Chapter 156: Competitive
On this day of the Martial Arts Competition, Mao Hongling’s battalion took first place, and Captain Sun’s battalion ranked second overall. The battalion commander of the third-place battalion was called Tao Feng, who came from the Beiping Army and was now Zhou Shi’s son-in-law.
When Meng Liulang left that day, five soldiers stayed behind to become Pei Clan sons-in-law, and now all of them had received important positions. Tao Feng was the most brave and valiant and powerful among them.
The top three overall scores meant they could eat meat for three consecutive meals. These three battalions were all beaming with joy. The other battalions were not discouraged either, everyone rubbing their fists and wiping their palms, determined to seize the top three in next month’s Martial Arts Competition.
Pei Yan lost to her own Second Sister-in-law and had no complaints about it. She was just quite annoyed at being mocked in turn by Pei Xuan and Pei Feng, glaring with her copper bell-like big eyes and raising her fists to scare the two of them: “If you two keep yapping, I’ll punch you flat, believe it or not?”
Pei Xuan and Pei Feng tacitly dodged behind Pei Qinghe.
Pei Qinghe smiled and rolled her eyes at them. Only then did Pei Yan withdraw her fists and say with a cheeky face: “I also want to eat meat.”
Pei Qinghe drawled in response: “The rules of the Martial Arts Competition were set two years ago. Whoever wins gets to eat meat; losers just watch.”
Rules were rules, and Pei Qinghe never made exceptions.
Pei Yan touched her nose, having an idea: “Then tomorrow I’ll lead people into the mountains for hunting.”
The wild game from hunting was conventionally stored half, with the other half shared by the whole village for a feast to improve meals. Without breaking military regulations, Pei Qinghe was quite indulgent toward Pei Yan and nodded in approval.
Captain Sun and the others ate meat for three days, and on the fourth day, Pei Yan’s battalion brought down a lot of prey from the mountains, allowing everyone to eat their fill.
In these times, everyone lacked oil and water, and whoever saw meat would have their eyes light up.
The veteran soldiers ate the meat, moved to the point of almost crying: “What kind of lives did we live in the barracks before! The superiors drank wine and ate meat, while what we ate was not even as good as pig slop.”
“Now in the Pei Family Army, we have new clothes to wear, and every meal is hot. Winning the Martial Arts Competition means meat to eat.”
“Sixth Sister lines up to eat with us every day. We eat what she eats. Following Sixth Sister makes us feel secure in our hearts.”
With all the chatter in his ears, Captain Sun found them noisy: “Enough, all shut up and eat. After eating, go to training. Do you still want to eat meat next month?”
Of course!
Of course they wanted to!
Not only did they want to eat meat, they wanted to take first place!
With a goal, they had motivation, and no one complained about the hardship of training anymore. After eating, they went to the Training Ground. Unexpectedly, there was another battalion that had arrived even earlier.
Captain Sun waved to Feng Chang from afar as a greeting.
Feng Chang also smiled and waved back, instructing Wang Erhe: “Watch them and see how they train troops.”
Wang Erhe muttered softly: “Isn’t it bad to steal their techniques!”
Feng Chang’s bottom line was very flexible: “Learning others’ strengths to make up for one’s own weaknesses—how is that bad? Besides, we’re all Sixth Sister’s people, in the Pei Family Army together. Sparring with each other to train elite soldiers is our common goal. How can that be called stealing techniques?”
Fine, you can talk your way into being right.
Wang Erhe secretly observed for a few days and reported to Feng Chang: “Their battalion is different from ours. We select people to practice lifting stone locks, fist and foot combat, and shooting arrows, but they practice all events. They probably select people just before the Martial Arts Competition.”
“Boss Feng, I feel like their way of training troops is the right one. Our previous method was a bit of a shortcut. It’s useful in the Martial Arts Competition, but in real battle, I’m afraid it wouldn’t match up to them.”
Training troops was both boring and arduous. But true elite soldiers were forged day after day like this.
Feng Chang was silent for a moment before saying: “Starting tomorrow, we’ll train like that too.”
……
The next day, Pei Qinghe walked a circle around the Training Ground and stopped by Feng Chang.
Before Pei Qinghe could ask, Feng Chang said quietly: “Sixth Sister, in the past I trained troops by taking shortcuts, specially selecting people to practice the top three events of the Martial Arts Competition. From today on, I’ll change my method of training troops.”
Pei Qinghe smiled and glanced at Feng Chang: “Captain Sun was a captain in the Imperial Guard for many years, knows how to lead troops in battle, and has a solid way of training troops. You’ve only trained for a full three years at most, so you’re inevitably some distance behind Captain Sun. You have your own advantages: you came early, your brain is quick, and your men trust you. And I trust you more.”
Feng Chang was moved, his heart warm: “I’ll remember Sixth Sister’s words.”
Still, he really wanted to beat Captain Sun.
Pei Qinghe looked at Feng Chang, whose eyes burned with ambition, and smiled without saying more. After half a shichen, she went to Captain Sun.
Pei Qinghe did not interfere with Captain Sun’s training troops, only reminding him: “Don’t train too harshly. Many of them are new recruits.”
Captain Sun nodded: “Sixth Sister, rest assured, I know my limits.”
He also really wanted to win. Not only did he want to beat Feng Chang, he wanted to beat Pei Yan and Mao Hongling too.
Pei Qinghe looked at Captain Sun, whose eyes sparkled, and smiled faintly.
“We’re done for!” That evening, Pei Yan leaped onto the bed like a diver, hugging the thick pillow and sighing: “Ever since Captain Sun arrived, everyone’s training troops like they’ve been injected with chicken blood. Feng Chang trains ferociously every day, Tao Feng trains relentlessly too, and even Second Sister-in-law is training with more and more vigor.”
“I have to train desperately too. I’m exhausted!”
Pei Qinghe laughed in spite of herself: “What’s this? You’re afraid of losing too?”
Pei Yan was utterly frustrated: “Losing to Second Sister-in-law is one thing. But if in the next Martial Arts Competition I run into Captain Sun and lose to him, or lose to Feng Chang or Tao Feng, where would I put my face?”
“No, I have to start training harder tomorrow too.”
She also pleaded: “Come to my battalion tomorrow and guide them in military formations.”
Pei Qinghe picked up the military book and stuffed it into Pei Yan’s hands: “I told you to study military books, military strategy, and military formations, but you always slack off. Now you’re in a hurry.”
“Study the military book yourself. Ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand.”
Pei Yan struggled to keep her eyes open wide and seriously read the military book.
Pei Qinghe also read the military book, occasionally using the charcoal pen to write and draw on paper. Looking closely, she was drawing various different military formations, with their strengths and weaknesses noted beside them.
Waging war requires bravery. But relying solely on brave charges cannot produce elite soldiers. Just like King Qiao in her previous life, who led over a hundred thousand into the Capital City, conquered the world but didn’t know governance, problems abounded, morale soon scattered, and he was quickly driven from the Dragon Throne by the later rebel army.
In this life, King Qiao had sat on the Dragon Throne again. It was unknown how long this Dragon Throne would last.
She was not in a hurry to seize territory, silently stockpiling grain and silently training troops.
One day, she would plant the Pei character flag across Youzhou, standing at the highest place.
For a while, Pei Yan had not been chattering.
Pei Qinghe looked up and saw Pei Yan clutching the military book with both hands, eyes already closed, her head nodding to the right now and then, like a little chick pecking at rice.
She got sleepy as soon as she saw a military book. It was also Pei Yan’s old habit.
Pei Qinghe was amused, pulling the book from Pei Yan’s hands: “If you’re sleepy, go to sleep first.”
Pei Yan mumbled drowsily in response, crawled onto the bed, and fell headfirst into a deep sleep.
……
