"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
In the slave army camp, the Xiongnu's Right Grand General Zhunjin commanded the slave troops in training. Princess Consort Lin Yue sat on a Hu Chuang, watching, while Zhou Fugui and other personal guards stood by, swords at their sides, protecting her.
A Hu Chuang, known as a folding light seating in the grasslands, was essentially a four-legged armchair.
Thus, Zhou Fugui's gaze shifted from the slave troops to this Hu Chuang.
It was important to note that in the Han territories at this time, such four-legged armchairs did not exist; the Han people sat on the ground.
Chairs, Zhou Fugui was certainly familiar with, but he hadn't expected chairs to first appear beyond the Great Wall.
Zhou Fugui was merely curious, his eyes lingering on the Hu Chuang. However, everyone else perceived Zhou Fugui's gaze as lingering on Lin Yue, which they considered extremely disrespectful, including Lin Yue herself.
"Commander Zhou, what are you looking at?" Lin Yue, feeling uncomfortable under Zhou Fugui's gaze, asked angrily.
Besides anger, Lin Yue also felt a trace of shyness, a feeling she had never experienced before.
"Oh, oh..." Zhou Fugui, realizing Lin Yue had misunderstood, hastily said, "This junior officer suddenly became interested in this chair. I did not intend to offend the Princess Consort. Forgive me, forgive me!"
Zhou Fugui's explanation, instead of clarifying, only amplified Lin Yue's anger and shyness, adding a sense of indignation. With a living, beautiful woman sitting before him, he claimed to be interested only in a mere chair?
Lin Yue felt indignant but had nothing to say. She merely gave a cold snort and fell silent.
The guards, however, were unconvinced, believing the cunning Han man to be insincere. "Doesn't love beauty, loves old chairs..." Who would believe such a thing?
"Kill!"
At this moment, a robust slave warrior in the arena, shield in his left hand, roared and swung a bronze zhu in his right towards another slave warrior he was sparring with.
The bronze zhu was a heavy ge-like weapon, similar to an axe or yue. The slave warrior wielding the bronze zhu was tall and broad-shouldered, possessing immense strength. As he swung the bronze zhu, it produced a "whoosh" sound. His opponent, shorter in stature, held a shield in his left hand and a straight-backed curved saber in his right. Upon seeing the bronze zhu descend, he rolled to the side, evading the fatal blow.
With a "bang," the bronze zhu grazed the head of the warrior with the curved saber and struck the ground, creating a small pit and sending dirt flying into his face.
Seeing his attack miss, the slave warrior with the bronze zhu swung it two more times. The third blow landed on the opponent's shield, sending the warrior with the curved saber flying about ten feet away.
However, the warrior with the curved saber was no pushover. After rolling about ten feet, he leaped into the air, gripped his curved saber with his right hand, let out a great roar, and with a twist of his waist, flung the long curved saber towards the warrior with the bronze zhu.
With a "puff," blood splattered. The warrior with the bronze zhu, unable to dodge in time, had the curved saber lodged in his right shoulder. His grip loosened, and the bronze zhu fell to the ground.
The warrior with the bronze zhu was defeated and seriously wounded. Even if his injuries healed, his right shoulder and arm would be almost useless.
The slave warriors in the arena were indeed training. Although called training, it was actually a melee. They fought with real weapons, and real combat inevitably led to casualties. Thus, people were constantly being injured and falling to the ground, some even dying, making it extremely bloody and brutal.
"Commander Zhou, what do you think?" After a while, Lin Yue asked Zhou Fugui.
The cruelty and bloodiness of the slave army's training were almost equivalent to real combat, far surpassing other Xiongnu armies. Therefore, the slave army possessed formidable fighting strength, a fact of which Lin Yue was somewhat proud.
At the same time, Lin Yue was eager to know how Zhou Fugui's men trained.
"Not very good," Zhou Fugui replied with a hint of disdain.
The rigorous training of the Ice Bone Camp was also extremely harsh and demanding. However, during sparring, they mostly used wooden swords and shields instead of real weapons. The slave army's training, on the other hand, was like being on the battlefield, fighting desperately. Zhou Fugui couldn't help but be surprised.
But beyond his surprise, Zhou Fugui felt this training method was ill-advised.
"Commander Zhou was once a general of Yan, so you must have a better strategy," Lin Yue said, unfazed. She beckoned Zhou Fugui over. "Come and sit by me."
The people of the grasslands were passionate and uninhibited, without the rigid etiquette of status. They were not as reserved as the Han people.
*I am also a general of Yan now,* Zhou Fugui mused inwardly. He walked to Lin Yue's side but remained standing, saying, "This junior officer was merely a low-ranking military official in the Yan army. How could I possibly have any brilliant strategies?"
"Commander Zhou, you needn't be so modest," Lin Yue asked, glancing at him. "If that's the case, why did you look that way earlier? Do you feel that General Zhunjin's instruction is flawed? Commander Zhou, since you have sworn allegiance to me, I hope you will speak frankly and not be so distant."
Since Lin Yue had said this, Zhou Fugui had no choice but to voice his thoughts. He began, "This junior officer dares not say that the Right Grand General's training is flawed. Rigorous training that simulates battlefield conditions will undoubtedly produce a strong army. However, Princess Consort Lin Yue, I believe they are people, not machines."
"Machines? What are machines? They sound so strange. I've never heard of them before," Lin Yue asked, puzzled.
"Uh..." Zhou Fugui had slipped up and hastily explained, "I mean, rigid. Only knowing how to obey orders and thinking nothing else."
"Is there anything wrong with following orders?" Lin Yue asked again.
"Of course, officers and soldiers should follow orders. There is nothing wrong with that," Zhou Fugui said, pointing at the slave warriors still fighting. "But look at what they have become. They are beasts who only know how to kill. Beasts are low-level animals; they have no thoughts. Princess Consort Lin Yue, if the officers and soldiers of an army, especially the generals, have no thoughts, it is exceptionally terrifying. The battlefield is constantly changing. If they only know how to follow orders and cannot adapt, this junior officer believes they are doomed to defeat."
"Oh, I see," Lin Yue said, her expression unreadable as she looked at Zhou Fugui. "So, Commander Zhou is feeling compassionate, unable to bear seeing them get injured? If you're soft-hearted, just say so. Why speak so much? You Han people like to talk in circles, making it impossible to grasp what you mean."
Long ago, when Lin Yue was young, she had encountered some Han officials who never spoke directly, always beating around the bush in such a way that listeners became confused.
"Precisely!" Lin Yue had understood, and Zhou Fugui no longer concealed his thoughts. He nodded and stated directly, "Instruction is still instruction, after all. No matter how close to actual combat instruction gets, it remains instruction. Combat experience must be gained on the battlefield, forged in the crucible of actual combat, not solely through drills. If you have them fight to the death in drills, aside from increasing casualties, it has little other effect. Princess Consort Lin Yue, do you understand? Before any battle begins, to incur casualties unnecessarily is like injuring ourselves before we even harm the enemy!"
"Heh heh, Commander Zhou, please sit down." Lin Yue invited Zhou Fugui to sit once more. This time, Zhou Fugui did not refuse and sat down resolutely beside Lin Yue.
"Commander Zhou's compassion is admirable, and I am very pleased..." Lin Yue said slowly. "However, Commander Zhou, do you know that they are all slaves? I rescued them and allowed them to join the army. If they kill enemies and earn merit, they can escape their slave status. Commander Zhou, do you know what slaves are like? They are worse than cattle and sheep, their lives cheaper than paper. I rescued them and gave them an opportunity. Do I still fear the mere casualties in these training grounds?"
"Slaves? Slaves are also people!" Zhou Fugui said, displeased. "They are merely forced into servitude and exploited. Princess Consort Lin Yue, since you have rescued them, you should not continue to regard them as slaves, let alone as beasts."
"Mmm, you speak the truth," Lin Yue replied, not angered but sighing softly. "But I am only a woman, and often, I am helpless."
After her elder brother, Hu Yanheng, was executed by Duo Yongjian, Lin Yue found herself alone in the vast grasslands. To avoid being insulted and to survive, Lin Yue could only rise up and fight against destiny. And in the current situation, the only people Lin Yue could rely on were the slaves in the grasslands and the twenty thousand slave troops under her command.
Everywhere, one had to rely on strength.
Those Xiongnu soldiers and herders would not obey Lin Yue's orders before the Great Chieftain Duo Yongjian was dead.
Lin Yue had made many efforts to win the hearts of the slaves, even contemplating abolishing their slave status and the slave system in the grasslands. This would undoubtedly win their hearts and ensure their genuine loyalty.
But as Lin Yue herself said, she was only a woman. Besides her title as Princess Consort, she had no other foundation and no other great tree to lean on. Therefore, she could not act entirely as she pleased.
If Lin Yue made any rash moves, those people would pounce on her and tear her to shreds.
Zhou Fugui, of course, did not understand this. He thought Lin Yue was like those people, and he had indeed misunderstood her.
However, at this moment, Zhou Fugui realized that Lin Yue was not the kind of person he had imagined. He nodded and began to sing, "Who says women are inferior to men? A heroine can surpass a hero."
As Zhou Fugui spoke, he actually started singing a little song, which greatly surprised the guards, making them blush.
*How did this person get mixed in with us?* the guards thought in unison.
"Pfft!" Lin Yue couldn't help but laugh at this. She quickly suppressed her laughter and said to Zhou Fugui, "Who says women are inferior to men? A heroine can surpass a hero. Commander Zhou, you always say such amusing things. How about I invite Commander Zhou to chat in my tent today?"
The two of them seemed to be opening up to each other today, so Zhou Fugui nodded.