Chapter 153

Chapter 153

After delivering the shoes to Wei Qi, Tong Gui returned.

Tong Sui was in the eastern courtyard. When the old man and Xiao Zhen left, Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Ye, and the other two generations of men stayed at the military camp to avoid suspicion and wouldn't return at night. So, Tong Sui decided to have dinner with her maternal uncle's family and then go back.

When Tong Gui arrived, he heard his sister calling for the maids to set the table and was surprised, "You haven't eaten yet?"

Tong Sui smiled, "Second Brother worked hard all day and even ran errands for me. Of course, I should wait for you to eat together."

While washing his hands, Tong Gui said, "You should wait for me, but you shouldn't make our grandfather and uncle wait."

Zhou Jingchun: "There's no need to be so formal among family. How did the shoe delivery go?"

Tong Gui: "Mr. Wei was quite generous. He tried them on, found them suitable, and accepted them, asking me to convey his thanks to Aman."

Zhou Jingchun nodded, "That's good. I was afraid Mr. Wei might get angry or suspect we were trying to win his favor and refuse them. Aman's actions were a bit thoughtless."

Tong Sui: "I didn't think much about it. I just admired Mr. Wei's frugality. Second Uncle earns military merit but still spends money recklessly. Mr. Wei, with his background and General Han's trust, still lives simply. Besides, I asked Second Brother to buy the most ordinary cloth shoes, costing no more than twenty to thirty coins. If he still suspects my motives, it shows his small-mindedness, and I won't bother with him anymore."

Tong Gui said, "Mr. Wei even laughed when he noticed the sole was cracked. He doesn't seem narrow-minded."

Zhou Gui: "Young people act more spontaneously. Grandfather has experienced much and thinks more deeply."

Zhou Yuanbai smiled, "Spontaneity has its merits, as does being cautious. Making friends or enemies sometimes depends on fate. Take us doctors, for example. The same illness, if we tell the truth to Zhang San, he might suspect we're scaring him to earn more fees. But if we downplay it to Li Si, he might doubt our medical skills."

Zhou Jingchun: "The illness is there; a doctor should speak the truth. However, the complexities of politics can't be explained in a few words. Human hearts are complicated."

Zhou Gui: "No matter how complex, as long as we are honest, that's enough. By the way, Sister, what did you mean by saying your husband spends money recklessly?"

Tong Sui: "..."

Tong Gui glanced at his sister's blushing face and laughed, "Do I need to ask? Even Wen Gong knows to buy you jewelry; Second Uncle must be even better at pleasing you."

Both sisters glared at him.

After dinner, Tong Gui escorted his sister back to the West Court. Before parting, Tong Sui whispered to her brother, "With Second Uncle not around, how is the situation in the camp?"

Tong Gui thought for a moment and said, "The army is resting. They train for an hour each in the cool mornings and evenings, and rest the rest of the time. Soldiers below the rank of thousand-household can only stay in their camps and not wander around. But they can't control their mouths. Some troublemakers like to cause trouble."

Tong Sui: "What kind of trouble?"

Tong Gui: "We won Shuozhou easily, and some of the initial forty thousand soldiers got cocky, mocking the Shuozhou defectors as cowards. This reached the Jizhou soldiers, who mocked back, saying those forty thousand only got lucky following the old man and Second Uncle, and that they and the defectors are equally useless. It's chaotic. When things get heated, both sides are punished, but when we turn away, they continue their bickering."

Tong Sui: "So, most of the trouble is stirred up by the old soldiers from the seven counties. Haven't Uncle and Fourth Uncle dealt with it?"

Tong Gui: "How can they? They're all our own people. If we scold our own, it makes us look weak and demoralizes our troops. We can only pretend not to notice, and the Jizhou soldiers do the same. Don't worry; Fourth Uncle said such verbal spats in the camp are common as long as they don't come to blows."

Tong Sui: "Did this happen often when Second Uncle was around?"

Tong Gui: "Not really. Second Uncle has such a presence. As long as he's in the camp, our old soldiers behave, and even the Jizhou soldiers respect him and the old man."

---

The next day, before going to the official office, Tong Sui first rode out of the city to the right-wing army's camp.

Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Ye, Qi Yun, and others were leading the soldiers of various garrisons in training. Row after row of young soldiers trained diligently, especially the forty thousand old soldiers from the seven counties, who had been disciplined by the Xiao family generals to lose their inherent laziness.

Tong Sui rode her horse slowly along the outer perimeter, inspecting.

Xiao Ye ran over, "Second Sister-in-law, why are you here?"

Tong Sui gave him a cold look, "Go lead your troops."

Xiao Ye noticed that Second Sister-in-law seemed upset and knew it wasn't the right time to ask, so he ran back.

When she reached the three ten-thousand-strong new army led by Qi Yun, Tong Gui, Xiao She, and others, Tong Sui immediately saw the difference. The defectors, feeling inferior due to their surrender, and trained less rigorously by the Shi and Qi families, lacked the precision and morale of the Xiao family's forty thousand old soldiers.

Morale isn't noticeable in one or two people, but in groups of dozens, hundreds, or thousands, it becomes as clear as the growth of crops in a field—some areas lush, others sparse.

Just as crops need experienced farmers to tend to them, soldiers need experienced generals to lead them.

Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Ye, and the others were skilled at training soldiers. Initially, the seven counties faced the threat of Li Gang's rebel army, and the soldiers' will to survive united them without the need for special motivation, and there was no internal strife. Now, as the new army under Han Zongping, the Xiao family also accepted thirty thousand new defectors, and the seventy-thousand-strong army, with different experiences and moods, naturally developed conflicts.

Tong Sui stopped beside Xiao She.

Xiao She had just seen his fourth brother reprimanded by Second Sister-in-law and dared not greet her, continuing to supervise his troops.

Tong Sui beckoned to Qi Yun, Tong Gui, Pan Yong, and another commander, Jiang Tiankuo.

Soon, the five commanders stood before Tong Sui's horse.

Tong Sui gave them some instructions in a low voice, then brought Xiao She to the middle of the old and new armies, raising her right arm.

The front ranks of the old army recognized Second Lady and stopped training first, the action spreading like a wave to the back. The thirty thousand new soldiers, seeing this, quickly fell into line.

Tong Sui looked at Xiao She.

Xiao She immediately shouted, "Second Lady asks, do the forty thousand old soldiers from the seven counties think they are better fighters than the thirty thousand new brothers?"

The old soldiers responded with a mix of "Yes" and "No," some proud, others cautious.

Xiao She: "Too quiet, I can't hear you. Say it together!"

A loud and unified "Yes" echoed from the old soldiers.

Xiao She then turned to the new soldiers, "New brothers, do you think you are worse than the seven counties' brothers?"

The thirty thousand new soldiers replied in unison, "No!"

Xiao She: "Talking won’t do. Second Lady will select one hundred men from the rosters of the old and new armies each. She’ll choose randomly by name. These two hundred men will wrestle and compete in archery. If there’s a clear winner in every match, it proves one side is clearly stronger. If only a few matches differ, it shows our seventy thousand brothers are on par. Does everyone agree with this method?"

"Agreed!"

Xiao She: "Commanders of each garrison, bring the rosters!"

The new army had five commanders, while the old army had seven infantry commanders, among whom Xiao Yan was absent but had arranged for someone to train the troops on his behalf.

Xiao Shouyi was the first to present the roster before Tong Sui’s horse.

Tong Sui expressed her regret at not being able to dismount and pay respects to her elder with a look. Xiao Shouyi smiled and handed the roster to his niece-in-law.

Tong Sui said, "I won’t look; Uncle, please turn the pages for me."

Her method of random selection involved only reporting page numbers and rows, eliminating any possibility of favoring acquaintances in the old army.

Each garrison of the old army selected about fifteen men, while each garrison of the new army selected twenty, making it an even two hundred.

The two hundred selected men gradually lined up in front. There were differences in height, weight, and build between the old and new armies, but neither side had a clear physical advantage.

The first competition was archery. Since each man shot independently, it wasn’t much affected by others. In the end, thirty-two men from the old army hit the inner two rings of the target, while twenty-four men from the new army did so.

The second competition was wrestling. The old army won fifty-six matches, the new army forty-four, with six draws.

Initially, the old army took the lead, but as the matches progressed, the new army fought harder, refusing to admit defeat until they were completely incapacitated.

Tong Sui looked at the two hundred men: "Those who lost the wrestling match, lie down."

Everyone exchanged glances but complied.

Tong Sui continued, "If that had been a real battle, lying down means death. Out of one hundred men from the old army, only fifty-six survived. Out of one hundred men from the new army, forty-four survived. Do you think this result clearly shows a winner, or mutual destruction?"

The one hundred new soldiers, bruised and battered, looked at the equally battered one hundred old soldiers, and everyone fell silent.

Tong Sui: "Answer me!"

The two hundred men then shouted in unison, "Mutual destruction!"

Tong Sui scanned the crowd, her gaze landing on Generals Lu Gong and Feng Ji, who had arrived early to watch the competition.

She dismounted, walked to them, and bowed: "Reporting to the two generals, most of the soldiers from the seven counties and those who surrendered in the Shuozhou battle were ordinary civilians a year ago. They were incited by the two rebel kings, Li Gang and Shi Yi, to fight several small battles against each other. The victors grew arrogant, and the losers refused to accept defeat. Today, I would like to request that the two generals select one hundred soldiers from Jizhou to instruct our militia, so they can see what true elite soldiers look like."

Lu Gong looked at Feng Ji.

Feng Ji hesitated, but at that moment, Tong Gui shouted to the seventy thousand soldiers of the right flank: "Aren’t you all fond of boasting? Don’t you all think you’re very capable? Now, if you’re asked to compete with the soldiers from Jizhou, will you dare to step up?"

These young and vigorous men valued their pride more than their lives. Even if they weren’t sure they could win, how could they refuse to fight?

"Of course we dare!"

Xiao Ye and a few others understood and lined up behind Tong Sui, collectively requesting permission from the two senior generals.

Seeing this, Feng Ji smiled: "Very well, let’s have a friendly match. But now we are all under General Han’s command, so there’s no need to be so divided."

Tong Sui asked, "General Feng, have you ever seen crops in the fields?"

Feng Ji nodded.

Tong Sui: "If you saw two wheat fields, one lush and green with stalks as tall as your knee, and the other sparse and just sprouting, would you think they belonged to the same farmer?"

Though she only reached Feng Ji’s chest, she looked up at him with bright, clear eyes, neither humble nor arrogant.

Feng Ji pondered the young lady’s words and stroked his beard, praising Lu Gong: "Second Lady’s analogy is excellent. I was mistaken. Very well, I will select one hundred soldiers. Please, Second Lady, also reselect your troops."

Tong Sui: "In addition to one hundred soldiers, how about selecting fifty centurions, twenty chiliarchs, and five commanders?"

Feng Ji laughed: "Excellent, excellent. How about adding a general?"

Tong Sui quickly declined.

Feng Ji sent someone to select the soldiers, while Tong Sui reselected one hundred men from the right flank, sixty from the forty thousand old army and forty from the thirty thousand new army, treating both sides equally. The centurions, chiliarchs, and commanders were also a mix of old and new.

In the soldiers’ competition, the Jizhou soldiers lived up to their reputation, with only eleven of the right flank’s one hundred men winning.

In the fifty centurions’ competition, the right flank won four.

In the twenty chiliarchs’ competition, the right flank won eight.

In the five commanders’ competition, the right flank... won three.

It was evident that the right flank had commanders with sufficient martial skills, but lacked competent soldiers.

Why argue and show off? Put all your efforts into training!