Chapter 487 – Spring Plowing (Part Five)
Jiang Pengji scanned the crowd.
“Coins are fine, they can be thrown anywhere. But you all live in the military camp, and the food doesn’t come out of your pockets, so… what do you plan to do with the rations you receive? Are you sending them home to your parents and siblings, or are you exchanging the food for coins to keep for yourselves?”
The crowd was puzzled, but the audience in the live stream immediately understood.
Old Driver Alliance: “Host, you’re such a troublemaker.”
Today’s Four Updates: “Hahaha, the host is trying to sow discord between these female soldiers and their families.”
This batch of female soldiers was mostly unwilling, seen by their families as burdens and cast-offs, forcibly brought here.
At that time, their families believed the girls were coming to be “camp prostitutes,” and were resolute in sending them off, showcasing their character.
Such coldness made even Jiang Pengji feel a twinge of sadness.
So, she wanted to know what these young girls intended to do with the fruits of their hard training: keep it for themselves or selflessly give it away.
It turned out that Jiang Pengji’s subtle influence during this time had indeed been effective. Some stubborn female soldiers hoped to exchange their rations for coins to save for themselves, but still, about two hundred young girls chose to send their food money home to support their families…
Jiang Pengji’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“For those who chose to keep the rations for yourselves, you have done well. This is not unfilial; you simply made the right decision.” Jiang Pengji said calmly, “As for those choosing to support their families, you are very kind. Your families don’t realize how much virtue they must have accumulated in their past lives to have such good daughters in this life; it’s a pity they don’t cherish it. The path ahead is yours to walk. Now, let’s start today’s training!”
The female soldiers, initially anxious, felt a mix of emotions upon hearing Jiang Pengji’s words.
Once she announced the start of training, they all tensed up.
The first hour of the morning and afternoon was dedicated to physical training, learning how to confront enemies, and afterwards, they studied emergency first aid with the physician. Starting this month, there would be assessments every ten days. Those who performed poorly would have part of their food allowance deducted, while outstanding individuals would be rewarded.
Under such motivation, none dared to take it lightly.
Smack—
A wooden spear slipped from a soldier’s hand, sending a twinge through her wrist.
Jiang Pengji remained calm, “Pick it up, continue!”
She had each female soldier face her in combat one at a time, and each one was swiftly disarmed of their wooden spear.
Jiang Pengji elaborated on points of attention, explaining meticulously, and the girls listened attentively.
Only after scolding each of them once could they understand where they had gone wrong, ensuring they would take more care next time.
Jiang Pengji believed in one rule: before you learn to hit, you must learn to be hit!
Compared to the wooden spear training, Jiang Pengji taught the most in close combat, how to counterattack even when at a disadvantage in every aspect. The female soldiers initially felt shy, thinking it was too brutal, too indecent, but once they adjusted, they found it quite exhilarating.
In general, women’s physical capabilities were weaker than men’s, and this disadvantage couldn’t be changed overnight, so it was best to choose to excel in what they had. If they lacked strength against their foes, they should enhance their speed and agility.
On the battlefield, the point was whether or not the enemy had fallen, not how they fell.
With the current small scale of the female military, Jiang Pengji wouldn’t have them take the lead. They would primarily focus on logistics and battlefield cleanup first.
Seeing some blood would build confidence. Once their physical abilities improved as a whole, she had further plans.
Ultimately, women held such a low status in society partly due to physical reasons and partly due to labor productivity being inferior to men’s.
The former could directly impact the latter’s output.
Jiang Pengji’s world had a series of training methods targeting women’s physical fitness, which could also be called “Body Refinement Techniques.”
She had been preparing for years, eliminating aspects that current technology couldn’t implement and adding other training components, eventually compiling them into a manual specifically for the female camp. All female soldiers had to adhere to the training.
If she really ascended to the throne, she would promote it nationwide.
In this era, the disparity in physical attributes between men and women wasn’t as stark as imagined.
As long as training was done properly and nutrition was sufficient, the gap could be minimized. Jiang Pengji was also focused on improving agricultural techniques to reduce physical labor output, thereby further narrowing the productivity differences.
The only headache was that women had monthly cycles, and a pregnancy period lasting ten months, not to mention postpartum recovery…
Before one knew it, a year would slip by.
Men, on the other hand, didn’t have such worries.
As for Jiang Pengji, she felt utterly helpless.
After all, in this era, childbirth relied solely on the most rudimentary methods, and if women gave birth less often, the population wouldn’t grow, making those who meddled with women’s roles or obstructed widows from remarrying foolish; the emperor of Zhong Zhao was especially dense.
Unlike her previous world, where both parents could go to a facility for a procedure and pick up their child within a given timeframe.
Who would dare to let women give birth naturally in that world? According to Federation law, it was illegal!
Even so, most citizens of the Federation still didn’t like having children because it was too troublesome.
Seeing the population decline and military consumption of people high, the federation government had to pass a bill to launch the “Population Growth Plan.”
Both men and women must contribute after coming of age, with the state screening for good genetics to nurture quality babies. The IDs of the children would include their parents’ information, preventing issues of incest, and after birth, all upbringing would be covered by the Federation.
Given the current technology of this era, these were mere dreams.
Monthly cycles were unavoidable, as women’s genes were still in a relatively inferior stage, making it impossible to eliminate this issue, but she could think of ways to delay pregnancy.
For instance, stipulating that female soldiers must retire in their twenties, prohibiting any childbirth activities before retirement, and offering various perks after they retired. Some female soldiers could even stay in the camp as instructors to nurture the next generation without seeing battle, merely handling logistical work.
In such a scenario, female soldiers could seek marriage and start families without worry.
However, Jiang Pengji felt troubled regarding the age restrictions.
If it was too late, society would perceive them as grandmothers while their peers already had children; the female soldiers would seem like old ladies.
If it was too early, the service time would be too short, wasting resources—Jiang Pengji didn’t want to let them go.
She shared this issue with a group of subordinates, seeking their opinions.
“Setting it at twenty-four?” Wei Ci pondered before speaking, “That age should be quite suitable.”
Qi Guanrang agreed, “You don’t need to be so cautious, Lord. Military status is always different from others; you can decide.”
In this era, soldiers had specific military statuses, and female soldiers were treated equally.
However, allowing female soldiers to marry after twenty-four wasn’t like palace maids; once they entered, they couldn’t leave for life.
Li Yun, the honest kid, had a question.
“Is twenty-four too late to marry? Can we even find unmarried men then?”
Jiang Pengji glanced sideways, disdainfully replying, “Beat the enemy, capture their male soldiers—pick any you like.”
The crowd: “……”
