After Being Abducted by the General

chapter 88

On August 8th, it was a sunny day.

Flags fluttered around the training ground, and the selected one thousand soldiers stood in perfect formation at the center of the field.

Under the scorching sun, they were quickly sunburned, their skin turning red, and sweat rolled down their bodies.

The soldiers nervously looked ahead at the dignitaries seated under the canopy. Many of them swallowed their saliva and stood as straight as possible, trying to appear more imposing.

The soldiers in the front row, who could see the faces of the dignitaries clearly, stared intensely at the provincial governor seated in the middle.

The outskirts of the training ground were filled with more soldiers who, although not selected, were curious about the competition. Yuan Li instructed Wang Er and Guan Zhihuai to take them to watch from outside the training ground, to fuel their longing and admiration, and to cheer and encourage from the sidelines.

Yuan Li had a strange feeling.

His heart rate slightly increased, and he reached out to touch the armrest of his seat. Suddenly, he found this feeling to be truly wonderful.

It was somewhat addictive.

A thousand may sound few, but in reality, it was a considerable number. Especially when these one thousand soldiers stood in the same posture, the gaps between each person aligned perfectly, and the rows appeared as if they formed a straight line, creating a magnificent scene.

Seated on Yuan Li's right side were Chu Hechao and his subordinates. On Yuan Li's left side, Guo Mao swiftly secured the position next to the Lord.

At this moment, Guo Mao held a feather fan and considerately fanned Yuan Li, praising him, "Lord, our new soldiers have only trained for a few months, yet they possess an awe-inspiring presence. I'm afraid that only Lord's new soldiers can achieve this level of excellence in the entire world."

Basking in the cool breeze, courtesy of Yuan Li, Chu Hechao glanced at Guo Mao.

Guo Mao quickly smiled and said, "General's troops are also renowned as formidable."

Yuan Li couldn't help but laugh. "Indeed, it is praiseworthy that they have achieved such results in just a few months. Thanks to the efforts of Wang Meng and General Guan. However, compared to the battle-hardened soldiers under General Chu's command, these new recruits still have a long way to go."

Wang Meng was the new name Yuan Li gave to Wang Er.

Wang Er's credit was extraordinary for training the new recruits to this level. But when Yuan Li said these words, it wasn't just modesty. These new recruits had yet to experience war and bloodshed. Even if they were skilled and physically strong, they couldn't compare to the soldiers under Chu Hechao's command, who had been tempered in multiple battles.

But they would eventually step onto the battlefield and become a truly elite force.

Yuan Li named the military camp competition the "Youzhou First Tournament Cup." The competition consisted of four events: wrestling, weighted marathon, wilderness survival and ambush, and swimming.

These four events assessed the soldiers' strength, endurance, knowledge of wilderness survival, and swimming skills, which were not typically strong suits for soldiers in the northern region. The competition focused on the soldiers' individual combat abilities.

The first event was wrestling. The one thousand soldiers were paired off, and the winner was determined by who could throw their opponent to the ground. In this round alone, five hundred soldiers would be quickly eliminated.