Military Manual

"Is that even human talk? If every common soldier possessed his strength, why would the Great Jin fear the Qiangqu invasion from the north or the chaos of bandits in the west?

They could be suppressed with ease!"

Hearing this, Qin Lie couldn't help but want to roll his eyes.

But remembering his image as an elder, he merely tilted his head slightly.

He couldn't tell if this kid was truly ignorant or just saying it on purpose.

He chose to respond to Lin Xuan truthfully: "You could absolutely join the army, and serving directly as a Squad Leader would be no problem at all. Did your grandfather or father ever hold any official rank in the Garrison?"

Lin Xuan replied honestly: "Both my grandfather and father served as Squad Leaders in the Garrison."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lie's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh: "That's perfect!

Now, all you have to do is apply to the Garrison to reinstate your status as a combat soldier, and you can directly inherit the Squad Leader position held by your ancestors. Did you not know this?"

"I did not..." Lin Xuan shook his head. His channels for obtaining information were extremely limited, and he only had a half-baked understanding of military regulations.

The Grand Ancestor Internal Strength was a martial arts manual; to limit its length and facilitate its spread, it only contained martial content.

Everything he was familiar with—such as the rules that those who were underage or unmarried were not to be conscripted—had been learned from his grandfather.

Qin Lie continued: "Then what about the stipend? Is that gone too?"

"What is a stipend?" Lin Xuan asked, stunned for a moment upon hearing the term.

Qin Lie only spoke after a long pause:

"If an officer dies in action or from illness, the Garrison will issue his monthly salary to his family until his offspring come of age."

Lin Xuan shook his head upon hearing this: "I truly knew nothing of this matter."

Qin Lie's eyes widened, and he said indignantly: "Then it must have been withheld by your superiors, the Flag Officer or the Commander!"

Immediately, he sighed with emotion: "Alas! A Squad Leader's monthly stipend is only one tael of silver."

"Commander Zhang and Flag Officer Zhang again?" Lin Xuan's impression of the two grew even worse.

"I will speak to the Thousand-Household Commander on your behalf to have you reinstated immediately. Otherwise, if you apply through Commander Zhang... Hmph, I fear he would stir up some kind of trouble."

Lin Xuan bowed: "Many thanks, Uncle Qin."

Qin Lie: "What is there to thank? It's just a small favor. Also, let me remind you.

There is a Winter Hunt martial arts competition in a month. Among all the Squad Leaders, a Flag Officer will be selected through combat. Given your ability, I believe there is a high probability you can defeat the others and seize the position!

The competition consists of three parts: strength, archery, and actual combat.

During this time, you must prepare well and not neglect your martial arts training."

Hearing this, Lin Xuan finally gained a profound understanding of his own strength. It turned out that his abilities were already enough to easily serve as a Flag Officer within the military system.

According to military regulations, a Squad Leader managed ten men and was responsible for their daily drills and exercises, while a Flag Officer commanded five Squad Leaders and was responsible for the daily training of the Squad Leaders and the combat soldiers under them.

In total, that should be fifty-five men.

Lin Xuan was full of disbelief: "With my current ability, I can serve directly as a Flag Officer?"

Qin Lie nodded: "Yes, and I suspect the martial arts and strength of the vast majority of Flag Officers are not even as good as yours."

Lin Xuan seized the opportunity to ask: "I would like to ask, what is the monthly stipend for a Flag Officer? And what are the usual duties?"

"A Flag Officer receives one and a half taels of silver per month, and if you are married, you also get three catties of salt.

Originally, grain was issued directly, but now that the price of grain has risen, the Garrison is unwilling to provide it, so they converted it to silver based on the old exchange rate. It is equivalent to only one-quarter of the monthly stipend from the founding era.

With this little silver, it is hard to even support yourself, so you must find other sources of income."

Lin Xuan nodded, keeping these words in his heart.

Qin Lie continued to explain in detail: "You don't need to do much usually. You drill the soldiers every three days, and you are free to do whatever you want during the two days in between. Just show up when the Garrison summons you for work.

You must never ignore an order from the Thousand-Household Commander. Do not disobey, or you might be stripped of your rank. If you want to serve as an officer again, you would have to start from the beginning and climb your way back up step by step."

Lin Xuan nodded, keeping all of this in mind.

"Also, are you literate?" Qin Lie asked immediately.

Lin Xuan: "Of course I am."

"Then I will give you a military manual. Take it back and study it. If you truly want to go far on the path of martial arts, how can you not understand military strategy?"

Qin Lie took a printed book with a blue cover from his study, on which was clearly written "Gu Family Military Manual".

Lin Xuan received the manual with both hands and bowed to Qin Lie again: "Many thanks, Uncle Qin. I will study it diligently when I return home."

This manual did not record strategy or tactics, but rather the most basic aspects of troop command, drilling soldiers, and training techniques—the daily work Lin Xuan would face after becoming a Squad Leader or Flag Officer.

As for those strategies and tactics, Qin Lie felt he could not use them for the time being and could learn them later; after all, one cannot digest too much at once.

If an officer in an army did not even know the most basic command, what was the point of discussing strategy and tactics?

Lin Xuan wandered around the Garrison market, and after finding nothing he could use, he headed home.

Before he even reached his house, he saw a youth wearing mourning clothes at Lin Jie's door, crying and pleading with him.

"Brother Lin, I beg you, lend me some money so I can bury my mother. I am willing to work like a beast of burden for you."

Standing before the youth was Lin Lu, the son of Lin Jie, who also held the position of Squad Leader within the Garrison. Facing the youth's tearful plea, Lin Lu's expression remained cold, his tone harsh:

"Get lost! Don't bring your bad luck here. You have no fields, no property, and your house is about to collapse—yet you still want to borrow money? What will you use to pay me back! If you keep crying at my door, don't blame me for beating you away with a stick!"

As he spoke, Lin Lu picked up a thick wooden club from beside the door, raising it as if to strike.

The youth was so frightened he collapsed to the ground; never expecting him to be serious, he scrambled to crawl away.

"If you won't lend it, then don't, but why resort to violence?" Lin Xuan stepped forward and caught Lin Lu's raised hand.

Lin Lu's hand was gripped so tightly he couldn't move it an inch.

"Lin Xuan... don't you fucking meddle in my business!" Lin Lu realized he couldn't break free from Lin Xuan's grip.

Lin Xuan then flung Lin Lu's hand aside.

Realizing his strength was inferior, Lin Lu stopped trying to fight and, after a moment's thought, slammed the door shut.

"Bullying a child who just lost his mother—how could you do such a thing!" Lin Xuan let out a cold snort before helping the youth up from the ground.

"What is your name?"

"I, I am called Zhang Xuan." Having been saved by Lin Xuan, the youth spoke with a slight stutter.

"Do you lack the money to bury your mother?"

"Yes... there have been constant natural disasters over the years, and for several years there was no harvest. My mother and I sold our fields and worked as porters in the city, while Mother did needlework to make a living. Life was bitter, but we managed to get by...

Who would have thought that Mother would fall gravely ill recently? I spent all our savings to treat her, but she didn't recover, and the money is all gone."