Chapter 468: Forging Steel

A day’s time was very short, especially to Yan Liqiang who was fully focused on the archery academy. Apart from the allocated time for his daily cultivation, Yan Liqiang wished so badly that there were 48 hours in a day.

There was a plethora of things to tackle in the archery academy. Even with Shi Changfeng, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng’s assistance, Yan Liqiang still found himself not having enough time to spare. It was only at this point in time he realized the magnitude of the effort involved in being responsible for the future of more than two thousand people and overseeing their wellbeing.

The 29th day of the seventh lunar month passed in just the blink of an eye. The students who earned the rights to enroll in the archery academy were already waiting outside the gate before sunrise the next day.

The total number of recruits in this class was 2,768 students. Among these youths, 188 of them hailed from Liuhe Town. They were immediately accepted by Yan Liqiang without taking the exam. The rest were those who passed the exam from the other day. All the 2,768 students hailed from the various towns, villages, and counties in Pingxi Prefecture.

It was worth mentioning that six among them were actually students from the Pingxi Prefecture Martial Arts Academy and the same class as Yan Liqiang back then. Another five were from the Lu Clan of Huanglong County. Among the 2,768 students, the youngest was only fifteen while the oldest was twenty-one years old. 80% of these students were between the ages of sixteen to eighteen.

The 188 youths from Liuhe Town were given preferential treatment and were accepted without being screened since they were from Yan Liqiang’s hometown. Even so, they were well-aware of the selection criteria. Yan Liqiang even took the time to have a conversion with them. With his encouragement, these 188 youths from Liuhe Town arrived at the archery academy’s entrance on Mount Hundred Zhang when it was still dark on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month.

When the first sunray shone on the land, the main entrance of the archery academy opened.

“Everyone, gather your bags and assemble in the training field!” Shi Dafeng announced loudly to the crowd outside the archery academy with the steel horn in his hand.

Since the students waiting outside the archery academy had been briefed beforehand, they didn’t come with too many bags. All they had with them were some clothes and personal belongings. No one brought their blankets or bedding along.

Since the students already knew where the training field was, they rushed inside the archery academy and quickly made their way there as soon as they heard Shi Dafeng’s instructions.

Shen Teng was already waiting by the training field’s entrance, also holding a steel horn in his hand. “Everyone, look at the numbers on your identity pass and stand on your designated green tiles in the training field according to your number!”

The rows of green bricks on the training field’s ground had been labeled with numbers.

‘1—100’ was written with limestone on the ground in front of the first row of green bricks. ‘101—200’ for the second row, ‘201—300’ for the third row, and so on. There were no less than a hundred in every row of green bricks on the training field. That meant that if the bricks were fully occupied, there’d be a hundred people in each row.

After entering the training field, the students gradually found their own spots according to the number on their identity passes. Twenty-seven rows were fully occupied with a hundred people in each, leaving another row not fully occupied with only sixty-eight people in the line.

After the twenty-eight rows of groups were in position, a veteran came to stand in front of every row. Each of them held a two-meter long flag pole. A red triangular flag flew at the top of the pole, labeled with ‘1st Unit’, ‘2nd Unit’, ‘3rd Unit’ and so on. The veterans stood facing the students in front of every row.

“SILENCE…!” The twenty-eight veterans shouted in unison, and the entire training field fell into silence.

“From now on, all of you are to remember your position and your neighbors in line!” Yan Liqiang appeared on the platform in the training field and looked at the students.

“Every row will be considered as one group from now on, so that makes every hundred people a unit…” Yan Liqiang pointed at the rightmost group below the platform, “All of you would be the First Unit, then you all are the Second Unit, then the Third Unit and so on… If you look at the number on your identity pass, you will know which unit you belong to in the archery academy. The person standing before you all are retired veterans from the Gan Province military who once served, defended, and contributed to the Great Han Empire on battlefields. They are now instructors in the archery academy and your seniors. You are to remember the face and name of the veteran standing in front of you, as well as the flag they are holding. For the next three months, they will be acting as your respective company commanders and all of you are to obey their orders in the archery academy. After three months, I shall select the most outstanding individuals among all of you and officially appoint them as the company commanders. Remember my words today — before you learn archery or martial arts in the academy, you will first learn discipline and obedience! By the time you grasp their true essence and meet my requirements, only then shall we start learning archery and martial arts. Alright, instructors, please lead them away!”

“First Unit, follow me…!” The veteran standing at the side raised his flag so that everyone in his line could see, then led the first troop away.

After the first group of people left the field, the second and third units followed. Each veteran raised the flag they were holding and led the students away like a tour guide.

When the 14th company left, Xiong Gungun glanced at Yan Liqiang who was standing on the high platform from his place in line. The latter gave him a gentle nod and an encouraging look.

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The veteran of the first unit led the hundred students to a warehouse in the archery academy. The students queued up to receive a set of brand new and neatly-folded beddings, some daily necessities, and two sets of clean clothes and shoes.

All the students were excited when they received the distributed items. They didn’t expect to actually receive such great benefits in the archery academy.

After receiving the items, the veteran of the first unit then led the one hundred students to a courtyard which consisted of a few large and a few smaller houses. Three of the bigger houses had spacious and brightly-lit rooms, and every room was fitted with about thirty beds. The courtyard could accommodate up to a hundred people.

After the veteran led the students into the rooms, everyone entered in an orderly fashion and every bed was easily allocated according to the sequence. The students were asked to place their belongings on their beds, then they were called to the courtyard by their respective unit commanders to learn a song.

An hour later, loud singing could be heard in every courtyard in the archery academy. It was said that the song was composed by the head of the archery academy, Yan Liqiang. The song was titled ‘Anthem of the Archery Academy’—

All good men must always bear in mind the three main rules of discipline and eight points of attention.

One, obey orders in all your actions, for unity is also a strength.

Two, do not take a single needle or piece thread from the masses. The masses support us and love us.

Three, turn in everything captured. Make every effort to lessen the people’s burden.

We must carry out the three main rules of discipline, and never forget the eight points of attention.

One, speak politely. Respect the masses and do not be arrogant.

Two, pay fairly for what you buy. When buying and selling, do not be overbearing.

Three, return everything you borrow. Return things promptly without damage or loss.

Four, pay for anything you damage. Repay the true value, do not stint at all.

Five, do not hit or swear at people. Direct your blade at only the vicious.

Six, do not damage crops. Riding practitioners must pay attention to this.

Seven, do not take liberties with women. Abandon all hooligan attitudes.

Eight, neat appearance reflects health. Care for your equipment and public properties.

Observe discipline and be aware. Supervise one another so that no one breaks the rules.

Remember clearly the rules of the academy. The archery academy houses only good men.

Train well to defend the homeland. Make your parents proud and your reputation fly.

Initially, the singing voices in every courtyard were still not in unison. By noon, they gradually grew louder, aligning one another. The wind carried the song, and the air was filled with youthful energy and vigor…