Chapter 156 Training
Survival knows no gender or age! My God, what an inspiring statement! No wonder...
The county magistrate, too, kept mentioning Xie Sangning in every sentence, and it seemed that he had been thoroughly reprimanded, earning the utmost admiration from everyone.
The next stop is Tuntian District.
The neat fields stretched into the distance, and the crisscrossing irrigation ditches were like veins. The farmers were working in the fields before the sun got too strong. When they saw Magistrate Qu and his entourage, they simply stopped at a distance, bowed slightly in greeting, and showed little flattery or fear on their faces before continuing their work.
Extremely efficient, without a single unnecessary word.
Even Lin Ruhai, a man who had seen the world in Beijing, was stunned by the massive irrigation system and the orderly farming scene.
"This method of water diversion is even more advanced than that in the capital... Look at the depth of the furrows, they are all the same, it must have been done with a ruler, meticulously..."
The last stop was the drill ground inside the city wall.
The atmosphere here is completely different from the previous places; a chilling and oppressive atmosphere pervades the air.
Thousands of soldiers dressed in uniform dark-colored outfits are training under the scorching sun.
The procession moved in perfect unison, their footsteps striking the solid ground with a dull thud, like the beating of war drums.
Spears thrust forward, blades flashed, and shouts were short and powerful.
There were no middle-aged or elderly people here, only young people. Xie Sangning must have used some method to forcibly recruit them.
But regardless of whether it was forced or not, these people now only have determination in their eyes.
Lin Ziyuan murmured subconsciously, "This...this is what a soldier should be..."
No matter how you look at it, Xie Sangning is terrifying!
If it wasn't forced, she was able to get these people to train and suffer willingly. If it was forced, she didn't cause resentment among the people and managed to discipline these young people so well.
Suddenly, a huge crossbow was pushed out from the city wall and aimed at the yellow sand outside the city.
The Lin family members stood beneath the towering city gate, gazing up at this scene.
Lin Ziyuan and Lin Huan stared wide-eyed, holding their breath. No boy could resist these things!
Magistrate Qu straightened his back, his voice filled with pride: "Distinguished guests, please look! This is the backbone of our Xihan! The Iron Guards personally trained by the young lady! As solid as a rock!"
He used to not understand why it was necessary to go through so much trouble to train people to fight the bandits, but the young lady said that everyone's life is precious. The training may be tough for a while, but it will save lives and families!
Excellent! Absolutely excellent! In his heart, Xie Sangning was like rain, irrigating the entire Western Cold!
It wasn't until sunset that the group finished their visit. Everyone was still somewhat distracted, even Lin Zhu seemed to be lost in thought.
The next day, Lin Huan seemed to have found what he wanted to do, and he was full of energy. He wanted to share it with Lin Ziyuan, but found that Lin Ziyuan was already training!
Before dawn, Chen Feng's tall figure stood outside the door: "1:15 AM, drill ground. If you're even a breath late, you'll have to run an extra lap."
When Lin Ziyuan rushed to the training ground despite the biting cold, Chen Feng was already standing like a javelin.
The training was simple, tedious, and terrifying: carrying heavy leather bags filled with coarse sand, running on the sand, each step felt like sinking into a quagmire.
Then comes the standing meditation, which requires the body to be as stable as cast iron, while also enduring Chen Feng's unexpected blows to the outside of the thighs, waist, abdomen, and back.
Finally, there's the chopping with the wooden sword. Aiming at the fixed wooden stake, the angle, force, and speed must be precise. Repeat, and repeat again, until your arms are so sore and numb that you can't lift them, and the skin between your thumb and forefinger is chafed and oozing blood.
After the first day, Lin Ziyuan practically crawled back to his room, his whole body aching as if it had been broken apart.
The next morning, he was awakened by aching pain. He struggled to get up, and every step he took felt like walking on a knife's edge.
I couldn't even hold my chopsticks during breakfast, and I spilled porridge all over myself.
"It can't even hold on that long?"
Chen Feng exposed his embarrassment, "Even a seven-year-old in Xihan could carry a lamb over a sand dune more easily than you. Are the bones of this young master from the capital made of dough?"
Lin Ziyuan's face flushed instantly, a surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and he felt so frustrated that he wanted to shout back.
Just then, Xie Sangning, accompanied by Magistrate Qu, passed by the edge of the drill ground, seemingly on his way to inspect the city's defenses.
She didn't stop walking, her gaze only lingering for a moment on Lin Ziyuan's disheveled and hunched figure: "Take it easy, don't really ruin it. If it doesn't work, we'll have to send him back intact. The Lin family is still counting on him to carry on the family line."
The tone was devoid of concern or encouragement. Lin Ziyuan straightened his back abruptly, wincing in pain, but biting his lower lip tightly. Facing the sandy ground ahead, he mustered all his strength and took another heavy step.
Chen Feng watched his stubborn back, and the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Meanwhile, Lin Huan, unable to find Lin Ziyuan, headed straight for her destination.
Yesterday, after he applied to Xie Sangning, Magistrate Qu handed him over to Wang Tuozi, the best-skilled but also the most mean-spirited old carpenter in the neighborhood.
Wang Tuozi had a severely hunched back, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.
He didn't even glance at Lin Huan, and instead fiddled with a base with a complex mortise and tenon structure: "Standing there as a door god? Over there, scraps, a plane, a chisel, a ruler."
His withered fingers pointed to the mountain of scrap wood and tool racks beside him, then tossed over a rough drawing of a simple mortise and tenon structure. "Make it exactly like that, perfectly fitted. If it's even slightly off," he looked up, his cloudy eyes coldly sweeping over Lin Huan's pale hands, "you'd better redo it! Wood isn't something for rich young masters in the capital to waste!"
Lin Huan's face flushed red instantly.
He walked over silently, picked up the tools, and clumsily copied the blueprints.
His hands, which had never been used to manual labor, were quickly rubbed red by the rough wood. Sweat mixed with sawdust stuck to his face, making him look disheveled.
"Tsk," Wang Tuozi glanced at the crooked, half-finished product in his hand, the gaps wide enough to stuff rice grains, as he passed by, and sneered mercilessly, "Useless snack! A waste of wood!"
The disdain and contempt in those eyes hurt more than a whip lashing Lin Huan's face.
Lin Huan clenched his teeth tightly and remained silent.
That spoiled brat attitude, cultivated since childhood, was gradually crushed by this naked contempt and sense of defeat.
He refused to believe it and endured the pain, trying again and again.
If you fail, just quietly change the piece of wood and start over.
Even when their fingers are swollen and broken, they don't care at all.
The day was almost over, and it was completely dark outside.
He finally managed to hammer another mortise and tenon joint into place, just as Wang Tuozi strolled over.
He picked up the component, examined it critically under the light for a few moments, weighed it in his hand, and then casually tossed it back onto the workbench.
"It's a dog's fault." It was still a curse, but there was no mention of redoing it.
Lin Huan's heart skipped a beat.
What are you standing there for?
Wang Tuozi had already turned and walked to another workbench, leaving behind a sentence: "Tomorrow you'll come learn how to polish from me! Open your eyes!"
A sour, astringent taste suddenly rushed into Lin Huan's nasal cavity.
He looked down at his red, swollen, and bruised fingers, then touched the piece of wood that had been criticized as being chewed up by a dog but was finally usable. An unprecedented sense of peace settled into his heart.
He finally managed to create something useful with his own hands.
This day brought a tremendous impact to the two young masters of the Lin family, but it also made them feel incredibly fulfilled.
That night, the two finally returned to the mansion and burst into tears under the distressed gazes of the rest of the Lin family.
"It's bitter! It's so bitter, Mother!" Lin Ziyuan wailed, "But I'm so happy!"
Just as Wei was about to show off her maternal love, her lips twitched, and she went back to her room without looking back.
Lin Zhu stood under the corridor, looking at everything before him.
His face was deeply lined with wrinkles, but his eyes were full of satisfaction.
The wind and sand ruffled his gray hair and beard. He stood there for a long time before turning around, leaning on his cane, and walking step by step toward Xie Sangning's study.
The study door was ajar. The guard bowed silently and pushed the wooden door open for him.
The interior was dimly lit, with a huge sand table occupying the central position, meticulously simulating the terrain of Xihan and its surroundings, and marked with small flags of different colors.
A huge map of the Western Han defenses hung on the wall, marked with various symbols in vermilion ink.
Xie Sangning stood in front of the map.
She stood tall and straight, dressed in a neat black outfit, her long hair simply tied up, completely different from her aristocratic demeanor in the capital.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around and bowed: "Great-grandfather, you've arrived? Please have a seat."
Lin Zhu slowly walked to a round chair covered with thick animal hide and sat down, resting his cane beside him.
After a long silence, Lin Zhu's aged voice broke the stillness, filled with worry:
“Sang Ning, you little girl,” he stared at Xie Sang Ning’s profile as she turned around, “tell your great-grandfather the truth, how far do you really intend to go with all your painstaking efforts and careful planning? Do you have any plans in mind?”
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