Chapter Fifteen: Qin Officer Trains Troops in the Deep Mountains

  An arrow whizzed past Qin Lei's body, taking away the jade pendant at his waist.

  Qin Lei fell to the ground and rolled several times, hiding under a large cart. He looked back at the top of the mountain cliff, wondering where the arrow had come from. At this time, there was no one there, only the grass and trees swaying slightly, it was unclear whether it was blown by the wind or something else.

  Ashen-faced Zhang Jian was supported by Iron Eagle as he hobbled over, having twisted his foot while getting under the carriage. Just then, they bumped into Qin Lei who was emerging from under the vehicle.

  The two of them looked at each other with wry smiles and sat down face to face, without their usual banter. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

  Tie Ying handed over the cold arrow with some surprise, and it was actually a headless arrow.

  Qin Lei played with the headless arrow, thinking for a moment, then put it aside and said to Guan Tao in a low voice: "I was wrong. With such a big loss, I am responsible." Although the statistics had not been reported yet, Qin Lei also knew that more than ten people had died and dozens were seriously injured.

  Zhang Jian comforted him, saying: "Your Highness should not blame yourself like this. If it were not for your decisive command, the losses would have been even greater."

  Qin Lei shook his head and said, "A good fighter has no great achievements. If I had not taken into account my uncle's face at the beginning and personally trained the Shen family guards instead of giving orders through my uncle, we would not have ended up like today, being ambushed and caught off guard."

  Zhang Jian remained silent. He didn't know about Qin Lei's special instructor background and only thought that the prince was taking responsibility for Shen Luo, but since they were uncle and nephew, he couldn't say anything.

  At this time, Shen Luo came over after sweeping the battlefield, his face was very bad, the statistics had already come out, 16 people were killed in battle, 18 people were seriously injured, and one-tenth of their combat effectiveness was lost in just a short period of time.

  Qin Lei helped him sit down, pulled out a dagger from his boot, opened the bandage on his arm, and examined it briefly. He frowned and said, "The wound has reached the bone." He called Tie Ying to get a splint from the carriage, applied some ointment, and fixed it in place. Finally, he wrapped it neatly with gauze, all within the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Shen Luo watched his skilled movements, feeling puzzled but also moved, so she didn't ask any questions.

  After finishing all this, Qin Lei suddenly said: "Uncle, please authorize me to command the guards with full power."

  Shen Luo also understood his own inadequacy, he had only fought with bandits before, and the difference between that and real combat was huge. Just now, a few giant boulders had almost knocked him out. It seemed that being a merchant was still more promising for him, he said to himself in ridicule.

  He nodded and smiled at Qin Lei: "As I said earlier, everyone in our household listens to your arrangements."

  Qin Lei said gratefully: "I will definitely not disappoint Uncle's high expectations." Everyone did not mention whether Qin Lei had the ability to lead the army.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  A night without words.

  The next day, the sky was bright and clear. Qin Lei stood in the empty space and let Tiewu blow the horn loudly.

  The mysterious guards came out of their tents one after another to check the situation. When they saw the Fifth Prince smiling at them, they quickly woke up their still sleeping companions and gathered in front of Qin Lei three or two at a time.

  After a while, Qin Lei still smiled and asked: "Is everyone here?" One of them who had helped Qin Lei carry the boxes, relying on his familiarity with the prince, replied loudly: "Everyone is here, Your Highness."

  "Except for those who can't move."

  The crowd burst into a fit of laughter, and Qin Lei also smiled and said: "Brother Xu is indeed comprehensive." Then he bowed to the crowd with his fists clenched, and solemnly said: "This time, it was all thanks to the efforts of you brothers who fought to protect me. Thank you, everyone."

  Everyone hurriedly returned the courtesy, mouths uttering in disorder: "How dare we not exert our utmost strength." "Your Highness is being polite." "This is what we should do."

  Qin Lei stretched out his hand and loudly declared that each of the brave guards who had killed the enemy would be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, those who were injured would receive double that amount, and the families of those who had died would be given special compensation. The entire camp erupted in cheers and applause. Everyone praised the generosity of the prince.

  Qin Lei smiled and said: "You're thanking the wrong person, I'm also a generous uncle, didn't take out a single cent."

  The guards also laughed and said: "Your Highness is one family with our old master, thanking you is the same as thanking our old master."

  Qin Lei didn't argue anymore and called out a few people who had stood out in yesterday's battle, while the rest went to rest.

  There were twelve people. Qin Lei appointed them as squad leaders and also let them elect three team captains, who were in charge of combat, escort and reconnaissance respectively.

  The most troublesome thing was that a man named Shi Yong was elected as the captain of the combat team, who had just killed five assassins and accounted for one-third of the total number of enemies killed. The man called "Xu Dage" by Qin Lei, Xu Ge, was elected as the captain of the guard team. Another man, Hou Xin, was elected as the captain of the scout team. Qin Lei did not appoint Tieying as the captain of the guard team, he had another task for him.

  Qin Lei let these people sit in a circle, standing in the center of the circle, looking at the excited faces one by one, and laughed: "You guys are not officials, right?"

  These newly baked squad leaders were busy making faces, Qin Lei rolled his eyes and said: "If you want to laugh, just laugh, if you choke to death in this wilderness, there's no place to go."

  Everyone's expression relaxed, and a gentle laugh broke out.

  Qin Lei added fuel to the fire: "As a team leader, salary and benefits will be much higher, isn't that exciting?"

  Twelve people pecking at rice like little chickens, nodding frequently.

  "But this also means higher demands and heavier responsibilities. If someone is surpassed in training, they will be removed; if they make mistakes in battle, they will be removed; if they are collectively impeached by their teammates, they will be removed!"

  Three "withdrawals" made the new officials stunned, these guards were the house servants of the Shen family, the longest had been serving in the Shen family for eight generations, and were the lowest-ranking people in a big aristocratic family, but they all read books and practiced martial arts, not ordinary commoners. These people clearly knew that the person in front of them was a prince of Qin country, although he was humble in Qi country, he was a real prince, noble beyond words.

  Who wouldn't cherish the opportunity to get close to a noble? Who would dare not listen? Moreover, this prince seems approachable and generous.

  Qin Lei had no way of knowing the psychology of these people, and even if he did, he would only be happy. He understood that people have their own ideas, which is not a problem, as long as they can bring all the ideas together. This is what is meant by "unity of purpose" - only when hearts are united will strength be directed in one direction. This is what is meant by "upper and lower levels having the same desire".

  Qin Lei let the squad leaders voluntarily choose their team leader, as a result four followed Shi Yong, three followed Xu Ge, and two followed Hou Xin. Then he let Tiejing supervise the squad leaders to be chosen by the team members.

  Only Qin Lei and the three captains were left in the field. Qin Lei said sincerely, "The journey to Hangu Pass is fraught with danger, please unite with all your heart, if we return to Beijing safely, I will share honor and wealth with you."

  The three men stood up excitedly and said: "Dare we not die for our country."

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Qin Lei slowed down his military advance and began to train three troops in the mountains. The protector of Qi State urged him several times, but he let Shen Luo hold them off each time.

  Two hundred miles of mountain roads were walked for a month, with an average of seven miles per day! This also created a miracle in the history of military marching, Qin Lei said with self-mockery.

  A month's time can't fundamentally change this team, and they still need to be on guard against enemy raids, so they can't overexert themselves in training. Qin Lei only had the 120 people of the combat squad practice the three-talent formation in groups of three: one person with a gun, one person with dual knives, and one person with a knife in one hand and a shield in the other, capable of both ranged and close combat, offense and defense.

  Then they were divided into black and white teams, using makeshift wooden weapons dipped in white powder to attack each other. Sometimes the two sides had an equal number of people and fought with great enthusiasm, while at other times one side was vastly outnumbered, resulting in them being beaten until their faces were bruised and swollen. Qin Lei told his team members that it was a test of their reactions in different situations, but gradually some clever ones discovered that almost every time they played the weaker side and got brutally beaten, it was always the small teams that had not trained enthusiastically the day before.

  This discovery quickly spread throughout the entire squad, and each of the small team leaders gritted their teeth and shouted at their own team members: "If anyone dares to be lazy and shirk responsibility, letting our whole squad get punished, rest assured that when we return, the whole squad will beat you up again!"

  The atmosphere in the camp was tense, and no one dared to slack off during training. When each team showed their fighting spirit, gritting their teeth and making the training almost like real combat, with people occasionally getting beaten to the point of not being able to get up, the teams began to be at odds with each other. At this time, a certain ruthless prince would timely stand out to comment on each team one by one, pointing out their shortcomings and highlighting their strengths. Afterwards, it was the whole camp's grand dinner meeting.

  When the moon rises, the Fire Head Army sets up a grill over the bonfire, hangs the mountain goats and yellow sheep caught by the scouts on it after skinning and washing them clean, and brushes seasonings on them repeatedly. The meat gradually turns golden yellow, the oil seeps out, and sizzles and crackles as it drips onto the fire, stirring up the flames in bursts. It also stirs up the saliva of the fighting troops sitting around in a circle, making their mouths water.

  When Qin Lei suddenly pulled out two jars of fine wine, the atmosphere instantly reached a boiling point. Qin Lei handed one jar to Shi Yong and held up the other, waving his hand to open the mud seal. Shi Yong followed suit. The team members seemed to have smelled the aroma of the wine. Even Huai Da couldn't help but sniff hard, with a look of intoxication on his face.

  These people have been sleeping in the wind and rain since leaving Beijing, and the wine they brought with them has long been drunk. They probably haven't smelled the taste of wine for a month now.

  Qin Lei raised the wine jar with both hands above his head and shouted: "Let's get drunk together!" After finishing, he tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

  After drinking, he shouted loudly: "Refreshing!" and handed the wine jar to the first person on his left. The team member was excited and finished the wine jar, also taking a big gulp, shouting: "Refreshing."

  The comrades who sat together were originally a bit awkward when they saw the opponents who were fighting fiercely. But as the wine jar was passed from hand to hand, they suddenly remembered that they were all comrades-in-arms who could rely on each other for life and death, so they smiled at each other with embarrassment and drank down that little awkwardness with wine.

  All of this was seen by Qin Lei, who exchanged a smile with Shi Yong, drew out his knife and began to slice the roasted meat.

  ~~~~~~~~

  The next day's training session saw team members in high spirits and more serious about their training, but without any intentional moves to hurt each other, the atmosphere was much better.

  Qin Lei said to Tieying, "Injuries during training are inevitable, but we must be mindful of controlling our emotions and not lay hidden dangers for future conflicts." Tieying nodded in acceptance.

  ~~~~~~~~

  For the ninety-man escort squad, Qin Lei mainly taught them how to protect important figures, especially His Highness the Crown Prince, which was his specialty and came naturally to him. He demonstrated and explained things like advance scouts, ambushes, decoys, cover, and rearguard actions one by one.

  Also teaches them how to raid and support combat teams. Similarly, using the method of combat squad, grouping against each other, those who perform poorly will be assigned to the most unlucky task next time.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  As for the 70 scouts in the seventh squadron, they didn't have it as good as the first two squadrons. Qin Lei deeply felt that the scouting abilities of this era were weak and he racked his brains to train these rookies. Sometimes in the camp, he would hide a few turnips and order them to search for them in small teams. Those who couldn't find any wouldn't get dinner, and the leftover dinner would be given to the team that found the most turnips.

  Qin Lei told them this was a drill for their ability to find clues.

  Sometimes, they would put some radishes on the top of a mountain ten miles away and draw strange patterns. They were ordered to climb to the top in small groups and then return. The team members thought that whoever picked up the radish first would win again. After a group of people rushed back with the radish, Qin Lei announced that all the teams had drawn the strange patterns they saw on the mountain top. The radishes suddenly looked foolish, staring at each other: They indeed had an impression because it was too visually impactful, but they didn't take it to heart.

  Finally, the team led by Hou Xin drew five patterns, although they were all similar but not quite right, and won the championship. Generally, most teams drew two or three, and the worst one didn't even draw any.

  Qin Lei's face was stern as he said, "Those who rebuke must have a standard to follow, those who wait in expectation must have something to look forward to. To have a standard is the first requirement of rebuking and waiting in expectation, it means adding one's own thinking and judgment. Since you've discovered an abnormality, why didn't you think about it? Why didn't you write it down? You're as stupid as a cow!" By the end, he couldn't help but laugh.

  Everyone's heart dares to thump wildly, Your Highness, no, he is called by the team members as 'Instructor', the instructor is fine in every way, it's just that when he gets angry, it's too scary, often making people mistake his age.

  Qin Lei finally didn't cancel anyone's dinner, after all, there were no rules to begin with, but he made it clear to the team members that from now on, all tests would be rule-free.

  "Instructor, what exactly are those things drawn?" someone finally asked boldly during dinner.

  Qin Lei smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll know what it is a thousand years later."