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

Yongcheng.

Military drill ground.

More than 1,900 burly men from Guanzhong stood in neat rows, all looking straight ahead.

Although the new armor for the thousand Qin warriors promised by Lü Buwei had not yet arrived, the enthusiastic atmosphere was already overwhelming.

As King Zheng of Qin traveled, this was the scene of towering trees that he saw.

Bai Qi, trailing behind, seized the opportunity to whisper, "Your Majesty, these are all your trusted bodyguards!"

King Zheng of Qin glanced at him, his eyebrows raised, "Do you need to tell me?!"

King Zheng of Qin leaped onto the training ground in a few strides, raised his right arm high, and proclaimed, "May Great Qin last ten thousand years!"

The group of passionate men roared in unison, "Long live the King!"

"Soldiers, you've worked hard!"

"To rule the king with weapons, to trample the six kingdoms on horseback!"

King Zheng of Qin couldn't help but smile. 'Is this what it feels like to be a king?'

Bai Qi stood behind him, sword in hand, his right palm raised high, his five fingers suddenly clenched into a fist, and the entire arena fell silent instantly.

At this moment, it wasn't just Li Si who envied and coveted him.

Meng Tian, ​​Wang Li, and other officers already had tears in their eyes, silently reciting in their hearts.

"This is how a general should be!"

Bai Qi gave a thumbs up and shouted loudly.

"By His Majesty's decree, all those who have arrived here today are the finest sons of our Great Qin!"

The group of men stood tall and proud, their confidence radiating from their brows was incredibly captivating.

"However, the Shanglin Army has a limited number of soldiers, with a quota of 1,000, including 800 fully armored regular soldiers and 200 auxiliary soldiers."

The crowd's expressions darkened slightly. If it weren't for the fact that they hadn't been instructed privately, and that the king was backing them up, they would have rashly shouted "Eliminate the traitor for the king!"

"Prime Minister Lü Buwei arbitrarily reduced the number of my king's personal guards under the pretext that the national treasury was not full."

Bai Qi's face turned red, and his clenched right arm began to tremble slightly. In the end, he still pretended to be humiliated and forced himself to endure it.

But inwardly he was laughing hysterically, 'That's right! The shortage of troops in Shanglin isn't our fault; it's all Lü Buwei's fault for not allocating funds and supplies.'

"Hey, we've already identified the treacherous minister. Direct your anger at him!"

As expected, Bai Qi remained silent for only a moment before some people in the audience began to mutter curses under their breath.

"That treacherous minister from Wei is not on our side at all!"

"A merchant by birth, a greedy and despicable man!"

"Has this mere brat forgotten the great kindness the late king showed him?!"

"Throughout history, a subject has died when his lord is disgraced. How about we brothers go and do it in the dark..."

……

Seeing that things were going wrong, Bai Qi, whose eyelids were twitching wildly, quickly shouted to stop them.

"Fortunately, His Majesty is compassionate and is willing to allocate funds from the imperial treasury to support the army. However..."

Bai Qi looked at Li Si, gesturing with his eyes, "Brother, it's your turn."

Li Si's mind raced, and he decisively jumped out, wailing and lamenting with a sorrowful expression.

"His Majesty has just come of age, and with this wedding and capping ceremony, where in the imperial treasury is there any money left?"

"Li Si was originally a minor official in Shangcai, Chu State. He was suddenly rewarded and promoted by the King, who appointed him as a guest minister. He has no way to repay the favor, but only wishes to devote all his wealth from the treasury to serve the country..."

Bai Qi's eyelids twitched violently. "No, bro, you've gone too far! I know you're eager to improve, but this isn't the way to do it!"

Fortunately, King Zheng of Qin, who had known about Bai Qi's entire plan all along, was very helpful. With a wave of his sleeve, he directly pulled the derailed war machine back onto track.

"How can a king arbitrarily deprive his subjects of their property? This matter need not be discussed further!"

King Zheng of Qin made rapid progress, and his high-pitched voice already possessed the power to evoke emotions in others.

"To support the Imperial Guards of Shanglin, I will spare no expense! I am not afraid that the royal treasury will be empty!"

Bai Qi bowed deeply, "Your Majesty is valiant. We, the people of Shanglin, have only one heart and one mind, and we swear to serve you to the death!"

Meng Tian and the other generals, who knew the inside story well, were also moved by the king's courage and their eyes reddened as they spoke.

"I swear to serve my king to the death!"

The crowd responded in unison, "We swear to serve our king to the death!"

As the noise gradually subsided.

Bai Qi waved his hand, and eight Qin soldiers in full black armor stepped forward, carrying eight square pillars.

Inside, there were four of the Six Sword Slaves who had joined the army, as well as Gen Shi and Qian Sha from the Eight Linglong, and Zhang Han and Cen Ji, who had shared life and death with him.

"The Eight Colonels of Shanglin, nominated by the King." Bai Qi handed a scroll of bamboo slips to King Zheng of Qin. "Your Majesty, please inscribe it yourself!"

"The inscription? Was it predetermined after all?" A chill ran through the group of passionate young men.

When King Zheng of Qin opened it, he was surprised to find eight novel terms.

He raised an eyebrow, nodded, and handed it to Li Si, "Prepare pen and ink."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, King Zheng of Qin picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the poem in one stroke.

[Central Base Lieutenant]

"Zhonglei? Who has the surname Zhong? We old Qin people don't have that surname!"

"Are you stupid? That's the Zhonglei Camp, meaning the central stronghold of the entire army and the gatekeeper of the camp."

"What do you mean?"

"The strongest in the entire army!"

"Now that you put it that way, we understand, don't we?"

"..."

Li Si loudly proclaimed, "The central fortress is the backbone of the three armies."

"The Commandant of the Central Battalion is the strongest officer in the entire army. Without the king's order, he is in charge of the daily drills of the eight battalions."

King Zheng of Qin wrote again, "Tiger-clad Colonel".

Li Si: "Tiger Warriors are brave and skilled warriors."

"The Tiger-like Captain is the bravest in the entire army. Clad in heavy armor, riding a strong horse, wielding a spear, he is invincible!"

King Zheng of Qin wrote again, "[Yueqi Colonel]"

Li Si: "The Yueqi are those who gallop and leap across the sky."

"The Commandant of the Yue Cavalry is the fastest in the entire army. He wears light armor, rides a light horse, and carries a riding bow. He can travel three hundred li in a day, swift as the wind, and is the best among the light cavalry!"

[Infantry Captain]

"Clad in heavy armor, wielding an axe, carrying a large shield, and brandishing a long spear, I am unparalleled in battle, charging bravely into the fray, invincible in my presence..."

[Archery Captain]

"The one who wields a three-stone bow, whose arrows pierce a hundred and fifty willows, and who fires three arrows in rapid succession, drawing his bow with both hands, shall enter..."

[Changshui Captain]

"Riding horses and shooting arrows, maneuvering warships, wielding bows and crossbows, swimming across the Wei River, unparalleled in naval battles..."

[Tank Captain]

"Riding four steeds, wielding spears and leather armor, and equipped with heavy crossbows, they fought fiercely, fortified their camps, and charged into the enemy lines..."

Crossbowman Captain

"Hand crossbows weigh four stones, foot crossbows weigh six stones, city defense crossbows weigh eight stones, and repeating crossbows for mountain observation—arrows rain down like clouds; a great wind rises, and dark clouds destroy the city..."

Finally, Bai Qi stepped forward, raised one finger, looked at everyone, and added:

"The Qin soldiers' training included spear and halberd thrusting, crossbow shooting, and short sword fighting. Our Shanglin Army should also have these skills, and we should specialize in them."

"Daily training: 50 li run in the morning, 300 drills with spear and shield at noon, and 100 rounds of sword fighting in the evening."

"Combat simulation: Break through three layers of defenses within a time limit, climb a three-zhang (approximately 10 meters) city wall with bare hands, and raise a flag."

"Tactical training: Infantrymen form dense squares with spears, crossbowmen fire accurately from behind, and cavalrymen flank and attack from behind, carrying out multi-service joint operations."

"In addition, literature teachers provide tiered instruction in the evenings."

"Those who are illiterate should learn to read, those who are literate should read military books, and those who do not understand military books should be personally taught military strategies by everyone."

"If you want, here, the future Supreme General of the Great Qin Dynasty could be one of us!"

Wang Wei raised his arms high and shouted, "Victory!"

The crowd shouted in unison, their voices like a roaring mountain.

"Victory! Victory! Victory!"

Bai Qi timely announced the Shanglin standard: "Eight hundred regular soldiers of the Shanglin Army will be selected; the winner will be king!"

Before some people could even react, malicious individuals had already begun to sabotage their companions.

"Bang!"

"No, what are you doing?"

"Hehe, brother, there are only eight hundred soldiers in Shanglin. I want to go up, but you'll have to take a backseat!"

"Go to hell!"

……

Meng Tian and his men laughed and removed their armor, then jumped into the battlefield of a thousand men in an instant.

Feeling guilty, Li Si leaned closer to Bai Qi and asked, "Won't fighting like this easily lead to accidents?"

Bai Qi shrugged. "Oh, then I'll have to trouble Li Yuancheng to find more physicians."

With that, he jumped off the reviewing stand.

Zhang Han and his eight men quickly removed their armor and followed.

As soon as Li Si turned his head, he saw a long sword being handed to him. He subconsciously reached out and took it, then froze in shock.

Qin Mu Gong Sword!

"No, Your Majesty, you..."

King Zheng of Qin twisted his neck, stretched his limbs, and smiled at him, saying, "Li Si, I'll go down and liven things up too."

But when his gaze fell on Bai Qi, who was being protected by Zhang Han and others and was bored out of his mind, a fierce glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Kid, I've wanted to beat you up for ages!"

King Zheng of Qin jumped off the platform, causing the entire audience to erupt in cheers. Only the scholar Li Si remained, holding the sword of Duke Mu of Qin, a symbol of royal power, standing alone in the wind, bewildered.

It's not appropriate for him to jump in and join now, but it also seems inappropriate not to join.

Suddenly, a cold-faced swordsman in white appeared, followed by a large group of court swordsmen.

Gai Nie's gaze fell on Qin Wang Zheng's face as he threw a punch at Bai Qi. The excitement brimming with youthful passion was something he had never seen before.

Is this the real you?