Chapter 574: Household Troops vs. Militia

The Zhao Character Camp's formation drills were grueling and rigorous — every day without battle they trained hard. The mixed militia, however, didn't take it nearly as seriously. They'd never endured such bitter training, so naturally their quality couldn't keep up. As soon as they started moving, their formation began to fray. The mixed militia knew full well how critical formation was, so they immediately halted to reorder their ranks.

Right at that moment when they were reforming, the Zhao Character Camp's company formed into a column and came crashing straight in with their poles leveled. Less than twenty paces remained — too late to dodge or change direction. They could only stand firm and meet the charge head-on.

Lin Zhi had always been diligent, and he was the deputy commander of the mixed militia battalion. These hundred men were under his leadership right now. Seeing the situation, he could only steel himself and receive the assault, hoping the unit wouldn't break under the first wave of impact, that they'd lock into a stalemate and call it a draw.

The squad leaders on this side were shouting themselves hoarse, trying to boost morale. But plenty of men in the mixed militia had only joined to get a status, to have a livelihood — they weren't like Lin Zhi and the others who sought to better themselves. They'd never put their hearts into peacetime training, and these past two years Xuzhou had been perfectly peaceful, with hardly any chance for real combat.

Watching the enemy charge at them with such ferocious momentum, some men stood firm with resolute will, shouting ceaselessly to bolster their comrades around them. Others looked panicked, glancing left and right, thinking this was just a drill — why take it so seriously? What if they got hurt? Even with the protective gear strapped on tight, getting hurt that badly just wasn't worth it.

Some stood their ground, some panicked and tried to dodge. Even with Lin Zhi and the squad leaders bellowing to keep order, the unit still fell into disarray.

It was at this moment that the true gap between the Zhao Character Camp company and the mixed militia revealed itself. The Zhao Character Camp company had already broken into a run in perfect formation, and the moment they saw disorder spreading through the militia ranks, the company commander shouted an order. The unit shifted direction mid-advance and slammed viciously into the most chaotic section.

Protective gear or not, getting jabbed by those poles still hurt. Some cried out in pain, some dodged on instinct — the formation collapsed instantly.

Strike a solid wooden board with a sledgehammer: if the board is whole and unblemished, it will only bend, then spring back. If the board has cracks and fissures, the hammer will smash it to splinters on impact.

The Zhao Character Camp company was the iron hammer. The mixed militia was the board full of cracks and fissures. One blow and they were shattered — their formation scattered, broken into two pieces.

The moment it reached that state, the gong sounded at once. Victory and defeat were already clear — there was no need to continue. A mixed militia scattered into a tangled mess, facing a Zhao Character Camp that had already regrouped into formation, was nothing but pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter, utterly helpless to fight back.

The mixed militia hung their heads in dejection, while the Zhao Character Camp company was thoroughly elated. They were all young men — they took these contests of victory and defeat very seriously.

Up on the wooden platform, Zhao Jin and his companions merely nodded slightly. Aside from the companies on sentry duty, every other unit stood at silent attention on the parade ground. The mixed militia also stood off to one side. Everyone was watching the drill unfolding in the field.

At this outcome, after a brief burst of excitement or dejection, everyone quickly settled down. Whether Zhao Character Camp household troops or mixed militia, all felt the result was perfectly normal, only to be expected. What they couldn't figure out was: calling everyone back here with such great fanfare — was it really just for something this predictable?

They saw the flags waving over at the wooden platform. Order-runners sprinted out, and new commands came down. This time, what came next struck everyone as strange again: still one Zhao Character Camp company, but now the mixed militia fielded two hundred men.

The mixed militia's organization differed from the Zhao Character Camp's — two hundred men made one company. At that number, their coordination and formations were far more practiced. And with the company commander directing them personally, it was also more efficient than a deputy. This time, the Zhao Character Camp company kept running without pause as before, but the mixed militia didn't chase after them. They responded with considerable steadiness.

But the militiamen's fundamental quality was the root of the problem. Once they grew accustomed to the enemy's running, they slackened just slightly. That company immediately shifted from line to column and charged again. Caught off guard, any attempt to change formation would inevitably cause chaos, so they could only stand firm and meet the enemy — and then the same scene as the first time played out again. Their formation was scattered by the direct charge. Victory and defeat were decided.

Seeing this result, everyone on the wooden platform wore smiles except Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng, whose expressions remained calm. Shi Manqiang declared with particular pride, "Household troops we've trained ourselves — how could outsiders ever beat them? These village braves and militias think that just by copying our methods they can become our equals. They're dreaming!"

Outsiders saw the Zhao Character Camp as Zhao Jin's private army and militia in Xuzhou, but everyone in the Zhao Character Camp, from top to bottom, saw it differently. They had defeated so many powerful foes — how could they be mentioned in the same breath as militia? Some even felt that comparing them to government troops was an insult. The military households of the three Xuzhou Garrisons, the subordinates of the Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander — everyone had seen what kind of shape those were in...

The drill hadn't stopped. Next, the mixed militia sent out three hundred men. The Zhao Character Camp company was still just one. This time, the outcome was no different from before. The mixed militia actually lost even faster. The reason was simple: normally the mixed militia operated in companies of two hundred or four hundred. Three hundred men meant they were drawn from two separate units, and instead of coordinating well, they actually got in each other's way. The Zhao Character Camp company quickly found the gaps and broke them with ease.

The Zhao Character Camp household troops won victory after victory. The mixed militia suffered defeat after defeat — and always beaten in more or less the same way. One side was elated; the other was gradually growing angry.

What no one could understand was this: since it was already proven that the Zhao Character Camp household troops were stronger than the mixed militia — that they could handle two-to-one, even three-to-one odds without trouble — why keep fighting?

In the end, the command came down from the wooden platform: it was actually four hundred mixed militia against a single Zhao Character Camp company. Confused as they were, resentful as they were, they still stepped forward. Training, pay, and duties might differ between the two sides, but military law applied no differently to either.

And no one dared direct their resentment at the Zhao Character Camp, saying things like "we're village soldiers and local braves, your Zhao Character Camp has no authority over us." On Xuzhou turf, whoever dared say such a thing was tired of living.

The young men of the mixed militia truly did not want to lose again. Before taking the field, the company commanders and deputies from both sides huddled together and conferred for a long while. Then they loudly lectured their men, promising substantial rewards. Those who could serve as company commanders and deputies were all sons of wealthy households with property — they weren't short those few taels of silver.

This bout was far more impressive than the previous ones. The two mixed militia companies didn't mass together — each fought independently. When the Zhao Character Camp company attempted a probing assault, one militia company would stand firm on defense while the other detached its best men to harass the Zhao Character Camp company's flank, forcing it to halt. Then, the moment it stopped, the company holding on defense would press forward.

This repeated three times, leaving the company on the field scrambling in disarray. Watching his company struggling to cope, Ji Xiang, the battalion commander over this company, wore a face of dark thunder. He was on the verge of bellowing curses and directions, but the moment he opened his mouth, Zhao Jin stopped him. Ji Xiang could only gnash his teeth in fury and mutter under his breath that he'd give those brats a show once this was over.

The situation looked ugly, but the fight wasn't over. The Zhao Character Camp company's formation remained intact throughout. The weapons of the two sides never even clashed or made contact — they just kept pressing close and pulling apart.

At this point, the physical conditioning drilled into the Zhao Character Camp through daily training began to show its effect. They had been running the whole time. The mixed militia hadn't moved nearly as much, yet after all this maneuvering, the militia units were starting to come apart. And in the constant running, the distance between the two mixed militia companies had gradually widened. The picked men sent out to harass were still fine, but the rest were beginning to slacken.

Seizing this moment, the Zhao Character Camp company launched its assault. The process this time was no different from the previous ones: the Zhao Character Camp charged into the chaos and weak points of one unit, swiftly wiped them out — meaning they jabbed over half the men with cotton heads dipped in white lime — then wheeled around and charged head-on at the other company hurrying to catch up.

The company hurrying to catch up had already lost its formation in the rush. They'd been hoping to seize an easy advantage by attacking the Zhao Character Camp company from behind. They never expected the enemy's rear rank to become the front rank, turning to meet them just like that. Charging head-on into each other, it was instead the mixed militia that found itself at a disadvantage. What followed was the same: they were smashed apart.

Over a third of the Zhao Character Camp company's household troops were marked as "casualties" too, but compared to the victory they'd won, that hardly counted for anything. This time, Ji Xiang up on the platform was all smiles, feeling quite proud.

Just as everyone was guessing whether they'd see one company against five hundred or even more, a command came down from the wooden platform: today's drill was over. Dismiss and stand down where you are.

"I told you Zhuang Liu was good. A company commander Big Brother transferred over to my side — how could he be anything less?" Ji Xiang said, beaming with satisfaction.

He wasn't the only one in good spirits. Chen Sheng and Shi Manqiang were also all smiles. The personal guard unit, the First Regiment, and the Second Regiment had all sent companies down to fight, and every one of them had won clean, decisive victories. It meant the household troops under their own command had performed brilliantly — it reflected well on them too.

Surrounded by his companions, Zhao Jin descended from the wooden platform. In contrast to the delight of those around him, Zhao Jin's expression remained indifferent. He spoke: "The mixed militia is too poor. After some simple training, they were just assigned to garrison and patrol duty. They've never taken part in any real fighting — no experience, slow to react. On a real battlefield, there's absolutely no way one of our companies could calmly break through a two-pronged pincer like that. What we saw today, just take it for what it is. Don't take it too seriously."

Ji Xiang pursed his lips. Chen Sheng spoke: "I know you don't want everyone getting arrogant, but good is good. There's no shame in that."

Zhao Jin coughed once, didn't pick up Chen Sheng's thread, and shifted the topic: "The mixed militia is too weak — that much is beyond doubt. Before, we still needed them to keep order in the territory. That's no longer necessary."

Dong Bingfeng, who had been walking in silence off to the side, spoke up: "Big Brother, we look at the mixed militia and see weakness, but when they fight outsiders, they're ferocious. Last year, Kong Family Village was in a dispute with the Shandong side over land and water. The other side sent over five hundred men. Our support company couldn't get there in time, so just over a hundred and fifty mixed militia went out to fight. They routed the other side and forced the prominent family over there to come negotiate peace and beg for mercy."

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