My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 90 Two stunned moves of wood
Everything had been planned and the actors arranged before Liu Feng arrived.

Liu Feng's true wish was for someone to genuinely step forward, rather than for an actor to put on a show.

Cao Meng kept a close eye on Liu Feng's every move, afraid of missing any signals for the operation, but Liu Feng remained silent for a long time.

Just as Liu Feng raised the reward again, increasing it to four bolts of silk, four bags of millet, four strings of copper coins, and a gold ingot, finally, a tall, strong, and honest-looking man stepped forward.

Liu Feng originally thought the other party would confirm with him, but he didn't expect that this honest man was really honest. After stepping forward, he went straight to move the wooden stake.

This wooden stake weighs at least fifty or sixty catties, which, converted to Han Dynasty measurements, would easily exceed one hundred catties. Even an adult would find it somewhat difficult to lift it.

The man gritted his teeth, lifted the wooden stake, and walked out step by step.

At this moment, a chorus of boos rose up in the drill ground. Some seasoned soldiers, as if they hadn't had enough of the excitement, became dissatisfied with the honest man and started jeering him.

The honest man ignored it completely, carrying the wooden stakes step by step to the entrance of the training ground camp, and then placed them outside the camp gate.

This stretch of road isn't long, only a few hundred steps, and even though it's quite strenuous, most people can complete it.

After the honest man placed the wooden stake in place, the Danyang soldiers behind him made a commotion.

Some were cheering on the honest man, while others were booing him; the crowd was quite noisy.

"Everyone be quiet!"

"Shut up!"

"Anyone who dares to speak again will be punished with twenty lashes."

With a single glance from Liu Feng, Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng, and Cao Meng, along with their respective officers, began to quell the disturbance, and the drill ground quickly returned to its previous quiet.

Liu Feng walked up to the burly man, looked at him, and asked, "What's your name?"

The burly man looked up at Liu Feng, then quickly lowered his head again: "My name is Niu Erleng."

"Er Leng, lift your head up."

Liu Feng patted his arm and then waved into the distance.

Tian Dan and the other boys put all their belongings onto a cart and then dragged it over.

"Who moved this wooden stump to the front gate?"

Liu Feng turned around and asked the army in a loud voice.

The soldiers in the army looked at each other in bewilderment. Wasn't this what Niu Er had carried? Why was the young master asking us?

Is the young master not quite right in the head?
"It's Niu Erleng!"

When the soldiers were confused, Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng, Cao Meng and others, along with their trusted subordinates, quickly answered loudly, finally preventing Liu Feng from feeling awkward.

With the officers leading the way, the soldiers also started shouting, and for a moment, the drill ground was filled with Niu Erleng's shouts.

Niu Er stared blankly at his comrade-in-arms, completely bewildered, not understanding what Liu Feng was trying to do.

"Alright, now that everyone has seen it, you all remember what I just said, right?"

Liu Feng pulled Niu Erleng to the cart and pointed to the items on it, saying, "Niu Erleng, this is a reward I'm giving to those who obey my orders. Just now, out of all the soldiers on the drill ground, only you obeyed my orders, so I'm rewarding you!"

“These things are all yours now. Not only are they a reward for you, but I'm also giving you half a day off this afternoon so you can take the rewards home! Now you can leave and use this cart to take all the rewards home.”

Liu Feng smiled and said, "But this cart isn't a reward. Remember to bring it back to camp tomorrow morning."

With a loud bang, the entire training ground erupted in chaos.

None of the soldiers, including Cao Meng and others, could believe that Liu Feng had actually kept his promise. Almost everyone was filled with remorse.

Especially the soldier who was happiest when he ridiculed Niu Erleng just now, now felt that Niu Erleng was hiding his true abilities and was obviously extremely cunning and treacherous. Otherwise, how could he have seen that the young master was really offering a reward?
Liu Feng thought that Niu Erleng was just a simple blockhead.

Liu Feng witnessed it firsthand; if it weren't for the villagers pulling him along, he probably would have already come out to move the wooden stakes.

Niu Erleng's fellow villager was also dumbfounded. He meant well, but it was a small matter if Niu Erleng was tricked. If he offended the young master, that would be a big deal.

Unexpectedly, the young master's reward was real, and his good intentions almost caused Niu Erleng to miss out on a large windfall.

"You really gave me all of these?"

Niu Er stared blankly at the reward, his face full of disbelief. Clearly, although he had stepped forward to move the wooden stake, he had never thought that Liu Feng would keep his promise.

This shows just how rotten the morale of the Danyang soldiers had become.

The fact that a young master from the prestigious Xuzhou governor's family was given a reward of several bags of millet and a few bolts of silk was met with disbelief by everyone in the entire military camp.

The first thing Liu Feng needs to do now is to restore the trust between officers and soldiers.

Without this premise, anything he wants to do afterward is just a mirage, a castle in the air.

Liu Feng smiled and nodded: "Yes, go! Remember to be back at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow morning."

"thump."

Niu Erleng immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Feng: "Thank you, young master. You have shown me great kindness. My life is yours from now on."

Liu Feng hadn't expected Niu Erleng to behave this way; judging from his appearance, it didn't seem like he was acting.

At first, Liu Feng had some doubts that the other party was also a skilled actor, but no matter how he looked at it, he felt that this simpleton didn't seem like it. In the end, he recognized the other party's genuine emotions and thus appreciated Niu Erleng even more.

After Niu Erleng left, the soldiers in the drill ground quieted down again.

Liu Feng stood in front of the army and shouted loudly, "I don't know about the past, and I can't make decisions about it."

"But now, you are my subordinates, and I have the authority to make decisions about you!"

"So, from today onwards, remember these sixteen words."

"Orders must be obeyed, prohibitions must be enforced! Merits must be rewarded, and transgressions must be punished!"

"These sixteen characters mean that when an order comes, it must be carried out resolutely! Those who do not obey will be punished! There are prohibited things that must not be done, and those who do them will be punished! If you make a contribution, you will definitely be rewarded! If you make a mistake, you will definitely be punished!"

"Therefore you must obey military discipline and follow military orders. I will guarantee that as long as you can make meritorious contributions, you will definitely be rewarded!"

"Do you understand everything?"

Liu Feng used simple, clear, and easy-to-understand plain language to explain the sixteen words he wanted his soldiers to remember.

The phrase "meritorious service will be rewarded" in particular aroused great interest among the soldiers.

The incident involving Niu Erleng was just yesterday; everyone witnessed it and remembered it.

He carried that wooden stake for about a hundred steps and received so many rewards. The young master even gave him a cart so that Niu Er could take the rewards home. This completely overturned their common sense.

Right now, these soldiers are all burning with excitement, wishing Liu Feng would immediately offer a new reward.

My friend's million-word novel, a humorous and entertaining historical piece, is worth checking out if any gentlemen are interested.

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(End of this chapter)