Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 208 New Recruits (Part 1)

After Lotus and Cui'er signed up, they received three taels of silver as a settlement allowance.

The two women gave the money to their families, packed a few old clothes, and went to the army camp with hearts full of trepidation and excitement.

There were over a hundred new recruits in this batch. Ninety percent of them were men, and only about ten were women. Among them were six widows who had been forced to remarry or sent back to their parents' homes, where their brothers and sisters-in-law could not tolerate them, leaving them no choice but to join the army.

Although the Pei family army has a good reputation, the fact that women are serving in the army is unprecedented. If someone is tricked into joining the army and ends up as a prostitute instead of a female soldier, they will be completely trapped in a pit of fire, with no one to turn to for help.

The young widows remained silent throughout the journey. Lotus and Cui'er, however, had great faith in the Pei family army and idolized General Pei.

"What's there to be afraid of! There are so many female soldiers in the Pei family army!"

"General Pei is a woman, and most of the people she employs are also women. Those female soldiers patrol the streets every day with knives. You can't fool people with that!"

"The Pei family army has been here for a month and hasn't committed a single evil deed. General Pei is ruthless towards the wealthy, but he's very kind to us commoners, only requiring us to pay 30% of our land tax. Could you find another general like him in the world?"

Among the two teams escorting the new recruits to the military camp, there was a team of female soldiers. The female soldiers heard Hehua and Cui'er whispering but did not stop them.

The first thing new recruits do upon entering the military camp is undergo a physical examination to check for any illnesses. The men are covered up, while the women are examined by female military doctors.

This female military doctor came from a family of refugees; her father and brothers were all doctors, and she had learned some medical skills from a young age. Later, a famine struck her hometown, and she fled with her father and brothers. They encountered bandits, and her father and brothers were killed. She was also raped by the bandits. On the verge of death, she was rescued by the Pei family army, who were fighting off the bandits. Afterward, she stayed with the Pei family army, studied medicine under Bao Hao, and became a female military doctor.

There are several female military doctors like her in Pei's army. It's more convenient for female soldiers to receive medical treatment and bandages when they are wounded.

After the physical examination, you need to take a hot shower, throw away your old clothes, and put on a brand new gray military uniform.

In Pei's army, for the convenience of training and marching, the female soldiers wore uniforms that were similar in style to those of the male soldiers, only a few sizes smaller.

The military uniforms weren't made of anything fancy; they were just ordinary coarse cloth. However, for Hehua and Cui'er, who had grown up wearing their older siblings' hand-me-downs, being able to wear new clothes was already a source of great joy and encouragement.

The first meal upon entering the military camp consisted of a bowl of vegetable soup and two steamed buns made from mixed flour, with each person also given a piece of pickled vegetable.

Lotus ate while secretly wiping away tears.

She was at the age where she needed to grow, but there was never enough food in the family. Food had to be given to her father and older brothers who were working in the fields first, and then her younger brother had to be fed as well. She hadn't had a full meal in a long time.

Cui'er was similar; she started crying while eating.

The other young widows, their eyes also red, carefully finished their steamed buns and drank every last drop of the soup.

The female soldiers serving the food laughed: "In the military camp, we have enough to eat every day. Don't cry, the good days are yet to come."

That evening, Lotus and Cui'er, along with several widows, were assigned to a new tent. The two sisters leaned their heads together and whispered happily, "Cui'er, how can there be such a wonderful place in the world?"

Cui'er grinned: "Sister Hehua, I also feel like I'm floating, like I'm dreaming."

At dawn the next day, the sound of war drums rang out in the military camp.

Everyone had to go to the training ground for drills. The new recruits, being new to the area, didn't need to train yet, but they still had to get up and practice together.

A female soldier in her early twenties arrived with a thin booklet. The booklet contained over thirty military regulations. The soldier read them out one by one: "These regulations must be memorized perfectly. The first one to recite them will be rewarded with a bowl of meat." Meat?

Lotus and Cui'er each swallowed hard. Their family was poor, and their brothers were illiterate, so naturally they couldn't read either. However, young people have good memories, and by memorizing word by word, they managed to memorize it perfectly in just two days.

The female soldier was very happy and led the two of them to see Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe smiled and praised, "They are both good prospects. Take them to the kitchen and give each of them a bowl of meat as a reward."

The bowl wasn't big, but the meat was piled high and oozing with oil; one bite and the taste was simply indescribable.

Lotus and Cui'er buried their heads and finished off a bowl of meat. The other new female soldiers, their mouths watering, suddenly started reciting military regulations much faster.

After a few days of hearty meals, the new recruits went to the training ground to begin simple formation drills. Hehua Cui'er's team was still led by female soldiers.

Lotus was bolder and quietly asked the female soldier when she had joined the army. The female soldier smiled and said, "I've been in the Pei family army for two years. Once you become veterans, you'll be assigned to train new recruits."

It was a common practice in Pei's army for a veteran to lead a team of new recruits.

Veteran soldiers teach new recruits to memorize military regulations, familiarize them with life in the barracks, lead them in drills and martial arts practice, and teach them to read and write at night. After a year or two of this training, the new recruits are ready to be trained.

"We need to learn to read and write?" Lotus was shocked. "Isn't being a soldier just about wielding a sword and killing people? Why do we need to study?"

The female soldier smiled and said, "This is all stipulated by General Pei. Soldiers in our Pei family army train during the day and learn to read at night."

"By the way, those who learn quickly and perform well will receive rewards."

Cui'er swallowed hard again: "Is it still meat as a reward?"

The female soldier grinned and said, "Yes. The top three in the monthly martial arts competition get to eat meat for three meals in a row. There are also monthly assessments for reading and writing; those who do well get to eat meat for three days in a row."

Lotus and Cui'er's eyes lit up. Even the young widows, whose hearts had been like dry wells, had a fervent light in their eyes.

They don't understand things like future prospects. What matters is the meat they can eat. They can't just watch others eat; they want to eat too!

The high enthusiasm was enough to keep the new recruits going through the initial tedious drills. They knew the military regulations by heart, and recognizing five large characters every night didn't seem so difficult after all.

After practicing formations for a month, we started practicing boxing.

After a month of eating her fill, Hehua Cui'er became much stronger and more robust. She threw punch after punch, shouting "Ho ho!"

General Pei, whom they admired, trained with them every day and lined up for meals with them. He never cut in line, and would happily take his mixed-grain steamed buns and squat down to eat with them.

"Cui'er, how can there be such a general in the world!" Lotus spoke privately of her general, her eyes shining like stars: "If the general asked me to go through fire and water, I wouldn't even blink!"

Cui'er grinned and said, "I'm willing too."

(End of this chapter)