Chapter 127: Frenzied Apprenticeship!

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Chief Li had never intended to command too many soldiers, much less win merit for the imperial court or take up an official post.

His original plan had been to use the court’s campaign against the rebels to expand his own influence as much as possible. Ideally, he would secure a territory of his own. Even a single county would have been more than satisfactory.

Now, that swaggering Grand General Su, who on their first meeting had been almost overbearing in his cold indifference, had suddenly sent Li Yun these gifts. Li Yun hesitated for only an instant before lowering his head, accepting the command token and seal, and clasping his fists.

“Thank you.”

The officer who had delivered them smiled and returned the salute.

“It is rare to see the Grand General take such a liking to anyone. Commandant Li is truly fortunate.”

Then he stepped closer, coughed once, and lowered his voice.

“I hear that you gave the Grand General a beating last night and beat him into submission?”

Li Yun stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head.

“Nonsense. Utter nonsense.”

The officer laughed heartily, saluted once more, and turned away.

After he had gone, Li Yun lowered his eyes to the command token in his hand and fell into a daze.

Though the Great Zhou court had already rotted to an alarming degree, even the slightest favor from that colossal empire represented a heaven-sent opportunity for Li Yun.

Take this seemingly insignificant command token, for example.

It would immediately more than double the number of men under his command.

Five hundred men!

Though he was only to command them during wartime, and in theory would be required to disband everyone except the anti-bandit unit once the Yuezhou rebellion had been put down, Li Yun could not be judged by ordinary standards.

If those five hundred men could be forged into an army and all of them retained, then, leaving everything else aside, Li Yun would at least possess an absolute voice in Xuanzhou.

When that time came, even Cui Shao’s words would carry little weight.

As he stood lost in thought, Li Zheng came over and stared curiously at the token in his hand.

Li Yun smiled and passed it to him.

“Look at you, acting as though you’ve never seen anything before. What’s so interesting?”

Li Zheng gave a foolish grin, accepted the token, and examined it several times before saying despite himself, “Second Brother, never in my dreams did I imagine that people like us could become soldiers of the imperial court.”

“Perhaps one day I really can marry a beautiful wife…”

The habits of thought formed over two hundred years still held sway here. Even bandits such as Li Zheng, who had grown up in the mountains from childhood, still believed that becoming an official was a fine path in life.

At the very least, others would look up to them.

Li Yun said nothing. He merely patted Li Zheng on the shoulder.

“You’re only a temporary commandant under General Su. The Ministry of War won’t recognize you, and neither will the imperial court.”

He looked at Li Zheng and spoke slowly.

“Skinny Monkey.”

Li Zheng hurriedly returned the token and said, “Go on, Second Brother.”

“Do you know what the most important thing is for us under General Su?”

Li Zheng thought for a moment before answering, “Recruiting more men?”

“That’s secondary.”

Li Yun’s voice grew solemn.

“The court will soon issue tents. We’ll all be training here in Ningguo for at least one to three months. During that time, you, I, and everyone from our stronghold must first learn how to pitch a tent—and where to pitch one.”

“Second, we must learn how to form ranks.”

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Chief Li’s expression turned serious as he continued.

“Third, we must learn how to become an army, not a pack of snarling, claw-waving bandits.”

Li Zheng seemed to understand what Li Yun meant. He thumped his chest and said, “Don’t worry, Second Brother. I’ll study with all my heart.”

Chief Li smiled and looked toward the tents in the distance.

“I… will study with all my heart as well.”

Standing behind Li Yun, Li Zheng sighed with emotion.

“You really have changed, Second Brother. In the past, if you’d suffered this kind of insult, there’s no way you would have continued working under that fellow Su.”

Li Yun fell silent, lost in thought.

If he had been acting solely according to the temperament of his other life—or, rather, his former self—then enduring something so minor in exchange for substantial benefits would not have been difficult.

He could even have met it with a smile.

The reason he had reacted so violently the night before was that the Li Yun of this life had influenced him to some extent.

…

Two days later, all the new recruits from the various prefectures and districts had gathered outside Ningguo. Grain carts from every province arrived one after another as well. Grand General Su Jing ordered a temporary granary to be built outside the city, then began reorganizing the newly arrived recruits.

Because time was short, Su Jing could not remain in Ningguo for long. He had only one or two months to train these recruits, so as soon as they had all arrived, he immediately began arranging them into units.

The men from the various provinces, prefectures, and counties were broken up and reorganized.

Su Jing had not commanded troops for more than a decade after leaving the imperial court, and had long since been left without subordinates. This time, when he came to the provinces, he selected only a number of experienced officers from the Imperial Guards, all of whom had previously held the rank of military commander.

Thus, in order to begin the training as quickly as possible, Su Jing spent three days appointing a considerable number of commandants.

These appointments were naturally not official appointments recognized by the imperial court. They granted rank without office, a makeshift expedient adopted in an emergency. Only then did Li Yun realize that his own post as commandant was not nearly as prestigious as he had imagined.

Such hasty appointments naturally had their flaws. Su Jing and the senior officers were making their choices based solely on instinct, and some of their judgments were bound to be wrong.

For the moment, however, the commandants were appointed only to maintain order during training. After engaging the rebel army for several months, the junior officers would more or less grow into their titles.

Those with serious shortcomings would reveal them the moment they reached the battlefield.

In only seven days, twenty to thirty thousand men had been basically mobilized. Training began in the enormous camp outside Ningguo.

Throughout the entire process, the training of Li Yun’s unit was handled primarily by Zhou Liang and Li Zheng. Li Yun himself, despite being its commandant, was often nowhere to be seen, wandering all over the vast military camp.

That day, the armor issued by the court finally reached the commandant’s camp of Li Yun’s unit. Grand General Su Jing happened to be inspecting the camps as well, and found his way there.

The moment he entered, he saw several dozen men running in circles.

He waved his hand, and Zhou Liang, who was nearby, hurried over and bowed with clasped fists.

“Your subordinate greets the Marshal.”

Su Jing pointed toward the men running laps.

“What are they doing?”

“Building their stamina.”

Zhou Liang lowered his head.

“Commandant Li ordered them to run ten miles each morning and evening.”

Su Jing raised his head and watched the men circling the camp. After stroking his chin, he asked, “Where is Li Zhao?”

“Commandant Li isn’t in the camp. He went outside.”

“What did he go out to do?”

Zhou Liang scratched his head, unsure how to answer.

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He could hardly say that Li Yun had gone to inspect how field kitchens were dug, how provisions were stored, and how tents were pitched.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Commandant Li took some other men out running.”

Su Jing frowned again.

“Have they practiced the daily hour of formation drills and sword exercises that I ordered?”

“They have.”

Zhou Liang quickly answered, “They’ve finished them all.”

Su Jing looked once more at the men running laps. Many of them had come from bandit backgrounds. After following Li Yun for half a year, they had grown accustomed to both the rigorous exercise and the improved provisions. Quite a few had become exceptionally strong.

The Grand Marshal stroked his chin.

“When Li Zhao trains them like this, no one objects?”

Everyone knew the value of physical conditioning, but in this era, no one dared train soldiers too harshly.

Even Su Jing’s daily hour of drills for the recruits was already close to the limit. If he pushed them harder while food supplies remained inadequate, the recruits would be unable to endure it, and the camp might erupt into disorder.

It could even lead to mutiny.

“There naturally are some who object.”

Zhou Liang lowered his head slightly, his expression somewhat peculiar.

“But most of the men in charge here have already…”

“Exchanged blows with Commandant Li,” he finished.

“Consequently, they all respect him from the bottom of their hearts.”

Hearing this, Grand General Su laughed helplessly.

“You mean that rough young fellow beat them into submission?”

Zhou Liang coughed once and said nothing.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Grand General Su wandered around Li Yun’s commandant’s camp. After stroking his chin and thinking for a while, he said, “The men in your camp can all be considered elite among these recruits. I’m beginning to regret letting that rough young fellow lead them alone.”

With that, Grand General Su left with his hands behind his back. Then he added casually, “When Li Zhao returns, tell him that I wish to see him.”

“There is an assignment for him.”

Zhou Liang instinctively clasped his fists.

“Your subordinate obeys.”

Su Jing suddenly turned around and gave Zhou Liang a thoughtful look.

He said nothing, however, and continued walking away with his hands behind his back.

He had already seen through it.

Zhou Liang had served in the military before.

There is another chapter before midnight~

End of Chapter