Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

The recruitment process moved much faster than anyone had imagined. By the next morning, a large number of new recruits had appeared in the camp. Each man had brought in two, no more and no less. Fifty new recruits arrived, and Shen Li had also dragged in over a dozen sturdy young men from the Slave Court. This meant Luo Yu now had a full 130 men under his command.

The military camp was noisy and chaotic. New recruits gathered in groups of three or five. Luo Yu stood on a high point, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. After a brief pep talk, he called over a dozen of his confidants, including Dong Chuan, Meng Hu, and Little Wu, to a side area.

“Sir, whatever else you need us to do, just give the order,” Dong Chuan said with a smile.

“I have looked over the recruits we brought in. Almost all of them are border people from our Que Prefecture. Their foundations are good; there are no shifty characters among them.”

“Very good. Now that we have the men, the next step is training. We go to the battlefield to earn military merit, certainly not to give our lives away for nothing.”

Luo Yu’s voice was deep and steady.

“You have been with me the longest, and you are the most familiar with the Three-Three System. Other armies have squad leaders, but we do not need them. From today on, you will all be corporals. Brother Dong and Meng Hu will serve as standard commanders.

“Each of you will have nine brothers under you. They will be divided into groups of three, and three groups will make a squad. You will each be responsible for their training.

“Besides honing the three-man coordination and infantry tactics, everyone must practice riding. The Qiang are masters of horse archery; relying solely on infantry to meet them is far from enough. Although we do not have many horses now, warhorses will be ours sooner or later.”

“Yes, sir!”

The dozen men were invigorated. Having followed Luo Yu for so long, they had finally received promotions. They had no objections to Dong Chuan and Meng Hu being standard commanders: one had the most experience, while the other had the best martial arts.

“I will say it again: the Three-Three System emphasizes mutual coordination. Once on the battlefield, you must live and die together, sharing both success and hardship.”

Luo Yu held up a finger as a reminder.

“You must train the troops well. If things go wrong on the battlefield, you aren’t just harming me—you are harming yourselves. Do you understand?”

“Understood!”

“Additionally, I am personally contributing twenty taels of silver. Go and buy more meat. Let the brothers have a few full meals. They need strength to train properly.”

“Alright! You are truly generous, sir, hahaha!”

The men were thrilled. They knew that silver was the reward given to Luo Yu by the General’s Manor. Not only had he not kept it for himself, but he had even brought it out to improve the food for his brothers.

It wasn’t that Luo Yu had too much money to burn. It was simply that without enough to eat, where would they get the strength to train?

“The Qiang will be upon us in an instant. We cannot slacken for a single moment. Go and train now!”

“Yes, sir!”

After arranging all this, Luo Yu turned his gaze to a corner. A dozen men were huddling together, looking around. Their gazes frequently lingered on Luo Yu for a moment. Shen Li also stood near the group.

Luo Yu walked over. “Are you all from the Slave Court?”

The dozen men were dressed in rags; they looked exactly like beggars. The biting cold wind slapped their faces, turning their cheeks red, and there were streaks of blood on their shoulders from labor.

“Yes, they all are!” Shen Li said hurriedly. “After arriving at Yunyang Pass, they had no way to make a living. They could only help repair the walls in exchange for a bite to eat.”

“Who is the leader?”

“I am.”

A young man stepped forward. He wasn’t particularly tall or burly, but he looked very sturdy. There was a spark of ferocity in his eyes.

“What is your name?”

“Lu Qingyun.”

“You all look quite young,” Luo Yu noted with a frown. “You escaped on your own? Where are your families? Left behind in the Slave Court?”

“Dead.”

Lu Qingyun’s expression was terrifyingly calm.

“They either died at the hands of the Qiang or starved to death. Since leaving the Slave Court, we have long since had no families.”

Lonely and helpless. The tragedy of the Slave Court was something only those who had experienced it personally could truly understand.

Luo Yu felt a stir of emotion in his heart. “What are your plans for the future?”

“Just to survive. The officials in charge of the wall repairs are incredibly deceitful. They won’t give even a cent of the promised wages. For such heavy labor, we can only eat one steamed bun a day. Lady Shen said Centurion Luo provides enough food, so we came.”

“Eating your fill is no problem. But I recruited you to be soldiers.”

Luo Yu’s brow quirked slightly.

“Killing Qiang soldiers with me—do you dare?”

Lu Qingyun looked back at his brothers. A flash of determination crossed his eyes.

“Tell the centurion, are you afraid?!”

The dozen men shouted in unison, “Not afraid!”

Their shout made Luo Yu’s eardrums vibrate. A spark of appreciation flashed in his eyes. Tsk tsk, this group of men is indeed good material.

Lu Qingyun said expressionlessly, “There were over a hundred of us when we left the Slave Court. We encountered Qiang ambushers multiple times on the road. We fought with our lives just to escape here. Only this many of us are left.

“Our families are all dead; we are alone in the world. What is there left to fear?

“To put it bluntly, if we can kill a few more Qiang rebels, it will be revenge for our families.”

“Have you killed Qiang before?”

“Slaughtered two.”

“Very good.”

Luo Yu was satisfied.

“From today on, you are a corporal. These brothers will be under your command. I cannot give you much else, but as long as I have a bite to eat, I won’t let you go hungry.

“But you must remember: in the army, you must follow military orders. No one will pity you because you are from the Slave Court. If you violate military law, I will not be soft when it comes to punishment!”

“We remember. Lady Shen said Centurion Luo doesn’t give food for free; he is quite fierce.”

Luo Yu was stunned. He glared at Shen Li, only to find she had already turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Lu Qingyun’s stomach gave a loud growl. He said awkwardly, “Can you give us something to eat first? We haven’t eaten in two days.”

“Shen Li, go and cook. There is meat today. Let the brothers eat their fill.”

“Got it!”

At the mention of meat, everyone’s eyes lit up.

At sunset, over a hundred soldiers had been training for half a day and were completely exhausted. The aroma of meat permeated the drill grounds.

Before long, the refugee women came out carrying several large wooden tubs. They were filled with pork stewed with wild greens. The soldiers began to drool; they wished they could lick the tubs clean.

Meat. In the frontline where people couldn’t even eat their fill, eating meat was such a luxury.

Shen Li waved her ladle and shouted, “Brothers! Today, Centurion Luo is treating! Meat until you are full!”

“Thank you, Boss Luo!”

“Eat!”

The roars reached the clouds, much louder than the shouts during training.

Luo Yu, standing at the edge of the grounds, smiled with gratification. If there were no war, these men would likely be very simple people; each of them would live a good life in peace.

“Using your own reward silver to treat the soldiers… You are the first centurion I have seen like this.”

A voice, neither heavy nor light, came from behind. Luo Yu turned his head and hurriedly saluted.

“Commandant Han, you’ve arrived.”

Han Shuo. One of the three commandants under Kong Xian and also Luo Yu’s direct superior. His hundred-man unit happened to be assigned under Han Shuo. He was a man in his forties, a typical frontier soldier.

Han Shuo scanned the grounds. Everyone was gulping down rice soaked in meat broth.

“I heard you recruited quite a few men. As a commandant, shouldn’t I come and take a look? Is there anything you need help with? General Kong mentioned that I should pay extra attention to you.”

“Hehe. Then this humble officer will be thick-skinned and ask for some things.”

Luo Yu’s eyes darted around.

“I have 130 people now. But the equipment and uniforms provided by the General’s Manor are only for a hundred. This…”

Kong Xian had originally provided supplies for a hundred men. Luo Yu had to find a way to get the extra himself. Fortunately, Han Shuo seemed easy to talk to, so he dared to make this request.

“Simple,” Han Shuo said straightforwardly. “I will make up for the missing equipment and uniforms. I’ll send someone to deliver them tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Commandant!”

Luo Yu took the opportunity to add, “And the military pay…”

“Centurion Luo, some things are better left at a reasonable limit.”

Han Shuo’s gaze narrowed slightly.

“I am only a commandant. I cannot conjure silver out of thin air. If every centurion reached out for money like this, I might as well quit.”

After being rebuked slightly, Luo Yu wasn’t angry. He only gave an awkward smile. This matter was indeed a bit abrupt on his part.

“You haven’t been in the army long. There are some things you must remember.”

Han Shuo looked directly at Luo Yu.

“This is a military camp. Outside is the battlefield. Silver, prestige—anything you want must be exchanged for military merit. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

Wooo!

Wooooo!

A shrill horn suddenly echoed, followed by the rumbling of war drums.

The soldiers who were eating all stood up, their gazes startled and suspicious. Some set down their bowls; others snatched up their weapons.

This was the signal of a Qiang attack!