The first to wake up from the chaos were the officers. Hao Bing, the former team leader who was not very obedient to Wang Zhenyu, shouted loudly: "Commander Wang, you can't do this! If you want to hit someone, hit me, Lao Hao. It's my fault for not leading the troops well."

  The surrounding gentry became even more chaotic, and the county magistrate, who had seen and known much, was the first to rush out. "Your Honor, you can't do this!" he said. "To say the least, this matter is related to our local government's failure to support the military. If you take twenty military clubs for this matter, won't it be a slap in the face for us?" The gentry came forward one after another, persuading and dissuading in a cacophony of voices.

  Wang Zhenyu wanted nothing but this effect, and there was no reason to give up halfway because of someone else's few words. With a heroic wave of his hand: "Military orders are like mountains, execute immediately."

  After finishing speaking, Wang Zhenyu took off his upper garment and stood bare-chested, with his hands on the beam of a house by the road, waiting for the execution. However, no one came up for half a day, and Wang Zhenyu became furious: "You bastards, are you just farting around? Get moving!"

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay. At this time, Ma Xicheng ran over and whispered: "General Guan, we don't have a military officer, who should take action?"

  "Huh, Wang Zhenyu's old face turned red with anger. Dammit, why didn't you say so earlier? Are you trying to make me look like a fool? It's freezing outside and I'm not going to catch a cold just because I'm shirtless! He glared at Ma Xi Cheng: 'Then it's up to you, don't mess this up for real.'"

  After getting in touch with him for a day, Wang Zhenyu found that his brother-in-law looked honest on the surface but was actually very thorough in doing things and was also very smart. Many things were clear at a glance, and with his cooperation, this play would probably be successful.

  Ma Xi understood and immediately went to fetch his military staff.

  "When the first stick came down, Wang Zhenyu felt pain, but it was nothing. However, the soldiers were shocked, standing in a straight line, each looking at Wang Zhenyu who was being punished. Seeing that the stick had really landed on Wang's back, everyone's emotions became extremely complicated."

  The most complicated one in this is Zhao Dongsheng. He was very resentful of this young and inexperienced company commander. In his opinion, how could these officials know the difficulties of these ordinary soldiers, how would they care about their lives and deaths? They were all thinking of using their brothers' lives to get a good promotion for themselves. But everything that happened in front of him made Zhao Dongsheng feel that he was wrong, maybe Wang, the company commander, was different from other officials, and was really a good officer.

  Every stick that came down left a deep red mark on Wang Zhenyu's back, and in Zhao Dongsheng's heart, it was a kind of unbearable pain.

  When the tenth rod cracked open Wang Zhenyu's back, blood slowly flowed out of the red marks on his back. Hao Bing could no longer bear Yang Wanguo's obstruction and knelt down before everyone: "Commander, you can't do this! How will I be able to live as a man in the future?" Yang Wanguo and Song Xianfu also involuntarily knelt down, and behind them more than 700 men simultaneously knelt down with a rustling sound.

  The usually stubborn Zhao Dongsheng completely collapsed, he struggled to break free from the guards' control, and shouted hoarsely: "Sir, let me die, I, Zhao Laosan, was wrong, it's my fault, beat me if you want, kill me!"

  Zhao Dongsheng, a man of one meter eight, was really unable to extricate himself, and was so heartbroken that he actually burst into tears, his head deeply buried in the ground.

  Actually, Wang Zhenyu felt something was wrong when he got hit with the eighth stick, it hurt so much, burning hot.

  It can't be called pain, and as soon as it's effective, it's discounted. Wang Zhenyu gritted his teeth and endured.

  I knew I shouldn't have mentioned that big number, in the future it's not like officials who make mistakes get punished with three cups of wine, a few hits would be enough. Damn it, Ma Xi Cheng you bastard, are you my cousin or what, you actually hit me!

  This really wronged Ma Xi, don't look at how heavily he hit, it seemed like the skin was broken and the flesh was blurred with blood, but this little guy had learned from his uncle who used to work in the Baoqing Prefecture government office and specialized in hitting boards. He understood the intricacies of this. So although the skin was broken and the flesh was a mess, he hadn't actually injured any tendons or bones, it was all just superficial wounds.

  Twenty punches later, Wang Zhenyu felt like he had gone through a century. Heh, surprisingly, he could still breathe normally, it seemed that his brother-in-law had held back. Wang Zhenyu didn't rush to put on his clothes, even though it was already late autumn.

  He stood up straight and said to everyone, "You all remember, we are soldiers. Others can mock us, look down on us, but we cannot look down on ourselves. Military discipline is heaven, if we don't even follow military discipline, what's the difference between us and bandits? What qualifications do you have to let others respect you? Your own dignity is earned by yourself, not dropped from the sky."

  "I brought you all the way from our hometown in Hunan to this place, it's to fight against the enemy and serve the country, not to become bandits." He looked deeply at Yang Wangu and others, he was speechless now, someone needs to come out and salvage the situation.

  Unfortunately, these old-timers didn't react at all and just stared blankly like those big-headed soldiers, it's really infuriating. Wang Zhenyu was so angry that he gritted his teeth in silence.

  Luckily, Yang Wanguo saw the look of frustration on Guan's face and immediately understood what that glance meant earlier. He stood up at once, raised his right hand high and shouted: "Kill all Tartars, restore my China".

  The emotions brewed by Wang Zhenyu's self-inflicted military punishment ignited the moment Yang Wanguo shouted, and everyone raised their right hands, shouting excitedly: "Kill all Tartars, revive my China".

  Many soldiers shouted and burst into tears of excitement, with such a good leader, what else can be said. He treats us as human beings, we will follow him to the end.

  This situation, Wang Zhenyu was very satisfied. The biggest characteristic of these uncultured people is that they are easy to cheat. The key is how you cheat them. At least for now, it seems that this beating was not in vain. Ah, it hurts!

  Then it was Zhao Dongsheng's turn to be punished, he had already been crying. For the first time in his life, he regretted his actions, and at this moment, Zhao Dongsheng hated himself so much that he wanted to die to make amends with the team leader, the sticks hitting his body were all atoning for his sins, hoping they would be heavier and more severe.

  Looking at the man who didn't even hum, Wang Zhenyu, who had just simply treated his wound, couldn't help but feel a few points of admiration. At this time, Bao Chang and the village elders rushed up, constantly flattering Wang Zhenyu, praising the Hubei-Hunan army as civilized and powerful. Some with keen eyesight even took out what was said to be their family's ancestral golden wound medicine and presented it to General Guan for use. Wang Zhenyu thanked them one by one, a group of flatterers.

  Wang Zhenyu dressed while instructing Ma Xicheng: "Transfer that kid named Song Haomin to the camp headquarters as a servant. This little guy should be literate, find a doctor for his brother to take a look. That cold and hot thing is probably just a fever, eating chicken won't do much good. Oh right, give this wound medicine to that mixed-up kid, he's a real man! Also, tonight kill another pig, let everyone eat their fill."

  Ma Xi Cheng nodded silently, then suddenly asked in a low voice: "If you're not going to take the medicine, where are you going?"

  Wang Zhenyu glanced at Ma Xicheng with a calm expression: "Come back and go up again, I have to see the commander-in-chief immediately. This military salary matter cannot be delayed, otherwise, when we get to the battlefield, we don't need the enemy to defeat us, we will lose first."

  Ma Xi Cheng felt that this younger brother was different since he fell off the horse. In the past, Wang Zhen Yu would not have bothered with such trivial matters, and would either follow his uncle's instructions or do things his own way. Could it be that the fall had actually made him smarter?

  Ma Xi got used to not thinking about things that didn't make sense, so he nodded and went to take care of the matters Wang Zhenyu had entrusted to him.

  After being sentenced, Zhao Dongsheng, with a pale face, nodded three times to Wang Zhenyu, who didn't say much and just gestured for him to return to the team.

  Then he ordered each department to disperse on the spot, but several teams followed Wang Zhenyu all the way to the camp, and Wang Zhenyu knew that they were not at ease in their hearts, nor did he mention it: "I want to go to the flag department to see the commander-in-chief, what are you following me for?"

  Several teams were somewhat embarrassed but didn't know what to say.

  Wang Zhenyu smiled and patted Hao Bing's shoulder: "It's not your fault, it's not easy to lead soldiers. I think Zhao Dongsheng is quite good, he's a man of his word, when he recovers from his injury, transfer him to the battalion headquarters to be my guard."

  Hao Bing felt a twinge of guilt in his heart, but seeing that Guan Dai didn't blame him and was even going to transfer the troublemaker Zhao Dongsheng to be a guard, he suddenly let out a sigh of relief and hastily nodded in agreement.

  Wang Zhenyu looked at Yang Wanguo again, and with a nod of approval, said "not bad" to the little mustache, then took the reins from the guard's hand and set off for the Tag Department.

  Upon arriving at the headquarters, Wang Zhenyu first told Wang Longzhong about today's events. After listening, Wang Longzhong praised him for being capable and knowing how to lead troops. Then, Wang Zhenyu discussed military pay with Wang Longzhong and explained its importance. Wang Longzhong had just received 100,000 yuan from the Hubei Military Government as a reward for the entire army aiding Hunan. However, after hearing Wang Zhenyu's words, the astute Wang Longzhong quickly understood the benefits involved. He immediately decided to pay the overdue wages of over 2,000 brothers in his unit, with each person receiving 8 yuan per month, totaling 24 yuan for three months. In one go, he allocated nearly 50,000 yuan.

  Although it was a bit painful, Wang Longzhong was also a general, and at this critical moment, the emperor still didn't understand the reason for starving his soldiers, which he also knew.

  Before dinner, Wang Zhenyu brought back 20,000 yuan belonging to the Second Battalion and distributed it in full according to the list to all officers and soldiers of the whole battalion.

  When it was Zhao Dongsheng's turn, the first in line of the previous team, Zhao Dongsheng refused to take it. He knelt down with a thud and said: "Officer Wang, I, Zhao the Third, have no face to take this money."

  Wang Zhenyu took two steps forward and lifted Zhao Dongsheng up with a powerful grasp: "A real man only kneels to heaven, earth, and his parents. From now on, don't casually kneel down to anyone. Today's matter, you don't have to be too hard on yourself. A hero can't be killed by a single cent, after enduring my twenty military rods, you Zhao Dongsheng are still a man who stands tall. The money is yours, take it. If you really feel ashamed, go to the battlefield to wash away your shame."

  Zhao Dongsheng was excited: "I, Zhao the Third, have lived for 25 years. You, Wang Guan, are the first high-ranking official to treat me like a human being. My life is yours now. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. If I even frown slightly, I, Zhao the Third, will not die a good death with three knives and six holes."

  As he spoke, his eyes turned red. Wang Zhenyu didn't know what to say anymore. At this time, Hao Bing came over and rescued him: "Zhao Dagezi, you make it clear, when did I not treat you like a human being before? You little rabbit."

  Zhao Dongsheng was stunned for a moment, twitched his nose, and then muttered: "You're just a team leader, not a big official."

  Wang Zhenyu laughed out loud after hearing it, the people around him were laughing so hard they fell over, only Hao Bing was left speechless and could only glare at Zhao Dongsheng with a mixture of anger and amusement.

  When it was the turn of the left squad to receive their pay, Squad Leader Yang Wangui quietly asked Wang Zhenyu, "Why are we giving out full pay? Isn't the old rule that we only give out half?" Aren't you afraid that the soldiers will take the full pay and run away?

  Wang Zhenyu loudly told all the brothers in the camp: "Money, I won't owe anyone a single cent. If any brother wants to leave, I, Wang, will never force you to stay. But tonight, you must also let me eat my fill of rice and pork, enough for everyone! Brothers who are willing to stay, that's all I need to trust in me, Wang. There's nothing else to say. Let's work together to achieve something great, something worthy of men. From now on, no one will dare look down on us!"

  The soldiers were all stirred up, and it was unclear who led the way, but more than 700 men shouted in unison: "We swear to die following Commander Guan, we swear to die following Commander Guan..."

  Seeing this scene, Wang Zhenyu finally felt that he was filled with strength, and he knew that these more than 700 sturdy men were now his.

  Wang Zhenyu excitedly shouted out "Hunan Army is mighty!"

  More than 700 men shouted together: The Xiang Army is mighty! The Xiang Army is mighty!

  The loud shouts of more than 700 hot-blooded men pierced the sky.

  That year, I was only 16 years old. At that moment, I saw an extraordinary hero. ---- "The Days of Following General Wang", by Song Haomin.