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

Although the words were rough, the team gradually stabilized.

The sergeant began adjusting each person's posture one by one.

The veteran kicked the new recruit's toes straight.

A hunter teaches those around him how to breathe.

Someone moved their nearly fainting companion to a spot closer to the edge of the shadows, but the companion remained in the queue.

Meng Da looked at Qi Shan and whispered, "Sir, this method is ruthless."

Qi Shan said, "We'll be even more ruthless in the future. Only in this way can the army have fighting power."

At the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), the final standing posture begins.

This time, there was no laughter on the training ground.

The sun was setting in the west, casting long shadows.

A thousand people stood still.

Sweat streamed down his neck.

No one dared to swat mosquitoes that landed on their faces.

Li Mazi started swaying again.

The two people beside him whispered simultaneously, "Hang in there!"

The sergeant lowered his voice and said, "Look ahead, don't close your eyes."

Li Mazi's lips turned purple: "I'm hungry."

Niu Er, standing two people apart, cursed, "Hungry my ass! There are two eggs waiting for you up ahead!"

Li Mazi's eyes twitched.

He didn't fall.

A quarter of an hour later, someone in the back row leaned to one side.

Shen Yan suddenly spoke up: "Toes gripping the ground."

The man did as instructed.

They actually managed to stabilize.

Meng Da's eyelids twitched as he watched from the side.

These guys, who were like a disorganized bunch in the morning, were actually helping each other out in the afternoon.

Qi Shan did not laugh.

He only looked at the sundial.

The last sliver of shadow slowly pressed against the engraved line.

Zhao Bingkun stood under the shed, his palms sweating.

As a county magistrate, he could sense the heartbeat of a city defender just by looking at a group of new recruits standing at attention.

at last.

The shadow settled.

Meng Da grabbed the gong and slammed it down hard.

"Time's up!"

The sound spread.

The drill ground was initially deathly silent.

Then, as if their bones had been removed, the thousand people collapsed in unison.

But not a single person collapsed prematurely.

Everyone stop.

Meng Da opened his mouth, but after a long pause, he finally managed to utter a curse: "Damn it, it really worked."

The next moment, the training ground exploded.

"Li Mazi hasn't fallen!"

"Niu Er didn't fall either!"

"Zhang Wu didn't fall either!"

The woman led a group of people carrying baskets out.

This time, it wasn't just a few baskets.

There were more than a dozen baskets.

The eggs covered the bottom of the basket, dazzlingly white in the setting sun.

Qi Shan personally picked up two coins and handed them to the first recruit.

"The one who keeps the order will be rewarded."

One.

two.

From the front row to the back row.

Everyone has it.

When it was Li Mazi's turn, he took the egg with both hands, and tears fell directly onto the eggshell.

Niu Er received the egg and suddenly stopped laughing.

He stared at what he was holding and whispered, "Sir, from now on, I'll listen to whatever you say."

Qi Shan looked at him: "Listen to military orders, not me."

Niu Er was stunned.

Qi Shan turned around, his voice echoing across the training ground.

"Remember today."

"The Qingyang garrison does not live off anyone's kindness."

"Rely on military law, on ability, and on comrades."

"I told you, if you fill the line, I'll give you a reward!"

He paused for a moment.

"I will continue to say, 'I will reward you for killing the enemy, I will reward you for making meritorious contributions, and I will take care of your families if you die in battle.'"

No one stirred up trouble.

No one laughed.

A thousand people sat on the muddy ground, clutching two eggs in their hands, looking at Qishan.

At that moment, they finally understood that they were no longer just lowly refugees fleeing famine.

They have a roster.

The sun sets.

The new recruits received eggs, but they were reluctant to eat them.

Someone tucked it into their clothes.

Someone wiped it again and again with their sleeve.

Some people even tapped it lightly with their teeth to confirm it wasn't made of stone before grinning.

Li Mazi leaned against the wooden stake, and Zhang Wu kicked him from the side.

"You almost got us killed today, you brat."

Li Mazi: "I really can't hold on any longer."

Niu Er glanced at him sideways and said, "You have to hold on whether you can or not. If you collapse, I'll lose my two eggs. Then I won't beat the Yelü people, I'll beat you first."

A murmur of laughter rippled through the crowd.

Shen Yan sat in the corner, slowly peeling the shells.

He ate very slowly.

It's as if they're afraid that if they swallow it whole, it will be gone tomorrow.

The barracks started chatting again:

"What are we supposed to be training by standing here? Are we supposed to kill someone while standing?"

"I don't care what kind of training it is. As long as they give me eggs and pay, I'll do it."

Zhang Wu shook his head, "That's not how it works."

Everyone looked at him.

Zhang Wu used to work as a bodyguard for wealthy families and had seen soldiers training, so he felt he knew more about military matters than they did.

He lowered his voice.

"Today we're not standing here for the adults, we're standing here for ourselves."

Niu Er frowned: "What do you mean?"

An old soldier walked over, picked up his knife, and sat down.

"On the battlefield, the most frightening thing is not death."

"The worst thing is when one person in front shouts 'We've lost!' and ten people hear it, a hundred people hear it, a thousand people hear it. Even though they can still fight, they all run away in the end. Those who run slowly get cut down from behind by the cavalry."

"What should we do then?"

The veteran looked towards the end of the drill ground.

The lights were still on in Qishan's camp.

"So the adults want you to learn one thing first."

"What?"

"Don't cause your brothers to die."

After those words were spoken, no one in the thatched hut spoke again.

.............

"Brother Qi?"

Qi Shan looked up and saw that it was Magistrate Zhao.

"The county magistrate hasn't rested yet?"

Zhao Bingkun sat down and got straight to the point.

"I don't understand today's laws."

Qi Shan put down his pen.

"What don't you understand?"

"If anyone can't hold out, the entire camp will receive no reward. They won't hate that person, nor will they hate you?"

Qi Shan poured a bowl of cold tea and pushed it over.

"Does the magistrate know the significance of this?"

Zhao Bingkun was taken aback.

Qi Shan continued, "Has the county magistrate seen the defeated soldiers?"

Zhao Bingkun nodded.

He had seen far too much outside Qingyang City.

The border troops, who were being chased and routed by the Yelü people, cried out and rammed into the city gate, but there were only a few dozen riders behind them.

Qi Shan said, "An army's defeat doesn't necessarily mean it can't win. Sometimes, if the first ten men panic, the hundred men behind them will think they've lost; if the hundred men run away, the thousand men will follow suit. In reality, the enemy is also tired, afraid, and will die."

Zhao Bingkun held the tea but didn't drink it.

Qi Shan looked at the candlelight.

"What I'm training them isn't just standing still. It's about letting them know that if one person slacks off, the whole camp is punished; if one person stays steady, the whole camp is rewarded. In the future, on the battlefield, if one person holds the breach, the others will dare to follow. If one squad doesn't retreat, the whole unit won't fall apart."

Zhao Bingkun slowly exhaled.

He understood. This wasn't leg training; it was training discipline and mutual trust.

He had seen many generals training troops.

Some formed sworn brotherhoods through fighting, some through cursing, and some through drinking.

Qi Shan, however, started with two eggs and bound a group of starving refugees together as comrades.

He realized that Qi Shan wasn't looking at a thousand people.

It wasn't just Qingyang City.

That gaze extends even further.

It was so far away that he dared not ask.

Zhao Bingkun stood up and bowed solemnly.

"We'll make room for you in the county government office, no matter how crowded it is, if you need it for training troops in Qingyang."

Qi Shan didn't stand on ceremony.

"I need grain, salt, cloth, medicine, and a wooden plaque."

"A wooden sign?"

"Each person gets a piece, engraved with their name, place of origin, and team."

Zhao Bingkun was taken aback. "Why is that?"

Qi Shan's voice was steady, "When alive, there's a register; when dead, there's a memorial tablet."

Zhao Bingkun's fingers trembled.

A night wind blew outside the tent, and the lamplight dimmed.

He stood there for a long time before nodding.

"We'll do it tomorrow."

Qi Shan put away the paper.

"There's one more thing."