Chapter 315: Shedding The Old
Lu Erlang nodded frantically.
Pei Feng, off to the side, curled his lip. This fool! He’d soon know Miss Pei Xuan’s power! Miss Pei Xuan was infamous in the Pei Family Army for her ruthless heart and cruel hands; the sweeter she smiled, the more vicious her strikes.
Pei Yan, not far away, also smirked with schadenfreude.
Pei Qinghe also caught sight of it and came over specially, quietly instructing Miss Pei Xuan: “Go easy, train them slowly.”
Lu Erlang puffed out his chest and responded loudly: “Those who came with me are all good men from the barracks. General, just watch!”
Miss Pei Xuan smiled sweetly, responding to her own general with her eyes. These were his own words.
Pei Qinghe smiled and said no more.
That evening, Lu Erlang dragged his sluggish steps into the military tent and lay down with a grimace. His personal soldier was nearly exhausted too, mustering his spirit to fetch the medicine for bruises and injuries, sighing: “This Miss Pei Xuan smiles so sweetly, but she’s truly vicious when training troops.”
Uneven lines, slow movements, hesitation after hearing orders—all would be punished.
Forming military formation even slightly slowly meant punishment too.
During sparring, she struck ruthlessly; several leaders were beaten all over. Lu Erlang was no exception and was beaten the worst, losing all face in front of everyone. It was truly too miserable!
“What nonsense!” Lu Erlang immediately glared over: “Miss Pei Xuan means well, training us. Where is she vicious?”
The personal soldier twitched his mouth. Fine, his young master was muddleheaded; better not to argue!
Lu Erlang had just taken off his first piece of clothing when the familiar crisp voice rang out in the military tent: “Second Brother Lu! I brought you medicine!”
Second Brother Lu’s eyes lit up instantly.
The personal soldier touched his nose and put away the medicine bottle.
Miss Pei Xuan came in beaming; Lu Erlang was a bit embarrassed and grabbed his clothes to put them on. Miss Pei Xuan laughed: “When it’s hot, soldiers in the barracks often go bare-chested; in the wounded soldier camp, you can see anything. Second Brother Lu still has one piece of clothing on; what’s there to panic about.”
That was true.
Having stayed in the barracks year-round, what kind of soldier had Miss Pei Xuan not seen?
Lu Erlang gave an awkward smile and put the clothes back. Miss Pei Xuan didn’t chatter nonsense and handed the medicine bottle in her hand to the personal soldier: “This is medicine personally prepared by Imperial Physician Lu, with top-quality ingredients and an exceptionally high price. This small bottle costs five taels of silver, and the effect is exceptionally good.”
Lu Erlang blushed and gave thanks.
Miss Pei Xuan pursed her lips in a smile: “Second Brother Lu, don’t be angry with me. The Pei Family Army has always trained troops this way; today wasn’t deliberately to torment you all. Strict daily training builds real skill; when you go to the battlefield in the future, you’ll have more capability to survive.”
“The Pei Family Army can confront the Xiongnu barbarians’ cavalry with infantry, all thanks to day-after-day bitter training.”
“Since Second Brother Lu led five hundred men here, you’re Pei Family Army people and should train like the Pei Family Army.”
Lu Erlang felt both ashamed and stirred with hot blood, nodding solemnly: “You’re right. We never trained this harshly in the Fanyang Army before. From now on, we’ll definitely train hard on lines and military formations.”
Miss Pei Xuan smiled gladly: “With Second Brother Lu’s determination, I’m relieved. Right, after applying the medicine, call over everyone from captain and above! I’ll teach everyone to read and write.”
Lu Erlang’s body shook: “We have to read and write too?!”
“Yes! Everyone in the Pei Family Army is literate.” Miss Pei Xuan’s smile was sweetly adorable: “Captains learn first, then go back to teach their own teams. Our monthly assessment doesn’t just test martial skills; reading and writing are assessed too.”
Second Brother Lu’s vision went black.
The personal soldier nearby also looked crestfallen.
Running, punching, practicing saber, sparring—fine. No matter how tough, everyone could grit their teeth and endure. But they were mostly illiterate stinking soldiers who didn’t know a basketful of large characters; why read?
“Miss Pei Xuan, training troops is already so hard during the day; could literacy wait a bit?” Lu Erlang still held a sliver of hope, smiling as he negotiated.
Miss Pei Xuan smiled, revealing two little dimples: “Can’t delay! I’ve already signed a military pledge with the general. Next month’s assessment, all five hundred of Second Brother Lu’s men must pass. Otherwise, both you and I will get the board!”
Lu Erlang: “…”
Several days like this.
The Fanyang Army soldiers endured unspeakable suffering. Daytime training was already grueling, exhausting their strength. Evenings offered no respite; they were forced to learn literacy.
Miss Pei Xuan still smiled sweetly, but no one wanted to see her anymore. Spotting her figure from afar made their scalps tingle; they wanted to turn and run.
A few bold troublemakers finally couldn’t hold back, stood up and angrily accused: “Laozi came to fight wars; why read and write?”
Miss Pei Xuan wasn’t annoyed and “invited” this bold hero out of the military tent, sending him directly before Pei Qinghe.
Pei Qinghe was like a god of war in the soldiers’ eyes; her face was cold when she wasn’t speaking or smiling, her pair of sharp black eyes sweeping coldly: “You refuse to follow Pei Family Army rules?”
This hero felt chilled all over, his knees went soft, and he knelt, repeatedly admitting his wrong.
Pei Qinghe said coldly: “This is the first time, and the last. Next time, military regulations disposal!”
Pei Family Army military regulations disposal wasn’t a joke. Every few days, someone who broke regulations was heavily punished.
There were simply too many military regulations. After six or seven days of memorizing, only two or three could recite them from start to finish word-perfect.
General Pei issued a military order: one month after joining the Pei Family Army, everyone must recite the military regulations.
Sneaking out of the barracks, looting common people’s wealth, humiliating women—all capital offenses punishable by death. In the former Fanyang Barracks, these weren’t issues.
Only by being in the barracks could one truly feel the difference between the two armies.
To fully integrate into the Pei Family Army wasn’t just talk; everyone had to shed a layer of skin first.
The troublemaker slunk back to the barracks crestfallen.
Fellow soldiers in the military tent couldn’t resist mocking: “Yo, didn’t you jump around earlier saying you’d make trouble, or else quit? After seeing the general, why slink back like this?”
The troublemaker flew into a rage from shame, clenching his fist to punch. That soldier recited fluently like chanting an incantation, the sixth military regulation: “Unprovoked brawls in the barracks, thirty military cudgels!”
These days, most who broke this regulation without exception took the military cudgel.
The troublemaker glared fiercely and put down his fist: “You’re lucky today; laozi is in a good mood, letting you off.”
The soldier had the upper hand but wasn’t happy either, sighing despairingly: “What to do? Over thirty military regulations, I’ve only memorized six. Tonight recognizing ten large characters, I only remember three. What to do?”
The other soldiers in the military tent wailed along.
Busy as spinning tops day and night, where was the leisure to sneak out of the barracks and do evil?
