Chapter Twelve: A Small Stove

  Return to faith, military camp.

  Song army is training, gunners holding wooden guns, under the supervision of Huang Fu, one shot at a time, fiercely stabbing and thrusting.

  "The essence of spear technique lies in thrusting and stabbing!" Huang Fu Su's face was solemn, walking among the spearmen, shouting at the top of his lungs, constantly pointing out techniques: "You, be more ruthless! Treat them as if they were Liaodong bandits! Liaodong bandits are detestable, they're your enemies, not your kin. Don't hold back against Liaodong bandits, kill them! Kill them ruthlessly!"

  Stop and correct this gunman's mistakes before leaving.

  Under his supervision, the gunman went all out and practiced gun skills desperately. Although it was a wooden gun, it also had some ferocity.

  They used wooden guns because they didn't have many real guns, and Wu's military factory was rushing to make them, but it was too late, the warehouse was empty, so they had to use wooden guns instead. Wu Ji did not want to delay time.

  As long as the skills are practiced well, once the gun is made, it will be equipped and done, things must be done thoroughly.

  Wu Qian's requirement for the gunmen was to draw a circle the size of a wine cup on a thick wooden stake, and have them stand in front of the stake, each time they had to hit the circle without missing one, this was the initial qualification.

  Once this step is practiced well, the soldiers will run forward, rush to the wooden stake, and stab into the circle. There can be no mistakes.

  A circle the size of a wine cup, in a fierce run, can be pierced with a single stab, and this accuracy is not bad. If the two armies really fight, saying that they want to pierce the Liao army's eyes, but instead piercing their nose, the Song army will have the upper hand.

  The training of a knife hand is similar to that of a gun hand, emphasizing actual combat, and all the fancy stuff is removed. The main focus of knife hand training is chopping and slashing, requiring accuracy and severity, with the knife moving like the wind. In addition to this, it also requires strength, arm strength, wrist strength, and waist strength, which must be combined to unleash a powerful slash that can cut through a wooden stake as thick as a bowl mouth, only then can it be considered qualified.

  If the Song army really trained to this level, their combat power would be extremely terrifying. It can be imagined that a wooden stake with a diameter of about 10 cm was cut off with one knife, and the force was so fierce. When the two armies fought, close combat would be a very terrible thing, whether it was a person or a horse, they could not withstand a single knife.

  The soldiers trained very seriously, sweating profusely, but no one complained, gritting their teeth and practicing hard.

  Unfortunately, the knives used by the Song army were wooden knives, and there were not many real knives. The reason was that the soldiers had sold their knives, and it would take time to make new ones, so Wu Ji did not want to waste time and could only start practicing with wooden knives first.

  Among the gunmen, knife men and bowmen, the best equipped are the bowmen, everyone has a bow. The reason they have bows is that Wu Jia went to borrow them from Qi Yun Society.

  The archers sold their bows and arrows, unable to train. Archery is different from swordsmanship and spearmanship, and wooden bows cannot be used as substitutes. Without a bow, there was no way to train, so Wu Ji had to borrow one from the Qi Yun Society.

  After the incident of Liu Feng's theft, the relationship between Qi Yun She and Wu Ji suddenly became much closer. Wu Ji wanted to borrow a bow, and Qi Da Bao didn't hesitate, not only lending him the bow but also lending him several skilled archers.

  The bowmen of the garrison were really not worthy of praise, but with the good men of the Qi Yun Society as their instructors, teaching them archery, their skills made rapid progress.

  Wu Ji's goal was that, regardless of the type of soldier, everyone should be able to engage in close combat and archery. Therefore, training in swordsmanship and archery alternated. Under Wu Ji's efforts, after several days of training, the Guixin Army made significant progress, but this progress was far from meeting Wu Ji's requirements.

  Wu Jia himself was also training hard, his physical condition was very poor, and only through strict training could he become stronger. After several days of training, Wu Jia was exhausted to death, fortunately, the effect was not bad, and he felt that he had become stronger than before.

  "Split!"

  Wu Ji grasped the knife with both hands and chopped down fiercely, his momentum was fierce, but his strength was far from that of a soldier. Wu Ji had never practiced martial arts before, everything had to start from scratch, although he worked hard, he had no foundation, and his physical fitness was too poor, it would take a long time to reach the level of a soldier, and he needed to pay a lot of hard work.

  "Chop!"

  Wu Jia chopped one knife on the wooden stake, and it didn't even enter three or five parts. The soldiers of the Gui Xin army can easily pick up a piece that can enter an inch or two inches, which is a huge difference. Not to mention, to reach Wu Jia's requirement of chopping off a wooden stake as thick as a bowl mouth, who knows when it will be achieved.

  "Wu Zhihui, you go ahead!"

  "You can definitely do it!"

  The soldiers did not laugh at Wu Ji, but instead cheered him on. In their eyes, Wu Ji had a high status and they would never make fun of him.

  "Wu Zhihui, you have a weak body and insufficient vital energy. Practicing like this won't do." Huangfu Song walked up to Wu Ji's side, sizing him up, and said: "If Commander Wu is willing to endure hardship, I actually have a method that can quickly make you stronger."

  "Do you have a way?" This was the best news Wu Jie had heard since arriving in the Song Dynasty, and his eyes lit up involuntarily.

  "As long as you can bear the suffering!" Huang Fu nodded slightly and reminded, "This method is extremely painful, I'm afraid you won't be able to endure it."

  "Alright!" Huang Fu's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness as he said, "You first run around the school field for ten laps before we talk."

  "Ten laps?" The playground wasn't small, ten laps would be five or six thousand meters. With Wu Ji's current physical condition, running ten laps would definitely be unbearable. Wu Ji felt a bit apprehensive.

  "What's wrong? Afraid?" Huang Fu's eyes sparkled as he sized up Wu Ji, with a somewhat disdainful look.

  "I'm done!" Wu Ji was not one to admit defeat. This intense exercise, although difficult for him to bear, was a challenge to his limits. Once he broke through those limits, it would make his body stronger.

  Wu Jie sheathed his sword and took a deep breath, then let out a loud roar and charged out like a leopard, very agile.

  "Good! Good! Wu Zhihui is so fierce!" The soldiers watched with their own eyes and cheered for Wu Ji.

  Huang Fu Su did not speak, his eyebrows raised slightly, and he muttered a sentence: "Being able to hold on is what's good."

  As he said, Wu Ji's fierce and powerful head was only for a short while. After one circle, he was panting like an ox and his speed slowed down significantly.

  "Huff! Huff!" Wu Jie panted like an ox, his chest almost suffocating, as if a huge boulder was pressing down on him. But Wu Jie wouldn't give up, gritting his teeth and continuing to run.

  After three laps, Wu Ji's eyes were filled with stars, and he ran while staggering, possibly fainting at any moment. However, he still gritted his teeth and persisted.

  After five laps, I can compare with the speed of ants crawling. That's not running, nor is it called walking, that's called moving, one step at a time.

  "Alas!" The soldiers saw it with their own eyes and sighed in their hearts. This Commander Wu was good in every way, kind to people, considerate of his soldiers, not corrupt, did not embezzle military pay, but his body was just too weak.

  "Commander Wu, grit your teeth and hold on! Hold on! You can do it! You can do it!" The soldiers loudly cheered on Commander Wu.

  "I must be able to do it!" Wu Jia gritted his teeth, encouraging himself, and persisted for another lap. He couldn't hold on any longer, his eyes turned black, and he fell headfirst to the ground, losing consciousness.

  In a coma, Wu Ji felt a sharp pain all over his body, as if he was being bitten by countless ants, making him extremely uncomfortable. He wanted to cry out but couldn't make a sound. His whole body felt light and airy, as if his soul had escaped, floating around in mid-air.

  When he came to, he found himself soaking in a wooden tub, with a strong medicinal smell piercing his nostrils. The water in the tub was scalding hot, and a wave of heat penetrated his body, making him feel refreshed all over, as if he were basking in the warm sunshine on a winter's day.

  "This is......" Wu Ji looked around and found himself in a room.

  "Brother Jie, you're awake." Wu Jian smiled and looked at Wu Jie with a joyful expression.

  "What's going on here?" Wu Ji was perplexed.

  "Brother Jī, after you fainted, Lord Huángfǔ carried you back to the house, gave you acupuncture and moxibustion, then patted you on the back for a while. He asked me to find some medicinal herbs, decocted them into a soup, and put you in it to soak. Brother Jī, you're currently soaking in the medicinal soup. Brother Jī, how do you feel? Is it better now? Lord Huángfǔ said this is extremely beneficial for you." Wú Jiàn was very excited, saying all this in one breath.

  "Medicine soup?" Wu Ji felt a warmth spreading through his body, very comfortable and relaxing. His fatigue had disappeared, and he felt stronger than before.

  "Wu Zhihui, you're awake." Huang Fu rushed in, not allowing Wu Ji to ask questions and said: "Wu Zhihui, if you train like this every day, I guarantee that within a month, you'll be no different from ordinary people."

  "Is it no different from ordinary people?" Wu Ji's eyes suddenly brightened up, this was his dream, and he finally saw hope.