Elite Soldier Selection

Dust flew across the training ground, but it could not drown out the clamor of voices. The soldiers under the colonel's command had all been summoned early today to line up and await orders.

Chen Mo stood in the ranks alongside several other grooms. The formation was naturally far from orderly—some whispered among themselves, others wandered about at will.

This was already after the colonel's personal guards had straightened them out several times; otherwise, it would have been even more chaotic.

"Mo-ge, I reckon the people in charge of testing us will be here soon," Ma Cai said, his voice low but his tone unable to hide his excitement.

He had waited so long for this chance, and now it had finally arrived.

"Mm." Chen Mo nodded in reply, not wasting words.

His injuries had long since fully healed. A while back, he had secretly tested his own strength. He might not have a thousand jin of force, but five or six hundred jin he definitely had—perhaps even more.

There was no helping it. He had no access to tools for measuring his strength on ordinary days, so his current assessment was only a rough estimate, far from accurate.

Even so, his strength far surpassed that of most people. Calling it natural divine power would not be an exaggeration.

Not long after their exchange, rolling dust clouds came from the north. Three soldiers in leather armor with long swords at their waists rode straight into the training ground.

"Fine horses!" He Ma Guan couldn't help but murmur in admiration as he saw the steeds.

Mo Hu reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over the many soldiers below.

By regulation, a Rank 9 Colonel should command at least four hundred and fifty men. But no matter how he looked at it, there were at most three hundred here.

Local garrison troops were ultimately different from border forces—the padding of the payroll was far too severe.

"May I ask if you gentlemen are under General Sun's command?" Colonel Wang led his personal guards forward to greet them.

Though the arriving men held no specific official rank, as the saying goes, a prime minister's doorman is still a seventh-rank official.

Those sent to select personal guards must be highly valued by General Sun.

If one truly compared their standing, they might not be inferior to a colonel like himself.

If he treated them poorly now, and they went back to complain to General Sun, his position as colonel would be as good as over.

"That's right. We have come on the general's orders to conduct the assessment at this camp," Mo Hu replied coldly.

"I have already summoned my men in advance. The assessment can begin at any time. I've also prepared food and drink. Since you've traveled far, how about resting a little first?" Colonel Wang's plump face was wreathed in smiles, looking very pleased.

Even if General Sun directly poached men from his ranks—and the more capable ones at that—it was still a case of a higher official crushing a lower one. And General Sun outranked him by more than just one grade.

So no matter how unwilling he was inside, he had to put on a face of absolute compliance.

Besides, General Sun couldn't take his personal guards. After all, his own nephew wouldn't abandon his clan uncle to follow a stranger.

Thus, he only felt a slight displeasure in his heart, nothing too serious.

"No need. We should first carry out the general's orders," Mo Hu said, as if impervious to persuasion.

"Also, I've prepared some gifts in my tent for General Sun and for you gentlemen. How about taking a look first?" Colonel Wang suggested with a smile.

Ever since he learned that General Sun had been transferred here, he had been racking his brains for an opportunity to send gifts. Now was the perfect chance.

Sending this gift might not get him promoted, and General Sun might not remember him. But if he didn't send it, General Sun would definitely remember him.

To secure his position and continue bleeding the soldiers and padding the payroll, he had to send this gift no matter what!

"Oh! Then let's go take a look!" Mo Hu's interest was piqued, and his expression changed.

"Good, good, good. Please follow me." Colonel Wang laughed with great delight.

He had originally thought the man was upright and incorruptible, which would have been troublesome. But now it seemed he was no different from himself.

The group walked into the barracks chatting and laughing, leaving the assembled soldiers standing there.

These soldiers had never undergone much training to begin with, and now, waiting around for so long, their morale quickly grew restless.

Still, they held back out of fear of the colonel's personal guards, so the formation barely held together.

A full half-hour later, Colonel Wang walked out of the barracks laughing heartily with several of General Sun's personal guards.

"Silence!" Colonel Wang's smile vanished instantly at the sight of the noisy scene.

He knew his men had little discipline, but losing face in front of outsiders still angered him. However, with outsiders present, he couldn't lash out directly.

"The hell's wrong with you? Get in line!" several personal guards barked, raising their whips and striking a few ordinary soldiers.

With that show of force, the ranks quickly quieted down and slowly straightened out amid the chaos.

Mo Hu watched the disorder without much surprise.

Having traveled all the way from the border back to Xingyuan Prefecture, he was already well acquainted with the discipline of local garrison troops. This scene held no surprises for him.

He could only pray inwardly that not too many of these men would meet the selection criteria. Otherwise, just training them would be the biggest headache.

"Today, I come on behalf of General Sun to select personal guards from among you," Mo Hu announced in a loud, clear voice that showed his abundant strength.

"Anyone who can lift a two-hundred-jin stone wheel may enter General Sun's camp for training. Those who pass the training will join the Guard Camp. Anyone who can lift a three-hundred-jin stone wheel may enter the Guard Camp directly."

He explained the standards of this assessment to the crowd. Lifting the two-hundred-jin stone wheel would qualify one for selection, but further training would be required before becoming a personal guard.

As for lifting three hundred jin, no further testing would be needed—entry into the Guard Camp would be immediate.

A two-hundred-jin stone wheel was something many sturdy adult men could lift off the ground. It wasn't particularly difficult.

Meeting this standard meant the physique was largely acceptable, and taking such men into the camp for further training wouldn't be a waste.

As for the three-hundred-jin Stone Wheel, it wasn't something an ordinary person could easily lift. Either one was naturally strong and physically superior, or they had trained in martial arts.

Even if such talent had shortcomings in other areas, they had to be recruited into the Guard Camp first.

As his words fell, someone rolled out the long-dusty Stone Wheel from the camp.

The so-called Stone Wheel wasn't much different from a barbell—the only change was iron plates swapped for stone.

As the Stone Wheel was brought out, soldier after soldier stepped forward to test their strength. Most couldn't even lift the two-hundred-jin Stone Wheel.

Many soldiers couldn't even eat their fill on a daily basis, let alone undergo any training. How could they muster the strength to lift that two-hundred-jin Stone Wheel now?

One by one they tried, and one by one they trudged away in defeat.

They all knew that being selected for General Sun's new recruits meant a chance to change their fate and rise from the bottom ranks.

But that two-hundred-jin stone wasn't something they could grit their teeth and lift through sheer effort alone.

Still, some soldiers who had done more labor in the past—though they might not have eaten enough either—still had some brute strength left in them and could manage the two-hundred-jin stone.

Chen Mo was also weighing how heavy a Stone Wheel he should lift. He didn't hesitate long before making his decision.

He would lift the three-hundred-jin Stone Wheel directly!