Chapter 607: Sis Ru Se! (2)
Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations
The Peerless Regiment’s original total army strength was about seven thousand men, including the five thousand Peerless Archers, and two thousand Peerless Heavy Cavalry Soldiers. That was the true core of the Peerless Regiment. Of course, there were also the two thousand backup Heavy Cavalry Soldiers. Including them, the Peerless Regiment numbered nine thousand.
As the main force of the Peerless Regiment arrived, there was yet another force of five hundred cavalry soldiers. This force was one that Zhou Weiqing had specially given orders to be invited before they left the northern ZhongTian borders. It was the Snow Deer Cavalry Troops from the WanShou Empire that had been promised as aid to him by their tribe leader.
Although the Snow Deer Cavalry only numbered five hundred men, these five hundred could be considered amongst the top three cavalry forces in the entire WanShou Empire. From that, one could imagine how strong they were. Of course, the reason they would join him was because of the Six Ultimate Heavenly Emperor and their debt to him, and Zhou Weiqing would never forget it. Naturally, he would also treat these Snow Deer Cavalry soldiers extremely well, directly bringing them into his Peerless Regiment and awarding them the same pay and treatment.
With Ming Yu’s personal guard also integrated into the Peerless Regiment, their total strength was now up to more than ten thousand, a full and proper Regiment at last.
…
The first full military meeting in the Crescent City was currently being held now, directed by Zhou Weiqing.
The meeting was attended by the upper echelons of the Peerless Regiment. At the same time, Zhou Weiqing was using Princess Difuya’s name to issue a series of orders.
The Peerless Regiment Commander would still be Zhou Weiqing. Besides that, there were now a few Vice Commanders. Amongst them, Ming Yu was named the First Vice Commander, and he would be in charge of daily matters. Towards this point, before the meeting had started, he had already communicated this to the other higher ranked officers of the Peerless Regiment, and only after getting their approval did he announce it to rank and file. Besides Ming Yu, the other Vice Commanders were Hua Feng, as the Heavenly Bow Unit Leader and overall archery drillmaster. The original Ruffian Battalion Commander Wei Feng was also still one of the Vice Commanders of the Peerless Regiment. However, they now had their own responsibilities. Hua Feng would be mainly in charge of his duties as the Archery Drillmaster, and Wei Feng would be in charge of logistics. Both of them would complement Ming Yu in commanding the entire army.
Besides them, the other officers were also given their responsibilities as under Ming Yu’s advice, the entire Peerless Regiment had their formations reestablished.
The main unit of choice was still the ‘main company’, with five hundred men to a single ‘Main Company’. The First Main Company was now converted to Zhou Weiqing’s personal guard, while the other Main Companies would remain unchanged. Ming Yu’s personal guard battalion had been changed into two light cavalry Main Companies when they entered the Peerless Regiment, while the Snow Deer Cavalry soldiers formed a Assault Main Company in the formation.
Speaking of the Snow Deer Cavalry soldiers, it had truly given Ming Yu a large amount of respect towards Zhou Weiqing. When he had first seen the tall and robust Snow Deer Tribesmen amongst the arriving main force of the Peerless Regiment, Ming Yu had been totally shocked.
In his many wars in the northern borders, Ming Yu had witnessed the terrifying power of the Snow Deer Cavalry with his own eyes. At that time, he had said that if he could command ten thousand Snow Deer Cavalry, he could be undefeated on land combat. One could imagine the impression that the Snow Deer Cavalry had left on him to actually say something like that.
Upon seeing the Snow Deer Cavalry, Ming Yu no longer had doubts regarding the overall strength of Zhou Weiqing’s Peerless Regiment.
Naturally, there was no need for the Snow Deer Cavalry to undergo any changes or improvements. Even compared to the Berserker or Gold Crow Tribe warriors, their individual strength and power were equal or even stronger. Furthermore, the Snow Deer Heavenly Beasts that were their beloved mounts were far more powerful Heavenly Beasts than the Unicorn Heavenly Beasts.
As for Ming Yu’s original personal guard, now the two light cavalry Main Companies, they would require a serious change in outfitting. In this, Zhou Weiqing was extremely generous. Not only were they issued nearly the same equipment as the Peerless Regiment Archers, even the secret medicines to awaken their Heavenly Energy as well as provisions of the Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, all of them were given the same treatment as the other Peerless Regiment soldiers. These two Main Companies would be directly commandeered by Ming Yu.
Zhou Weiqing’s trust truly touched Ming Yu, and he used his own actions to prove that he indeed deserved the name of the Fei Li God General.
On the tenth day after the Peerless Regiment main force had arrived in the Crescent City, Ming Yu personally led his two Main Companies out on an expedition. Using his strategy and plan to trick open the city gates, he took two days to conquer the two cities on the east and west flank of the Crescent City. Although the enemies did not put up much resistance, it did not tarnish the fact that Ming Yu had captured the two cities without losing a single soldier. With them in their command, the three cities formed a triangular formation that would feed off each other, surrounding and protecting one another. This would be the base of the entire Heavenly Bow Empire armies.
What followed next was no longer any of Zhou Weiqing’s business, as he had passed on the responsibilities to his men. As for him, once again he entered close door cultivation. Besides a few required business he had to attend to daily, he and Shangguan Xue’er basically cultivated together with Tian’er everyday.
The recruitment was far more smooth sailing than any of them had expected. After capturing the other two cities and settling them properly, they had begun recruitment. At the same time, all other aspects were moving along in proper motion as well.
In another half month, the Fei Li Empire had sent a second batch of supplies and resources. At the same time, the ‘shopping list’ that Zhou Weiqing had ordered had also reached the Crescent City. The main armies of the Heavenly Bow Empire began their outfitting.
This time, the recruitment process was far different from the previous times.
The previous recruitment process had been the responsibility of Yan Zhexi. The facts had proven that when compared to Ming Yu, he still had much to learn. Originally, Yan Zhexi had undergone a strict screening process before recruitment, but Ming Yu was the total opposite.
When Ming Yu underwent the recruitment process, his only rule was that the age requirement was from fifteen to thirty five, and anyone of the age could join the army. Anyone who signed up were taken. After which, he did not issue them any army uniforms or supplies, directly throwing them into an integrated training camp. This would be his screening process instead, using the training as a means of testing over a period of time. From the various strict trainings, different talents would show themselves in different ways, and they would be thus allocated to the different formations that suited them. In this way, not only was it more effective, it also prevented the loss of any possible hidden talents and a far more accurate allocation of talents.
In just a matter of one month, with the three cities on the north of the Heavenly Bow Empire as the base, they had already recruited two Regiments of soldiers, undergoing a strict series of training.
Ming Yu’s training methods were simple, split into two portions. Individual combat training and group combat training.
When it came to individual combat training, he directly delegated the task down, splitting the Peerless Regiment up totally. Each of the Peerless Regiment soldiers would be in charge of two fresh recruits, and they would train in personal combat together. As for group combat training, even the Peerless Regiment would have to attend training. After all, though the Peerless Regiment were extremely powerful individually, their group combat had a lot of room for improvement.
“Little Fatty, Little Fatty, look who’s here…” At the moment, Zhou Weiqing was accompanying Tian’er, sunbathing in the courtyard. He had asked several doctors and received information that sun was good for an unborn child. Although Tian’er did not currently show any signs of being pregnant yet, Zhou Weiqing was clearly becoming more and more like a foolish doting father.
The sudden voice that rang out was all too familiar to Zhou Weiqing. It was his first teacher, the one who had initiated him to the world, teaching him everything about being an adult and surviving in the world, and perhaps the one with the greatest influence on him in making him the man he was today. The God Eye Scoundrel, Mu En!
Mu En’s time in the past months had been great. He now had a wife, a daughter, and he didn’t have to handle much in the entire Peerless Regiment. At the same time, Zhou Weiqing was his disciple, and within the entire Peerless Regiment, his status was no lower than Hua Feng’s.
“Master, what good thing has come up, that you are so exci…” Seeing that Mu En had come, naturally Zhou Weiqing stood up to receive him personally. However, before he could even complete his sentence, it was as if someone had gripped his throat, and he could no longer speak. He was so excited that his body was trembling violently.
Naturally, Mu En had not come alone. Right behind Mu En, a general followed behind him, dressed in chainmail, looking valiant and gallant indeed. However, the handsome face of the general had a hint of delicateness.
Seeing Zhou Weiqing, the young general was just as excited, trembling so much that the chainmail began to give forth a scraping sound.
“Little Fatty.. You… you’re finally back.”
Under Tian’er and Shangguan Xue’er’s surprised looks, Zhou Weiqing suddenly charged forward, enveloping the youth in a big hug as he began to sob. “Big Sis Ru Se, you are still alive! You’re still alive! That’s great… that’s great…”
Indeed, this valiant general, wasn’t it Zhou Weiqing’s childhood friend and ‘big sis’ Xiao Ru Se.
Ever since he knew that his homeland had been invaded and conquered by enemies, Zhou Weiqing had been suppressing the sorrow in his heart. Currently, seeing Xiao Ru Se in front of him, one could imagine the sheer agitation in his heart. Xiao Ru Se was still alive, and this news was of extraordinary importance to him, holding great meaning. He had deep feelings for this sister of his. After the destruction of his Empire, finally meeting his kin once more, all the suppressed emotions and feelings in Zhou Weiqing’s heart finally burst out.
Xiao Ru Se was also crying hard, hugging Zhou Weiqing back, and the pair of brother and sister just stood there hugging and crying.
At this side, they had been crying, but both Tian’er and Shangguan Xue’er were both thrown in confusion, both of them exchanging glances. Although Zhou Weiqing had called out ‘Big Sis Ru Se’, in their eyes this young general in front of them was a man. Furthermore, both girls were extremely familiar with Zhou Weiqing, and the way he had called out was obviously not just an ordinary relationship! What was going on?
At the side, Mu En was grinning away happily, but his eyes were growing wet. Seeing Zhou Weiqing and Xiao Ru Se hugging and reunited, with the hopes of reviving his Empire right in front of him, how could he not be overjoyed?
After crying for awhile, Zhou Weiqing finally regained control. Holding Xiao Ru Se by the shoulders, he asked: “Big Sis Ru Se, how have you been these few years?”
Xiao Ru Se rubbed her eyes, saying bitterly: “Our home has been destroyed, how could I have been having a good time?”
Mu En clapped the two on their shoulders and said: “Come on, let’s go in before speaking. Ru Se has rushed here, and it has been tough on her these few years…”
“Right, right…” Zhou Weiqing quickly invited Xiao Ru Se into the courtyard.
Before they had taken a few steps, Xiao Ru Se spotted Shangguan Xue’er, and her face froze momentarily before she smiled happily. In her original female voice, she exclaimed: “Bing’er, it has been a long time! You’re even more beautiful now…”
Shangguan Xue’er started, but she quickly realised that it was another case of mistaken identity. However, upon hearing that Xiao Ru Se’s voice was female, she couldn’t help but ask: “You… are you male or female?”
Xiao Ru Se exclaimed in surprise: “Bing’er, I’m Xiao Ru Se! We have been apart for just a mere few years, and you have already forgotten this poor ex Company Leader under your command?”