NOVPUBHua Xiong grabbed those men like picking up chicks. Though not very bright, he knew that since Chen Xi had called him over, there clearly wasn't any intention to come down hard on them.
"I heard you beat up an entire unit of Qingzhou Soldiers," Chen Xi said, looking at Hu Feng and his companions.
"Marshal, it was just a normal sparring session. The Qingzhou Army is very fierce, and it's hard to control our strength during the fight. I hope you can overlook this," Hu Feng stepped forward and said. Back in the day, whenever his men created trouble, he would take the rap for them. After all, being Li Jue's nephew meant he wouldn't face much backlash, and this time he handled it just like always.
"Hmm, very loyal and brave, aren't you?" Chen Xi glanced at Hu Feng. "Fine. Show your loyalty and courage on the battlefield. I'll pretend nothing happened this time. The Qingzhou Soldiers provoked you first, and you retaliated. They've learned their lesson. Now, you'll learn yours. Suit up in your armor, grab your weapons, and run five laps around the camp for me!"
"Get running, now!" Seeing Hu Feng about to argue, Hua Xiong kicked him straightaway and shooed the lot of them off.
"Have a seat. They're gone now. Let's talk," Chen Xi said coldly, pointing to a chair as he watched Hu Feng's group leave.
"I'll have them tighten up their discipline soon," Hua Xiong quickly responded.
"What's there to tighten? On the battlefield, follow commands. Off the battlefield, close one eye to the brawls. Don't set the bar too high," Chen Xi waved dismissively. "How's the progress on training your troops?"
"Still not confident," Hua Xiong said, his face dark with frustration and his eyes flashing dangerously.
"Any other ideas?" Chen Xi asked, eyeing Hua Xiong. He didn't believe Hua Xiong couldn't think of leveraging other resources.
"Leave Juo Yi to me!" Hua Xiong growled, glaring in Chen Xi's direction with a fierce expression.
"Can you win?" Chen Xi asked, staring at Hua Xiong.
"Victory is mine!" Hua Xiong nodded firmly. He ultimately gave up on the idea of using the old corps under the Vanguard Death Squad, which previously suffered defeat. Perhaps he could win, perhaps he couldn't. But win or lose, it would deal a heavy blow to his soldiers.
"It's yours, then. Our initial opponent will surely be Xun Shen, and later on, Juo Yi. When the time comes, go all out!" Chen Xi said, locking eyes with Hua Xiong. He had no doubts Hua Xiong could handle it.
"I won't let Marshal Chen down!" Hua Xiong clasped his hands and bowed deeply.
"Speak up if you need anything," Chen Xi waved a hand, signaling Hua Xiong to leave. He had some preparations to attend to.
When Chen Xi walked out of the main tent after handling some military affairs, he saw all the Xiliang Soldiers running laps around the camp.
"What's going on here?" Chen Xi asked in confusion, looking at the dark mass of Xiliang Soldiers running in a tight cluster, cursing and swearing as they went.
"Reporting to Marshal, earlier you ordered the Xiliang Army members who violated military discipline to run five laps fully armed. As soon as they began running, the other Xiliang Soldiers found out about it and also suited up to run behind them. And then it turned into this," the messenger reported, clasping his hands together.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad," Chen Xi said, stroking his chin. As expected of soldiers trained under the pyramid system, their collective spirit was very strong. Although this system treated those at the pyramid's base poorly, it instilled a deep sense of honor among those higher up.
"But how do we even keep track of how many laps they've run?" Fa Zheng asked after watching the Xiliang Soldiers run for a full quarter of an hour. He was starting to feel dizzy from staring.
"What's there to count? They wouldn't dare slack off," Hua Xiong grumbled, giving Fa Zheng a punch on the shoulder. "My men are keeping a close watch on them."
Just then, Hu Feng, Li Meng, Wang Fang, Duan Wei, and others jogged past the camp gates, laughing and joking as if they hadn't been punished. Their faces brimmed with pride.
Hua Xiong awkwardly watched as Hu Feng's group ran by. Naturally, he understood why they were so cheerful. For Xiliang Soldiers, who had long lacked proper armor, taking the opportunity to grab some gear for their brothers made a punishment like running completely trivial.
And now, with eight or nine thousand Xiliang Soldiers running together, there was nothing shameful about it. Instead, it made the leaders of the initial brawl feel rather proud.
"Don't worry about it. Announce to the men that lunch rewards are as follows: the first hundred to finish get two bowls of meat, one bowl of meat soup, and unlimited steamed buns; the first three hundred get one bowl of meat, one bowl of soup, and unlimited buns; the first five hundred get one bowl of soup and unlimited buns; the first thousand get unlimited buns. As for the rest, well…" Chen Xi waved nonchalantly, leaving the task to Hua Xiong.
This rowdy bunch of rebels had a commendable collective mindset, but they still deserved a little scare. They needed to understand that the weapons and armor they had weren't taken by force, but distributed by Mount Tai.
"Have we reduced their rations?" Fa Zheng asked, turning to Chen Xi. "Aren't meat soups and veggie soups served at every meal? And when have steamed buns ever been rationed? As for meat, while it's not an everyday thing for every soldier, they still get some once a week, don't they? Especially today, with the Xiliang Soldiers just arriving—it's clearly a feast day."
"Nope," Chen Xi raised an eyebrow. "I'm just treating them like those jokers out there who think they've achieved something special."
"You're something else," Fa Zheng muttered, rolling his eyes.
Standing at the camp gates, Hua Xiong shouted Chen Xi's orders at the top of his lungs to the soldiers running laps. The pace of the entire Xiliang Army suddenly picked up.
Back in Guanzhong, although Li Jue and the others had dug numerous canals, it only solved the issue of having enough to eat. For the Xiliang Soldiers under their command, Li Jue could manage to keep them around eighty percent full without issue, but letting them eat as much as they wanted? That was a fantasy. And meat? For most Xiliang Soldiers, that was something they could only dream about—how many years had it been since they last had any?
With this new order, the Xiliang Soldiers, who had originally been jogging at a leisurely pace, suddenly went into a frenzy. Their sole aim? To get into the top five hundred and secure some meat to sate their long-held cravings.
"What a spectacle!" Zhang Fei stood in the camp, marveling at the Xiliang Soldiers sprinting like wild horses. It was an entirely different scene compared to the sluggish bunch who looked as though they intended to jog till midday.
"I wonder how they'll feel when they find out meat was already on the lunch menu," Fa Zheng said with a smirk, glancing sideways at Chen Xi. "They might resent you even more as their Marshal. You're really something else."
"I didn't mislead them. This is just a bonus," Chen Xi quipped casually.
The Xiliang Soldiers, oblivious to what they were actually having for lunch, were completely galvanized by Hua Xiong's shouts. Whether they ran for camaraderie—for the notion that if one was punished, all should stand together—or out of sibling loyalty to the squad leaders who had gotten them the gear, they were now running like their lives depended on it.
The regular Xiliang Soldiers were spurred by the chance to have meat, while Wang Fang and his peers were motivated solely by pride. Being overtaken by the average rank-and-file soldiers was something they absolutely couldn't allow. As a result, every single person, from the top on down, was running as if their lives depended on it. (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian.com to cast recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)
