My Cultivation Starting from Archery

Martial Arts Arena.

Apart from those looking out from the Great Wall, all the officers and soldiers at the garrison were assembled.

Xiang Tingchun strode onto the high platform with a bold step.

Even from dozens of steps away, everyone could sense that Lord Thousand Households was in high spirits.

"Brothers!"

Xiang Tingchun's voice boomed like a great bell, "Today, I have two matters to announce.

"Do you still remember, at the beginning of our nation's founding during the Yongchang era, our court had over three million soldiers, yet not one lacked food or clothing, and all were high in fighting spirit!"

"Alas, calamities and disasters have been unending since then.

"To the point where our Po Yang County even experienced wage and food shortages in the early years, resulting in many brothers suffering from hunger and cold, who were forced to flee and become refugees.

"I, Xiang Tingchun, hold an inescapable responsibility for presiding over this place; I apologize to all the brothers here!

"However, that kind of situation will absolutely never happen again.

"The Four Great Martial Arts Schools and many elders in Po Yang County really could not bear to see the brothers protecting our nation endure such hardships, hence they have donated a large amount of provisions, medicinal materials, as well as horses.

"Therefore, the first matter is, starting from today—

"The salary for every Array Soldier will increase by half a month, with an extra stone of food.

"For military soldiers, their monthly salary will double, as will the provision of Blood Replenishing Soup.

"For military officers, their remuneration will double.

"Additionally, from now on, you can purchase all kinds of medicinal materials directly in the barracks, at half the price of outside pharmacies!"

Having said this, the crowd erupted into cheers.

"Double?"

"A stone of food every month?"

What did a stone of food per month mean during years of bad harvest?

It meant that this year, not only could everyone survive the cold winter without hunger, but they might even have some money left over to buy winter clothes!

The military soldiers were equally excited.

The vast majority who joined the army came from poor families—where could they afford Blood Replenishing Soup priced at ten taels a portion?

Yet relying solely on the garrison's provision was far too insufficient for increasing their Cultivation.

What the Lord Thousand Households said was like manna from heaven for them.

Zhu Tong clenched his fist, "With enough Blood Replenishing Soup, I too have the chance to advance further in the Martial Arts!"

Like him and Wang Li, they actually had fair talent.

It was only their poverty that held them back.

While everyone was busy rejoicing, Xu Wencai slightly shook his head, "I'm afraid we're headed for war, and it's going to be a tough fight."

"Really?"

Zhu Tong was skeptical, "That makes sense, why else would those bastards from the Martial Arts Hall suddenly be willing to fork out the money for us? There must be a catch!"

"Let me finish speaking."

Xiang Tingchun signaled for silence,

"Next, the second matter.

"It must be clear to everyone why the Po Yang Thousand Households was established.

"To fend off the barbarians from the alien race!

"For thousands of years, the barbarian tribes have coveted our houses and fields, longing to enslave our wives, children, and elders, and to use our heads to fertilize their pastures!

"It was the Grand Ancestor and his successors who personally led expeditions against them numerous times, beating them so badly they couldn't raise their heads for two hundred years!

"But now, they are eager to move again, wanting to revive the tragedy of the former dynasty!

"How can we, as men of valor, sit and await death?

"With the approval of an official document from the War Department, I as the official will lead a campaign to exterminate the barbarian tribes around the Xi River at the start of next spring!

"Therefore, I hope that in the coming days, brothers will train diligently so that you can serve the court well on the battlefield later.

"As long as you slay enough enemies, becoming a noble or a general is not impossible!"

After these words were spoken, the Martial Arts Arena fell silent, a stark contrast to the excitement before.

Become a noble or a general?

There really weren't many with such grand ambitions.

They simply wished to lead a safe and stable life.

But since they were part of the army, fighting and killing on the battlefield was an unavoidable fate.

Fortunately, it was always better to go to battle on a full stomach than on an empty one.

This was also why Xiang Tingchun went to great lengths to secure funds and provisions from the Martial Arts Hall.

An army without full pay will have no fighting will!

Conversely, with great rewards, there will be brave men.

A troop can possess combat effectiveness only when it has sufficient resources, ensuring it won't collapse at the first blow.

Announcing this in advance is not a cause for concern regarding alarming the snake in the grass.

The barbarians always had spies among us.

The large-scale donation of funds and provisions by the Martial Arts Hall—fools would know what was being prepared for.

Instead of keeping everyone in the dark, it's better to start training in advance to prepare both mentally and physically.

After finishing his speech, Xiang Tingchun strode away, giving the soldiers time to digest his words.

...

Chen Sansi had been mentally prepared for some time.

The Selected Point assessment would take place after the spring season.

In other words, before he went to the Eight Camps to participate in the Selected Point assessment, he would also be a part of this battle.

"Mr. Xu."

Chen Sansi asked, "Do you know the combat strength of the barbarian tribes around the Xi River area?"

"You've asked the right person," Find more chapters on empire

Xu Wencai replied without hesitation, "I, lacking in many talents, once dedicated five years to studying the distribution of the barbarian military forces.

"The Xi River tribe is a branch of the Yuwen lineage. They have been living in this area for several decades and have well-trained soldiers. A conservative estimate would be two thousand men.

"Among them, there is one with Refining Internal skills, and the numbers of Blood Refining and Bone Training military officers are roughly the same as those in our Thousand Households garrison.

"However, they have more horses than we do, and their archers are of higher quality."

Chen Sansi pondered, "In your opinion, how much chance do we have of victory when the spring begins next year?"

"Please come with me, sir."

Xu Wencai led him to a secluded and vacant corner and started drawing in the sand with a stick.

"Almost all the important strategic passes along the northern border of our Sheng Dynasty are in constant friction with the barbarian tribes, so it's certain no spare troops will be sent to reinforce us.

"At most, the An Ding Prefecture Guard might deploy another Thousand Households garrison to back us up, ensuring that if we suffer a defeat outside the Great Wall, it would prevent the barbarians from conquering Po Yang County.

"But they would definitely not leave the safety of the city to join the battle lightly.

"That is to say, our Thousand Households garrison is essentially an isolated force."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Zhu Tong quietly approached, "What are you scribbling with that broken stick?"

"Big lug, don't get in the way!"

Xu Wencai stroked his beard, looking at the simple military distribution on the ground, and said perplexed, "It's strange indeed. Waging war against the barbarians is a matter of national importance. Why send only a thousand or so men to attack a scattered tribe?

"Success or failure won't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.

"Sir, what are your thoughts on this?"

Chen Sansi answered, "This is a performance to show off one's capabilities to the superiors."

"Wise as always, sir, I feel the same way!"

Xu Wencai surveyed their surroundings before continuing in a cautious tone, "Households Commander Xiang is planning to achieve success at the cost of countless lives!"

That statement was still somewhat understated.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

To put it bluntly, Xiang Tingchun was ready to use the lives of nine hundred men from the Po Yang Thousand Households garrison to secure his own future!

The reason the Ministry of War might have agreed was probably because the matter involved various powerful factions within the court; the waters ran deep.

"As for our odds of victory,"

Xu Wencai continued, "The barbarian warriors are robust and their horses strong, but they aren't skilled in military formations. Furthermore, the nomadic tribes are at their weakest at the onset of spring each year.

"If we can get more Bone Training martial masters from the Martial Arts Hall to assist us, and if the An Ding Prefecture is ready to back us up, we could win. But..."

"It would definitely be a Pyrrhic victory."

Zhu Tong, who had been confused the whole time, finally understood the last part, "How dire would that be?"

Xu Wencai gravely said, "Both of us would have to die!"

"That's quite dire indeed."

Zhu Tong grabbed his collar, "Lazybones, don't you often brag about your warfighting abilities? Then think of a way. How can we avoid a disaster?"

Xu Wencai spoke earnestly, "I do have a strategy that could at least reduce our losses by twenty percent."

"Only twenty percent?"

Zhu Tong disdainfully retorted, "What's the difference between that and no reduction at all?"

"I'm Wo Long, not an Immortal; saving twenty percent of the forces in this type of siege warfare would be a great saving of manpower!"

Xu Wencai tossed aside the stick, "I need to offer my strategy to the commander!"

With that, he ran towards where Xiang Tingchun had his offices.

Zhu Tong counted on his fingers, "With over nine hundred men in our garrison, what does twenty percent amount to?"

...

Chen Sansi said with resignation, "It's reducing twenty percent of the casualties, not saying that the whole army will be wiped out."

"Then how many is that?"

Zhu Tong was even more puzzled.

Before he could figure it out, Xu Wencai returned.

He quickly asked, "How did it go, what did Lord Thousand Households say?"

Xu Wencai was so angry that his face turned red, and he stomped his foot shouting, "Incompetent commander, incompetent commander!"

The commander's tent wasn't far away; Chen Sansi, following the direction of the wind, faintly heard a "get out."

He shook his head and stood up to leave.

The battle was inevitable, and he never intended to avoid it.

However, it seemed that he really needed to undergo Bone Training before the spring.

After Bone Training, one could withstand blades and weaponry, not losing combat effectiveness from minor wounds on the battlefield.