Dandere General and his Lord

51. First Training

The training grounds was a medium sized field which could accommodate 5000 soldiers for training.

The entire space was levelled with loess and surrounded by fences and defensive obstacles with sentries on the periphery. The interior featured a commander’s podium, metal drums, command flags, an armoury and various other facilities.

On the left and right sides, there were simple cottages made out of mud and thatch along with several tents which had been temporarily constructed in order to provide a resting area for the large number of newly recruited soldiers who had been suddenly added to the garrison.

In the last confrontation against the Quanrong, Mo Qiao Sheng had led a team of soldiers and killed several of the enemy generals. He had led a team of a hundred men and all of them had killed more than a hundred enemy soldiers. Not only did all of the members of his team worship the Officer, but his title had also advanced from a “Noble Officer” of the third grade to a “Grand Officer” with the qualification to lead troops.

When the new army had been first established, there had been a severe lack of leading generals, and coupled with the Lord’s small bit of partiality towards him, Mo Qiao Sheng was very fortunate to have been granted with the official position of a commander in charge of the 5000 soldiers on the training grounds.

At the present moment, he stood atop the high platform as he observed the mass of soldiers in front of him.

The majority of these soldiers had come from a background of slavery, and due to the lack of time to rush to make clothing, some of them were dressed in the Jin Army’s standard uniforms, and some wore armour that had been broken off from the corpses of enemy soldiers, whilst others were simply bare chested.

Only a few military personnel such as the captains, centurions, and commanders,1 were elites who had been transferred from the old army in order to assist and guide the newcomers.

The mental state of these new recruits were also quite different. Most of them were emaciated, with stooped backs due to long term malnutrition and overworking.

Without war and the military merits which they could receive, they looked listless as they huddled together in small groups with familiar acquaintances and whispered private words every once in a while.

There were also a few ambitious people whose eyes shone with excitement as they eagerly anticipated what awaited them in the future. These people either dangled a piece of rice straw from their lips or crossed their hands in front of their chests as they gazed at Mo Qiao Sheng who was standing on the stage with a skeptical look in their eyes. 

In their opinion, the fact that the slave could become a captain was perhaps only due to a bit of good luck, and they still had a chance to replace him.

Mo Qiao Sheng had previously held the post of a centurion of a group of slaves, but he had never managed such a large number of soldiers.

He didn’t feel timid. On the contrary, this challenge brought him a sense of excitement. For him, this was his first real army.

Training them so that these soldiers could have a better chance of surviving the battlefield. So that they could follow him and make contributions, even gaining the opportunity to be conferred with titles such as Marquis and Prime Minister.

So that they would no longer be the same as in the past, existing merely as cannon fodder. Regardless of how hard he trained the slave soldiers under him, after every battle, more than half of those hundreds of brothers were killed and injured without exception.

“10 people in a row, 100 people in a square, and a 1000 people in a formation. Everyone is divided into five formations.” Mo Qiao Sheng spoke in a loud and clear voice, suppressing the noisy voices in the training field.

“The third formation is in the middle, and the rest are arranged in order on both sides. The commanders will take the order.”

His voice was not particularly solemn, nor did shout deliberately, merely relaying his order throughout the chilly training grounds.

The five commanders agreed casually and sluggishly took the command flags before allocating their troops.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s detachment of troops was mostly composed of slaves.

However, these slaves had only undergone one battle.

With outstanding performance in battle and meritorious deeds, one could ascend to become a leader, yet the number of centurions was still insufficient.

Hence, Helan Zhen had selected these soldiers from among his former subordinates and specially assigned these elite soldiers to Mo Qiao Sheng for his utilization. They were all seasoned sergeants with several years of experience in leading troops, and naturally, they also had their own air of arrogance.

For them, regardless of the fact that Mo Qiao Sheng’s outstanding military exploits were obvious to everyone;

Yet, as sergeants, they were forced to work under the leadership of a slave, which made them feel indignant.

Therefore, they were lazy and careless, acting in a perfunctory manner.

With the senior officers being so slack, it was only natural for the soldiers who hadn’t been trained for long to be even more careless and undisciplined.

The soldiers pushed and crowded amongst one another, creating an unnecessary racket, and it took almost half an hour before they reluctantly gathered into a crooked formation.

Mo Qiao Sheng did not say a word, waiting patiently for them to take their places before starting to speak.

“Have all of you memorized your positions!”

A sparse response sounded, “We remember—”

“All right, disband from your positions.”

The formation dispersed with a thunderous noise, some soldiers standing askew while some of them impatiently squatted on the ground.

Mo Qiao Sheng clapped his hands.

Several soldiers carried up a large cauldron filled with piping hot meat stew along with ten jars of wine.

Mo Qiao Sheng smacked open the clay seal on one of the wine jars with his palm, causing the strong aroma of wine to mingle with the fragrance of roasted meat, suffusing the training grounds with their scent.

The space was immediately filled with the sounds of people swallowing their saliva one after another.

As a slave, how long had it been since they had smelled any meat? The men couldn’t help licking their lips and craning their necks, their eyes gleaming as they stared fixedly at the wine and meat.

“I will count up to three, the centurion and his unit who can reassemble most uniformly at the fastest speed will receive this reward together.”

The crowd erupted into a clamour.

Yang Lu Hou tugged Yang Sheng’s clothes and said excitedly, “Brother Sheng, Brother Sheng, we must seize first place! I, I haven’t eaten meat in a long time!”

Yang Sheng glanced back at the brothers who were eagerly rolling up their sleeves behind him, however, his heart was filled with a faint sense of trepidation.

Fighting, risking his life, chopping off a person’s head and handing it over posed no problem to him. He could undertake such a task whilst stripped bare to the waist without raising a single objection.

But lining up and comparing their uniformity?

Maybe moving fast wouldn’t be enough.

He didn’t have the opportunity to think for too long.

Mo Qiao Sheng, who was standing on the stage, had already lifted up the command flag in his hand.

In order to eat meat, each and every one of the men rolled up their sleeves and bent down, fully prepared to rush over towards their own positions.

“One, two, three!”

The command flag waved down.

The scene suddenly devolved into chaos. The men shoved and pushed as they collided against one another, unable to find their places in the frenzy.

The captains were filled with anxiety as they pulled their team members angrily, and the centurions jumped and screamed.

The commanders didn’t have much interest in wine and meat, finding it somewhat ridiculous as they watched the chaos that was even more tumultuous than their first assembly, unable to figure out why.

Compared with the jumbled disorder of other teams, there was a completely unremarkable and subdued team which quickly assembled into a neat and orderly 100-person formation at an astonishing speed.

There were no disputes within the third team as they immediately reassembled into a well organized square formation that was neat and tidy, from each row to each column.

For the other soldiers, it took twice as long to reconvene to their positions and form barely acceptable formations.

Everyone present focused their gazes on the square formation as neat as a block of tofu in the center at the front of the stage.

These 100 men had all been slaves under Cheng Qianye’s name. Mo Qiao Sheng had always taken them with himself back when he had been a centurion, and they were all seasoned soldiers who had followed him in the battle to capture Gaoyang, Qixian and Yongzhou, which were located on the periphery of Bianzhou. Later, they had joined the army to capture Zhengzhou and participated in Bianzhou’s counterattack against the Quanrong. They had already followed behind Mo Qiao Sheng and braved countless untold dangers with him on several occasions.

Under Mo Qiao Sheng’s leadership, their entire team had broken away from the confines slavery and gone on to obtain titles of the first rank or higher.

At this moment, there was no wine or meat in their eyes. They were all silent as they raised up their heads and looked up at the person on the stage.

As far as they were concerned, regardless of whether he was a centurion or a commander, Mo Qiao Sheng had long been a general who was worthy of their loyal support.

Mo Qiao Sheng rewarded them with the wine and meat. The centurion and the captain did not keep everything to themselves and shared it with the hundred soldiers in their team. Although everyone received only a little bit of meat along with a small cup of wine, all of the soldiers ate it all on the spot with great relish.

The rest of the men at the scene stared blankly as they watched a 100 of their fellow soldiers drinking and eating meat. They were filled with envy and regret, their hearts itching with temptation.

Mo Qiao Sheng waited for them to finish eating before he spoke, “Refer to the third team at the front, today will be the only training. You will be tested tomorrow and the top three groups with the best formations will receive a meat dish with their lunch, the captains will receive wine, and the centurions will receive a merit in their record. For the three groups at the bottom, every person will receive 10 strikes with the cane. The captains will receive 20 strikes, and the centurions will receive 20 strikes as well and it will also be noted down in their records.”

For a while, the training grounds were filled with commotion, with all kinds of command flags waving in the air as all sorts of voices rose and fell in succession. Everyone started to rack their brains, contemplating over how to accomplish this seemingly simple action in a quick and efficient manner.

They bustled back and forth for a long period of time.

Yang Lu Hou was bent over as he panted and wiped his sweat.

“What’s the use of training to stand from one place to another all day long? We’d be better off asking Brother Sheng to teach us martial arts and learning how to chop off more heads.”

Yang Sheng ran over and kicked him in the ass. “Hurry up and train, what does it matter what use it has? Would you rather eat meat tomorrow or would you rather get a beating instead?”

Helan Zhen accompanied Cheng Qianye to walk around and inspect the military training grounds around the city.

With Yu Dunsu injured, Helan Zhen was temporarily responsible for all matters relating to the military.

“What about the new recruits? General Helan, when do you think we will be able to dispatch the troops to Qi County?”

“Please pardon Beizhi2 for speaking in a forthright manner.” Helan Zhen saluted, “The new army was formed hastily without sufficient training. More often than not, even after a long time, they are unable to accurately carry out the instructions given out by the commanding general. I am afraid that going out to battle will not be appropriate at this time.”

“It’s quite terrible.” Fearing that Cheng Qianye might not understand, Helan Zhen explained in detail, “You might order to charge and the central forces have come up, yet the front unit still remains in their original places. You order a retreat and the rear archers begin to shoot arrows to intercept the enemy forces, yet our own people still haven’t retreated.”

“General speaks rationally.” Cheng Qianye nodded before voicing her doubts, “However, I think they all performed very well when they supported Bianzhou this time.”

“Responding to My Lord, first of all, before going into battle this time, I forced all of the soldiers to learn just one thing; that is, to follow their captains to the death. The captains followed the centurions’ flag when charging, whilst the centurions followed behind the commanders after having learnt the meanings behind all of the different command flags. Ten people cut down one foe. The morale was high, hence they were able to cut through the enemy troops and rush into the city walls in one breath.”

“Secondly, My Lord’s new policy is truly miraculous, greatly arousing the courage of the lower ranked soldiers to seize their heads at all costs.”

“However, this is only effective when the situation is victorious, morale is high and the troops are engrossed in charging. If the war enters into a stalemate, or our side appears to be at a disadvantage, as long as the enemy’s forces manage to charge a few times and cut through our military formation, our soldiers will be unable to find their bearings and lose their fighting spirit and collapse.”

He bowed and cupped his fists. “My Lord cannot become careless because of one temporary victory. Although Qi County is lacking in troops and horses, it is still a county. In my humble heart, Beizhi believes it is inappropriate for My Lord to order Qiao Sheng to lead the troops to seize Qi County. Of course, I admire Qiao Sheng’s bravery. However, in the final analysis, he has never taken charge of an entire army by himself.”

Cheng Qianye patted him on the shoulder. “I am determined to win Qi County. If we don’t open up a passage from Zhongmu to Bianzhou, we will always remain as an isolated city. Regardless of how many small counties we capture, in the end, it will only be big enough to insert an awl into.”3

Helan Zhen lifted up his head and said, “My Lord, will you please allow your humble subordinate to go with Qiao Sheng and lead the army?”

“If you go, who is going to defend Bianzhou?”

Helan Zhen was stupefied.

“General Yu is severely injured right now and General Helan is the only one I can trust among all the high-ranking generals. There is no doubt that we will be able to gain Qi County extremely easily with you leading the campaign. However, our Bianzhou will be left without any support. If the enemy were to exploit our weakness, wouldn’t we spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar?”4

So it turns out that My Lord had in fact, trusted me all along.

When he heard these words, Helan Zhen was extremely moved, his heart filled with spirit. The faint emotions of unhappiness that had risen within him when the Lord had proposed to send Mo Qiao Sheng to capture Qi County without sending him to the campaign suddenly disappeared without a trace.

“Since that is the case, I will try to spare some time every day to assist General Mo with training the new army. We must ensure that when he goes to battle, the army will be able to support him bravely and fiercely with the lift of his hand.”

Helan Zhen took his leave of Cheng Qianye and turned to walk towards the training grounds where Mo Qiao Sheng was at.

Although Xiao Mo is exceptionally talented and has made countless outstanding achievements, at the end of the day, he is still a former slave. It is likely that those few commanders in his army might not obey him. I must help him find a solution.

And so, Helan Zhen stroked his chin and dragged Mo Qiao Sheng away with him later that evening, heading over to Tianxiang Pavilion along with those old soldiers to mix together for a night. Among men, after sharing some wine and spending the night at a brothel with a girl, they would be good brothers, with no estrangement between them.

~

1. (什长 – shí cháng, 百夫 – bǎi fū, 千户 – qiān hù) These are basically titled higher ranked soldiers, such as captains, centurions or commanders, who are responsible for leading certain numbers of men, the number different for each title (10, 100, 1000). Had a really hard time coming up with english equivalents so ugh, there you go.
2. (卑职 – Beizhi) – Your humble subordinate, I. [Used by subordinate officials when speaking to their superiors.]
3. (立锥之地 – lì zhuī zhī dì) Idiom; land just enough to stick an awl into. Used to describe a very small place.
4. (因小失大 – yīn xiǎo shī dà) Idiom meaning to save a little only to lose a lot / making a big loss for a small gain.