Start practicing archery

Chapter 46 There’s going to be a war
A martial arts arena.

Except for the personnel on guard at the Great Wall, all the officers and soldiers in the Qianhu Suo were present.

Xiang Tingchun walked up to the platform with heroic steps.

Even from a distance of dozens of steps, everyone could feel that the commander was in a good mood.

"brothers!"

Xiang Tingchun's voice was as loud as a bell: "Today, I have two things to announce.

"I still remember that when Taizu first founded the country, during the Yongchang years, our dynasty had more than three million soldiers, but all of them were well-fed and well-clothed, and their fighting spirit was high!"

“But later, natural and man-made disasters continued to occur.

"In the early years, Poyang County even had a shortage of wages and food, which resulted in many brothers being hungry and poorly clothed, and they were forced to flee and become refugees.

"I, Xiang Tingchun, am in charge of this place and have an unshirkable responsibility. I would like to apologize to all the brothers here!
“But that kind of situation will never happen again.

"The four major martial arts schools and many masters in Poyang County could not bear to see the brothers who were defending their country live a hard life, so they donated a large amount of food, medicine and horses.

"So the first thing is, from now on -

"For all soldiers, the monthly salary will be increased by half, and an additional one stone of grain will be given.

"Wu Zu, the monthly salary will be doubled, and the blood-replenishing soup will be doubled.

“Military officers, your salaries will be doubled.

"And from now on, all kinds of medicinal materials can be purchased directly in the military camp, and the price is half of the price in the drugstores outside!"

After these words were spoken, the whole audience was boiling.

"Double?"

"One stone of grain per month?"

What does one stone of grain per month mean in years of poor harvest?
This means that this year, not only will everyone be able to survive the cold winter without going hungry, they will even have enough money left over to buy winter clothes!
The soldiers were equally excited.

Most of those who joined the army were from poor families. How could they afford a dose of blood-replenishing soup that cost ten taels?
But relying solely on the rations from the garrisons is far from enough to improve one's cultivation.

The words of the thousand-householder were like pie in the sky for them.

Zhu Tong clenched his fists: "The blood-replenishing soup is enough, and I also have a chance to move forward in the martial arts!"

People like him and Wang Li are actually not bad in talent.

It’s just that we are too poor, which slows down the pace.

While everyone was just busy being happy, Xu Wencai shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid we're going to have to fight a war, and it's going to be a tough one."

"real or fake?"

Zhu Tong was half-believing and half-doubting: "That's right, why are those bastards in the martial arts school suddenly willing to pay us? There must be something fishy going on!"

"Listen to what I have to say."

Xiang Tingchun signaled everyone to be quiet:
“Next, the second thing.

"I think everyone knows why the Poyang Qianhu Suo was established.

“It’s to defend against foreign barbarians!
"For thousands of years, the barbarians have seized our houses and fields, eager to turn our wives, children and elders into slaves, and then use our heads to fertilize their pastures!
"It was Taizu and Taizong who personally led the army several times and defeated them so badly that they could not raise their heads for two hundred years!
“But now, they are ready to recreate the tragedy of the previous dynasty!

"How can we, as good men, just sit and wait for death?
“With the approval of the Ministry of War, I will exterminate the barbarians in the Xihe area in the early spring of next year!

“Therefore, I hope that in the coming days, brothers can train diligently so that they can serve the court on the battlefield.

"As long as you kill enough enemies, it may be possible to be promoted to a marquis or a general!"

After these words were spoken, the martial arts arena fell into complete silence, in stark contrast to before.

Become a marquis and a general?
There are really few people who have such great ideals.

They just want to live a stable life.

But since you are a soldier, killing the enemy on the battlefield is your unavoidable fate.

Fortunately, it is better to go to the battlefield after eating than on an empty stomach.

This is also the reason why Xiang Tingchun went to great lengths to snatch money and food from the martial arts school.

If the soldiers are not fully paid, they will have no fighting power!
On the contrary, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward.

A team can only have combat effectiveness and avoid collapse at the first blow if it has sufficient resources.

There is no need to worry about whether announcing it in advance would alert the enemy.

There have always been barbarian spies.

The martial arts school donated a large amount of money and food, and even a fool could tell what they were planning to do.

Instead of hiding it from everyone, it is better to practice in advance and prepare yourself mentally and physically.

After speaking, Xiang Tingchun strode away, giving the soldiers time to digest the speech.

……

Chen Sanshi was mentally prepared.

The forward selection is after the spring.

In other words, before going to the Eighth Battalion to participate in the selection assessment, he will also participate in this battle.

"Mr. Xu."

Chen Sanshi asked, "Do you know the fighting power of the barbarians in the river area?" "Your Excellency has asked the right person."

Xu Wencai answered without hesitation: "I, Xu, have spent five years studying the distribution of barbarian troops.

"The Xihe tribe is a branch of the Yuwen lineage. They have lived here for decades and have well-trained soldiers, conservatively estimated to number at least 2,000.

“Among them, there is one who practices internal organs, and the number of officers who practice blood and bones is about the same as our Qianhu.

"But they have far more horses than we do, and their archers are of higher quality."

Chen Sanshi seemed to be thinking: "In your opinion, what are our chances of winning next spring?"

"My lord, please follow me."

Xu Wencai led him to a remote and deserted corner, picked up a branch, and started drawing on the sand.

“Almost all the important passes in the northern border of our Sheng Dynasty are now in constant conflict with the barbarians, so there will definitely be no idle troops transferred to support.

"At most, the Anding Prefecture Guard will send another thousand-household garrison to provide cover to ensure that if we fail outside the Great Wall, we will have someone to support us and prevent the barbarians from conquering Poyang.

“But they will never easily leave the city to join the battle.

"In other words, our Qianhu Division is equivalent to an isolated army."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Zhu Tong came over quietly and asked: "What are you drawing with a broken stick?"

"Don't get in the way, big bro."

Xu Wencai stroked his beard and looked at the simple deployment of troops on the ground, and said in confusion: "It's really strange. Sending troops to attack the barbarians is a major national event. It should be planned and dispatched in a unified manner. How can we send thousands of people to attack a scattered tribe?

"Whether it succeeds or not, it won't change the general situation much.

"What do you think about this, sir?"

Chen Sanshi replied: "This is a performance to show my work ability to my boss."

"Your Excellency is wise, I think so too!"

Xu Wencai looked around and then said cautiously: "Xiang Qianhu, you are planning to achieve success at the cost of thousands of lives!"

This is putting it mildly.

To put it bluntly, Xiang Tingchun was prepared to use the lives of 900 people in Poyang Qianhu Suo in exchange for his own future!
The reason why the Ministry of War agreed to this may be because it involves various forces in the court, and the situation is complicated.

"As for the odds of winning."

Xu Wencai continued, "The barbarians have strong soldiers and horses, but they are not good at military formations, and the beginning of spring every year is the weakest time for nomadic peoples.

"If the martial arts school can send more bone training masters to help, and with Anding Prefecture as a backup, we should be able to win, but...

“It was definitely a pyrrhic victory.”

Zhu Tong, who had been confused the whole time, finally understood the last sentence: "How miserable is it?"

Xu Wencai said heavily: "We both have to die!"

“That’s pretty miserable.”

Zhu Tong pulled his collar and said, "Lazy man, don't you often brag that you can fight? Then think of a way. How can you not be miserable?"

Xu Wencai said seriously: "I do have a plan that can at least reduce the loss by 20%."

“Only 20%?”

Zhu Tong said disdainfully: "What's the difference between that and no reduction."

"I am Wolong, not a deity. For this kind of offensive, even 20% can be considered a huge saving of manpower!"

Xu Wencai threw away the branch: "I'm going to give advice to Qianhu!"

As he said this, he ran towards Tingchun's office.

Zhu Tong counted on his fingers: "There are more than 900 people in our garrison, how many are 20%?"

"..."

Chen Sanshi said helplessly: "It is to reduce the losses by 20%, but it does not mean that the whole army will be annihilated."

"How many people are there?"

Zhu Tong was even more confused.

Before he could figure it out, Xu Wencai came back.

He quickly asked, "Well, what did the captain say?"

Xu Wencai was so angry that his face turned red. He stamped his feet and shouted, "Incompetent general, incompetent general!"

The thousand-household camp was not far away. Just now, Chen Sanshi faintly heard the word "get out" following the sound of the wind.

He shook his head, stood up and left.

This battle was unavoidable, and he had no intention of avoiding it.

But it seems that I really need to train my bones before spring.

After training the bones, one can resist swords and weapons, and will not lose combat effectiveness due to slight injuries on the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)