Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 137 A Bird Startled by the Bow

You know what, sometimes threats are more effective than heart-to-heart talks.

And after setting off again, this "refugee" army became much more obedient. At least their marching speed increased considerably, and they even organized a defensive formation exercise.

For the next two days, the troops maintained this marching pace and conducted drills twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Although each drill was still chaotic, it was no longer like the beginning, where a bunch of headless flies were flying around aimlessly.

By now, Zhou Ye had long since given up hope on this army. He didn't expect them to have much offensive power, but at least they could hold their ground and defend—right?

Of course, Zhou Ye did not mistreat his subordinates for this "high-intensity" training.

The daily meals consisted of one soupy meal and two dry meals, ensuring everyone was well-fed. Lunch and dinner each included 50 jin (25 catties) of salted fish and meat. This was essentially a diet exceeding that of ordinary people.

Two days later, the thousand-strong force finally left the "safe zone" surrounding the county town and entered the "chaotic zone" where rioters were rampant.

That day, Zhou Ye sat cross-legged in a carriage, practicing the Mirage Realm Free and Easy Skill.

By this time, almost all military affairs had been entrusted to Niu Meng. Zhou Ye's personal hundred-man unit had also been reorganized into his personal guard. In addition to guarding, the personal guard mainly performed miscellaneous tasks such as feeding horses, driving carriages, cooking, and transporting goods.

With no other distractions, Zhou Ye resumed his relentless, non-stop work ethic!

Suddenly, Zhou Ye opened his eyes, leaped out of the carriage, and flew towards a hill next to the group.

Upon realizing that Zhou Ye had suddenly darted out, all the soldiers in the thousand-man squad were completely bewildered, and they all stopped in their tracks.

A dozen or so breaths later, Zhou Ye had already crossed the hill. About 200 paces ahead, he saw a dozen wild dogs chasing four children. One of the older children shielded the others behind him, brandishing a sickle and desperately trying to fight back.

However, the children were too weak. Just as the two wild dogs dodged the sickle and bit the child's throat, the children had already closed their eyes in despair, but suddenly they heard a few "swish swish swish" sounds.

After a long while, the children opened their eyes in fear, only to find a tall, imposing figure standing before them—a man wiping away drops of blood from a blade. Around them lay the corpses of wild dogs—

More than half an hour later, the four children had been placed on the mule cart next to them. The soldiers were happily cleaning up the dozen or so wild dog carcasses.

While Zhou Ye would certainly not touch the meat of such man-eating wild dogs, the refugee soldiers weren't picky eaters. At least it was fresh meat. Even the dog skin probably belonged entirely to Zhou Ye, but it would still keep them warm for the rest of the day.

Zhou Ye, not wanting to spoil the fun, ordered his men to set up camp on the spot. He figured he might as well let the soldiers enjoy a dog meat feast!

The camp was filled with a joyous atmosphere. Some were starting fires, some were baking flatbreads, some were setting up iron pots, and some were butchering wild dogs.

Eight pieces of meat soup were cooked.

Soon, the entire camp was filled with steam and the enticing aroma of flatbread and meat broth. Many soldiers happily gathered around the iron pots.

But just then, several desperate shouts rang out: "Enemy attack! The enemy is here! Run!" In an instant, the entire camp erupted into chaos. People scattered in all directions, and the place quickly descended into disarray.

The same thing happened on Zhou Ye's side. Wu Liqiang jumped in front of Zhou Ye, drew his sword, brandished it high, and cried out in a trembling, high-pitched voice, "Come quickly! Protect our lord!"

Hearing the shout, the rest of the personal guards continued to scatter in all directions. But eight or nine men did manage to surround Zhou Ye.

However, most of them forgot to draw their weapons and huddled together like little quails.

Interestingly, even the four children hesitated for a moment before running to Zhou Ye's side.

Zhou Ye was both amused and exasperated. He pushed aside the few weaklings in front of him, leaped onto the carriage, and gazed into the distance.

Just a few hundred steps from the camp, we saw more than twenty small black dots appear.

However, these people were clearly homeless vagrants. They were attracted by the aroma of food. They didn't want to leave, but they also dared not approach.

The sudden explosion in the camp startled even the refugees. However, after retreating a dozen steps, they still couldn't bear to flee.

The situation inside the camp became even worse.

Then they saw Niu Meng leading his veterans, shouting and desperately trying to restore order. But the refugee soldiers, like a flock of frightened sheep, continued to run around hysterically.

Fortunately, there had been several drills before, and most of the refugee soldiers hadn't completely lost control; they still retained a sliver of rationality. Even as they ran around wildly, these refugee soldiers didn't flee the camp. And under Niu Meng and his men's punches and kicks, they finally remembered to form a defensive formation.

But there were still a dozen or so "clever" ones. They had already escaped the camp and were running wildly in all directions of the wilderness.

Holy crap! This world really is just a makeshift operation, huh?

Zhou Ye took down his bow and arrows, and heard a series of "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sounds.

Arrows rained down on the wise men, a final warning. Many were so frightened their legs gave way and they collapsed to the ground. But they also regained their senses and dared not continue their escape.

Actually, running away wouldn't be very useful, would it? In this desolate wilderness, with its bitter cold and snow, you still wouldn't survive if you just ran away like that. Not everyone is a time-traveling cheat code.

But two clever individuals, after rolling around in terror, continued their frantic run, shouting, "Run! The enemy is coming!"

Zhou Ye shook his head. He gave a wry smile and sighed, "Whoosh whoosh."

Two arrows struck the two men squarely in the back of the head, pinning them to the snow-covered ground.

More than half an hour later, the camp finally returned to order, and some soldiers were cleaning up the mess. The twenty-odd refugees were also escorted back by Niu Meng and his men.

After all this commotion, two people died and seventeen were injured, six of whom suffered serious injuries such as fractures. That's a reduction of about 10% in personnel.

The heads of the two clever men had been severed and displayed on the flagpole. The captured refugees trembled with fear.

"General! Please forgive us." The elderly man leading the refugees bowed. His voice trembled as he explained, "General, we only wanted to beg for some food. It wasn't—"

Zhou Ye raised his hand to interrupt: "What should I call you?"

"Old man Yu Lian. They all call me Uncle Lian."

"Lord Lian, don't be afraid. I'm not the kind of person to hold a grudge without reason. I've seen everything; you mean no harm. Make arrangements to give each of them a meal. Make sure they're all well-fed."

"Thank you! Thank you, General!"

From the subsequent conversation, Zhou Ye learned from Lian Bo that because the chaotic area had completely lost its order, the people here were divided into two types—one was various bandit gangs; the other was people who had formed strongholds for self-protection. These were people of the same clan and hometown who relied on a stronghold to survive together.

Of course, in many places where people set up strongholds for self-defense, changing clothes can also turn them into bandits.

As for Lian Bo, there were actually quite a few wandering refugees in the wilderness. In the beginning, whether it was bandits or those who formed strongholds for self-defense, they would rob the able-bodied men and women. The remaining old and weak were simply left to fend for themselves in the wild.

But now, they're only interested in young women; they're too lazy to even capture able-bodied men. There are simply too many of them; they can't even feed the bandits and the villages they live in.

That's why there were six able-bodied men with Lian Bo here, while the rest were old and weak. On the contrary, there wasn't a single young woman left.

After understanding the situation, Zhou Ye immediately instructed Niu Meng: "Register those six able-bodied men and then incorporate them into the army. As for the others—form a supply corps and have them do laundry, cook, and other odd jobs. They will receive the same food and lodging as the soldiers. Oh, and those four children will stay with my personal guard."

Forget everything else, let's recruit a few new soldiers first.

Hearing this, Niu Meng hesitated somewhat: "General, we know nothing about their background. What if—?"

"What's there to be afraid of? We'll need to bring in new refugees anyway. Aren't they refugees too? Besides, that kind of chaotic..."

Chaos ensued; our soldiers were just running around in all directions. But at least Lianbo and the others didn't run away, right?

Niu Meng couldn't help but laugh out loud: "That works too! It'll fill the gap from before."

"Oh, right, bring all the injured people over. I'll see if I can treat their wounds."

"Oh? General, you can also heal the sick and wounded?"

"So-so. I've learned a little bit, I guess!" Zhou Ye laughed. "You know, in this desolate wilderness, you can't even find a veterinarian, can you?"

After discussing it, the two quickly decided to stay there and rest for a few days. This would allow the wounded to recover and also help the soldiers regain their morale.

And taking advantage of this rest period, Niu Meng will intensify the training of the troops. Even if it's last-minute cramming, surely they shouldn't become so easily frightened as they have this time?

Then there were the medicinal herbs. Zhou Ye instructed Niu Meng to send a few soldiers, carrying his 500 taels of silver notes, on horseback back to the county town to purchase a large quantity of wound medicine, typhoid medicine, frostbite medicine, and diarrhea medicine from Wang's Pharmacy.

Zhou Ye couldn't afford to spend any more money. He realized that he really couldn't do without the medicinal herbs. Now that he had acquired some medical skills, he wanted to make use of that advantage.

"General, once we reach Wufangtai, we won't be far from the Weihe River rescue operation. There will definitely be merchant caravans accompanying the army there, making it easier to purchase medicines and such."

"It's better to have some stockpiled ourselves for peace of mind. By the way, what about military caravans? Why don't we have any here?"

"Who would follow us? There's no way we'd have any business. Those unscrupulous merchants have no idea that you, General, would be so generous."

"hehe."

The military matters were temporarily put on hold. Zhou Ye once again entrusted everything to Niu Meng, becoming a hands-off manager.

However, those few who haven't abandoned you yet, even if they're of no use, should at least be given some reward.

Now, Zhou Ye feels more and more that he still needs a few trusted confidants who can help him to some extent.

Damn it! Because Zhou Ye was surprised to find that the greatest danger in this war seemed to be being driven to death by those bastards under his command!

He called Wu Liqiang and the others, including the four children, to his side.

He first addressed the four children, saying, "I will make arrangements for you. You will stay by my side from now on. When you reach the appropriate age, I will teach you martial arts."

"Thank you, sir!" The child who led the way was named Xiao Kang. Under his lead, the four children kowtowed repeatedly to Zhou Ye.

Zhou Ye was taken aback. He hadn't expected to turn them into household slaves! This wretched world. Feudal thinking is deadly. Anyway, for now, let's leave it at that!

Zhou Ye tossed Wu Liqiang a bottle of low-grade Qi and Blood Pills. Wu Liqiang was startled, then burst into laughter.

"Junior Brother Wu, how many years have you been at the Core Formation stage? Have you ever taken any elixirs before?"

"Junior brother is unworthy of such praise. Lord General, I have been at the Core Formation stage for three and a half years. My family has always been poor. I only took two packets of Qi and Blood Powder when I broke through to the mid-stage of the Core Formation stage."

"Then this bottle doesn't count. From now on, I'll give you one Qi and Blood Pill every month. If you have any questions about your cultivation techniques or martial arts, you can come and ask me anytime."

"Thank you so much!"

Finally, there were the remaining nine people. Zhou Ye waved his hand: "Line up, one at a time. I'll examine your physiques."

Amidst their anxious expressions, Zhou Ye examined each of their physical attributes: "Your physical attributes are all decent; you all have the potential to learn martial arts. I will teach you a set of Minor Wind and Thunder Stance techniques and a ten-style military swordsmanship. As agreed, I will try my best to help you break through your cultivation barriers and achieve internal strength, but the path of martial arts is arduous, and not everyone will succeed. However, as long as you break through your cultivation barriers and achieve internal strength, I will give you a packet of Qi and Blood Powder every month."

To be honest, these people have decent natural talent, after all, they've been carefully selected by nature. It's just that they're a bit older. Therefore, they're quite confident in finding the right Qi, but not all of them will successfully break through to the next level of internal strength.

That's absolutely right. Zhou Ye wanted to teach them martial arts. Becoming a martial artist at the Entry-Level Realm would certainly be better than being an ordinary person.

Right?

Hearing that they could get a chance to practice martial arts, these people were overjoyed. They immediately kowtowed, and some even wept with joy.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, sir! I will never forget your kindness!"

However, at that moment, Wu Liqiang whispered a reminder: "General, would your martial arts school agree to you privately teaching such techniques?"

In the martial arts world, passing on knowledge privately is a major taboo, almost as serious as betraying one's master and ancestors.

Zhou Ye chuckled: "I have a master's certificate; I am the master of our martial arts school."

"Oh, oh!" Wu Liqiang suddenly realized. Then there's no problem.

In reality, such instruction in martial arts techniques would at most just mean giving the greedy young man a sum of money. But given the current situation, the old man probably wouldn't be so inclined to ask for more, right?

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