“Nephew, nephew, the three of us sat in the tent discussing ancient and modern times, our thoughts colliding fiercely, and we came up with many ingenious ideas. In the end, after summarizing the famous generals and commanders throughout history, we discovered a shocking secret to improving the combat effectiveness of an army.”
As soon as Zhu Ping’an entered the commander’s tent, Zhu Shouren eagerly stepped forward, his face filled with pride as he spoke to Zhu Ping’an.
To capture Zhu Ping’an’s attention, he deliberately used the phrase “shocking secret” as a hook.
“Oh? Please elaborate, Uncle,” Zhu Ping’an responded with genuine interest.
“All effective armies share one common trait: strict discipline and clear rewards and punishments. To achieve this, the key is…”
Zhu Shouren clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced around Zhu Ping’an, speaking confidently. When he reached the crucial point, he deliberately paused for dramatic effect.
“Please continue, Uncle,” Zhu Ping’an played along.
Zhu Shouren continued with confidence, “The key is to enforce strict and harsh discipline. Nephew, you must do the same to improve the combat effectiveness of the Zhejiang Army.”
“Very good, Uncle. It’s impressive that you thought of this. However, the discipline in the Zhejiang Army is already quite strict. Here are the military regulations and the collective punishment law that was enacted last month.”
Zhu Ping’an first praised Zhu Shouren and the others, then took the military regulations and the collective punishment law from the bookshelf and handed them to Zhu Shouren.
In truth, Zhu Shouren and the others already had copies of the military regulations, but they hadn’t even finished reading a single page. The collective punishment law was entirely new to them.
“How strict can the discipline be…” Zhu Shouren said dismissively.
The three of them huddled together and began flipping through the military regulations and the collective punishment law.
As they read page after page, their faces grew increasingly pale.
“Even eating has rules—you have to line up. Violations result in beatings with a military rod.”
“And this—even using the restroom has rules. Violations also lead to beatings…”
“Walking in the camp has rules too. Violations can result in light punishments like beatings or severe punishments like execution…”
“Even sleeping has rules. Failing to extinguish fires or lights, making noise—all of these are heavily punished. If you don’t wake up on time for roll call, the first offense is a beating, the second is double, and the third is execution…”
As they read through the military regulations, their faces turned pale. Every aspect of life, from eating and sleeping to daily training and marching, was strictly regulated.
When they opened the collective punishment law, not only did their faces turn pale, but cold sweat also broke out on their foreheads.
“Promotions and wealth? Seek another path. Fear of death? Do not join the Zhejiang Army!”
The opening line of the collective punishment law struck them like a bolt of lightning, as if demons had encountered a door god.
“What? Superior officers are held accountable for their subordinates?! If a subordinate officer is cowardly and deserts, the superior officer is equally guilty?!”
The collective punishment law began with the principle of superior officers being held accountable, starting directly with Zhu Ping’an, the commander of the Zhejiang Army. This shocked Zhu Shouren and the others. Their nephew/Lord Zhu was truly ruthless, starting the chain of accountability from himself…
“And this—subordinate officers are also held accountable for their superiors. If a subordinate officer retreats or deserts, causing the death of a superior officer, all officers at the subordinate level are executed! If a soldier retreats or deserts, causing the death of their squad leader, the entire squad is executed!”
At this point, not only were their foreheads covered in cold sweat, but their backs were drenched as well.
“And there’s more—soldiers are held accountable for each other. If a deserter appears, the entire squad is punished. In non-combat situations, half are imprisoned, and half have their pay deducted. In combat situations, all are punished with a hundred lashes. A hundred lashes—how many people can withstand that?!”
“This is too strict, too harsh…”
Zhu Shouren and the others couldn’t help but click their tongues in amazement. Punishments ranged from beatings to executions, and collective punishment was the norm. The discipline was already this strict—how could it possibly be stricter? Even the tyrannical Qin Dynasty wasn’t this harsh.
“Uncle, do you see any room for stricter discipline?” Zhu Ping’an asked with a smile.
Zhu Shouren and the others shook their heads repeatedly. How could it be stricter? They couldn’t just draw lots every day to execute someone as a warning, could they? Even though they knew nothing about military affairs, they understood that such an approach would be disastrous.
“It seems we’ll have to trouble Uncle, along with Mr. Hu and Mr. Xia, to continue working hard,” Zhu Ping’an said.
“Of course, of course,” Hu Wei and Xia Qiang nodded repeatedly.
Zhu Ping’an handled some military affairs in the tent and then pulled a book from the shelf to read.
After a while, a guard came in to report that Liu Daodao had returned from the city with several hundred horses.
“That many? Let’s go take a look.”
Zhu Ping’an nodded happily, put the book down, and followed the guard out.
With this batch of horses, Zhu Ping’an could begin forming a mobile and flexible cavalry unit, which would be of great benefit in future battles.
After Zhu Ping’an left, Zhu Shouren, Hu Wei, and Xia Qiang quickly went to the window. They watched Zhu Ping’an walk away, ensuring he wouldn’t return, and then hurried to the commander’s desk.
Once again, Zhu Shouren was quick to grab the book Zhu Ping’an had been reading.
“Brother Zhu, hurry! There’s a page Lord Zhu spent a long time reading. Which page is it?” Xia Qiang asked eagerly.
“The book is closed, and there are no folded pages. How can we tell which page it is?” Zhu Shouren flipped through the book but found no folded pages. He was utterly confused.
“Don’t worry, Brother Zhu. Put the book back on the table. This book is relatively new, and it’s printed on Huizhou paper. The page that was read the most will have a deeper crease and a slightly darker color compared to the others. If you lay it flat on the table, it’ll be obvious,” Hu Wei said with a knowing look.
Zhu Shouren quickly placed the book on the table. The three of them crouched down, aligning their eyes with the book, and carefully examined it. Sure enough, one page had a noticeable curve and a slightly darker hue, standing out from the rest.
“That’s the one!” The three of them were overjoyed.
Once again, Zhu Shouren was quick to grab the book and flip to the page in question.
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang immediately crowded around, their eyes wide as they peered at the book in Zhu Shouren’s hands.
“This is about Cao Cao’s campaign against Yuan Shu, who had arrogantly declared himself emperor. During the campaign, Cao Cao ran low on supplies and faced a severe drought. The soldiers were hungry and began to complain. Cao Cao managed to borrow some grain from Sun Ce in Jiangdong, but it still wasn’t enough. The supply officer reported this to Cao Cao, who ordered him to distribute the grain using smaller measures. The officer was shocked and asked, ‘What if the soldiers revolt due to hunger?’ Cao Cao assured him not to worry, as he had a plan. Eventually, the soldiers did revolt, and Cao Cao summoned the supply officer, saying he needed to borrow something to quell the soldiers’ anger. The officer asked what it was, and Cao Cao replied, ‘Your head.’ The officer was then executed for embezzling supplies, and the soldiers’ morale was restored…”
Xia Qiang, who was fond of the Three Kingdoms stories, immediately recognized the content of the page.
“What does this have to do with improving the army’s combat effectiveness?” Zhu Shouren asked, stroking his chin in confusion.
“I think Lord Zhu is worried about the lack of supplies. Yesterday, he had us draft a request to Suzhou City for a month’s worth of provisions, but the city hasn’t delivered them yet. He’s probably thinking about that,” Hu Wei speculated.
“That makes sense. But it’s a shame—this doesn’t help us with the task Lord Zhu assigned us. When we mentioned ‘strict discipline and clear rewards and punishments,’ he was clearly impressed.”
Zhu Shouren nodded regretfully.
“Brother Shen!”
“Hmm.”
Shen Changqing walked along the path, occasionally greeting familiar faces with a nod or a brief exchange.
But no matter who it was.
Everyone’s face bore an expression of indifference, as if nothing could stir their emotions.
To this.
Shen Changqing had already grown accustomed.
Because this was the Demon-Suppression Department, an institution tasked with maintaining the stability of the Great Qin Empire. Its primary duty was to slay demons and monsters, though it also had some side responsibilities.
It could be said.
Every person in the Demon-Suppression Department had blood on their hands.
When one had witnessed life and death so often, they would naturally become indifferent to many things.
When Shen Changqing first arrived in this world, he found it somewhat unsettling, but over time, he grew used to it.
The Demon-Suppression Department was vast.
Those who could remain in the Demon-Suppression Department were either formidable experts or individuals with the potential to become such.
Shen Changqing belonged to the latter.
Within the Demon-Suppression Department, there were two main roles: the Demon-Suppression Envoys and the Demon-Slaying Envoys.
Anyone who entered the Demon-Suppression Department started as a low-level Demon-Slaying Envoy.
Then, step by step, they could rise through the ranks, eventually hoping to become a Demon-Suppression Envoy.
Shen Changqing’s predecessor had been a probationary Demon-Slaying Envoy within the Demon-Suppression Department, the lowest rank among the Demon-Slaying Envoys.
With the memories of his predecessor.
He was very familiar with the environment of the Demon-Suppression Department.
It didn’t take long for Shen Changqing to stop in front of a pavilion.
Unlike the other grim and oppressive areas of the Demon-Suppression Department, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, offering a rare sense of tranquility amidst the pervasive bloodshed.
At this moment, the pavilion’s doors were wide open, with people occasionally entering and exiting.
Shen Changqing hesitated only briefly before stepping inside.
Upon entering the pavilion.
The atmosphere changed abruptly.
A faint scent of ink mixed with a subtle hint of blood wafted toward him, causing his brows to furrow instinctively, though they quickly relaxed.
The stench of blood that clung to everyone in the Demon-Suppression Department was almost impossible to wash away.
