Chapter 66: The Oath-taking Assembly (Part 1)
The update is a bit late tonight, sorry about that. I'll make up for today's chapters tomorrow, thank you everyone for your support.
After the fierce battle in Yanshan Prefecture and Taiyuan City, several days have passed. The city, which was shrouded in smoke, has slowly regained its original prosperity. The streets are filled with the sounds of vendors calling out to customers, and the only reminder of the recent past is the numerous large stones on the city walls that reveal the bloody battle that took place here.
Zhaobin issued a strict order early on, and the Changsheng Army was not allowed to disturb the people. The whole army had to treat the people of Taiyuan like their own family members, fetching water, chopping firewood, and building houses. The people gradually began to maintain an intimate relationship with the soldiers of the Changsheng Army, forgetting their previous fears. Those who died were already gone, and those who survived had to look to the future. It's strange how people can sometimes remember something for a long time because it left a deep impression, while other times they can quickly forget. Perhaps this is just human nature, with no right or wrong, only different perspectives on an event.
These past few days, Zhao Kuang suddenly issued a recruitment order, encouraging strong and able-bodied men to join the army. Although Liang Fangxu, Wang Bin, and others did not understand, they still seriously carried out the task. This battle against the Jin people caused the enthusiasm of the people of Taiyuan City towards the military to reach an unprecedented high. Many young people voluntarily joined the Imperial Guard, and on the streets, whoever's child joined the Imperial Guard, the whole family felt honored, and neighbors praised them without end.
Zhao Yun originally wanted to recruit 5,000 soldiers, but the number of applicants exceeded 50,000. Overjoyed, Zhao Yun decided to select 10,000 of them and supplement the Invincible Army with them. Since an army cannot go a day without training, soon the 10,000 robust men were practicing on the drill ground under the envious eyes of the 40,000 who had been eliminated. The sound of their battle cries was incessant. Although the new recruits were sweating profusely, not one of them complained.
Zhao Yan walked on the streets, many buildings that had become ruins were already cleared away, some materials could be reused to build new buildings, and the common people finally had a home, no longer having to sleep in the wind and rain. Many places were under construction, and the city was being rebuilt. Zhao Yan felt a little dazed for a moment, wondering if this was really the battlefield that had been bathed in blood before. He didn't know how history books would evaluate this battle in the future. Zhao Yan smiled wryly to himself, thinking that no matter what history said about him, he couldn't change it, and worrying about it was pointless. Soon, Zhao Yan walked through several streets and arrived at the drill ground of Taiyuan City.
Zhaoyan looked far away, and a heroic feeling suddenly arose in his heart. This was his own army, and in this cruel era, he had the right to speak. Although it was very weak compared to the enemy, it had the power to grab the opponent's weakness. If he found the weak point, he might be able to kill the opponent.
On the training ground, tens of thousands of new and old forbidden soldiers were practicing military formations in an orderly manner. Many new recruits did not know how to use their swords and guns correctly, and after charging forward, they would be in awkward postures and have no power at all. The consequence of this was being scolded and punished by the older soldiers, who if they were really angry, would go up and kick them a couple of times.
Zhao Bian would not stop this behavior, veteran soldiers have experienced the test of life and death. If they don't care about these new recruits, allowing them to practice at will, when they go into battle, they won't be able to coordinate with their comrades, and because of personal reasons, they will destroy the entire army formation, disrupt the formation, and kill their own teammates. Therefore, in the military, only veteran soldiers can train new recruits, this is the reason why.
Zhao Yi thought for a moment, then walked forward. At this time, Wang Fen was in front of the army formation, seriously training new recruits. Seeing Zhao Yi approaching, he immediately came forward and said: "Your Highness, I am currently training these new recruits, but it will take several months before they can go to the battlefield. Please inspect them."
Zhuo Che stood on one side, watching Wang Jun train the soldiers. Wang Jun immediately gave orders to the flag bearer beside him, and the bright red command flag fluttered in the wind. The 10,000 new recruits saw the signal and immediately began to change formation, but Zhao Yan shook his head slightly in disappointment.
New recruits in the military formation, you push and squeeze, some people stand in the wrong position, some block the soldiers behind, and others accidentally fall down, bringing down the surrounding soldiers. Such an army doesn't need to say on the battlefield, even if it's just walking to the battlefield, I'm afraid many people will be missing. After a long time, they finally stood up, but the current military formation is really miserable, whether from the horizontal or vertical rows, it's all uneven.
Wang Jin's face was uncertain, and he ordered the flag bearer to let the new recruits return to their original formation. As expected, there was a commotion, and these new recruits were really embarrassing him. After training for several days, they still looked like this, how could he not be angry? Wang Jin looked at Zhao Yan with some embarrassment, and Zhao Yan smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, if new recruits can fight after one training session, that would be a strange thing."
Zhao Yan said: "General Wang, may I try?"
"Please, Your Highness." Wang Jin made way for Zhao Jian to stand in front, and Zhao Jian said loudly: "I know it's unrealistic to ask you to be like the old soldiers as soon as you come up, but you must understand that the more you sweat in training, the less blood you'll shed on the battlefield. If you can't keep up, I can let you leave, I, Zhao Jian, will not stop you. But if you are willing to stay in the Imperial Guard, for your own sake and to prevent you from dying on the battlefield, I have no choice but to train you according to the old soldiers' methods. You must follow my way."
The soldiers below were all whispering to each other, Zhao's words had a great impact on them, now they are sweating profusely, it is indeed shocking that there is less bloodshed on the battlefield, and if they let them retreat now, they won't leave either. Now going back would make others look down on them, and even they themselves can't hold their heads up.
Zhao Kan saw that no one had left and was very relieved. He shouted loudly: "You all put your weapons on the empty ground beside you first."
After a burst of clashing sounds, the ground was piled up with 10,000 troops. Zhao Yun gave an order: "Veterans of the Changsheng Army join the new recruits in the far right row. We will start from the most basic formation and maintain a distance of one arm's length between each other, both front and back, and half an arm's length to the left and right. Advance row by row, and while advancing, use your peripheral vision to observe the distance between comrades, taking strides in the rhythm of 'left, right, left', advancing at an even pace. Everyone advances with the soldier on their right as a reference."
The flag fluttered, and the old soldiers of the Changsheng Army led the new recruits to start moving forward. Indeed, the effect was much better than before. Wang Bi couldn't help but admire Zhao Yan somewhat. At a young age, he commanded tens of thousands of troops, and with his noble status, his future prospects were boundless.
Wang Jun suddenly had the idea of following Zhao Yun to fight, and he was impressed by his relief of Taiyuan City from the threat. Not long ago, Wang Jun chatted with ordinary soldiers and learned that Zhao Yun had also lifted the siege of Yanshan Prefecture. How could he not admire him? Wang Jun's personality is extremely straightforward, and he looks down on those unrealistic, empty-talking bookworms. Zhao Yun is very much to his taste. If all the imperial family members were like Zhao Yun, there would be no worry about foreign invasions. Thinking of Taiyuan City being abandoned by the court, Wang Jun's heart was filled with anger and pain, hoping that Zhao Yun could bring new hope to the military and civilians of Taiyuan.
