Guo Xiaoke quietly munched on his pancake, watching Qin Mu deep in thought, wanting to know what he was really thinking. Guo Xiaoke had a good relationship with Qin Qiong and the others, and he knew that he was only in a supervisory capacity; the specifics of their work, or rather, the future development of the Six Doors, depended on Qin Mu and the others.
Li Shimin only established this department after encountering an assassin. The people he recruited were former members of the Imperial Guard, which, in his view, seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision. The personnel he employed were mostly juniors like Qin Mu, somewhat like training newcomers—or, of course, it could be seen as temporary staffing. How long the Six Doors could exist was a question mark; perhaps it would become a supplement to other departments, like the Bad People.
"General Guo, rest assured, I have a way to solve the problem of money and supplies," Qin Mu said with a sigh of relief.
"Hmm! Do you know what the original purpose of the Six Doors was?" Guo Xiaoke asked with a smile.
"Isn't it about investigating cases and arresting criminals?" Yu Chi Baolin asked, looking up.
Guo Xiaoke smiled and looked at Princess Changning again.
“There are many martial arts practitioners in Chang’an, and a large portion of them are from outside the city. The Bad People can’t suppress them. This should be the reason why the Six Doors were established. Didn’t His Majesty allow the recruitment of martial arts masters?” Princess Changning frowned slightly, then raised her head and said.
“Hmm! That makes sense. His Majesty has allocated a quota of one thousand people to the Six Doors!” Guo Xiaoke nodded.
“Only a thousand people! Chang’an is such a big city, how can a thousand people be enough!” Cheng Huaimo exclaimed, his eyes wide.
“A thousand men are enough. We don’t need to patrol; we’ll just investigate and make arrests! They’re all already identified targets,” Qin Mu said.
"And you! What do you think?" Guo Xiaoke's smile remained unchanged as he turned to ask Qin Mu.
"His Majesty's intention in establishing the Six Doors is not something to be speculated upon, but it is certain that he intends to pacify Chang'an," Qin Mu replied.
"Good! What you all said is very good, but the most important thing is to cleanse Chang'an! How can we allow ghosts and monsters to run rampant in the capital!" Guo Xiaoke clapped his hands in praise.
"Ah! So that's how it is!" Yuchi Baolin said in surprise.
“That’s right, just go ahead and do it. The Duke of Yi and I are here to support you! If anything goes wrong, we’ll cover for you!” Guo Xiaoke nodded.
With Guo Xiaoke's words, Qin Mu gradually felt more at ease. After all, these people who had known Li Shimin for a long time must understand him better. Neither Cheng Zhijie nor Yuchi Gong objected to their sons joining the Six Doors, which meant that the danger was not great!
Guo Xiaoke said that cleaning up Chang'an was in line with his own deduction, but with the abilities of his people, they could only deal with local thugs and small forces.
Qin Mu kept calculating in his mind, and after all that, he realized that what he lacked most was top-level experts. Without experts, things would be difficult!
Guo Xiaoke finished two flatbreads and a bowl of meat soup before leaving. As a general leading troops, he had many responsibilities, and his visit was merely out of concern that the younger soldiers might not be able to manage them. However, it seems that there are no problems so far.
When the weather cooled down in the afternoon, training began. Qin Mu did not have them do high-intensity training, but only had them line up and then help with chores! In the evening, Princess Changning and ten young clerks began to teach the soldiers to read.
The same thing happened the next day. The training was only a small part, not even a proper workout. After finishing the work, it was time for literacy training.
By the third day, observation revealed that only eighty people were interested in reading and writing. Thinking about it, it made sense; getting a group of middle-aged, uneducated men to learn to read was indeed quite difficult. Fortunately, this was all within expectations.
For ten consecutive days, they had meat with every meal, three times a day. Although they were still working, the 560 soldiers were in much better spirits than when they first arrived; their complexions were rosy and they no longer looked pale.
In this day and age, soldiers typically train every five days, with each training session consisting of a simple assembly, some practice in coordination, and advancing at the sound of the drum. Elite troops are slightly stronger, as they also have battle formations. Even so, they rarely receive physical training, mainly due to inadequate nutrition.
Although the Imperial Guards were also elite troops, Qin Mu noticed when they arrived that they didn't have much muscle and their complexions were pale. That's why they didn't immediately start training and instead spent some time recuperating.
Over the course of ten days, a training ground was prepared, so on the eleventh day, Qin Mu began formal training. He didn't really understand how to train soldiers, especially military formations, which he hadn't yet mastered. However, he remembered one thing: the most important quality for soldiers was obedience!
Drawing upon his observations from another world, Qin Mu trained his soldiers in walking and standing, making it a daily necessity; then came physical fitness and martial arts skills.
The Qin family's boxing style is simple and powerful, so Qin Mu decided to teach them a few moves, mainly focusing on power generation techniques and the Yuchi family's body-strengthening methods. Although he couldn't teach them everything, Qin Mu divided it into two parts specifically for training arm strength and footwork. Because it incorporated elements of the Qin family's boxing style and didn't use a hammer, Yuchi Baolin didn't notice anything amiss.
Yuchi Baolin and Cheng Huaimo were responsible for training the soldiers in coordinated combat, which was a minor issue for the two sons of military families.
Long-distance running, muscle stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups—these scientifically proven training methods from another world—were naturally incorporated and applied. Even basic breathing techniques were included!
After ten days of rest, the soldiers began their arduous training. They had never imagined that they would have to train every day. Such a life was rare even for those who studied at martial arts schools.
Unfortunately, military orders are absolute, and even with their complaints, they had no choice but to obey! What they complained about most was that whenever they didn't perform well in training or had the worst results, they would be punished. This system of collective punishment forced them to work even harder to avoid implicating their group members, since the worst performers also received the worst food. Seeing others feasting while they could only eat flatbread was always disheartening.
Obedience and a sense of honor! These are two essential qualities in a group, of course! Everything must be based on healthy competition. Although Cheng Huaimo and the others didn't quite understand why Qin Mu wanted to train them like that, they didn't think too much about it. After all, for them, the intensity wasn't too high, and it was quite interesting.
Everything was proceeding smoothly, and the restaurant business was booming as always. Although many people followed suit and launched braised chicken necks and pickled chicken feet, the taste was always a bit inferior to Rugui Lou, so the impact was not significant. After all, Chang'an City had no shortage of people, and one restaurant was far from enough to meet the needs of consumers.
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