Chapter 194 Da Zhuang Returns
"Okay!" Xu Zhenying's eyes narrowed into a line as he smiled. "I do have an urgent matter to entrust to you. As you know, with the current chaos and turmoil, we must build up our own strength, so I have been recruiting soldiers. Currently, Lan County has recruited about 5,000 soldiers. I hand these 5,000 men over to you. Train them into a team capable of fighting and winning!"
Liu Dazhuang never expected that Xu Zhenying would entrust him with such an important task as soon as he returned!
And it was a team of 5,000 soldiers!
When he was a scout in the army, he had only a hundred people under his command at most, but Xu Zhenying gave him five thousand people right away?
Liu Dazhuang's expression changed again and again, as if he wanted to refuse, but he couldn't say it out loud. After all, he had just returned, and Xu Zhenying was willing to hand over so many people to him, which fully proved her trust in him.
Seeing this, Xu Zhenying said, "Brother Dazhuang, if you have any concerns, please speak up."
Liu Dazhuang had no choice but to speak honestly: "May I ask the City Lord whether these five thousand people are male and female?"
Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows, "Why, you don't want to train female soldiers?"
"Not really, it's just that the soldiers are of varying quality, making it difficult to train them. Furthermore, training both men and women together is…"
Xu Zhenying interrupted him with a smile, "The soldiers I'm giving you are not rookies. At least their physical fitness is good. Apart from anything else, these 5,000 soldiers are basically all literate and have learned the art of war!"
Liu Dazhuang stood up in shock. "Five thousand people, and all of them can read?"
Don't blame Liu Dazhuang for finding it incredible. Truly, among the soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not one could read. Those who could read were at least centurions or staff officers.
But Xu Zhenying said that these 5,000 soldiers were all literate, and more importantly, they had learned military tactics!
He had only read some military books superficially, but he didn't understand them very well. How could he lead such a team?
Qian Zhenniang smiled and explained, "Brother Dazhuang, you've just returned to Lan County, so there's a lot you don't know yet. The city lord has been promoting universal education for a long time. Soldiers were definitely the first to learn to read, followed by those aged thirteen to fifteen. These people can immediately take up their posts after learning to read and reading a few books. Now, it's not just in Lan County; the trend of universal education has spread to the countryside. I'm afraid that at least three or four out of ten people in Lan and Ye counties can read."
"I don't know if you've noticed, but the soldiers of Lan County are completely different from those of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Our soldiers are all capable of both civil and military skills. Not only is physical strength a requirement, but cultural literacy is also paramount. Those of these five thousand soldiers who fail the cultural literacy test will be sent back. Not to mention the city lord has to give them classes in military theory, war psychology, and mathematical applications every night. These soldiers are absolutely capable of fighting ten to one!"
These words made Liu Dazhuang even less confident.
In fact, he had already discovered when he first entered the city that those people in uniform were soldiers from Lan County. As people who had served as scouts, their observation skills were naturally first-class.
Therefore, he could see the uniqueness of these soldiers more clearly.
Putting aside other things, what do soldiers look at? Their demeanor, military appearance, and eyes.
The soldiers of Lan County were all dressed neatly, their uniforms were exactly the same, even the number of buttons on their buns was particular, not to mention the hair ties of the female soldiers were all the same color, making them look like the same person.
Whether they are standing, walking or running, their bodies are tense, never slacking off, and their backs are straight.
And their eyes are firm and fierce, and they look like tough guys at first glance!
How can this be called a rookie!
Even the generals of the Zhou Dynasty would feel ashamed of themselves!
Are all the soldiers in Lan County like this?
Liu Dazhuang was somewhat skeptical about his life. He said helplessly, "City Lord, perhaps I don't know as many words as they do. I'm afraid I can't suppress them."
Xu Zhenying encouraged him, "Brother Dazhuang, there's no need to belittle yourself. I, Xu Zhenying, am not a nepotist. I had my reasons for letting you train them. Of course, you need to brush up on your academics. Although the military emphasizes unconditional obedience, if you're worse than them, they'll naturally disobey you."
Liu Dazhuang looked grim.
This... I have to study again?
When I was in Shouzhou before, Feng'er often reminded me to study more. But when I returned to Lan County, Xu Zhenying targeted me again!
Everyone in the Xu family is poisonous, right? Why do they all like studying and taking exams like crazy?
Liu Dazhuang didn't dare to tell Xu Zhenying what he was thinking. After all, he had just expressed his willingness to let Xu Zhenying do what he wanted, but the next moment he started to make excuses and refused. He felt bad about it.
"But don't worry, I'll have my fifth sister give you some private lessons. You need to hurry up and study to catch up. In the past, soldiers in Lan County had half a day for drill and half a day for cultural studies, but things have changed now. Please intensify your training. After all, you're the only one among us who's been on the battlefield. You need to get these new recruits to see blood as quickly as possible and turn them into real soldiers. Especially the female soldiers, you'll have to spend more time training them."
Liu Dazhuang looked embarrassed, "City Lord, does this matter have to be handled by me?"
"It has to be you. I don't trust anyone else with things like military training. I can't find anyone else I can trust except you."
Liu Dazhuang also knew the seriousness of the matter and could not refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and accept the task. However, he also asked: "Why is the city lord so anxious? As far as I know, apart from Qianzhou, there is no war in Jinzhou Prefecture at the moment."
Xu Zhenying laughed, "If you don't plan for the future, you'll have immediate worries. We can't wait until the war reaches our doorstep before training our soldiers. Besides, I have a feeling that since both the north and the south are rioting, our paradise of Lan County will not be spared either."
Liu Dazhuang's face became solemn and he accepted the task with great concern.
After Liu Dazhuang left, the room fell into silence.
Qian Zhenniang and Xu Zhenying both remained silent.
The two of them recalled the news Liu Dazhuang had just brought back. Qian Zhenniang's face was filled with worry: "City Lord, has the chaotic world really arrived?"
Xu Zhenying sighed, "I don't know how long this will last, ten years? Twenty years? I wonder how many lives will be lost and how many people will be displaced. Zhenniang, my power is still too small..."
Qian Zhenniang looked at the man and said word by word, "Girl, one day, we will become very strong, strong enough to protect everyone we want to protect. One day, there will be no war or hunger in this land. Just like you said, that fair and beautiful world will eventually come."
And I am willing to go through fire and water for that prosperous era.
Not long after Liu Dazhuang left, his appointment letter was announced on the bulletin board at the entrance of Lan County Government Office.
It’s just that ordinary people don’t care about who will be the chief instructor. Instead of worrying about who will be the instructor, they would rather worry about whether they can eat the first bite of Lanxian pork in the afternoon.
Apart from the soldiers who posted the notice on the bulletin board, the common people just took a look and left in boredom.
Liu Dazhuang walked aimlessly on the street. He had only stayed in Lan County for more than a month before following Xu Huiming and others south. In his memory, Lan County did not seem to look like this.
He felt like he had fallen into a different time and space, and couldn't even find his way east, south, west or north. Not to mention that the city of Lan County was crowded with people, the sounds of hawking were everywhere, and the shops on the street had all changed. Liu Dazhuang had no idea where he was going.
Since he has the letter of appointment issued by Xu Zhenying, shouldn't he report directly to the military camp?
But his mind was still a little confused.
How did he become the chief instructor of these 5,000 people without knowing what was going on?
As far as he knew, the highest-ranking soldier in Lan County was Xu Zhenying, followed by the chief instructor. Before that, it was Jiang Yongkang. Later, Ming Xiaoshuang temporarily took over for a period of time, and then the position has been vacant. Now all affairs in the military camp should be handled by Mo Jinchun.
Liu Dazhuang sighed and had to go ahead no matter how reluctant he was.
Lan County was overcrowded, and the house he used to live in had been occupied by refugees, forcing him to go directly to the military camp.
There is an office of the Ministry of Military Affairs in Lan County, which is not difficult to find. Liu Dazhuang found the place after asking a few people.
This place is a three-courtyard place with a sign hanging at the door that reads "Lan County Military Affairs Office". People come and go inside, both men and women, and although they are busy, they are well-organized.
Liu Dazhuang stood at the door, looking a little out of place.
Someone saw him from a distance and called out, "Hey, young man, the tour of the standardized breeding farm is over. It's right next door. If you want to learn about breeding, come back in a few days. The notice hasn't come out yet, so wait until Director Fang notifies you before coming back!"
Standardized farming?
As soon as Liu Dazhuang entered the city, he heard the people talking. He remembered that the factory had not been built before he left, but Fang Xun succeeded so quickly?
Liu Dazhuang was a little dazed.
He couldn't help but sigh again that Lan County had changed so much.
"This..." Liu Dazhuang didn't know how to address the other person for a moment. The young man seemed to be treated like this often. He smiled and said, "You are from another place, right? We don't call people "officials" or "characters" here. Just call me comrade."
"Comrade." Liu Dazhuang followed the local customs with some difficulty. "Is Mo Jinchun here? I need to see him."
"Instructor Mo, you've arrived at an inopportune time. There was a food tasting at the farm this afternoon, and he's been there with his men to maintain order."
What a coincidence.
"Where is the Xishan Camp in Nalan County?"
The soldier suddenly became alert and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Liu Dazhuang looked around with a pair of sharp eyes. "Let me introduce myself. I am the new chief instructor, Liu Dazhuang."
Liu Dazhuang?!
The soldiers were shocked, and the soldiers in the house put down their work one after another.
Liu Dazhuang, why does this name sound familiar?
At this moment, a heroic woman rushed out of the room. She stepped forward quickly and saluted Liu Dazhuang: "Chief Instructor Liu, female soldier instructor Wang Sanniang reports to you!"
The others looked bewildered. Although they didn't know what was going on, they immediately saluted like Wang Sanniang, "Hello, Instructor Liu!"
Liu Dazhuang still felt a little uncomfortable with having a woman in the army, but considering Xu Zhenying's gender, he would inevitably have to deal with women no matter what he did in the future.
Liu Dazhuang adapted to the local customs. He looked Wang Sanniang up and down and saw that her eyes were bright and she looked very energetic. When he heard her say that she was a female soldier instructor, he knew that this woman definitely had some skills.
Liu Dazhuang couldn't keep a straight face, so he gave what he thought was a very friendly smile, "How do you know my identity?"
Wang Sanniang told the truth, "I often hear the city lord mention you, and your letter of appointment was delivered at noon! I believe you haven't been back to Lan County for a long time, and many things may be unfamiliar to you, so I came here to wait and see if there is anything I can help you with."
Liu Dazhuang now understood why Xu Zhenying promoted this girl.
He has good eyesight, is sincere and thoughtful, and doesn't make people feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, I just returned to Lan County today and was given this mission in a time of crisis. There are indeed some things I'm not very clear about. Please tell me about it."
"Yes!" Wang Sanniang went to serve tea personally, but the other soldiers were not surprised. They just reported to Liu Dazhuang and then went about their business.
Liu Dazhuang vaguely felt that the soldiers of Lan County were indeed completely different from those of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
If it were in the Zhou Dynasty, there would be no reason to let Wang Sanniang serve tea. I'm afraid the other soldiers would have rushed to do it long ago.
The soldiers here seem more inclined to complete their tasks.
Although Liu Dazhuang looks big and strong, he is actually very delicate. Otherwise, he would not have been valued by Xu Zhenying and sent to Xingyuan Prefecture to kill Huang Yazi.
Liu Dazhuang was very cautious, so he decided to observe more before taking up the position.
Wang Sanniang brought tea, and there was no sign of servility in the whole process. She was warm and thoughtful, as if she was entertaining an old friend, which made Liu Dazhuang, who didn't like flattery, feel very good.
Liu Dazhuang got straight to the point, "Do you know where the previous chief instructor Jiang Yongkang went?"
Wang Sanniang shook her head. "He must have gone on a secret mission for the city lord. There are rules in the army; we can't ask or tell."
Well, she is quite vigilant. Although she is a woman, she is quite alert.
Liu Dazhuang had to admire Xu Zhenying's ability to train talents.
"Who is managing the daily affairs of the army now?"
"Instructor Mo is in charge. The female soldiers were previously in charge of Instructor Feng, but after she left, I took over."
"Give me a brief overview of the male and female soldiers."
Wang Sanniang hadn't expected that the newly appointed Chief Instructor Liu would also like to give impromptu tests like the city lord. No way, why do all the people in the Xu family's government team love taking tests so much?
Although she was complaining, she carefully sorted out her thoughts before speaking, "There are currently 3,600 registered male soldiers, 1,200 female soldiers, and 300 logistics personnel. We are currently mainly training at the West Mountain Camp. There is a mountain over there. The female soldiers are at the foot of the mountain, and the male soldiers are on the mountain. Instructor Mo will train the male and female soldiers separately."
“How do you separate the training?”
"Culture and technology are separated into morning and afternoon classes. Female soldiers have cultural classes in the morning and drills in the afternoon. The opposite is true for male soldiers."
"What are the types of troops and their numbers?"
"There are about 5,000 men and women in total, including 500 archers, 200 swordsmen, and the rest are unclassified."
"Drills, what do you usually practice?"
"Standing at attention, strength training, close combat, heavy-duty assault, reconnaissance and tracking, and specialized training. For example, archers have separate courses."
Liu Dazhuang's eyebrows jumped when he heard this.
Wow, this is a decathlon!
They are even learning reconnaissance and tracking. This is not training soldiers, it is clearly training generals!
Liu Dazhuang had a hunch that any one of Xu Zhenying's troops could be a captain in the army of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Oh, and there are actual combat exercises every Friday afternoon."
"What is a combat exercise?"
"The 1,200 female soldiers are divided into six groups. Everyone takes turns drawing lots to decide who will be the commander. The city lord will issue some tasks, and then the six groups will pair up to fight each other, simulating actual war situations and cultivating our combat capabilities."
Liu Dazhuang suddenly felt like running away.
This... let him be the chief instructor? What is he going to teach?
But he didn't show it on his face. "So what exactly do you study for cultural subjects? I heard you have exams?"
Wang Sanniang nodded. "That's right. The cultural courses include War Psychology, Military Theory, Practical Military Law, Extremity Survival, and Jungle Tracking. Sometimes Teacher Xu teaches, and sometimes the City Lord teaches us. There are weekly exams and rankings. If you always rank high in both cultural and technical scores, you'll be given priority for promotion."
Hearing this, Liu Dazhuang couldn't hold back his expression anymore.
It turns out that all the soldiers under Xu Zhenying got to their positions through hard fights and their own abilities?
Somehow, Liu Dazhuang felt even more anxious.
He was worried that he couldn't suppress this group of soldiers who were both talented in literature and martial arts, and he was even more worried that his level was not enough and he would be embarrassed. He thought about it over and over again but couldn't find a solution. He could only ask Sanniang: "Did Ming Xiaoshuang serve as the chief instructor for a period of time before?"
"Yes, but Comrade Xiaoshuang is not in the army now." Wang Sanniang hesitated as she spoke, but then she thought that Liu Dazhuang would find out sooner or later, so she said directly, "He made a mistake before and has been demoted. He is now studying in an intermediate literacy class."
Liu Dazhuang was stunned. "What happened? Tell me in detail."
Wang Sanniang had no choice but to tell Liu Dazhuang about the previous riot of refugees in Shizixin Village.
Liu Dazhuang didn't expect that someone would be so bold as to seize Xu Zhenying's power!
He and Ming Xiaoshuang have a very special relationship. Although one was a soldier and the other was a prisoner when they were exiled, Ming Xiaoshuang had joined Xu Zhenying very early on, so Liu Dazhuang had long regarded Ming Xiaoshuang as his own.
Hearing that Ming Xiaoshuang was demoted suddenly, he couldn't help feeling anxious, but then he remembered that Xu Zhenying has always been loyal and righteous, and this move can be regarded as training Ming Xiaoshuang to prevent him from making bigger mistakes in the future.
Liu Dazhuang couldn't help but feel curious about where all those who had been exiled had gone, so Wang Sanniang told Liu Dazhuang about the recent situation.
When Liu Dazhuang heard that Xu Yinxi was going to Ye County to be the female county magistrate, he couldn't help but be shocked.
He recalled the discussion between Xu Zhenying and Han Ruqing under the moonlight on the road to exile. At that time, Xu Zhenying had spoken with certainty about women serving as officials. He did not expect that only half a year later, she actually did it!
At this moment, Dazhuang felt mixed emotions.
Why didn’t I realize that Xu Zhenying had this ability at that time?
Not really. Throughout their journey, they had been making soap, living as refugees, and attacking cities as bandits. Wasn't there anything that wasn't led by her, Xu Zhenying?
This Xu Zhenying...is not an ordinary woman at all!
I'm afraid that all the men in the Great Zhou Dynasty put together are not as good as her!
Liu Dazhuang was a bit panicked and wanted to flee. After much thought, he decided to go find Ming Xiaoshuang. So he said to Wang Sanniang, "I have something else to do. Could you please go to the men's camp and tell them that I will be reporting in later tonight?"
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