Chapter 18: Visiting the Wounded Soldiers

  Chen Kefu knew that many officers would definitely go drinking after the dispersal, but he didn't plan to interfere with such a small matter. These officers had been fighting outside for years, and in the past they had often gone hungry and slept under the stars. Now that they had finally captured this big city, as long as it wasn't during their shift, going out to drink a few cups of wine wasn't a big deal.

  Although he didn't care about small things like drinking, he was very strict with the military discipline of his soldiers. As soon as they entered the city, he issued a command to strictly prohibit looting and plundering. Although they were now on the territory of Goguryeo and facing the people of Goguryeo, he knew deeply that a good army must have good military discipline. If he indulged his soldiers this time, there would definitely be next time, and the time after that. The most important thing for an army is when it was first established, the first commander, the first batch of officers, the first batch of soldiers, and the initial style of military discipline.

  Once formed, this unit will also be deeply imprinted. If a brave and fearless general is the first commander, then this army may have a tradition of daring to fight in the future. If a bloodthirsty and undisciplined leader leads the troops, then this unit will have a tradition of being unruly and undisciplined in the future. And if a leader with strong virtues, bravery, and discipline leads the troops, then this unit may become an elite army. Those intangible things are the soul of an army.

  To survive in this chaotic world with just a few thousand people, and not be treated as a mere tool, they must become the crème de la crème from the very beginning. The first essential element of an excellent unit is strict military discipline.

  Out of the big account, Luo Lin hurriedly followed up, "General, where are you going?"

  At first, Luo Lin was not very pleased with Chen Kefu's decision to have him serve as a personal bodyguard. After all, he came from a noble family and his grandfather was a founding duke, while his father was a third-rank general. He couldn't help but feel somewhat resentful towards Chen Kefu, who was only a few years older than him. However, after following him for such a short period of time, he eventually came to admire this young general from a humble background. Despite being born into a commoner's family, Chen Kefu possessed an air of elegance, composure, intelligence and bravery that made Luo Lin feel inferior compared to the sons of high-ranking officials in the capital city.

  "Where are the wounded soldiers? Let's go visit them together. We've been busy with the affairs of the Goguryeo people from yesterday until now, and finally have some time. It's also a shame to my brothers that we're only going to see him now.

  Thinking about it, just a few days ago they were still full of life, but now many of them have closed their eyes forever, and there are even more who will be disabled for the rest of their lives, soon to return home with broken bodies. My heart is heavy at the thought.

  People living in peaceful times can never truly understand the cruelty of war, especially when chaos is about to erupt again, and it's unknown how many people will lose their homes and families. I remember reading history books that during the Sui dynasty's peak, there were 8,900,000 households with a population of approximately 46 million. By the early Tang dynasty's Wude era, the national household count was less than 3 million.

  It's unimaginable how many people died in this chaotic world, reducing the population by two-thirds."

  But by the time of the eight-year anti-war period, it was an era of airplanes and cannons, and more than 30 million people in China died in the war. It can be imagined that under the change of dynasties, human life is not as valuable as ants.

  These wounded soldiers of the Broken Army Camp are still considered lucky, compared to those who were injured on the cruel battlefield. Now they can rest in the best hospital in the city, with high-ranking doctors from all over the city and various precious medicines taken from the hospital, which has saved many lives.

  Chen Kefu led the way into the medical tent, where the soldiers from the broken army camp had already cleaned up the main hall. The spacious hall was lined with rows of beds, and the wounded officers were all lying there resting. Except for a few seriously injured who couldn't move, most of the soldiers had received good treatment, and everyone knew that they had made great contributions this time, so they didn't mind the injuries on their bodies too much. They gathered in groups of three or five to chat.

  Chen Kefu walked over just in time to hear a dozen or so soldiers surrounding someone who looked like the squad leader. The squad leader had one leg tightly bandaged, but there was nothing wrong with any other part of his body. At this moment, he was facing the crowd of soldiers with a red face and spitting as he spoke, "You don't know, I'm telling you, at that time, the Goguryeo cavalry, nearly ten thousand strong, charged towards us like a wall, and your old squad leader here was carrying a big wooden board. The long spears of the Goguryeo cavalry were right in front of our eyes, and for a moment, I didn't react. In my heart, I thought it was all over, and at that time, I even closed my eyes..."

  A group of cavalrymen surrounding him listened to his vivid storytelling, but suddenly saw him stop talking and were very dissatisfied, saying "Old Liu, hurry up and finish the story! We'll treat you to a drink when we get out."

  Old Liu paused, seeing everyone's eager eyes, and couldn't help but feel very pleased. He continued, "It was a bit late, but at that time it was quick, just as the sky suddenly changed color with a loud thunderclap, and at this moment, a general in white armor suddenly rushed out from behind me, only to see the general wave his hand, and the head of that ferocious Goguryeo bandit flew into the sky..."

  As soon as everyone heard about the white horse and white armor general, they knew it was referring to their own Eagle General Yang, and in their hearts, they all cheered loudly.

  "Aren't you just waiting for death with your eyes closed? How did you suddenly see a flash of lightning and the changing colors of the wind and clouds? And can you even see the general beheading that bandit?" A person next to him, unhappy, immediately retorted.

  "Hey, hey, aren't you supposed to keep your eyes closed?" The crowd suddenly came back to their senses and immediately pointed out the flaw. The squad leader was caught red-handed by everyone, his face turned bright red with anger, and he shouted, "Zhang Ergou, if you have the guts, let's compete on the battlefield to see who can kill more Liao dogs, what kind of hero is it to stab people in the back?"

  Zhang Ergou disdainfully said, "You think I'm afraid of who? This time, my men and I beheaded fifteen Liao dogs and captured over a hundred alive."

  The two were both squad leaders, and before they arrived at the Broken Army Camp, they had come from the same village. In the past, when they were at home, they had celebrated festivals together. After being recruited to Liaodong together, the two secretly competed with each other, planning to outdo each other. However, the two were also evenly matched, and after setting foot on Liaodong soil, they both became brave warriors, even simultaneously promoted to squad leaders. This time, they were both injured at the same time, and surprisingly, they were arranged to recover together. The two men were both dissatisfied with each other's masters, and it had only been one day since they came to recuperate, but they had already torn down several platforms together.

  Chen Kefu coughed lightly twice, and the crowd turned around to see that the general had arrived, all of them nervously busy with greetings. For these mostly peasant-born small soldiers, if the general was a red person in front of the emperor, he was the commander-in-chief of the army, a great figure admired by everyone.

  "Good day, General!"

  Chen Kefu sat lightly on the edge of the bed, smiling at the somewhat awkward soldiers and said, "Everyone is a good fellow when they go into battle, why are you all so tense when you see me? I'm not a tiger. Hehe." As he spoke, he glanced at the squad leader Zhang Ergou, who had been injured in the shoulder, where a long spear had pierced through, and although it had already been bandaged, it still looked quite shocking.

  "I just heard what you said, your group killed fifteen Goguryeo people and captured over a hundred, truly worthy of being a good fellow in my Broken Army Camp. Although this wound looks frightening, fortunately it didn't hurt the bone, after resting for a period of time, you'll be a good fellow again. Once you're healed, come report to my personal guard unit, I'll have Zhou Lin arrange a deputy position for you." Chen Kefu gently examined Zhang Er Gou's injured shoulder.

  The crowd around couldn't help but feel envious when they heard that the master had actually transferred Zhang Ergou to the Imperial Guard and even promoted him as deputy captain. Especially Old Liu, who was even more envious, as he and Zhang Ergou used to be fellow squad leaders, but now that guy had been promoted to deputy captain, which meant he would outrank himself from then on. Thinking of this, a hint of discontent appeared on Old Liu's face.

  Zhang Ergou was thrilled to hear that the general had promoted himself to deputy captain. Being appointed as a deputy captain already meant he had officially entered the mainstream, and although he used to be a squad leader, he didn't have the qualifications for job assignments or land allocations at that level. Now that he had become a deputy captain, it was a ninth-grade military officer position, and even his county magistrate father was only a ninth-grade official. He couldn't believe that in such a short time, he had already achieved so much success and fame. With an air of pride, he glanced over at Old Liu.

  Old Liu was originally not convinced when he saw him bring up the deputy captain, and now seeing his expression, he forgot that the person in front of him was General Wang. He turned his neck and said, "General Wang, Zhang Er Gou only beheaded 15 Liao dog heads and captured over a hundred, but I, Old Liu, and my men beheaded over 40 heads. Isn't this enough to match their military merit?"

  Lao Liu's name sounds like an old man, but he is actually only in his mid-twenties, similar to Zhang Er Gou. Thinking back to their previous encounter where they had tried to one-up each other, he couldn't help but chuckle. He took a closer look at Lao Liu's injured leg and found that although it looked quite frightening, it wasn't too serious. Smiling, he patted Lao Liu on the shoulder and said, "You're indeed a true man of honor. As for those who have made contributions, they will naturally be rewarded. Once you've recovered from your injuries, I'll transfer you to my personal guard unit as deputy captain."

  After finishing, he looked at the wounded soldiers who were equally excited and hurriedly smiled, "This time I broke through the military camp and made great achievements. I have already let the Military Minister Wang Lin hurry to Liaodong to report to the Emperor, and I believe that when the Emperor arrives, he will definitely reward everyone's share of the prize."

  The wounded soldiers also smiled one by one when they heard that everyone had a share.

  New book ranking seventh, overall thirty-fifth place, still needs everyone's recommendation votes support. Everyone gives strength, and pushes Mu Zi further up. Let's burst the guys in front!