Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 55 Seeking Skin from a Tiger
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

At noon, when shouts of killing rang out in the military camp in Shandan City, a team of more than 200 people were conducting military formation drills on the training ground.

All the soldiers were wearing armor, holding spears, and had short weapons and longbows on their waists.

After taking Shandan, the Shandan Zhechongfu had sufficient military equipment, and finally reached the standard of one bow per person during the peak period of the Tang army.

At this time, the Shandan army no longer had any professional archers and crossbowmen, and all of them were trained according to the "Military Strategy" that Zhang Huairong left to Liu Jilong.

At the same time, Liu Jilong also incorporated some of his own training methods, especially in terms of discipline.

Half a month had passed since Zhang Huairong went to Zhangye. During this period, Liu Jilian had led more than 200 soldiers from Shandan to conduct drills and exercises many times.

"Drill once every five days and practice once every two days" became the norm for the soldiers in Shandan City.

Liu Jilong was also very generous in this regard. On weekdays, soldiers were given three pounds of rice every day. Dozens of sheep were slaughtered on training days and all were cooked to feed the soldiers in the city.

Just like now, more than 200 people are training, and smoke is rising from the corner of the military camp.

Ten earthen stoves and ten large iron pots form a beautiful landscape.

More than a dozen old men over fifty years old were working as firemen, processing wild vegetables and mutton.

Liu Jilong was also among them, but he was not eating secretly, but giving orders.

"Iron pans are different from other pans. Food in iron pans heats up easily, so you need to pay attention to the heat when stir-frying."

He stood there teaching, and the big iron pot on the earthen stove was the one he had someone make.

In addition to these ten large iron pots, he also had a batch of medium-sized iron pots made and sent them to his own family, Zhang Huairong, Suo Xun, and the captain's family in the city.

Compared with later iron pots, the iron pots of the Tang Dynasty are slightly inferior in both shape and craftsmanship.

After Liu Jilong's improvements, although the craftsmanship was not enough for mass production among the people, the shape was closer to that of later generations.

This big iron pot can cook meals for dozens of people.

There are only more than 200 soldiers in the city now, so only ten stoves were built.

By the time the troops from Longshou Mountain and Qilian City return, the camp will need to be expanded several times to meet the training needs of the brothers.

"This military camp also needs to be expanded."

Walking out of the kitchen, Liu Jilong spoke to Zhang Huaiman from the Fourth Regiment while glancing around the military camp.

Zhang Huaiman said happily: "It's good to expand. Many houses in the city are uninhabited anyway."

"You go and make the arrangements. When the army moves eastward in the future, we will definitely send more troops in advance. This barracks must be able to accommodate 2,000 people for training."

After giving the order, Liu Jilong walked towards the training platform and watched the soldiers training on the platform.

He wore armor inside and an embroidered shirt outside, a fu hat on his head, a long sword at his waist, and walked with the gait of a tiger and a dragon.

Facing Liu Jilong's glance, the soldiers on the parade ground perked up.

Liu Jilong was strict in training his soldiers, and if they made a mistake during an exercise, they would be punished with a stick.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"All right!"

Amid the shouts and cries of killing, Liu Jilong raised his hand to stop the drill.

Since the extra training lasted only ten days, the team below was unable to follow his orders after he called a halt.

"Rest for half an hour. After breakfast, each brigade will return to the barracks for lunch break. The whistle will continue at 4:45 p.m.!"

"Follow orders!!"

The three brigade commanders and six team commanders in the front row bowed to Liu Jilong in unison.

Liu Jilong glanced at it and nodded, then turned and walked into the tooth gate.

Soon, the team disbanded on the spot, but all the soldiers left cautiously.

In the past few days, they have witnessed what emergency training is. Every time they relax and rest, they are immediately called for an emergency assembly by the brigade commanders with a wooden whistle.

After playing around a few times, they naturally developed the habit.

Fortunately, this time they were really disbanded. They finally breathed a sigh of relief and went to a corner to rest.

Half an hour later, the cooks had prepared the food. As the drums beat in the direction of the kitchen, more than 200 soldiers rushed to the kitchen like hungry tigers, but soon they lined up in an orderly manner.

At the entrance of the Yamen, Jiu Juyan looked at this scene, a smile appeared on his face, and he turned and walked into the Yamen.

He walked towards the hall, smiling and saying, "General, your method of training the troops is really good. It has only been a short time, and these bastards already know the consequences of not lining up."

"Haha, this is just the beginning." Liu Jilong, who was sitting in the main seat, smiled and said:
"On the battlefield, what matters is not only the quality of armor and sharpness of soldiers, but also discipline."

"Our military discipline is second to none in Hexi, but it is not so good in the rest of the world."

"Throughout history, when leading troops into battle, one is not afraid of charging, but of retreating."

"If they have good discipline and can retreat without any problems, then they are a real army."

Liu Jilong, who has been in the army for nearly a year and has led troops for more than four months, also has his own feelings.

Apart from anything else, the reason why he lost his first battle as a Tangqi was that he failed to retreat in time and had poor discipline on the way.

If Li Huaishen had been able to command the troops well at that time, they might have had a chance to break out.

If this is the case for ten people, it would be even more troublesome if hundreds or thousands of people were retreating.

Discipline is undoubtedly the most important thing, followed by strong armor and sharp soldiers.

"Sima Zhang has been gone for half a month and hasn't come back yet. It seems like something big has happened this time."

Jiu Juyan sat in the first seat on the left and expressed his guess.

Liu Jilong didn't look at him, but picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

Even though it wasn't tasty, at least it had some flavor.

What Jiu Juyan said was also what he guessed.

However, there were too few historical records left by the Guiyi Army in the previous life, so he didn't know what happened this time.

"Don't drink, it's time to eat!"

Ma Cheng's voice was heard, and he and Geng Ming each carried a wooden tray and walked into the dentist's office.

Soon, the two put the plates on the table. There were two large bowls of meat, vegetables and rice on the wooden plates.

Each person had a bowl, and the four of them started eating in Yamen. Everyone enjoyed the meal very much.

But before they had taken a few bites, they saw Zhang Huaiman trotting in happily.

"Don't worry! Sima Zhang and the others are back!"

"Are you back?" Liu Jilong and others put down their chopsticks.

"Yes, I'm back and have entered the east gate!"

As Zhang Huaiman spoke happily, Liu Jilong also hurriedly lowered his head and took a few big bites. After shoveling the remaining food into his mouth, he put the bowl and chopsticks on the table and wiped his mouth without caring about choking.

"Let's go and welcome Sima Zhang. You guys continue eating, and help me clean up after you're done."

After giving some instructions, Liu Jilong took Zhang Huaiman out.

The people in Jiujuyan looked at each other, then quickly lowered their heads and ate their food.

At the same time, Liu Jilong also brought Zhang Huaiman to the gate of the military camp.

Before they could walk out, they saw Zhang Huairong and his group of dozens of people coming with horses.

Zhang Huaiman arranged for the soldiers to go and hold the horses, while the dusty Zhang Huairong walked to the gate of the military camp and raised his hand to stop Liu Jilong who was about to bow.

"Let's go to Yamen to talk, and have someone prepare a meal for me!"

Zhang Huairong could show up at this time, obviously he was in a hurry to get back, otherwise it should be after noon.

Liu Jilong followed his footsteps and couldn't help feeling curious.

When everyone walked into the toothbrush, Ma Cheng and his friends had already finished their meal and cleaned up the table and chairs.

Zhang Huairong walked up to the main seat and sat down. After taking a breath, he said to Liu Jilong who followed closely behind:
"The governor has negotiated peace with the Uighurs!"

(End of this chapter)