Upon seeing this, Hu Dazhuang immediately led them to line up and stopped those who tried to force their way into the cafeteria.

"Everyone, come and stand in line!"

"Our cafeteria is too small to hold so many people, so we have to let them in in batches!"

"Big guy, if we get there late, there won't be any food left!"

"Won't!"

"There will definitely be enough food; we guarantee everyone will have enough to eat!"

"oh?"

The crowd was skeptical when they heard this, but when it was their turn, just as Hu Dazhuang had said, pots of freshly cooked food were served, enough for all of them to eat.

Xue Shisan wasn't hungry; he had eaten his fill at home before coming, and his wife had even brought him a lot of dried meat and flatbread in case he got hungry on the way.

Therefore, as soon as he entered the cafeteria, he looked around, first at the size of the cafeteria, and then at the food.

When he saw the dish was glistening with oil, he couldn't help but marvel.

"You can still find oil and grease here?"

Hu Dazhuang smiled smugly upon hearing this.

"Today was a bad day. I guess there were too many people and we didn't have time to prepare."

"The dishes we eat every day not only contain oil, but also meat!"

"There's still meat?"

Xue Shisan didn't believe this. He had never seen a Zhechong Prefecture that provided meat, and he had only ever seen one that provided meals!

"Your lord is really rich..."

"Of course!"

"Didn't I tell you long ago that our Lord has the ability to turn stones into gold? If he wanted to make money, he could become richer than a country in an instant!"

Hu Dazhuang's words shattered Xue Shisan's confidence.

He toiled from dawn till dusk for a year, earning only a hundred or two hundred strings of cash. Compared to the Commandant of the Vanguard, that amount wasn't even enough for a single day's expenses...

Xue Shisan had lunch with the others, and then Hu Dazhuang pulled him back to the dormitory, where he repeatedly explained the military regulations to them and made them memorize them all.

This is not difficult for Xue Shisan. He only needs to change the military regulations of the Tang Dynasty to all ten strokes of the rod, and he can seamlessly integrate them.

It's just that there are some hygiene-related regulations that I need to memorize.

The next day, they were pulled out of bed early and made to go out for a run with Hu Dazhuang.

After they finished their warm-up running, I led them in line drills.

Xue Shisan had received formal military training and knew how difficult the seemingly simple formation was.

But when he actually got involved, he realized that just the number one or two was enough to give him a headache for a while...

"You guys are all idiots! You can't even tell left from right!"

Hu Dazhuang finally found a scapegoat and unleashed all the insults Li Jue had hurled at them over the past month on these idiots who had just entered the military camp.

Hu Dazhuang's words immediately provoked the dissatisfaction of several troublemakers. They used to be top performers in the army, and when had they ever suffered such humiliation?

"Who are you calling a big dummy?!"

"I'm insulting you!"

"Will you say another word?"

"So what if I call you a pig's head!"

I'll fuck you to pieces!

A small-scale brawl broke out on the spot, with Hu Dazhuang leading several brothers from Sanglin Village in a fight with more than a dozen newly arrived soldiers.

It wasn't until Li Jue arrived with his two masters that the crowd was separated.

"What's going on!"

"My lord, they're not behaving properly!"

"Captain, they called us pigs!"

Li Jue listened to the two groups' statements and looked at the old man.

"Elder Mu, how do other armies of the Tang Dynasty handle such situations?"

Li Jing smiled upon hearing this.

"Fights are inevitable in the military; they're usually settled with a beating!"

"good!"

"Then let's use military rods. Everyone involved in the fight will receive ten strokes of the military rod!"

Hu Dazhuang panicked upon hearing this.

"My lord, shall we also be punished?"

"certainly!"

"The military regulations clearly state that those who engage in fights without cause will be punished with military flogging!"

"My lord, we didn't fight without reason. We had a reason. They wouldn't listen to me, so I cursed at them a few times..."

Li Juecai was too lazy to listen to his explanation and shouted directly at the firing squad.

"Drag everyone away and give them ten strokes of the military rod!"

The new recruits, who were initially somewhat resentful, immediately obeyed and followed the execution squad to receive their punishment when they saw that even the Commandant of the Vanguard had beaten his own personal guards.

However, some people, seeing how heavily guarded the Sanglin Garrison Commandery was, secretly began to consider retreating.

They weren't people who lacked food or clothing, so the meager pots and pans distributed by Sanglin Zhechong Prefecture wouldn't even register in their eyes.

They came to Sanglin Zhechong Prefecture with only one purpose: to join the army, fight, earn military merit, and achieve upward social mobility for themselves and their families.

Although it is difficult to enter other military prefectures, it is not impossible. As long as you are willing to spend money and find people, you can still get in.

Therefore, while the execution was taking place over there, some people over here were already thinking about packing up and leaving.

Li Jue had already guessed their thoughts. After the execution was over, he immediately stood on the platform, took a large paper megaphone, and shouted to everyone.

"It's not too late to quit now. Wait a month and I'll submit the roster to the court. If you still want to leave then, you'll be deserters!"

"deserter?"

Upon hearing this, the group of troublemakers' eyes turned red.

The most taboo thing in the Tang army is desertion. If the Zhechong Duwei said this, wouldn't he be saying that they can't endure hardship and can only be deserters for the rest of their lives?

The group of people who had just started thinking about quitting immediately abandoned the idea upon hearing the word "deserter".

They can't afford to lose face like that!

If they were to withdraw from Zhechong Prefecture now, they would be branded as deserters and cowards for the rest of their lives!

Even when I'm having sex with my wife at home, I'm too ashamed to sit up there!

Seeing that no one had left, Li Jue immediately said "Oh" in surprise.

Aren't you leaving?

"I'm not leaving!"

"We will never be deserters!"

"The soldiers of the Great Tang Dynasty live to die!"