Chapter 31: Training the Troops

  Ning'er stared blankly at one place, she knew that in Zhou Yue'er's heart, she was already a concubine, Zhou Yue'er intentionally or unintentionally reminded her, you are not Li Niangzi anymore, shouldn't have any dignity as the female lead.

  Ning Er's heart was torn between loss and gain. She had chosen to become a concubine and gained the man's love, but lost the status and dignity of being a respected elder that she had maintained for many years. Which one was more important?

  She was lost in her complicated thoughts, and after a while, she could only smile bitterly. Now that she had become a concubine, what was the use of thinking about these things? If Lu Qi didn't return, going to someone else's house would be no different from being a concubine without dignity. She was already lucky to be able to stay in the Lu household and have her beloved man dote on her. Why be discontented and insist on that unattainable dignity?

  As soon as the knot in her heart was untied, Ning Er's facial features relaxed, and she recalled Lu Qi's wild affection. Her cheeks unknowingly flushed with redness, and her jade-like hands gently caressed her abdomen. She knew that as long as she became pregnant, much of her lost dignity would return.

  The sky was just bright, Lu Qi rode out of the west city gate. As an official, he couldn't be late. When he went out in the morning, his mother had already gotten up. When saying goodbye, his mother told him that she wanted to take a concubine for him, who was Xin Yun'er, the niece of Xin Niangniang's clan and a former maid of the young lady of the Zhou Mansion, and said that they had met once at the pharmacy in Wangjiang Pavilion.

  His mother expressed her attitude and said that she was very pleased with Xinyun'er. Lu Qi listened and recalled that when Xin Niang went to the pharmacy in Wangjiangbu, she brought a maidservant with her. However, since it was just a maidservant, he didn't pay much attention and only took a glance, so his impression was somewhat vague. But he could confirm that she was not an ugly girl. Since his mother liked her and she wasn't ugly, taking her as a concubine wouldn't be a bad thing. He nodded in agreement.

  He was the first to arrive at the military camp, and the night watchman who guarded the gate of the camp was very reluctant to open the door for him. After entering, he looked at the empty playground and found a long spear to practice with. He was good at riding and shooting, liked to use a long knife, and was also skilled in his father's specialty, the long spear technique. However, he had another ultimate skill, which was flying javelin. The flying javelins he threw could pierce through heavy armored soldiers fifty steps away, and this was also the ultimate skill he used to assassinate the enemy general.

  A two-meter-long spear in his hand seemed to have come alive, thrusting like a spirit snake spitting out its letter, sweeping like a giant pestle whistling wind, chopping, stabbing, cutting, lifting, sweeping, and flipping. A long spear stuck to his body as if it were dancing with him.

  A faint sound of horseshoes came to the school field, following Lu Qi were ten heralds, wine will not be drunk in vain, and the connection of hearts will not change overnight. The ten heralds had already taken Lu Qi as their benefactor, among whom some had realized that this was an opportunity to rise high, and if Lu Qi's official career prospered in the future, he would naturally promote some old subordinates to become officials under him.

  Lu Qi put away his long gun as soon as he saw someone coming, and smiled at the ten people with a sense of relief in his heart. What is prestige? Having many people is prestige, and having these ten fully armed subordinates following him, wherever they go, there is an intimidating aura.

  Ten orderlies saluted Lu Qi, and after a few polite words from him, they were assigned tasks. Today's main focus is on establishing prestige and individual training.

  The brave soldiers arrived one after another within the hour, and Lu Qi let those who had arrived take up their arms and chat at leisure. As the hour was about to end, he gave the order to assemble at the gathering point, and nearly ninety people responded to the order and lined up in formation. Ten messengers stood in a row behind Lu Qi, each with a solemn expression, chest out and standing tall.

  Ten orderlies stood independently behind Lu Qi, causing a great psychological deterrent to nearly ninety soldiers, who involuntarily formed a neat line and stared at Lu Qi in silence.

  Lu Qi's stern face gave the order to respond, and the brave soldiers had already assigned numerical codes. Immediately starting from number one, they loudly reported their numbers. After reporting, it was found that there were indeed missing numbers, which were 56 and 85.

  At 7:07, the military training project for today was announced. He personally taught the basic military stance and made it clear that those who learned would be allowed to leave immediately, while those who did not would have to stay until they were proficient. The soldiers' spirits were lifted when they heard this. In the past, when they came for collective training, they would line up and mechanically perform drills after being shouted at by their superiors, which was boring and didn't teach them any practical combat skills.

  Just after the military training project, two soldiers rushed in, panting, and lined up. Lu Qi gave a cold glance, waved his hand, and six orderlies immediately rushed out from behind him, fiercely rushing into the formation, pulling out the two soldiers. Three people pressed the soldiers to the ground, stripped off their clothes. Two more orderlies each carried a long gun, walked in front of Lu Qi, saluted with guns.

  "Carry out the military law." Lu Qi gave a cold order, two orderlies responded loudly and turned to leave. In the midst of the two soldiers' terrified pleas for mercy, they each received three blows from the rifle butts, beating them until they wailed in despair. The other soldiers watching were all shocked and frightened, secretly grateful that they had not been late.

  "Gentlemen, I never speak nonsense, my words are always followed by actions. Next time, anyone who breaks the military rules will be punished with five army rods. Begin gathering for training." Lu Qi's cold and stern voice intimidated everyone, and the messenger let two soldiers go back to their posts.

  Lu Qi's basic military posture is simple, with every soldier holding a long spear and standing in front of the target, aiming at the heart area of the straw dummy and thrusting their spear. If they can confidently hit the heart area within a three-inch radius thirty times in a row, they can go to Lu Qi for evaluation. Those who pass will be released immediately, while those who fail must return and practice for at least half an hour more.

  The halberdiers practiced shield-ripping and knife-slashing, with the goal of cutting down straw men. The target was changed to the head, and those who successfully slashed thirty times in a row were considered qualified. The mounted archers had it relatively easy, with qualification requiring hitting half of thirty shots within thirty paces. Due to self-directed practice, those who qualified could leave, and the soldiers practiced diligently with great enthusiasm.

  Lu Qi initially entered the army as a low-ranking soldier, but later became skilled and was selected to join the Imperial Guard as an explorer. The explorers in the military camp were a separate system, directly under the command of the commander-in-chief, like his personal soldiers. Therefore, after Lu Qi made meritorious achievements, he could obtain high-ranking official positions. Moreover, because the commander-in-chief deeply understood the value of talent in actual combat, he allowed Lu Qi to return home while retaining his military status. When the commander-in-chief received an imperial order to go on a campaign, he would necessarily summon Lu Qi back, but normally did not dare to keep him in large numbers for fear of arousing suspicion from the imperial court.

  He let go of 90 soldiers to practice on their own, and Lu Qi personally taught 10 orderlies. He deeply understood that the outcome of war depended greatly on information, especially as a county lieutenant who was responsible for escorting grain taxes, whether he could know the bandits' movements was crucial to life and death. He taught the orderlies how to disguise themselves for reconnaissance, how to check the enemy's strength and armaments, and more importantly, how to escape with their lives.

  Time flies quickly, the ten messengers learned with great interest and full attention, this is precious military experience. In today's chaotic world, one can be recruited as a soldier at any time, and only true skills can make a small soldier stand out in the army and keep his life safe.

  Lu Qi's military training seemed simple at first, but the soldiers found it difficult to complete 30 consecutive hits. However, some agile soldiers continued to request assessments from Lu Qi. By noon, more than half of them had completed the task, and Lu Qi ordered five of the successful soldiers to buy food.

  In the afternoon, Lu Qi let ten orderlies practice riding and shooting on their own. He personally instructed the remaining soldiers, teaching them the key to movement, and also comforted the two punished soldiers, giving each of them two strings of cash to buy medicine when they returned home. The two punished soldiers were moved to thank him, and the other soldiers saw this and were also moved to intensify their training.

  After coaching for a whole day, there were still eight who failed to qualify. Lu Qi'an comforted them and sent them home. He returned home to the county town, feeling somewhat tired. As soon as he entered the house, Ning'er came out from the kitchen to greet him, telling him that his mother had something to discuss with him when he got back.

  Lu Qi entered the main house alone and greeted his mother. Lu's mother pointed to a delicate wooden box on the floor, her expression unusual as she said: "Little Seven, take a look at what that is."

  Lu Qi's puzzled waist bent down to open it, and his eyes lit up when he saw that there were many silver ingots worth ten taels in the wooden box. He turned his head and asked in surprise: "Mother, where did so much silver come from?"

  "Today, Auntie Xin from the Zhou household came, bringing this wooden box into the main hall. After meeting with Mother, she directly said that her niece's life has been unfortunate, and since hearing your music at Quanqu Spring, she has been deeply admiring your musical talents. She wants to form a lifelong friendship between you and her niece, Xin Rong'er. Mother also likes Xin Rong'er and was moved by Auntie Xin's sincerity, so she agreed. Afterwards, Auntie Xin asked Mother to use 1,000 taels of silver as the betrothal gift for the marriage proposal. Mother was shocked upon hearing this and didn't know how to respond. Auntie Xin then pointed at the wooden box and said that it contained her private savings over the years, which she brought today as Xin Rong'er's dowry. She also instructed Mother not to tell your sister about the wooden box, but to treat it as if it were something our family originally had. After saying this, she left in a hurry. When Mother returned and opened the box, she was shocked to find 3,000 taels of silver inside. This large amount of silver made her very uneasy, so she's waiting for you to return and take charge."

  Lu Qi's hands moved swiftly as she closed the lid of the trunk. Standing up straight, she said calmly, "Send it back to Xin Niang."