On the second morning of the establishment of Baoguo Army, at 6:00 am, under Chen Yingliang's personal leadership, the Baoguo Army launched its first military training. At Chen Yingliang's request, the 422 soldiers who had just finished a hearty breakfast were in high spirits and once again sang a slightly modified version of "Jingzhong Baoguo" under the flagpole of the Jingzhong Baoguo Great Flag, adjusting their physical and mental state to the best condition before starting formal training.

  As a traverser, Chen Yingliang's method of training the Baoguo Army was, of course, the most familiar modern military and police training methods, practical and scientific but also extremely dull and boring. First, he led the Baoguo Army to run with heavy loads around the small school field for twenty laps in one breath, then did fifty push-ups with heavy loads, fifty pull-ups on the single bar with heavy loads, fifty sit-ups, and fifty runs back and forth with heavy loads. Only after that would they practice standing at attention, formation drills, and shouting slogans while marching in step.

  What made Chen Yingliang secretly delighted was that these soldiers of the Baoguo Army were mostly from farming families, and although their diet and nutrition during development were not balanced, they had been working hard for many years and were physically strong. They were all 21 or 22 years old, in their prime youth, so the intensity of Chen Yingliang's training was great, but for these Baoguo Army soldiers, it was no big deal. Even if they completed the entire set of training, it wasn't easy, but at least there were no cases of exhaustion.

  A small number of officers from well-off landlord families in the Baoguo Army were also like this. Although they didn't have to go down to the fields to farm like the sons of farming families, they were poor in literature and rich in martial arts. The Sui and Tang dynasties were an era when martial arts were prevalent, and these officers from well-off families had received martial arts training since childhood, so their physical strength was

  Not only equally strong and physically flexible, but also more familiar with complex movements than the soldiers of the Baoguo Army from a farming family.

  Of course, there is an exception, and this exception is none other than Chen Yingliang himself! The poor devil Chen Yingliang's family situation plummeted after he was ten years old, and his nutritional intake during his growth period was even worse than that of the poorest soldiers in the country. At just seventeen years old, he couldn't withstand such high-intensity physical training, forcing Chen Yingliang to abandon his plan to train with the soldiers and pretend to direct them to stop and take a break, sneaking in some rest. Fortunately, the generals of the Right Guard also did not participate in person during training, so Chen Yingliang's half-hearted participation in part of the training did not arouse resentment among his subordinates.

  The training in the morning had just ended at noon, and the exhausted soldiers of the Baoguo Army were overjoyed to see that the imperial guards sent by Fan Zigai had brought them steaming hot lunch. It was worth noting that before the Song Dynasty, ordinary people only had two meals a day, and only a few wealthy families could enjoy three meals a day. Overjoyed, the soldiers of the Baoguo Army couldn't help but smile and praise, while Chen Yingliang took the opportunity to warn them: "Are you happy to have lunch? This is a favor that I had to beg from Fan Zigai, if you can practice well, then you will definitely have lunch often in the future. If you can't, this good life will only last for half a month."

  "General Chen, please be assured that we will work hard in our training and won't disappoint you." The soldiers of the National Army expressed their determination one after another. Then, Chen Zhihong asked again with great enthusiasm: "General Chen, shouldn't we practice martial arts this afternoon? Are you going to teach us marksmanship or sword fighting?"

  "I won't teach you martial arts," Chen Yingliang said loudly. "Although I know a set of ancestral battlefield knife skills and some practical fist and foot combat techniques, I won't teach you, at least not for now. So this afternoon we will still mainly practice formation, marching, and loaded running, with martial arts training as supplementary, practicing the military knife and gun skills you learned before."

  "Why?" Many of the soldiers of the Imperial Army were stunned, and they all asked: "Chen Jishi, you don't teach us martial arts, how can we go to battle and kill the enemy, eliminate the rebels?"

  "There are two reasons." Chen Yingliang raised two fingers and said loudly: "First, the time is not enough. Fan Liugong and Huangfu General only gave me half a month's time. In half a month, you can't master new knife skills and combat techniques. Rather than letting you learn new martial arts from scratch, it's better to let you continue practicing your old martial arts."

  "The second reason is enough." Chen Yingliang smiled and added, "Don't forget, our opponents are just a group of civilians and sailors coerced by Yang Chong's rebels, as well as some cowardly former soldiers of the Right Guard who surrendered to the rebels. To deal with them, your old martial arts skills will be sufficient."

  When Chen Yingliang finished speaking, the soldiers of the Baoguo Army were all skeptical. Guo Feng, who was tall and sturdy, couldn't help but ask: "Chen Jishi, what are we actually practicing? This practice seems similar to what we usually do in the Youwu Guard."

  "Exercise your organizational discipline, exercise your command and prohibition, point to fight, advance and retreat together!" Chen Yingliang replied loudly: "Brothers, you must always remember that a single chopstick can be broken with one snap, but a pair of chopsticks is unbreakable for anyone!"

  "We, the Righteous Army, have suffered several defeats at the hands of the rebel thieves in the past. Apart from low morale and insufficient fighting spirit, another more important reason is that we lack organizational discipline and cannot unite as one. Everyone wants to escape with their lives, everyone wants their companions to fight the enemy, but no one is willing to take risks to fight the enemy themselves. Such an undisciplined army, even if individual combat strength is strong, is still useless! Therefore, I want to train the 423 men of our Righteous Army, including myself, into a single entity, making the 423 men into one person. We will fight together, advance together, and retreat together, with organization and discipline in every move. As long as we can achieve this, then not only can we defeat the rebel thieves outside the city, but even if we encounter elite veteran soldiers or the Turkic iron cavalry, our Righteous Army will still be invincible!"

  The soldiers of the Baoguo Army looked at each other thoughtfully, and Chen Yingliang said loudly: "I almost forgot to tell you that this afternoon's heavy load running twenty laps, the last ten laps, we will take turns carrying our companions on our backs for five laps.

  "What we're training for, apart from building our physique, is to prepare for the future. In the future, on the battlefield, it's inevitable that our team will suffer casualties, but we absolutely cannot abandon a single comrade, whether they are injured or have sacrificed their lives for the country - we must bring every last one of them back!"

  "The comrade you carry on your back today, is the one who will carry you back to receive medical treatment after you're injured on the battlefield! The comrade you run with today, will be the one who carries your body back, so that you can rest in peace, and also the one who delivers your last testament and belongings to your family, to give to your parents! Do you understand?!"

  "Understood!" The soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army replied with unusual uniformity.

  "Understood? Now get your food! Chen Yingliang loudly commanded: "Take turns getting food, I'll be the last one to get food. After getting food, you can't eat first, you must wait for me to eat together. When I pick up my chopsticks to eat, you are allowed to eat. When I finish eating and put down my chopsticks, regardless of whether you've finished or not, you must immediately put down your chopsticks and stop eating! This is also a training for your organizational discipline, understood?!"

  "Understood!" The soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army, already accustomed to Chen Yingliang's demands, responded in unison once again.

  "Very well." Chen Yingliang waved his hand and shouted: "Start serving the meal!"

  The afternoon training began again after singing a song called "Jing Zhong Bao Guo" and ended in the evening with the sound of military songs. That night, Chen Yingliang led two school lieutenants, Guo Feng and Chen Zhihong, to patrol the camp. He personally covered the sleeping soldiers with blankets, massaged and rubbed the muscles of ordinary soldiers who were injured during training, served water and washed their feet, and chatted with the soldiers who had not yet slept. He quickly remembered many soldiers' faces and names, and affectionately called them by name. His actions moved the soldiers to tears, and they felt grateful to Chen Yingliang to the bone. They sincerely wanted to sacrifice themselves for him, but they did not know that they had become the stepping stone for Chen Yingliang's desperate climb to the top. Moreover, they had never heard of a bad guy named Wu Qi, who had sucked out the poison from the wounds of two father-son soldiers and eventually led them to die in battle, one after another, and be buried on the battlefield, serving as a stepping stone for this bad guy who wanted to become a general and kill his wife.

  At the same time, in order to make himself a regular school lieutenant, Guo Feng and Chen Zhihong also worked hard to follow Chen Yingliang's example in comforting the soldiers. They learned from Chen Yingliang the principle of loving soldiers like sons and that soldiers can die for their commanders. Together, they became Chen Yingliang's trusted accomplices in buying the hearts of the soldiers. As a result, four battalion commanders who had been selected through arm-wrestling matches were influenced to follow Chen Yingliang on his inspection tour of every barracks, consoling every soldier without being ordered to do so. This led to a qualitative change in the morale, fighting spirit, and cohesion of the entire Reporting Army within just one day and night after its establishment. It also quietly instilled a determination in almost all the officers and soldiers of the Reporting Army: they were absolutely not going to let the Reporting Army exist for only half a month.

  …………

  Time passed slowly day by day, as the cohesion of the Imperial Army was gradually increasing, the situation of the rebel army outside the city was also changing. After easily capturing the Luoyang Weicheng and Jinyongcheng, the rebel army not only captured and recruited a large number of Sui soldiers, but also seized weapons and armor, and obtained a large number of heavy siege engines in Jinyongcheng, a key military town. Working day and night to build large-scale siege engines, they also gained an unexpected huge harvest.

  This huge harvest is the great division of the ruling class of the Sui Dynasty. After Yang Xuangan's rebellion was reported to Daxing City, the Western Capital, through fast horses, King Yang Yong of the Western Capital naturally actively mobilized troops and prepared to send troops to rescue Luoyang. Many officials and nobles in Daxing City also sensed the opportunity for advancement hidden within, just like Chen Yingliang. In order to gain more glory and wealth, as well as beautiful wives and concubines, many young men from noble families did not wait for the army of Daxing to depart and immediately led their family soldiers and servants east out of Tongguan Pass, rushing to Dongdu to join the military and offer their services. They wanted to take advantage of the chaos to gain battle merits and official titles. At that time, on the official roads from Daxing to Luoyang, everywhere were young men from wealthy families with fine clothes and angry horses, and everywhere were nobles' sons surrounded by family soldiers and generals.

  By the way, almost became Chen Yingliang's uncle

  Chai Shao, originally also wanted to go to the Eastern Capital Luoyang to join the army and make a name for himself, but unfortunately he currently holds an official position and does not dare to leave the city without his superior's permission. Moreover, his family background is slightly inferior, and those aristocratic young masters who accompanied him looked down on him. Chai Shao tried to travel with Han Shizhi, the son of General-in-Chief Han Qingba, but was verbally humiliated by Han Shizhi. In a fit of anger, Chai Shao completely gave up on this idea and also persuaded his younger brother-in-law Li Shimin, who had similar aspirations, to abandon his plans to go to Luoyang to join the army.

  The topic has gone off on a tangent, but let's get back to the main point. When these aristocratic young masters led their numerous family soldiers and generals to Dongdu, they saw that the Right Wuwei Army, which was supposed to be garrisoned in Dongdu, had been defeated by Yang Xuangan's rebel army and was holed up inside Luoyang City, without a single soldier daring to come out of the city to fight the rebels. They also saw how Yang Xuangan's rebel army was invincible on the battlefield of Dongdu, killing the Right Wuwei Army and causing them to flee in disarray. At the same time, they saw that the civilians and Sui soldiers who had defected to Yang Xuangan's rebel army were as numerous as fish crossing a river, and the rebel army was rapidly expanding. These pampered and arrogant young masters couldn't help but think that joining the military in Dongdu would be extremely dangerous, with a high likelihood of losing their heads. It seemed more advantageous to follow their old friend Yang Xuangan in his rebellion and become a founding merit subject, which would be far better than being promoted one level in office and one level in nobility.

  After the idea was born, these aristocratic sons sat down and discussed it briefly, quickly reaching a consensus. They did not enter Luoyang City but instead ran to Jinying City, where the main rebel force was stationed, to join their friend Yang Xuangan. Yang Xuangan was overjoyed and immediately accepted all of them, entrusting them with important tasks. What is hard to believe is that among these aristocratic sons were not only Han Shiyue, the beloved son of the late General-in-Chief Han Qing, but also Zheng Yan, the son of Zheng Xianggong, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice; Yu Rou, the son of Yu Shiji, a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel; Pei Shuang, the son of Pei Yun, a junior minister in the Ministry of Rites; and Zhou Zhong, the son of Zhou Luohou, a former general-in-chief. Even Yang Gongdao, the son of Prince Guan Yang Xiong, a member of the imperial family, joined Yang Xuangan's rebellion against his uncle Emperor Yang of Sui.

  What's even more ridiculous is that among these aristocratic sons, there was also Rang Yuncheng, the biological son of Rang Xiu. When the Sui army launched a two-pronged attack on Goguryeo by land and water, Emperor Yang of Sui personally led the land forces, while all the naval forces were placed under Rang Xiu's command, showing how much trust and importance he was given. As a result, Rang Xiu fought desperately for Emperor Yang at the front lines, but his precious son Rang Yuncheng was plotting to overthrow Emperor Yang in the rear. Who knows what thoughts would occur to the poor General Rang Xiu when he received this news?

  Don't look at these aristocratic sons who are afraid of death and unable to do anything, but their fathers' prestigious status is placed there, so after they joined Yang Xuangan's rebel army, they still had a huge impact on the morale of both sides on the battlefield in Dongdu. Of course, the morale of Yang Xuangan's rebel army was greatly boosted, with more and more followers, and the scale of the troops expanded rapidly to an astonishing 80,000 or more, with everyone from top to bottom full of expectations and hopes for a successful rebellion.

  On the contrary, when these aristocratic sons came to the east of the city to reveal their identities and shout slogans for Yang Xuang's surrender of the Luoyang garrison, the Luoyang garrison was in a state of great chaos. Countless soldiers felt that the current court must be finished, and even the young masters of famous families stood up to rebel. What hope is there for this court now? Also, countless Luoyang garrison officers and men became more determined than ever, that as soon as the rebel army broke through the city walls, they would immediately lay down their arms and surrender to the rebels! The atmosphere of pessimism spread throughout the troops, and the morale that had been lifted by the small victory at the Shangchun Gate was once again plunged into despair.

  In the city of Luoyang, officials and nobles were also in a similar situation. Because Pei Shuang, the nephew of the clan, had joined the rebel army, Pei Hongzhi, who was in charge of the main battlefield at the Spring Gate, was so angry that he burst into tears on the spot. He pointed at his ungrateful nephew and scolded him nonstop from the city wall. However, Pei Shuang, a degenerate of the Pei family, was shameless and continued to loudly persuade his uncle to open the Spring Gate and surrender to Yang Xuangan. Fan Zigai and Huangfu Wuqi, who were among Emperor Yang's most trusted officials, had faces as dark as iron and hated the nobles so much that they wished they could strangle them all to death! Many of the literati and military officers in Luoyang, however, had already begun secretly inquiring about Yang Xuangan's birthdate and studying whether he had the destiny of a true dragon son.

  Of course, there is also good news for the defenders of Dongdu, at least

  On the night of 5728, a messenger from Daxing narrowly escaped capture and killing by the rebel scouts and delivered an important message into the city of Dongdu. The content of the message was that Yang You, the king of Daxing, had dispatched Wei Xuan, the defender of Xidu, to lead an army of 40,000 infantry and cavalry to march east to reinforce, which would arrive in Luoyang within ten days and join forces with the Luoyang garrison to quell the rebellion!

  Upon hearing the news, Fan Ziga's gloomy face finally revealed a hint of a relieved smile, but he still couldn't shake off some unease and asked the messenger: "How is Wei Wensheng's army preparing? The previous defeat in Dongdu was due to insufficient preparation. I hope Wei Wensheng won't repeat the same mistake."

  "Please reassure Lord Fan that the Grand Marshal's army is fully prepared." The messenger bowed and replied, "After receiving the warning from the Eastern Capital, the King of Dai immediately began preparations for war. The troops in Guanzhong are on full alert, with every soldier equipped with armor and weapons. The 40,000-strong rebel army consists entirely of robust soldiers. Meanwhile, the King of Dai has also sent an urgent order to Yang Zhi, the Governor of Hongnong, instructing him to mobilize the grain stored in the Changping Warehouse and the Hongnong Palace to provide supplies for the Grand Marshal's army, ensuring that the relief troops can quickly arrive at the Eastern Capital."

  "There is more." The messenger added, "Wei Shangshu has also ordered the excavation of Yang Su's tomb. When the army arrives at Huayin, they will crush Yang Su's bones and scatter his ashes to boost morale and rally the troops. Judging by the time, Wei Shangshu's army must have already destroyed Yang Jian's father Yang Su's remains."

  "Not bad, after all, it's the former Right Guard General, Wei Xuan that old thing has a set of military skills." Fan Zigai, who had a good relationship with Wei Xuan, praised him and then suddenly remembered something. He hastily asked Lu Chu beside him: "Lu Slang, what about Chen Yingliang's side? Today so many rebels came to the city to surrender, how did his two troops react?"

  "Report... Report to Commander Fan." Lu Chu said with difficulty: "Chen Yingliang publicly announced the rebellion of Daxing and the surrender of the city, and also... also publicized some names and identities of the rebels, telling his subordinates that the opportunity to make a name for themselves had come, as long as they conveniently beheaded or captured one of these rebels, they could immediately become famous throughout the country and receive heavy rewards. Then he asked which of his subordinates had been bullied by the sons of the powerful and wealthy families, saying... saying that the opportunity to vent their anger had come, normally they couldn't deal with the young masters of rich families or official families, it was against national law, now beheading these fools would also be in vain, only meritorious service would be rewarded, no... no crime. His subordinates all cheered... and cheered very loudly."

  "This stinky kid, he really knows how to take advantage of the situation." Fan Zigai cursed with a smile and ordered Lu Chu: "Tomorrow you go see Chen Yingliang, tell him that Wei Wensheng's army will arrive in ten days, also tell him that the time I gave him is only left with ten days. Ten days later, he must lead this army to attack, as the vanguard of the Dongdu army, to respond to Wei Wensheng's reinforcements! If he can't do it, then he has only two choices: one is for me to behead him and display his head publicly, or he will die in battle to atone for his crime with his blood!"

  Fan Ziga said this at the same time, Chen Yingliang, who had never left the camp since the formation of the Baoguo Army, temporarily left the camp for the first time and came to the Shangchun Gate City Tower under the request of Pei Hongce's messenger. He paid respects to his newly recognized uncle Pei Hongce and performed the late junior ceremony.

  What left Chen Yingliang perplexed was that Pei Hongce hastily called him to the Shangchun Gate, only to not say a single important word to him. Apart from symbolically asking about the training situation of the Baoguo Army and casually introducing the situation of the rebel army outside the city, he mentioned that some aristocratic sons had joined Yang Xuangan's rebellion with muddled minds. Finally, Pei Hongce seemingly carelessly asked: "Worthy nephew, you are also a member of an aristocratic family. Among your relatives and friends in Daxing, is it possible that someone has made the same mistake? They have good fortune and honor, but instead they follow Yang Xuangan's rebellion?"

  "Uncle, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but your question is pointless." Chen Yingliang smiled wryly and replied truthfully: "If we're talking about the ordinary people who were deceived by Yang's rebellion and followed him, then maybe, just maybe, there might be some of my relatives or friends among them. But as for those young masters from noble families... Alas, if I had such relatives or friends, I wouldn't have to drink porridge every day after my mother passed away, and eat only vegetable scraps picked up from the market."

  Pei Hongce seemed to be secretly observing Chen Yingliang's expression, his eyes were sharp and tense. Chen Yingliang, who was not afraid of shadows, felt a little guilty when he noticed Pei Hongce's gaze, almost thinking that Pei Hongce had discovered the evidence of him using public funds to buy an Apple phone. Fortunately, Pei Hongce nodded after a moment of contemplation and said: "It's okay, you can go back now. If there's anything, just come find me directly, I won't see you off."

  Chen Yingliang, who was indeed not a ghost, bid farewell in a daze and left. Pei Hongce did not see off his nephew Chen Yingliang either. As he watched Chen Yingliang's back disappear into the distance, he thought to himself: "Don't worry too much about him, after all, Lai Yu's own son Lai Yuan has joined Yang's rebel army, let alone my distant nephew who openly and honorably came to Dongdu to join the army to participate in the suppression of the rebellion. In the future, if the emperor really wants to investigate, there are many officials in the imperial court who are closer than him, such as that Li Jing, the magistrate of Maiyi County."