47. Training Troops Through Desperate Straits II

"You know nothing, you self-righteous fool," the young miss spat.

"Fifty years of arduous wandering in the desert gave these Hebrews the strongest physiques, the most resilient souls, and the firmest faith, allowing this nation to be reborn from the flames. Although their country was eventually destroyed and they were scattered across the world for five thousand years, they still managed to stubbornly survive, preserving their national culture and faith without being assimilated."

"Hmph, as you said, those who survived were the strong ones. What percentage actually made it to the end?" the young miss retorted.

"Many did die indeed. In the face of enemies and disasters, one cannot flee, nor can one fear sacrifice. Making oneself stronger is the only correct path. Even though this path is full of pain and will cost many lives, one must walk it," Yang Fan said, rubbing his nose.

"Don't think that just because I'm a woman, I haven't read books and try to fool me. That Moses you speak of, I know about him. There's an old Western man in the capital named Johann Adam Schall von Bell, who all day long tries to get people to believe in his so-called god. There's also a scripture—cowhide cover, gilded letters, quite thick too. I've flipped through it."

The young miss slanted her gaze at Yang Fan, as if saying: *Bah, scumbag, keep making things up, don't even think about fooling me.*

"That damn Hebrew bunch didn't go to the desert for whatever nonsense about forging physique and spirit that you're bragging about. It was purely because they couldn't beat the local Canaanites. In any corner of this world, it's all the same: if you have no ability, you won't even get to snatch a warm meal of shit. If you can stay in a good place, who goes to the desert to chew on sand?"

Feeling unsatisfied after saying this, the young miss picked up her whip and lashed Yang Fan across the backside.

"Ouch! A gentleman uses his mouth, not his hands!"

"You big liar from Rumi [Turkey]. I'm hitting you precisely because of that."

"I'm not lying to you. You definitely didn't read carefully. The Hebrews grew strong later because of their wandering in the wilderness."

"Strong my foot, I am definitely not misremembering. That book has what happened later. The Hebrews stayed in the Sinai desert region for about fifty years and changed their name to the Israelites. Afterward, they migrated back to the land of Canaan. Moses's successor Joshua captured a part of Canaan, but could not take Canaan's heavily fortified cities through siege. After Joshua died, the various tribes of Israel each went their own way again and could not take unified action. After a hundred years of warfare, all the Israelites gained were the hilly regions of Canaan and the infertile river valleys. Look, what good did they forge out of the desert? It's still just the same old routine of the state perishing along with its ruler, completely unimaginative."

Fine. The fact that the Hebrews changed their brand-new moniker right after coming out of the desert was known to her. The young miss was truly a broad-minded, deeply knowledgeable, discerning, and mentally formidable chauvinist of the Great Ming Empire.

In her eyes, what fancy tricks could these barbarians possibly pull? Weren't they all just leftovers from what our ancestors had already played out?

Yang Fan was left speechless. He tried to show off by bragging, only to find that she knew even more than he did.

He was ruthlessly slapped in the face by reality. Both cheeks were thoroughly swollen.

No wonder finding a husband is harder than finding a job for female PhDs in later generations. You try to brag to your wife, only to find she knows more than you do.

What joy is left in life?

Where had he ever actually read that sacred scripture? It was all hearsay picked up from surfing the internet, served up fresh on the spot, only to end up suffering a humiliating defeat.

"Benevolence does not command an army, and good soldiers are tempered in the flames of war. That much is understandable. I hit you because you don't speak like a human being, insisting on spouting nonsense about spirit and faith. Even ants cling to life, let alone people. What difference does it make to the common folk who they work for, or which emperor collects their grain and taxes? I won't allow you to speak of them like that."

"There are some rebellious cliques in the south, and the Eastern Depot has had its eyes on them for a long time. They do nothing but peddle heretical theories, deceiving ignorant common folk and women, while failing to do proper work despite studying to become officials. Inciting the common people like that is utterly shameless."

Yang Fan smiled. The Eastern Depot and the Donglin Party were mortal enemies; naturally, she would hold no affection for those Enlightenment thinkers, so how could anything pleasant come out of her mouth?

"However, you did one thing right: one shouldn't flee from those horse bandits. Regardless of whether they are disguised Jianzhou Jurchens or not, military households are soldiers. If their superior orders them to resist horse bandits, any method of deployment is justified. Commander Qi put it well: soldiers are meant to kill bandits, and bandits are meant to kill people. When bandits come, they must be fought. The way Great Ming is right now is simply because there are too few people like you," the young miss said softly, her eyelashes drooping slightly.

"But now that you know they are Jianzhou Jurchens, you cannot defeat them. It's still not too late for you to call it quits."

"Impossible. Since I've already said it, if they dare to come, I dare to fight them. I don't care if they are Jianzhou Jurchens or not. I'm fighting them for sure."

"How do you plan to fight? Forty-three soldiers and twelve officers, none of whom have ever set foot on a battlefield."

"If I have no soldiers, I'll recruit refugees outside the city, first fill up the roster of the Centurion post, and then build fortifications to hold out."

"Fool, even if you fill your ranks, you'll only have 120 men. They haven't even trained; they'll be utterly useless."

"Then I'll recruit more. I'll find three thousand men—ten against one. I refuse to believe we can't hold the line."

"Recruiting three thousand refugees? Are you planning a rebellion? I'll arrest you right now!" The young miss kicked Yang Fan squarely on the backside with her small leather-booted foot.

These little leather boots were items she had gotten from Yaoguang, and they flattered her long legs immensely.

"What else can I do? The words are already out of my mouth. If I turn coward now, wouldn't I be losing face for you, Commander? After all, I am your man."

"Bah, you scoundrel, what nonsense are you spewing!" the young miss blushed, spitting out the retort.

"If push comes to shove, I'll just tell the outside world that I'm hiring laborers to repair the Centurion post."

"Forget it, you've defeated me. I'll get you appointed as a Militia Mobilization Commissioner, and let your steward and that old military greaseball from Liaoning step forward to organize a Xinghe Militia. That way, your troop recruitment will be legal. But let's make it clear beforehand: once this matter is settled, you must immediately disband them, and you are only allowed to keep a maximum of one battalion of five hundred men. Don't cause trouble for me; these are extraordinary times."

"Rest assured, once it's over, I'll recruit them into the factory to work."

Upon entering the city, Tu Sanyue returned to the Eastern Depot's stronghold within the city walls. Lord Tu had already returned to the capital, leaving the young miss in charge here. It was unclear how she and Lin Yurong divided their authority, but they didn't seem to be on the most compatible terms.

Yang Fan first went to see the Chiliarch. Taking up a new post meant he had to pay respects to his superior. The Chiliarch, surnamed Chen, knew that Chen Fan and Tu Sanyue were on very intimate terms and realized Yang Fan had backing, so he was quite courteous—and became even more courteous after accepting Yang Fan's one-hundred-liang silver note.

However, when Yang Fan seemingly inadvertently mentioned that a village had been burned by horse bandits and an old veteran had died, the Chiliarch sidestepped the issue and talked about something else. Sensibly, Yang Fan dropped the subject and said no more.

Returning to the factory and stepping into the room, he saw Yaoguang sitting at the desk, carefully examining some blueprints and writing and drawing on them with a pen.

Yang Fan leaned in and saw it was a map of the Great Ming.

Without looking up, Yaoguang said, "You're back. A lot of people were looking for you just now. Chief Steward Yang wants to recruit refugees outside the city and asked if the master is going. The Song Yingxing brothers came looking for you to discuss school dormitories and specific arrangements for casting cannons. I'm looking for you too—I need to go out for a bit to fetch something and won't be back for a while. If you have anything you need to transmit, do it quickly before I leave."