Dominate the Country

February in the south of the Yangtze River is a season when grass grows and orioles fly. The cold winter is far away from here. Spring warms the earth, and the wind blows like scissors. The earth's new clothes are cut out overnight, and the mountains and fields turn green again.

On this beautiful day, the middle and high school students of Sungkyun Public School ushered in the first military training in the new year.

One month of military training every year. The Chengdu Public Festival is held three times, one ten-day period each, in February in early spring, August in Mid-Autumn Festival, and the twelfth lunar month in winter.

After all, Sungkyun Public School has many students from extraordinary families, and they are going to participate in the children's camp. Even some students who perform well in school, even if their family background is average, or cannot reach that level, will be included in the children's camp. Therefore, Sungkyun Public School cannot concentrate all one month's training time during summer vacation or winter vacation like some schools do.

From the first year of middle school to the third year of high school, students in six grades, under the leadership of their respective class teachers, lined up and walked out of Nanjing in the drizzle.

This alone took them a whole morning. In the huge city of Nanjing, from the gate of Chengjun Public School to the outer city wall, there is no twenty miles, fifteen miles is enough. I don’t know how many students walked with weak legs and trembling all over. But in a recruit training camp outside the city, they still had to stand on the playground and listen quietly to the instructions from their superiors.

That was just Captain Zuo. To the parents of many of the students below, he was a small figure who looked down upon. But in this recruit training camp, he was the 'master'.

Not only did these students not have a sip of hot water or a sip of hot food after arriving at the recruit training camp, but now they even had their raincoats confiscated.

From 12-3 to 17-18, the future pillars of the Chen and Han Dynasty were like wheat seedlings in the field, bathing in the rain.

The logistics director of the team from Chengdu Public School had already protested to the people in the camp, "Director Zhou, it's still raining in the sky. Shouldn't we wait for a while and let the children drink hot soup first?" What he saw in front of him was Among the students in the sixth grade, there are a large number of children of powerful people. It will not look good if they get sick and catch a cold. Because this is a unnecessary ‘casualty’!

The logistics director of Sungkyun Public School, whose surname was Zhang, looked at the students in front of him whose clothes were soaked by raindrops and whose hair had dripping water droplets. He felt that his heart could not bear it.

This one is the grandson of Shuntian Fu Yi, that one is the nephew of the governor of Jiangnan, and the other one is the third son of Her Royal Highness the Princess, and the one next to him is the youngest son of the Crown Prince...

But the regulations in the military can't be changed at will.

The base director surnamed Zhou raised his eyebrows nonchalantly: "It's just raining. The more windy and rainy the troops are, the more they have to be pulled out for training. Why is this? Because people are pulled out at this time. Only in this way can the soldiers' bodies and will be strengthened. Young people must be energetic and have a fighting spirit. They must be afraid of wind and rain. Why don't we have diarrhea when we go to the battlefield? No one knows whether it will rain tomorrow. But it’s impossible for soldiers to fight when it rains?”

"Director Zhang, let's treat the rain today as an exercise for the students."

"Don't forget His Majesty's decree. Military training at Sungkyun Public School must be strict."

After saying this, Director Zhou glanced at the students below, turned to Director Zhang who was standing next to him, and said, "Mr. Zhang, you and I should go outside and look at the materials needed for military training." This thing requires a military training unit. Only the logistics supervisor and the school's logistics staff must sign together to unseal and issue the application.

Director Zhang was still in a daze at this time and felt very regretful. Why had he forgotten His Majesty's words of 'strictness and severity'? This matter should only be understood and not stated openly. Hearing this, he quickly said politely: "Okay..."

Not long after the two hosts went out, they heard heavy and messy footsteps coming from behind the queue, as if many people were moving towards here carrying heavy things. The base supervisor on the stage continued to preach the rules, regulations and disciplines of the base.

I know that all the rules and regulations and disciplinary regulations have been explained.

Each class is a team, and each age is a squadron. The height, weight and clothing size of all students here are all recorded in the military academy, so the current military training clothing is also made according to that size.

When all the classes were separated, large and small bags of things were piled on the ground in front of the students in their respective classes. Each instructor took a piece of paper and stood in front of their respective classes. "Next, the classmate whose name I read comes forward to receive his own military training materials. Wang Ping, there is a number on the clothes, don't send it to the wrong one. ... Liu Bao! ... Zhang Wei! ... Gao Mingsen! ..."

Every time the instructor above read a name, a student below stepped forward to receive the things handed out.

Some students who are pampered at home are already impatient. The starting point of this emotion is not that they are eager to see their military training uniforms, but that all students will inevitably be asked to go back to the dormitory to change their clothes after receiving their materials. There is a rainforest there.

But if you take a closer look at the students with such expressions, you will see that they are all middle-class people. Those civilian top students at the bottom don't come from very privileged families. If it weren't for scholarships, even if they had the qualifications to enter the school, they wouldn't have the financial resources. For them, a little rain would mean nothing. As for the children of the real rich and powerful, at least the children, grandchildren and nephews of officials of the third rank and above, they must join the Boy Scouts every year. Rain and a certain degree of independence are not uncommon for them.

Just like the third son of the eldest princess and the youngest son of the prince, they have never done it, let alone a light rain, even rolling in the mud. Everyone can cook, wash clothes, and make beds by themselves.

Now the two of them were looking longingly at the classmates who were going up to get the things, as if they were being scratched by a cat, wanting to know as soon as possible what was handed out. Although they can get it right away, it’s just a matter of priority.

But the military training that started today will be a rare highlight moment in their lives for these two students whose academic performance is not very good.

The two men were not very good at studying, but their performance in the previous Boy Scout training was outstanding. Of course, it cannot be said to be the first. But now the teachers and students in the school are organized into classes, and their competitors are only the students in their own classes. To the two of them, they are just a bunch of weaklings. The two brothers, who had always lacked performance in the class due to poor academic performance, are now full of energy to show off their talents.

The eldest princess's consort, whose surname is Shang, is not from Ryukyu, and there is no relationship between the two. Prince Consort Shang is a very ordinary literary and artistic worker. He works as a director and his career is in the National Theater Troupe.

When he was young, Prince Consort Shang was very talented and handsome, which deeply attracted the eyes of the eldest princess. Chen Ming originally wanted to choose a talented person with both civil and military skills for his eldest daughter, but after looking at it later, he decided not to go and just went with his daughter's wishes. Although her biological mother Liu Wanyun disagreed with the marriage, the big fight had not yet begun, and the dust had not settled yet. Liu Wanyun still planned to rely on her daughter to win over the nobles. But her little arms couldn't hold Chen Ming's thighs.

The eldest princess’s third son is named Shang Sen, her second brother is named Shang Lin, her eldest brother is named Shang Mu, and her fourth son is named Shang Changqing.

And Chen Ding’s youngest son’s name is Chen You. At this time, both of them were looking forward, waiting for their names to be called by the instructor.

This time did not take long. The names of the two people were called out by the instructor one after another. After everyone in the class got their own clothes, shoes, etc., the class was divided into two teams, male and female, and each went back to the dormitory to wash up and change clothes. Then we gathered downstairs and went to the cafeteria to eat.

Chen You and Shang Sen's faces were full of confidence. They were despised by a group of people in their studies before, and now it was their turn to despise that group of people.

The utensils issued by the army are not very fancy. Each person has two pairs of shoes, two sets of clothes, two pairs of socks, and a satchel, which is also made of coarse cotton. There is only one cloth-brimmed military cap, and there is no cap badge, just like there are no epaulettes, collar badges and armbands on the clothes. In addition, there are two legging belts and an armed belt, and there are also two small packages, one containing a vest, underwear, and towels, and the other containing a tin kettle, lunch box, tooth powder, toothbrush, and soap. , and the last small grass-green sewing kit. Except for the bed and quilt, all other daily necessities are available.

"Inside the bag are two sets of military uniforms used by the army for training. We are not soldiers, so we don't need the shoulder straps, collar badges, armbands, and cap badges. These two cloth straps are leggings. We use them to tie the trouser legs before training. I will I’m here to demonstrate for everyone. In addition to the training clothes, there are also leather ones. Bring a water bottle for drinking, a lunch box for eating, soap, tooth powder, toothbrush, sewing kit and backpack. In addition, if boys need to shave, they can apply for razors one by one from the instructor in charge of each class. Take out the items and introduce them to the students below. "I'll give you half an hour. Gather in the playground downstairs of the dormitory in half an hour. Those who fail to meet the time limit will be subject to disciplinary punishment."

This is not to be difficult, this is the rule in boot camp.

As soon as the students entered the dormitory of eight people to a room, the serious atmosphere evaporated instantly. For many students at Sungkyun Public School, getting wet in the rain is a very new and unpleasant thing. If there were not soldiers on duty in the dormitory building, they would have It was already howling.

The soldiers and the red armbands on their arms made the students feel solemn, but when they entered the dormitory, everything was relaxed.

"Shang Sen." A classmate put the clothes on the bed, took out the leggings, waved them in his hand for a few times, and then asked Shang Sen: "How are these leggings tied?"

They all know that soldiers wear leggings, and they have seen many of them in Nanjing. But how to wear leggings is another question.

Chen You is not in the same dormitory as Shang Sen. Currently, Shang Sen is the only one in this dormitory who has participated in the children's camp.

"Have you seen this flat-top one? The way to make leggings is to wrap the flat-top end around the legs starting from the shoe upper. The leggings can be turned over every one or two turns to ensure that the flat side of the leg is continuously stretched up to the crook of the leg. . When you stand up, the tightness should be appropriate. It should not be too tight. If it is too tight, you will not be able to walk. If it is too loose, it will not work. If the leggings are well-tight, they will not loosen even after walking for a long time.”

"What's the use of this thing?"

"It's very useful." Shang Sen quickly took off the leggings he used for demonstration and said, "First of all, after wearing these leggings, I started to feel some unaccustomed swelling in my calves. I will feel very comfortable after a few days. Especially when hiking, my calves feel less sore and tired, and it has the effect of preventing swelling and pain caused by blood accumulation. "

"When marching in a mountainous area, if you don't wear leggings, mountain bugs and locusts can crawl in and bite your pants at any time. If you wear leggings, you won't have to worry about cutting. It can also effectively prevent thorns and branches from getting stuck. "

"Finally, it is useful when you are injured. If you are injured on the battlefield and there is no first-aid kit around you, this gaiters can fix the wound and prevent excessive bleeding; when you encounter a steep mountain slope and need to climb or land, put a few gaiters on it. Cloths can be used to great effect by being twisted into ropes; if a soldier is injured and cannot be evacuated on a stretcher, he can make a simple stretcher by cutting two long and two short branches and tying several pairs of gaiters on them.”

"This thing has many uses." Shang Sen ended with these words. The entire dormitory became silent. Each student looked at the leggings in his hand with surprise in his eyes. How can this small and inconspicuous piece of leggings be so useful?

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the bedroom door. The student closest to the door quickly opened the door, and a soldier in military uniform walked in facing everyone's gaze.

"Notice on health regulations in Room 212. Has your dormitory elected a dormitory director? Someone come and sign."

A large piece of 30X60 paper with small characters printed in black and white on it. This is the dormitory's hygiene management regulations.

One is issued to each dormitory, which serves as a notification to everyone. If there is another violation, then it can be dealt with by ‘military law’.

The base is just outside the capital, and some of the things that happen there reach the ears of the powerful families almost without any interruption.

Immediately, a woman who felt sorry for her son rushed over and became dissatisfied, "It's raining and you are not allowed to wear a raincoat. What kind of rule is this? Sungkyun Public School is a place where children of rich and noble families gather, and these soldiers are not afraid of the nobles getting wet." Something's wrong with the rain?"

"A woman's opinion. The army specializes in intensifying training during bad weather! When given an order on the battlefield, even if it rains, you have to rush forward even if it rains."

"Are they soldiers? Those are just children! Can half-grown children compare with soldiers? Why are they so cruel? Not to mention children, even adults won't go out on rainy days if they can. ”

"Look, look, how can you be a pillar if you pamper your children so much? Military training is a good thing, and children should endure hardships and exercise. They are afraid of falling when they are held in your hands all day long, and they are afraid of melting when they are held in your mouth. , Can the child have a future?" On this day, more than one head of the family was dissatisfied with what his wife and daughter-in-law said. They doted on their children too much.

“Without a strong will, no matter how smart your brain is, you cannot become a talent.”

…

In dormitory 212, Shang Sen was wearing a well-fitting military uniform. He spent five minutes placing his toothbrush, tooth powder, soap, towels, clothes, shoes, etc. in their respective places, then picked up the basin and entered the bathroom. It was also five minutes later. When Shang Sen came out, there was no one in the dormitory.

He put on his military uniform, tied up his armed belt, and put on his military cap.

Standing in front of the only half-length mirror in the dormitory, Shang Sen straightened his general's hat. A young and handsome soldier appeared in the mirror, but he had no epaulettes or cap badge. Although he didn't have these things, Shang Sen still had a heartfelt smile on his face.

Compared with the political path his mother had planned for him, Shang Sen preferred the military uniform he was wearing.