“Let’s start from the beginning and go through it carefully, word by word, to see what insights we can gain from this page of the story,” Hu Wei suggested to the other two.
“Agreed,” Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang nodded repeatedly.
“Er Zhu Rong, surnamed Er Zhu, given name Rong, was from the Qihu tribe, also known as the Jie tribe during the period of the Five Barbarians’ invasion of China. Starting from his fifth-generation ancestor, the Er Zhu family had always been the leaders of the Qihu tribe. When Er Zhu Rong inherited the position of tribal leader, the Six Garrisons’ Rebellion was in full swing. The Er Zhu family resided near the Er Zhu River, which was not part of the Six Garrisons’ territory but was close to the Rouran Khaganate. The rebellious soldiers of the Six Garrisons colluded with the Rouran, leaving the Northern Wei court in a state of disarray. The empire was on the verge of collapse. The Er Zhu River region, being close to both the Rouran and the Six Garrisons, faced immense pressure from both sides. Seeing the chaos around him, Er Zhu Rong seized the opportunity to disperse his livestock, recruit volunteers from all directions, and distribute weapons, warhorses, and clothing, forming a sizable army and gradually building his own power.”
As the three of them read and pondered this section, they unanimously agreed that it provided no real insight—it was merely background information.
So, they continued reading.
“However, Er Zhu Rong knew full well that the army he had hastily assembled was nothing more than a ragtag group with little combat effectiveness. If they were to face the Rouran or the rebellious soldiers, his makeshift army would be easily crushed. To establish a foothold in this chaotic era, he needed an invincible iron army. But time was not on his side. The Rouran were stirring, and the rebellious soldiers were advancing toward the Er Zhu River.”
At this point, the three exchanged glances and nodded, realizing that the crucial part was about to come.
“To deal with the impending threats from the Rouran and the rebellious soldiers, Er Zhu Rong urgently needed an iron army. To achieve this, he enforced strict military discipline, repeatedly issuing orders that soldiers were not to commit rape, trample crops, or plunder property…”
Reading this, the three of them paused, slightly taken aback.
“Strict military discipline?! We’ve already brought that up. And as Commander Zhu said, the Zhe Army’s discipline is already strict enough. There’s no room to make it stricter without risking a mutiny,” Xia Qiang sighed, his face filled with disappointment.
“Let’s keep reading first,” Hu Wei said, also feeling somewhat let down.
“One day, Er Zhu Rong, accompanied by his nephew and a group of personal guards, went out on horseback to inspect his territory. As they passed by a field, Er Zhu Rong’s horse suddenly spooked, throwing him off and bolting away. His nephew, who was following behind, dismounted to help Er Zhu Rong up and then hurried into the field to chase the horse. As soon as he caught the horse, Er Zhu Rong ordered him to be tied up. Er Zhu Rong reprimanded him, saying, ‘I have repeatedly issued orders to uphold military discipline, forbidding the trampling of crops, yet you have trampled a large section of the field.'”
“The next day, Er Zhu Rong gathered his entire army on the training ground to announce the punishment of his nephew. Upon hearing the news, Er Zhu Rong’s sister rushed to plead for mercy. Er Zhu Rong told her that military law was unforgiving. His sister knelt and begged, and Er Zhu Rong knelt in return, kowtowing to her. Then, ignoring his sister’s pleas, he ordered his nephew to be executed in front of the entire army, demonstrating the severity of military discipline. The soldiers were deeply shaken, and from then on, no one dared to disobey military orders. Er Zhu Rong’s commands were followed without question, and his army became as disciplined as if it were an extension of his own body.”
“A few days later, the Rouran and the rebellious soldiers who had come to take advantage of the chaos at the Er Zhu River were met with a bloodbath. Er Zhu Rong led his troops to crush them, leaving them in complete disarray…”
After finishing the passage, the three of them exchanged glances once more, their eyes filled with disappointment.
It was still the same old theme.
“This whole thing is still about enforcing military discipline,” Zhu Shouren sighed in disappointment.
“Indeed, Er Zhu Rong truly lived up to his reputation as a ruthless leader. He was willing to kill his own nephew to uphold military discipline. But, as we said before, this is the same as what we read last time—it’s all about emphasizing the importance of military discipline,” Xia Qiang shook his head regretfully. The story of Er Zhu Rong was still about the importance of strict military discipline, even at the cost of killing his own nephew.
“Sigh, it’s true. This story is entirely about military discipline,” Hu Wei also couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. “We’ve already brought up military discipline before. Bringing it up again would just be rehashing old ideas, and it would only make us look bad.”
“Honestly, my nephew is the same. He himself said that the Zhe Army’s discipline is already strict enough, so why does he keep reading about military discipline? The Japanese pirates are about to attack, and he’s still reading these stories about enforcing discipline. If he wants to improve the Zhe Army’s combat effectiveness, he needs to come up with some new ideas…” Zhu Shouren couldn’t help but complain.
“Wait…”
Hu Wei’s mind seemed to flash with an idea, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. He stood still, closing his eyes.
“What is it, Brother Hu?” Xia Qiang quickly asked.
“Just now, an idea flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t catch it. However, I feel like this story about Er Zhu Rong isn’t as simple as it seems,” Hu Wei said, frowning.
“Brother Hu, how is it not simple? It’s just about emphasizing military discipline,” Zhu Shouren said dismissively.
“Brother Zhu, repeat what you just said,” Hu Wei said, realizing that his fleeting idea had come to him after hearing Zhu Shouren’s words. Although it had slipped away, perhaps hearing it again would help him catch it.
“I said, ‘Brother Hu, how is it not simple? It’s just about emphasizing military discipline,'” Zhu Shouren repeated, looking puzzled.
“No, not that sentence. The one before that,” Hu Wei said urgently.
“The one before that? Let me think… I said, ‘My nephew is the same. He himself said that the Zhe Army’s discipline is already strict enough, so why does he keep reading about military discipline? If he wants to improve the Zhe Army’s combat effectiveness, he needs to come up with some new ideas…'”
Zhu Shouren thought for a moment. He could only remember about 70-80% of what he had just said, so he tried to repeat it as best he could.
Whoosh!
A light flashed in Hu Wei’s mind, and his hand, already prepared, caught it in an instant.
Hu Wei’s eyes lit up. He had caught the idea this time.
However, his expression wasn’t one of excitement but rather of tension, or even fear. The idea sent a chill down his spine.
Seeing Hu Wei’s expression, Xia Qiang and Zhu Shouren were taken aback and quickly asked, “Brother Hu, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?”
“What did you two take away from this story?” Hu Wei swallowed hard and looked at them.
“It’s just about military discipline, right? Is there something else?” Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang looked at Hu Wei, confused.
“Did you notice? Er Zhu Rong’s army was hastily assembled, less than a month old, and even Er Zhu Rong himself admitted that his army was a ragtag group with no combat effectiveness. Yet, just a few days later, he led this same army to crush the Rouran and the rebellious soldiers, leaving them in complete disarray. How did he do it?”
Hu Wei looked at them and asked.
“Military discipline, of course,” Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang replied without hesitation.
“No,” Hu Wei shook his head, his face pale.
“Then what was it?”
Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang looked at Hu Wei, puzzled.
