Chapter 486 – Spring Plowing (Part 4)
“What’s infuriating is that after soaking the herbs provided by the military camp, my muscles don’t ache as much anymore, leaving me without an excuse to slack off.”
It was still the dead of winter; they had to keep moving to avoid freezing to death. Falling behind could easily leave one buried beneath the snow. Their leader had sternly warned that if anyone froze to death in a snowdrift, she would bear no responsibility.
“Either you lie there and freeze to death, or you grit your teeth and get back up.”
Nobody wanted to die. Even ants fight for their lives, let alone these young girls from impoverished families.
Facing the life-and-death training crisis, everyone pulled together, occasionally helping one another out.
“If you help me this time, I’ll help you next time. We’ll make it through every dark day together.”
As training intensified, their appetites skyrocketed. What used to be small kitty-sized portions now turned into a ravenous competition for food.
Jiang Pengji was tough on these female soldiers, bordering on harsh, making even the male soldiers feel a shiver run down their spines.
Where others might hesitate, Jiang Pengji showed no mercy.
If these young girls got the impression that “acting cute and pitiful would earn them preferential treatment,” they would never truly work hard, but instead, become complacent. Whether female or male, there’s a natural laziness within.
Jiang Pengji had to nip that laziness in the bud, not allow it to take root.
Thus, she remained unyielding throughout, her heart as hard as iron, showing no hint of softness.
Unlike the male barracks, where they practiced military formations, the female camp had no such drills; instead, they had first aid courses. A Young Doctor was drafted in by her to act as a temporary instructor, not just to teach the first aid knowledge and skills Jiang Pengji had devised but to impart basic medical skills as well.
Initially, the Young Doctor thought it was absurd, but high rewards bring brave hearts, and he ultimately caved.
Days turned into two months of this routine.
“I’m beginning to believe… this is prepping the women to be treated like the men…”
After more than two months of Jiang Pengji’s rigorous training regimen, the female soldiers had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Gone were their once slender frames and timid expressions, replaced by well-balanced physiques and serious demeanors.
These girls now stood between one point five to one point six meters tall, with few surpassing that. Jiang Pengji was the exception.
Thanks to intense training and ample nutrition, these young girls were still growing.
At night, once darkness fell, the female soldiers enjoyed a bit of free time, with ten girls sharing a tent, their beds nestled closely together.
Hearing complaints from those in the same tent, other soldiers couldn’t help but chime in.
“Don’t the men have it worse? I have a brother over in the male barracks, and I’ve heard it’s much easier for them.”
Ten young girls fell silent for a moment, an oddly tense quiet overtaking them, and eventually…
“I heard the county is recruiting women to serve the men, which scared me to death…”
All these unmarried young girls didn’t have much understanding of men and women, but they knew what “prostitutes” meant.
Who among the decent families would want to demean themselves to become a lowly prostitute?
One soldier, snuggled in her warm blanket, spoke softly.
“…Right now… I don’t know whether to be happy… or to cry…”
Not having to become prostitutes should be a good thing, yet they had been crying all this time.
Every day, they practically crawled back to their tents, with some hiding under their blankets, crying or sobbing into their hands.
The previous soldier turned over and said, “I heard my brother say… that tomorrow, our pay is coming in…”
“We have pay?” Everyone was momentarily confused; no one knew about it.
“Yes! My brother accidentally overheard that each person would get a hundred coins and two dou of rice per month…”
That wasn’t a small sum. Considering the female soldiers had their food and supplies provided by the military, it was quite decent.
“Is this news reliable?” The others quickly inquired.
“It should be, since we’re soldiers too. From what the Lord said, we’ll eventually have to go to the battlefield and fight. Otherwise, what’s the point of learning all of this?” The soldier added with a grin, “I heard from the camp next door that everyone gets the same pay as us.”
At this moment, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl shrank back and whispered, “I’m scared to die.”
Another replied, “What’s with that? Who isn’t afraid of death? When I was sent by my stepmother, I was thinking it’d be better to die then… Now, getting to go to battle, if I accidentally win a military honor, who knows, I might even become a female general, just like in those stories. How cool would that be?”
“Is that really possible?”
“If the pay is the same as the men’s, why wouldn’t it be the same for military honors?”
A group of girls pondered silently; perhaps it wasn’t impossible after all.
Then, from the innermost part of the tent, a girl spoke up.
“I’d rather die on the battlefield than go home. If I go back, who knows what man I might be sold off to for marriage, getting beaten every day, living worse than a pig… Fighting is better, getting hit hurts way less than that…”
Speaking of getting hit, the girls found something to discuss.
“My sister was beaten to death by her mother-in-law. After marrying into their family, she never got a day of rest. Even eating a few more bites would earn her a slap. If she was late getting to work in the fields, the beatings were even worse. Even when she was nine months pregnant, that old hag still beat her. The moment she fell, that old bat insisted she was faking. In the end, both the baby and my sister died… and that old hag didn’t suffer a scratch…”
“If I get married in the future and someone dares to hit me, I’ll pin them down and fight back!”
“Hehe, do you think you can really win? Those big men are quite strong…”
“We’ll just have to train hard now, right? If we can’t win, does that mean we’ll just lie down and take it? What if they beat us to death?”
“Oh, please. Strength isn’t everything. We can’t even fill our bellies. Are we really scared of a soft shrimp?”
Chatting before bed had become the only joy for these female soldiers.
Training was hard during the day, and with nightly patrols to contend with, they quickly fell asleep.
The next day, true to form, someone brought rice and coins.
The news electrified the female camp, as each soldier received two hundred coins and four dou of rice.
This was their pay for two months.
Before they could revel in their excitement, however, the ever-daunting Jiang Pengji appeared, making many instinctively shudder.
“Have you all received your pay?” she asked.
After two months, the female soldiers knew Jiang Pengji’s temperament well; they had learned to respond loudly and clearly.
“Yes, we all got it!”
