Chapter 5 Spring Dawn (Grade 6)

  The recruitment assessment has passed in the blink of an eye for half a month, but the impact brought by Gao Lishi's exquisite archery skills has not dissipated. "I didn't expect General Gao to have such skills!" "Yes, yes, five arrows in a row, each hitting the bullseye. Even if it were Xue General, who shot down Tian Shan with one arrow back then, he wouldn't be any better than this!" Many veteran soldiers who had enlisted for many years praised him with admiration.

  "He's a eunuch, yet he can still achieve success through his own abilities. How can I possibly be inferior to him?!" "Yes, yes, if we don't work hard and train diligently, we'll really be no better than a eunuch!" Many of the new recruits silently gritted their teeth in determination.

  This admiration and envy turned into motivation, greatly increasing the enthusiasm of new and old soldiers in the Flying Dragon Guards to participate in training. In the past, there were officers holding whips to supervise, and they would try every means to slack off. Now, without the need for officers to keep an eye on them, they can strive to complete most of the training projects.

  Feng Changqing saw this and immediately took advantage of the situation. Not only did he publicly reward and promote several trainees who were enthusiastic and proactive, but also through Gao Lishi's connections, greatly improved the already quite good food for the Fei Long Imperial Guards. Even if they couldn't have meat every day, ordering the cooks to slaughter dozens or hundreds of sheep every few days to treat his officers was no longer a rare occurrence.

  The soldiers were grateful to the two generals, Gao and Feng, as they ate their fill of tender meat. They followed every order without questioning its correctness, carrying it out to the letter. Only Yuwen Zhi harbored a grudge against Gao Lishi's warning that day. He didn't dare speak ill of him in front of everyone, but when he was with Wang Xun and Ma Fang, he would immediately become outspoken. This led to several arguments between Wang Xun and him. However, neither could convince the other, and many misunderstandings arose between them. It was only due to their long-standing friendship that they didn't turn against each other.

  Seeing the relationship between two good friends gradually drifting apart, Ma Fang was very anxious. During his leisure time, he came and went without fail to persuade them to make peace. However, misunderstandings had already formed and were not so easy to eliminate. Wang Xun thought that Yuwen Zhi's temperament had changed greatly after experiencing a disaster in prison, and it was almost unreasonable. Yuwen Zhi, on the other hand, thought that Wang Xun only considered those officials above him, but did not think about the hardships he himself had suffered. This made Ma Fang feel caught in the middle, and he simply didn't know what to do.

  Fortunately, the three of them belonged to different units and had been training intensively, so they didn't have many opportunities to gather together. This also eliminated the possibility of further rifts. Especially Wang Sul, who was taken in by Qing as a trusted officer after joining the camp, and his tasks became increasingly heavy. At first, Li Yuanqin and Zhao Huaiyu, two deputy commanders, were still supporting him, so he wasn't too busy. However, after the first month passed, Zhou Xiaofeng used the excuse that "there are too many new recruits, and we need to form a new team for training" to transfer Zhao Huaiyu and Li Yuanqin to other places as team leaders, and assigned two old Flying Dragon Guardsmen to be Wang Sul's deputy commanders. As a result, Wang Sul was busy from dawn till dusk every day, and even during meals and sleep, he couldn't stop thinking about how to ensure that his team members' training performance wouldn't be too poor, which would lead to him being punished by the higher-ups. Gradually, he forgot about the reason for his dispute with Yuwen Zhi.

  After entering the camp for the second month, Wang Xun barely managed to pass all the checkpoints, big and small, without the supervision of the two Anxi army deputies. Although he was exhausted every day like a dead dog, he didn't get publicly punished. In the third month, he became familiar with his fifty brothers under his command, they could talk about anything, and their training results slowly improved, gradually approaching the level when Zhao and Li were deputy commanders.

  For three months, he was busy and didn't even have time to go home. After receiving letters from Yunniang and Zilu, he hastily replied with a few sentences and settled the matter. Zilu learned from Wangji and Wangxiang, who had visited the military camp before, that her husband was indeed very busy. Although she felt a bit unhappy in her heart, she didn't dare to bother him again with family matters. Yunniang rarely saw her child, whom she had raised since childhood, working hard for once, and she felt relieved in her heart. She gave extra money to the people in the mansion for their food, clothing, and daily expenses. Even old Zhou, who was usually in charge of cleaning the toilets and dredging the drains, received a generous reward of one and a half taels of silver, and before the New Year arrived, he had already bought new clothes from head to toe.

  It is said that "in the mountains, there is no one who does not know the year", in the fourth month, Wang Xuan was promoted three ranks for his contributions to leading his brothers in clearing snow from the roads around Huqing Pool, and directly rose to the rank of Zhong Hou, a seventh-grade official. Although his actual position did not change, he remained as the team leader of the new Seventh Regiment's Second Team, but his monthly salary increased to six thousand coins. Ma Fang, who had just been promoted to squad leader, was so envious that smoke was coming out of his eyes, and he kept muttering that Wang Xuan must have "backstage support" to be able to advance so quickly in his official career. However, after saying a few sour words, Ma Fang also had to admit that the changes in Wang Xuan over the past few months were truly remarkable. His already tall stature had grown even more, and his shoulders had broadened by two inches due to his hard training. Not only did he stand out among the new recruits, but even when standing next to Lei Wanchun, who was known for his impressive physique, Wang Xuan did not appear inferior in any way.

  Apart from his physical appearance, Wang Jun's change in temperament also made Ma Fang extremely envious. The lazy and idle air that was originally considered popular among the young people of Chang'an had almost disappeared without a trace. On the contrary, there was a hint of righteousness on Wang Jun's forehead, cheeks, and shoulders. Although he still spoke with a smile when he opened his mouth, rarely showing a serious expression. However, everyone knew that Wang Jun, the captain of the new Seventh Travel Second Team, always kept his promises, and as long as he agreed to do something, he would definitely follow through without any mistakes.

  In response, Anxi Four Towns Military Governor Deputy Envoy Feng Changqing was also very satisfied. At a private banquet with his subordinates after the New Year, he personally praised him, saying: "You little kid, you are indeed worthy of being a descendant of the royal family of the founding duke. Even if I send you back home now, I, Feng, can still be accountable to your father, General Zhang Zhi. What plans do you have for the future? You can take your time thinking about it. Recently, the big country of Bolu in Anxi has been restless again. After handing over these new recruits, I will have to rush back to Anxi. If you want to go to the border to build merit, follow me together. If you want to stay in the Feilong Imperial Guard and slowly work your way up, that's also up to you. Judging from your current performance, it won't be too slow for you to rise through the ranks!"

  It's already obvious that Wang Xuan is being treated as a confidant. Everyone present, including the personal soldier standing at the entrance of the military tent, Yuwen Zhi, turned their eyes over. Under everyone's gaze, Wang Xuan immediately returned to his original form, stretching out his right hand and continuously scratching the back of his head. "Fourth uncle's love is deep, and it's reasonable for a junior like me to accept. But such a big thing, I don't think it's good for me to make a decision now. I still need to discuss it with my aunt... after all, she raised me so big..."

  Note 1: When Xue Rengui was stationed in the Tian Shan, the nine tribes of Tiele invaded. Xue Rengui shot three arrows in a row and killed three tribal leaders. The nine tribes of Tiele sighed as if they were heavenly people and retreated without fighting. Therefore, a popular song spread throughout the army: "The general's one arrow determined the Tian Shan, the brave warrior sang a long song returning to the Han Pass!"