Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 15: The sharp warriors of Qin could not match the discipline of Huan Wen; the discipline of Huan Wen could not match the benevolence and righteousness of Tang and Wu?

At the Beigong training ground, the soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army were very enthusiastic about training today.

The war drums rumbled, the captains of the five armies of the Northern Army shouted sternly, and the soldiers of each unit shouted like thunder.

Even Liu Bei, who was supposed to be kind and magnanimous in Liu Bian's impression, was wearing armor and holding a ten-foot-long wooden spear, which he would occasionally whip at soldiers whose movements were not standard or who were cunning and not using enough strength.

"Run! How can a warhorse have any impact if it doesn't run!"

"You bastard, you can even stab it crookedly!"

"Damn it, why didn't you mess up when you slept with your wife at night?"

Guan Yu, the Sima of Changshui, was similar to Liu Bei. Perhaps it was because of the scorching heat or he was dissatisfied with his soldiers, but his already red face became even redder.

Zhang Fei was even more violent, whipping his soldiers in public with a horsewhip.

However, Liu Bian did not stop the two.

The name of Changshui Cavalry comes from the two Xiongnu tribes stationed in Changshui Township and Xuanqu Township after they surrendered. Originally, Changshui Cavalry had two divisions under its command, namely Changshui Huqi and Xuanqu Huqi, but now they are just in name only.

Today's Changshui Cavalry is composed entirely of Wuhuan Hu cavalry recruited from the Wuhuan tribes after they surrendered. But even after surrendering, the mentality of worshipping the strong is deeply engraved in the bones of the people on the grassland.

If the officers only show favors, the Wuhuan Hu cavalry may not obey the rules, but if they demonstrate their strength and conquer them by force, they will obey your orders.

It is said that when the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang took office four days ago, the Wuhuan Hu cavalry saw that they were young. Except for Guan Yu who had a red face, the Wuhuan people thought that Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were pale-faced scholars, and they looked down on these so-called captains and Sima.

Then Guan Yu and Zhang Fei showed off their muscles respectively. Guan Yu picked out the six bravest Wuhuan Hu cavalry, fought them with wooden spears, and challenged six people one-on-one, and each of them could not last more than three rounds.

Zhang Fei's situation was even simpler. He simply picked a group of ten people at random and defeated them all head-on in a one-on-one fight.

After Guan Yu and Zhang Fei demonstrated their bravery, most people were convinced, but there were still a few rebellious people who refused to accept and tried to challenge Liu Bei.

Then he was awakened by his comrades.

What’s the matter? Are you tired of living?
The second and third brothers are so powerful. Are you tired of living and want to challenge the eldest brother who can defeat these two ruthless guys?

However, Liu Bei did not rule the army purely by force. As long as it was not during training, Liu Bei was still quite kind and often entered the military tent to visit soldiers injured in training. As a result, the entire Changshui Cavalry was completely convinced by the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang.

As for the other departments, they are almost the same. Only by using both kindness and force can one lead the troops.

The only difference in the training content is that the training subjects of the Shesheng Commandery led by Huang Zhong are mainly archery. As the only heavy armored infantry among the five schools of the Northern Army, the training of the Infantry Commandery seems a bit cruel.

The soldiers were wearing heavy armor, holding wooden swords and spears, and fought under the command of two infantry Simas. The two groups of people collided with each other, and the soldiers in the front row were immediately thrown to the ground.

However, these soldiers had no complaints.

The soldiers of the five schools of the Northern Army were either from good families in the six counties or from good families in Sanhe.

What is a good family girl?
Children of good families were a special class in the Han Dynasty. They were those who were not subject to the seven categories of punishment or the children of doctors, witches, merchants, or craftsmen, and who had legitimate occupations, owned certain assets, and followed ethical principles.

When the imperial court recruited soldiers, the first choice was the sons of good families in the six counties.

The six counties are Tianshui, Longxi, Anding, Beidi, Shangjun and Xihe.

Due to their geographical location, these six counties often faced raids and plunder from foreign tribes, resulting in a warlike and bellicose population. The well-fed and well-fed sons of noble families, trained in martial arts from a young age and skilled in riding and archery, became a crucial source of military and general recruitment for the Han Dynasty. The court would grant these sons preferential treatment, such as tax exemptions and preferential admission to the imperial selection process. At the same time, many wealthy families would hire these sons of noble families in lieu of their own military service.

The second is Mikawa Ryougako.

The Three Rivers are Henan, Hedong and Henei.

Sanhe is close to the capital, with developed agriculture and a prosperous economy. The family background of good families in Sanhe is much better than that of good families in the six counties. They are skilled in archery and horse riding. The world-famous Sanhe cavalry of the Han Dynasty also left a strong mark in history books.

Moreover, the soldiers of the five schools of the Northern Army were professional soldiers who received daily salaries under the conscription system, their families were exempted from labor service, and they were rewarded for their meritorious service. They were not peasant soldiers who were conscripted and could return home after completing their service.

The farmers recruited by the conscription system all want to finish their service as soon as possible and then return home to continue farming. How many of them would be willing to be injured or even lose their lives on the battlefield?

Professional soldiers under the conscription system are different. What they want to do is to make military achievements with the swords in their hands and to create a future and fame.

If you don't have ambition, you will either die in battle as a pawn or work until you can no longer lift a weapon and return home to retire.

Of course, the most crucial point is that they once again saw the prince’s green umbrella!
Today, the Crown Prince personally came to the parade ground to review the Northern Army’s training!
As full-time soldiers who want to make a name for themselves, no one doesn't want to be valued by the prince like their captain and then soar to fame!
Smelling the strong smell of sweat in the air and listening to the shouts of soldiers echoing in the training ground, the pampered Liu Bian did not feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, he was reluctant to leave for a long time. He even met with some soldiers who stood out in the military exercises and competitions and praised them a few words.

"They are all good sons of the Han people!"

"I am very pleased today. It is a blessing for the Han Dynasty to have two or three sons!"

Liu Bian was not stingy with his praise, even though Zhong Yao, the Prince's Secretary, who was standing behind him, reminded him in a low voice that he was exaggerating. However, Liu Bian smiled even more happily when he saw the soldiers from the five schools of the Northern Army cheering in the audience.

Liu Bian waved his hand and said, reward!
"I would like to give five million coins to reward the Northern Army!"

Zhong Yao looked around and saw that the soldiers hadn't heard Liu Bian's words clearly. He quickly whispered, "Your Highness, this is unacceptable! The soldiers' bravery is certainly commendable, but under the conscription system, they should train hard and then serve the court."

Zhong Yao's thinking is typical of the Han Dynasty scholars. Since the soldiers received wages from the emperor and their families were exempted from labor, they should train hard to serve the emperor. This is just their job.

Moreover, since the five schools of the Northern Army are the soldiers of the imperial court, and the Crown Prince is now the regent, why would he come here to win over the hearts of the Northern Army soldiers?

If there is a war in the future, it will be the prince's order, and the Northern Army will follow it without hesitation.

He even felt that the Northern Army should not be rewarded without any merit.

That's what the tyrannical Qin did!
The tyrannical Qin Dynasty drove its soldiers with profit instead of benevolence and righteousness, and ultimately ended up with war and disintegration everywhere.

On the contrary, our Han Dynasty is a benevolent and righteous army, so we can destroy the tyrannical Qin Dynasty and restore peace to the world!
Zhong Yao even quoted Xunzi's words to persuade Liu Bian.

"Xunzi once said, 'The martial arts of Qi cannot match the military soldiers of Wei; the military soldiers of Wei cannot match the elite soldiers of Qin; the elite soldiers of Qin cannot match the discipline of Emperors Huan and Wen; the discipline of Emperors Huan and Wen cannot match the benevolence and righteousness of Emperors Tang and Wu.' If the Crown Prince raises a benevolent and righteous army, he will be invincible. Why would he need rewards?"

Liu Bian couldn't help but cover his head and sigh. The education of the scholars in the Later Han Dynasty was too distorted, so much so that Zhong Yao, who had not yet experienced war, had such distorted thoughts.

The concept of the scholars throughout the Later Han Dynasty was that soldiers were all ignorant people. If they were driven by interests, they would become greedy and ungrateful people, and would listen to whoever had money. Therefore, in order to avoid the soldiers' thoughts and beliefs being weak, rewards were not given. As long as they practiced benevolence and righteousness, the soldiers would be able to be successful in everything!

Therefore, don’t give the money to these stinky soldiers, just give it all to us scholars!

To put it in a more popular way, Chairman, please don't give the bonuses to those office slaves who are just slaves. Give them to us, the leaders, who assign them tasks every day. Those office slaves only need your chicken soup and PUA to be obedient.

If someone is disobedient, it must be because he has bad intentions. Just fire him and find a group of more obedient ones, especially the newly graduated ones.

(End of this chapter)