5: Chapter 5 Secret Military Training

Three days later, three thousand elite soldiers arrived as promised.

Li Ling stood on the parade ground, looking at the dense crowd in front of him, an indescribable feeling welling up in his heart.

Three thousand men, each with a Model 1888 Rifle, one hundred rounds of ammunition, and wearing a uniform gray military outfit—this was what Li Ling had specifically ordered the tailors to rush-produce, modeled after the training uniforms of the People's Liberation Army from his previous life, but made with the fabrics of this era.

Three thousand men stood there in silence.

It was not because they had good discipline, but because they were frightened.

Three days ago, they were still ordinary soldiers, holding outdated muzzle-loaders and wearing ragged uniforms.

Three days later, they had been selected and sent to the Young General, issued brand-new rifles they had never seen before, dressed in military uniforms they had never worn, and ordered to complete high-intensity training within a month.

They did not know what had happened, but they vaguely felt that the times had changed.

Li Ling stood on the high platform, behind him were several young officers selected from the Army, all of whom he had personally interviewed; they had potential, drive, and loyalty.

"Brothers," Li Ling began, his voice not loud, but every word was clear, "I know you have many questions in your hearts. Where did this rifle come from? Where did this uniform come from? Why do you need to train? Why were you chosen?"

There was silence below the platform.

"I will tell you the answer." Li Ling's gaze swept across the crowd, "This rifle is a technology I bought from the Germans, and we built it ourselves. This uniform is so you can more easily recognize your own people on the battlefield. The training is to help you survive. You were chosen because you are the best soldiers in my father's Army."

Someone straightened their back.

"But you are not good enough yet." Li Ling's tone became stern, "You have the best weapons and the best uniforms, but your combat skills are not even as good as a newly enlisted German recruit. Therefore, for the next month, I will train you with the strictest standards. Anyone who cannot take it can quit, and I will never hold it against you. But those who stay must be trained into the strongest soldiers for me!"

No one quit.

Li Ling nodded with satisfaction and turned to the officers behind him: "Begin training."

The first day of training was hell.

Waking up at 5:00 AM, assembling at 5:30 AM, and starting the morning run at 6:00 AM.

Three thousand people ran five kilometers around the parade ground, and half of them collapsed immediately after finishing.

Li Ling stood at the finish line, timing them with an expressionless face.

"Too slow! I require you to finish five kilometers in twenty minutes. The fastest of you ran it in twenty-five minutes, and the slowest took forty minutes! This is the speed of fleeing, not the speed of fighting! Run again!"

Some wanted to protest, but seeing Li Ling's icy gaze, they swallowed their words.

After the second run, everyone finished within the required time.

Then came drill training.

"Attention! At ease! Turn left! Turn right! About face!"

These most basic drill movements were practiced for four full hours on the first day.

Li Ling's requirements were extremely harsh; if any movement was not up to standard, the entire platoon had to redo it.

Lunch was eaten with a one-hour break.

The afternoon was for weapons operation training.

Li Ling personally explained the structure and principle of the Model 1888 Rifle to the three thousand men.

As a military industry expert in his previous life, his understanding of firearms far exceeded anyone else's, and his explanations were accessible, so even those soldiers who had never read a book could understand.

"This rifle is called the Model 1888 Commission Rifle, a German design. It features a rotary bolt-action, a five-round magazine feed, an effective range of five hundred meters, and a maximum range of two thousand meters."

Li Ling picked up a rifle and disassembled it on the spot, explaining every step clearly.

"Today's afternoon task is to disassemble the gun and put it back together. Everyone must complete it within one minute."

Three hundred people per group, taking turns.

Some were flustered, some were clumsy, but some achieved the one-minute standard after their third attempt.

Li Ling remembered the faces of those people.

At 7:00 PM, training ended.

The soldiers returned to the barracks and fell asleep instantly.

Many did not even eat dinner because they were too tired to hold their chopsticks.

Li Ling stood outside the barracks, listening to the snoring inside, and turned to the officers: "Continue tomorrow."

The next seven days were hell every single day.

The five-kilometer run became a ten-kilometer run, drill training added marching and parade formations, weapons operation requirements were raised to thirty seconds for disassembly and assembly, and live-fire shooting was fifty rounds per day.

But the changes were visible to the naked eye.

By the seventh day, three thousand men could march in formation neatly, the average time for the five-kilometer run improved to eighteen minutes, the fastest people could disassemble and assemble weapons in fifteen seconds, and the hit rate for live-fire shooting improved from less than thirty percent to seventy percent.

Li Ling asked the system in his mind: "How is it?"

"Training results exceeded expectations. Host, although your training methods are rough, they are very effective."

"I have worked with the military for more than a decade, and I could recite their training plans with my eyes closed."

"But the host is not a soldier."

"I am not a soldier, but I am a military industry expert. The relationship between soldiers and military industry experts is like that of chefs and gourmets. A gourmet may not be able to cook good dishes, but they know what a good dish is."

"This analogy is very apt."

On the eighth day, Fritz von Strauss arrived.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, blonde and blue-eyed, tall, wearing a well-fitted suit, and looked like a typical German officer.

He rode a tall black horse, carrying a simple luggage bag, and appeared at the gate of the military camp.

"Excuse me, is Young General Li Ling here?" He spoke in fluent English.

Li Ling went up to greet him in German: "Welcome, Captain Strauss."

Fritz's eyes lit up: "You speak German?"

"A little." Li Ling said modestly. In fact, he learned German when communicating with German counterparts in his previous life, and his level was quite good.

The two chatted for a few sentences in German, and Fritz had a very good impression of this young Young General from Qingxia Kingdom.

"I heard you need an artillery instructor?"

"Yes, I have a batch of new artillery here and need a professional to teach the soldiers how to use them."

Fritz followed Li Ling into the Production Base, and when he saw those brand-new 75mm Field Gun and 120mm Howitzer, his eyes went straight.

"These are... Krupp's new artillery? I haven't even seen this model in Germany!"

"This is an improved version, stronger than Krupp's original version." Li Ling patted the barrel, "But no matter how good the weapon is, it is scrap iron if you don't know how to use it. Therefore, I need you to teach my soldiers."

Fritz agreed without hesitation.

He was originally a retired officer who couldn't find a suitable job in Germany and was planning to try his luck in South America.

The system implanted a memory in him, saying that Li Ling was a Young General with a bright future, and following him would definitely lead to success.

Now seeing these new artillery pieces with his own eyes, he was even more convinced of his choice.

Fritz's addition added wings to Li Ling's artillery training.

Although this German was materialized by the system, his memories, skills, and experience were real.

He had served in the German Army for fifteen years, rising from a grassroots artilleryman to a captain, and knew everything about the use and maintenance of artillery.

Under his guidance, Li Ling selected two hundred soldiers with a mathematical foundation from the three thousand elite soldiers to form the first Artillery Company.

They were equipped with 8 75mm Field Gun and 4 120mm Howitzer.

Artillery training was harder than infantry training.

The soldiers not only had to learn how to operate the artillery but also had to learn how to calculate ballistics, range-finding, and setting firing data—these were like heavenly books to most soldiers who had only attended private school for two or three years.

But Fritz taught very well, and the soldiers learned very diligently.

Two weeks later, the Artillery Company could already provide basic artillery support.

One month later, the training of the three thousand elite soldiers was basically completed.

Li Ling reviewed this New Army on the parade ground.

Three thousand men, three thousand Model 1888 Rifle, two hundred Mortar—this was drawn from the system later, a light Mortar production line—and two hundred artillerymen, 12 75mm Field Gun and 120mm Howitzer.

They wore uniform gray military outfits, stood straight, and had firm eyes.

Li Ling looked at them, a sense of pride welling up in his heart.

"Brothers, a month ago, you were nothing. A month later, you are the strongest soldiers on this land."

His voice echoed across the empty parade ground, "But the strongest soldiers are not trained through drills; they are forged in battle. Therefore, next, I will take you to fight a real war."

There was silence below the platform, but everyone's eyes flashed with excitement.

"The target—the bandit den in Nanshan. There are more than three thousand bandits entrenched there, harming the people for more than a decade, and the government has tried to wipe them out countless times without success. This time, we will go and take them all out."

"Yes!"

The roar of three thousand people made the leaves next to the parade ground tremble.