Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 77 Ambition
Fang Datou lost his right arm and was initially unsteady on his feet. It took him half a year to barely adapt to life with only one arm.

Zhao Haibao was an ordinary citizen, Pei Jia and Pei Yi were refugees, Gu Lian had spent several years in a bandit stronghold, and Feng Chang was a refugee leader who came down the mountain to join the Pei family. In truth, Fang Datou, who had spent over a decade in the military, was the most suitable person for training soldiers.

Pei Qinghe already had a plan in mind. The other party said, "Your body has recovered enough. Starting tomorrow, come and train every day. You've lost your right arm, but you still have your left hand. I'll teach you to use your left hand to slash. Once you've mastered it, I'll let you lead a team."

Fang Datou's eyes shone brightly, and his voice boomed: "Yes, I will listen to Sixth Miss."

The Pei family members all started practicing martial arts from the age of four, practicing horse stance to build a solid foundation before learning the eighteen kinds of weapons.

Pei Jia and the others were all adults, so the Pei family's martial arts training methods were no longer applicable. In her previous life, Pei Qinghe had developed a method for training refugees into soldiers, which could train them in six months and get them ready for battle in about a year.

In fact, the soldiers in Jingchao's military camp were mostly adults who had entered the camp and trained there. They had learned martial arts, reading and writing since childhood, and had read military books and understood some military strategy; they were all potential generals.

Pei Jia and Pei Yi went to the training ground with great excitement and joy. After practicing for several half-days, they began to have doubts.

"Sixth Sister makes us turn left, right, and about every day, and practice walking by listening to bamboo whistles. When will she teach us to practice swordsmanship?"

Needless to say, Zhao Hai and Doctor Bao were dizzy and lightheaded from practicing. Fang Datou, on the other hand, adapted quickly after his military training.

Having read the book and passed the imperial examinations, Feng Chang had a much broader perspective. He knew that this was the Sixth Sister training everyone's discipline and obedience, practicing diligently without uttering a sound.

However, she was still slightly inferior to Gu Lian.

Gu Lian practiced during the day and continued practicing at night, and surprisingly, she was the best performer among everyone.

Pei Qinghe admired Gu Lian's ambition and drive, and privately reminded her: "Training soldiers is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Don't train too hard and hurt your body."

Gu Lian raised her head: "Sixth Miss has honored and appreciated me, and I cannot let her down. I must be better than the rest of them and make them all bow down to me."

Pei Qinghe chuckled: "You're so strong-willed, don't use me as a shield."

Gu Lian grinned and laughed, "Yes, actually it's just that I'm showing off and being strong-willed. I endured humiliation and lived a miserable life in the mountain stronghold. Only after coming down the mountain to Pei Family Village did I start living like a human being. No one points fingers or gossips anymore, and I can even find a son-in-law to live with. They are all satisfied. But I'm still not satisfied."

“I want to live a better life. I want to be like the Pei family girls, learning martial arts, swordsmanship, horseback riding, and archery, and then follow the Sixth Miss into battle.”

"I know that Sixth Miss would definitely like someone like me."

Gu Lian's eyes blazed with a fiery light, like a flower blooming amidst mud and thorns. The ugly scar on her cheek couldn't dim her radiant glow.

Pei Qinghe gazed at Gu Lian and smiled slightly: "That's right, I like ambitious and capable women. Gu Lian, do you really want to follow me?"

Gu Lian's blood surged, and she straightened her chest: "I am willing to follow Sixth Sister. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, I will not be afraid."

"Alright! I'll teach you swordsmanship tomorrow."

……

The next day, Pei Qinghe taught everyone how to use a sword. Normally, they practiced with wooden swords. Wooden swords are light and wouldn't hurt anyone. They also lack the sharpness and power that a weapon should have when wielded.

Pei Qinghe slowed down her movements and demonstrated the starting stance. Then, everyone practiced drawing and swinging their swords continuously.

"On the battlefield, whoever has the fastest blade lives; a step slower means death."

"Faster, faster!" Pei Qinghe urged everyone to practice martial arts with a stern face and no smile. Not to mention Gu Lian and the others, even Pei Yan and the others dared not slack off.

Fang Datou wanted to practice swordsmanship with his left hand, and he started with the basics as well. Practicing swordsmanship with only one arm was even more difficult. If he exerted too much force, his body would tilt and become unstable, and he almost fell flat on his face.

Pei Qinghe reacted quickly, kicking Fang Datou back to his original position: "Stand still."

Fang Datou grimaced as he stood firm and continued to draw and swing his sword.

Springtime brings thawing and melting of snow.

The seven corpses under the tree north of the village began to decompose and could no longer hang. Pei Qinghe ordered the newly arrived refugees to dig a pit and bury the seven corpses in it.

Whether by coincidence or not, some fragmented skeletons were unearthed while digging the pit.

The refugees gasped in shock, their faces turning pale with horror.

Pei Qinghe said casually, "These are the corpses of the bandits from Black Bear Stronghold. Don't be afraid, Black Bear Stronghold has been wiped out."

The refugees had all heard, to varying degrees, about Pei Liu's destruction of Black Bear Village. Witnessing it with their own eyes today only deepened their sense of awe.

After spring plowing began, the displaced people, divided into four teams and led by Pei Jia, Pei Yi, Gu Lian, and Feng Chang, worked diligently, pulling oxen and iron plows. The land, which had been covered by snow for more than half a month, became soft as the snow melted, and was easily plowed by the iron plows. Then, spring wheat seeds were sown.

Last year, only forty people were farming, but this spring, more than 150 new migrants joined, and spring plowing went very smoothly. After spring plowing, they will continue to cultivate wasteland.

The bricklayers who went home for the Spring Festival have all returned. The foundations for Peijia Village have already been laid, and the construction of houses is progressing rapidly. The brick and stone walls are also taking shape.

The brand-new Peijia Village is like wild grass sprouting from the ground in spring, bursting with vitality.

With hundreds of people needing to be fed every day, the grain in the granaries was being consumed very quickly.

Every day, Wu Xiuniang would use her abacus several times to calculate in her ledger: "Thanks to the young master Shi who sent a large amount of grain before the New Year. Otherwise, it would be a real worry to feed so many mouths."

Pei Qinghe smiled and comforted Wu Xiuniang, whose hair had turned a few more gray: "With more people, food consumption is indeed high, but things are done much faster. The new houses in Pei Family Village are already habitable. This year, we can clear many wastelands, plant spring wheat, and harvest it in a few months."

Wu Xiuniang glanced at Pei Qinghe: "Judging from the speed at which you recruit refugees, the speed at which you reclaim wasteland and grow grain is far from enough."

Pei Qinghe smiled and said, "That's true."

"You still have the mood to joke around? I'm so worried I can't sleep." Wu Xiuniang sighed, showing how hard the head steward worked: "If it weren't for the young master Shi sending a large amount of grain, everyone would be starving now. Qinghe, you'd better think this through. The Shi family doesn't do good deeds for no reason. We've received so much kindness from them, how are we going to repay them in the future?"

Pei Qinghe raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Young Master Shi has placed a heavy bet on the Pei family. There will be a day when we pay him back."

"If we can't repay our debts, it will be Young Master Shi who suffers a huge loss. If Young Master Shi, the creditor, isn't worried, what do we have to worry about?"

Wu Xiuniang: "..."

Wu Xiuniang silently put the account book away.

People who are thin-skinned and have a conscience cannot accomplish great things.

(End of this chapter)