After entering the military camp, Shen Yu didn't want to lose contact with the outside world, so he arranged for Nan Ying to visit him at the reserve camp on the fifth and fifteenth day of each month. If Wan Xueying had urgent matters to attend to, or if Nan Ying and the others received important news, they were to report to Shen Yu immediately.

Shen Yu currently had no plans to buy a house or shop in the county government, hoping to do so with Wan Xueying later. He had five days off from the 20th to the 25th of each month, and he wanted to return to Elm Village to spend more time with Wan Xueying. This was why he wasn't in a rush to buy a house or shop in the county government.

The next day, Shen Yu woke before dawn. Those with official positions and private courtyards like theirs could cook their own meals. The military distributed rations for the following year at the end of each year. He hadn't yet asked Bei Wu to collect their rations, so he and Bei Wu had to eat together in the mess hall.

They got up early and there were not many people in the kitchen, so Shen Yu found a seat by the window and sat down.

After Beiwu showed Shenyu's identity token at the food counter, the cook in the kitchen, in order to leave a good impression on Shenyu, not only gave them two full bowls of porridge and two plates of pickles, but also gave each of them one more black-faced dry food in addition to the three.

"Young general, please take this. If Lord Shen doesn't have enough to eat, come to me again." If the cook didn't have to continue serving food to others, he would have wanted to serve it to Shen Yu himself.

"Thank you! May I know your name?" Bei Wu asked casually after thanking him.

The cook quickly said, "My last name is Ma, so you can just call me Ma Liu."

"Okay Ma Liu, I'll take note."

Two strangers had arrived at the barracks, both well-dressed. Seeing the breakfast they had received, some clever men guessed their identities. One of them bravely stepped forward, cupped his fists, and asked, "Are you the new assistant garrison commander?"

Shen Yu nodded in agreement.

"Hello, sir! My name is Hu Yufeng, and I am a member of the reserve team. From now on, I will be your subordinate." Hu Yufeng introduced himself.

"Your name is Hu Yufeng, right? I'm new here and I'm in need of someone. I'm sure I'll need to ask you questions later." Regardless of his character, Shen Yu was still very happy that someone had surrendered voluntarily.

Hu Yufeng was delighted upon hearing this and quickly clasped his fists, saying, "From now on, if you need me anywhere, please feel free to give me your orders."

"I understand. Go get your food first, we still have training later."

"Yes, sir! Please enjoy your meal."

After Hu Yufeng finished his meal, he took two close friends to sit at the table next to Shen Yu to show his loyalty. Shen Yu took a look at their meal: each person had two small steamed buns, half a plate of pickled vegetables, and a bowl of very thin batter.

He then looked at a table nearby where several soldiers were dressed neatly and in uniform. Each of them had four steamed buns, a small dish of pickles and a bowl of relatively thick batter. It was obvious that these people belonged to the regular formation.

Not only did he see the gap between the two, but Beiwu felt even more deeply when he took a look at the food Wan Hesu was getting at another food counter.

"I am obviously relying on your help, otherwise I can't say whether I can have enough to eat." Wan Hesu, who is also a member of the reserve team, had just arrived and only got a small steamed bun, a few small pieces of pickles and a bowl of rice soup with no rice in it.

Wan Hesu did not lose his temper on the spot, nor did he come to Shen Yu to explain the relationship between them. He quietly walked to a table and started eating alone.

After glancing at him, Bei Wu asked Shen Yu, "Should I ask the cooks to take care of him?"

"No need!" Shen Yu raised his hand to stop him. "If he can't even endure this little bit of hardship and needs help from others to solve this problem, there's no hope for him."

"I understand."

"Eat, it's going to be tiring today." Shen Yu had drawn up a training plan last night. While he hadn't been in a military camp before, that didn't mean he hadn't studied military manuals or seen his own guards, or even the Imperial Guards, train. He'd even gone so far as to watch the regular formations train yesterday, and had some preliminary ideas.

After dinner, Shen Yu, led by Hu Yufeng, took Bei Wu to the training ground. Compared to the training grounds used by regular formations, this one was not only far away, but also dilapidated and empty, lacking even stone pillars or targets. It was less than a quarter the size of a regular formation's training ground.

"Do you train here every day?" Shen Yu frowned slightly. How could they train with it being so small?

"Yes." Hu Yufeng nodded, "This is the small parade ground, also called the old parade ground." Maybe he was used to it, Hu Yufeng didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Shen Yu nodded and said, "Since we came early, we will be brought here anyway, so let's run a few laps first." Then he took the lead and ran around the training ground first.

Bei Wu hurried to catch up. Hu Yufeng hesitated for a moment, but Wan Hesu had already caught up.

Hu Yufeng didn't expect that someone would take advantage of the situation at this time. He said "Tsk!" in disdain and quickly joined in with his two good friends.

Shen Yu hadn't practiced martial arts seriously for a long time, but during his exile, his endurance had improved a lot compared to before. He didn't feel tired after running around the training ground for more than ten laps.

Bei Wu and Wan Hesu were the same, running with him for more than ten laps without showing any signs of fatigue. Unlike Hu Yufeng and his two close friends, they were already far behind, their legs weak, their chests aching like they were exploding, they gasped for breath, their mouths dry and unable to speak.

After Shen Yu circled Hu Yufeng and the other two, he slowly stopped after seeing their condition.

"It's almost time, let's take a break first," he said.

Hu Yuxuan and the other two felt as if they had been pardoned. They lay on the ground with their arms and legs spread out, breathing desperately. The exploding pain in their chests was only slightly relieved.

Seeing the three of them like this, Shen Yu frowned even more. How could they be soldiers who had been training for more than a year? He wondered how these people trained normally.

Estimating the time was almost up, he looked around and saw that less than half of the nearly one hundred-man reserve force had arrived. Even Lei Yun and Yang Fei only hurried over after the gong sounded for the reserve camp's training.

"Sir!" Lei Yun clasped his fists towards Shen Yu, "I'm late! Please punish me, sir!"

Yang Fei followed up, "Please punish me, sir!"

Shen Yu glanced at the two of them and asked, "Did I ask you two to notify the reserve team yesterday to start training at noon sharp today?"

"Yes." Lei Yun answered in a low voice, his face slightly flushed, and his head almost buried in his chest.

"Have you two notified anyone?" Shen Yu asked.

"I have informed you."

After Lei Yun finished answering, Shen Yu looked at Yang Fei, "What about you?"

"Your subordinate..." Yang Fei hesitated, "I thought that even if I didn't notify everyone, everyone would know about the training at Chenshi, so I didn't notify them."

Shen Yu raised his eyebrows, his eyes becoming fierce, and asked angrily, "So you're turning a deaf ear to what I said?"

Yang Fei said with a guilty conscience: "I dare not!"

"Don't dare?" Shen Yu sneered, "I think you dare!" Then he ordered, "You two, stand aside. You are not allowed to move a single step without my order!"

"I obey your command!" Lei Yun said and turned around. Seeing that Yang Fei didn't move and seemed to want to explain, he quickly pulled his sleeve and pulled him aside.

"Stop watching the fun and line up!"

Shen Yu had just started with the two temporary captains, and the remaining reserve team members hurriedly found their respective positions and stood in line.

Looking at the disorganized troops coming in and out, and the soldiers rushing here slowly and leisurely, Shen Yu frowned even more tightly.

When someone tried to sneak into the team, Shen Yu shouted coldly, "Anyone who's late, stand behind your captains!" He then called out to Hu Yuning, who had already stood up and was standing in the team, "Hu Yufeng, step out!"

"I'm here!" Hu Yufeng took two steps forward.

"Please help my personal guards to remember who has not arrived at the training ground on time." They were not familiar with these people, so Shen Yu asked Hu Yufeng for help.

"Yes, sir!" Hu Yufeng was secretly delighted and quickly walked up to Bei Wu.

The Northern Army general Shen Yu had asked him to prepare a booklet and writing materials in a package, which he had put aside during training. After hearing Shen Yu's order, he took Hu Yufeng to the side and recorded the names of every latecomer, including Lei Yun and Yang Fei.

"Who can tell me what the punishment is for being late for training?" Shen Yu scanned everyone's faces one by one, in order to get familiar with each one.

After a while, seeing no one answered, Shen Yu turned to look at Lei Yun and asked, "I wonder if Captain Lei knows?"

"You need to add twenty laps as a penalty after the lap training."

"Then how should those who disobey orders be punished?" Shen Yu asked.

"This..." Lei Yun glanced at Yang Fei who was standing next to him unconvinced, and did not answer immediately.

Shen Yu raised his eyebrows, "As the captain, you don't know?"

"Come on," Yang Fei said, "Even if you don't say it, it's impossible for us co-hosts to not punish you. Let me do it."

"Well, go ahead."

"Those who disobey orders will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane!"

"Do you accept the punishment?" Shen Yu asked coldly.

"I accept the punishment! But I don't approve of you as a person."

"Oh? Why not tell me about it?" Shen Yu's smile became more obvious, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

"I didn't convey your order. It's my fault, so I accept the punishment. But what are your abilities? Isn't it just because of your good family background? It's a pity that you followed the wrong person and became an exile."

"What? An exile?"

"No way? If the assistant garrison commander is an exile, then how did he become the assistant garrison commander?"

"Then what was his previous origin?"

"I heard he's from the capital, so he must be someone important." Everyone began to whisper.

"Are you done talking? If you're done, shut up!" Shen Yu's eyes swept across everyone's faces again, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

"You don't need to worry about my origins or my past. Just know that I'm a seventh-rank assistant garrison commander appointed by the emperor himself. I'm in charge of whether each of you stays or goes." Having said this, Shen Yu looked at Yang Fei, "Not only did you disobey your superiors' orders, you also made irresponsible remarks about them. Two crimes combined, no, you were late for training, three crimes combined. I don't know how to punish you according to military regulations?"