Chương 701: The Assessment Begins

The next morning, trains carrying trainees headed north.

The steam train clattered and puffed out white smoke, carrying a carriage full of youthful spirits, heading towards Zhuozhou.

The carriage was filled with chatter; some were encouraging each other, some were quietly flipping through military books, and others were peering out the windows at the scenery.

......

The recruit camp in Zhuozhou was already fully prepared.

They were all newly recruited, seventeen or eighteen years old, all dark-skinned and thin, with timid curiosity in their eyes. They stood crookedly, unable to even form a neat line, and some couldn't even tell left from right.

Once the trainees arrived, they were assigned to different groups by drawing lots. Each person received a number one thousand and was given a military flag, seal, and a list of provisions. They then set off in batches with their own thousand men.

There was a few days' difference between the dates, to avoid crowding on the same road and affecting each other.

The journey was quite eventful, with all sorts of unexpected situations, more exciting than a play.

......

The Third Prince Liu Yao was among the first to set off. He was impatient and broke camp and set off that very afternoon after leading his men.

He wore the same military uniform as the soldiers, with a sword at his waist, and walked at the front of the column with long strides, full of vigor and high spirits.

"Keep up! Hurry! We'll travel thirty li on the first day and reach the next post station before dark to set up camp!" He shouted loudly, and the entire group could hear him.

The new recruits had never suffered like this before. Carrying their packs and wooden sticks, they followed along, groaning and struggling.

At first, it was novel, and I thought being a soldier was pretty cool. But after walking twenty miles, I couldn't keep up. My pace slowed down, and the column became very long and sparse. I couldn't see the tail of the person behind me anymore.

"Hurry up! Stop dawdling! Haven't you eaten yet?" Liu Yao urged from ahead, a little anxious... At this speed, they wouldn't even arrive before dark, and at this rate, they wouldn't reach Luoyang in three months.

A short recruit was walking along when he suddenly tripped and fell, twisting his ankle. He grimaced in pain, tears welling in his eyes.

Liu Yao went over to take a look and frowned, saying, "So useless? You twisted your ankle after walking such a short distance? Get up and keep going!"

The recruit gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but his feet hurt as soon as they touched the ground, and tears welled up in his eyes. In the end, he could only be helped away by his comrades.

We rushed as fast as we could on the first day and finally arrived at the post station before dark.

When we counted the number of people, five were missing... They had all sneaked off halfway and slipped home when no one was looking, some even abandoning their bedding.

Liu Yao got angry and threw his hat down:

"Useless! Five escaped on the first day! Chase them all! Bring them back and court-martial them!"

The guards rushed to give chase, but it was pitch black, where could they possibly find them? After searching for half the night, they only managed to catch two; three escaped.

Liu Yao was furious and whipped the two deserters several times in public, making them howl in pain.

They thought that making an example of someone would work, but the next day, even more people ran away... The new recruits were already afraid of hardship, and seeing how fierce their officers were, they were even less willing to work. Some of them secretly ran away in the middle of the night, and some even stole the military rations.

After two days, only 980 out of 1, 000 people remained.

Liu Yao was so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters. He paced around the tent, his boots thumping loudly on the ground.

"This is weird! Are they all such cowards? They can't even handle this little bit of hardship? I can walk 800 kilometers without even getting out of breath!"

His bodyguard was a veteran surnamed Wang, who had served the Liu family for over a decade. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke:

"General... you walked too fast, the new recruits couldn't keep up. And... you didn't even ask them if they were tired, and you didn't let them eat well..."

Liu Yao was taken aback.

He remembered what his father had said in class last month: "Only if you truly treat your soldiers as brothers will they be willing to risk their lives for you."

I used to think that was nonsense; leading troops meant being strict and ruthless.

But in just two days, more than ten people have already left. If this continues, less than half of them will make it to Luoyang.

He remained silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"Send word: rest for half a day tomorrow. Stew meat for the brothers in the morning, and they can eat their fill before continuing. From now on, march thirty li each day, rest for an hour at noon, and set up camp early in the evening."

"Huh?" The guard was stunned.

"Your Highness, won't that slow us down? At this speed, it will take three months."

"Slow down if you want," Liu Yao said in a deep voice.

"What's the use of speeding up when everyone's gone? Even if you make it all the way to Luoyang by yourself, you're not a winner."

Starting on the third day, Liu Yao changed.

He no longer walked at the front to urge them on, but instead walked in the middle of the group, occasionally asking the new recruits around him if they were tired or if their feet hurt.

During the midday break, he squatted on the ground with the soldiers, eating coarse rice with pickled vegetables, slurping it down without any airs of a prince.

When a new recruit got blisters on his feet, he personally took the bandage and bandaged them. His technique was clumsy, but he was very serious, and the bandage was crooked and uneven.

When setting up camp at night, he inspected each tent to see if any were drafty, if anyone was sick, and even gave his own blanket to the soldiers who were freezing.

The changes are visible.

The recruits' eyes changed from fear to affection when they looked at him. The ranks became more orderly, no one ran away anymore, and even their meals tasted better.

Halfway there, we encountered a heavy rain, and the road became muddy and extremely difficult to walk on; one step could sink half a foot deep.

Liu Yao led the way, carrying logs to pave the road, wading through the mud with the soldiers until they were covered in mud, their faces splattered with mud.

They only walked a dozen miles that day, but no one complained.

A new recruit whispered, "General... I used to think that princes were all pampered, but I never expected that you would suffer alongside us."

Liu Yao wiped the mud off his face and laughed, "What prince or not, on the road I'm your leader. If you follow me, I have to get you safely to Luoyang."

From then on, no one in the team complained anymore. No matter how tired they were, they gritted their teeth and kept up. Even the youngest recruit persevered.

Upon arriving in Luoyang, a headcount was taken... 987 people.

I ran thirteen times, all of them from the very beginning, and I didn't miss a single one after that.

Looking at the troops, Liu Yao felt quite emotional: He used to think that leading troops relied on ruthlessness, but now he realized that it relied on empathy.

He turned to the group and shouted, "Brothers, we've arrived in Luoyang!"

The recruits were stunned for two seconds, then erupted in thunderous cheers.

..................

The fourth prince, Liu Yong, was in the second batch to depart, and his departure was remarkably stable from the very beginning.

On the first day after taking command, he didn't rush to set off. Instead, he spent half a day reorganizing the team.

The thousand men were divided into ten teams of one hundred men each, and tall, clever-looking men were chosen as team leaders. Each team had three battalion commanders in charge of marching, logistics, and discipline, respectively.

Then he announced the rules to everyone, his voice not loud but clear and organized, like reciting legal statutes:

"First, we will start at 5: 00 AM, set off at 7: 00 AM, rest for one hour at noon, and set up camp at 5: 00 PM. We will walk thirty li each day, neither more nor less."

Second, three meals a day, on time and at set times, with ample food. No one is allowed to withhold military rations; withholding even one meal will result in twenty strokes of the cane.

Third, if you are sick or injured, tell the team doctor that you should rest or take a ride if necessary, and don't push yourself.

Fourth, fighting, gambling, and harassing the public are strictly prohibited; violators will be severely punished.