In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

Upon hearing this, a collective gasp of astonishment erupted across the training ground.

The Qing'aojing camp was built against the mountain, and its outer perimeter was about two miles long.

Twenty laps, that's a full forty miles! And you still have to carry thirty pounds of weight!

This isn't training troops; it's clearly trying to kill them!

Among the group, several ruthless bandits who originally came from Black Wind Stronghold exchanged glances, a hint of ferocity flashing in their eyes.

One of the bald men, with a face full of scars, couldn't help but mutter, "We haven't even had a sip of hot soup this morning, and they're making us run forty miles. Are they treating us like livestock?"

"Who's speaking? Show yourself!"

Li Guangbi's ears were incredibly sharp; his gaze instantly locked onto the bald man.

The bald man, steeling himself, threw his sword to the ground, strode out of the ranks, and shouted defiantly:

"I told you! I came here to live the high life with Master Yang, not to put up with your wrath! While I was slaughtering people in Black Wind Gorge, you were probably drinking cat piss somewhere!"

The atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Everyone held their breath and stared at Lee Kwang-pil.

Li Guangbi did not fly into a rage; instead, his expression remained remarkably calm.

He walked slowly up to the bald man and looked him up and down.

"Do you think my words have no effect in this camp?"

"I only admire Boss Pei and Young Master Yang!" The bald man arrogantly raised his chin.

"Alright." Li Guangbi nodded, and suddenly drew his sword from his waist without warning.

A flash of light.

"Pfft!"

A large, healthy head shot into the sky, and crimson blood gushed out of the headless corpse like a fountain, splattering the surrounding soldiers.

The bald man's head rolled onto the yellow earth, his eyes still wide open, as if he had no idea how he had died.

The entire room fell silent!

Everyone was stunned by the sudden bloodshed, even Pei Zhao, who had been standing in the front row, had his pupils shrink.

"General Li! What are you doing?!"

Pei Zhao was shocked and stepped forward to question him loudly.

This bald man was, after all, one of his old brothers; he didn't deserve to die.

Li Guangbi slowly wiped the blood-stained sword clean on the corpse's clothes, then turned his head and stared coldly at Pei Zhao.

"Deputy General Pei, are you questioning my military law?"

Li Guangbi raised the blood-stained tiger tally high, his voice as cold as the deepest hell.

"My lord, you have entrusted this tiger tally to me. In this camp, I am the supreme authority! Military orders are absolute; those who disobey, disrupt the morale of the army, or disrespect their superiors will be executed without mercy!"

"Pei Zhao, as the deputy general, you have failed to manage your subordinates properly, resulting in disobedience within the camp. According to the military law of the Tang Dynasty, you should receive fifty lashes! However, considering this is your first offense, I will give you a chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service."

Li Guangbi pointed to the corpses on the ground, then to the group of trembling soldiers.

"You, right now, immediately shoulder the loads and lead the run! If you fail, I'll chop you down with me! Obey the order!"

Pei Zhao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.

He looked into Lee Kwang-pil's emotionless eyes, then at the corpse on the ground, and finally, he slowly loosened his fist.

"Here you go!"

Without uttering another word, Pei Zhao removed his armor, slung a heavy backpack full of sand and stones over his shoulder, and rushed out of the training ground without looking back.

With the deputy general leading the way, and the still-bleeding corpse serving as a deterrent, the other soldiers dared not hesitate for a moment. They frantically shouldered sandbags and followed after him with all their might.

This is just the beginning of this grueling training.

For the next two weeks, Qing'aojing Camp was completely transformed into a living hell.

During the day, there are physical training exercises that challenge the limits of human endurance and tedious array drills.

Li Guangbi's requirements for formations were so demanding that they were difficult for ordinary people to understand.

The three hundred crossbowmen had to complete the formation, nocking, and firing the moment they heard the horn while running at high speed, and the entire process could not exceed three breaths.

To train their courage, Li Guangbi even personally stood next to a target fifty paces away, wearing heavy armor.

He ordered the crossbowmen to close their eyes, listen for sounds to pinpoint locations, and fire a volley at the wooden stakes around him.

If even one person's hand trembles or deviates from the designated position, the entire squad will be punished, stripped naked, tied to a wooden stake, and whipped with a leather whip soaked in salt water.

The training of those eighty heavily armored cavalrymen was nothing short of insane.

Lee Kwang-pil was well aware of the immense value of the high-bridged saddle and the double-sided stirrups.

He personally donned a full set of heavy armor, mounted the tall horse clad in leather armor, and showed all the cavalry what a true steel behemoth looked like.

In the center of the training ground stood a row of sturdy barricades made of logs as thick as large bowls.

"Watch closely! This is what a cavalry charge looks like!"

Li Guangbi firmly planted his feet in the stirrups, leaned forward, and held a heavy steel lance horizontally, tucking it tightly under his armpits.

He didn't wave his arms, but instead completely merged his body with that of his warhorse.

"drive!"

The warhorse let out a wild neigh and charged toward the barricades like a speeding chariot.

The heavy hooves slammed into the ground, causing the entire training ground to tremble violently.

With the powerful stability of the double stirrups, Lee Kwang-pil remained as steady as a mountain during his high-speed charge.

"BOOM—!!!"

A loud bang.

The sturdy barricades, strong enough to stop ordinary infantry charges, shattered like paper under the overwhelming kinetic energy of the heavily armored cavalry.

The thick log broke into several pieces, which flew everywhere.

Li Guangbi and his horse broke through the obstacle, reined in the horses a few dozen paces away, turned around, and looked at the group of dumbfounded cavalrymen.

"See that?! You're not human, you're monsters clad in iron armor! As long as your feet are in the stirrups, nothing can stop your charge! Even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of ​​fire, you'll pave your way through it!"

Under the relentless and brutal training of this renowned Tang Dynasty general, the team, which originally carried a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) and the rough and unrefined spirit of a caravan, began to undergo a complete transformation.

Their eyes were no longer unfocused, but instead gleamed with a bloodthirsty ferocity, like those of hungry wolves.

The movements were no longer chaotic; every gesture carried a breathtaking uniformity.

Most importantly, an iron will called "military discipline" has been deeply ingrained in their very bones.

Even Pei Zhao, who was always proud and arrogant, was completely convinced of Li Guangbi's worth after undergoing two weeks of grueling training.

He finally understood how laughable and fragile the lone warriors of the martial world were in the face of a real war machine.

……

Unlike the deafening battle cries at the Qing'ao Well camp, a heavy and anxious atmosphere permeated the study of the Yaozhou County government office.

"My lord, we can't keep spending like this!"

Cui Shen, the chief steward of the county government, held a thick account book in his hands, sweating profusely, his bloodshot eyes filled with heartache.

"General Li's training of troops has indeed produced an unparalleled elite force. But... but the expenditure is simply a bottomless pit!"

Cui Shen spread the account book out on Yang Xuan's desk, his fingers trembling as he pointed to the shocking numbers on it.

"To ensure the soldiers' stamina, General Li has demanded that the camp have meat at every meal! We've almost bought up all the live pigs and fat sheep around Yaozhou! And the crossbow bolts—the fine steel bolts that the craftsmen worked day and night to forge—have suffered enormous wear and tear during training. Not to mention the fine feed for those eighty warhorses; they eat better soybeans and eggs every day than people do!"

"In addition to purchasing pig iron and leather, providing relief to wounded soldiers, and repairing barracks... this month, we not only spent all 50,000 strings of cash we earned from Qing'ao Well, but we even lost more than 2,000 strings of our savings!"

Cui Shen became increasingly alarmed as he spoke, his voice even trembling with a hint of tears.

"My lord, we're burning money! Even a mountain of gold couldn't withstand this kind of digging!"