Chapter 147: Militia Training Camp (Part I)

Although the establishment of the militia camp had begun, and the five-thousand-mu campsite had been assigned to Zhen Qian—located on the gravelly land before Mount Luoyun in the northwest of the county seat—it was completely barren, possessing nothing besides space.

The county magistrate’s office truly did not spend a single penny on setting up the militia. The camp was a patch of gravel, fine for building houses, but completely impossible for farming.

The militia recruits who began arriving two days prior now had their most important task as serving as engineering corps: constructing barracks, leveling the ground, and clearing training fields. Dependents were not allowed inside the camp, yet the displaced refugees who came along could not simply be ignored. Although some refugees had not joined the militia, seeing others head toward Mount Luoyun, they followed suit, instantly gathering two to three thousand refugees around the mountain.

According to the organization of a militia platoon, Zhen Qian was entitled to recruit one hundred and sixty-five men, but he actually took in two hundred and fifty, under the fine pretext of "survival of the fittest"—after three months of intensive training, those who failed would be eliminated from the militia camp.

The militia platoon recruited by Zhen Qian consisted primarily of refugees, along with a small number of gentry and merchant scions with whom he had good relations, such as Hao Ren’s son, Hao Jian. The remainder were quietly inserted guards of the Zhen family, who served as squad leaders and platoon leaders at various levels; such occurrences were unavoidable in any era.

The militia platoon under Zhen Qian’s jurisdiction was strictly demarcated from the other two militia platoons right from the campsite. Both sides reached an agreement to mind their own business and not interfere with one another—a necessary measure. The structures of the other two platoons were far more complex than Zhen Qian's side, comprising household retainer guards and idlers, scoundrels, and ruffians recruited from the county seat. No sooner had these people arrived at the camp than they began fighting, gambling, and bringing in courtesans, filling the air with noise and laughter and plunging the camp into utter chaos. With such company mixed in, Zhen Qian did not even need to waste any effort training their militia.

A procession pushing more than a dozen carts swaggered grandly to the Mount Luoyun militia camp. The entire camp was divided into the First Left Platoon, the First Center Platoon, and the First Right Platoon. Zhen Qian's platoon was on the left, making it naturally the First Left Platoon.

The perimeter of the First Left Platoon had already been enclosed with temporary fences made of tree branches to prevent harassment from the other two platoons. When Zhen Qian arrived, the first and second squads of the First Left Platoon were leveling the ground, the third and fourth squads were responsible for digging ditches and building latrines, and the fifth squad was on guard duty. The entire First Left Platoon was orderly with clear division of labor.

Military orders state: Whenever stationed in a camp, the grain officer and assistants shall manage the soldiers' rations, sealing, storing, and issuing them carefully to prevent waste. Whenever soldiers make camp, they shall first order the two platoons to jointly dig a latrine.

Once the encampment is established, all slaughtering, selling, and peddling from outsiders shall be strictly prohibited, though internal trade within the camp is permitted.

Each camp gate shall be assigned nearby officers and soldiers for guarding. Various duties and personnel shall also be exclusively assigned to specific gates for entry and exit, with no intermingling allowed. They must be recognizable to prevent spies.

In the military, every three or five men shall form a mutual-guarantee group and shall not separate. They shall keep watch on one another, and are prohibited from discussing military affairs privately with outsiders or accepting bribes from them; violators and their mutual guarantors shall suffer severe punishment alike.

Among these regulations, it was explicitly stipulated that after setting up camp, the very first task for any two platoons was to dig a latrine. This measure was primarily for the sake of camp cleanliness, hygiene, and disease prevention. Zhen Qian was in full agreement with this; viewed through the lens of later generations, most illnesses were triggered by poor personal hygiene. Although he always had his men dig makeshift latrines whenever they encamped for the night, the other newly recruited militia soldiers paid no heed. Every morning after a night's rest, the other two platoons and their surroundings were littered with feces and urine everywhere, leaving Zhen Qian profoundly dissatisfied.

The Luoxuan County militia would henceforth be stationed at Mount Luoyun, and their top priority was naturally sanitation; otherwise, a camp of over two hundred men would become reeking and stinking within days, practically capable of choking a person to death.

Hao Ren stood behind Zhen Qian and smiled, saying, "I truly did not misjudge Young Master Zhen. While the other camps are an absolute mess, only Young Master Zhen's place resembles a real military camp. With Hao Jian here, I can rest easy!"

Listening to Hao Ren’s flattery, Zhen Qian merely smiled faintly. Even if one has never eaten pork, has one never heard a pig squeak? Although he had never commanded a real army, an army's prime duty is obedience to discipline; if everyone acted like a flock of ducks, how could they possibly fight a war?

It would take months to establish the camp properly, yet in three months the defense and public security of Luoxuan County were to be handed over to the militia. With construction and training now proceeding simultaneously, Zhen Qian did not expect to forge a disciplined, combat-formidable army within three months—that was simply unrealistic.

"Wang Tiezhu! From now on, you are the commander of this platoon, and you shall officially manage it from this moment on. If you fail to lead this platoon well, you know the wrath of Lady Ju!"

Wang Tiezhu feared neither heaven nor earth. Standing behind Zhen Qian, he cut the exact figure of a triad enforcer, yet the moment he saw Lady Ju, he instantly became more docile than a lamb.

"Lady Ju said, as long as I train them according to the methods Young Master Zhen taught, that’s all! I don't understand the rest!"

Zhen Qian raised his foot as if to kick Tiezhu, but thinking of the consequences of kicking Tiezhu, he restrained himself. "I try to get you to learn a few more characters and you just can't learn them, leaving me hoarse from talking. Remember, inside the military camp, show no favoritism, enforce the law impartially, and be clear in rewards and punishments... Everything must be done according to military regulations. Have you memorized these points?"

"Understood!"

"In a couple of days, I will arrange a deputy commander for you. From now on, you two can discuss and handle the affairs of the First Left Platoon together..."

Zhen Qian turned to Hao Ren and said, "Hao Jian is unruly... sending him to the military camp to be reined in is acceptable. However, once in the military camp, things must be done according to military rules. In the camp, there is no sentiment of father and son, nor affection of brothers; whoever violates military regulations will be punished. It is still not too late to regret this!"

Hao Ren gazed sternly at Hao Jian beside him. "Did you hear clearly? The moment you step through the gates of the military camp, you are a soldier. If you continue to be as slack, idle, and troublemaking as before, I won't be able to save you!"

As it happened, when Hao Ren gave his son this name, he hoped for his future good health, but spoken from Zhen Qian's mouth, it somehow always sounded wrong.

"Hao Jian! I now appoint you as a squad leader, in charge of ten men. Do a good job, and don't bring shame upon your father. Do you understand?"

Hao Jian had inherited Hao Ren's robust physique and, relying on his father's authority in the county seat, was also a local tyrant. The days of unbridled indulgence were gone; the mere thought of camp regulations made him want to turn around and run away. Though ten thousand times unwilling, he knew his good times were over. "I... un... der... stand!"

"This brat is begging for a beating..." Hao Ren swung his arm as if to strike, frightening Hao Jian into darting behind Zhen Qian, where he felt much safer.

"Forget it, youth is wild... Who hasn't been young? Spending a few months in the military camp, he will undergo a complete transformation!"

"I certainly hope so!"

Hao Ren's expression darkened. He knew his own son best; the boy had committed no end of petty thefts, and had he not been a runner in the county yamen, the boy's legs would have been broken by someone long ago. At the age of eighteen or nineteen, men in the Tang Dynasty were already married. Hao Ren had planned to arrange a match to make him settle down, but the moment the other party heard it was Hao Jian, they nearly swept Hao Ren out the door. Whose daughter isn't the apple of their eye? Wasn't this pushing a daughter into a fiery pit?