Chương 204: White Robe Camp, Jingbian Camp, Hospital

"Xue Rengui, heed my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Xue Rengui stepped forward, his silver armor gleaming in the sunlight.

"You will form a new cavalry battalion, number two, designated 'White Robe Battalion'."

Liu Ce laughed and said, "I remember you like wearing white robes, right? From now on, the whole battalion will wear white robes—it'll be conspicuous in battle, but it'll be impressive!"

Xue Rengui's lips twitched, but he still clasped his hands and said, "This subordinate obeys!" In his heart, however, he thought to himself: My lord is making me a sitting duck...

"Xu Da, listen to my command!"

Xu Da stepped forward and said, "Your subordinate is here."

"You will form the third new cavalry battalion, designated...

'Jingbian Battalion'." Liu Ce thought for a moment.

"You three battalions will be formed by selecting men from the reserve soldiers trained by various armies. I remember you all borrowed horses to practice basic cavalry skills when you had nothing else to do, right?"

The generals all nodded in agreement—that was indeed the case.

During the period of development in Youzhou, these military generals were bored out of their minds and spent their days finding various ways to train their troops. Liu Ce simply waved his hand and allowed each camp to take turns borrowing horses to practice riding skills, euphemistically calling it "comprehensive development".

In hindsight, this move was the right one.

"Three new battalions, two warhorses for each person," Liu Ce continued.

"Go to Ju Shou for the equipment: bright armor, horse spears, horizontal swords, and composite bows, all equipped to the highest standard."

Yuchi Gong, Xue Rengui, and Xu Da responded in unison, "Yes! We guarantee to complete the mission!"

The other generals' eyes were practically brimming with envy. Zhang Fei muttered, "Brother, what about us...?"

"What's the rush!" Liu Ce laughed and scolded, "There will be plenty of opportunities later! After we deal with the Xianbei, the captured warhorses will be enough for each of you to lead a cavalry battalion!"

Although this was an exaggeration, the generals felt good to hear it—they had hope!

Gao Shun suddenly spoke up: "My lord, may my elite elite troops be converted into cavalry?"

Liu Ce looked at the taciturn general and thought for a moment before saying, "Boping, the Trapped Camp is heavy infantry, and its formation is unparalleled in power. If we convert it to cavalry, it will lose its unique characteristics. How about this... I'll provide you with three hundred warhorses from now on, so the Trapped Camp can practice mounted mobility, but the core tactics will remain the same. What do you think?"

Gao Shun clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, my lord!"

A rare smile appeared on his face.

Huang Zhong couldn't help but say, "My lord, my elite archer battalion..."

"Hansheng, don't rush," Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "The Elite Archery Battalion is the core of our long-range firepower, so we can't move it. But I can provide you with some horses so you can practice riding and archery. In the future, we'll set up a 'Mounted Elite Archery Battalion,' shooting while riding, how about that?"

Huang Zhong's eyes lit up: "My lord, your insight is brilliant!"

Cheng Yaojin muttered, "My lord, then..."

Liu Ce glared at him: "Zhijie, if you keep muttering, I really won't ask you for anything good next time."

Cheng Yaojin immediately shut up and said with a forced smile, "My lord, I, Cheng, was wrong. I'll shut up."

Liu Ce then addressed the group, saying, "Don't just sit around. Each battalion should intensify its training. Something big might be coming up next..."

The generals understood immediately!

...

After leaving the military camp, Liu Ce did not return to his residence, but instead went to the "hospital".

This hospital was specially commissioned by him and occupied a large area. It was divided into an outpatient area, an inpatient area, a pharmacy, and a rudimentary "medical school"—where Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo were already teaching apprentices.

(Hua Tuo was discovered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was "invited" by Liu Ce. The details of how he was invited are unknown...) This was a name Liu Ce came up with himself. Although Xun Yu had said that "medical clinic" would be more in line with etiquette, Liu Ce waved his hand and said, "Hospital, hospital, a place for healing, simple and easy to remember, that's it!"

When Liu Ce went in, there were several people queuing up for treatment in the front yard, and a young medical apprentice was registering them.

"Where does the old man feel unwell?" the doctor's apprentice asked.

"My legs hurt, it's an old problem..." an old man said.

Without alerting them, Liu Ce quietly crossed the front yard and headed towards the ward in the back yard.

The ward was filled with soldiers wounded during the suppression of the Wuhuan. Those with minor injuries were almost fully recovered, while the seriously wounded were still recuperating. But regardless of the severity of their injuries, none of them wore the look of despair commonly seen on wounded soldiers of that era.

Because Liu Ce established the following rules: all medical expenses for those wounded in battle would be waived; all those disabled in battle would be supported by the local government for life; and all those who died in battle would have their families exempt from ten years of rent and taxes, and their children...

This policy immediately boosted the morale of the army.

It's a given that soldiers get rations, but the norm is that after a battle, soldiers are wounded and left to die, or their families go hungry.

Now that our lord has arranged our escape route, what is there to be afraid of? Let's just go for it!

As soon as I entered the backyard, I heard a loud voice shouting, "Doctor, please let me get out of bed! My arm is fine now, but I feel so uncomfortable lying in bed all day!"

Liu Ce peeked out and saw a dark-faced man with a thick bandage wrapped around his left arm, haggling with a medical apprentice.

The medic said sternly, "Zhang Laosan, your arrow wound is deep; you'll need to stay in bed for at least five more days. If you keep making a fuss, I'll have to use more force when I change your dressing."

The dark-faced man immediately cowered: "No, no, no, I'll lie down, I'll lie down, okay...?"

Liu Ce coughed a few times.

The man turned his head, his eyes widened, and he was about to jump off the bed: "My... my lord!"

"Lie down, lie down." Liu Ce quickly went over and pressed his shoulder.

"How are you feeling? Any better?"

Li Laosan was so excited he could barely speak, "Much... much better! Mr. Zhang's medical skills are superb, and Mr. Hua even gave me some kind of... anesthetic powder, so changing the dressing didn't hurt at all!"

Liu Ce looked at his wound and nodded, saying, "Take good care of yourself. Once you're healed and return to camp, I'll promote you to squad leader."

Zhang Laosan's eyes immediately reddened: "My lord, I... I'm just a lowly soldier..."

"What's wrong, little soldier?" Liu Ce patted him on the shoulder and said, "You all did a great job in this battle against the Wuhuan."

He went from bed to bed, asking about the extent of the injuries and promising compensation. When he reached the innermost bed, he saw a young soldier staring blankly at the ceiling beam.

"What are you thinking about?" Liu Ce sat down on the edge of his bed.

When the young soldier came to his senses and saw Liu Ce, he panicked and tried to get up, but Liu Ce held him down.

"My lord, I... I'm thinking, if my leg doesn't heal, will I be able to continue serving in the army?" The soldier's voice was low and trembling with tears.

Liu Ce lifted the blanket and looked inside—his left leg was wrapped in bandages, but no parts were missing.

"Don't worry, the doctor said your leg will fully recover," Liu Ce laughed.

"Even if it does, Youzhou is so big, are you afraid there won't be anything for you to do? Go to the village school as a martial arts instructor, go to the yamen to work, or learn a trade—I guarantee that those who follow me, Liu Bolue, will never go hungry or be idle."

The young soldier's eyes welled up with tears, and he nodded vigorously.

...