War Is Coming

The training grounds.

Apart from the men guarding the Great Wall, all the officers and soldiers of the Thousand Household Office were present.

Xiang Tingchun strode onto the high platform with bold steps.

Even from dozens of steps away, everyone could feel that the Lord Thousand Households was in high spirits.

"Brothers!"

Xiang Tingchun's voice boomed like a great bell: "Today, I have two matters to announce.

"Remember, at the very beginning when Grand Ancestor founded our dynasty, during the Yongchang era, our court had over three million soldiers, and every single one was well-fed, clothed, and full of fighting spirit!"

"Alas, later on, disasters and calamities struck one after another.

"To the point that our Poyang County even experienced arrears in pay and grain in the past, causing many brothers to go hungry and poorly clothed, forced to flee and become refugees.

"As the one stationed here, I, Xiang Tingchun, bear an undeniable responsibility. Here, I apologize to all my brothers!

"However, that situation will absolutely never happen again from this day forward.

"The four major Martial Arts Schools and many esteemed gentlemen of Poyang County could no longer bear to see the brothers defending our home and country living such hard lives. Thus, they have donated a large amount of grain, provisions, medicinal herbs, and horses.

"So, the first matter is that starting immediately—

"The monthly pay for all Infantrymen will be increased by half, with an additional stone of grain.

"For Warrior Recruits, monthly pay will be doubled, and Blood Replenishing Soup will be doubled.

"For military officers, their respective treatment will be doubled.

"Furthermore, from now on, various medicinal herbs can be purchased directly at the barracks at half the price of outside pharmacies!"

After he finished speaking, the entire venue erupted.

"Doubled?"

"One stone of grain per month?"

What did one stone of grain per month mean in a year of poor harvest?

It meant that this year, everyone would not only be able to get through a winter without starving, but they might even have spare money to buy winter clothes!

The Warrior Recruits were equally excited.

Most of those who joined the army came from poor families; where could they afford Blood Replenishing Soup that cost ten taels a dose?

But relying solely on what the Garrison provided was far from enough to improve their cultivation.

The Thousand Households' words were no different from a pie falling from the sky to them.

Zhu Tong clenched his fist: "With enough Blood Replenishing Soup, I'll have a chance to advance further on the martial path!"

He and Wang Li were actually not lacking in talent.

It was just their poverty that dragged down their progress.

While everyone was lost in joy, Xu Wencai slightly shook his head: "I'm afraid war is coming, and it will be a tough one."

"Really?"

Zhu Tong was half-believing: "That's right, those scoundrels from the Martial Arts Schools, why would they suddenly be willing to spend money on us? There must be something fishy going on!"

"Listen to me finish."

Xiang Tingchun gestured for everyone to quiet down:

"Next, is the second matter.

"The reason why the Poyang Thousand Households Command was established, I believe everyone is very clear about.

"It is to resist the barbarians of foreign races!

"For thousands of years, the barbarians have plundered our homes and fields, yearning to turn our wives and children into slaves, and then use our heads to fertilize their pastures!

"It was Grand Ancestor and Second Ancestor who personally led campaigns multiple times, beating them so badly that they couldn't lift their heads for two hundred years!

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

"As good men, how can we sit idly by?

"With the approval of the Ministry of War, I will launch a campaign to eliminate the barbarians in the Xihe region next spring!

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

"As long as you kill enough enemies, becoming a marquis or a general is not impossible!"

After these words, the training grounds fell silent, a stark contrast to before.

Become a marquis or a general?

Very few people actually had such grand ambitions.

They merely wished for a stable life.

But since they were soldiers, killing on the battlefield was an unavoidable destiny.

Fortunately, going to the battlefield after a full meal was better than going on an empty stomach.

This is also why Xiang Tingchun racked his brains to snatch the money and grain from the Martial Arts School.

If the soldiers are not paid, they have no combat power!

Conversely, under generous rewards, there will be brave men.

Only when a team has sufficient resources can it possess combat power and not collapse at the first blow.

Whether announcing it in advance will alert the enemy is not something to worry about.

There are always barbarian scouts.

When the Martial Arts School donates a large amount of money and grain, even a fool knows what it's for.

Rather than hiding it from everyone, it's better to train them in advance and prepare them mentally and physically.

After speaking, Xiang Tingchun strode away, giving the soldiers time to digest his words.

Chen Sanshi had already prepared himself mentally.

The selection of elites will be after spring.

This means that before going to the Eight Great Camps to participate in the elite selection assessment, he will also participate in this battle.

"Mr. Xu."

Chen Sanshi asked, "Do you know the combat strength of the barbarians in the Xihe area?"

"You've come to the right person, my lord."

Xu Wencai replied without hesitation, "I am not talented, but I spent five years specifically studying the distribution of barbarian forces.

"The Xihe tribe is a branch of the Yuwen lineage. They have lived here for decades, and there are conservatively two thousand well-trained soldiers.

"Among them, there is one Viscera Refining expert, and the number of Blood Tempering and Bone Tempering martial officers is similar to that of our Thousand Household Office.

"However, their number of horses far exceeds ours, and the quality of their archers is also higher."

Chen Sanshi mused, "In your opinion, what are our chances of winning next spring?"

"My lord, please follow me."

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

"Almost all the important passes in the Northern Border of our Great Sheng Dynasty are now in constant friction with the barbarians, so there will definitely be no idle troops sent for support.

"At most, the Anding Prefecture Garrison will send another Garrison Thousand Household Command to cover our rear. This is to ensure that if we fail outside the Great Wall, someone will be there to assist us, and the barbarians will not be able to capture Poyang.

"But they will absolutely not easily leave the city to participate in the battle.

"In other words, our Thousand Household Office is essentially an isolated force."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Zhu Tong quietly sidled over, "What are you drawing with that broken stick?"

"You brute, don't get in the way."

Xu Wencai stroked his beard, looking at the simple troop distribution on the ground, and said with great confusion, "It's really strange. Attacking the barbarians is a major national affair. It should be planned and executed uniformly. Why send a thousand or so men to attack a scattered tribe?

"Whether it succeeds or fails will not change the overall situation much.

"My lord, what are your thoughts on this?"

Chen Sanshi replied, "This is a performance to show competence to our superiors."

"My lord is wise, I think so too!"

Xu Wencai looked around, then said cautiously, "Commander Xiang intends to achieve personal glory at the cost of countless lives!"

This statement was still somewhat euphemistic.

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

The Ministry of War's agreement was probably also influenced by various factions in the court; it's a deep water.

"As for the odds of winning."

Xu Wencai continued, "The barbarians are strong and have good horses, but they are not skilled in military formations. Every spring is also the weakest time for nomadic peoples.

"If we can get more Bone Tempering martial masters from the Martial Arts School to assist, and with the Anding Prefecture providing rear support, we should be able to win, but..."

"It will definitely be a pyrrhic victory."

Zhu Tong, who had been listening confusedly, finally understood the last sentence, "How pyrrhic?"

Xu Wencai said heavily, "Both of us will die!"

"That is quite tragic."

Zhu Tong grabbed his collar, "Lazybones, don't you always brag about how good you are at fighting? Then think of a way so that it's not so tragic!"

Xu Wencai said seriously, "I actually have a plan that can reduce the losses by at least twenty percent."

"Only twenty percent?"

Zhu Tong said dismissively, "What's the difference between that and no reduction?"

"I am a Sleeping Dragon, not a god. For this kind of tough battle, twenty percent is already a huge saving of manpower!"

Xu Wencai dropped the branch. "I'm going to offer a strategy to the Thousand Households!"

He said this and ran towards Xiang Tingchun's office.

Zhu Tong counted on his fingers. "Our Garrison has over nine hundred men. What's two-tenths of that?"

"..."

Chen Sanshi said helplessly, "It means reducing losses by two-tenths, not that the whole army will be wiped out."

"Then how many people is that?"

Zhu Tong became even more confused.

Before he could figure it out, Xu Wencai returned.

He quickly asked, "How did it go? What did the Lord Thousand Households say?"

Xu Wencai's face turned red with anger, and he stomped his foot, shouting, "Incompetent general! Incompetent general!"

The Thousand Households' camp was not far away. Just now, Chen Sanshi had faintly heard the word "scram" carried by the wind.

He shook his head and got up to leave.

This battle was unavoidable, and he hadn't planned to avoid it anyway.

However, it seemed that he really needed to practice Bone Tempering before spring.

After Bone Tempering, he would be able to resist blades and weapons, and wouldn't lose combat effectiveness from minor injuries on the battlefield.