I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Outside the north city of Qingyang County.

Qi Shan stood on the command platform, looking down at the so-called Qingyang garrison below.

He remained silent for a long time.

My eye twitched violently.

Meng Da stood to the side, looking a little embarrassed.

A thousand people.

They were called soldiers, but they were more like people going to a market.

Some people had trousers that were higher or lower than others, some had their armor fastened incorrectly, and some had their waist knives hanging on the left side, bumping into people every few steps.

There were also a dozen or so newly arrived refugees, clutching wooden guns, their eyes constantly glancing towards the soup kitchen.

The most outrageous one is the back team.

Qi Shan made them line up.

As a result, half an hour later, the front row looked like a snake, the back row looked like a rope, and there was still an empty space in the middle that could accommodate two tables.

Meng Da coughed and said, "Sir, they are all new recruits, take your time."

Qi Shan glanced at him: "Are these people really here to join the army? Did you recruit them, kid?"

"Uh...yes, Lord Qi, that's right, I recruited them myself!"

"So you think they can fight a war?"

Meng Da was so ashamed that he didn't dare to raise his head.

He knew whether he could fight or not.

If you're winning a battle, it's okay to shout a few words along.

If you really encounter a barbarian cavalry charge, you'd be lucky if you didn't wet your pants.

These are all refugees and poor people; otherwise, why would anyone join the army?

Qi Shan sighed and stepped down from the command platform.

The drill ground gradually quieted down.

Many new recruits were secretly watching him.

They'd heard about Qi Qianhu so many times they were sick of it.

Two hundred men burned down Yelü's camp.

He killed Zhao Wuji with a single blow.

He returned to the city with the head of the enemy general Yelüda hanging on his saddle.

But legends aside, when they actually met Qi Shan, they found that he wasn't wearing golden armor or riding a tall horse.

It's not some kind of creature with three heads and six arms, or a tiger's head and a bear's body!

He was only wearing a dark short armor and had a knife at his waist, but... he wasn't smiling?

Logically speaking, if someone is in charge of an army of a thousand men, who wouldn't laugh?

It seems their Lord Qi is extremely shrewd!

That's right! That must be it!

Qi Shan stopped at the front of the line.

"From today onwards, you are no longer vagrants, no longer county soldiers, and no longer idlers who mooch food from anyone's family."

"You are the Qingyang Garrison."

"My Qi Shan's direct descendants!"

Someone in the crowd straightened their back.

Some people lowered their heads.

Qi Shan continued, "The first rule of the garrison is to obey orders without question."

"Can't understand?"

He pointed to a wooden stake at the edge of the training ground.

"If I say stand, you stand. If I say run, you run. If I say draw your sword, you draw your sword. If you're a breath too slow, you'll die on the battlefield. If you're three breaths too slow, a row of people around you will die."

No one spoke.

Qi Shan turned around and looked at Meng Da.

"Read the military regulations aloud."

Meng Da immediately unfolded a piece of paper and shouted, "First, those who retreat in the face of battle will be executed!"

The crowd shuddered.

"Second, those who plunder the people shall be executed!"

"Third, those who commit adultery with women and children shall be beheaded!"

"Fourth, anyone who injures a fellow soldier in a private fight shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and expelled from the military!"

Fifth, those who disobey orders will be dealt with according to military law!

Someone swallowed hard.

When they came to join the army, they mostly only heard that the army provided food, pay, and clothing.

Nobody told them that they might lose their heads before the war even started?

In the line, a burly man with a fierce face muttered, "They're beheading this and beheading that. Are the officials treating us like livestock?"

The sound wasn't loud.

But Qi Shan heard it.

He walked over.

The man's expression changed, and he tried to shrink back.

Qi Shan stopped in front of him: "What's your name?"

The man, steeling his neck, said, "Niu Er."

"What did you do before?"

"Carry the bags."

Why did you join the army?

Niu Er gritted his teeth: "We have no food at home, and my wife and children are starving to death."

Qi Shan nodded: "The army receives 300 cash per month, and rations and pay are still provided. If someone dies in battle, they receive a pension of two taels of silver, and the elderly and children in their families will be provided with rations by Qingyang County."

A low commotion instantly arose from all around.

Two taels of silver.

For these people, it's not money, it's life.

Niu Er was stunned.

Qi Shan stared at him: "If I treat you like livestock, I won't give you military pay, I won't give you compensation, and I certainly won't teach you how to come back alive."

Niu Er's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Qi Shan turned around, his voice dominating the entire venue.

"The second rule is that the entire army must be literate."

After those words were spoken, the drill ground became even more chaotic than before.

"What?"

"Do you have to study to join the army?"

"I can handle a knife, but wouldn't it be deadly to handle a pen?"

For three generations of my family, no one was literate.

Meng Da was also completely bewildered.

He leaned closer and whispered, "Sir, isn't this a bit too hasty? These guys can't even write their own names properly."

Qi Shan said, "That's why we need to learn."

He raised his hand, and the training ground fell silent once more.

"I won't let you become the top scorers in the imperial examinations."

"All I need is for you to be able to read military orders, read maps, write your own names, and know what left wing, right wing, advance, and retreat mean."

Qi Shan scanned the rough faces.

"The centurion can't read the token and led us astray; all one hundred men will die!"

"The scouts failed to report the enemy situation clearly, leading to a misjudgment by the main force, and a thousand men died!"

"If the commander makes a single wrong message, the entire troop could be scattered by the cavalry!"

"If you want to die knowing why, then learn!"

"If you can't learn it, then hit me!"

Even Meng Da shrank back.

Good guy.

You get beaten if you don't do well in your studies.

Will he get beaten up too?

Someone whispered, "Sir, can I walk if I don't want to learn?"

Qi Shan looked at him: "We can leave now."

The man was taken aback.

Qi Shan pointed outside the drill ground: "No one is stopping you. Take a bowl of porridge and leave the camp. From now on, military pay, meat, winter clothing, and land registration are none of your concern."

The previously restless crowd instantly quieted down.

go?

Only a fool would leave.

The Qingyang garrison receives two meals of dry rice a day, one meat meal every three days, and monthly pay.

The refugees outside the city are still queuing up to grab some thin porridge.

They finally got in, who wants to leave?

Qi Shan stopped talking nonsense.

"First training session of the day: standing."

A thousand people were stunned.

Qi Shan said, "Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees straight, chest up, eyes looking forward, and hands close to your trouser seams."

Meng Da led the veterans to correct them one by one.

After an incense stick had burned, the procession barely looked presentable.

Qi Shan looked towards the sundial.

"Stand for one hour."

The drill ground exploded.

"An hour?"

"Isn't this going to kill you?"

"What's the point of just standing there? We're not sitting ducks on the battlefield!"

Qi Shan only said one sentence: "Those who fill the standing room will have an extra egg for lunch."

The sound faded.

The thousand people were silent at first, then burst into laughter.

egg?

That stuff is more precious than meat.

In the countryside, most families with eggs would exchange them for salt or cloth; who would be willing to eat them themselves?

Not to mention giving them to a thousand soldiers.

Niu Er grinned: "Sir, you can't be joking with us like that."

Qi Shan didn't even look at him: "I only say what I mean once."

Training begins.

Just a moment ago, some people thought standing was not difficult.

Within half an hour, his expression changed.

My feet are numb.

My lower back hurts.

My shoulders feel heavy.

Even though I didn't run or fight, sweat was pouring down my back.

Someone secretly bent their knees.

The old soldier next to him immediately lashed his leg with a bamboo stick.

"Stand up straight!"

In less than half an hour, more than a dozen people in the back row collapsed.

Qi Shan smiled; he understood perfectly.

Few of them actually fainted; most were faking it.