Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Dian Wei grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Don't worry, my lord, my eyes are sharper than an eagle's! If he makes one less, I'll make him make ten more!"

The soldiers below turned green with rage.

The soldiers: "..." Suddenly, they felt that the future was bleak.

Carrying 30 pounds of weight and running 50 li (Eastern Han Dynasty!!!)? Your legs would be ruined after that, right? And then there are push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups... that's deadly!

But no one dared to utter a sound—Dian Wei was watching closely.

Next, Liu Ce pointed to the battle formation, which was the core of Li Shimin's military training: "You eight hundred men will be divided into eight teams of one hundred each, each with a number. One team will be the main attacker, the second will provide flanking support, the third will cover the rear, and the rest will be mobile! Today we will practice the 'Wedge Formation'—the front row of thirty men will wield long spears, the middle row of two hundred men will wield broadswords, the rear row of fifty men will wield powerful crossbows, and each flank will have one hundred men providing support! Change formation according to my drumbeats: advance when the drum is fast, defend when the drum is slow, and retreat when the drum stops!"

The soldiers were completely bewildered—they had only practiced simple square formation charges before, and had never seen such a complex formation before.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Liu Ce decided to step in himself.

"Come forward, eight team leaders!"

The eight team leaders stepped forward in response.

Liu Ce led them to the center of the open space, gesturing as he explained, "The wedge formation is like a large cone. The vanguard must be sharp, piercing straight into the heart of the enemy formation! The flanks must be fast, able to encircle and outflank! The crossbowmen in the rear must ensure their arrows hit their mark, without wasting a single arrow!"

The eight captains watched intently, and the soldiers craned their necks to see as well.

After the demonstration, Liu Ce asked, "Did you understand?"

The eight team leaders nodded and said, "We understand!"

"Did you really understand it?"

Liu Ce expressed his doubt, "Then you guys do it once."

The eight team leaders looked at each other, then reluctantly began to imitate. The result was predictable—the movements were stiff, the coordination was awkward, and Liu Ce shook his head in disbelief.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

He called for a halt, "That's not how it's done! Let's do it again!"

After being taught this way five or six times, the eight team leaders finally started to look somewhat professional.

Next, he had the eight captains simulate their positions, while he acted as the "enemy" and demonstrated how to break the formation and how to change formations.

"See that? If our army breaks through from here, your flanks must quickly converge to form an encirclement! If the enemy's forces are strong, the vanguard must immediately contract and switch to a circular defensive formation!"

The soldiers watched intently.

So formations can be this flexible? So fighting isn't just about charging forward?

After the demonstration, Liu Ce ordered: "Now, each team, stand in your assigned positions according to your numbers. First, practice your posture! Chest out, stomach in, buttocks up, eyes forward, stand like this for an hour! This is to train your discipline and your patience!"

The eight hundred soldiers immediately straightened their backs and stood still.

The eight hundred soldiers immediately straightened their backs and remained motionless.

In January, the chill of winter hadn't yet dissipated, but cold sweat quickly broke out on the soldiers' foreheads.

Sweat streamed down their foreheads, soaking their training uniforms and causing an unbearable itch, but no one dared to raise a hand to wipe it away—Dian Wei stood at the front of the line, leaning on his iron halberd, his tiger-like eyes wide open, watching everyone's movements.

He strode over to whoever swayed even slightly and barked in a stern voice, "Stand up straight! You can't even take half an incense stick's time?"

An hour later, when Liu Ce finally called for a "rest," many soldiers' legs went weak and they almost knelt on the ground.

But before they could even catch their breath, Liu Ce ordered them to practice teamwork: "Everyone hold hands, form a circle, and march in unison! Your steps must be synchronized. If anyone lets go, the whole team will have to do extra training carrying weights for ten li!"

This is much harder than simply running.

Eight hundred people held hands and formed a large circle, then began to march in unison.

It was fine at first, but after a few steps it became chaotic—some people took big steps, some took small steps, some used their left foot and some used their right foot.

"They've let go! They've let go!" Dian Wei, with his sharp eyes, immediately pointed to the third team and shouted.

The soldiers in the third team looked dejected and resignedly ran off to carry sandbags.

Liu Ce ran alongside the group, shouting as he went, "Remember! In the Royal Guard Battalion, if one person makes a mistake, the whole battalion is punished! You are a unit, not individuals! On the battlefield, one person's mistake can lead to the annihilation of the entire unit!"

They practiced like this repeatedly, from morning until sunset.

The eight hundred soldiers were so exhausted that they collapsed on the ground, too weak to even lift their hands, but no one uttered a sound—it would be useless to utter a sound, Dian Wei would not be soft-hearted, and neither would their lord.

Liu Ce walked to the front of the column, looking at the soldiers who were exhausted but whose eyes remained resolute, and nodded with satisfaction: "Today is the first day, and you did very well! Starting tomorrow, we'll add another item—night raid training! Learn night combat methods, how to identify flags in the dark, and how to locate enemies by sound!"

Soldiers: "..." More? This is inhuman!

Liu Ce added, "As your personal guards, your food and benefits will be improved from now on! You'll have meat every day, all you can eat! Your pay will be doubled! Those who perform well will receive extra rewards!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes immediately lit up.

It was tiring, but with meat to eat and money to earn, it was worth it!

"Thank you, my lord!" the eight hundred men said in unison, their voices much louder than before.

Liu Ce turned and patted Dian Wei on the shoulder: "E'lai, these soldiers are yours to train rigorously. In three months, I want to see a elite personal guard that can sweep away thousands of enemies!"

Dian Wei knelt on one knee, his iron halberd planted firmly on the ground, and his voice boomed like thunder: "Your humble servant obeys! Three months from now, I will surely present my lord with an iron-blooded personal guard!"

...

Evening, in the study of the Liu residence.

After having dinner with Cai Yan and Zhen Jiang, Liu Ce went to the study.

He sat in his seat, reviewing today's training in his mind.

"The Royal Guard Battalion... needs a resounding name."

Liu Ce stroked his chin and asked, "Yice Battalion? Champion Guard? Dragon Soaring Battalion?"

After much deliberation, he decided: "Let's call it the Dragon Soaring Camp. It has the imposing presence of a dragon soaring and a tiger striding."

The name has been decided; the next step is the training plan.

"Relying solely on Dian Wei for training is not enough."

Liu Ce muttered to himself, "I need to bring in the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun to be instructors and properly train their horsemanship and mounted combat. The Imperial Guard must be able to fight on both horseback and on foot."

Then there are weapons and equipment.

The equipment of the Longxiang Battalion can follow the "high-end customization" route.

He placed an order through the system.

Eight hundred sets each of the modern-craftsmanship restored Mingguang Armor, special alloy long spear, high-strength horizontal sword, composite bow, and special shield.

With this equipment, the Longxiang Battalion's combat power can be directly upgraded to a higher level.

"I want to build a special forces unit for the Three Kingdoms era!" Liu Ce thought ambitiously.

But then another problem came to his mind: crossbows.

The horn bow of the Eastern Han Dynasty had a range of only 150 paces, and the draw weight required considerable arm strength. Soldiers who practiced for a long time not only suffered from arm pain but also had poor accuracy.

"We need to improve our long-range weapons." Liu Ce's eyes lit up, and he grabbed a brush and spread out some paper.

He first drew a composite bow—not the kind of modern high-end product, but a "version that could be realized with Eastern Han technology."

The bow is made of three layers: ox horn, mulberry wood, and tendon. The side is labeled: laminated structure, doubles the tensile strength, and has a range of over 300 paces.

Two small pulleys were added to the end of the bow arm. Note: These are labor-saving pulleys that can be used by ordinary people.

The bowstring is woven from oil-soaked animal sinew, and it is labeled: wear-resistant and not easy to break, with a service life three times that of ordinary bowstrings.