Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 1131 Reorganizing the Army and Preparing for War

Han Zheng pulled out the broken flagpole, carried it on his back, and took it back to the camp.

Upon returning, he handed the flagpole to Xue Yan on the drill ground.

Xue Yan took the flagpole and looked at it for a long time.

Then, it was placed in the very center of the training ground, next to the white frost battle flag.

Two flags were planted side by side.

One side is a complete white frost battle flag.

On one side was a charred flagpole, only half of which remained.

The wind blew in from the valley entrance, making the white frost battle flag flutter loudly.

The broken flagpole remained motionless, with only the charred flag handle making a very faint creaking sound in the wind.

Xue Yan stood in front of the flagpole for a long time.

Then he turned and left without saying a word.

That evening, someone saw Xue Yan sitting alone by the drill ground, holding half a charred flagpole in his hand, slowly wiping it with a dry cloth.

The charred ash on the flagpole was wiped away, revealing the dark red wood grain underneath.

He wiped it for a long time, making the half flagpole spotless, and then leaned it against the weapon rack beside him.

The next morning, there was a bowl of water next to the broken flagpole.

Nobody knows who put it there.

……

There are now nearly 20,000 people in the camp.

The logistics battalion's workshops operated day and night.

The furnace was burning red-hot, and the hammering on the anvil made a constant clanging sound.

The new hunters, led by veterans from the left wing, began learning the basic movement of the "品" (pin) formation.

Tuoba Tie drew white lines on the training ground and had the new recruits line up and move around step by step.

If you make a mistake, start over; if you make another mistake, start over again.

Later on, the white stitching on the recruits' boots was worn away.

Tuoba Tie then asked Ayan to redraw it.

Ayan drew it again and again. In the end, he could draw the formation positions perfectly even with his eyes closed.

Over at the archer camp, Amu was leading the newly recruited archers in rapid-fire practice.

The archery range was piled high with targets, and the new archers drew their bows until their fingers were blistered.

Amu told them to pop the blood blisters, apply medicine, and then continue having diarrhea.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Ah, when will you be done practicing?"

Amu glanced at him, walked to the edge of the shooting range, and picked up his sandalwood bow.

Nock the arrow.

Pull the string.

Play the strings.

"stretch--"

The arrow flew a hundred paces, pierced through three layers of rhinoceros hide, and embedded itself in the bullseye, its fletching still humming and trembling.

Amu put down his bow and said to the new archer, "Practice until you can do this before you say you're done. Now continue."

The novice archer looked at the arrow in the bullseye, swallowed hard, and picked up the bow again.

The light cavalry unit also received a significant replenishment of horses.

While searching for the hunting party, Han Zheng's scouts also managed to gather a number of scattered warhorses.

In addition, Yan He had more than a dozen heavily armed warhorses transferred from the remnants of Shilei Fort.

The central battalion's mobility has returned to its peak level.

Han Zheng was no longer the head scout.

Zhang Yuan put him in command of the entire central camp, responsible for mobile support and perimeter reconnaissance.

On his first day in office, Han Zheng established three rules for the Central Camp.

Light cavalry attacks must be scouted in advance; no attack should be launched without prior reconnaissance.

A retreat must leave a rearguard; without leaving a rearguard, there will be no retreat.

The wounded must be brought back; those who can be brought back alive should never be brought back dead.

These three rules were turned into a catchy rhyme by the cavalrymen of the central camp, and it was passed around in the barracks.

"Reconnaissance, reconnaissance first, don't leave until you've found out everything. Retreat, retreat, have a rearguard, don't turn back until there's someone to cover the rear. Bring the wounded back, bring them back alive, not their souls."

Han Zheng was drinking water when he heard the rhyme and almost choked.

The logistics battalion is also constantly expanding.

Yan He incorporated all the female members of the newly arrived hunting team and the wounded into the logistics department.

These women grew up in the mountains and forests, and their experience in processing the hides and bones of magical beasts was no less than that of the men. They took over the work of skinning and tanning, allowing Tuoba Gu's apprentices to focus all their energy on carving battle patterns.

The training ground was piled high with newly forged weapons.

Hundreds of quivered arrows were neatly arranged next to the weapon rack.

Rows of bowstrings hung on the wall, all made from freshly drawn python and cow tendons.

The armor was piled up neatly in wooden crates.

Bone shields leaned against the wall, and spears stood upright like a forest.

The newly recruited hunters lined up to receive their equipment, and each person's eyes lit up when they received a bone knife and armor engraved with battle patterns.

The weapons they used to use were mostly crude iron and sharpened animal bones.

Battle patterns are only issued to the personal guards of the five great generals' mansions.

Yan Ping received a bone knife engraved with energy-gathering patterns and examined it repeatedly.

He gently ran his fingers along the patterns on the blade, then carefully hung the knife at his waist and patted the scabbard.

Someone next to him asked him what he thought.

He said, "I've never held such a fine knife in my life."

His tone was calm, but his movements as he hung the knife were slow.

He hooked his fingers around the leather cord on the scabbard and tied it twice before he was done.

Han Xiao also received a new curved sword.

The blade was made from the bone plates of an ironback lizard, making it much lighter than the one he brought from the Gale Camp, but its hardness and toughness were a level higher.

He held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand, then tried to swing it a couple of times; the sound of the blade cutting through the air was crisp.

"call out--"

He grinned and took off the old scabbard, throwing it on the ground.

The scabbard was covered in mud when it hit the ground, but he didn't pick it up.

That old scabbard was something he brought from the Gale Camp; he had used it for three years, and it was worn through in several places.

"Out with the old, in with the new," he said.

Xue Yan did not take the knife.

He received a sandalwood bow.

In his youth, he was the best archer in the Fufeng Camp.

Later, after becoming the battalion commander, he stopped personally shooting arrows as much.

Now he picked up the bow again.

The bow arm is engraved with four battle patterns, and the bowstring is made of twisted python sinew.

He drew his bowstring taut, aimed at the target in the distance, but didn't release the arrow; he simply nodded.

Then he slung the bow over his back, carefully wrapped the bow arm with an old cloth, and said to the logistics soldier who issued the equipment, "Thanks."

More and more people gathered on the drill ground, and the noise became increasingly chaotic.

Some people were practicing their footwork, some were sharpening their arrows, some were testing the weight of new weapons, and some were patting each other on the shoulder.

The clanging of weapons mingled with the sounds of footsteps and shouts, creating a cacophony of noise above the camp.

Zhang Yuan stood by the training ground and watched for a moment.

Beside him were the charred flagpole that Han Zheng had carried back, and the white frost battle flag fluttering in the wind.

Two flags were planted side by side in the center of the drill ground.

The morning light shone through the ridge, illuminating the patterns on the snow-covered peaks and the half-charred flagpole.

Zhang Yuan dispersed the newly joined hunters and organized them into various camps.

The troops from Liuyun Village were incorporated into Han Zheng's central camp, responsible for mobile support.

The Gale Battalion was incorporated into the Left Battalion to supplement the vanguard forces.

The hunters from Fufeng Camp and several smaller tribes were incorporated into the right camp to assist Mengyuan in its defense.

On the day of the formation, the drill ground was packed with people.

The warriors of the White Frost Clan stood at the forefront, their armor neatly fitted and their formation imposing.

Behind them were newly recruited hunters, dressed in a motley collection of clothes and armed with varying weapons, but each of them stood ramrod straight.

Zhang Yuan stood at the front of the line without saying a word.

He simply walked around the front of the line, from the first to the last, looking at everyone's face.

The faces included old people and young people, some with bandages and others with scars.

But they were all watching him.

Zhang Yuan walked back to the front of the group and said something.

"Regardless of which battalion you were in before, from today onwards, you are all in the same battalion." (End of Chapter)