Chapter 198: Inspecting the Military Camp

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

On a large drill ground outside Shouzhou city, several thousand military farmland soldiers were drilling as scheduled.

In an inconspicuous spot amid the crowd, Xu Qingshan gripped his long spear tightly and made a thrusting motion at a wooden stake two meters ahead.

"Kill!"

Xu Qingshan let out a fierce shout, thrusting his spear forward—the sharp spearhead sank entirely into the upper part of the wooden stake.

This thrust carried force that was extremely precise and overbearing; if the target had been a living enemy soldier, even one wearing two layers of armor, this strike would surely pierce straight through the heart—certain death!

"That thrust was good! What's your name?"

Just as Xu Qingshan was about to thrust again, an imposing voice sounded beside him.

Xu Qingshan turned his head to look—the speaker was a military officer, one he did not recognize, but judging by the fine equipment he wore, he was at least a general.

Xu Qingshan withdrew his spear and stood at attention, making a standard posture and military salute, then clasped his fists and said: "Reporting to the General, this humble one is Xu Qingshan, a military farmland soldier of the Second Reserve Brigade, Military Farming Department!"

The general nodded and said: "In this whole area, you train the most seriously and strike the most viciously. How do you manage it?"

Xu Qingshan said in a clear voice: "To answer the General, this humble one wants to earn merit and join the Tianwu Army, so I can only train hard in killing techniques, and one day on the battlefield I can kill enemies and win glory!"

The general nodded and said: "Good, direct enough! I like it. Train well—joining the Tianwu Army will be no problem!"

"Yes!" Xu Qingshan's face was full of confidence.

At this moment, the person in charge of the Second Reserve Brigade of the Military Farming Department hurried over. Seeing this general, he promptly gave a military salute, then smiled and said: "Mobile Corps Commander Sun, why have you come?"

Xu Qingshan's heart tightened—the post of Mobile Corps Commander existed only in the Tianwu Army. The commanders of the reserve brigades in the Military Farming Department could only be called "General So-and-so." The only man in the entire army who could be called Mobile Corps Commander Sun was Sun Yingyuan, Mobile Corps Commander of the Tianwu Army's Royal Second Brigade. So the man before him was Mobile Corps Commander Sun himself!

Legend had it that Mobile Corps Commander Sun had followed the Crown Prince from the earliest days. When the Tartars invaded through the passes, he had ridden out with His Highness many times, commanded the Xincheng Campaign, and annihilated over ten thousand Tartars. The Tianwu Army's first battle after marching south was also commanded by him—five thousand iron cavalry routing thirty thousand roving bandits.

Xu Qingshan's eyes burned with fervor as he looked at Sun Yingyuan. But only a moment later, he suddenly snapped awake, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes, and he continued drilling with his spear.

Sun Yingyuan nodded inwardly as he watched, then turned to the general of the Second Reserve Brigade and said: "The Crown Prince is coming to Shouzhou to inspect the military camps. He specifically sent me ahead to take a look first."

"The Crown Prince is coming?" The general of the Second Reserve Brigade was startled. After a few brief pleasantries with Sun Yingyuan, he promptly ordered the entire brigade to halt drilling and assemble immediately to prepare for His Highness's arrival.

On the large drill ground, spears stood like a forest as soldiers stationed at Shouzhou Guard packed the field densely, every one of them wearing only a single layer of leather armor.

In the crowd, Xu Qingshan stood ramrod straight, gripping his spear parallel to his body, striving to make himself a model soldier.

More than five thousand military farmland soldiers stood in neat formation on the great drill ground, every face solemn and earnest, silently awaiting the Crown Prince's procession.

After several months of harsh drilling, the military farmland soldiers had become qualified warriors—though none of them were equipped with firearms, still holding cold weapons like long spears, pikes, or great sabers.

At present, the several military armories in Taiping Prefecture and Fengyang Prefecture had only just started up. Although the projected output was nearly ten thousand muskets per month, equipping every military farmland soldier within half a year was clearly impossible.

After standing in formation on the great drill ground for nearly half a shichen, the Crown Prince's procession still had not appeared, and some restlessness began to stir in the ranks as a few people murmured among themselves.

Several squads of Tianwu Army soldiers stepped into the formation, sweeping their gazes around. Anyone found talking or moving was dragged aside and given thirty hard strokes of the military cane.

Under such strict military discipline, the five thousand military farmland soldiers stood on the drill ground in utter silence, not moving a muscle.

In the sweltering heat, who knew how long passed—then suddenly, banners fluttered in the distance, and a great host of men and horses appeared in view.

Several thousand Tianwu Army troops, every man clad in iron armor, marched to the drumbeat of the advance. Their steps were uniform and heavy, and with each stamp, armor plates clinked—an imposing sight.

The military farmland soldiers had at most seen a single battalion of four hundred Tianwu Army men in their daily lives—where would they have seen a scene of five or six thousand Tianwu Army soldiers appearing at once? Every eye was filled with envy. The Tianwu Army not only had superior weapons—every man equipped with a musket and three layers of armor—but also all kinds of powerful weaponry.

Zhu Cilang stepped out of the dragon carriage and mounted a warhorse. Clad in a golden armor engraved with dragons and draped in a great crimson cape, he rode his horse slowly along the front of the great drill ground and ascended the drill platform.

Looking at the simple, honest faces before him and their taut bodies, Zhu Cilang nodded slightly. The military farmland soldiers' morale was quite good, and they had the temperament of fearless fools—he was very satisfied. Soldiers like this were the ones who dared to fight and dare to charge!

Zhu Cilang suddenly drew his sword and pointed it diagonally at the sky. This was the old routine—no words were needed; everyone understood what came next.

Sure enough, a sword's ring sounded, and the officers of every Tianwu Army battalion likewise drew their swords, pointing them diagonally skyward, and shouted in unison: "Eternal victory to the Great Ming!"

The several thousand Tianwu Army troops roared as one: "Victory!"

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

The military farmland soldiers on the Shouzhou Guard drill ground joined in the shouting, every eye fixed on Zhu Cilang filled with reverence!

Xu Qingshan felt the indescribable power around him, his blood boiling in his chest. Looking at the Crown Prince on the high platform, he too shouted at the top of his lungs without a second thought.

"Victory! Victory! Victory!"

Wave after wave of earth-shaking sound crashed over one another. All the military farmland soldiers raised their arms and roared, their emotions completely swept up.

Heaven and earth were merciless, and every household's cooking fire had gone out—it was the Crown Prince who distributed land and grain, giving his family a chance to survive and a hope for the future. To die for such a sovereign was a life not lived in vain!

After inspecting the camp, Zhu Cilang convened a military council in the Shouzhou Guard headquarters to discuss plans for deploying troops against Huoshan.

Half a month earlier, he had received word sent from Huoshan by the Longxiang Night Scouts—the chieftains of the roving bandits were preparing to come down the mountain to seize grain in Fengyang Prefecture.

Zhu Cilang had begun preparing to wipe out the roving bandits around Huoshan five months earlier. Now he had troops when he needed troops and grain when he needed grain. Add to that the bandits coming down the mountain on their own—this was the perfect opportunity to close the net.

If the roving bandits came down from Huoshan into Fengyang Prefecture, there were only two routes they had to pass through: one was Lu'anzhou, and the other was Shouzhou—unless they took a detour through Luzhou, during which they would also have to cross a branch of the Huai River.

At present, Huang Degong led the Royal First Brigade stationed at Lu'anzhou. Zhu Cilang and Sun Yingyuan had brought the Royal Second Brigade to Shouzhou. Zhou Yuji's Royal Third Brigade was in Taiping Prefecture guarding the ironworks, coal mines, and the Jiangnan General Armory, while also holding the Yangtze River route to Nanjing.

The reserve brigade military farmland soldiers stationed across Fengyang Prefecture had already begun escorting grain supplies to Shouzhou for assembly. For this battle, Zhu Cilang planned to deploy fifteen thousand Tianwu Army troops and fifty thousand military farmland soldiers to sweep the roving bandits off Huoshan in one stroke!

A few chapters remain—I'll update during the day! Asking for monthly tickets—if the monthly tickets are many, I'll add extra chapters, extra chapters!