Chapter 70: Formation Training

  Column training

  Just standing at attention, taking a short rest and doing squats for over an hour left Yao Fang's mouth dry. The squad leaders under him were in high spirits, having the opportunity to manage others in front of Yao Fang made them feel proud.

  "Attention! Left turn! Attention! Right turn!"

  Attention! At ease! Attention! Fall in!...

  Yao Fan repeatedly performed these actions, looking at the awkward expressions of his partners, and he couldn't help but feel anxious in his heart. He had originally planned to have the hundred partners train in the morning and work in the afternoon, but if they continued at this pace, it was likely that they would have to switch to full-day training instead.

  The high temperature in late July made all the trainees sweat profusely, and their long-sleeved work uniforms made of cotton denim were soaked with sweat, turning blue-black and clinging to everyone's body. Bai Dagui and Li Shitou, who wore the Qing soldiers' uniform, were also drenched in sweat.

  "Now that everyone has learned the three correct standing postures, let's move on to turning." Yao Fang didn't use a cumbersome phrase like "rotating while stopping" to describe it, but simply called it "turning".

  "Everyone watch me demonstrate, I'm turning right now, see? Wherever you turn, your center of gravity will fall on that foot! Your center of gravity is the weight of your body, this weight presses on which foot, and the center of gravity is there... " Yao Fang said with a dry mouth, anxiously looking at his partners.

  After the most tumultuous drill, most of the clever fellows had mastered how to turn correctly, and only needed to be practiced.

  Yao Fan handed over the next training to five squad leaders and stood there supervising. The morning training continued until noon, just before lunchtime, Yao Fan ordered everyone to run two laps around the field before dispersing. So the comrades lined up, along the edge of the cement playground, running two laps was more than a thousand meters, after a bout of exertion almost everyone was exhausted and on the verge of heatstroke.

  Then Yao Fan announced that they would disperse and eat, and the partners immediately relaxed, chatting with each other in a lively and cheerful manner.

  "Which play is this? He's got everyone standing with him for a whole morning, look at the master, he's all sweaty, his clothes are all soaked." one of the workers observed.

  "Didn't I say so, this is what they call training troops. Probably to make them look good, so they can earn face for the master in the future." Another dark-skinned fellow unbuttoned his shirt and fanned himself.

  "Since it's for the sake of giving our boss a good image, then so be it. We'll definitely practice hard, after all, we just need to stand there and don't have to do any actual work. I can stand from morning till night."

  "Nonsense, as long as I can eat and drink, I can stand for a month, believe it or not? However, the standing method taught by the master is quite tiring, my body is too straight, I'm not used to it."

  As for Bai Dagui and Li Shitou, two personal soldiers sent by Wei Guofu, they couldn't help it anymore, so they ran up to find Yao Fan.

  "Master Yao, there were a lot of people just now, I didn't dare to offend you, but this practice is not right." Bai Dagu said with a bitter face.

  "How should I practice?" asked Yao Fang.

  "Master Yao, you just need to teach these guys how to line up and walk, that's all. Standing and turning around are things people can do naturally since birth, why bother practicing again? Look at yourself, Master Yao, you're all sweaty from exhaustion." said Bai Daguang.

  "General Yao, are you trying to come up with some formation? If so, it's not necessary. Those fish-scale iron armor formations, three-talented arrow formations, and six-harmony eight-trigram formations are just for show when the inspector comes to visit. They're just tricks used by the Green Camp to swindle their pay. When it really comes down to fighting, who remembers those things? It's all about relying on brute force with a knife. If Master has time to practice these things, he might as well find a proper firearms instructor and learn some real skills." Li Shi Tou explained.

  "I don't want everyone to practice some kind of grand formation, as long as we can stand in a neat and uniform manner, that's enough. If the team is tidy, then discipline will be guaranteed." said Yao Fangdao.

  "By the way, Da Gui and Shi Tou, you two are old soldiers now, there's no need to practice this anymore. General Wei didn't call you over to suffer, so I'll ask for your help instead. Help me arrange a military band, and I'll allocate funds for it." Yao Feng asked tentatively.

  "What military band?" Bai Dagui asked dully.

  "Just find a few people who can play the flute, suona, and trumpet. After my village warriors are trained, they will come in and out with a band playing music, which is quite lively."

  "Oh! So Old Yao likes this! This is easy to handle! Leave it to us! In these ten miles, who can blow and beat, my two brothers know them all." Bai Daguang happily took on this task.

  "Mr. Yao is brilliant! From now on, bring a few who can play and sing when going out, it can refresh everyone's spirit and relieve boredom, and won't feel tired while walking." Li Shitou also highly approved of Mr. Yao's idea.

  "It's settled then. From now on, I'll give you two 200 taels of silver as expenses every month, and you two will be in charge of training the military band. Later, I'll find an office for you in the city to serve as the headquarters of the rural militia, and you two can work there as my deputies."

  The two were overjoyed and hastily thanked Yao Fang.

  "Big Gui, you said is Yao Dongjia going to drive us away?" Li Shitou asked on the way back to town after leaving Yao Fang.

  Bai Dagu wiped the sweat and said, "There's silver to be earned, things are taken care of, and it's leisurely. What more do you want? Master Yao is giving our general face by arranging such a relaxed task for us two. Otherwise, would you rather go out in the scorching sun to practice those fancy standing moves?"

  Li Shitou thought of the previous lap that almost blew his chest cavity and was frightened, saying: "I'm not willing to do it, standing upright with my chest out is tiring, but it's still okay, but if I have to run another big circle around the playground like just now, I'll definitely pass out!"

  Yao Fan's arranged lunch was light but filling, with steamed buns served with a soup of dried shrimp and winter melon, and the workers ate until their bellies were round.

  Yao Feng let the new recruits take a nap in the newly built barracks, but ultimately decided to adopt a full-day training system, which means they would continue training in the afternoon.

  Yao Fang called his core partners, who were also the big partners he had fought with in the past, to a meeting in the warehouse.

  "After a morning of training, everyone has worked hard. We have the opportunity to practice martial arts, which is a great thing. In the future, after our village's martial arts team is trained, we won't be afraid of the Guo family seeking revenge." said Yao Fangdao.

  "The master is right." Li Haoniu and others echoed in agreement.

  "I hereby declare that from now on, everyone's monthly salary will remain the same. In addition, all those who participate in the militia training will receive an additional two taels of silver as a subsidy every month."

  In addition, the construction of our Yaojiazhuang's plank house is almost complete. The 200 rooms in Zone A have been fully built, and half of Zone B has also been completed. I took a look yesterday, and the quality is very good. The top is covered with the oil felt that I brought last time, so we don't have to worry about rain. Now let's arrange for everyone except a few partners to stay in the village from now on and not return to the city. In the next few days, we will tidy up all the houses, put up beds, and move all the bedding rolls from our mansion in the city to this side.

  "Master, what's going on with our village militia team these days? If we're going to practice like this every day from now on, I, the head of the carpentry class, won't have time to manage the construction site. If I don't keep an eye on those young ones as they work, I won't feel at ease." said Li Jun, the second squad leader.

  Yao Fan thought so too, but military training was obviously much more important.

  "All team leaders participating in the training, temporarily don't take care of the construction site. Each of you recommends an agent team leader from your own team on the construction site to help you manage the work on the construction site."

  Yao Fan paused for a moment, then said: "From now on, all partners can bring their families here, but they cannot go themselves. They must entrust someone to run errands. After all, the current training and construction tasks are very heavy and cannot be left unattended."

  "There's no one at home." said Li Jun.

  "Those who want to get married can also report, our company can ask the matchmaker for help, and let everyone settle down here." This time when Yao Feng came back, he heard from Li Haoniu that there were often quarrels and even fights between fellow workers on the construction site, and some workers would go to brothels after receiving their monthly salary. Yao Feng thought it was all because of pent-up hormones.

  "I want to get married!" Li Jun was the first to sign up.

  "I also want to get married!" Liu Jinbao said immediately, and then he added: "Now I have a monthly salary from my master, I am willing to add some money, please ask the matchmaker to find me a big-buttocked one." Finally, he added: "Big buttocks are good for childbirth."

  He Shicheng blushed and proudly said: "I just found out this time when I came back, my family has already spoken for me to be engaged, and it's said that the girl is quite pretty."

  As soon as this topic was brought up, the warehouse became somewhat chaotic. Yao Feng's core buddies all expressed their desire to get married and showed their agreement with Liu Jinbao's point of view, willing to add more silver to find a big butt.

  Yao Feng saw that the topic was going too far and hastily said, "Let's stop here for now. I'll try my best to ask the matchmaker to find someone you like. But whether you find a wife on your own or through a matchmaker, I don't allow you to look for one with bound feet. A woman like that can't walk properly and isn't suitable for us who need to travel around for business. Besides, women with bound feet are useless."

  All the fellow workers agreed, except for a few who were somewhat regretful. According to them, even the daughters of slightly wealthy families had bound feet. Now they earned ten taels per month and were considered big shots with great face, wanting to marry women from relatively well-off families.

  "Yao Fang resolutely opposed this idea: 'You guys must set a good example! Don't make special cases!'"

  Li Haoniu firmly supported Yao Feng's views: "Whoever marries a woman with bound feet is going against the master! Get out of here!"

  So the several partners who expressed regret just now declared that in order to protect their boss, they could completely abandon their own private thoughts.

  Yao Feng took out a stack of photos from his bag, which were the portraits that Yao's father had helped him develop last time. They were all pictures of his subordinates.

  "I took these photos a long time ago and haven't shared them with everyone yet. Now I'm posting them, so everyone can keep them as a memento."

  "Ah! Master! Isn't this me?" He Shicheng exclaimed in surprise.

  "Ah! This is me! It's too similar! Just like a living person!" Li Haoniu was also no longer calm.

  "What kind of magic is this? How come it looks just like me? Why is my face so round, and isn't that person behind me Liu Jinbao? What's he holding in his hand?" Zhou Si exclaimed nonstop.

  As soon as they got their own photos, everyone was amazed and couldn't close their mouths, a mess of discussions, all guessing what kind of magic this is, that can bring people and colors to life.

  Yao Fangsheng feared they thought it was a soul-stealing sorcery, so he explained: "This is a Western photograph, taken with a camera. The camera is that thing I often hang around my neck, which can remember scenes and people's images, then print them on paper. This is a field of study, not witchcraft. In the future, I can teach you how to take photos."

  When Yao Fan said this, everyone had an idea in their minds, hoping that one day they could learn from Dongjia.

  "This photo is a reward for everyone, from now on, whoever becomes a big shot, I'll take a picture with him, and whoever gets married, I'll help them take a couple's photo together, so that future generations can pass it down and know what their ancestors looked like."

  After being said by Yao Fang like this, the value of the photo suddenly became precious, and the partners holding the photo felt as if they were holding a family heirloom, which was not suitable to be placed anywhere.

  "Yao Fandao: 'I've seen the photos too, let's put them back. I'll help you pack them in your bag so they won't get lost.'"

  Put away the photos, Yao Fangdao said: "From now on, training will be conducted every day, and no one can slack off. Each squad leader must supervise their own subordinates. Bai Dagui and Li Shitou have been sent to the city by me, and two people need to be added to the two squads they were in. Li Haoniu, you go back and choose two clever ones, and teach them separately at night."

  Yao Fan took out his own training outline compiled on the way back to Qingdao and handed it over to Li Hainiu.

  "From now on, regardless of whether I'm here or not, follow this outline for training. In the morning, first practice formation drills for an hour, then do physical training to build up a good physique, so you won't be at a disadvantage in future battles."