The company commander on the left, Han Shan, was also a veteran. Upon hearing this, he hesitated only for a moment before nodding and replying, "Okay!"
Liao Dayong's expression changed. Before he could even try to win over Han Shan, both squadrons moved simultaneously. The two teams, one in front and one behind, with their spears leveled, attacked Liao Dayong's team from two directions.
"You're cheating!"
"This is not fair!"
Liao Dayong cursed and kept looking back at the stands, hoping Wu Shuangren would step in and stop him.
He was a relative of Liao Yu, Liao Yu's nephew, and he had played with Wu Shuangren when they were children.
The relatives of the Wu and Liao families joined the militia, and Chen Tie is now the most successful, having become a battalion commander.
Besides, Liao Dayong is also quite good. He is now a squadron leader and has already secured a spot for promotion to battalion commander.
But he wasn't satisfied; he wanted to win in the end and, like Chen Tie, become a valuable asset in Wu Shuangren's eyes.
He shouted that it was unfair and hoped that Wu Shuangren would at least give him a fair chance to fight.
The crowd watching around the training ground all turned their attention to Wu Shuangren.
But Wu Shuangren simply watched the duel on the training ground calmly, without uttering a word.
There is no fairness on the battlefield, only life and death!
As the two teams drew ever closer, Liao Dayong had no choice but to order, "Form a circular formation!"
Square formation and circular formation are the two most commonly used formations in training. Square formation is used for offense, dealing with enemies in front; circular formation is used for defense, dealing with enemies from multiple directions.
The transition from a square formation to a circular formation is the ultimate test of a team's basic skills, especially under such tense conditions.
The militia under Liao Dayong did a decent job, managing to change formation just before the two teams arrived.
The militiamen on the outer ring held shields, while the militiamen on the inner ring rested their spears on the shoulders of the outer ring, forming a curled-up 'hedgehog'.
Soon, the spears of the two squadrons thrust in from both the front and rear simultaneously, the cotton-wrapped spearheads slamming into the shields with a series of muffled thuds.
Liao Dayong's soldiers held on desperately, but attacked from both sides, their formation was gradually crushed.
"Hold on! Hold on!"
Liao Dayong roared from within the ranks.
However, the militiamen were already exhausted, and with enemies on two sides, their circular formation quickly broke down.
Just as the circular formation was broken, the company commander who had first tried to win over Han Shan suddenly roared, "Left wing, follow me!"
He led twenty militiamen as if they had practiced countless times before, neatly disengaging from their main formation, quickly circling around in an arc, and cutting into the Han Shan Squadron's ranks from the side!
The Han Shan squadron was currently entangled with Liao Dayong's men, their attention focused on the front. By the time they noticed the enemy attacking from the flank, it was too late to react.
The spearhead pierced in from the side, and the right flank of Han Shan Squadron immediately collapsed. One militiaman after another was stabbed down, and Han Shan Squadron's formation completely collapsed, even faster than Liao Dayong's squadron!
After defeating Han Shan Squadron, Liao Dayong Squadron, whose formation was already half-collapsed, did not hold out for long and quickly collapsed completely.
The gong sounds, and the champion is born!
A deafening cheer erupted on the drill ground.
The company commander who had the last laugh stood there, his chest heaving violently, surrounded by his soldiers who jumped and hopped around him.
"What's his name?"
Wu Shuangren pointed at the company commander and asked.
Chen Tie, who was sitting, stood up and said to Wu Shuangren, "Commander, his name is Feng Ping, and he's also from Bo County. He came when you first recruited soldiers in Bo County, and he was among the first batch to follow you to West River Market. He participated in several major battles."
Wu Shuangren nodded, looking approvingly at Chen Tie: "You've led some good soldiers."
Feng Ping was Chen Tie's company commander; he was Chen Tie's soldier.
A smile appeared on Chen Tie's face as he stood at attention and saluted, "Thank you for the compliment, Commander!"
"Feng Ping."
Wu Shuangren turned around and called out, "Come up here."
Upon hearing this, Feng Ping quickly ran up to the stands, slammed his right fist into his chest, and saluted Wu Shuangren: "Commander!"
Wu Shuangren sized him up; he looked to be in his early twenties, lean and wiry, with calloused hands. "Very well played, and you know how to adapt—that's rare. Keep it up."
"Yes, Commander!"
Feng Ping's face lit up with joy.
Wu Shuangren instructed his personal guards to fetch the money, and they quickly brought over a wooden tray with ten taels of silver on it.
Wu Shuangren took the wooden tray and personally handed it to Feng Ping: "This is yours. Each person in your squadron will receive one string of cash as a reward."
Feng Ping accepted the wooden tray with both hands, his Adam's apple bobbing, and exclaimed loudly, "Thank you, Commander!"
Cheers erupted again from the stands.
Wu Shuangren turned to face everyone on the training ground, channeling his Internal Skill, his voice echoing in every corner:
"From today onwards, the militia will hold a grand martial arts competition every three months. Everyone is welcome to participate, and every member of the winning team will receive a reward!"
These words ignited a fire in the hearts of the new recruits who had only been watching from beginning to end, as well as the militiamen who had surrendered!
The sixth day after Liaoming was killed.
Wu Shuangren officially began reorganizing the militia.
He first expanded his personal guard to one hundred men, selecting the best-performing veterans from various battalions to join the guard. Those selected were all delighted.
Next, the more than 300 militiamen who surrendered from the Zhang Clan family militia were all dispersed and assigned to various battalions. People were drawn from the various battalions and mixed with the surrendered soldiers to form three new battalions. Finally, the more than 1,000 newly recruited soldiers were organized into ten new recruit battalions.
At this point, Wu Shuangren's militia consisted of one personal guard battalion, fifteen veteran battalions, and ten new recruit battalions. If we add the battalion from Bo County, the total number of people is more than 2,700!
"Starting today, ten battalions will form First Battalion."
Wu Shuangren then announced the battalion organization he had already planned, "The first to tenth battalions will be organized into the First Battalion. The eleventh to fifteenth battalions will be organized into the Second Battalion, and the ten new recruit battalions will be temporarily organized into the new recruit battalion."
Upon hearing this organizational structure, almost all the battalion commanders became excited.
Since a higher-level organizational structure than a brigade has emerged, it means that some brigade commanders will be promoted!
Bai Jinhuan.
Wu Shuangren looked down at the audience.
Bai Jinhuan stepped forward.
"You are hereby appointed as the battalion commander of the First Battalion!"
Overjoyed, Bai Jinhuan took a deep breath and slammed his right fist into his chest. "Bai Jinhuan obeys!"
Chen Tie.
Wu Shuangren called out another name.
Chen Tie stepped out of the queue, his expression excited.
"You are hereby appointed as the battalion commander of the Second Battalion!"
Chen Tie obeys!
Chen Tie roared loudly. He hadn't shed a tear even when he was slashed by a knife, but now his eyes were red.
Because of their surnames, even if Wu Shuangren forbids others from revealing their kinship, people can more or less guess who the Wu and Liao families are.
Chen Tie was the only exception.
Although he was Wu Shuangren's cousin, he didn't have the surname Wu because his father was a son-in-law who married into the family.
Although his family did not mistreat him because of this, he inevitably heard some gossip growing up, which only made him more determined.
After joining the militia, he was the most hardworking among the relatives of the Wu and Liao families, and the most daring to fight on the battlefield!
Therefore, he rose through the ranks the fastest and was most appreciated by Wu Shuangren.
Now that he has become the battalion commander of the Second Battalion, second only to Wu Shuangren in the entire regiment, this strong-willed young man can no longer suppress his emotions!
Although the Second Battalion currently only has five battalions and is not at full strength, everyone with a discerning eye knows that once those ten new recruit battalions are trained, they will definitely be given priority to be added to the Second Battalion.
In the group, relatives from the Wu and Liao families looked at Chen Tie with envious eyes.
In yesterday's grand competition, one of Chen Tie's two companies won the championship, and the other made it into the top six. Their achievements were evident to all, and no one had any objections to his appointment as battalion commander.
"Feng Ping."
Wu Shuangren called out another name.
"Exist!"
Feng Ping stepped out of the queue.
You are appointed as the battalion commander of the recruit training camp!
Wu Shuangren issued the appointment.
Feng Ping was overjoyed and immediately bowed to accept the order.
Although the recruit battalion is temporary and may be disbanded later, since Wu Shuangren has already appointed Feng Ping as the battalion commander, it means that he will most likely be the future commander of the Third Battalion of the militia!
Yesterday he was a company commander, today he's a battalion commander. In one major competition, Feng Ping achieved a three-level jump, drawing the envy of everyone.
Next, Wu Shuangren selected three more battalion commanders and promoted them to deputy battalion commanders. First Battalion, the Second Battalion, and the recruit battalion, who would manage a battalion together with the battalion commander.
With three battalion commanders and three deputy battalion commanders, six platoon leader positions suddenly became vacant.
Wu Shuangren selected six outstanding company commanders from yesterday's competition and promoted them to battalion commanders.
This reorganization took almost a whole day.
After the reorganization was completed, Wu Shuangren ordered Chen Tie to lead five veteran battalions of the Second Battalion to garrison Zhang Clan Village.
"From today onwards, Zhang Clan Village will West Village."
Wu Shuangren said to Chen Tie, "After you get there, continue to raise and thicken the wooden wall. Continue training as usual every day, and send a messenger to report once a day. Also, you need to learn to ride a horse as soon as possible."
"Yes!"
Chen Tie accepted the order and left.
Then Wu Shuangren called Feng Ping over and instructed him, "Among the new recruits, there are those who disobey orders, don't train seriously, and are unwilling to endure hardship. The first time, give a warning; the second time, kick them out!"
"Yes!"
Feng Ping accepted the order and left.
Inside the main hall on the back Mist Hidden Mountain.
Ciwen sat cross-legged on the Ciwen mat in front of the Buddha statue, holding prayer beads in his hands, but his mind remained unsettled.
Of the cavalrymen who escaped the ambush in the forest, some finally managed to return to Mist Hidden Temple yesterday.
But these cavalrymen were all trained by the Mist Hidden Temple itself, and as for the bandits who had been recruited, none of them returned!
Several attempts were made, but all ended in failure, with losses in both men and soldiers.
The bandits, seeing which way the Mist Hidden Temple.
Hong Zhanming spent several years, painstakingly, and spent a lot of money to build up his cavalry, but now only fifty-odd riders remain!
This wasn't the most heartbreaking thing for Ciwen.
The twenty elite martial monks of the Warrior Monk Hall, along with twenty sets of infantry armor, were all wiped out!
Elder Liaoming, a top -First Rate tier expert, is also gone!
Footsteps sounded outside the main hall. Ciwen opened her eyes and saw Hong Zhanming walk in.
The manager, surnamed Hong, also looked somewhat haggard. He bowed to Ciwen.
"I've already sent people to inquire. Yesterday, I carefully reviewed the temple's records of First Rate- tier Yi Province arts masters from the past few decades, but I didn't find a woman who matched the description."
The cavalrymen who escaped described Xu Nanzhi's skills to Ciwen, saying that Xu Nanzhi killed Liaoming and claimed to be Wu Shuangren's mother.
"No record?"
Ciwen's eyes reflected the candlelight, "When did such a First Rank master come to live in Yi Province?"
Hong Zhanming shook his head. "Perhaps the other party is not from Yi Province."