Chapter 109: Sneak into the military camp as a soldier
Zhu Wenzheng shouted: "This is not a test of who knows the most words!"
Chen Biao said calmly: "Well, this is just a game that tests agility and luck."
In fact, it's not just about agility and luck, it also requires the ability to predict spatial graphics.
Excellent generals all have a strong sense of space in their brains. In this respect, Hu Dahai and Zhu Wenzhen have similar advantages. Zhu Wenzhen has the advantage of being more proficient in games and knowing more words than Hu Dahai.
But no matter what game Zhu Wenzhen played, his luck was too bad.
If Zhu Wenzhen were to play a card drawing game in the future, he would definitely not sell anything until the guaranteed price was reached, and any small guaranteed price would definitely be distorted. He would be the kind of "god" who would not play any game without a guaranteed price.
If Zhu Wenzhen used his luck in gaming in his daily life, he would probably worry about choking to death while eating or drinking.
Zhu Wenzhen had such bad luck in playing games, but he felt good about it and didn't notice it.
Sometimes Chen Biao thought that his cousin might be a little bit stupid.
Of course, this may also be related to the fact that after Chen Biao discovered that Zhu Wenzhen had extremely bad luck in playing games, he would always "operate in a black box" to make Zhu Wenzhen feel the balance between Europe and Africa.
Therefore, Chen Biao easily achieved his goal of using his cousin as a tool to increase Hu Dahai's confidence.
Zhu Wenzhen was really angry and really couldn't understand why he lost. This was not an act.
Hu Dahai was greatly shocked by Zhu Wenzhen's genuine feedback.
"I, I won?" Hu Dahai looked at the cards in front of him, "I won?!"
Chen Biao smiled and said, "Yes, Uncle Hu, you win. As long as you treat it as a game, learning to read is actually very easy, right?"
Hu Dahai nodded vigorously: "Yes! I learned it so quickly!"
Hu Deji and Hu Guanzhu were also extremely shocked: "You learned it?!"
Zhu Wenzheng snorted: "Come again!"
Hu Dahai played another game with Zhu Wenzhen and won again.
Zhu Wenzheng was so angry that he jumped up and down: "Come on again! I won't believe it!"
Chen Biao quickly stopped Zhu Wenzheng: "Brother Zheng, okay, we have other things to do today."
Zhu Wenzheng said angrily: "No! I must win once!"
Chen Biao said, "Winning once is so easy. I'll just change a deck of cards that Uncle Hu doesn't recognize, and then you'll win, right? "
Zhu Wenzheng was stunned for a moment, then lost interest immediately: "That's right."
He glanced at Hu Dahai, who was so happy that he didn't know what to do, and finally realized that his brother was using him as a tool.
Zhu Wenzheng smiled and rubbed Chen Biao's head fiercely, saying, "Whatever you want to do next, I'll accompany you."
Seeing that Zhu Wenzheng understood what he meant and stopped insisting, Chen Biao breathed a sigh of relief: "The lord also allowed me to visit the military camp school and give a few lessons to the soldiers."
Zhu Wenzheng said to Hu Dahai: "General Hu, wait a minute, and accompany my brother Biao to the military camp first."
Hu Dahai immediately jumped up, stroking the card in his hand and said, "Okay!"
Seeing Hu Dahai couldn't put down the literacy game cards, Chen Biao said, "Uncle Hu, if you like this set of cards, keep it. When Uncle Hu can write the words without looking at the cards, I'll give him a new set."
Hu Dahai remembered Chen Biao's kindness and did not refuse: "Thank you, Biao'er!"
Chen Biao had a hard time holding back his laughter.
Hu Dahai looks really like his younger dog brother and younger cat brother.
By dusk, the soldiers had finished their training.
Hu Dahai came to inspect with his children, and the soldiers all looked at him with curiosity.
When the soldiers learned that the child was the famous young military strategist Chen Biao, they looked at Chen Biao as if he were a living god.
The miracle of the Battle of Hongdu had made General Zhu Wenzheng and his military advisor Chen Biao role models for the soldiers. Compared to Zhu Wenzheng, who had already won numerous victories before the Battle of Hongdu, Chen Biao's younger age and sudden emergence made him even more legendary. They were most impressed by Chen Biao.
Life in the military camp is very boring.
In their spare time, the soldiers under Zhu Yuanzhang had to farm, help the people repair houses and do farm work. They had a lot of work to do, so their mental state was relatively good.
The soldiers under the other warlords had little to do except training. They were generally young men from the lower classes, illiterate, uneducated, and without ambition. Their free time was spent either thinking about women or gambling and fighting.
If a feudal army neglects even training, it may be more terrifying to the people than bandits.
When Chen Biao was defending Hongdu, he added many interesting activities for the Hongdu defenders.
Reading and writing, storytelling and singing, teamwork, group competition... Chen Biao's actions boosted the morale of the Hongdu defenders. Even after he left Hongdu, the defenders did not stop these activities.
In the letter, Chen Biao told Zhu Yuanzhang about his idea of enriching the spiritual and cultural core of the soldiers. Zhu Yuanzhang used the Hongdu garrison as a pilot. After they did well, he assigned them to other armies to teach them to imitate the Hongdu garrison.
It is worth mentioning that when Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to ask Chang Yuchun to promote this model to the labor reform camp, Chang Yuchun had already done something similar.
The labor reform camps themselves had literacy classes. To reform their spirits, opera and drama were the primary means of satisfying their needs, and they even set up their own stages to perform. After Chen Biao had developed several ball games, he sought to promote them by contacting Ye Zheng, who then sought to introduce them to the labor reform camps.
Therefore, while the soldiers in the labor reform camp were earning points, they were already enriching their spiritual and cultural core.
Chen Biao felt a little embarrassed when he learned about this.
From this perspective, it seems that the people in the labor reform camp live better than other soldiers and their training is more scientific.
Chen Biao had no intention of intervening in the military. The foundation of dynastic rule lay in the military. The Chen family already controlled the economic lifeline of the Zhu dynasty; intervening in the military would be courting death.
All Chen Biao did for the army was to provide equipment.
But man proposes, God disposes. Chen Biao was blocked in Hongdu by Chen Youliang and had to join the army in order to survive.
After being involved, Chen Biao changed his mind. His three brothers were all trusted generals of Zhu Yuanzhang. The Chen family was already deeply involved in the military. His excessive caution was unnecessary. He should do whatever his lord ordered him to do. This was rational caution.
Therefore, when Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to promote spiritual and cultural construction in the army, Chen Biao did not shirk his responsibility.
Little did he know that before Chen Biao even started to make any efforts, Chang Yuchun had already completed the pilot project.
Wait, it seems like I contributed to the reform-through-labor camp system, so if I round it up... I also have a contribution?
Chen Biao fell into deep thought. "Though I say I won't help you, my lord, I've actually done a lot for you." "Will my achievements be greater than Uncle Xu's in the future? If you're planning to execute the meritorious officials, why not start with me?"
Chen Biao compared his own contributions with those of Uncle Xu, patted his chest, and felt relieved.
Uncle Xu's contribution is still much greater than mine, so I'm not afraid.
Yingtian was Zhu Yuanzhang's temporary capital. After the successful pilot program of the labor reform camp where Chang Yuchun was engaged in spiritual and cultural education, the military camps on the outskirts of Yingtian Prefecture were the natural second pilot program.
Chen Biao originally thought that since it was located near the capital, even if the results of this pilot project could not catch up with his own personal teaching, it should not be much different from Marshal Chang’s labor reform camp.
But after he took a look around and understood the situation, his face immediately fell into a cat-like expression.
The spiritual and cultural education pilot program has been underway for half a year, but the educational outcomes for this group of soldiers are the same as Hu Dahai's. Not only is it almost the same as if they learned nothing, they also develop a strong aversion to learning, as if learning has become a burden that exploits them and makes them resentful.
Chen Biao asked the generals why. The generals scratched their heads and said, "The study is too difficult. Everyone is afraid of it, so it's hard."
Chen Biao shook his head. "That can't be the reason. The Yingtian defenders have a similar level of education to the Hongdu defenders. The Hongdu defenders were extremely tired defending the city and didn't consider studying a burden. The Yingtian defenders only train daily, so they shouldn't be more afraid of difficulties than the Hongdu defenders."
The general scratched his head again. What the young military advisor said made sense, but he really couldn't explain why.
He himself found it very painful to learn.
Hu Dahai said, "Biao'er, should I ask a few more people?"
Chen Biao shook his head again and said, "Uncle Hu, can Brother Zheng and I stay in the barracks? I'll stay here for a few days."
Hu Dahai said, "Of course, no problem! But the conditions in the barracks are poor. Can you stand it?"
Chen Biao smiled and said, "I'm not a spoiled person."
Zhu Wenzheng said: "No, you are."
Chen Biao raised his leg and kicked Zhu Wenzheng on the knee: "Shut up."
Zhu Wenzheng sighed, "Biao'er, your adoptive father's soldiers are under his own control. You are still so young, why do you worry so much? Just report the matter and let your adoptive father take care of it."
Chen Biao said, "It was my idea to carry out spiritual and cultural education for the army. If there are problems with this policy and it causes the army to lose morale, then that will be my fault."
Zhu Wenzhen hesitated to speak and finally compromised.
There was nothing he could do if he refused to compromise. Biao'er had made up his mind, and even his adoptive parents couldn't change it.
Although the conditions in the military camp are not as good as those of the Chen family, the living quarters of the generals are not much worse.
Chen Biao slept soundly.
The next morning, I grabbed food with the sergeant, trained together (but the amount of training was greatly reduced), went to class together, and changed into a soldier's uniform.
When Hu Dahai finished his work and ran to see Chen Biao, Chen Biao had completely turned into one of the soldiers, with dust on his face, and was almost unrecognizable.
Chen Biao imitated the soldier next to him with a silly grin: "I couldn't endure hardship in the first place, but after experiencing it once in Hongdu, I can endure it now."
Hu Dahai wanted to persuade Chen Biao, but then he thought that as the son of a general, Chen Biao would definitely lead troops in battle in the future, and it would be good for him to get used to military life now. Since his son had also gone through this, he let Chen Biao go.
Zhu Wenzheng also wanted to persuade Chen Biao. However, not only did he fail to persuade Chen Biao, but he was persuaded by Chen Biao, and he also hid his identity and disguised himself as a soldier, and followed Chen Biao into the training team.
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his work, he returned home and did not see Chen Biao. He immediately suffered from paranoia and was ready to look for Biao all over the city. However, he was scolded by Ma Xiuying and found out that Chen Biao had lived in the military camp.
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately wanted to send someone to pick up Chen Biao, and cried out to the sky, "How could my Biao suffer such hardship!", but was scolded by Ma Xiuying again and waited obediently for Chen Biao to come back.
Every day in the Ming Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang would deal with endless official business while asking Biao'er what he was doing. Other confidants who knew Chen Biao's identity also pricked up their ears to listen.
"Young Master ran 500 meters today."
Zhu Yuanzhang trembled.
"Master swung the stick a hundred times today."
Zhu Yuanzhang trembled violently.
"Young Master, you've been practicing forced marches , and your feet are all blistered."
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the armrest of the chair and broke it: "Hu Dahai! I'm going to skin you alive!"
