Chapter 27: Fuping's First Loss

  Li QIN saw Tang Biao staring over, he didn't show any weakness, immediately stared back, and made a gesture of holding a gun with both hands, stabbed forward, then stretched out his right hand, raised his little finger, and compared it to Tang Biao!

  Tang's face turned red with rage, smoke was coming out of his seven orifices, but in his heart he felt a bit apprehensive. He himself had been injured, and all his men were also wounded. If they clashed with Li Qin now, there would be no one to help him. On the contrary, Li Qin now had five fierce henchmen, and Tang Ren was secretly helping this kid, elbowing outwards, he couldn't even put on a show of authority, completely at a loss for what to do with Li Qin, could only glare angrily, seething with rage.

  The soldiers were like hungry ghosts, swallowing the food in a flash, and it was gone in the blink of an eye. Their speed was astonishing, leaving Li Qin watching in amazement.

  Shen Yi and others brought rice for Li Qin to eat, but Li Qin didn't eat it. He let them divide it among themselves. For him, being full was enough; there was no need to stuff himself.

  Three large pots were carried in, and the rice bowls were all taken back. A moment later, the yamen sounded with a loud drumbeat, and Tang Yi, dressed in his official uniform, walked out slowly from inside, taking measured steps.

  When he saw his uncle coming out, Tang Ren hastily put on the airs of a county captain and shouted to the soldiers: "Each of you go back to your own squad and follow behind your own squad leader. No noise is allowed!"

  The soldiers went to find their own squad leaders in a disorderly manner, scattered all over the place, without forming any lines. They just stopped talking when the county magistrate came out.

  Li Qin still stood at the outermost periphery, without entering the crowd. He whispered: "Everyone stand behind me, like we usually do during drills, line up and hold your guns upright!"

  Wu Xiaosan and his men immediately stood behind him, raised their heads, puffed out their chests, held up their long spears, and expressionlessly stared at Tang Jie who had come out.

  Tang Jie stepped onto the platform, looked at the soldiers, and let out a soft sigh. The army of 400 people had not been fully assembled, with only over 300 people gathered. It's hard being a local official, and it's even harder being a local official in a poor border county!

  He glanced around the soldiers, his eyes scanning from near to far, and when he saw the outermost ones, his gaze suddenly stopped. He saw six soldiers standing at the outermost edge, who should be from the same squad, and the person standing in front was surprisingly Li Qin.

  Li QIN's squad is completely different from others. Other squads, whether new or old soldiers, are not very disciplined, which is also related to the lack of training in peacetime, and it can't be blamed on the soldiers, who made them not have enough food? But Li QIN's squad is similar to the Imperial Guard he saw in Luoyang, with only five soldiers standing in a straight line, holding long guns, expressionless, this is simply the typical characteristic of elite troops!

  People die in comparison, goods are discarded in comparison! The other troops were in disarray, but Li QIN's squad was the only one that stood out!

  Tang Jie's face showed a look of approval, and he stroked his beard with his hand, nodding slightly towards Li Qin outside the crowd.

  The county magistrate nodded, and everyone in the room followed Tang Ji's gaze, and they all saw Li Qin's troops. Tang Ren hesitated for a moment, saying: "Uncle... sir, I observed our army today and thought that among all the teams, Li Qin's team was the first, I don't know if I made a mistake, please instruct me."

  Tang Jietao said: "Your eyes are very good, you didn't misjudge, I also think that Li Qin's martial arts should be the first in the army." His voice was very loud, and all the soldiers heard it.

  The soldiers all cheered, the Western Cool Army had always respected the strong, just now Li Qins command took away a whole pot of rice, they were naturally dissatisfied in their hearts, but now seeing Li Qins troops were indeed powerful, and even the county magistrate said it was good, they immediately forgot their previous dissatisfaction, and even thought that Li Qins troops were domineering, but had the capital to be domineering, justified!

  Li Qin raised his hands high above his head, clasped his fists and bowed, giving Tang Jie a salute. He thought to himself: "With these soldiers who only know how to obey as my foil, it's hard for me not to steal the show!"

  Behind him, Wu Xiaosan and others were overjoyed, each thinking: "This is nothing, just one stop, and he became the first in the army, this momentum is too easy to get!" But although they were happy in their hearts, no one showed it on their faces, no way, they were all intimidated by Li QIN.

  Tang Jie nodded again, took out a silk book from his sleeve and read: "Under the sky, all are the king's land, on the shore of the land, all are the king's ministers. The great Han Dynasty is prosperous, the imperial court is resplendent, the country is rich and strong, like the sun in the middle of the sky. Liangzhou is rich and peaceful, the people live in peace..."

  He launched into a lengthy speech, praising the imperial court before moving on to discuss the defense of Fuping, urging the soldiers to be vigilant and diligent in their training, defending their homeland, and so on. He spoke for half a day, much longer than the time it took the soldiers to eat their meal earlier.

  Having finished reading the official document, Tang Jie put away the silk book in his sleeve and waved his hand, saying: "Let's begin!"

  County Magistrate Jing Ming immediately had someone bring over the bamboo name register, while County Captain Tang Ren ordered the soldiers to come up one by one, starting to check against the register and identify individuals.

  In Fuping, this can be considered a review of the troops. In simple terms, it's just matching names with people, as long as there are no mistakes, that's all. This is different from modern reviews. Actually, this is still good, at least they can match names, if after a few more years, the world is in chaos, then recruiting soldiers will be grabbing strong men, handing them guns and driving them to the battlefield, who cares what the strong man's name is? If he survives, it's called good luck, if he dies, it's called fate!

  Whenever someone was called, he would lead the soldiers over and stand in front of Tang Jie, listening to Jing Ming read out his name. He would then respond with "I'm here", "I've come" and other disorderly answers without a standard response.

  Li QIN stood at the outermost, and was naturally the last one to be called. Tang Rengang shouted: "Fu Jiao Li QIN..."

  Li Qin immediately responded loudly: "Yes!" He then gave the order: "Quick march!" The five soldiers formed a line, stepped out in unison and marched forward in big strides.

  The soldiers saw this and were not surprised, but instead got up together! The military formation was advancing, not because they didn't practice, but because the rich Ping army couldn't even issue rations, let alone make the soldiers practice. Who would be willing to practice if they weren't fed? Suddenly, Li QIN's troops came marching in, and the soldiers were naturally surprised. This is what it means to be full... practicing with a full stomach, no problem! But being hungry is quick, wasting food!

  Soldiers and officials have different ideas, Tang Jie saw this but was overjoyed, he also remembered the Imperial Forest Army he had seen in Luoyang, although there were only a few soldiers in front of him, they were no worse than the Imperial Forest Army!

  Just then, Li Qin suddenly shouted: "Fu Ping Fu Ping!"

  The soldiers behind him responded in unison: "Prosperity and peace!"

  Li Qin shouted again: "Tang Ling Tang Ling!"

  The soldiers followed with a shout: "Pinteng zhengqing!"

  The soldiers all heard and responded with a loud cheer, followed by a chorus of "oohs" and "aahs", and then some laughter. Never had they seen such an impressive display! Li Qian's troops were truly exceptional!

  Tang Jie clapped his hands and praised: "Good!" The Wenli officers behind him followed suit, shouting "good" except for Tang Biao.

  Tang Biao is so angry and anxious, what's going on? Others say Li QIN is good, that's fine, but why does his uncle also call him good? Doesn't he know he was beaten by Li QIN? Why does he still want to praise him? It's too much, not putting his own nephew in his eyes!

  Among the applause, Li Qin arrived at the front of the stage. He shouted: "Attention!" Turning around, he ordered again: "Eyes right - dress! Eyes front! At ease, attention - stand at ease!"

  He turned around again and shouted to Tang Jie: "Fu Jiao Shi, ten people with full heads, six people actually arrived, reporting to the adults, good!"

  The people behind Wu Xiaosan chorused: "Your Honor has worked hard!"

  Tang Jiela's face was beaming with joy, and he repeatedly exclaimed: "Li Lang, I didn't misjudge you! Your troops are well-trained, excellent!"

  Li Qin said loudly: "It's all because of the superior guidance, subordinates just follow orders and practice!" The flattery was loud and clear.

  Tang Jie was almost blinded by the camera flashes, constantly touching his beard, and accidentally plucking out a few strands.

  Jing Ming picked up the bamboo slip and read out the name: "Li Qin."

  Li QIN answered loudly: "Yes!"

  Wu Xiaosan.

  "Arrived!"

  "Shen Yi."

  "Arrived!"

  ……

  Absolutely no me coming, it's just this kind of answer from me, unified standard, shouting loudly in unison!

  Tang Jie personally stepped down from the stage and patted Li Qin's shoulder, praising: "Li Lang, you're a real good fellow!"

  Everyone present looked at Li QIN, and everyone had an idea: to support the cornered Li Lang, indeed a reputation that is not in vain, truly a good fellow!

  After the boasting, Tang Jie let Li Qin's squad stand in the front, he said: "I am rich and strong, my military is powerful and my horses are robust, it makes me feel very relieved. However, since the number of soldiers is not yet full, it also makes me worried. I hope all the squad leaders will work together to recruit more soldiers as soon as possible, so that I can be at ease." After finishing speaking, he looked down at the soldiers below.

  Most of the squad leaders were old soldiers, and they naturally understood that Commander Tang was just asking them to respond loudly. Every time the troops gathered, County Magistrate would say a few words like this. But it didn't take much effort for County Magistrate to say these words, but it took a lot of effort to issue military rations. What's more, letting the squad leaders work hard to recruit soldiers was just empty talk. The squad leaders knew in their hearts and responded with a lack of enthusiasm, nodding randomly and responding perfunctorily.

  Li Keqin shouted loudly: "I am willing to help the adults!" As soon as he finished shouting, the five soldiers behind him also shouted together. They had practiced it last night, and whatever Li Keqin shouted, they would follow suit to make their voices louder, even though Tang Jie's words were not directed at them.

  Tang Jie nodded and looked at Li Qin again, thinking to himself: "This Li Qin is a capable person. When the opportunity arises, I must cultivate him well. Tang Ren is my nephew, so it's reassuring to use him, but he's not very effective in handling matters. Letting him lead troops is no problem, but when it comes to getting things done, we need someone like Li Qin."

  Tang Jiadao said: "In order to encourage you all to practice martial arts diligently and keep our homeland peaceful, the official has decided that today we will hold a cuju tournament. Each of the four garrisons will send out one team, and they will compete against each other in pairs. The winning garrison will receive a month's worth of military rations, the second place will receive ten days' worth of military rations, and the remaining two garrisons will receive three days' worth of rations, which will be distributed on the spot without any delay!"

  Li Qinxin thought: "So generous, the prize for winning is very high!" He turned his head to look at other soldiers, but saw no one cheering, and after a moment's consideration, he immediately understood.

  In fact, the prize for this competition was a year's worth of military rations. The winning battalion would receive a month's worth of rations, the second place would get a week's worth, and the remaining two battalions could only get three days' worth of rations. It's really cost-effective to raise soldiers like this, no wonder the soldiers are so lacking in energy!

  Tang Ren listened to Tang Jie finish speaking, then said: "Let's go outside the city and have a trial at East Gate."

  ——

  "Master" didn't do well on the charts, Ping An is eager for brothers and sisters' support. If everyone can put this book on their shelves and give it a recommendation vote, that would be great! Thank you, Ping An!