if that's the case, then the 800 professional military academy students at Shanglin Garden would be a bit too few."

He can still do the math: eight hundred people get eight points a day, while six thousand people get fifty or sixty points a day.

"The more Bai Qi commanders, the better!"

Bai Qi, still greedy, thought to himself, "Back then, General Sima Cuo selected the best of the best from 200,000 new troops, and only managed to get 1,600 Qin elite soldiers."

Although the basic qualities of those selected for the trials are better this time due to the limitations of the era and conditions, the age restriction of being under 24 years old is also significant.

Assuming a ratio of 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 for elimination, with good luck, out of 6,000 applicants, approximately 2,000 might qualify.

At that time, he might still have to persuade King Zheng of Qin to take some money from the royal treasury.

A king who doesn't keep a private army isn't a good king!

However, the king had only recently assumed power, and the queen of the Lishan camp had already incurred a significant expense.

If the royal treasury is insufficient, then...

Pfft!

Bai Qi was walking slowly and thoughtfully forward when he saw someone suddenly fall down in front of him.

"Is this... exhaustion?"

Bai Qi strode forward, reaching out to open his black iron mask for ventilation.

He quickly unbuttoned the boy's collar, took out a water pouch, and gently moistened the boy's dry lips.

Not long after.

Perhaps stimulated by the source of life, the slightly immature boy coughed and quickly opened his eyes, snatched the water bag from his hand and poured it into his mouth.

Bai Qi breathed a sigh of relief, patting his back while offering words of advice.

"There are still more than two hundred miles to go. If you die of exhaustion on the first day, there will be no future."

"Zhang Han, this time you must enter the Shanglin Garden, serve the King, and become a general!"

Bai Qi was stunned. "Good heavens, this is practically a general just by randomly picking someone!"

Zhang Han's voice was hoarse. He pursed his chapped lips, looked up at him, and handed the empty water pouch back.

Anyway, thanks this time!

"He didn't recognize him! That's right, a handsome young man and the black-armored, grey-white Seven are not easy to distinguish."

Bai Qi's lips curled into a smirk. "Is that all? A life-saving grace, huh? Shouldn't the future Supreme General of Qin promise to reward him with a thousand pieces of gold in the future?"

Zhang Han's face stiffened, and he hesitated before saying, "If I can become a general, I will certainly keep my promise, even if it costs a thousand pieces of gold!"

Bai Qi then realized that he meant "general," not the "supreme general" that Bai Qi had subconsciously understood.

"Then I'll write it down."

Bai Qi stood up, extended his palm, and said, "Get up, let's walk briskly for a while longer. When we reach the next fifty-mile rest stop, we'll have some hot soup and rest."

"On the first day, we traveled 150 li, and on the second and third days, we traveled 100 li each day, and that was it."

Zhang Han used the momentum to stand up, rubbing his rumbling stomach with one hand, and said with a dry laugh, "Um, do you still have any rations?"

Bai Qi was speechless. "No way, you've already eaten three days' worth of military rations? You've thrown them away!"

Zhang Han smiled shyly, "My brother came with me. He rode ahead on a fast horse and will wait for me at the next stronghold after he gets home. The military rations were lost as soon as they left the camp."

"Bring my brother along, and I'll share some mutton with you."

"No way, in such a short time, you two have already come up with a sneaky and cunning plan?"

But he also knew that similar methods were probably common along the way.

It seems that the bottom-ranking elimination system and the left and right auxiliary guard battalions should be introduced into the historical stage ahead of schedule.

Bai Qi tossed the food bag over speechlessly, "There's no water left. Eat slowly, don't choke!"

If it were an ordinary person cheating on an exam, he would definitely feel disgusted, but if it were Zhang Han, the supreme general of Qin, who was from outside, then it was a different story.

After all, isn't there a saying that goes like this?

Warfare is based on deception; therefore, when capable, feign incapacity; when active, feign inactivity.

When cheating was explicitly prohibited during the Shanglin Garden Trial, he quickly came up with two ideas: discarding the grain bags to save energy and having relatives and friends deliver meat along the way to replenish his energy. This can be considered a testament to his quick thinking.

Anything not prohibited by law is permissible, and the art of war should certainly not be bound by conventional wisdom.

If in the future, the soldiers trained by Shanglinyuan are all professional soldiers who rigidly adhere to tactical dogma, then he will be the one who truly has a headache.

He was in charge of military affairs at Shanglin Garden, but he wasn't good at tactical micromanagement.

As the two walked side by side, Bai Qi learned about Zhang Han's family background through casual conversation.

His family had been elite soldiers of the Qin Dynasty for generations. His great-grandfather had served as a squad leader, his grandfather as a platoon leader, and his father as a garrison commander.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and ran into the five states attacking Qin during Lord Xinling's campaign. He suffered a major defeat, was crippled in his legs, and had his rank reduced by two levels.

It can be said that the efforts of three generations on the battlefield were wiped out overnight, leaving us back to square one.

Fortunately, the Zhang family was upright and honest. They only complained about their bad luck on the battlefield. As soon as Zhang Han came of age, he began to follow in his father's footsteps.

As the two chatted and encouraged each other, the campfires 150 miles away could already be faintly seen.

Excitement flickered in their eyes, and their already exhausted bodies rallied. They quickened their pace and staggered forward.

Three busy Qin veterans looked up at the sound.

One person tended the campfire to cook meat soup, another person came forward to greet them warmly, and yet another person chopped firewood on their own.

"Two new recruits from Shanglin, thank you for your help with the license plate!"

Bai Qi slumped to the ground, took off his heavy helmet with one hand, and pulled off the wooden plaque around his neck with the other, handing it over.

"Old man, could you please make me some hot soup to help me relax?"

Zhang Han also handed over a wooden plaque.

The veteran looked down and examined it, a hint of joy visibly appearing in his eyes, and nodded in response.

"Don't worry, it'll be ready soon!"

But when he turned his head, he looked at the old soldier cooking soup and blinked excitedly, causing the latter to smile.

"The soup's here!"

Soon, two large bowls of steaming hot mutton soup were served by the veteran who cooked the soup.

The large sheep bones on the rim of the bowl and the floating oil film immediately attracted two hungry, bloated men.

Just as Bai Qi was about to pick up the food, Zhang Han suddenly raised his hand to stop him with a solemn expression, his cold gaze sweeping over the three Qin veterans who were looking at him at the same time.

"What about the other recruits who underwent trials at Shanglin Garden?"