Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Sister, please take care of Mother at home in the future…” The female trooper who held the position of centurion helped her sister to pack her luggage. The order of expelling her sister from the military had been released, so she definitely had to pack up and leave the military camp. “Heal your wounds properly at home and don’t be afraid to spend money. You’ll manage the money which I send home in the future. If Mother were to manage the money, those evil-minded people will definitely trick her and take the money away…”
“Alright.”
The older sister lifted her head to look at her younger sister from time to time with a look of remorse in her eyes.
She did not know what was wrong with her during that period of time. Her father and relatives had taken turns to harass her, saying that getting married was more promising than being a trooper and that she could be the master of the house and become the legal wife of her husband. If she could give birth to a boy for the first time, he might inherit the family business in the future and the rest of her life would be promising.
They gave all sorts of examples, telling her that the lord’s promises were definitely a bluff…
She was inclined towards her family in the confusion. Now that she had been expelled from the military, would her family not torture her when she returned home?
Thinking of which, she could not help but think of her own sister who was obedient, sensible, and much more reliable. In this era, if her 15-year-old sister had not entered the female battalion, she would have probably have already become a mother by now.
“To put it bluntly, I’ve seen through Mother and she’s a muddleheaded person. I’ve given her six months’ worth of wages in the past. I originally hoped that with the money, she could be tougher at home, not be controlled by Grandma all the time, not bullied by Aunty and not be beaten by Father…”
The more she talked, the angrier she was. The younger sister could not help but grit her teeth. Three meals a day were provided in the military camp and the food was delicious. They had nowhere to use the grain and wages distributed each month, so the sisters planned to give them to their mother secretly. However, they did not expect their mother to trick them like this and attract a bunch of blood-sucking leeches.
Their evil-minded relatives raised a rumpus, causing her sister to lose her status of being a trooper, which was like losing one’s shelter. What would she do in the future? After the marriage was called off, her future husband escaped faster than a rabbit and her family was beaten up. They would definitely blame the older sister for this.
Thinking of this, the younger sister was stressed out.
The younger sister said, “Don’t be silly this time. If they’re shrewd towards you, just fight back. I’m still a centurion. Who would dare beat you up? You have to do the same for Mother and act tougher so that you can protect yourself and Mother from being bullied…”
Compared with her older sister who was weaker, she was much more hardhearted and stronger. She babbled on and on. They only had a day off each month in the female battalion. She could only return home once a month.
The older sister did not say a word and silently took the gift from her sister. There was basically nothing besides some clothes and two bedclothes.
Their tent was surrounded by more than 10 comrades who were usually close to her. Everyone was somewhat quiet.
The older sister’s lips fluttered. “I’m leaving…”
Many comrades came to see her off, but some female troops whom she was not close with came to watch the bustling scene as well. After all, she was the first female trooper to have her army status removed and be expelled from the female battalion since the establishment of the female battalion.
It was almost as if the older sister fled in panic. Even if the crowd did not say anything, she felt uncomfortable, as if countless pairs of spurious eyes were watching her. It was like they taunted her for being weak and useless, giving up her bright future and degrading herself to be tortured by her family.
Seeing the gazes of the onlookers, the younger sister could not help but boil with anger.
She said fiercely, “What are you looking at? Had it not been for my sister, would you be transferred out of your household registration this early?”
A female troop laughed and responded, “Even if it wasn’t for your sister, there may be someone else’s sister. Everyone knows about the happenings in the female battalion recently, but your parents can’t hold themselves in and your sister is an airhead. I’d say that it’s good for your sister to leave the female battalion early. She doesn’t want it but there are people who would go backward to secure a position here. Had she not been suspicious of the lord, would such an incident have happened?”
She was a dog in the manger. There were people who wanted a position when she did not want one. If this matter was carefully investigated, it was clear that the older sister was disloyal and did not trust the lord. What was a person like her doing in the female battalion?
The younger sister was at a loss for words.
“Come on. Didn’t Lieutenant Jiang always say that people who want to save themselves can still be saved and those who resign themselves to adversity are definitely hopeless? Your sister’s skills are considered to be outstanding among the female troops. If your family beats her up, will she not fight back? You should take this as a lesson. If you have the time to bicker here, you might as well knock some sense into your parents. Otherwise your sister’s body will turn cold when you return home on your next day off.”
No matter how skillful one was, one would be beaten to death if one did not resist. Those words sounded a bit sinister, but they were not wrong. The younger sister looked livid and flushed. This incident was only hyped up for two days. The female troops were then distracted by another huge incident.
The female troops who had made meritorious deeds in the previous wars were the first to obtain their independent household registration. They were the head of their respective households! Although all female troops would get their independent household registrations, there was a difference in timing. The first batch of female troops were those who had made contributions.
This had imperceptibly added to the thoughts of the female troops to eagerly make contributions. The policy had also dissatisfied many families of the female troops, causing them to oppose the policy. The head of the household was the master of the house. If these women ran away one by one, how could they take advantage of them in the future?
However, under Jiang Pengji’s strong repression, the rebellious voices soon vanished. Fengyi County was a rare refuge. If they disgusted the district magistrate and got chased out, would they still be able to live? Even if they were not willing to, the policy was still successfully implemented, but the department that managed the household registration was pitiful.
There were not many female troops, but they were not that small in number either. Thousands of people were transferred out from their original household registrations. It was not as simple as moving an account as property and inheritance issues were also related. Everyone was overwhelmed with the work. It was still a hot summer, so they were half dead.
Jiang Pengji did not forget about the male battalion while taking care of the female battalion. Welfare policies were promulgated which greatly reduced their worries when they were at war. As a result, the male troops had no time to be jealous of the female troops. They were all beaming from ear to ear. Even if they had to train under the midsummer sun, their middle-jiao qi was overflowing. One could even hear their thunderous battle cry in the military camp from afar.
After the incident that happened in the female battalion, Jiang Pengji realized that most of the troops were already unwavering in their thoughts. The effect of subtle influence was too slow and it was very difficult to obtain the desired result in a short period of time. In this case, it was better to choose simple and violent brainwashing methods. Be it during the training in the morning or at night, everyone had to shout the regulations of the military camp and treat them as the slogans for training. It was the same for the male and female battalions.
One or two days were nothing. She did not believe that they would not be influenced after a few days.
Jintian Kawen: “You’re joining my party, Streamer. You have a bright future and I have faith in you.”
Hao Tongkua: “Streamer, do you want to consider setting up a political commissar in the military camp? In view of the fact that the ancient and modern military systems are different, the political commissar which you set up doesn’t have to manage too many matters. They’ll just tell simple stories about wars to the troops, instill ideologies which you find useful, and occasionally manage internal affairs. It’s similar to a housekeeper. They can teach the illiterate troops to learn how to read and eliminate illiteracy.”
Buzhi Jigeng: “Hahaha… To the user above, you’re hating on my party too much. Be careful that there’s a missile outside your door!”
