Chapter 127: Even the strictest rules have underlying reasons!
Wanjin, Barracks.
Piao Sanlang, covered in a fine sweat, and Pen Silang were desperately scrubbing the floor with rags, not missing even the corners. Guo Tailang, along with Wan Cilang and Tong Wulang, was meticulously washing bamboo mats, wooden basins, and ceramic basins by the entrance.
Guo Tailang was a Deputy Small Flag, considered the “superior” to the other four. While scrubbing by the entrance, he nervously chattered, “Faster, everyone, faster! The inspection is almost here.”
Pen Silang grumbled something, seemingly complaining, but his voice was too muffled to be understood. Even while complaining, his hands involuntarily sped up.
Piao Sanlang remained silent, continuing to scrub the floor diligently. Even though the floor was cleaner than the faces of the masters he used to serve, he dared not overlook any corner, wanting to scrub everything again. Otherwise, if they were punished later, no one would escape.
Fortunately, this was just a ten-person wooden hut with not much furniture, and it was already quite clean. With the five of them working together, they finished the internal affairs in no time.
Only then did Piao Sanlang heave a sigh of relief, quickly wash his face, and sit on the floor to catch his breath.
Guo Tailang was still inspecting everywhere, muttering the internal affairs regulations to himself, checking for any overlooked spots. After going over everything twice more, he finally felt a bit relieved. He then turned and instructed his four companions not to wander off, and to wait until after the inspection.
Pen Silang couldn’t help but grumble again. This time, Piao Sanlang could hear it a bit clearer, something along the lines of “resting for half a day is worse than not resting at all,” but he didn’t respond. If the “White Stick” heard it, they would surely get hit again.
Tong Wulang was younger, only sixteen or seventeen. Once he had free time, he wanted to chat. He asked Guo Tailang, “Brother Tailang, I heard we’re getting paid today. What do you want to do with the money?”
“I want to save it and buy some land in the future,” Guo Tailang replied casually. However, talking about this topic improved his mood, and he became less tense.
Tong Wulang wasn’t interested in buying land, so he turned to Wan Cilang and asked, “Brother Cilang, what about you?”
Wan Cilang said casually, “Save it to get married!”
Tong Wulang wasn’t interested in getting married either, so he asked Piao Sanlang, “What about you, Brother Sanlang?”
Piao Sanlang hesitated for a moment. He didn’t hide it from his close companions: “I’m saving too. In the future, I want to start a… small business.”
This time, Tong Wulang became interested and pressed, “What kind of business? Brother Sanlang, are you going to be a traveling merchant in the future?”
Piao Sanlang answered truthfully, “I can boil lacquer seeds to make wax. After I finish my military service and become a freeman, I want to sell candles.”
“Selling candles is great! Candles are valuable!”
Tong Wulang slapped his thigh. He hadn’t expected Piao Sanlang to have a skill; he was a craftsman. He looked envious and was about to boast about bringing his little brother along in the future when Pen Silang poured cold water on him, “Let’s just survive these two years first. If you die, you can only eat candles!”
“It’s not like we’re definitely going to die. Haven’t we stopped getting beaten these past few days?” Tong Wulang had gotten somewhat used to barrack life after more than a month. As long as he memorized the regulations well and didn’t give the “White Stick” any reason to fault him, the “White Stick” could only glare.
Guo Tailang was also very dissatisfied with Pen Silang, who always complained and dragged everyone down. He cursed from the side, “Old Wu is right. You cause the most trouble. Just keep your mouth shut and behave yourself, and everyone will be fine!”
“Yes, yes!”
This time, even Piao Sanlang couldn’t help but agree. He had been implicated by Pen Silang several times. At first, he had complained along with Pen Silang, and accidentally, the “White Stick” overheard them. Suddenly, a group of “White Sticks” rushed over, kicked them down, and started beating them. They rolled and wailed on the ground like dogs, in pain for five or six days. They had truly suffered greatly.
But as soon as he agreed, he noticed someone with a white stick tucked at their waist suddenly appear at the entrance. Seeing this white stick sent a shiver down his spine. He instinctively remembered the fear of being dominated by this white stick, and immediately sprang to his feet, standing perfectly straight. He also reminded his companions, shouting, “Flag Officer!”
The pot, bowl, ladle, and basin group immediately sprang up as well, standing perfectly straight, looking straight ahead, not daring to glance around. The “Flag Officer” named Qi Sanlang didn’t say anything. He silently entered the room, first sniffed the air, found no foul odor, and then began to patrol the room. He found the floor and walls clean, with no dust or mold.
He then went to the shelf and saw that the wooden basins for washing faces and bathing were neatly arranged in their designated positions. The wooden bowls and bamboo chopsticks used for eating were also spotlessly clean, leaving no room for criticism.
He thought for a moment, then bent down and pulled out the ceramic basin from under the shelf. This ceramic basin was used to burn dried duckweed to repel mosquitoes. It was summer, and the vegetation around Wanjin was lush. After dark, mosquitoes were numerous. Without fumigation, it was impossible to sleep. But he extended a finger and rubbed the bottom of the basin vigorously, yet no dust came off. The ceramic basin was also washed clean.
He was still not convinced. He put the ceramic basin back under the shelf and then unfolded a sleeping mat to examine and smell it carefully. He found no insects, salt grains, or the smell of sweat. He could only reluctantly roll up the sleeping mat again and put it back in its place. He left without a word.
As soon as he disappeared, Guo Tailang collapsed onto the floor, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Wan, Piao, Pen, and Tong also breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seemed they had passed the inspection again, and wouldn’t be beaten today… There was no training in the afternoon, so no beating was possible. Internal affairs had also passed. As long as they didn’t slack off on indoor physical training tonight, paid attention to fire safety, and didn’t make noise while sleeping, or fall asleep during their watch, they wouldn’t be beaten again.
Once the inspection passed, everything was manageable. Wan Cilang and Pen Silang directly collapsed on the floor, wanting to lie down and rest. But as soon as they lay down, another “White Stick” appeared at the entrance and directly ordered, “Ninth Small Flag, go to the Camp School to collect your monthly pay.”
“Report, the personnel of the Ninth Small Flag… uh, uh, are not all present. The Small Flag and four others are on kitchen duty today.” Guo Tailang immediately jumped up and replied loudly, but he paused, and sweat immediately broke out again.
This “White Stick” didn’t dwell on it. He simply said, “Understood, you go ahead,” and walked to the next room. Guo Tailang didn’t dare to hesitate and quickly urged his four companions to tidy their uniforms and line up to depart.
…………
Yuan Ye was in the Camp School, distributing “pay” to the soldiers one by one. Excluding the chaotic preparatory period of over ten days, these men had been formally training in the barracks for a month, and it was time for their wages. He couldn’t go back on his word, so today was payday, and they would also have half a day off and a good meal tonight. This was to give them a chance to relax and be happy.
He personally handed the money to each soldier, chatting with them with a smile. For those who showed promise over the past month and were potential officer candidates who could attend evening classes at the Camp School, he would chat a bit longer, adding a little extra to their prospects.
He wasn’t sure if this was effective, but he remembered that Yuan Datou did the same. He paid over seven thousand people individually, which was even harder work. In terms of true talent, Yuan Datou was definitely better than him. Learning from a strong person was never wrong, so he just followed suit.
However, speaking of which, just talking a lot wasn’t considered hard work. In the past month and a half, countless troublesome incidents had occurred, far more troublesome than this. As the old saying goes, it’s easy to know, but hard to do!
The first trouble he encountered when gathering these over 140 people was quite bizarre: the rate of people with the same name was too high. Before, when these people were in different workshops and teams, it wasn’t noticeable. But when they were crowded together and needed to be called, he discovered that there were eleven people named “Tailang,” six people with the same name as him, “Sanlang,” and other common male names in rural areas like “Cilang” and “Cilang Sanlang.” Basically, they were all the same, with several people sharing a single name.
These people were called “Tailang,” “Cilang,” or “Sanlang” by their parents at home since childhood. They never really had proper names. Then, as they grew up, they took these appellations as their names. When their names were called, over ten people would respond.
Therefore, the first thing he did after establishing the army was to give names to the soldiers. Among the more than 140 people, nearly sixty needed to be distinguished from each other. He was forced to rack his brains, using everything from grass, trees, stones, earth, pots, bowls, ladles, and basins, to houses, wells, rivers, and lakes. Only then could he successfully organize and call the roll.
Enforcing military discipline was also troublesome. He had hesitated before, wondering if the military discipline copied from Yuan Datou was too harsh and lacked humanity. But when he actually applied it, he found that some clauses were indeed necessary. After all, there were all sorts of people in a large group. Some people acted with impunity, and without beheading a few people, some bad practices simply couldn’t be stopped.
For example, it was clearly written in the military discipline, and the “Military Police” had repeatedly explained and recited it to them. They knew clearly that gambling was forbidden, but some people still defied the ban and gambled in secret. One fellow lost all the clothes and shoes he was issued and actually went to training the next day naked.
Yuan Ye had no choice but to enforce military discipline and behead all six of these idiots who dared to defy the ban and gamble in secret.
There was truly no other way; killing one to warn a hundred was essential.
For example, there were those who refused to take their turn on duty, for some unknown reason, they just wouldn’t obey orders to go and clean toilets;
For example, two men were on night watch duty together. According to regulations, one should be visible and the other hidden, as a form of simulated training. However, these two men got together and openly built a fire in the middle of the night to roast field mice. This violated several articles of military discipline.
There were even those who climbed over walls to go out without permission, those who absolutely refused to recite military discipline and regulations, those who beat others and robbed them of their belongings, those who stole others’ clothes and shoes, those who feigned injury to slack off and avoid training, those who used violence to force others to take their shifts, and those who attempted to bribe the “Military Police”…
Given all these ridiculous incidents, it could only be said that even the strictest regulations had their underlying reasons. Yuan Datou, who managed over seven thousand people back then, was probably also overwhelmed and encountered all sorts of bizarre situations, which forced him to behead people relentlessly. Otherwise, he couldn’t have trained soldiers and would have failed completely.
Yuan Ye, like him, could only ruthlessly eliminate a group, killing nearly 10% of his army. In daily life, he commanded A Man to lead the experienced followers to strictly enforce requirements, checking the recitation of military discipline and regulations every day, section by section. If they stumbled, they would be kicked down and beaten until they cried and wailed, feeling pain to the bone. Before doing anything, they had to recite the military discipline regulations first. After over a month of such beatings, the remaining men were finally brought under control and somewhat resembled human beings.
In the past five or six days, no one dared to slack off or cheat, no one dared to steal or fight, no one dared to refuse to obey orders, and no one would roast field mice while on watch anymore.
Yuan Ye himself wasn’t sure what kind of force this training would produce, or if it could be considered a modern army. After all, he had no experience and wasn’t a reincarnated military genius or god. But he figured it should at least be stronger than the “Follower + Ashigaru” model…
