CHAPTER 160: CHAPTER 160: ELITE TROOPS

Yu Chong held his breath in frustration, summoned his trusted aides, and whispered a few words to them. They nodded and swiftly left the command platform, personally leading a few hundred men to form up their ranks.

As for Meng Dashan, a man with a coarse exterior but meticulous within, he called over twelve captains and likewise gave instructions. Xiao Tian and other captains, energized, accepted their orders and returned to their positions to command their subordinates in forming up.

Jiang Shaohua surveyed the scene and spoke clearly, her melodious voice reaching everyone’s ears: "Today’s military exercise will be conducted by the beat of the war drum. After the first drum begins, after the second drum sounds, all must stop. During military exercises, you will defeat your opponents but must not maliciously harm anyone."

Saying this, she personally beat the drum.

Thud, thud, thud!

The war drum echoed heavily, and the soldiers, focusing their minds, shouted loudly and charged forward simultaneously at the moment the drum stopped.

When two armies face off, the most crucial element is not to lose the momentum. On the first direct clash, the Nanyang Army barely held their formation under the strong impact of the Second Guard Camp, yet still, a dozen unlucky ones were knocked to the ground. According to the rules of the exercise, falling equates to losing, and they must withdraw at once. These dozen soldiers, with dirt-smudged faces, climbed back up and retreated.

In another round of clashing, more than twenty fell again.

In contrast, the ranks of the Personal Guard Camp remained orderly, each soldier staring sharply.

Meng Dashan chuckled twice.

Yu Chong’s face was almost blackened with anger.

Jiang Shaohua turned and smiled to console Yu Chong, "General Yu, there is no need to feel embarrassed. Over these years, the Personal Guard Camp has had plentiful resources and trained tirelessly every day, while the Nanyang Army has been neglected. I know you’ve worked hard these past few months. However, training soldiers isn’t something that can be achieved overnight; it requires patience."

Yu Chong sighed in shame, "The Nanyang Army has embarrassed itself."

"Losing to the Personal Guard Camp is no disgrace." Meng Dashan chuckled once more, stabbing words at Yu Chong’s heart: "I originally thought I could take down the Nanyang Army within an hour. But now, they seem a bit stronger than I imagined."

"By the way, if there’s an opportunity in the future, General Yu must train together with the Three Elite Guard Camps at the exercise field. In terms of formations, the Third Camp is the most formidable; the First and Second Camps are not a match for the Third Camp."

Yu Chong’s heart was pierced repeatedly, unable to muster a smile.

He kept his eyes firmly on the exercise field, hoping the Nanyang Army would rally their spirits, hoping for a miracle to surprise the Commandery Princess...

Unfortunately, this was all wishful thinking.

In the exercise field, strength determined the hierarchy. Comparing the Nanyang Army with the Second Guard Camp, there was more than a mere gap. Within an hour, they were in complete disarray, "annihilated" tragically. The fact they lasted an hour was entirely due to the few dozen trusted aide soldiers Yu Chong sent into the field.

These few dozen soldiers were also beaten quite severely. The force of the wooden long knives and spears was exerted thoroughly, causing much pain when hitting people. The dull thudding sounded continuously.

The Nanyang Army soldiers sitting far away initially shouted fervently, but eventually, like sparks dropping into water, they all went silent.

The disparity was despairingly obvious!

Thud, thud, thud!

The second war drum sounded, and the Second Guard Camp promptly withdrew, quickly restoring their previous formation under everyone’s gaze. At a glance, there were about a dozen empty spots among them, while fewer than two hundred of the Nanyang Army’s six hundred men remained standing.

This exercise, without a doubt, ended in a sweeping victory for the Second Guard Camp.

The Nanyang Army lost miserably and with great shame.

Not only Yu Chong but even Li Tie felt discontentment.

Meng Dashan chuckled and clasped his hands together, "Thank you for the concession."

Jiang Shaohua smiled sweetly.

After the Commandery Princess and the triumphant Meng Dashan left, Li Tie rushed forward, cursing the defeated soldiers: "Look at yourselves, acting all impressive on usual days, yet why have you turned into cowards today! Ugh! I’m embarrassed for you!"

Yu Chong took a deep breath, stepped forward, and patted Li Tie on the shoulder.

Li Tie sulkily shut his mouth and stepped back behind Yu Chong.

Yu Chong swept his gaze and said solemnly, "Today, we learned a lesson and realized our worth. From now on, everyone must get your spirits up and drill hard. When the Commandery Princess visits again, if you disgrace yourselves like this, you might as well take off those uniforms and roll back to your hometowns."

The soldiers powerlessly replied in a low tone.

Yu Chong got angry, "Louder!"

The soldiers, with faces flushed and veins bulging, shouted: "Train hard, defeat the Personal Guard Camp in the future!"

This was somewhat respectable. Though defeating the Personal Guard Camp was highly unlikely, there had to be this sense of ambition. Yu Chong steadied his spirit and called out, "Everyone, head to my command tent!"

Military generals with ranks seventh or above gathered in Yu Chong’s command tent.

Yu Chong kept a composed face, looking at them one by one: "Today we Nanyang Army lost face; you all saw it. Share your thoughts and opinions."

The generals glanced at each other, remaining silent.

Yu Chong asked coldly, "Li Tie, you start."

Previously, Li Tie and Yu Chong held equal ranks and were long-time rivals. Nowadays, with the Commandery Princess’s support, Yu Chong became the main general of the Nanyang Army. Meanwhile, Li Tie, having shifted loyalties from Zuo Zhen’s sinking ship to the Princess’s powerful ship, was now unstable. Facing Yu Chong, he inherently felt inferior and lacked the confidence and courage to confront.

Li Tie coughed and said, "General Yu, don’t be in a hurry. The Nanyang Army’s foundations cannot escape the discerning eyes of the Commandery Princess."

"The Commandery Princess let the Personal Guard Camp engage with the Nanyang Army in exercises not to deliberately embarrass General Yu, but to teach the soldiers a lesson, to understand the gap between themselves and elite soldiers."

"There’s nothing more to say about this. We will just intensify training in the future."

Another general chimed in, "Rightly said. The Commandery Princess promised horses and provisions, expecting us to train elite soldiers. We must do our best to train troops, so as not to let the Commandery Princess’s effort go to waste."

Another thick-skinned one whispered, "Indeed, Bowan County annually produces a lot of refined iron, which can forge numerous weapons. Why not, General Yu talk to the Commandery Princess..."

"Ugh! Have you no shame!" Yu Chong’s face suddenly darkened: "If you want to go, you go. This general doesn’t have such audacity!"

That general awkwardly chuckled, lightly slapping himself: "I spoke out of turn!"

A general laughed, mediating the tension, "Discussing armor and weapons is not impossible. It’s just not the time yet. After a year or so, when the Commandery Princess inspects the military camp, we’ll showcase our formations and compete against the Personal Guard Camp once more. Let her see that every Nanyang Army soldier is a hero."

"Propose it then, and it will naturally be accepted!"

Yu Chong’s expression softened: "That makes sense. In short, from now on, we have one sole task, which is to train the soldiers! We must train an elite force. Just like the Commandery Princess said, let the Nanyang Army become a renowned elite force of Da Liang!"