The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

The armor in the warehouse was quickly inventoried.

Aside from the purple floral cloth armor given to Yang Chongwang, there were three other purple floral cloth armors, one chainmail, and one hundred and ten indigo cloth armors in the box. The remaining fragments of armor could roughly be pieced together to form thirty cloth armors.

Adding to the weapons such as knives and spears found here before, this is roughly the weaponry and armor of an entire garrison of elite border guards.

Originally, Li Chengye thought that since they had good armor, they should distribute it so that everyone could use it.

After all, if they had each had a suit of armor when attacking the north wall, their casualties would probably only be one-tenth of what they are now.

But soon, Li Chengye discovered a cruel truth.

That is, most of his men were so thin that they couldn't even fill out the cloth armor. Even if they managed to put it on, they would have difficulty moving around, let alone going into battle to kill.

In the end, he selected only fifty-nine men from his thousands of subordinates who could wear the armor, and the rest of the armor had to be put aside for the time being.

Just as Li Chengye was feeling distressed, Yang Chongwang came to comfort him, wearing that purple floral cloth armor.

"Chengye, don't worry. I've seen this kind of situation many times in Yulin Town."

"Brother Yang, having a mountain of treasures but being unable to move it, what a feeling..." Li Chengye said with a wry smile.

"Listen to me," Yang Chongwang said, pointing to the indigo cloth armor. "Each suit of armor, including the iron plates, helmet, and face shield, weighs at least twenty pounds."

How long have our brothers been hungry?

With no food in his belly, no flesh on his body, and his skeleton practically empty, suddenly donning this suit would be so exhausting that he'd collapse after just a few steps, let alone charge into battle.

He patted his purple floral armor: "This is it. I only dared to wear it because of the few full meals and bowls of meat soup I've had these past few days."

When recruiting soldiers for the border army, the primary criterion is physical strength! Why are household guards so elite? Because they are provided with rations every day, often have access to oil and fat, and possess great strength—only then can they don armor and wield swords!

"Moreover, even among the border troops, not everyone can wear armor; apart from the battalion soldiers, most people just wear a battle jacket."

"Indeed, Brother Yang, as you said, I was a bit too hasty."

Li Chengye readily admitted it.

However, he then thought of something else and continued:

"Brother Yang, now that we have the armor, we need to start training. Otherwise, this armor will just be a waste of its potential."

"That's true." Yang Chongwang nodded affirmatively.

Then Li Chengye poured out all the things he had been thinking about during this period.

"I think these armors are a good opportunity to categorize our own people into different classes based on whether they can wear them and go into battle."

He continued, counting on his fingers:

"The first tier consists of these fifty-nine men who can wear armor. These are our 'warriors,' the blade."

Armor, fine swords, and strong bows—they should be prioritized. From now on, their rations should be more generous than others, and their training should be the most rigorous. Their families should also be given priority. These people are the foundation of our livelihood.”

"The second tier consists of those who can no longer wear armor, but whose frames are still in good condition and who are young and strong. These people are the 'auxiliary soldiers' or reserve soldiers."

Let them start by wearing the lightest leather armor or just an iron helmet, and practice marching, strength training, lifting stone weights, and drawing soft bows.

They gave them an extra half bowl of thick porridge every day, and as their bodies improved, they gradually increased the amount. Seeing the soldiers well-fed and well-clothed gave them motivation and made them train with more energy.

"The third category consists of the elderly, the weak, women, children, and those who are truly frail."

They couldn't be idle either; they chopped firewood, boiled water, cooked, tended the livestock, mended clothes, and even helped Master Qin identify herbs and care for the wounded. In short, everyone had to be busy; no one could be idle.

Yang Chongwang listened and praised it highly.

"Chengye, you are a talented general. This can be described as categorizing and utilizing each person's strengths."

"There's just one thing," Li Chengye said earnestly, looking at Yang Chongwang, "I've never served in the military, so I'll have to put more effort into the specific training, Brother Yang."

"Chengye, don't worry, I will do my best." Yang Chongwang hesitated for a moment, but continued, "It's just that I was only a minor officer in the border army back then, with only four men under my command. I could manage to march in formation and instruct the men in daily martial arts, but when it came to training a whole unit, I couldn't manage more people."

That's true. Letting a junior officer directly manage a sentry would definitely cause trouble.

However, Li Chengye immediately thought of someone who could solve their problem.

"Brother Yang, it seems we need to find a master to teach us."

"Become an apprentice? What kind of teacher?"

Yang Chongwang didn't understand for a moment and looked at Li Chengye with a puzzled expression.

-----------------

Luo Dai was seething with anger.

He was at the south gate of Yijun, looking at the corpses in the moat, feeling a surge of irritation.

It was because when the city was breached the day before yesterday, I was a bit too harsh in purging the chaotic troops, and that guy Zhong Huaidao poisoned my mind in front of the big leader, making me do this lousy job of collecting corpses.

Looking at the pile of corpses, his deputy Liu Ye said with some difficulty, "Sir, why don't we just leave it at that and bury this whole moat together?"

"You think I don't want to?" Luo Dai interrupted him irritably, gesturing to the side with her chin. "But look at that guy, do you think he'll agree?"

After saying that, the deputy looked at the guy Luo Dai had mentioned and fell silent for a moment.

There was another person, Hotu, who came with them to collect the body.

At this moment, he was digging up the corpses without a care in the world. Every time he identified a fellow villager, he would cry for a while, and then carefully drag the body out and hand it over to the young men from the village behind him for burial.

As for those who weren't from their village, Luo Dai's men took them, dragged them to the west of the city, dug a large pit, and buried them directly.

Fortunately, it was thanks to Huo Tu and his men who were willing to jump into the moat to dig and search for the corpses that Luo Dai's reluctant subordinates managed to hold on and not give up.

This work started yesterday afternoon and is only almost finished today.

Just as Luo Dai was wondering when it would end, he was greeted by an unexpected guest.

"Brother Chengye, what brings you here?"

In the hot June weather, the corpses decomposed quickly, and the stench from hundreds of corpses mixed together was simply indescribable.

Li Chengye suppressed the urge to cover his nose, walked up to Luo Dai, and forced a smile.

"When the city fell, I obtained a few items, and I suppose only Brother Luo would find them suitable, so I've come to give them to you."

Upon hearing that they had come to deliver gifts, Luo Dai's mood improved considerably. Just as he was about to say something, a deafening wail came from the pile of corpses.

"My nephew! How am I going to explain this to my sister?!"

Hearing the crying, Luo Dai's face twitched. He turned to his deputy Liu Ye and said, "Liu Ye, you keep an eye on things now. I'm going to have a talk with Captain Li."

The deputy, Liu Ye, nodded in agreement.

Luo Dai then led Li Chengye to a shed far from the south gate.

Li Chengye then instructed Han Sanhu, who was following behind him, to place a wooden box at Luo Dai's feet and open it.

Luo Dai, who hadn't thought much of it at first, couldn't sit still once he saw what was inside the wooden box.

"This...this is..."