Troublemaker (Upper)

  "Great, I was only gone for a day and you all managed to stir up such a big mess, it's really wonderful."

  Zheng Kezang's face still seemed to have a hint of a smile, but his icy tone made Sun Youlao and the others present feel chilled to the bone. It couldn't be blamed on Zheng Kezang for being in a bad mood, after all, since receiving the children, there had been constant small accidents and minor disputes in the camp, but a full-scale brawl like this was unprecedented, leaving these old soldiers speechless.

  "The young master is being unreasonable and unfair." Having no choice, Sun Youlao could only apologize first. "I still hope the young master will punish me."

  "Punishment is inevitable," Zheng Kezang pointed at Sun Youlao and the three team leaders. "You, you, and you, for being incompetent in managing the entire camp, each of you will be punished with 20 military lashes." With that, Zheng Kezang ordered, "Release all the children from the camp, let them witness what military law is like."

  ??”

  "One!" With the loud shout of the executioner, a dull thud echoed through the air, and the faces of the four military officers facing the children's camp twitched with a spasm. Large beads of sweat rolled down from their foreheads, but the executioner showed no mercy or hesitation, striking again. "Two!"

  The juvenile delinquents who were watching the execution couldn't help but gasp, as if they themselves had been beaten with a stick. The whole courtroom fell silent.

  "Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty!" With these last few counts, the military men who were carrying out the punishment finally stopped. Several soldiers then came forward to help up the punished ones and show them off to the whole camp. Seeing the four people's buttocks covered in blood, the young children were scared stiff and retreated backward, some even covering their eyes with their hands, and a few actually burst into tears in public.

  When the four men were escorted back under the reviewing stand, Zheng Kezang calmly asked: "Do you obey this official's military law or not?"

  Sun Youlao and the other three struggled free from those supporting them, bowed their heads to the ground: "Your subordinates are willing to accept the punishment meted out by Your Honor, they have no complaints."

  "When the words and actions are consistent, it's good." Zheng Kezang nodded and immediately said to the instructors, "You instructors and leaders, although you were not diligent in supervising the children's camp, but after the incident, you quickly calmed down the camp and did not let the young children suffer more losses. This can be considered as redeeming your mistakes. This time, we will not punish you, and first, help Sun Xie and a few others back to their posts and find military doctors to treat them."

  The crowd of teachers was intimidated by Zheng Kezang's methods, and one by one they surrendered, calling out in agreement. With a wave of his hand, several people helped Sun Youlao and others return to rest and recover, while the rest stood up straight, puffed out their chests, and lifted their spirits.

  At this time, Zheng Kezang's gaze had already shifted to the restless children: "The head teacher and team leaders have all been punished, don't the class monitors and squad leaders bear any responsibility?"

  The faces of several class leaders and charging officers changed suddenly, and it took a long time for a few nervous ones to come out from the team, kneeling on the ground with a sad face. With the lead, the rest, even if not so timid, did not dare to show up, so soon the team was full of officials who were still in high spirits just now.

  "I don't care who's right or wrong among you, but there's one rule: if one person makes a mistake, the whole group is punished; if one group makes a mistake, the whole class is punished; if one class makes a mistake, the whole team is punished," Zheng Kezang said coldly. The children who understood what he was saying were even more frightened and trembled all over. "As officials, subordinates who make mistakes must be doubly punished. Take them away and lock them up for a day and night without food. Let's see if they dare to forget their identity again next time."

  As soon as they heard that it was just a hungry belly and not a military stick, Hong Hui and other noble sons breathed a sigh of relief, while Ma Ying and other poor sons were even more fortunate. However, they would soon understand how heart-wrenching this was.

  "You won't be able to escape punishment either." Hong Hui and several others were taken away with their heads hung low, and Zheng Kezang only then began to deal with the rest of them. "He Jiao Shi," Zheng Kezang ordered, addressing Sun Youlao's deputy. "Today's classes on reading and writing as well as martial arts training are all suspended, and everyone will be made to stand at attention for the entire time. You take charge of watching them." This sentence had a double meaning, and it wasn't until He Jiao Shi blinked his eyes that he understood its true intention. "Additionally, dinner is cancelled tonight. Don't let them go hungry, or they might not remember..."

  ??”

  Zheng Kezang would not treat these future direct descendants with courtesy and kindness, this is not because he was born with a harsh temperament, but rather because as early as when he wrote about crossing over to the past in his previous life, he understood that in feudal times, so-called equality between classes was impossible, because the consequences of doing so would inevitably lead to the loss of authority and mystique of those in power, ultimately leading to subordinates developing contempt or prying hearts --- only later generations' young whites believed that unity between superiors and inferiors was a guarantee of victory.

  After finishing all this, Zheng Kezang turned around and came to Sun Youlao's residence. Sun Youlao, who was lying on the medicine, saw Zheng Kezang coming and struggled to get up. Zheng Kezang pressed him down at once: "Don't move, wait for the doctor to finish the medicine first."

  Soon, the doctor finished applying medicine to Sun Youlao and left with a hint of warning. At this time, Sun Youlao hurriedly knelt down in front of Zheng Kecang, making a gesture of apology: "Young Master, I am incompetent, causing you trouble."

  "General Sun, you don't have to be like this. In terms of age, you are much older than me. In terms of military rank, you are at least a fourth-grade military officer, not comparable to my humble self as a camp officer. As for battle experience, it's not even worth comparing. Zheng Kezang comforted the other party. "Now that General is willing to be the chicken in 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey', I don't have time to thank you enough, how can I blame you?"

  Zheng Kezang's words made Sun Youlao feel honored and surprised, so he hastily responded: "The young master speaks like this, how can it not make his subordinates tremble with fear? His subordinate is willing to die for the young master."

  Upon hearing that Sun Youlao was willing to make contributions, Zheng Kechang couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile. Indeed, in order to eliminate external influences and thoroughly grasp the Tongziying, he needed Sun Youlao's assistance. However, as someone who had lived through two lifetimes, he knew how to conceal his emotional fluctuations, so he simply gave a slight wave of his hand.

  "General Sun, your words are not quite right. With the king still alive, even if you were willing to die for me, how could I dare accept it so lightly?" Zheng Kuo also feared that he would be misunderstood by Sun You, so he made a promise in a roundabout way. "General Sun should focus on recovering from his injuries first. Once I've trained the child soldiers tomorrow, I will definitely recommend you to the king. At that time, I hope you will continue to be as you have been."

  Sun Youlao was overjoyed: "Please be assured, young master, I will definitely do my best."

  "Alright, alright." Zheng Kezang repeatedly said okay, at this time the words of persuasion had been finished, and Zheng Kezang's tone suddenly changed to discuss the main topic. "I plan that in the next three years, apart from the usual running laps, formation drills, martial arts training, and physical conditioning, the instructors will only teach military discipline, absolutely making them understand what is allowed and forbidden."

  "The young masters are mostly still young." Sun Youlao thought for a moment. "It's better not to use the method of training troops in the army."

  "Then call in more military doctors, and also prepare more medicines for injuries and prevention of heatstroke." Zheng Kezang hesitated for a moment but still insisted on his own plan. "Don't be afraid to spend money, if there's anything lacking or damaged, just ask the Ministry of War for it, if they don't give it to you, hand it over to Yu, Yu will go and demand it from Chen Zong." As he said this, Zheng Kezang revealed his plan. "Even if there are losses, don't be afraid, I plan to recruit at least an equal number of children into the camp every year, for now everything is just beginning."

  Sun Youlao was greatly shocked, he did not expect Zheng Kecang's plan to be so grandiose. For a moment, he was somewhat flustered, but he quickly came to his senses. Zheng Kecang saying this in front of him was both a precaution and a test, perhaps he wanted to see how he would react.

  At this thought, Sun Youlao immediately expressed his attitude. "Don't worry, young master, I am willing to do my best to assist you."

  Zheng Kezang did not quite trust Sun Youlao, but now he had no one else to use, so he could only pull in one: "Will you act on your words?"

  Sun Youlao gritted his teeth, and now he thought it was too late to regret: "It's hard to chase after a team of six horses!"

  "Good, very good." Zheng Kezang clapped his hands and laughed loudly, laughing for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "General Sun is an old veteran, I have something to ask you." Sun Youlao hurriedly said he didn't dare, but Zheng Kezang pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Please take a look, General Sun." Sun Youlao took it and scanned it quickly, while Zheng Kezang explained. "I've organized them into groups of five people, with two holding rattan shields and short weapons, two carrying guns and long spears, and one either holding a bow and arrow or a bird gun. Three groups make up a squad, three squads make up a company, it's like that. Only the squad leader and company commander can freely choose their weapons. A battalion should have four companies, except for one company equipped with flintlock muskets, the other three are the same."

  ??”

  Zheng Kezang's decision not to adopt the previous generation's own firearms and long spear formation in his novel is reasonable. In fact, there has never been a single case in Chinese military history where a single branch of the army or only a few branches could win a victory. The mixed use of long and short weapons and remote support weapons was the king's way in this era.

  "The young master's plan is thorough." Sun Youlao looked at Zheng Kechang with a skeptical eye, although he had long felt that Zheng Kechang was not like a twelve-year-old child, but now this scene made him even more shocked. He thought about it and could only use the phrase "the sage has his own heavenly endowment" to explain it. "I think it's possible, but with just one or two battalions, I'm afraid it's equivalent to the current situation."

  "But General Sun can rest assured that if Father King has any doubts, I will persuade him."

  "That's good." Sun Youlao thought for a moment, after all, Zheng Kechang was the crown prince, the future Prince of Yanping, and the problems that he considered important were not actually problems for Zheng. Since that was the case, he wouldn't dwell on this aspect and continued to say: "But the Eastern Capital lacks iron, and although the Ministry of War can manufacture bows, arrows, and bird guns, the quantity is limited, and they also need to be supplied to the Western Expeditionary Army, so it's probably not easy to equip them in a short time. The same goes for the Buddha Langji cannons and Hongyi cannons. Although the British and Spanish merchant ships occasionally have some for sale, on the one hand, the price is very high, and on the other hand, the quantity is also very limited."

  "This point has also been considered." Although Zheng Kezang had thought of these things, Sun Youlao was able to stand on his own side and consider them, which still made him very satisfied. "I think that all the children in the camp are young boys, and those with strength above one stone may not be able to pull the strong bow, and the bird guns and other military equipment should not be equipped yet, but need to wait for their growth, three years, after three years, reorganize according to this configuration." Sun Youlao became more and more confused as he listened, what did Zheng Kezang mean? He just listened to Zheng Kezang continue. "However, weapons can wait for people, but people cannot wait for weapons, so from now on, we need to start preparing gradually, what does General Sun think?"

  "The great-grandson is wise." Sun Youlao understood, it turned out that the method of moving house with mice was to accumulate the weapons to be used in the future little by little, and it seemed that this difficulty would be much easier than preparing everything at once. "But bows and arrows, bird guns are possible, but what about the Frankish cannon and the red barbarian cannon?"

  ??”

  "This is what I have been thinking about." Zheng Kezang interrupted Sun Youlao's words. "General Sun doesn't need to ask anymore."

  "Promise!"

  "That's right, I thought of a way to dissipate the excess energy of the young scouts in the camp." Zheng Kezang said as he suddenly remembered something. "Cuju, that's it, Cuju from the Tang Dynasty." Zheng Kezang suddenly became excited and started gesticulating. "It has both confrontation and cooperation, I think it will be very interesting."

  "Big Brother." Seeing Zheng Kezang suddenly reveal a childish appearance, Sun Youlao was shocked again.

  However, Zheng Kezang smiled at him: "General Sun, just rest assured and recover from your injuries. When I return, I'll look up the rules of Cuju in the Tang Dynasty and implement them soon."