Chapter 483: Military Training

On the afternoon drill ground, New Recruit Company Thirteen was familiarizing themselves with their firelocks, followed by simple formation marching. Liu Liu bellowed in a hoarse voice, introducing these soldiers to the flintlock musket.

"Reporting, sir!"

"Speak!"

"Need to piss!"

The instructor stormed up to Tang Wei, thrust his face right in front of Tang Wei's, and roared: "This is the third time! How much piss do you have to let out!"

Tang Wei said carefully, "Lunch... drank too much soup at lunch."

"Louder!"

"Drank too much soup!"

"Hold it in! If you gotta go, go in your pants!" The instructor finished, lashed his bamboo switch a few times, and strode off along the formation, shouting as he went: "Shoulder arms! I don't care if you're left-handed, the musket stays on the right..."

Tang Wei held his piss, his legs clamping tighter and tighter, not hearing a single word the instructor said. When the instructor's command rang out, Tang Wei shuffled along with his legs squeezed together. The instructor's bamboo switch struck again, and the fat man jolted, nearly soiling his pants.

The urge grew more and more urgent. Unable to bear it any longer, Tang Wei took advantage of Liu Liu walking to the other end, turned, and bolted for the latrine at the edge of the drill ground. With one man suddenly dashing out of the strict formation, the surrounding new recruits all turned their heads to watch. Liu Liu let out a great shout and gave chase, bamboo switch in hand. Two nearby garrison soldiers heard the commotion and also rushed over.

A fat man charged into the latrine at top speed, only to be dragged out moments later. Liu Liu, along with the two garrison soldiers, rained punches and kicks on Tang Wei. Tang Wei blocked left and right on the ground, dust flying everywhere.

Finally, Liu Liu dragged the bruised and swollen-faced Tang Wei before the formation, made him stand at attention, and then flogged him in front of the entire company. With summer clothing so thin, the finger-thick moso bamboo switch inflicted searing pain. Tang Wei's whole body trembled in spasms as if jolted by electricity.

Xie Fei watched, shaking his head repeatedly. "Had the chance to be a deputy cultural officer and didn't take it. Came here to do this rotten work. He who courts disaster cannot be saved."

Before he could finish his lament, Liu Liu bellowed at the formation: "First Squad Leader, step forward! Tang Wei's Company Leader, step forward!"

Silence fell over the formation. Many heads turned twice, looking toward Xie Fei. Xie Fei froze. "I'm the Squad Leader?"

The garrison soldiers were already striding over. Xie Fei hurriedly walked out, explaining as he went: "Sirs, I was only just selected at noon. Haven't gotten used to it yet. No need for force, no need for force."

Xie Fei ran over and stood properly beside Tang Wei. Wang Zhanqing, who had been selected as Company Leader at noon, stood on the other side.

Liu Liu addressed the three of them: "Tang Wei, absent without leave. First offense: punished with five laps of the drill ground. Collective punishment extends to his squad soldiers, Squad Leader, and Company Leader. Second offense: fifty strokes of the military rod, same collective punishment."

Tang Wei gulped audibly. He could already see several soldiers from his squad glaring fiercely at him. Xie Fei muttered beside him, "Fatty Tang, you're going to drag me to my death with this."

A sudden shout rang out beside them. "I don't want to be this damn Company Leader!"

Tang Wei and Xie Fei glanced sideways. They saw Wang Zhanqing bellowing, throwing his hat on the ground. "I joined the army to fight and kill Tatars! I want to be cavalry!... Agh!"

Several garrison soldiers surrounded him and quickly beat Wang Zhanqing to the ground. He started off cursing, but the garrison soldiers hit harder and harder. Wang Zhan had no choice but to curl up, covering his head. Liu Liu struck and cursed at the same time: "Here, the instructor calls the shots! What do you think this place is, where you can do whatever you want? I'll make you understand right now."

After an afternoon of training, nearly every new recruit had been beaten. Because it was the first day in camp, an especially large number of garrison soldiers and veterans had come. After this day of beatings, hardly any new recruit dared question the instructors anymore.

The group of new recruits were all utterly dispirited. Tang Wei hadn't eaten his fill at lunch, and his stomach had growled all afternoon. Finally, dinnertime arrived. Tang Wei sat down at the table once more. The comrades looked at the meat dishes on the table and immediately perked up, exchanging glances. Tang Wei sang while scanning the comrades around him. Those new recruits were also watching the fat man, their gazes crisscrossing in the air like bolts of lightning.

Another song finished. The training officer bellowed, "Eat!"

With lightning speed, Tang Wei's left hand snatched a steamed bun, while his right hand plunged into the red-braised pork. Before he could pull it out, a cluster of chopsticks converged. Broth splattered everywhere from the pork bowl, the bowl clattering against the tabletop. Tang Wei clamped down firmly on a piece of meat and delivered it swiftly into his mouth.

This meal was a vast improvement over lunch. Tang Wei ate his fill. After dinner, there was a rest period. The bruised and swollen-faced Company Leader Wang Zhanqing shouted commands, and the entire platoon returned to the barracks. Having run five extra laps of the large drill ground that afternoon, Tang Wei returned to the barracks weak in the limbs, flopped onto his bed with a thud, and didn't want to move a muscle.

The sky had darkened. Liu Liu bellowed outside, urging every company to wash up quickly. The other companies were all led out by their Company Leaders to fetch water, but Wang Zhanqing lay on his bed with his feet propped up, biting his nails.

Xie Fei came over and said to Tang Wei, "Fatty, let's go wash first. Otherwise, when the instructor comes to check and finds us dirty, we'll be punished again. I don't want to be dragged down by you anymore."

Tang Wei laboriously propped himself up. Others were also heading out on their own to fetch water. Tang Wei glanced curiously at Wang Zhanqing and whispered to Xie Fei, "Is this guy not afraid of beatings or what? Tell me, how did we end up picking him as Company Leader?"

"Forget about him," Xie Fei said, grabbing a cotton cloth for Tang Wei. "It's just the recruit company anyway. When we go to the combat troops later, we won't be with him."

By the time the two of them finished washing and returned, Wang Zhanqing had been beaten again by Liu Liu and two garrison soldiers and was forced to grab his basin and go out. Tang Wei lowered his head and returned to his spot, quickly stowing his basin and cloth, then stood at attention with his hands behind his back in the middle of the aisle.

Liu Liu waited until Wang Zhanqing had washed and returned. Then he paced down the middle of the aisle, shouting: "Today's outdoor training is over. Before sleep every night, each man must also do two hundred push-ups, twenty per set for ten sets. Company Leaders supervise Squad Leaders, Squad Leaders supervise their soldiers. I will come to spot-check. Anyone who hasn't finished, collective punishment for the Squad Leader, Company Leader, and the squad's soldiers."

At Liu Liu's command to begin, everyone dropped to the ground and started doing standard push-ups. After observing one set, Liu Liu went to another company's barracks. The moment his figure disappeared, Tang Wei and Xie Fei sat back against their bedsides. Opposite them, a man with quick, intelligent eyes also sat up and stopped doing the exercises.

He said ingratiatingly to Tang Wei, "This brother, my name is Huang Shan, from Xuanfu."

"I'm called Tang Wei." Tang Wei nodded slightly. The thick-legged man beside them complained, "You lot slacking off like this, we'll all get punished again later."

Huang Shan whispered, "Brother, if you want to do them, do more. We've got no strength left."

"Anyway, the instructor isn't here. Who's to know we didn't do them? If you don't tell, it's fine," Tang Wei said smugly. Huang Shan quickly agreed.

Half a shichen later, Liu Liu and two garrison soldiers reappeared in the barracks. All the new recruits stood at attention on both sides of the aisle. He walked down the middle. Tang Wei glanced sideways and saw Liu Liu feeling the foreheads of the men in front.

Xie Fei beside him whispered, "We're done for. That dog is checking for sweat."

Tang Wei gritted his teeth. "Worst case, another five laps."

The words had barely left his mouth when they heard Liu Liu roaring at Wang Zhanqing: "Why is there no sweat? Did you do your push-ups?"

Wang Zhanqing raised his head proudly. "No. I want to be cavalry... Agh!"

The garrison soldiers once again laid into Wang Zhanqing heavily. Seizing this moment of chaos, Tang Wei swiftly turned, grabbed the coconut ladle from his bed, poured some water onto his hands, smeared it on his forehead, and then quickly passed it to Xie Fei. After Xie Fei had done the same, Huang Shan took the ladle and fixed himself up too. Tang Wei didn't even have time to put the lid back on. He quickly stashed the ladle under his bed. The few of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. Su the Thick-Legs, whose bunk was next to theirs, glanced sideways a few times, snorted in displeasure, but said nothing more.

After Wang Zhanqing was once again on the ground, Liu Liu continued his inspection. Tang Wei stood with his chest out and head high, full of confidence. Liu Liu felt his forehead, his hand coming away wet. He nodded in satisfaction. Tang Wei was just rejoicing at having fooled him.

Suddenly, a voice rang out: "Instructor Liu, those three didn't do them. They just smeared water on their heads! Deliberately tricking you. If you don't believe it, look at that fat man's coconut ladle."

Tang Wei's scalp went numb as he looked over. He saw Yuan Gusheng pointing at him, his face full of indignation.

After running five more laps on the drill ground, the four of them also made up the two hundred push-ups. This time, personally supervised by Liu Liu, it took over a shichen before Tang Wei could finally lie down on his bed again.

In the pitch darkness, the other soldiers were already snoring like thunder.

Xie Fei said from the next bed, "Fatty, think about how many beatings we've taken today. I don't want to be a combat soldier anymore. If you ask me, just honestly find yourself a woman, why must it be that Guan girl? I'm not sticking with you. I'm going home. Even being a porter back home is more comfortable than this."

Tang Wei buried his face in his pillow and grunted twice. Opposite them, Huang Shan, in his hard-to-understand Xuanfu accent, tried to persuade them: "I say, brothers, I won't hide it from you. I escaped from the Jianzhou Bandits. What's hardship? It was only among the Jianzhou Bandits that I truly knew hardship. We didn't join the army for comfort, nor for some woman. We joined to recover Liaodong and rescue the many Han people suffering there."

Xie Fei said listlessly, "You go save them if you want. I'm going back to Huang County. My family's in the city, not waiting for land. I just need to fail the training."

Huang Shan had met with a rebuff. Since his surrender, he had first worked in the Construction Department for over half a year. Because he had surrendered voluntarily and performed well afterward, he was quickly promoted to foreman, specifically overseeing the newly arrived captives. By last month, he was finally able to join the army. If he started a family, he could immediately receive land.

Over that year, he had developed considerable organizational skills. However, once he truly left the environment of the captive labor teams and faced these local soldiers from Denglai, he still felt somewhat ashamed of his background. He had, after all, been a bondservant. That was why he hadn't stepped forward during the Squad Leader selection either.

Huang Shan tried to persuade the two of them: "If we don't serve as soldiers, who will eliminate the Tatars? What if the Tatars come to Denglai one day? Do you know what that scene is like? Have you seen 'Lovers in Troubled Times'? Look at how bitterly Tang Xiaoxiao suffered in that."

"Hahaha, Barbarian Hercules!" Xie Fei clutched his stomach, laughing on his bed. Tang Wei also slapped his pillow, laughing right along.

Huang Shan watched the two of them laugh so heartily, wondering if he was just too rustic; perhaps they had already seen it long ago. When he had watched it, he had wept uncontrollably, desperate to share it with someone, and in the end they all treated it as a joke.

Huang Shan snorted a few times in embarrassment, collapsed onto the bed, and said no more.

Tang Wei laughed until tears streamed down his face. After finally stopping, he turned his head to Xie Fei and said, "Aiyo, see that? I did it all to save Tang Xiaoxiao."

Xie Fei clutched his stomach and said, "Right, right, you, Fat Tang, what a great man you are."

Tang Wei stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion in the air. "I will definitely pull Tang Xiaoxiao out of that fiery pit."

Xie Fei stopped laughing and said to Tang Wei, "Fatty, say, if you're here fighting for medals, and out there Xu Pingjie has already married Sister Guan, what are you going to do?"

Tang Wei snorted and said, "No way. The day Sister Guan saw that business between Xu Pingjie and that little singing girl, she wouldn't take a liking to him. Besides, his uncle Xu Yuanhua has also fallen; let's see what else he can spring out."

。。。。。。

"Yuanhua, come and sit down." Liu Minyou and Xu Yuanhua had just entered the Regional Commander's official business room when Chen Xin waved them over warmly. Xu Yuanhua's eyes reddened, and he immediately dropped to his knees with a thud.

"The sinner Xu Yuanhua greets my lord Chen. I went on a trip to the workshop and have only just returned; I have come a little late, and beg my lord Chen to mete out punishment."

Liu Minyou went straight to take a seat. Chen Xin politely helped Xu Yuanhua up, looked him over from head to toe, and then said with earnest gravity, "Yuanhua, you are a veteran of so many years. Surely you know that this official dislikes the kneeling ritual most of all. Do not do so again in the future. Being a little late is nothing; coming back is what matters, coming back is what matters."

Liu Minyou pursed his lips, found the tea leaves himself, and brewed a cup each for himself and Xu Yuanhua.

Xu Yuanhua gratefully rose and accepted the tea, then sat properly in the chair opposite the desk. Choking with emotion, he said to Chen Xin, "For these seven years, this subordinate has been deluded by Lu Chuanzong. I did not seek much profit for myself, yet I could not let go of my local ties and sentiments, and thus brought about a grave mistake."

"I know, I know." Chen Xin waved his hand and said, "In the future, remember: Dengzhou and Laizhou are our homeland. Do not always harbor those narrow regional views in your heart. By all accounts, this official and my lord Liu are also men of Liaodong, but have you seen us only looking after Liaodong people? For example, a man of talent like you, Yuanhua, this official will likewise put to great use."

Xu Yuanhua said repeatedly, "This subordinate is ashamed."

Chen Xin patted Xu Yuanhua and said, "Tomorrow you will return to the Civil Affairs Department and assume the post of First Chief Assistant to my lord Liu. This official and my lord Liu have discussed this."

Xu Yuanhua raised his head; for a moment he did not grasp the meaning of Chief Assistant. Chen Xin smiled slightly and said, "That is, to assist my lord Liu in handling all civil administration affairs. The work will certainly be much more than in the Science and Technology Department, but as for your ability, Yuanhua, this official has full confidence in it."

Xu Yuanhua was stunned for a moment, which quickly turned to surprise and delight. He hastily moved to kneel again, but Chen Xin caught him at once. "This was specifically proposed by my lord Liu, who needs someone familiar with civil affairs to assist him. When he is absent, this person can also directly handle some routine matters. My lord Liu said you are fit for this post. You must do it well, and do not fail my lord Liu's promotion of you."

Xu Yuanhua lowered his head and wept, "This subordinate will remember. This subordinate will never fail you two my lords. Should there be any further unlawful conduct, there will be no need for you two my lords to act; this lowly one will end it himself."

Liu Minyou came over and said softly, "Alright, we are not Puritans. Do your own work with peace of mind. If your relatives and friends do business, it is not that you cannot support them financially, but you cannot use your channels in the Civil Affairs Department to help them. So long as it is a proper business, no one forbids them from making money. When Zhou Laifu's son-in-law wanted to open his own factory, this official even specifically instructed the workshop to release him. He recently took on the spinning machines from Changyi, relying on better workmanship than the Pingdu No. 2 Factory. Who can say anything against him? This official even lent him silver to expand his scale. Compare this with that shop of Er Tun's, and you will know what the difference is."

Xu Yuanhua lowered his head and said, "My lord Liu's talk of promoting industry and commerce is exactly what it should look like. This subordinate understands now."