Chapter 9: Rebirth

  "Get up, get up, still sleeping lazily, hurry up."

  At the crack of dawn, it seemed as if Jing Yi had been reborn. He shouted loudly and many soldiers got up, rubbing their eyes and looking at the red sun that had just risen on the horizon with a look of confusion.

  "Fall in, assemble!"

  Qing Ji gave the order, and the two hundred soldiers each had a soldier guarding them, called Left Soldier Guard and Right Soldier Guard. The two of them quickly restrained their troops and formed two square arrays in ten rows. At this time, the difference was evident: those soldiers who followed Qing Ji to escape from the Chu-Wu battlefield to the Wei State quickly took their positions, while those heroes and wandering warriors who came from various countries to escape, although they were fierce and fearless of death, but were not quite adapted to such a solemn scene in peacetime.

  Qing Ji stood at the front of the ox cart, head held high and chest out, with his bow slung over his shoulder and his long spear in hand, quietly waiting. A red ribbon was tied around his forehead, and the ribbon tail behind his head fluttered in the morning breeze, making him look spirited and radiant.

  "Kongzi, today Qingji Gongzi seems to be quite different from before." Zilu looked at Qingji with some admiration as he stood majestically on the chariot, and said quietly to Confucius.

  Confucius nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on Qing Ji, as if he was thinking deeply. This expression was somewhat familiar to him, when he studied and pondered over a problem for a long time, finally coming up with an answer that he thought was the most appropriate, he also had this confident and determined look.

  Qing Ji's gaze slowly swept across the entire army, and he said with a deep breath: "All generals and soldiers, these days on the march, we have forgotten our daily drills. Look at your left and right, our military morale has already begun to slacken. If this continues, I think we don't need anyone to attack us, we will collapse ourselves. The army needs discipline and coordination, not a scattered sand, relying solely on individual bravery to win battles. Otherwise... I, Qing Ji, am known as the number one brave warrior of Wu State, then I myself can go find Ji Guang, why bother recruiting soldiers and building an army?"

  The two phalanxes gradually fell silent, and Qing Ji continued: "You are warriors who make a living by military travel, you are soldiers, and soldiers must have the appearance of soldiers. I don't care if you were originally fishing or killing pigs, from the day you arrived under my command, forget about the past, start everything from scratch. From today on, all of you must be spirited, every day at dawn, practice formation, and train in martial arts."

  "Men, you follow me, isn't it to achieve something great? Don't think of yourselves as just ordinary soldiers who are content with the status quo. Don't belittle yourselves! A soldier who doesn't aspire to be a general is not a good soldier! Whether in training, marching, patrolling or fighting, always remember that you want to be a general. Do you understand?"

  A burst of laughter came from the phalanx, Marshal? The marshal is the commander-in-chief of the central army, which is the highest military position in a country. This official who was beyond their reach, they had never thought of it before. Not only did the marshal have to have great military merit, but he also had to be born into a noble family, where would they, these lowly commoners, be qualified?

  Qing Ji waited until the laughter gradually subsided, then suddenly raised his voice by three degrees and shouted: "How about it? Are you not daring to think or unwilling to be? Take a look at the desolate wilderness around you!"

  Qing Ji waved his big hand, pointing to the vast and desolate wilderness around him: "With just a small spark, a raging prairie fire can be ignited here. Why can't a small soldier become the commander-in-chief of the three armies? Are kings, nobles, and generals born with it?"

  As soon as the words came out, the soldiers under him suddenly started discussing and whispering to each other. The provocative power of this sentence was really too great, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang relied on this slogan to gather countless brave men who dared to rebel against the Great Qin. Building achievements and being enfeoffed as a marquis is enough to make hot-blooded men sacrifice their lives.

  Qing Ji saw, a hint of satisfaction flashed across the corner of his mouth, he turned his hand and pulled out an arrow from the quiver, held it in his hand and loudly said: "Today, I Qing Ji swear here, from now on, my army will only reward based on military merit, promotion and enfeoffment will all be according to military merit. If anyone violates this oath, they will get such an arrow!"

  Qing Ji said, with a "ka" sound, he snapped the feathered arrow in his hand. The soldiers of the two phalanxes were stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised their long spears and halberds, cheering loudly: "Young Master Qing Ji! Young Master Qing Ji!" The shouting shook the sky and earth, and the birds hiding in the grass and woods nearby flew out in surprise, adding to the momentum.

  When these words came out, even Confucius, who was listening on the side, was shocked and felt unbelievable. Although he was a declining nobleman, he attached great importance to blood lineage. When his son was born, the Lord of Lu sent a fish as a congratulatory gift, which was an honor that only nobles could enjoy. Confucius was very happy and named his son Yu to commemorate this.

  His vision was limited by the times, after all. This is an era when slavery has not yet disappeared. The nobility are noble, and the common people are inferior, with each generation inheriting their status, clearly distinguished from one another. For a slave owner to be enfeoffed as a noble, they only need to follow the army into battle; regardless of the outcome, they will be awarded a title after the war. But for a commoner to receive such treatment is simply as difficult as ascending to heaven. It's already surprising that Qing Yi was promoted through military merit, but to also be enfeoffed through military merit? This is truly unprecedented, and it feels like thunder on a clear day.

  Qing Ji watched everyone's reaction with a secretly pleased heart. This was the method he had thought of after staying up all night to quickly increase his power. I am an exiled prince, while Hou Lü is a monarch of a country, my influence and status are not as good as his, but what others can't give you, I can give, even if it's just a long-term check, there will still be countless people who will come after hearing the news.

  Such a sentence sounds simple, but at that time it broke the thousands of years old system that people had always thought was heavenly and earthly. At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, it was a major turning point in history, when various social systems were decaying and new ones had not yet been born. At this time, there was no need for a perfect new policy without any flaws, as long as you had one that was more advanced than others, you could leave them far behind in this era of great change and historical turning point.

  Another hundred years passed, when Shang Yang proposed this article, its effect on the Qin army was obvious, but other countries did not follow suit. This is because there were many obstacles and no great leader with a broad mind, always holding onto conservative ideas. Qing Ji knew that these words would not only have an immeasurable motivating effect on his 200 soldiers, but also that once this news spread, countless heroes of the time would come to join him.

  Considering he still needs to win the support and endorsement of the Wu State's internal aristocratic families, at least he should try his best to keep them neutral and not firmly stand on the side of Huan Gong, "No military merit, no more nobility" this point he didn't even mention, now he is in need of uniting all forces that can be united.

  Seeing the entire army with high morale, many people's eyes shone with excitement. He smiled satisfactorily, waved his palm like a knife, and shouted loudly: "Good! Now, I'll give you half an incense stick to wash up, half an incense stick to put on your armor. One incense stick later, the whole army will gather for martial arts training. Those who are late will be beheaded!"

  The whole army was immediately boiling, the entire team had already gathered before the scheduled time, every soldier stood upright with his chest and head held high, like a great general, the appearance of the entire team was completely new.

  Qing Qini was very satisfied in his heart, he didn't expect that this speech would have a significant impact on the entire army, bringing about an immediate and drastic change. As long as it could boost morale and enthusiasm, changing the spiritual outlook of these weary soldiers, its effect would be quite remarkable.

  He believed that when the time came to fight, his rewards for merit would truly be implemented, and countless Jiangdong fierce tigers would emerge under his command. At that time, his capital would be more than sufficient.

  To live happily every day now also needs capital isn't it?