Chương 702: The Assessment Continues

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight, and the new recruits below listened attentively, not daring to breathe.

Some people disagreed, feeling that this young officer had too many rules and regulations, acting like an old scholar.

That afternoon, two soldiers got into a fight over food. Without saying a word, Liu Yong gave each of them a few lashes and made them go hungry for a meal.

After the treatment, they had someone apply medicine to them, and they said:

"Fighting won't solve anything. If you have a conflict, go to the captain or the brigade leader. If you still resort to violence, the punishment will be even more severe."

A beating and a few kind words were enough to convince them, and they stopped arguing.

On the march, Liu Yong's troops were always neat and orderly, walking slowly but at a steady pace, with no one falling behind, just like a real army.

Every night when setting up camp, he would personally inspect the tents: whether they were securely pitched, whether drainage ditches had been dug, whether the kitchen was clean, whether the soldiers had blisters on their feet, whether the sick had taken their medicine, and he even personally inquired about the horses' feed.

He calculated the grain supplies with unparalleled precision, knowing exactly how much to replenish at each grain station, down to the last penny. He never ran out of food or wasted any. Even the cooks gave him a thumbs up.

Once, when a torrential rainstorm hit, other teams were in complete chaos. Some tents were washed away, and some food got wet. Liu Yong, however, had anticipated this and found a high place to set up camp in advance, and also prepared dry firewood and rainproof tarpaulins.

The soldiers huddled in their tents, drinking hot ginger soup and watching the heavy rain outside. They all felt reassured following their commander.

One of the soldiers said, "Following General Liu, I'm not afraid of the rain."

Halfway there, a new recruit suddenly fell ill with a high fever that wouldn't go down, and he was delirious from the fever.

The team doctor said we need to find a doctor, otherwise it's dangerous.

Without saying a word, Liu Yong sent a team to take the patients to the county town ahead to find a doctor overnight, while he led the team slowly and waited outside the county town for a day.

Someone said, "General, this will exceed the time limit."

Liu Yong said calmly, "Going overtime is better than people dying. Of the thousand people, not a single one can be missing."

Later, the new recruit was rescued and, crying, kowtowed to Liu Yong, saying that his life belonged to the general from now on.

When Liu Yong led his troops to Luoyang, they counted the number of people... a thousand people, not one missing.

The ranks were neat and orderly. Although the soldiers were tanned and thin from exhaustion, they were all in high spirits, disciplined, and even dressed in their uniforms. They moved in unison.

The supervising officers were dumbfounded. Among the more than one hundred trainees, the first to arrive in full force was the Fourth Prince Liu Yong. The supervising officers couldn't help but applaud.

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

Cheng Chumo's team emphasizes "deep brotherhood".

As soon as he finished leading the men, he patted his chest and shouted, "Brothers! My name is Cheng Chumo! From now on, we're all one family! If I have food to eat on the road, you'll have food to eat too! If anyone bullies you, just say my name!"

The new recruits were initially reserved, but later they discovered that this officer was truly approachable.

We ate together, squatting down to eat. I even took out the braised beef I brought and shared it with more than a dozen people—one bowl of meat for each person…

He walked alongside them, chatting as they went, telling them embarrassing stories about his father, Cheng Yaojin, which made everyone burst into laughter, the sound of which could be heard for miles around...

Someone had blisters on their feet, and he squatted down to puncture them with practiced skill, clearly someone who did this often.

Within two days, the new recruits became familiar with him, calling him "Boss Cheng" affectionately, which even made soldiers from other units envious.

The atmosphere in the team was great; no one ran away, everyone was willing to follow him and risk their lives for him.

But the problem is also obvious... military discipline is too lax.

When they set up camp that night, some people were gambling. Cheng Chumo saw this and said with a smile, "A little gambling is harmless, but don't go too far..."

Someone sneaked out at night to buy alcohol, and he turned a blind eye, even saying, "Don't drink too much and fall down..."

The group walked sparsely, some fast and some slow, but he didn't care, saying, "If you're tired, just slow down, we'll get there eventually."

As a result, something went wrong.

Three soldiers, drunk, stole chickens from the villagers and even pushed an old man over the head while passing through the village.

When the villagers came to the ranks, Cheng Chumo's face darkened, and he lost his temper in front of the soldiers for the first time.

He then remembered his father's words, "To lead an army, one must use both kindness and severity." He used to think that "severity" meant being able to fight, but now he realized that discipline is true authority.

He immediately dragged the three soldiers out, pinned them to the ground, and gave them twenty lashes. They screamed in pain, and one of the lashes broke.

After the fight, he paid out of his own pocket to compensate the villagers for the cost of the chickens and medicine, and bowed deeply to the old man in apology, bending his back very low.

Turning to the entire team, his face flushed, he roared, "Your grandfathers and grandmothers, I was wrong before, I didn't discipline you properly. But let me tell you, soldiers can't bully civilians! Anyone who dares to do such a despicable thing again, I'll break their legs!"

From then on, Cheng Chumo became stricter.

Play when it's time to play, and follow the rules when it's time to follow them without giving an inch.

Those who gamble, drink, or slack off will all be punished by running or standing, without any mercy.

Although the team was still a bit disorganized, there were no more disturbances to the residents, and no one ran away.

When they finally arrived in Luoyang, there were 992 people.

Eight were missing; they all ran away because they couldn't endure the hardships on the road. Nothing serious happened.

Cheng Chumo scratched his head, feeling quite embarrassed... He still hadn't managed things well and felt ashamed of the principal's teachings.

However, the supervising officer's evaluation of him was: He was good at winning people's hearts, the soldiers had a strong sense of belonging, and although there were some loopholes in military discipline, he was able to admit his mistakes and correct them. He was a promising talent with unlimited potential.

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

Fang Yi'ai's team focuses on "precision".

Before setting off, he drew up a detailed marching schedule, filling an entire page with dense writing: The daily distance traveled, the departure time, the rest time, the meal time, and the camping time were all calculated down to the minute; the amount of rice each person ate, the amount of water they drank, and the amount of physical exertion they expended were all meticulously planned, and even the number of times each person needed to use the restroom each day was listed; even the number of people with blisters on their feet and the number of people with diarrhea each day were estimated proportionally, and medicines were prepared in advance, with the quantity of each type of medicine calculated.

On the march, he carried a small notebook every day to record how far they had traveled, how much food they had used, how many people were injured, and how many people had asked for leave. The data was recorded in dense detail, like an account book.

The soldiers all thought their commander was strange. He spent all his time doing accounts, rarely spoke, and never chatted with them. All he did was keep taking notes.

The advantages were: there was never a shortage of food, no need to travel at night, few people got sick, and everything went according to plan, steadily and accurately, even more so than a clock.

The downside is that it's too impersonal.

A new recruit was homesick and secretly cried at night. Fang Yi'ai caught him, but instead of offering words of comfort, he said:

"If you miss home, just keep going and get to Luoyang as soon as possible. You'll have leave to visit your family later. Crying won't solve anything, it'll just waste your energy and affect tomorrow's march."

The recruit was so stunned that he forgot to cry and stood there dumbfounded for a long time.

On another occasion, a soldier sprained his ankle. According to Fang Yi'ai's calculations, a minor injury meant he could walk slowly without needing to take a vehicle.

As a result, the soldier persevered and walked for half a day, his feet swollen like steamed buns, and in the end he was carried onto the vehicle.