Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 414 - 245 Training Soldiers and Prisoners at the Foot of the Steps_3

Chapter 414: Chapter 245 Training Soldiers and Prisoners at the Foot of the Steps_3

At this moment, using General Deng Yuanjing’s theories as guidance had already far surpassed the military levels of the Qi Dynasty at the time.

Zhao Haiping also naturally confirmed the first task he had to undertake: selection of troops!

Though there were about forty to fifty thousand soldiers in the barracks at that time, those who understood the Qi Dynasty’s practice of having surplus soldiers knew what that meant.

Among these soldiers, there were those who were physically weak and feeble, those of questionable character originating from bandits, those solely focused on business, and even those who thought about escaping all day.

This mixed group could only drag each other down; far from enhancing the army’s combat effectiveness, they could reduce it to zero.

The Jin soldiers could perhaps fail to catch fifty thousand pigs in a day and a night, but they would surely scatter fifty thousand Qi soldiers in one encounter.

After all, pigs wouldn’t mutiny, flee, or trip up their comrades.

So, the first task Zhao Haiping had to undertake was to sift through the soldiers in the barracks to find those who truly had combat capabilities and potential, and to concentrate on training them after selection.

Quality of troops matters, not the quantity.

"Pass the order!"

"Summon the deputy generals over; I have something to tell them.

"Also, notify the entire army that tomorrow we will reevaluate martial skills on the training ground. Those who perform exceptionally may be promoted at discretion!"

With Zhao Haiping’s command, the entire barracks started bustling with activity.

...

While Zhao Haiping was wholeheartedly training troops, Chu Ge was questioning his life.

He sincerely doubted whether the game had bugged out.

After joining forces with Li Hongyun to take out Emperor Yingzong of Qi, he had already cleared the first stage and earned eligibility for the second stage.

Among the three identities, Chu Ge wavered between the scholar and the prince for a moment but ultimately decided to choose the scholar identity.

Based on the image on the card, this official’s status shouldn’t be low.

After all, the Imperial Censor he had played in the first stage was already a third-grade official. If this character wasn’t a senior official, it would be hard to manage.

However, when Chu Ge was full of anticipation to awaken in the residence of a senior official, what first caught his eye was the whip of the Jin people.

With a sharp "snap," Chu Ge was struck until he was in a daze.

"Move faster!"

A Jin cavalryman mounted on a warhorse cursed viciously before kicking his horse’s flanks, moving to inspect the rear of the column.

Chu Ge was dumbfounded; he touched the spot on his body where he had been whipped.

"Hiss..."

Without having to think about it, there was definitely a bloody welt.

So, Chu Ge suspected there might have been a bug.

Where was the high-ranking official he was promised? Where was the senior official he was supposed to be at least?

Looking around, Chu Ge found himself in a long column, using his own two legs, moving laboriously northward.

"It can’t be...

"Could it be that this is the road being taken to the Jin Country?

"Damn it! I’ve been duped!"

Chu Ge was speechless and deeply regretted choosing this identity.

Why would he start from here?

It was evident that these events unfolded after the Jingping rebellion.

During the Jingping Rebellion, the Jin soldiers had abducted the Royal Family of Bianliang, along with many officials, and herded them back to Jin Country to paralyze the command hub of the Qi Dynasty.

The journey was naturally far from a comfortable trip.

To the Jin people, these hostages weren’t to be wantonly slain, yet were they important? Not particularly. The royal womenfolk could be abused at will, and as for Princes, civilian officers, and the like, the mandate was four simple words: just keep them alive.

Given these circumstances, one could well imagine the treatment they received.

Fortunately, it seemed the game designer possessed some conscience and spared Chu Ge from fully experiencing the entire northward journey.

After symbolically briefing the events on the road, Chu Ge had become a prisoner at the foot of the stairs.

During this process, he learned his name was still Li Hao.

However, this identity clearly didn’t continue the plot development from the first stage.

This was normal after all, in the previous storyline before Chu Ge, Imperial Censor Li Hao had already committed suicide for colluding with an assassin.

In this storyline, Imperial Censor Li Hao ultimately played no significant role in the Jingping Rebellion and eventually, along with Emperor Qihui, Emperor Yingzong of Qi, and numerous officials inside the capital, was taken to Jin Country, reduced to a prisoner at the foot of the stairs.

Chu Ge had an understanding of this period in history.

Once in Jin Country, Emperor Qihui was forced to kowtow before various Princes of Jin, as well as don mourning attire to kowtow to the Jin ancestors. The Empresses and concubines from all walks of life were subjected to the indignity of the shepherding sheep ceremony and suffered countless humiliations.

Emperor Qihui and Emperor Yingzong, those two useless figures, certainly had it coming, but it was a pity for the other innocent ones.

Nevertheless, these matters were unrelated to the Li Hao that Chu Ge was playing; at this time, he was just an ordinary member amongst the numerous prisoners.

Though the place where he was detained was not an especially harsh prison but a rather average Jin dwelling, the conditions and treatment he received were, without a doubt, not favorable.

The most critical aspect was the lack of freedom, days of incarceration with no end in sight.

Chu Ge had indeed contemplated the thought of suicide to start afresh, but after some consideration, he decided to wait and see.

It wasn’t that he was afraid to die; after all, this was an instance, and suicide had become a common tactic among players.

Chu Ge chose not to die not out of fear but rather to clarify the objective of clearing this identity and why of all three identities, his had the lowest difficulty level.

Fortunately, the game automatically skipped some meaningless, monotonous segments, and the objective quickly became clear:

In the process of distributing the captives, find your own glimmer of hope for survival!

Among the Qi Dynasty captives captured by the Jin, civilian officials like Li Hao were still quite sought after.

The women were reduced to playthings for the Jin;

The royalty was generally detained, and no Jin really dared to employ them.

But these civilian officials, they were cultured, possessed a degree of skill and political ability, and crucially, they might not be particularly loyal to the Qi Dynasty, giving rise to the possibility of defection.

For the Jin, these were all exceedingly rare resources.

After all, high officials from the Qi Dynasty becoming aides under one’s own command was considered an excellent arrangement.

Thus, many Jin noblemen began to scout among these senior Qi officials to take them on as aides.

Chu Ge sharply grasped the situation at hand.

If one were to speak of national integrity, then naturally, you couldn’t show these Jin people a good face; even if captured, you must not offer the Jin any strategies or advice.

Or, more drastically, you should lay down your life for your country.

But in truth, anyone who truly intended to die for their country was already dead; those who had trudged all the way to Jin Country through hardships were the ones who wished to cling to life.

Doing nothing would lead to only two outcomes: either be killed one day at the whim of some unhappy Jin noble or remain a lowly prisoner indefinitely, living out one’s days in the bitter cold lands of Jin, dying in obscurity.

Therefore, after some consideration, Chu Ge made up his mind to become more proactive during this phase of distributing captives, exploring what possibilities lay ahead.

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