Yan Liqiang was very satisfied with the situation of the Kyudo Club!
During the period of his "retreat", the older batch of Kyudo Club students, led by Shi Changfeng and others, turned into horse bandits and swept through several northwestern states like a pack of wolves. This group of horse bandits suddenly appeared, only targeted the Shatu caravans, and almost never left any of the Shatu people alive. They became the nightmare of the Shatu caravans in the entire northwest.
Once upon a time, the Black Wind Bandits of the Shatu people targeted Han merchant caravans and committed countless atrocities. Now, it was finally the turn of the Shatu merchant caravan to feel the pain of being robbed and slaughtered in the wild.
What’s interesting is that the Shatu people who suffered losses went to local government offices to report the cases. After learning about the incidents, the local government offices all blamed the Black Wind Bandits, leaving the Shatu people speechless and unable to express their grievances.
There have been rumors circulating in various parts of the Northwest in recent years that the Black Wind Bandits are Shatu people in disguise, who specialize in robbing and killing Han caravans. Caravans, business companies, and escort agencies in various parts of the Northwest have long suffered from them, and local government officials and people hate them deeply, but there has been no solid evidence. Those Shatu people put on black robes and cover their faces and become the Black Wind Bandits, killing people and robbing everywhere, doing all kinds of evil. Once they take off their black robes, they become Shatu caravans and civilians again, and are protected by the "Huai'en Order". Local government companies and escort agencies have simply no way to deal with them. Now it is the Shatu people's turn to be unlucky, and the people and governments in various parts of the Northwest are all applauding and cheering secretly. As for arresting them, that is naturally a joke. The Shatu people in the Northwest do not have this ability, so they can only report the case, and local government officials put the "blood debts" on the Black Wind Bandits, and then feel at ease and ignore them.
Under such circumstances, over the course of half a year, the archers of the Kyudo Club experienced more than 30 battles and intercepted and annihilated more than 30 Shatu merchant caravans. The once immature young men grew up rapidly in those battles, under the tempering of blood and fire.
The old students formed a teaching team in the Kyudo Club and became role models for the new students. In addition, the backbones among the old students began to take up positions at all levels in the new batch of students. Under the leadership of these old students, the 3,000 newly recruited students quickly integrated into the learning atmosphere of the Kyudo Club at the fastest speed.
The Kyudo Club is the foundation that Yan Liqiang values the most. In Yan Liqiang's mind, its importance even exceeds that of the Manufacturing Bureau and the Woolen Mill. Seeing that the Kyudo Club is on the right track and thriving, and that the students of the Kyudo Club are growing up rapidly, Yan Liqiang is completely relieved. The Manufacturing Bureau and the Woolen Mill make money, and the Kyudo Club makes people. As long as he has money, no matter how the world changes, he will have the capital to protect what he wants to protect.
After returning this time, Yan Liqiang stayed in the Kyudo Club with new and old students for three days. He personally trained with the new and old students, taught them a set of Taizu Changquan for actual combat, and held two meetings with the old students. On the fourth day, he heard that Lei Sitong had come to Pingxi City to inspect Ganzhou's military equipment. Only then did Yan Liqiang leave Qinghe County with his guards and come to Pingxi City, where he met Lei Sitong and Wang Jianbei again.
The meeting place was not in the city, but in a garrison camp outside Pingxi City. Lei Sitong invited Yan Liqiang to the camp to watch the soldiers' training together.
“Kill… Kill… Kill… Kill… Kill…”
Amid the biting cold wind and the sound of drums, nearly ten thousand soldiers in the camp formed neat square formations, roared like thunder, held long spears, stepped on ice and snow, and practiced changing formations. The tens of thousands of long spears thrust out, shining with cold light, and the iron spears looked like a forest, which made people's blood boil.
Lei Sitong, wearing armor and a blood-red cloak, stood on the podium with one hand on his waist and the other on his sword. Yan Liqiang stood on his left, Wang Jianbei, Liu Yucheng and others stood on his right, and a group of officers from Pingxi County stood behind him.
"Li Qiang, what do you think of the men in this camp?" Lei Sitong turned around and asked Yan Li Qiang.
"The soldiers in this camp are the foundation of the country, they are great men!" Yan Liqiang said seriously.
"Haha, Li Qiang, you said it well!" Lei Sitong pointed at the soldiers who were training in the martial arts arena, and his tone was heroic, but also a little sighing, "In the Silver Continent, there are countless countries, and the weak are preyed upon by the strong. Without them, there would be no Han Empire, and the people would not have a stable life. It is these young men with spears and flesh and blood who have kept those tiger and wolf tribes out of the country. Li Qiang, you said that these men are the cornerstone of the country, and they deserve it! Every time I see them, I think of how I looked when I was young. I also served in the army back then, and like these men, I fought hard in the martial arts arena and finally got to where I am today!"
"Did the governor also serve in the army in the past?"
"Of course, according to our Lei family's family rules, all men of the Lei family must serve in the army for at least six years after they turn 18. Joining the army is like practicing, and I am no exception..." Lei Sitong smiled and looked at Yan Liqiang from head to toe. "I heard that you have been in seclusion for the past six months. It seems that your cultivation has improved a lot in the past six months. Even I can't see through it!"
Yan Liqiang deliberately looked bitter, not minding the many officers and soldiers standing beside him from Pingxi County, and said directly, "I have never done anything against the will of heaven or earth, but I don't know why, in this Han Empire, from the Imperial Capital to the Gulang Grassland, there are many people who want my head. For my life, I naturally have to work harder. For example, in terms of archery skills, as long as it is a fair contest, I still have some confidence, but I am afraid that someone will use any means to do it. If I don't work hard, one day my head will fly off my neck, which will be a big deal. It will be too late to regret. I haven't gotten married yet. If I die like this, wouldn't it be a loss! To be honest with you, Governor, I will find an opportunity to retreat again after the new year..."
After hearing what Yan Liqiang said, Lei Sitong shook his head and smiled bitterly. Even Wang Jianbei and a group of military officers from Pingxi County who were standing next to him couldn't help laughing.
"You..." Lei Sitong pointed at Yan Liqiang and suddenly asked, "I heard that the students in your Archery Club also practiced formations. Liqiang, who do you think is better, your Archery Club students or these guys?"
Hearing Lei Sitong's question, the officers and soldiers from Pingxi County nearby pricked up their ears and looked at Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang's expression remained unchanged. "The students of my Kyudo Club practice formations to teach them to follow orders. If they don't listen, how can I teach thousands of students by myself? As for who is better, it depends on what they are competing in. As the name suggests, the students of the Kyudo Club mainly learn Kyudo, and other ways of conquest and martial arts are rarely involved. If the number of people on both sides is the same, and the students of the Kyudo Club compete with these boys in archery, I believe that the students of the Kyudo Club will be better, after all, they have practiced more. But if the students of the Kyudo Club compete with these boys in gunmanship and formation, they are naturally no match for these boys in the army..."
Yan Liqiang's words were pertinent. After listening to them, the officers and soldiers in Pingxi County nodded secretly, thinking that Yan Liqiang was right. After all, Yan Liqiang's reputation was there. He was known as the best archer in the northwest. With such a master teaching them, the students of the Archery Club had practiced for another year. If they really pulled out one or two thousand men from the military camp to compete with the Archery Club in archery, they would not be able to win. But if they compared with others, these officers and soldiers were full of confidence.
Only Lei Sitong looked at Yan Liqiang deeply, with deep meaning in his eyes, but he didn't say anything, just smiled...
After watching the soldiers' drills in the camp, Lei Sitong brought Yan Liqiang to the central military hall of the camp. The only people sitting there were Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng. After serving tea, Liu Yucheng stood up and closed the door himself.
"Li Qiang, guess why I came to Pingxi County this time?"
Yan Liqiang looked at Lei Sitong, then at Wang Jianbei and Liu Yucheng, and suddenly sighed, "Is there someone who wants to take advantage of the opportunity when the Han Empire is going to send troops to Gulang Grassland to come here to ask for wildfire?"
(End of this chapter)