Menghe Town, December 12th, sunny day...

  Outside the town gate, the newly formed military band of Jingwei Camp was playing trumpets and flutes, beating war drums and cymbals to practice the tune Liu Ce had envisioned. The surrounding soldiers who had finished their training sat on the ground, quietly listening to this stirring melody...

  Liu Ce listened to the tone coming from the long horn and the faint clear sound of the copper bell, his eyebrows spread out involuntarily, his whole body excited.

  "It's finally taking shape......" Liu Ce was extremely excited in his heart, because this song was an insert song from a movie called "Brocade Guard" in his previous life, named - Hope (a work by Master Li Yunwen).

  As the long horn slowly came to an end, the bell music started, a row of long flutes responded in unison, and the surrounding soldiers who were quietly watching trembled all over, feeling a surge of hot blood churning up inexplicably, as if they wanted to burst out of their bodies.

  Qin Mo Ye Bin gazed at Liu Ce's back, feeling a sense of wonder. Is this young man really just an ordinary soldier? Why does he have so many extraordinary ideas? Qin Mo had previously thought that Liu Ce was being frivolous by recruiting the town's theater troupe to form a military band, but after hearing such a majestic melody, he couldn't help but admit that he had underestimated him. Moreover, he himself believed that this piece of music was just as Liu Ce had said - exceptionally inspiring...

  Liu Ce didn't know that Qin Mo and Ye Bin had so many thoughts about him behind his back, he was now fully immersed in the music.

  "As long as there is hope, I will definitely be able to survive and live a better life. Not only do I want to live well myself, but also let the soldiers of Jingweiying have their own world. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, I absolutely cannot give up hope! Since I, Liu Ce, have taken on this heavy responsibility, I must lead them forward!"

  The brief military music performance ended, and many of the Guards' soldiers still had the melody echoing in their minds, unable to extricate themselves for a long time.

  "Alright! Stop daydreaming! Everyone get up! It's time to eat! We still have drills this afternoon!" Sun Biao stood up and loudly shouted at his subordinates, and more than a hundred people heard this and got up with laughter, entering the town one after another, lining up in front of a huge house, preparing to receive their rations.

  Sun Biao stood out in the process of eliminating bandits with Xu Hui and was promoted to Bai Chang. Due to past grievances with former comrades from other banners, unnecessary conflicts arose, so Liu Ce arranged for him to join Yang Kai's mountain banner, and as a result, he became inseparable from Yang Kai within two days, almost like brothers, leaving everyone stunned.

  "Hey, Biaozi! Come here!" Yang Kaisan called out to Sun Biao, who was shouting loudly.

  "Commander, what are your orders?" Sun Biao ran to Yang Kai's side with a smile on his face.

  Yang Kai-shan laughed and said, "Just a few days as the head of the hundred and you're already throwing your weight around? You can recognize a few characters? This afternoon, if you don't want to be beaten with a board and eat well, go ask Zhou Feng and the others for advice."

  Sun Biao's face turned bitter as he said to Yang Kai-shan, "I'm telling you, Commander, this Imperial Guard is great in every way. The military orders issued by the General are extremely strict, and although the soldiers' drills and training are very hard, their food and drink are much better than those of the official army. I understand all this, but you say that we soldiers only need to charge into battle, kill the enemy, and achieve military merit. We're not trying to become scholars, so what's the use of recognizing so many characters? Since I joined the Imperial Guard, I've never been afraid of training or fighting, but I'm afraid of seeing these written words - it's like looking at a heavenly book. Every night when I close my eyes, I see a bunch of characters rushing towards me, and no matter how hard I try to brush them away, they won't go."

  Yang Kai-shan slapped him hard on the back of his head and said seriously: "Look at your poor skills, all you know is to complain about being tired. Have you ever thought that in the future when the Imperial Guard expands and there are more people, they will definitely select officers to lead the entire camp? At that time, if you can't even recognize a few big characters, how can you understand military reports and analyze the key points? If you were given a battle map, would you be able to read it? If there's enemy intelligence that needs to be reported, how would you write it? Ah, Biaozi, you need to have a broader vision! The general has high hopes for us too. Don't let him down, train hard and in your free time learn more characters. What's difficult about that? Think about your future prospects and think about the hardships you're suffering now, you'll find it's all worth it! The general once said something that I still remember clearly: opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared! Do well, I'm going to eat first!"

  Sun Bao Leng stood still, gazing at the distant figure of Yang Kai Shan, carefully savoring his words. Suddenly, he felt that they made perfect sense. What's wrong with being able to read and write? Everyone in Jing Wei Camp is learning from top to bottom, so how can I, Sun Bao, fall behind others? If one day Jing Wei Camp really becomes powerful as Yang Kai Shan said, I must not miss this great opportunity to advance my career due to my own laziness.

  "After dinner, I'll go find Zhou Ou and Xu Hui. Today, Sun Biao has decided to learn seven or eight characters a day, striving to become a famous general who can lead an army independently!" Sun Biao clenched his fists tightly, making a silent vow.

  A large bowl of white rice, three potatoes, a stack of hot cabbage, plus two liang of greasy bacon and a bowl of scalding ginger soup. If the rice is not enough, it can be refilled, but it cannot be wasted. This is the lunch for a day for the soldiers of Jingwei Camp, compared to other government troops who can only have a bowl of thin porridge or sweet potatoes to fill their stomachs, this is already very luxurious, let alone having meat to eat.

  To solve the livelihood problem of the townspeople, Wu Liwen repeatedly negotiated and finally got Liu Ce's agreement to renovate a large abandoned warehouse in the town into a cafeteria for the Jingwei Camp, hiring local civilians to cook for the Jingwei Camp soldiers, temporarily becoming the "partner army" of the Jingwei Camp.

  Only one cook handed a steaming bowl of rice to a soldier waiting in line, then scooped a spoonful of ginger soup into his bowl. The cooks on the side continuously ladled meat from pots into large bowls for soldiers to collect. On the counter at the far end were dozens of stacks of steaming white vegetables. A soldier picked up a plate of white vegetables and poured it over his rice, then immediately someone refilled the empty plate with another spoonful of white vegetables.

  "Delicious!" Guo Tao sat in front of the long table, finishing a bowl of rice and chewing on cured meat while looking around. The cafeteria was packed with people, bustling with activity. He saw Chen Qing at another long table, head lowered, discussing something with several soldiers under his command. Putting down his empty bowl, he picked up a bowl of ginger soup and walked over.

  "What are you two discussing? Let me hear it too?" Guo Tao put down the ginger soup and sat down across from them, some soldiers nearby saluted with a fist, but Guo Tao waved his hand to indicate there was no need for such formality.

  Liu Ze stipulated that in the Jingwei camp, there was no need to perform grand ceremonies. When meeting superiors, it was enough to give a simple military salute or a fist bump and a greeting. Even when reporting important military matters, there was no need to kneel down. Only during the oath-taking ceremony before battle did one need to kneel on one knee, or when rewarding or punishing officers who had violated discipline were there corresponding kneeling regulations. This measure greatly boosted the soldiers' self-esteem, after all, parents do not raise their children to be constantly kowtowing to others.

  Chen Qing sighed and said, "Brother Guo should know that in the battle against the bandits a few days ago, all the troops, old and new, had their own merits, but my cavalry didn't have any use at all. It was only because General Wang remembered our friendship that he let me follow him to the battlefield, but I was just stationed at the rear, watching and chasing after some fleeing bandits."

  "Isn't this good? What's wrong? Cavalry isn't easy to train, General thinks it's because you're afraid that your flag department's training days are not long, and there will be some losses." Guo Tao was puzzled, cavalry is difficult to train, everyone knows that, even with the convenience of stirrups, it's still not something that can be easily trained.

  "Brother Guo, you don't know," Chen Qing said with a troubled face. "A few days ago, Old Feng sent another 40 sets of fine iron armor to my unit. Now, among the 352 cavalrymen in my unit, 126 have already been equipped with these armors. These armors were tailored to fit each soldier's body shape and are very suitable for battle on horseback. I heard that these armors were made by hundreds of women and children working through the night, piecing them together one piece at a time..."

  Guo Tao's face was filled with envy: "That's a great relationship, I have less than half of my brothers wearing iron armor in my team, what's going on?"

  Chen Qing's face turned gloomy: "It's precisely because of this that I and the soldiers below are worried. You all have achieved merits under your respective flags, with outstanding performances, while my flag has not achieved even an inch of merit yet I received such favor from the general, it's really unsettling to me. Take a look at this again."

  As he spoke, Chen Qing placed the ring-headed knife at his waist on the table. Guo Tao looked and was even more red-eyed, secretly calling out to himself. The version of "Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu" you are currently reading is only half a chapter of Chapter 51: Military Music, Iron Cavalry. To read the complete version, please search Baidu for () and then search again for "Yi Jie Feng Huo Lu".