Chapter 598

"Which pile is unwilling to return home?" Chen Wuji asked immediately.

Chen Baojia pointed to a pile that was six or seven times larger than the other, "Jieshuai, these."

Chen Wuji's eyes instantly bulged like a bull's, his pupils almost shaking, "What's going on? How could there be so many? Did one of you get your eyes mixed up?"

The officers all shook their heads in unison.

Chen Luozi said, "Our eyes aren't failing; this many are unwilling to return home. The Jieshuai's generous treatment of the troops has spread throughout the surrendered soldiers' camp; they all want to follow the Jieshuai to fight bandits, earn Military Merit, and make a prosperous living."

Chen Wuji: ……

Whose gossip spread this news?

"You say, is it still possible for me to change the military rations now?"

The officers burst out laughing.

At this point it's definitely still possible, but the matter probably isn't that simple.

The Jieshuai's future is likely ruined.

Chen Wuji sighed dejectedly, flipping through the mountain-high pile of papers, "Even if all these young and strong ones don't want to return home, what about the old, weak, sick, and disabled? And those too young? It can't possibly be only this many, can it?"

Chen Luozi smacked his lips, "Jieshuai, this is actually Shi Dao's talent for recruiting troops; they simply don't want the old, weak, sick, or disabled. The people we painstakingly selected are mostly those wounded in the Battle of Ningyuan City, plus a few who are sick or young."

Chen Wuji instantly felt like dying.

That's sixteen thousand people; with this force, probably only ten thousand will remain in the end.

Another ten thousand troops—just kill him.

"No, no, we still need to think of an idea." Chen Wuji muttered to himself, looking at the vast array of surrendered troops before him, and suddenly had an idea.

He seemed to need a proper new soldier camp.

Train them for three months, drill them to death, and allow midway withdrawal.

He didn't believe that this bunch would still be few by then.

Perfect!

Chen Wuji looked around at the officers, solemnly said, "According to this trend, the total number of surrendered troops this time will likely be around ten thousand; I intend to set up another New Soldier Camp in Guangtongzhou. Who among you is willing to serve as the chief instructor?"

Hezhou already has a New Soldier Camp, just completed, and it's quite large.

But Chen Wuji, in order to let these surrendered troops return home better and faster, would rather do some more infrastructure construction.

The cost of building a military camp is trivial compared to maintaining ten thousand Bīngmǎ.

Chen Baojia and the others all fell silent.

"Quick, quick, quick, volunteer yourself!" Chen Wuji shouted.

No one spoke up, so it was fine; Lü Ji and Xie Fengxian even tacitly stepped back half a step.

"New Soldier Camp, the days are easy, there's hardly any danger—what's with your attitudes?" Chen Wuji grew a bit angry, these guys really aren't giving him face.

Lü Ji looked left and right, then said loudly, "Reporting to the Jieshuai, as a surrendered general I have earned no merit yet; I am unfit to command the New Soldier Camp."

"Deputy General concurs." Xie Fengxian immediately added.

Chen Wuji looked at the others, "What about you?"

Chen Luozi tilted his head back to the sky, seeing Chen Wuji look over, then said, "Jieshuai, I have even less merit; look how long I've been here—I haven't even fought a single battle!"

I think for this opportunity, you should let Chen Lang, Chen Yuan, and Chen Bang have it—those kids.

The Chen clan officers pointed out by Chen Luozi instantly shrank their heads.

"What are you hiding for? I think Chen Judge's right—this pick has to come from among you few; everyone's reasons are big, just make yours a little smaller, and that's settled." Chen Wuji shouted.

Truly strange—everyone actually wants to go to the battlefield, not lead the new soldiers.

What the hell is wrong with them?

"Chen Yuan, Chen Li, you two will be chief and deputy instructors of the New Soldier Camp; then pick one or two assistants from the surrendered troops to help you drill the new army." Chen Wuji directly ordered.

Although those two didn't look very willing, they still obediently bowed and accepted the order.

"Everyone else go eat lunch; Chen Yuan, Chen Li, stay a moment." Chen Wuji said.

"Yes!"

After Chen Wuji waited for the others to leave, he then said earnestly, "How to train the New Soldier Camp—I'm sure you both know the drill; everyone says the Chen clan has a set method for training troops; you two had better not embarrass me in this."

"Yes!"

Chen Li and Chen Yuan agreed without any pressure.

Both are outstanding members of the Chen clan—one from the Personal Guard Camp, the other currently a squadron leader; they naturally know how to train troops.

Not only do they have experience leading troops, they have also formally studied how to train them.

All of this is knowledge they gained by burning the midnight oil.

Back then, Chen clan members had to learn their ancestors' skills, which was harder than being a bandit.

The books were all hidden under the floor or in the walls of the rooms; they'd pry them out at night to read, then rebury them in the morning.

Chen Wuji lowered his voice a bit, "But from now on, the New Soldier Camp's training load will be doubled—train them to death unless they die; push everything to the extreme, train them until they can't bear it, until they can't stand it, and then they'll quit on their own!"

Chen Yuan and Chen Li both froze upon hearing that.

Chen Wuji proactively explained, "Our troop numbers are now too many, soon heading toward a hundred thousand; we can't afford to keep them, and we can't just drive them away, so we must think of a compromise."

"But when you two train, you must pay attention to methods; you can't openly act like you don't want them and are trying to drive them away. You must repeatedly tell them that shedding blood and tears in the New Soldier Camp is to make the enemy bleed and weep on the battlefield, so we can earn Military Merit."

Chen Yuan and Chen Li then understood.

"Deputy General understands!"

Chen Wuji nodded, then said solemnly, "I promise you two won't stay too long in the New Soldier Camp; once a suitable replacement is found, you'll be promoted one rank and continue commanding troops."

"We have plenty of military officers; this won't be too hard—at most a year and a half."

Chen Yuan and Chen Li both showed delight.

Chen Wuji smiled speechlessly, "Just slowly pick your own assistants, and let me know when you've decided."

Chen Yuan suddenly said, "Family Head, Deputy General here actually has a ready-made candidate; I just don't know if he's suitable or not."

"Let's hear it."

"The former Negotiation Colonel of Guangtongzhou, Peng Jingxuan—I heard about him when I was registering these surrendered troops today; he does have some ability, but Shi Dao doesn't take much liking to him, assigning him the worst troops while giving him the toughest tasks." Chen Yuan said.

"In the battle of Ningyuan City, he managed to withstand over twenty attacks by General Xie, and his forces suffered more than half casualties."

Chen Wuji fell into brief contemplation, "He really sounds like a capable commander; the battle Xie Fengxian fought was fierce, the troops charged barefoot, scaling the walls over twenty times. This guy, with his worst troops, actually managed to resist Xie Fengxian's frenzied assault—definitely worth meeting." Chen Yuan said.

"I'll meet him first, then decide later; after all, he used to be a Negotiation Colonel commanding six thousand troops, which counts as a high-ranking officer in Nan Jun." Chen Yuan said.

"Here!"