Chapter Fifteen: Raising the Flag and Establishing the Army

  "Have you heard? Our master is a god descended from heaven, all-powerful..."

  "A dozen or so long spear holders who killed the Tartars were trained by the master of the house, and they only trained for three days. If the master of the house wasn't a god descending to earth, how could he be so formidable..."

  Under the propaganda of sixty old soldiers, this news spread quickly and soon spread among the mountain stronghold people.

  At this moment, more than 180 new recruits have not fully acknowledged their own bandit identity, but Wei Zheng's tall and godly image has been deeply rooted in the hearts of these new recruits.

  Having eaten and drunk their fill, the new recruits who had not rested well for a month finally got to sleep soundly without any worries.

  "Kill...... Kill...... Kill......"

  The next morning, while the new recruits were still immersed in their dreams, a deafening shout of "Kill!" was like thunder, reaching everyone's ears and waking them up.

  More than a hundred new recruits gathered at the edge of the training ground, attracted by the sound of killing, and a scene that made them feel hot-blooded appeared on the training ground, also in front of them.

  Thirty Ming Chang's quick hands under the personal command of Wei Zheng, a big master, stabbed forward with his spear again and again, then withdrew it.

  The action is monotonous and simple, but each shot is full of murderous intent.

  "These long gunners are so formidable, no wonder a dozen or so people can easily kill so many Tatars. I don't know when I'll become this formidable, using the long gun to kill Tatars and avenge my loved ones..."

  A voice full of yearning rose up in the crowd, and everyone cast a glance filled with envy at the thirty long-armed men who were throwing in the training ground.

  Just then, Zhao Yun suddenly appeared behind everyone and said in a firm tone:

  "Everyone can rest assured, your dreams will come true by this afternoon at the latest. At that time, our great leader will have a major announcement to make to everyone. Meanwhile, we will assign everyone to their respective units and issue weapons, starting military training..."

  On the training ground with a biting wind, the sixty veteran soldiers stood like statues, gripping their long guns tightly and standing motionless. Over a hundred new recruits, although trying to learn from the veterans by puffing out their chests, had not undergone systematic training after all, and as far as the eye could see, the entire unit was still sloppy and slack.

  At this moment, Wei Zheng, wearing a thick iron armor, holding a huge flag in his hand, walked step by step to the front of everyone, just like a god descending from heaven.

  Under the gaze of over two hundred people, Wei Zheng did not speak immediately. Instead, he unfolded the large flag in his hand and planted it firmly in front of everyone.

  Suddenly, three big red characters written on a large flag appeared extremely dazzling in front of everyone.

  "Hu Bao Army..."

  Some literate subordinates involuntarily let out a cry of surprise, and soon these three words spread among the more than 200 subordinates, everyone knew.

  At this moment, Wei Zheng, who was standing in front of everyone in his iron armor, finally spoke up and shouted loudly at the more than 200 people below.

  "Hu Bao Army..."

  "The brothers are right, the three words on the big flag are indeed Hu Bao Army."

  "Also, I want to tell everyone that from now on, our Mountain Stronghold will be officially renamed as the Tiger Leopard Troop. This big flag will be the troop flag of our Tiger Leopard Troop from now on."

  Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Wei Zheng changed his tone and continued to scold.

  "I know that many of the brothers standing here, although they have joined us, still look down on our bandit identity from the bottom of their hearts. To be honest with everyone, I also look down on our bandit identity..."

  "Since the two words 'bandit' are so unpopular, let's get rid of them. So, I've decided that from today on, we won't be bandits anymore..."

  Over two hundred cavalrymen's faces turned pale with shock and they immediately erupted into all sorts of discussions.

  Some of the bolder subordinates directly raised their voices and shouted: "Great master, what are we going to do if we don't become bandits..."

  "Right... if we don't become bandits, does that mean the master of the house will lead us to join the government army..."

  "It's impossible. The government army won't come to kill us, and it's already a blessing that they can take credit for our heads. How could we possibly agree to join the government army and shed our bandit identity?"

  Wang Feng, who was standing at the front of the long spear team, suddenly shouted: "Everyone shut up and listen to what the boss has to say... Since the boss says we can lead you out of this bandit business, then there must be a way out..."

  The training ground fell silent at once, and more than two hundred pairs of eyes also converged on Wei Zheng's body at the same time.

  "Wei Zheng's loud voice echoed: 'Brothers, soldiers... since the Manchu invaders entered our Rehe, except for the official army that is still holding out in the city, the garrisons everywhere have fled at the sight of the wind, leaving us unarmed civilians to be bullied by the Manchus..."

  "Now, what I want to tell everyone is that since the government army doesn't care about us, we will take care of ourselves. Organize a righteous army, fight against the Tartars, rescue our compatriots from the Tartars' hands and drive them out of our homeland..."

  "So from today on, our mountain stronghold is no longer a bandit's lair, but a righteous army fighting against the Tartars, an army that protects our home and our compatriots..."

  "As for our righteous army's name, it is the three words that everyone just saw, Hu Bao Army..."

  "Finally, I want to tell everyone that the purpose of our Hu Bao Army is only eight words: 'Replace Heaven and drive out the Tartars'. As long as my Hu Bao Army is around for one day, the Manchu Tartars will not be able to live a peaceful life within the boundaries of Zunhua..."

  "After finishing, he continued to speak to everyone: "Now, I will personally read out the latest military regulations of our Hu Bao Army. After reading it, I will give you all half a stick of incense time to reconsider. If there are those who do not want to join the Hu Bao Army, as before, take one or two silver coins for travel expenses and get lost..."

  "But if you join the Tiger and Leopard Brigade, you must abide by the brigade's rules. Otherwise, what awaits you is military law enforcement, or even beheading..."

  "The military regulations of the Tiger and Leopard Army are as follows: First, all actions must follow orders, no arbitrary actions or bullying of civilians, taking advantage of them one thread at a time..."

  "Secondly, at all times outside of prescribed hours, all officers are forbidden from drinking..."

  After the ten military rules, which are considered harsh in this world, were read out, the entire venue was silent except for the sound of the military flag flapping in the cold wind.

  For everyone was intimidated by Wei Zheng's strict military discipline based on the "Eight Points of Attention" established for later generations.

  It's worth noting that among the many military disciplines announced by Wei Zheng, even the official army couldn't achieve them, yet the current head of the household, who should now be addressed as 'General', actually demands his own righteous army to achieve them.

  However, since everyone had already decided to follow Wei Zheng, and Wei Zheng's image in people's minds was like a god, no one dared to speak out against him.

  The cold wind whistled through the venue, which had been silent for only ten seconds, was shattered by Wang Feng's loud roar.

  "Swear to die for loyalty to the General, join the Tiger and Leopard Brigade, carry out justice on behalf of Heaven, drive out the Tartar invaders..."

  Just as Wang Feng finished speaking, the thirty long gunners who followed closely behind him simultaneously raised their long guns and shouted loudly: "Swear to die for loyalty to the general, join the Tiger Leopard Army, replace heaven with justice, drive out the Tartars..."

  Under the influence of this hot-blooded slogan, another thirty big knife hands also followed suit and joined in.

  In the end, all the troops standing on the training ground, those with weapons raised their hands with weapons, and those without weapons directly raised their fists, following the crowd to shout loudly.

  Looking at his subordinates in front of him who were full of enthusiasm, Wei Zheng had a feeling as if he had traveled through time again to the modern era and was training new recruits on a training ground.

  Similarly infected by the hot trend in front of him, Wei Zheng's heart was clear that his first step in coming to this society, 'preserving life', had already been achieved. Moreover, he had also developed a completely self-owned force during the process of preserving life.

  Wei Zheng believes that relying on the existing forces, plus his own banner and slogans, he has the ability to train a truly elite iron-blooded army through battles with the Manchu Tartars before their withdrawal in June next year, and establish himself in this world.

  Wei Zheng suddenly raised his long spear and shouted loudly: "Everyone be quiet..."

  "I have seen everyone's reaction, and I am very satisfied. At the same time, I also believe that we will definitely be able to drive out the Manchu invaders with our own weapons in hand and create a world of our own for the Tiger and Leopard Troops..."

  "Now I declare that our Tiger Leopard Army will temporarily form two long spear teams, one cavalry squad and one longbow squad..."

  "The captain of the first spear team is Wang Feng...... The captain of the second spear team is Zhao Yun....."

  "Longbow squad, cavalry squad two squad leaders, temporarily held by myself. If in the future someone's training level can satisfy me, then these two squads' leaders will be taken over by that person. In short, in my Tiger and Leopard Army, as long as you work hard, train diligently, and bravely fight the enemy, there is a chance to become an officer..."

  "At the same time, if you don't work hard in training and are afraid to die on the battlefield, even if you're already an officer, you'll be demoted to a common soldier, or even face military law..."