Chapter 72 Item 1 Assessment

  Li QIN listened to Jia Xiang's voice becoming smaller, and clearly understood that Jia Xiang was afraid of being overheard. After all, Jia Xiang's thinking was based on the current situation at Fu Jiao Fortress, and he chose the most realistic way to build an army, which was different from the expansionist thinking of many generals at the time.

  Not all, but most of the leaders who want to expand their army are willing to take a step further and directly equip the best troops, such as Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers, Liu Bei's White Eared Soldiers, Lü Bu's High-sequenced Trapping Camp led by Gao Shun, Ma Chao's Heavy Armored Cavalry, and the last elite of the Shu Kingdom, the Unyielding Flying Army, etc., are all representatives of the elite soldiers in this era.

  However, these armies have a characteristic: once the main general is finished, the army disappears with him. In other words, these armies appear and disappear with famous generals. Just like skilled craftsmen, outstanding craftsmanship is only passed down to their children, becoming ancestral craftsmanship that is not taught to outsiders. As a result, the method of training soldiers is fleeting, and the development of strong armies lacks sustainability. The more battles they fight, the fewer soldiers there are, rather than the more battles they fight, the more soldiers there are!

  Li Qian wants to build an army, can't take the increasingly narrow road, but should take the increasingly wide road, methods don't worry about others learning... because he himself is not too clear about specific methods, so he crosses the river by feeling for stones, walks a good man with three helpers, and takes the path of many people gathering firewood to make the flame high.

  From simple to complex, from low to high, it's very important to progress in sequence. In this era, the most basic military force is the long gunner.

  He nodded, and Li Qin also said in a low voice: "What Brother-in-law said is reasonable. First, we must train long spear soldiers, and then train other troops. Cavalry is easy to say, Dalang Village has many good riders, the key is archers and scouts, they must be trained."

  Jia Xun thought for a moment and said, "Archers are also easy to train. When forming an array and shooting arrows, more than 100 steps away, accuracy is not particularly important, as long as they can fully open the bow and shoot tightly, when the enemy gets closer, let the elite shooters shoot, taking advantage of each other's strengths and weaknesses, coordinating their shots."

  Li Qin nodded and said, "We can train a batch of soldiers with excellent archery skills to specialize in shooting the enemy's commander, using them as snipers, only responsible for stealthy attacks, often achieving remarkable results."

  "Sniper? Hmm, this name is not bad. As the name suggests, I think Sniper can be played by Jixiong. Jixiong is best at making sneak attacks. Look at that Wu Danzi, he's always sneaking around!" Jia Xiang smiled and pointed to Wu Danzi in the crowd.

  Li Qiwang looked back, but saw Wu Danzi standing at the outermost edge of the crowd. While others were on tiptoes, he was half-bent over, only occasionally straightening up to take a quick glance at the scenery on the door panel, and then bending down again, like a highly alert small animal, constantly looking around left and right.

  Li QIN smiled and said: "This is called habit becomes nature, let him change, he can't change it!"

  The two of them chatted for a while, then got down from the rooftop and went their separate ways. Li Qin returned home again, hiding in his room, carefully thinking about how to assess the soldiers and select suitable ones.

  The next day, Li Qin got up early and came to the threshing ground alone. At this time, there were already many people sitting on the field, all the Fu Jiao soldiers were there, even Dian Wei was there, and Jia Xu was also there, really energetic and full of energy.

  When Li Qin arrived, Jing Qi hurried over and said loudly: "Prefect, did the teacher ask my dad to come and be a doctor? He doesn't plan to practice medicine in the city anymore. He wants to enter the fortress as a doctor in the future and teach everyone to recognize characters during his free time. Prefect, rest assured, my dad will definitely write four characters!

  Li Qin smiled and looked at Jia Xiang, nodding: "Alright, then let your dad come. We're all our own people, it's easier to discuss things. Can't let your dad busy himself for nothing."

  "Hey, no need to pay for teaching," Jing Qi said hastily. "My dad said so, he just wants to help me lay the foundation and expand my connections."

  Li Qin refused and insisted on paying wages.

  He was well aware that if Jingchun came and didn't charge money as a teacher, it would raise the threshold for entering Fu Jiao Fortress to take office. He didn't want money, and in the future, others wouldn't dare to ask for money either. Many people come here not only for food and drink but also for money that can make their families live better. If no money is given, fewer people will come.

  Only by doing good deeds and being a good person, without causing losses to others, can more people be encouraged to do good deeds. If good people do good deeds but suffer losses, then fewer people will do good deeds. The current situation in Fuling Fortress is that capable people are willing to come, which means they are doing good deeds. However, if they are not given compensation, it would be equivalent to harming the interests of those who do good deeds, and subsequently, fewer people will come.

  Li QIN wants is brave generals like clouds, strategists like rain, relying solely on selecting from his own one mu and three fen of land, how can that be done?!

  After finishing the story of the teacher, Li Qin clapped his hands and said: "Beat the gong, gather everyone together. The sun is shining on our buttocks, are you still sleeping?"

  Jing Qi laughed and said, "Everyone slept late yesterday and had a hard time getting up this morning!" He ran to fetch a gong and clanged it loudly, waking up the whole village.

  Xu Xiaoni shouted: "Qin Ge, are you going to talk about recruiting soldiers? Then I'll go call the people from the castle too!"

  Li QIN waved his hand and said, "No need, let's beat the gong while walking in that direction." He raised his voice and shouted, "Regardless of whether we can become soldiers or not, follow me! I'll treat everyone to a good meal at noon today!"

  After finishing speaking, he led the way out of the village on foot, without riding a horse. The crowd followed behind him, beating gongs and shouting loudly, using all their might to attract people's attention.

  They walked all the way and didn't arrive at Fu Jiao Fortress until the sun was high in the sky. By the time they reached the outside of the fortress walls, almost everyone had caught up.

  Li Qin climbed up the wall of the fortress and looked at the people below. Originally, there were villagers from Fu Jiao Village, plus those newly recruited over the past few days, as well as those from Da Liang Qiang, totaling over a thousand people. It seemed that gathering four hundred strong men would be difficult, but assembling two hundred was no problem.

  Li Qin said loudly: "Everyone, we will have two meals today, one at noon and another after dark. We'll eat well. I'll slaughter a camel and invite everyone to eat the camel meat. The hump is a delicacy that only emperors and high officials in the capital can afford. Today, let's indulge and try some fresh camel hump!"

  Li Tian and Jia Fu, these old men listened, all of them were so heartbroken that they stomped their feet. This was too extravagant! Camels are big livestock, rarely seen before, and now that we finally have dozens of them, you want to slaughter them for meat? What kind of meat can't be eaten? Why eat camel meat?!

  "Your son is like that, nothing can be done properly, if there's something good, he must make a mess of it!"

  Li Tian was heartbroken, but he didn't want to hear others criticizing Li Qin. He said: "Didn't you hear? Camels are good things, my son specially wants to show filial piety to me, and you follow along to gain favor, yet still speak so much nonsense."

  "Alright, alright, you're a Li, so everything you say is reasonable. I'm a Jia, so whatever I say is false!"

  Li QIN on the wall continued: "There is not much work left in the castle, but it's all meticulous work. So I think let the old people and women do it. The elderly have experience, women are careful, they are most suitable for doing it. Does everyone agree?"

  The people below all nodded in agreement, saying it was right. In fact, if Li QIN hadn't said so, they wouldn't have felt anything, but now that he's said it, they think it makes sense and didn't think deeply about it.

  Li QIN said: "The remaining people don't care about age, as long as they are men, they can participate. Everyone follow me to run around the castle and see who can run more. However, those who can run must have a good head on their shoulders. If someone can still run after I stop, whoever runs the most laps will get to eat the best meat when we eat camel meat. How's that? Isn't it fair?"

  Entering the Fu Jiao Fortress, most of the men naturally had the idea of being soldiers, knowing that Li QIN was testing everyone's skills. However, this method of testing is beyond expectation. Running around the castle, regardless of appearance or tribe, treating everyone equally, is quite different from other officials recruiting soldiers.

  Li QIN shouted from outside the wall: "Whether you eat meat or drink soup, it's all up to your skills!" He started warming up.

  The horned soldiers followed him and naturally did these movements, others saw them and also followed suit, but a bit messy, doing one thing while asking another. If the horned soldiers dared to do so, they would have been flogged, but this time Li Qin didn't scold the commoners, nor did he forbid them from asking questions, instead, he repeatedly explained the benefits of warming up, without any impatient expression.

  The activity started, and Li Qian began to run around the castle with hundreds of people following behind him. People of all ages were there, even Ma Chao joined in, despite his young age, he was quite energetic, and in the first half lap, he didn't fall behind.

  The circumference of Fu Jiao Bao is about one mile, and the circle drawn by Li Qinxin is slightly larger, about three miles. At first, there was nothing special except for those who were really old and couldn't run, as well as small children. Most adult men followed along, and they didn't seem to be very tired!

  Li QIN turned his head and looked back, then ran the second lap again, but this time he accelerated, taking big strides and almost running at full strength!

  The people behind, all the Fu Jiao Bing followed closely, and there were also dozens of strong men who kept up tightly, but many Han men fell further and further behind, especially the Qiang people. Most of them had bowlegs and were good at riding horses. They could even sleep on horseback, but if they got off to run, they were not as good.

  Li Qinchong waved his hand to the surrounding onlookers, Jia Yu understood and began to take note of those who could run and their rankings.

  When I ran the third lap, it was already six miles away. The men behind me could still run, but it's not easy to catch up quickly.

  Sweat streamed down Li Qins forehead as he too began to pant heavily, estimating that he himself wouldnt be able to hold on for much longer!

  After the third lap, the soldiers behind were still following closely, but there were only a dozen or so of them left. After all, it was rare for people in this era to run like this. If they practiced regularly, I'm sure there would be more people who could outrun Li Qian. But since it was their first time, everyone was a bit unaccustomed and couldn't adjust properly.

  In the fourth lap, Li Qin's speed slowed down significantly. He knew he was almost done and even if his physical strength was exceptionally good, running over 12 miles in one breath was enough. He couldn't exhaust himself and the strong men all at once, so he would improve gradually later on.

  When he finished the fourth lap, he stopped and looked back. The horned soldiers were still closely following him. He had not trained them in vain, but only less than ten of the robust men could keep up with him!

  But these less than ten people, however, did not show any signs of fatigue. As soon as they took off, it was clear that they were all seasoned runners and were the enduring type of flying legs from the late Han dynasty!