Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 237 Troop Training
Pei Qinghe changed the family rules, and no one objected, so there was not much of a stir.

If you want to get married, just go ahead and do it! Anyway, they don't want to marry out of the family; they only want to have their husbands marry into the family.

Pei Zhi's grievances were not feigned. Pei Xuan and Pei Feng often teased her for breaking the Pei family rule that women should not marry outside the family for the sake of a man.

Pei Zhi was always spoiled and capricious, always wanting to be the best in everything. But when it came to her marriage, she had "lowered her head" and was the subject of gossip, leaving her feeling resentful. Seeing Yang Hu, she couldn't hold back any longer. She threw a tantrum and then coaxed him sweetly.

Yang Hu enjoyed it and willingly allowed himself to be manipulated and dictated.

Yang Huai rolled his eyes: "You've been laughing for half an hour since you came back. Aren't your lips getting sore?"

Yang Hu laughed smugly, "My lips are perfectly fine, it's just that you're feeling a little jealous!"

Yang Huai sneered, "Yes, yes, I feel really bad. Seeing the slap mark on your face makes me so sad I almost cried."

Yang Hu was not ashamed at all and was quite proud of himself: "She doesn't hit others, she only hits me. Because she cares about me."

Yang Huai felt a sour taste in his mouth and gagged.

Yang Hu didn't care at all and just kept laughing.

Yang Huai didn't say anything nice, but he was secretly very pleased. Yang Hu had fallen in love with Pei Zhi at first sight, pursuing her passionately and persistently, only to be rejected repeatedly, and had even cried in front of him several times. Now, things had taken a turn for the better, and Yang Hu was overjoyed. His cousin was also very happy.

After a few jokes, the two brothers got down to business.

"General Pei has been very kind to us, so we must train our troops diligently and show General Pei the capabilities of our Guangning Army." Yang Hu said, "Go to Pei's army and present the training strategy we have developed to the general."

Yang Huai nodded in agreement.

Pei Zhi and her group stayed in Guangning Army for three days before setting off back. Yang Huai accompanied them. Upon arriving at Pei Family Army, they presented Pei Qinghe with two pages of paper.

"The Xiongnu barbarians are mainly cavalry, and their greatest skill is cavalry charges. We are mainly infantry, so our only option is to defend the city walls and wait for the enemy to attack. The Xiongnu barbarians can come and go as they please, so our approach is both conservative and passive."

"The Pei family army sent a caravan to buy horses, but with the rapid expansion of the Pei family army, it is not easy to provide warhorses for everyone. It is unlikely that they can train an elite cavalry force that can compete with the Xiongnu barbarians within three to five years."

"Therefore, we still need to train infantry, and train them in battle formations and tactics specifically designed to counter cavalry."

"These two pages contain the training methods that our Guangning Army's generals have collectively devised. Please take a look, General."

Pei Qinghe's eyes were full of approval: "Great minds think alike. Since I returned from the Guangning Army, I have also been studying how infantry and cavalry can fight each other. You should also come and see our training methods."

Yang Huai was no outsider, so he went straight to the Pei family army's training ground.

A battalion of one hundred infantrymen, lined up in a neat single file, crouched on the ground, each gripping a sharp spear. The spears pointed forward, gleaming with a cold, sharp light. If a warhorse charged from the opposite direction, these spears would pierce its belly. The horse would fall, the rider would tumble heavily, and the spears would trip the horses behind them.

Another battalion of a hundred men held long, thin iron chains, each with a long, slender curved knife attached to the end. They could swing the chains to slash at horses' legs, and then quickly retract them afterward.

Another battalion was training with brand-new crossbows. These huge crossbows required three people to draw, had an extremely long range, and were extremely lethal.

The training ground also displayed many novel weapons. Yang Huai was dazzled and extremely envious. The Guangning Army's training strategy was still on paper, yet the Pei family army was already practicing. And so many new weapons!

Pei Qinghe said with a smile, "These weapons can't be made in a short time. I started preparing for them last year."

“We found an iron mine in Beiping County. The ore mined every day is smelted into pig iron and then transported to Yan County, where blacksmiths forge it into weapons. What you see in front of you is what was made this year.”

Raising an army is never an easy task; food, uniforms, pay, warhorses, armor, and weapons all cost money.

Previously, the imperial court allocated military funds and supplies, which the troops simply took. Now that the court has fallen and the capital has been occupied by rebel forces, the Bohai Commandery only receives imperial edicts and verbal commendations, with no real funds or supplies available. As a result, each army is left to fend for itself.

Most armies used methods such as robbing and killing wealthy households and plundering civilians, or directly destroying local government offices to collect taxes. This approach was extremely effective in the short term, but in the long run, various drawbacks emerged.

The people suffered greatly, refugees filled the fields, and fertile land lay fallow. To support the army, the exploitation of the people had to be intensified, leading to even more people abandoning their homes and fleeing. Like a snowball rolling downhill, the evil consequences only grew stronger.

After the Pei family army occupied Yan County, they did not interfere in civil affairs. They strictly controlled the government offices, treated the people with great care, rarely conscripted laborers, and did not forcibly recruit able-bodied men into the army. They collected a certain amount of land tax each year and never increased the tax. Poor people who did not have seeds could borrow them from the nearest Shi family grain shop, and repay them with a small interest when the harvest came.

The wealthy families felt particularly at ease in Yan County, conducting their businesses normally and contributing half of their profits to the military. They could then leave the other half behind without worry.

There were also some merchants who specialized in doing business with the Pei family army. Grains, salt, oil, sugar, meat, vegetables, cloth, medicinal herbs, and so on, all came together to form a large business.

All of this was personally managed by Steward Shi. The Pei family army was able to operate smoothly without excessively exploiting the common people and wealthy households, and Steward Shi deserves great credit for this.

Pei's army also recruited a group of blacksmiths to forge weapons. These new weapons were the result of a year's work by more than a hundred blacksmiths.

Yang Huai's eyes were practically red with envy: "Our Guangning Army hasn't had any new weapons in a long time."

Then, he looked at Pei Qinghe with longing eyes.

Pei Qinghe smiled slightly: "The Guangning Army and the Pei Family Army are of one mind. If you need any supplies in the future, you can apply to Steward Shi."

Yang Huai was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

That evening, Yang Huai brought a generous gift to pay a visit to Steward Shi.

The Grand Steward was so busy every day that he barely had time to rest. Recently, in order to raise money, food and supplies for the Guangning Army, he had been working himself to the bone.

Yang Huai eagerly offered gifts, but Shi Yan chuckled, "We're all family, isn't this too formal? Take the gifts back, I definitely won't accept them. Just ask what the Guangning Army needs."

Yang Huai was so moved that he almost burst into tears: "General Manager Shi is a benefactor to our Guangning Army."

Shi Yan smiled and said, "General Pei is the benefactor of the Guangning Army. I am just a mere steward. Only with the general's approval can I prepare supplies for the Guangning Army."

Yang Huai was completely convinced.

Is this the self-cultivation of a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family?
Who the hell can beat Shi Yan!

(End of this chapter)