Chapter 117 Punishment
Sweat slowly slid down Qi Rong's noble and delicate face and onto his collar: "Old Zhou, just bear with it a little longer, just bear with it. Going there this time will only give him leverage. Just wait and see."
All four men were among the strongest in the army, and they found it difficult to endure, let alone the other soldiers. Old Zhang grumbled, "Is that guy surnamed Zhang an idiot? Training at noon! We can tolerate it, but how can the soldiers below stand it? At least let them eat before training!"
Lin Changning sighed and remained silent. Without a commander to call a halt, who would dare to stop training now? "Alright, Lao Zhang, keep training. I don't believe he would dare to keep training like this without letting us eat."
As the sun gradually moved westward, and lunchtime had passed, most of the soldiers began to slump, with Qi Rong and his companions looking as dark as the bottom of a pot.
That guy surnamed Zhang is a real idiot; he's really left them hanging here for so long.
In the end, almost everyone was too exhausted to speak. The group was nearly fainting from exhaustion. Lin Changning's head was spinning. Old Ma was the first to give up and stumbled to the ground.
Lin Changning swiftly grabbed Lao Ma's coat to help him up. Lao Zhang knelt on the ground, panting heavily. Qi Rong also knelt, using his waist sword for support. Lao Zhou stared intently at the guard surnamed Zhang, then looked at the large number of soldiers lying on the ground behind him and gritted his teeth: "Go and call the commander! Everyone has been without food for almost a day. No matter how much they train, they shouldn't starve to death! Or rather, they shouldn't be trying to work people to death here!"
Looking at the large, swarming group of soldiers, and then at the soldiers whose faces were mostly grim and who were glaring at them fiercely, the guards felt a chill run down their spines. They feared a mutiny was imminent, so they quickly went to call for their commander.
A guard, staring at the soldiers with eyes that seemed to want to devour them alive, reassured them, "Please rest for a while, everyone. I'll go and ask the commander for instructions!"
After saying that, one of the guards hurriedly ran towards Zhang Bo's tent. If things really went too far, with so many soldiers mutinying, they wouldn't be able to get out alive.
"Commander, Commander, everyone has been practicing all day and hasn't had a drop of water yet. Can we stop now?"
Inside the tent, Zhang Bo was fast asleep, embracing a delicate young maid. On the table were leftover fish and meat from lunch. The maid let out a soft moan and nudged the snoring Zhang Bo, saying, "Master, someone is looking for you."
Zhang Bo, lying on the bed, wiped the drool from his mouth: "Ah, um? Tell him to wait, he's asleep, don't make a sound!"
The maidservant had no choice but to lie down again. The guards outside, hearing the commotion inside, were frantic: "Commander! Aren't you going to get up and check on them? Many soldiers have already fainted; if they continue training, something terrible might happen!"
Zhang Bo snorted coldly: "Do they really dare to rebel?"
As soon as he said this, Zhang Bo suddenly realized something. His Majesty had sent him to reclaim military power. If pushed too far, he might actually rebel. After all, there were no pushovers under the King of Chu. Zhang Bo opened his eyes, rolled out of bed, and the maid beside him also got out of bed to help him tidy his clothes.
Zhang Bo patted the maid's hand and affectionately touched her face: "I'm going to take care of some things. Wait here for me to come back. Don't go out. This is the garrison. If you get caught, I'll be in trouble."
The maid nodded obediently and saw the person out of the tent. After the person left, she suddenly started rummaging through something. When she found the military tally in a cabinet, she was overjoyed.
Then, imitating the call of a dove, she waited at the tent entrance. Soon, a guard arrived, his shadow reflected in the firelight on the tent. The maid stood in the corner of the tent and gave a secret signal. After the person answered correctly, she handed over the military tally. The guard picked it up, looked around, and, finding no one, quickly went to another group of tents and handed over the tiger tally.
When Zhang Bo first arrived, the soldiers didn't trust him. The military tally was the only thing he had to mobilize troops. Qi Rong, on the other hand, had been stationed at the border for many years, and everyone in Daxing recognized his face. Even without the military tally, Qi Rong could mobilize troops without any problems. But it was not so certain that Zhang Bo, who had little to do with Daxing, would be able to do the same.
Zhang Bo walked slowly toward the training ground with his hands behind his back. He nodded and waved to Qi Rong as he saw thousands of soldiers training there: "I see you've been training all day. I'm here to check you out. Let's rearrange the troops and let me see the style of our Daxing."
Qi Rong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Commander, everyone has been training all day without a drop of water or a grain of rice. I'm afraid our physical strength is not enough to continue training today. Please be considerate of your subordinates and let us watch the training another day."
Zhang Bo sneered: "Young Master Qi, may I ask what the military law means by 'orders must be obeyed'?"
Qi Rong took a deep breath, knowing that the man surnamed Zhang probably wasn't going to let him off the hook today: "Reporting to the commander, 'orders must be obeyed without fail' means that if an order is given to stop, it must stop immediately. It means that laws must be strictly enforced, records must be clear, and execution must be meticulous!"
Zhang Bo scoffed: "Does that mean my command doesn't count as an order?"
"Of course!"
"Does Commander Qi's action constitute disobeying military orders? Guards, give him twenty lashes!"
"Wait a moment, Commander!" Lin Changning stepped forward, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
Zhang Bo stared blankly at the boy in front of him: "Speak."
Lin Changning knelt on one knee next to Qi Rong: "Commander, we cannot punish the young master."
Zhang Bo squinted his small eyes: "As the commander, what is there that I cannot fight!"
Ignoring Qi Rong's tugging at her clothes, Lin Changning stubbornly looked at Zhang Bo: "Reporting to the Commander, apart from his position as Commander, Qi Qianhu is also the heir to the Duke of Qi's mansion. The Duke is a title above the rank of nobility, and the design of punishment should be decided by His Majesty and the Imperial Clan Court. Although you are the Commander, you do not have the power to govern the royal relatives and nobles, let alone the power to punish them."
Zhang Bo sneered: "You think I'm afraid? Who knows how long he can hold onto his position as heir? Hmph."
Lin Changning also sneered: "Your Excellency, the Duke, are naturally not afraid. Datong Prefecture, west of Daxing, is the territory of the Prince of Chu. Commander, please think carefully."
Zhang Bo glared at him coldly: "Trying to intimidate me with the King of Chu? Fine, fine, if I can't deal with him, surely I can deal with you?"
"I heard you're strong enough to lift a cauldron, right? No rest today, you're to lift that stone pillar on the drill ground all night long!"
He wanted to see if this man's strength was real or not. If it was real, then he would recruit him as His Majesty had said, and at worst, offer him benefits later. If it was fake, the stone roller on the training ground weighed at least three to five hundred catties. He would be crippled or killed overnight. If he couldn't lift it at all, then he would kill him on the spot, which would be a good way to establish his authority.
Zhang Bo glared at Lin Changning with a sinister look: "What, you don't want to?"
Qi Rong gripped the knife tightly on the hilt, his reason almost snapping off a thread. If Zhang were to say another word, he might just draw his sword and start slashing.
In that instant, Qi Rong even figured out his escape route after killing that damned Zhang Bo, but Lin Changning patted his hand holding the knife and gently shook his head.
The young man's handsome face showed neither panic nor anger. He calmly patted Qi Rong's hand, which was tightly gripping the hilt of the knife, shook his head, and smiled as he looked at Zhang Bo, cupping his fists in a gesture of respect: "Your humble servant obeys."
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