Transmigration begins with archery training

A martial arts arena.

Apart from the men who were on watch of the Great Wall, all the officers and soldiers in the garrison were present.

Xiang Tingchun strode confidently onto the high platform.

Even from dozens of steps away, everyone could sense that Lord Qianhu was in a good mood.

"brothers!"

Xiang Tingchun's voice was booming: "Today, I have two things to announce."

"I still remember that at the beginning of the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu, during the Yongchang era, our dynasty had more than three million soldiers, and every one of them was well-fed and clothed and full of fighting spirit!"

"Unfortunately, natural disasters and man-made calamities continued to occur afterward."

"As a result, in the early years, our Poyang County even experienced arrears in wages and grain, causing many brothers to go hungry and naked, and were forced to flee and become refugees."

"I, Xiang Tingchun, have an inescapable responsibility for overseeing this place, and I apologize to all the brothers here!"

"However, that situation will never happen again."

"The four major martial arts schools and many gentlemen in Poyang County could not bear to see their brothers who were protecting their country living such a hard life, so they donated a large amount of grain, medicine and horses."

"So the first thing is, starting today—"

"All soldiers will have their monthly pay increased by half, plus an extra shi of grain."

"The soldiers will receive double the monthly salary and double the amount of blood-nourishing soup."

"Military officers will receive double the benefits."

"And from now on, all kinds of medicinal herbs can be purchased directly from the military camp at half the price of those from outside pharmacies!"

After he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in cheers.

"Double?"

"One shi of grain per month?"

What does receiving one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain per month mean during a year of poor harvest?

This means that this year, everyone will not only be able to get through the cold winter without going hungry, but will even have extra money to buy winter clothes!

The soldiers were equally excited.

The vast majority of those who joined the army were from poor families; how could they afford a blood-nourishing soup that cost ten taels per dose?

However, relying solely on the supplies provided by the garrison is far from enough to improve one's cultivation level.

For them, Lord Chiju's words were like a windfall.

Zhu Tong clenched his fist: "With enough blood-replenishing soup, I also have a chance to make progress in martial arts!"

People like him and Wang Li are actually quite talented.

It's just that we're too poor, which is slowing us down.

While everyone was busy celebrating, Xu Wencai shook his head slightly: "I'm afraid we're going to have a war, and a tough one at that."

"real or fake?"

Zhu Tong was skeptical: "That's right, why would those bastards at the martial arts school suddenly be willing to give us money? There must be something fishy going on!"

"Listen to what I have to say."

Xiang Tingchun gestured for everyone to be quiet:

"Next, there is the second thing."

"Everyone is probably well aware of why the Poyang Thousand-Household Office was established."

"It is to resist barbarians from other races!"

"For thousands of years, barbarians have seized our houses and fields, hoping to turn our wives, children and the elderly into slaves, and then use our heads to enrich their pastures!"

"It was Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong who personally led several expeditions, defeating them so badly that they couldn't raise their heads for two hundred years!"

"But now, they are stirring again, wanting to repeat the tragedy of the previous dynasty!"

"How can we, as good men, sit idly by and wait for death?"

"With the approval of the Ministry of War, I will be responsible for wiping out the barbarians in the Xihe area next spring!"

"Therefore, I hope that in the days to come, the brothers will train diligently so that they can serve the court on the battlefield."

"As long as you kill enough enemies, it's not impossible to be promoted to a high-ranking position!"

After these words were spoken, the training ground fell silent, a stark contrast to before.

To be granted a title and appointed a general?

There are really not many people with such lofty ideals.

All they wanted was a peaceful life.

But as soldiers, fighting on the battlefield is an inescapable destiny.

Fortunately, going into battle after a full meal is better than going on an empty stomach.

This is why Xiang Tingchun went to great lengths to seize money and supplies from the martial arts school.

Soldiers without adequate pay will have no fighting power!

On the contrary, a generous reward will surely attract brave men.

A team can only have combat power and avoid being easily defeated if it has sufficient resources.

There's no need to worry about announcing it in advance alerting the enemy.

Barbarian spies have always been there.

The martial arts school's large-scale donation of money and supplies—even a fool could tell what they were planning to do with it.

Instead of keeping it a secret from everyone, it's better to practice in advance and prepare mentally and physically.

After finishing his speech, Xiang Tingchun strode away, giving the soldiers time to process what he had said.

……

Chen Sanshi was already mentally prepared.

The selection of strikers will take place after the spring season.

In other words, he would also participate in this battle before heading to the Eighth Battalion to participate in the selection assessment.

"Mr. Xu."

Chen Sanshi asked, "Do you know anything about the barbarians in the river area, and how strong they are in battle?"

"You've come to the right person, sir."

Without hesitation, Xu Wencai replied, "I am not very talented, but I have spent five years studying the distribution of barbarian troops."

"The Xihe tribe is a branch of the Yuwen lineage. They have lived here for decades and have a well-trained army of at least two thousand."

"Among them, there is one person who refines internal organs, and the number of military officers who refine blood and bones is about the same as our thousand-household garrison."

"But they have far more horses than we do, and their archers are of higher quality."

Chen Sanshi pondered for a moment: "In your opinion, what are our chances of winning next spring?"

"My lord, please follow me."

Xu Wencai led him to a secluded corner, picked up a twig, and began to draw on the mud and sand.

“Almost all the important passes in the northern border of my dynasty are currently in constant conflict with the barbarians, so there will certainly be no idle troops to be transferred to provide support.”

"At most, the Anding Prefecture Guard will send another garrison to cover our retreat, so that if we suffer a defeat outside the Great Wall, someone will come to our aid and we won't be able to let the barbarians take Poyang."

"But they will absolutely not leave the city to fight easily."

"In other words, our Qianhu garrison is essentially a lone force."

What are you two whispering about?

Zhu Tong crept closer and asked, "What are you drawing with that broken stick?"

"Hey, you roughneck, don't get in my way."

Xu Wencai stroked his beard, looking at the simple troop deployment on the ground, and said with great confusion: "It's really strange. Sending troops to attack the barbarians is a major national event. It should be planned and dispatched in a unified manner. Why send a thousand or so people to attack a scattered tribe?"

Whether it succeeds or fails, it won't change the overall situation much.

"What is your opinion on this, sir?"

Chen Sanshi replied, "This is a performance show to demonstrate my work ability to my superiors."

"Your Excellency is wise; I think so too!"

Xu Wencai looked around, then cautiously said, "Commander Xiang, this is a plan where one general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand!"

That was a rather tactful way of putting it.

To put it bluntly, Xiang Tingchun was prepared to use the lives of nine hundred men from the Poyang Thousand-Household Garrison to exchange for his own future!

The reason why the Ministry of War agreed was probably due to the involvement of various factions in the court; the situation was quite complex.

"As for the chances of winning."

Xu Wencai continued, “The barbarian tribes are strong and well-equipped, but they are not good at military formations. Every spring is the weakest time for nomadic peoples.”

"If more martial arts masters from martial arts schools could help, and with Anding Prefecture covering the rear, we should be able to win, but..."

"It will definitely be a Pyrrhic victory."

Zhu Tong, who had been completely confused, finally understood the last sentence: "How terrible?"

Xu Wencai said heavily, "We're both going to die!"

"That's pretty tragic."

Zhu Tong grabbed his collar: "Lazybones, don't you always brag about how good you are at fighting? Then think of a way to avoid a miserable situation."

Xu Wencai said seriously, "I do have a plan that can reduce the losses by at least 20%."

"Only 20%?"

Zhu Tong said disdainfully, "What's the difference between that and not reducing it at all?"

"I am Zhuge Liang, not a god. In this kind of siege warfare, even a 20% reduction would be a huge saving of manpower!"

Xu Wencai threw away the tree branch: "I'm going to offer advice to the commander!"

He said this and ran towards Tingchun's office.

Zhu Tong counted on his fingers: "Our garrison has over nine hundred people, how many is 20%?"

"..."

Chen Sanshi said helplessly, "It's a reduction of 20% in losses, not a total annihilation."

"And how many people are there?"

Zhu Tong was even more confused.

Before he could figure it out, Xu Wencai returned.

He quickly asked, "So, what did Commander Qianhu say?"

Xu Wencai was so angry that his face turned red. He stomped his feet and shouted, "Incompetent general! Incompetent general!"

The thousand-household camp was not far away, and just now, Chen Sanshi faintly heard the word "get lost" in the wind.

He shook his head, got up, and left.

This battle was unavoidable, and he had no intention of avoiding it.

However, it seems I really need to start strengthening my bones before spring.

After strengthening one's bones, one can withstand swords and weapons, and will not lose combat power due to minor injuries on the battlefield.