This is nothing new to soldiers. Strict military law is a characteristic of the medieval army. "17 bans and 54 cuts" has a long history, and almost everything cannot be "cut". Even for a famous general like Qi Jiguang, who was able to control the army well, military orders were very strict.
However, strict military discipline and whether it can be enforced are two different things. In particular, the Ming army they recruited in the Pearl River Delta area was considered to have been in peace for a long time at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so it was inevitable that they would suffer from "laziness". There are also many people who are actually from the garrison and have never been camp soldiers. They say they are soldiers, but they are actually farmers.
This sonorous and murderous reading of the instructions immediately made many soldiers with mud-legged backgrounds tremble.
However, for someone like Yang Erdong who has been in the military for a long time, there is nothing special about this instruction. If there is any difference, it is that the Australians' instructions are simpler and even gentler than the Ming Dynasty's military law. After all, the entire instruction does not mention the word "behead". Every time military discipline is promoted in the army, a bloody "kill" or "behead" must be added. In order to impress the soldiers, on such occasions, a few unlucky guys were usually killed on the spot and the bloody heads were hung out for everyone to see.
After the training, the formal training began.
Most of the National Army brigade had already received about two weeks of training in Hong Kong. However, the two-week training period also includes physical examination, political education, physical training and basic discipline development, and there is not much time actually spent on training. Such an army, let alone go to war, is worried about the money to defend the city, and is a little impatient.
Qian Duo immediately divided the National Army brigade into two parts. One part was soldiers who had received two weeks of training in Hong Kong. They had already initially received discipline development and formation training, so the training focused on tactical development, including firearms shooting. , cold weapon combat and battle formation changes.
As for those soldiers who were temporarily recruited before departure and those recruited locally in Wuzhou, they had to start from scratch.
The team was divided into two parts and rushed to the playground to start training. During the training, each squadron is used as a unit, and each squadron is equipped with ten instructors in a ratio of one to ten. The instructors are all superior soldiers and sergeants of the Fubo Army. Not to mention how rich his combat experience is, he has been in the army for at least two years, and he has been trained on all kinds of doctrines and formations.
Because Yang Erdong was recruited locally, he was naturally included in the "fully trained recruits" team.
The first part of the training is to queue up. Everyone remembers their position in the team and lines up quickly when gathering. This has always been too difficult: remember the people in front, behind, left, and right, and you can quickly stand in place. Then the instructor began to practice a few simple commands such as "stand at attention" and "look to the right", and then gave no new instructions. He just held his hands behind his back and held a three-foot-long white billet wood military stick, and a small team circled the unit. Spin in circles. Someone poked his head in and scratched the itch, and was immediately slapped.
"No one is allowed to move until they hear the new command!" the instructors showed their fierceness and shouted, waving their sticks. People who had served as soldiers for the pseudo-Ming Dynasty called this "killing the power stick" in order to teach this rabble to obey.
This stop lasts an hour. Everyone who dared to move received a stick. Some people were weak and bent over and vomited all over the floor while standing, and were hit with a stick when they turned around. Others couldn't stand it for a long time and begged for mercy from the instructor, but were beaten to the point where they dared not speak and ran away with their heads in their hands, and were beaten again. They were beaten with sticks and forced back into the queue to hold on for dear life. Only those who fainted were spared the beating - they were dragged aside and poured a basin of cold water over their heads.
Yang Erdong was "well-informed" and knew from the sight of this posture that the Australians were "really here". He didn't even dare to take a peek and could only let the screams go in and out. Half an hour later, the torture was over.
After a half-burning incense break, it was time to "stand at attention" again. The instructors assigned temporary squad leaders and non-commissioned officers, so that everyone could remember their faces, taught how to salute, and then announced while stretching their epaulettes. : If you see someone wearing an armband from now on, anyone who doesn't salute will be given a military stick and punished by squatting for two hours. This time, they stayed standing until dinner before disbanding. The entire squadron with the worst performance had to continue standing until lunch was over, and they were not allowed to eat until everyone had finished eating.
Lunch was eaten on the playground, with enough white rice and chowder. This chowder paste was brought to the playground in buckets in big iron buckets. It was steaming hot and fragrant, but it didn't look very appetizing. Yang Erdong closed his eyes and took a bite: the taste was not bad, but it felt like there was something fishy in it - no one could eat it.
After lunch and a short rest, we started training in the afternoon. The training in the afternoon was another formation training - this is when the test really began: the instructors all spoke "Newspeak", while the soldiers spoke their own dialects. If there is a common language among them, it is Guangzhou Mandarin. .
Except for a few "well-informed" soldiers - such as Yang Erdong, who understands "Mandarin", so he can barely understand "Newspeak" at 60 to 70% - most soldiers just listen to "Newspeak". It’s almost the same in foreign languages.
In this way, the afternoon practice became a kind of cruel listening training. The instructors only gave orders in Newspeak, with some physical commands at most. Once they understood a mistake, they would be "spiritually injected" with a military stick.
I couldn't understand the passwords, and there were so many rules and regulations. Although there was a "Military Manual", most of the soldiers were illiterate and couldn't remember it at all. As a result, he was beaten frequently on the training ground. While being beaten, he had to repeat his crime loudly - he had to pronounce it in Newspeak, and even if he didn't pronounce it correctly, he would be beaten. After being beaten a lot, everyone learned from their experience. Generally speaking, anything that is not ordered to be done is not allowed to be done, and anyone who does it will be beaten with a military stick.
Return to the dormitory in the evening - the dormitory of the new training squadron is located in the "Third General Mansion". The empty hall is covered with hay to provide shelter from wind and rain. It was a good accommodation for Qiu Ba, who had been sleeping outdoors all year round - everyone's legs were too stiff to bend, and their bodies ached everywhere. One by one they reluctantly climbed onto the grass bed to rest.
"The beatings I received in this day were more than the beatings I received in twenty years combined..." Li Pu slowly moved to sit on the straw mat, grinning and complaining. He is also a descendant of Wuzhou.
"Fortunately, this Australian gentleman used thin wooden sticks to beat people. If he had been an officer from the Ming Dynasty, he would have been beaten to death today..."
"Forget about the military stick, it can blow away all the meat!" A soldier said, "I saw it once in the early years. The pieces of meat as big as a palm flew to the flagpole, and the bones were exposed... It's too much Crap."
"Being a soldier and eating food is not a chore anywhere! Who told us that we are not good at horoscopes!" Someone sighed, "My father died when I was fifteen, so I had to go out to serve as a soldier and eat food. I still don't know what's going on at home. Is my mother okay..."
"How's it going? Your mother has found a new father for you..."
"Fuck your mother!" He was about to take action, but was immediately pulled away again.
"You haven't been beaten enough. Are you going to kill someone?!" Yang Erdong urged, "What time is it now! The Australians really want you to mess around so that they can kill people and sacrifice the flag."
"Brother Erdong is right. We are all good people, so stop making fun of us."
"Australians are fierce, but they don't kill people randomly. They eat well! I don't know how many days this Australian food will last!"
"Isn't it easy to eat food? If you can't eat Australian food, then you can eat Ming Dynasty food..."
"You want to die!" an older veteran scolded, "You don't want to die!"
As they were talking, someone suddenly shouted outside: "You guys! Don't lie down and stretch your bodies, get up and burn your feet!"
"Ignore you, old man," Li Pu unconsciously muttered in a low voice, "This whole day of tossing is not over yet!"
"Forget it, he is under the eaves. We are eating Australian food now, so we have to obey him." Others persuaded, and they got up from the grass bunk one by one and limped outside.
Standing outside was squadron leader Li Dong. He had served in the Fubo Army for two years, but was later found to have flat feet and was discharged. This time he was re-recruited and joined the National Army as an officer. According to the opinions of the soldiers in the new training squadron, Captain Li is a bit too young, so he is "too green". However, they had been "fucked hard" by Li Dong all day today, and no one dared to say that he was "tender" anymore.
"After the training, all personnel must wash and wash their feet." He glanced at the scattered soldiers, "You! In pairs, go to the kitchen to get hot water. You, go to the supply office to get the wooden basin!"
Under the supervision of officers and instructors, the entire new training squadron washed, heated their feet and then soaked them. Hotting your feet can help relieve fatigue, and soaking your feet can help you walk - these are all known to the soldiers, but it is difficult to have this condition in the camp on weekdays: neither wooden basins nor hot water are readily available. s things. Sometimes I'm unlucky and can't even drink water, so my feet can be burned!
The Australians are good. Not only do they care about foot-scalding, but the wooden basins are given to each person. When they are distributed, they ask the soldiers to carve their names on the basins. Yang Erdong thought this is too extravagant. One basin is for each person. Their National Army brigade alone is There were three to four hundred people. At first glance, this wooden basin was not produced locally. It was probably brought from Lingao by Australians.
No wonder the gentlemen say Australians are "extravagant" and "trivial" in their behavior.
"After the words are engraved, they will be placed in your personal custody! The wooden basins are not allowed to be mixed or borrowed, otherwise they will be treated as violations if discovered! Loss and damage must be reported truthfully!"
After the instructions were completed, the instructors did not leave, but supervised them personally. Until everyone has tidied up their personal hygiene and checked it in person without any ambiguity.
Dinner is mixed vegetable porridge, which tastes the same as the mixed vegetable porridge at lunch, except that rice is added to cook it. After eating, everyone thought they could just relax and have a quick drink. Unexpectedly, Li Dong announced the start of "cultural study" again.
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 354
