Chapter 1103

The harshest cold of Buzhou Shan has arrived.

Even in Zhangye City, such a sudden temperature change is clearly felt.

Although the grass outside is still green, every morning it is covered with thick frost.

This cold will not kill the grass of Yǐnmǎchuān, but human skin can clearly feel the bone-chilling chill; even Chen Wuji, who has worn a single layer for nearly a year, has begun to add clothing these past few days.

In this coldest season, the matter of the Uyghurs has once again been placed on Chen Wuji's desk.

In the Zhongjun Camp, the blazing charcoal basin hangs an iron rack, from which strings of meat skewers sizzle, dripping oil drop by drop.

On either side of the charcoal basin sit several mats, where Chen Wuji's most influential advisors and all the martial commanders of the Zhangye City garrison are seated.

Chen Wuji leans against the upper couch, holding a bowl of wine in his hand, occasionally taking a sip.

These past few days of weather have made even him, who usually prefers tea over wine, begin to crave the taste of warm wine.

"After this period of effort, gathering the strength of two prefectures and the tuntian wei, we have finally managed to assemble seven thousand sets of winter clothing. Yang Yu, that old scoundrel, has recently had a sharp nose; I don't know when he got the news, but he actually sent us another ten thousand sets of winter clothing."

"So, we now have eight thousand sets of winter clothing; have the clothes already been distributed?"

Chen Li said: "Family Head, they were already sent to the various armies yesterday."

"If any unit lacks winter clothing, they may privately discuss and adjust among themselves." Chen Wuji said, "Because of previous circumstances, eight thousand sets of winter clothing is the limit of what we can allocate; even if you complain, it's useless."

"I also don't know exactly how many martial artists and ordinary soldiers each unit has, so the matter of winter clothing, you may discuss it privately among yourselves."

Such weather poses no harm to martial artists.

Once one enters the Body Tempering External Force, not to mention Zhangye City's weather, even if they were made to stand guard on Buzhou Shan, they would at most shiver a few times, with no major hindrance.

After Chen Wuji stepped into the Rivers and Lakes, he had already let those few great masters select some martial methods for each unit, but he has no idea what they have actually cultivated.

After all, practicing martial arts is not simple; it cannot be achieved overnight.

Don't think that masters are everywhere in the Rivers and Lakes; progress is like climbing a peak—without mentioning grand masters or grand grand masters, those with slightly inferior talent may exhaust their lifetimes just trying to enter the Body Tempering External Force.

Chen Wuji himself is precisely such a person.

When he previously practiced the Chen Family Inherited Technique, he achieved the accomplishment of Strengthened Body in three or four years, never even touching the threshold of Body Tempering, feeling nothing at all.

It was only after receiving the method from Zhi Xu Daozhang that he recently began to faintly feel as if he had touched the threshold of Body Tempering.

"The Central Army does not need winter clothing; whoever among you lacks more, later you may send someone to the Central Army to take some!" Chen Li suddenly said to the martial commander on his right.

"Huh?" Chen Wuji glanced over sharply.

He had just been pondering this, and then Chen Li turned his head and undermined him.

Has the Central Army become this arrogant now?

He is clearly in the army every day; how come he seems less informed about the situation below?

Chen Li clasped his hands, lowered his voice slightly, and said: "Family Head, I only learned of this yesterday, and I am also quite surprised. After the winter clothing arrived yesterday, I ordered each unit to count, and surprisingly, every unit is already composed of martial artists, even the Luggage and Supplies Unit has no ordinary soldiers."

"Even... the number of soldiers who have reached the Innate Realm has already exceeded five thousand."

This news made Chen Wuji both excited and somewhat struck down.

Unworthy of being selected from the various armies as outstanding talents, their overall quality is indeed not mediocre; there is not a single ordinary soldier, and the loss makes his own talent seem even more like waste material.

The Central Army was originally the absolute elite selected from the various armies, just like the top class in school; they could achieve such accomplishments in one year, initially surprising, but upon reflection, it seems natural.

Yet upon further reflection, he possesses top-tier martial arts heart methods and techniques, yet for so many years he has not even entered the Body Tempering External Force—truly unbearable to witness, utterly... inadequate.

At this moment, Chen Baojia also stood up, speaking coldly and sternly: "My lord, our army also does not need winter clothing; there are still over a hundred people in the army who have not entered the Body Tempering stage as martial artists, but I, the Deputy Officer, do not intend to give them winter clothing."

"Without forcing them, these hundred or so waste materials may not even enter the Body Tempering stage by next year; in such cold weather, a little chill will not freeze them to death."

"My lord, I, the Deputy Officer, also do not need!" Cao Mu Teng suddenly stood up.

"My unit has even more waste materials, but Guardian General Chen Baojia is correct—this weather will not freeze them to death; without forcing them, they will never enter the martial artist stage."

"In the world, how rare are superior martial arts secret manuals? My lord has just given them to them; they have practiced for nearly a year, yet some still remain stuck at the Body Tempering Realm, and some cannot even reach it—this is absolutely intolerable to me, the Deputy Officer."

"This winter, if anyone still fails to reach the Body Tempering Realm, I, the Deputy Officer, plan to send them back home to farm. They cannot keep up with others' pace; from now on, this gap will only widen, and by then they will only be a burden—better to send them back early!"

Chen Wuji raised his hand, "Let's discuss this matter later; what about the others?"

"My lord, I, the Deputy Officer, want some, but not much—only two thousand sets are sufficient!" Xie Fengxian stood up and said, "My unit often needs to conscript civilian husbands to transport weapons and armor; I, the Deputy Officer, request permission to deploy troops against the Uyghurs; these two thousand sets of winter clothing are what I prepared for the civilian husbands."

"Originally, I, the Deputy Officer, wanted winter clothing, but after hearing what the previous commanders said, I, the Deputy Officer, no longer really want it either."

"What Commander Cao just said reveals a cruel fact: our entire army practices martial arts; in the future, the gap will only grow wider. Differences in strength can be balanced by reorganizing units, but those who cannot even enter the martial artist stage will absolutely fail to keep up with the army's pace."

"Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the weapons used by our soldiers will all be hundred-pound strange swords, horizontal sabers, drawing heavy bows, and wearing armor weighing dozens of pounds; such martial power on the battlefield will surely be overwhelming, and at that time, ordinary soldiers will have no place to stand in the army."

"They are not even suited for the Luggage and Supplies Unit, which must keep up with the army's speed; they cannot fall too far behind and also need a certain level of strength."

Chen Wuji at this moment truly felt a bit dazed.

Although what they said is very realistic, if he had known earlier, he would still have worried about winter clothing—wouldn't this be unnecessary?