Chapter 208: New Recruit
He Hua and Cui Er signed up and received three taels of settlement silver.
The two of them gave the silver to their family, packed a few ragged clothes, and went to the barracks with a mix of anxiety and excitement.
This batch of new recruits going together numbered over a hundred. Men made up nine out of ten, with only about ten women. Among them, six were widows who had either been forced to remarry or driven back to their parental home where even their brothers and sisters-in-law could not tolerate them, so they had no choice but to join the army.
Though the Pei Family Army had a good reputation, women serving as soldiers was truly unprecedented. If they were deceived into the barracks not to be female soldiers but to become military prostitutes or the like, they would be utterly trapped in dire straits, with no one to hear their cries for heaven or earth.
These few young widows were very silent along the way. He Hua and Cui Er, however, had great confidence in the Pei Family Army and worshipped General Pei to the utmost.
“What is there to fear! There are so many female soldiers in the Pei Family Army!”
“General Pei is a woman, and those she favors heavily are mostly women. Those female soldiers patrol the streets wielding sabers every day. This can’t fool people!”
“The Pei Family Army has been here a month and hasn’t done a single wicked deed. General Pei is fierce toward the magnates but cherishes us common people greatly, only requiring us to pay thirty percent land tax. Can such a general be found anywhere else under heaven?”
Among the two teams escorting the new recruits to the barracks, one team consisted of female soldiers. The female soldiers heard He Hua and Cui Er’s hushed whispers but did not stop them.
Upon entering the barracks, the first thing for new recruits was a physical check for diseases. Bao Hao handled the men, while a female military doctor checked the women.
This female military doctor was from refugees; her father and brothers had all been doctors, and she had learned some medical skill by osmosis. Later, famine struck her hometown, and she fled with her father and brothers. They encountered bandits; her father and brothers were killed, and she was humiliated by the bandits. On the brink of death, she was saved by the Pei Family Army that eliminated the bandits. Afterward, she stayed with the Pei Family Army, learned medicine from Bao Hao, and became a female military doctor.
There were a few such female military doctors in the Pei Family Army. It was more convenient for female soldiers who were injured to have female military doctors treat wounds, apply medicine packets, and bandage them.
After the physical check, they bathed with hot water, discarded their old clothes, and changed into brand-new gray military uniforms.
In the Pei Family Army, for the convenience of training and marching, the style of military uniforms worn by female soldiers was similar to that of male soldiers, just a few sizes smaller.
The material of the military uniforms was not good, just the most ordinary coarse cloth. However, for He Hua and Cui Er, who had worn hand-me-down clothes from brothers and sisters since childhood, being able to wear new clothes was already a source of great joy and encouragement.
The first meal upon entering the barracks was a bowl of vegetable soup and two mixed flour steamed buns, with each person also getting a piece of pickled mustard greens.
He Hua ate while secretly wiping away tears.
At an age when her body was growing, there was never enough grain at home. Her father and brother who did farm work had to eat first, and she had to yield to her younger brother. She had not eaten a full meal in a long time.
Cui Er was much the same; as she ate, she began to cry.
The other few young widows also had red eyes, carefully finishing their steamed buns and drinking every drop of their vegetable soup.
The female soldiers responsible for serving the food laughed: “In the barracks, there is a full meal every day. No need to cry; the good days are still ahead.”
That night, He Hua and Cui Er were assigned to a new tent with a few widows. The two sisters rested their heads together, happily whispering: “Cui Er, how can there be such a good place in the world.”
Cui Er grinned: “Sister He Hua, I feel like I’m floating, as if in a dream.”
At the fifth watch the next day, the military drum sounded in the barracks.
Everyone had to go to the training ground for training. New recruits, being new arrivals, were temporarily exempt from training but still had to get up together.
A female soldier in her twenties came with a thin booklet. The booklet contained over thirty military regulations. The female soldier read them out one by one: “These military regulations must be memorized perfectly. The first one to recite them gets a bowl of meat as a reward.”
There was meat to eat?
He Hua and Cui Er each swallowed their saliva. Their family was poor, and her brothers did not have literacy, so naturally they did not either. However, the young had good memories, and by reciting word for word, they memorized them perfectly in just two days.
The female soldier was very pleased and led the two of them to see Pei Qinghe.
Pei Qinghe smiled and praised: “They are all good seedlings. Take them to the kitchen; reward each with a bowl of meat.”
The bowl was not large, but the meat was piled high and oily; one bite, and the flavor was indescribable.
He Hua and Cui Er buried their heads and finished the bowl of meat. The other new female soldiers drooled enviously, and their recitation speed for the military regulations suddenly quickened.
After eating full meals for several days, the new recruits went to the training ground to begin simple formation drills. He Hua and Cui Er’s team still had a female soldier leading them.
He Hua was bolder and quietly asked the female soldier when she had joined the barracks. The female soldier smiled: “I’ve been in the Pei Family Army for two years. When you become veteran soldiers, you’ll be sent to lead new recruits too.”
One veteran soldier leading a team of new recruits was the custom in the Pei Family Army.
Veterans had to teach new recruits the military regulations, familiarize them with barracks life, lead them in training and practicing martial arts, and teach literacy at night. After a year or so like this, the new recruits would be trained up.
“We still have to learn literacy?” He Hua was shocked: “Isn’t being a soldier just about wielding a saber and killing? Why learn to read?”
The female soldier laughed: “These are all regulations set by General Pei. The soldiers in our Pei Family Army train during the day and learn literacy at night.”
“Right, those who learn quickly and perform well get rewards.”
Cui Er swallowed saliva again: “Still meat as reward?”
The female soldier grinned: “Yes. The top three in the monthly martial arts competition get to eat meat for three meals. There is also a monthly assessment for literacy; those who do well get to eat meat for three days straight.”
He Hua and Cui Er’s eyes lit up. Even those young widows whose hearts had been like dry wells now had eager light in their eyes.
They did not understand prospects or the future. But meat that could be eaten was very real. They could not always just watch others eat meat; they wanted to eat too!
Their high enthusiasm was enough to sustain the new recruits through the initially boring formation drills. The military regulations flowed out effortlessly, and learning five large characters each night did not seem so hard.
After a month of formation practice, they began practicing punches.
He Hua and Cui Er had eaten full meals for a month; their bodies were much sturdier, and their strength had increased. They punched out one by one, exhaling “huh huh” from their mouths.
The General Pei they admired trained with them every day, lined up with them to get meals, never cut in line, and smilingly held a mixed flour steamed bun, squatting to eat with them.
“Cui Er, how can there be such a general in the world!” He Hua mentioned their general privately, her eyes bright as stars: “If the General asked me to ascend a mountain of knives or descend a pot of oil, I wouldn’t blink!”
Cui Er grinned: “I’d be willing too.”
