Chapter Five: Training Soldiers

  A 150 jin wild boar, after removing internal organs and bones, can be divided into at least one and a half jin of pork per person.

  So, this dinner tonight can be considered by many people as the best meal they have ever had in their lives.

  Having eaten their fill, they savored the lingering flavor of pork in their mouths. Their faces, once pale from hunger, finally regained a hint of rosiness. Rare smiles also occasionally appeared on everyone's face.

  As the night grew darker, the bustling mountain stronghold slowly quieted down. Among the more than 60 bandits, the two people with the highest prestige and strongest strength, Wang Feng and Zhao Yun, were summoned to Wei Zheng's room one after another.

  Zhao Yun's efforts to establish his prestige in the mountain stronghold touched Wei Zheng's heart with gratitude.

  Under the gaze of two pairs of astonished eyes, Wei Zheng suddenly bowed to the two of them.

  Then, with a grateful face, he said: "Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, both of you are older than me, so from now on I will call you that. During this period, if it wasn't for your help, Wei Zheng might have been killed by the enemy in yesterday's action. So tonight, I especially invited the two brothers to express my gratitude..."

  "Especially you, Zhao, I've seen everything you've done today. If it weren't for you, Wei Zheng's prestige among the brothers wouldn't have risen so high..."

  Zhao Yun and Wang Feng hastily returned a courtesy to Wei Zheng, saying: "Great master... I dare not, how can we accept your courtesy? If it weren't for you saving us at the critical moment back then, we would have been killed long ago and wouldn't be alive today."

  As a superior, especially in this rigidly hierarchical old society, some things are better left unsaid.

  So, Wei Zheng did not entangle himself too much in this matter.

  He waved his hand to stop them from continuing and then directly started the real topic of tonight. After a brief moment of contemplation, he asked his two confidants directly.

  "Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, I won't say more flattering words. What I want to know is, after tonight's events, how is the morale of our brothers? Can we engage in battle within a few days?"

  Once bitten by a snake, for ten years one fears the hemp rope. This is the most authentic portrayal of Zhao Yun's heart at this moment.

  Especially after experiencing the disastrous defeat yesterday, Zhao Yun's calm face turned pale as soon as he heard the word "battle". He asked Wei Zheng with a worried expression: "Master, are we going to fight again...?"

  Thinking of the more than 60 troops under his command with weak and frail physical conditions, Wei Zheng also didn't want to go into battle at this time.

  In accordance with Wei Zheng's cautious personality, he had to take good care of the bodies of more than 60 brothers under his command and train them before taking the initiative to launch an attack.

  But time waits for no man.

  The grain stores of Shanhai Pass have been depleted, and historically, Nurhaci's forces would stay here for half a year before withdrawing.

  To survive this war, having enough food is absolutely necessary. So, Wei Zheng couldn't help but nod reluctantly and say: "If we don't go to battle, what will we eat..."

  Seeing the increasingly worried look on Zhao Yun's face, Wei Zheng continued to speak: "However, you can rest assured that this time we will not be as reckless as yesterday. Without a 100% guarantee, I absolutely will not let my brothers go to their deaths again."

  At this point, Wei Zheng's tone changed and he said in a non-negotiable tone: "Let's not discuss the battle anymore. Back to the previous question: how is everyone's morale? Do you have the determination to win the first battle?"

  After exchanging a glance with Wang Feng, Zhao Yun, with a helpless expression, had to reply: "Please rest assured, sir. The morale of the brothers is absolutely not a problem. If you say one word and let the brothers go to death, everyone will not frown."

  Wei Zheng smiled and shifted his gaze to Wang Feng.

  Wang Feng nodded in understanding of God's answer: "The head of the household, on my side, the military heart of thirty brothers is also very stable. Going out to fight a battle should not be a big problem. However, the physical quality of the brothers is too poor, and physical quality cannot be tempered in a short period of time. So, I worry that this time we go to war, we will suffer heavy losses like yesterday."

  Compared with Zhao Yun's simplicity, Wang Feng is obviously more knowledgeable and speaks more logically.

  After casting a glance of praise at Wang Feng, Wei Zheng had to reassure his two confidants again: "You can rest assured that there may be losses, but they will definitely be within our acceptable range. I just said that this time's attack, without absolute certainty, I absolutely won't do it."

  Since Wei Zheng had made up his mind, Zhao Yun and Wang Feng could only obey.

  A faint bitter smile appeared on Zhao Yun's face, and he asked Wei Zheng directly.

  "Alright, since we're going to make a move, we need to be prepared... What do you say? Is there anything that needs preparation? I'll start taking care of it tomorrow and strive for a big victory."

  Wei Zheng's face turned serious and he gave a decisive order: "The first thing to solve is food..."

  "As expected, from tomorrow on, the pitfalls I dug in the back mountain will yield results. So, starting from tomorrow, strive for half a kilogram of pork per person per day, and make sure to add enough lard. Apart from this, take out all our remaining grain and make dried food for everyone to eat, ensuring that brothers can eat their fill for the next three days."

  Seeing the two nodded in agreement, Wei Zheng continued to command: "Second jump, from tomorrow on, as long as brothers who are not injured will all participate in training. I want to change the appearance of my brothers fundamentally through the next two days of training and teach them some lifesaving skills on the battlefield."

  The next morning, the gang of bandits who rarely didn't feel hungry were still lying in bed dreaming sweet dreams when a crisp metallic knocking sound suddenly rang out on the training grounds. Then, Wang Feng's roar was heard by everyone...

  "General's order: Everyone get up immediately for training, those who are late will have no lunch..."

  The mountain stronghold has limited food, and everyone's life is originally a day of hunger and fullness. If we don't get lunch again, it can be imagined that a day filled with hunger will be extremely unbearable.

  Sixty bandits suddenly seemed to have been injected with a stimulant, muttering grievances in their mouths, quickly got up from bed. In less than a minute, they put on their thin and tattered clothes, grabbed their own weapons and rushed out of the thatched cottage.

  Seeing Wei Zheng and Zhao Yun and Wang Feng standing in the middle of the training ground, everyone's resentment disappeared instantly.

  Even the big masters get up and train with themselves, let alone a small one like myself.

  He swept his eyes over the sixty subordinates who had quickly gathered in front of him, some holding long spears and others holding large knives. Wei Zheng used his loudest voice to shout: "Brothers, I have something to announce now, and I hope everyone will listen carefully."

  "I don't care what the rules were before, from today on, all rules will be followed according to what I say now. From now on, our mountain stronghold will conduct formal training every day. During training, everyone will eat dry rations, and each person will also get half a catty of pork per day. Tell me, can you all accept this?"

  Standing in front of Wei Zheng, the sixty men who were all dressed as bandits, but before joining the mountain stronghold, they were all the lowest-ranking military households and civilians of the Ming Dynasty. For them, as long as they could eat their fill, they would be willing to go kill Tartars, let alone undergo training.

  In addition to the promise of a full meal, the master also had half a catty of pork every day. Compared with the days when they couldn't even eat their fill in the past, this was simply a heavenly life.

  So as soon as Wei Zheng's voice fell, all sorts of answers began to ring out in the training ground.

  "We can accept it, after all..."

  "As long as you give me meat to eat, even if it means I'll die immediately, I'd still listen to the master..."

  "What the great leader says, we will do; we swear to be loyal to the great leader till death..."

  Compared with Wang Feng and Zhao Yun who were both smiling, Wei Zheng's face didn't have a smile but instead showed a hint of solemnity.

  Because, Wei Zheng did not find any quality or discipline that a soldier of later generations should have from the sixty people in front of him.

  However, Wei Zheng also knew that what he had in mind was not something that could be seen on these bandits in a short period of time. His current priority was to quickly train a small team that could counter the Tartars and snatch the urgently needed food from their hands, rather than thinking about those future things.

  Quickly suppressing the discontent in his heart, Wei Zheng shouted as calmly as possible: "Very good..."

  "In order to enhance everyone's combat effectiveness, I have decided that from today on, we will be divided into two teams for training. One is the Long Spear Team, specializing in thrusting and stabbing. The other is the Big Knife Team, specializing in close-range melee combat."

  "Chang Gun Team Wang Feng will be the team leader, and I will personally train them for now. Da Dao Team Zhao Yun will also be the team leader, and I will personally train them as well."

  "I'm giving everyone half a stick of incense time to consider whether to join Wang Feng's Long Spear Team or Zhao Yun's Big Knife Team, hoping that everyone will make a decision immediately."