Chapter 150: The Training Camp (Part Four) (Please Subscribe)

Instructor Song's voice sounded like a nocturnal owl of prey, making the scalps of the raw recruits tingle and filling their eyes with terror.

"Scared already? I don't want to waste my breath saying too much. Since you've entered the military camp, and I am now the Provost Marshal in charge of enforcing military law, I'll state a few relevant rules right now. From this moment on, the Luoquan County Militia Camp shall enforce the Seventeen Prohibitions and Fifty-Four Decapitations. Anyone who dares to violate these military orders will be dealt with according to the law."

"Listen well. The Seventeen Prohibitions are: defying the army, delaying the army, slacking in the army, conspiring in the army, showing contempt for the army, deceiving the army, lewdness in the army, slandering the army, committing debauchery in the army, stealing in the army, spying for the army, betraying the army, showing malice in the army, causing mutiny in the army, malingering in the army, corrupting the army, and blundering the army. Those who violate these prohibitions shall be beheaded!"

"Anyone who commits any of the following fifty-four offenses shall be immediately executed!"

"One: Not advancing upon hearing the drum, not halting upon hearing the gong, failing to raise the banner when signaled, or failing to lower it when ordered. This is called defying the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Two: Failing to answer when roll is called, failing to arrive at the designated time, missing the deadline, or altering military discipline without authorization. This is called delaying the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Three: Being negligent and failing to report when night watches are sounded, violating watch schedules, or failing to make signals clear. This is called slacking in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Four: Uttering grievances, harboring resentment against commanding officers, refusing to obey restrictions, and becoming insubordinate. This is called conspiring in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Five: Laughing and talking loudly, showing contempt for prohibitions and restrictions, and rushing recklessly through military gates. This is called showing contempt for the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Six: Having weapons in disuse, such as unstrung bows and crossbows, arrows without feathers or tips, blunt swords and halberds, or tattered and worn banners. This is called deceiving the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Seven: Spreading rumors and deceitful talk, fabricating ghosts and spirits, falsely claiming premonitions in dreams, propagating heresies, and bewitching soldiers. This is called lewdness in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Eight: Being glib and sharp-tongued, maliciously spreading right and wrong, and instigating discord among soldiers. This is called slandering the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Nine: Tyrannizing the local populace wherever stationed, including forcing oneself upon women. This is called committing debauchery in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Ten: Stealing property for personal gain, or claiming others' decapitated heads as one's own merit. This is called stealing in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Eleven: Gathering soldiers and civilians in discussion, entering tents privately, and prying into military secrets. This is called spying for the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Twelve: Leaking battle plans or hearing commands and divulging them outside so that the enemy learns of them. This is called betraying the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Thirteen: Stuttering and failing to respond when called upon, lowering one's head, and wearing a reluctant expression. This is called showing malice in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Fourteen: Breaking formation, jostling forward and lagging backward, making loud noises, and disobeying disciplinary training. This is called causing mutiny in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Fifteen: Feigning injury and illness to avoid military campaigns, or faking wounds and death to desert. This is called malingering in the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Sixteen: Being in charge of funds and provisions, and showing favoritism during distribution so as to breed resentment among the soldiers. This is called corrupting the army; violators shall be beheaded."

"Seventeen: Observing the enemy carelessly, scouting bandits inaccurately, failing to report arrival when reaching a place, reporting many as few, or few as many. This is called blundering the army; violators shall be beheaded."

With every single rule Instructor Song recited, and every time he uttered the word "beheaded," the faces of the raw recruits lost a shade of color and grew paler, their bodies stiffening with each pronouncement. By the time Instructor Song finished reading the fifty-four decapitation offenses in one breath, Zhen Qian could even smell the foul odor of urine; someone had actually been scared so thoroughly by these immensely harsh military laws that they had wet and soiled themselves.

How utterly disgraceful! With such cowardly soldiers, if they truly went onto the battlefield, wouldn't they turn and flee immediately?

Instructor Song, however, wore no particular expression, as if he had long anticipated such a reaction from this batch of good-for-nothing recruits. He turned his head, looked at Zhen Qian, and smiled. "Don't be surprised. New recruits are always like this when they first enter camp. After three months, the situation will improve!"

Could this be considered a harsh display of dominance to cow the subordinates?

Zhen Qian had no voice in the training methods of the Tang dynasty's military, nor did he wish to critique them at this moment. Besides, since such practices existed, they had their own rationality; there was no need to oppose them.

Overall, the weapons, equipment, and personal qualities of the Tang soldiers were quite impressive. The armor and weapons carried by each individual, excluding rations, already weighed over forty catties. The standard equipment weight for modern U.S. soldiers in later generations was around thirty-5 catties, and during combat marches, they covered fifty to sixty li a day. If an army like this were still considered weak, it would defy all logic.

"Instructor Song! The newly recruited militia soldiers this time are generally quite good overall, with their ages ranging between sixteen and twenty-five. It can be said that this batch of militia soldiers is actually superior to the seasoned conscripts recruited by the imperial court in the past. As long as they are trained properly, I believe this can become an elite force. However, precisely because these militia recruits are young, they also possess many shortcomings. First and foremost, they completely lack any military experience, and everything must start from scratch. Fortunately, they are like blank paper, perfectly suited for uninhibited calligraphy and painting, allowing us to train them into the formidable force we desire."

Instructor Song nodded. "What you said is correct; the analogy of blank paper is very apt. These recruits who possess absolutely no experience are both the best and the most useless soldiers. They are useless because they lack any experience whatsoever, making them the hardest soldiers to train and the very first cannon fodder to die once dragged onto the battlefield. Yet such soldiers can be considered the best because as long as the trainer has ability, they can train a formidable force with half the effort and double the results."

"What do you plan to do next, then?"

"Naturally, conduct a baseline assessment, and then select the outstanding individuals to promote as squad leaders and platoon leaders."

"Your idea is excellent!" This was the second time Zhen Qian and Instructor Song had met. During their first meeting at the county office, Instructor Song had looked down entirely upon this young scholar who understood neither military strategy nor practical affairs, believing that the militia camp would merely be a mob whose military discipline would eventually degenerate and harm the locality, and he had even proposed letting veteran soldiers take over the camp entirely.

"A snake cannot move without a head, and a bird cannot fly without a leader. A good officer is half of an army's combat effectiveness. Only when communication flows freely from top to bottom can orders be executed strictly. I'll give you a suggestion: after selecting and appointing officers, the most important thing is military discipline. An army's strength does not lie in its numbers, nor a soldier's valor in his bravery; victory comes from good governance, and defeat from chaos. If soldiers do not know their commanders, and commanders do not know their soldiers; if they do not advance upon hearing the drum and do not halt upon hearing the gong, then even an army of a million strong facing the enemy is merely like throwing meat into a tiger's den—how can victory ever be sought? The so-called good governance means that when at rest, they drill and study; when on the move, they maintain firm alignment. When advancing, they cannot be checked; when retreating, they cannot be pursued. Their forward thrust is like a breaking joint; their maneuvers left and right respond to flags. They can be united but not separated, employed but not exhausted. Even if isolated, they form a battle formation; even if scattered, they maintain ranks. Such is the foundation of discipline."

"I understand. Soldiers must first learn to obey orders and prohibitions, knowing when to advance and retreat, and only then should they learn the skills of combat and killing the enemy!"

"It is truly a pity that you did not join the military. To be honest with you, when someone else spoke these words to me in the past, it took me a very long time to figure them out. I never expected you to grasp it all at once. Are you scholars all like this?"

It was easy to speak of, but a thousand times harder to carry out. Everyone knew that the most important thing for an army was strict obedience to orders and prohibitions, but achieving it in reality was exceedingly difficult. To put it bluntly, throughout history, how many armies had truly managed to be unstoppable when advancing, unpursuable when retreating, advancing at the sound of the drum, halting at the sound of the gong, remaining calm in the face of battle, and not collapsing in defeat?

Zhen Qian suddenly thought of the Yue Family Army and the Qi Family Army from history, and his blood surged with passion.