Film and Television World Life Record

Li Mu laughed and said, "It's not a problem if you don't have any money. Aren't you quite famous? If we trick you into going out and selling you, you should be worth a lot of money."

Yuan Jin'er immediately turned around and shouted, "Sister Yunzhu, come quick! Look at Ning Yi, he said he's going to sell me for money. Sister Yunzhu, you need to see his true colors!"

Nie Yunzhu came out when she heard the noise and glared at Yuan Jin'er: "Alright, you always start arguing when you meet. Didn't you say you liked Li Heng before? If you really like him, I don't mind."

Yuan Jin'er's face immediately turned bright red: "Who likes it? I don't like it at all. I'm ignoring you, Sister Yunzhu."

After saying that, she glared at Li Mu again before running away.

Li Mu and Nie Yunzhu exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Is Zhu Ji free today? Come with me to Calabash Valley."

Nie Yunzhu said, "Yes! The small blast furnace for steelmaking that you mentioned has been built. I'll go take a look."

The two immediately mounted their horses and headed out of the city.

On the way, they talked about what had happened recently, some changes in the Su family, and some things about Su Tan'er. Li Mu did not hide anything from her.

When Li Mu said that Su Tan'er had captured two bandit leaders with a long sword, Nie Yunzhu's eyes widened and she covered her mouth in surprise.

She knew Su Tan'er and knew her basic information. Although she was the daughter of a merchant and a proper young lady from a respectable family, she had nothing to do with capturing two bandit leaders.

Although she knew that Li Mu was highly skilled in martial arts and might teach Su Tan'er some skills, this was different from turning a delicate woman into a martial arts master in a short period of time.

She had also learned the Pine Crane Boxing Manual from Li Mu, and after studying it for more than a year, although her health had improved a lot, she was still far from being a martial arts master.

"Ah! I never heard that Su Tan'er had studied martial arts before, yet she was able to capture the bandit leader."

Li Mu smiled slightly and said, "Of course not before, but I'm here!"

Nie Yunzhu asked curiously, "I heard that martial arts training needs to start from a young age, and it's too late once you're an adult. You've only known each other for less than two years. Even if you teach her step by step, you won't reach this level."

Li Mu suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, it's possible. If you want, I can teach you."

Nie Yunzhu's eyes lit up. Who wouldn't aspire to become a martial arts master? Especially given Nie Yunzhu's past experiences, which had left her feeling insecure for so many years, who wouldn't yearn to become a highly skilled martial artist with formidable strength?

With a mix of anticipation and nervousness, she asked, "I...I...can I do it?"

Li Mu nodded: "You have good natural talent, and after practicing the Pine Crane Boxing Manual for over a year, you've laid a solid foundation. You also have a good temperament—both detached and resilient. You might even master it faster than Tan'er."

“However…” Li Mu paused for a moment, “What you just said is also true. Martial arts training needs to start from a young age. It’s actually very difficult to start when you’re older.”

Seeing Nie Yunzhu's somewhat disappointed expression, Li Mu continued, "However, my martial art is a bit special; only adults can practice it, and the training method is also somewhat unique. I don't know if you can accept it..."

Nie Yunzhu asked curiously, "What's so special about it?"

Li Mu smiled and whispered the cultivation requirements of the Great Harmony of Yin and Yang in her ear. Nie Yunzhu's face immediately turned red, even her ears turned red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at Li Mu.

Li Mu gently held her hand and said, "Yunzhu, we both understand each other's feelings, so there's really no need to care too much about what others think."

"Zhu Ji is very important in my future plans. As Zhu Ji grows larger, you will encounter more things, including business disputes and various dangers. In such situations, in addition to hiring guards, being strong yourself is also a guarantee."

"As far as I'm concerned, I hope you can learn from me, not to take advantage of you, although I do want to. Think it over for two days and give me your answer then. You can't refuse."

Nie Yunzhu blushed and lowered her head, only giving a soft "hmm" after a long while.

Chapter 619 Methods of Training Soldiers

The two arrived at Calabash Valley, which had long since changed. Li Mu had bought up the hills, valleys, and fields covering more than ten square kilometers and had been carrying out construction non-stop for months.

Today, in front of Hulu Valley, the river that flows directly to the Yangtze River has a new dock, and the road has been repaired, with a straight road leading directly to Hulu Valley.

Here at Hulu Valley, the valley entrance is narrow, only a dozen or so feet wide, and a wall more than three feet high has been erected. If needed, guarding this wall, which is only a dozen feet wide, would make this a fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Inside the valley, various workshops sprang up one after another. After inspecting the newly built small blast furnace, they hired several relevant technicians at high salaries and were exploring trial production based on the methods given by Li Mu.

Although Li Mu's method of steelmaking was rudimentary, it was extremely advanced for this world. Given the technological level of this world, even if they could barely manage to replicate it, they would still need to explore and accumulate experience step by step.

After all, Li Mu only knew the general methods and steps; he wasn't a professional.

I chatted with these technicians for a while, discussed how to conduct trial production, and then visited other workshops, especially the currently most popular glass and soap workshops, which, despite expanding their scale, are still in short supply.

Finally, they arrived at the martial arts arena in the valley, which is also the training base for more than 500 guards.

These 500-plus guards were selected by Li Mu from tens of thousands of young and strong disaster victims, with only one out of dozens, or even one out of a hundred, chosen for their martial arts skills.

Considering that these people were already adults, Li Mu taught them some easy-to-learn and easy-to-practice kung fu techniques that could quickly build up their combat power. In addition to the Wild Bull Strength, Blood Battle Eight Styles, and Ten Directions Steps, he has compiled more than a dozen similar kung fu techniques in the past two months and taught different martial arts to each person according to their individual circumstances.

If we were to discuss what Li Mu devoted the most thought and effort to in Calabash Valley, it wouldn't be the workshops or the new products, but rather the more than five hundred guards.

Li Mu regarded them as seeds, the seeds of the future army, and placed great importance on their training.

Although nominally it's a training program for guards, if you look at the training content, it's basically conducted according to military methods.

Although Li Mu lacked experience in commanding troops in ancient times, his background was rich. During the Republic of China era, he rose from a security regiment commander to a warlord, giving him considerable experience in training and commanding troops. In the zombie world, as a special forces soldier who frequently participated in peacekeeping missions abroad, he was also very familiar with the various training methods of the modern military.

In the world of Swordsman, the Demonic Cult launched a large-scale invasion and expanded its territory in the Southeast Asia. He and Ren Yingying, as the driving force and power behind the scenes, were very familiar with the training and combat methods of the Demonic Cult's Five Elements Flags, as well as various battle tactics.

In addition, Li Mu has recently read some military books in this world. Combining these with ancient military training methods, he has developed a set of training methods.

Li Mu didn't know what kind of army was the best, but a disciplined and well-disciplined force would certainly be a formidable fighting force. For example, the Yue Family Army, the Qi Family Army, and the People's Liberation Army.

With strict discipline, and if certain ideals can be instilled, in an era like ancient times where morale was extremely important and a low morale would lead to collapse, they could definitely become a strong army.

Therefore, Li Mu not only taught them martial arts and military tactics, but also invited a teacher to teach them to read and write, to help them become illiterate, and to help them understand the principles of being a good person and what it means to have a sense of national responsibility.

In the future, we will gradually instill and cultivate some ideas in them. As for what those ideas are, Li Mu is still considering them.

In the future, with the decline of the Liao Dynasty and the southward advance of the Jin army, the world may well witness another humiliation like the Jingkang Incident. Meanwhile, a tribe on the grasslands called the Mongols has begun to rise, slowly merging with surrounding smaller tribes, and will one day become a force that will make the world tremble.

The Liao, Jin, and Mongol dynasties... the Wu Dynasty was actually quite unlucky, with each of its three neighbors being more powerful than the last. The first was the Liao Dynasty. Although the Wu Dynasty was no match for it, the Treaty of Chanyuan maintained peace for nearly a century. The Wu Dynasty, or rather, the Song Dynasty in another timeline, managed to maintain at least some dignity.

The Jin dynasty that followed the Song dynasty's path suffered a much worse fate. Half of its territory was lost, the capital was lost, and the Jingkang Incident occurred.

The next neighbor, Mongolia, was even more formidable, but its fate was even more tragic. It lost its country and fell under the iron heel of foreign invaders, with 100,000 soldiers and civilians ultimately jumping off cliffs to their deaths.

The trajectory of the Wu Dynasty may not be the same as that of the Song Dynasty. After all, the Liao Dynasty has not yet been destroyed, and a Mongol force has already emerged on the grasslands nearly a century earlier. The Wu Dynasty's fate may not be as good as that of the Song Dynasty.

Thinking about it this way, it might be feasible to cultivate national consciousness, instill national ideals, and also instill some sense of national righteousness.

However, this point needs careful consideration; the importance of ideals and beliefs is something that people in this world do not understand.

After all, no army is fearless, but an army with its own ideals and beliefs will become an indomitable iron army.

When Li Mu arrived at the training ground, some people were practicing battle formations and various martial arts techniques, while others were practicing military posture and marching in formation.

Although many people feel that ancient times and modern times are different, making them practice military posture and marching in formation may look better and more imposing, but it seems that it does little to improve combat effectiveness.

It does have an effect, such as on morale. One side's troops may look crooked and disorganized, while the other side may look neat, imposing, and disciplined. Even if the combat capabilities of both sides are similar, the morale will definitely change after they meet and are compared.

This is naturally not the most important thing. Making them stand at attention and march in formation is mainly to cultivate their discipline and obedience. At a single command, they dare to charge forward. In ancient times, those who could ensure that orders were obeyed without question were the strongest soldiers.

The training for these guards includes not only standing at attention and marching, but also extremely strict requirements for their internal affairs. Their bedding must be neat and their hygiene must be impeccable, which is also part of cultivating their discipline and obedience.

Of course, Li Mu did not treat them poorly in terms of treatment. They not only had enough to eat every day, but also meat, which was something that many people in ancient times dreamed of, let alone these disaster victims who came from the bottom of society.

Not only that, they also receive a monthly allowance of one guan (a unit of currency). In the future, if they meet the training standards and pass the assessment, their pay will double to two guan per month.

This is not the end. Two strings are just the beginning. In the future, Li Mu will set different assessment standards according to the situation. After passing, the treatment will be improved to three, four, or five strings a month. You must work hard to practice your skills and obey discipline. The treatment will become more and more generous.

With this combination of strictness and leniency, using both carrots and sticks, these people trained with great enthusiasm despite the rigorous requirements, and had no complaints whatsoever.

Chapter 620 It’s a matter of course

Recently, Su Tan'er has been extremely busy with the industries and businesses transferred from the Wu family and from Old Master Su in various prefectures. Several young maids who were originally trained as assistants have been kept running around, and they also have to frequently go to various places to inspect the businesses that have been transferred.

Having just taken over the Su family's power, Su Tan'er devoted most of her energy to it. Li Mu knew how hard she had worked over the years, so he naturally offered his full support.

A few days ago, Su Tan'er, accompanied by several maids, some shopkeepers and managers, and guards, went to Taizhou to inspect the business.

The usually bustling courtyard suddenly became quiet, and the chatter of the little girls was gone. It felt quite strange at first.

At this time, the day after returning from Calabash Valley, Nie Yunzhu, though she didn't say it, had already given her answer through her actions.

Li Mu was neither a pretentious person nor someone bound by rules. Nie Yunzhu was fearless, so what did he have to worry about?

That evening, at the Nie residence, a house located on the banks of the Qinhuai River, surrounded by beautiful scenery and a tranquil environment, very close to the two-story bamboo house where Nie Yunzhu used to live. It was a three-courtyard house that Li Mu had bought a few months ago and then carried out a large-scale renovation, spending a total of nearly 30,000 taels of silver.

A month ago, Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin'er officially moved in and named the house Nie Mansion.

It's not that the original two-story bamboo house was uninhabitable; it's just that as the scale of the Bamboo Shop expanded, the small house could only be used occasionally, and it could no longer support Nie Yunzhu's daily work.

For example, when discussing matters with others, the interior space of the small building is too small, and it becomes incongruous with just a few people sitting down.

Moreover, safety is also a concern. In the past, Nie Yunzhu was just an unnoticed young woman, so it was fine. But now, as the person in charge of Zhuji and holding astonishing wealth, many people are envious, and there are even those who would take risks to support her.

The original two-story bamboo house was neither sturdy nor secure, and there was nowhere to hide. It was no longer appropriate to continue living there.

Considering that Nie Yunzhu needed a home and a place to handle his affairs, he bought this villa, which was said to have been owned by a wealthy merchant and covered seven acres. After several months of renovation and repair, it became elegant and unique, giving people a refreshing feeling. Nie Yunzhu liked it very much, and named it Nie Mansion.

Born into an official family, Nie Yunzhu had recently selected and purchased a group of maids and servants, gradually bringing the entire mansion to life and giving it a more grand and distinguished air.

That day, the entire Nie mansion was filled with a festive atmosphere. Although there was no music or decorations, Nie Yunzhu had someone book several tables at a restaurant. There were no outsiders, and everyone in the Nie mansion, from top to bottom, including maids and servants, sat down at the table for a lively and joyous meal.

Nie Yunzhu's small courtyard looked unremarkable from the outside, but inside, red silk was hung, red candles were lit, and the bed was covered with a bright red wedding quilt.

Although there was no wedding ceremony or formal ceremony, for a woman, it is an important moment to give herself away and entrust her future to someone. Even without a ceremony, she should try her best to make up for it.

Inside the room, Li Mu gazed at Nie Yunzhu, who was as beautiful and alluring as a flower, bathed in the soft glow of red candlelight. As she blushed, he slowly walked over and embraced her, his voice gentle as he said, "Yunzhu..."

Nie Yunzhu blushed and gently buried her head in Li Mu's arms, whispering, "Liheng..."

Li Mu gently picked her up, walked to the bedside, lifted the quilt, and found that a white cloth had already been laid out in the middle. He gently placed Yunzhu on the bed, and as the mosquito net was lowered, the two figures gradually became entangled.