The estate behind gradually disappeared from everyones line of sight, and the Jingwei Camp began its first expedition since its establishment.

  This expedition, the Jingwei camp was almost all out, leaving only a dozen or so soldiers in the Zhuangzi to maintain law and order. Now there are no more bandits around Wanjiacun, and most of the people inside the camp are family members of the Jingwei camp, so nothing unexpected will happen. The soldiers who stayed behind sighed with regret that they couldnt go into battle, but still strictly followed Liu Ces orders, closing the camp gate early. If there were refugees coming to surrender, they would be settled outside the camp first, and given two meals of thin porridge every day, waiting for the main army to return before making a decision.

  "Our army is now marching seventy miles a day, not greedy for more, resting half an hour earlier and continuing to march half an hour earlier the next day, so that the soldiers physical strength can be maintained at its best." Liu Ce and Qin Mo rode side by side, discussing military affairs.

  Qin Mo nodded in approval, feeling increasingly mysterious about the young man ten years his junior standing before him. The horse he was riding had a double stirrup, allowing both hands to move freely without having to constantly hold onto the reins to prevent falling off. The horseshoes were made of sturdy material that reduced wear and tear on the hooves and increased the load-bearing capacity of the horse. After seeing the equipment made by Feng Ying yesterday, he was even more amazed - did such things really exist in this world? How could an eighteen-year-old have so many ideas in his head?

  Moreover, there was the matter of military training. In traditional armies, bravery and martial prowess were highly valued, and battle formations were often determined by individual fighting skills. However, Jing Weis approach was the opposite - he emphasized teamwork and downplayed individual martial arts skills. This was also the reason why Jing Weis army had been victorious in every battle since its inception.

  Of course, there were two other important points that Qin Mo was unaware of: one was the selection of soldiers, where Liu Ce chose men who were family-oriented or had a straightforward personality, disregarding those who were reckless or timid. The other point was that all officers and soldiers in the army had to learn how to read... If the former could be slowly figured out, the latter was simply beyond Qin Mos comprehension - why did soldiers need to learn how to read when they only needed to know how to fight?

  Qin Mo didnt ask, and Liu Ce naturally wouldnt say it either. For an army to become powerful, equipment, morale, training, and treatment are all indispensable, but the most important thing is that the quality of soldiers directly affects the development trend of the entire army. The most convenient way to improve quality is to let them receive cultural education, know what they are doing, and why they are doing it! To put it bluntly, without cultured soldiers, even if they are strong for a time, they will eventually be defeated one day.

  This example is a good one. The Mongol Empire once had its military prowess pointing directly at Eurasia, with blood flowing like rivers wherever they went, but what was the outcome? It was just a fleeting moment, and soon they were beaten back to their original shape by the world, ultimately still shrinking in the circle surrounded by big powers relying on selling resources for survival. The Qing army was also the same, before entering the pass, their combat power was explosive, with the saying "Manchu is not full of ten thousand, Manchu cant be defeated", but what was the result? A Opium War and they were immediately beaten to lose power and dignity, kneeling down to beg for peace. Even after the Westernization Movement had been tossed around for a while, due to the lack of educational support, by the time of the First Sino-Japanese War, they were even more defeated by Japan, which was far inferior in national strength, losing their reputation as the number one power in East Asia. This is because Japans Meiji Restoration learned from Western roots, while the Qings Westernization Movement only learned a luxurious and grandiose exterior, but still had the same feudal monarchist ideology that was seriously disconnected from the world...

  So Liu Ce attaches great importance to the cultural awareness of the soldiers, and is willing to withstand all kinds of pressure to let every soldier learn at least the most basic skills. Only in this way can the army produce a sense of honor called "military soul" through guidance.

  The weather in late October had gradually turned cold, and the army marched to a place forty miles away. From time to time, groups of civilians fleeing from bandits could be seen in the distance. When they saw the vanguard, they were frightened and shrank aside, not daring to move, their eyes filled with numbness and fear, without a glimmer of hope...

  Liu Ce shook his head and said to Qin Mo, "Now that the refugees are scattered all over Ganzhou, wont the court send more troops to quell the bandits? As a scholar from a noble family, can you explain this to me?"

  "General, you dont know the intricacies of court politics. Since the founding of our great Zhou dynasty, we have always treated the aristocratic families with favor. The honor and shame of the imperial family are tied to that of the aristocracy, as you well know. Therefore, the primary concern of the imperial family is the safety of the aristocracy. As long as they remain stable, the imperial power will remain solid. All we need to do is maintain a balance among the various aristocratic families. On the surface, it appears that the entire river source is in chaos, but in reality, the imperial family is secretly suppressing the Zhao family, reducing their influence in the river source. As for the common people, they are merely an afterthought, a topic of conversation over tea and dinner. The city of Gaoyang is a prime example - the aristocratic families within its walls have long since crossed the waters to reach Zhaizhou, where they continue to enjoy wealth and glory, while only the hundreds of thousands of common people in Gaoyang suffer..."

  Liu Ce sank into deep thought for a long time. It seemed that the political factors involved in this matter accounted for a large proportion, and he couldnt figure it out at present, so he simply stopped thinking about it...

  Look at the sun, its already noon, so he ordered the army to rest and start eating. The generals and soldiers sat down on the ground, took out their water bottles and dry rations, and started eating. The dry rations of the Jingwei camp have been replaced with white flour pancakes, but they are slightly different from those in regular military camps. These pancakes are not mixed with coarse grains and are very thick, fried with vegetable oil and mixed with a small amount of salt and scallions. Not only do they fill your stomach, but they also taste especially delicious, one pancake can replace a meal.

  A dozen or so refugees on the side saw the soldiers of Jingwei Camp eating with their mouths full of oil, and some hungry children who were dizzy from hunger cried out loud wanting to go forward, but were pulled back by adults next to them, fearing that they would offend this group of sturdy men.

  Yang Youhuai looked at the child and couldnt bear it, so he took out a pancake from his bag. He glanced at Liu Ce and saw him nodding, then walked over to the child and squatted down in front of him: "Hey, call me brother, brother will give you a pancake to eat..." The childs mother quickly hugged him in her arms, looking warily at Yang Youhuai.

  "Brother, I want to eat a pancake..." The child couldnt help but softly call out due to hunger. Yang Youhuais nose involuntarily turned sour and tears almost fell as he stuffed the pancake into his mothers arms.

  His mother hastily tore the pancake in half and handed one half to the child, while handing the other half to the man beside her. The child and the man began devouring their portions with gusto.

  "Slap!" The man had just taken two bites when Yang Youhuai suddenly slapped the pancake out of his hand. The man bent down to pick it up, but his palm was firmly trampled by Yang Youhuai, and he let out a loud cry of pain.

  "Good man!" The woman hastily knelt down, grasping Yang Youhuais leg and said, "Good man, please dont make things difficult for him anymore, its all my fault, Im the one whos wrong..."

  Yang Youhuai finally let go of his foot, bent down to pick up the mans face and said, "Youre also considered a man? Good-for-nothing." After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked away.

  The woman picked up the bread, patted it, and handed it to her husband. However, he refused to take it, and instead burst into loud wails: "Yunniang, Im useless! Im useless, ah! As a man of seven feet tall, I couldnt even provide you and our child with a full meal. Whats the point of me living?! This good fellow is right, Im just a coward! Its better for me to die!" After saying that, he got up and wanted to crash into the big rock on the side. The woman named Yunniang tightly held him back, and they both cried bitterly with their heads together. Their child saw his parents crying and also walked over to them, joining in their tears...

  Liu Ce let out a deep sigh, and called for Xu Hui to distribute some food to the refugees. There were only about ten of them, and his own army could still afford to provide them with one meal...

  "Commoner Fang Jing! Please, leader, take me in!" After a meal, Fang Jing knelt down before Liu Zes eyes. The righteous army before him seemed different from the one he had encountered before. He made up his mind to surrender and follow him.

  "Oh? Why should I take you in?" Liu Ce asked back.

  "Ah……” Fang Jing felt that something was not quite right. Other bandits would force the refugees to join them, and if they refused, they would start killing people. But this leader, who was 1.8 meters tall, didnt seem to have any intention of forcing him to join. What was going on?

  "Our Jingwei camp doesnt accept trash, scram." Yang Youhuai, who was packing up his things beside him, said with a bad tone.

  "What... is that?" Fang Jing obviously didnt understand what was different about this army and the other bandits, only noticing that they were neatly dressed, with gleaming long spears that shone brightly in the sunlight, half of them wearing armor embedded with fine iron.