Just like that, before lunch, Xiao Ruxun patrolled the campsite of the cooks' army.
It was not easy to have such a rest day. For the soldiers, this was a rare opportunity to take a breather in the tense battle schedule. Many soldiers made full use of this day to do what they wanted to do.
For example, many soldiers chose to gather with their companions and planned to sleep for the day. They decided to wake up at lunch time and then continue to sleep. They wanted to experience the pig-like life that they had not experienced for a long time and enjoy it one last time before the upcoming war.
There were also soldiers who planned to go sightseeing in groups of twos and threes, although Xiao Ruxun did not know what kind of scenery there was in this barren mountain.
Of course, more soldiers were attracted by the actions of the Zhennan Army.
After the reorganization of the Zhennan Army, Xiao Ruxun introduced some sports and entertainment programs that he was familiar with suitable for the army into the daily rest and entertainment programs of the Zhennan Army.
For example, polo, which was once popular among the upper class of the Tang Empire, modern football, modern basketball, volleyball, and other competitive ball games, as well as various track and field events. Xiao Ruxun also specially took two days out of every year to hold the Zhennan Army Sports Meet to entertain the soldiers.
There were many advantages and no disadvantages to letting the soldiers do sports during their vacation. Not only could they entertain and strengthen their bodies, but they could also receive corresponding rewards. It could also train the soldiers' sense of cooperation and spirit of confrontation.
Emphasizing the principle of friendship first, competition second, and striving for mutual exchanges between the various armies could also enrich the spiritual world of the soldiers, so that their minds would not be filled with gambling, women, and killing.
The last point was more important. It was to let the soldiers have enough physical and mental entertainment so that they could have something to do during their leisure time. They would not be drinking, gambling, and women the moment they took a break.
There was no doubt about the benefits of this.
The conflict between the navy and the army in the Zhennan Army was quite big. Since the pacification of the Dongyu Dynasty, the army had not engaged in large-scale wars.
In the 24th year of Wanli, the Zhennan Army was reorganized. The original infantry and navy were further reorganized into the army and navy, with different command systems and areas of responsibility. From then on, the navy began to shine.
The Southern Town Army basically had no enemies on land. The main melody on land was development and development, while the main melody on the sea had become the horn of war. In a year, the navy had to fight dozens of battles, big and small, and the results were quite fruitful. On the other hand, the army could only be dispatched to suppress bandits and guard the battlefield very rarely.
The total number of soldiers in the Zhennan Army was 30,000, but this number was not accurate. It was only the official army and navy, but some auxiliary soldiers of the army and the navy were not included. They were the reserves prepared by Xiao Ruxun. If there was a need, they could immediately turn into the regular army.
But there was no doubt that the number of soldiers in the army was more than twice that of the navy. The navy had more meritorious service and fewer soldiers, but the army had more meritorious service and less meat. As time went by, there was naturally an imbalance.
There was a lot of friction between the two armies because of achievements, promotions, rewards, and so on. Although Xiao Ruxun was happy to see some of these small conflicts, he did not want it to develop to the extent of antagonism and hostility between the national army under the headmaster.
Therefore, he tried his best to create the name of the Zhennan Army Games. He introduced some modern competitive sports into it, made the rules, announced the whole army, established the reward principles and standards, called the whole army to action, and personally hosted the first modern football match between the army and the navy. It was an unprecedented grand occasion.
Since then, the mode of interaction between the army and the navy has changed.
Before, when the soldiers of the army met the soldiers of the navy, both sides looked at each other coldly and then snorted at each other. Their emotions were quite opposite.
But now, when the soldiers of the army met the soldiers of the navy, they would usually say, "Wait for the next football, basketball, or volleyball match!"
Generally speaking, the army and navy would first have an internal competition. After the internal competition, the strongest team would participate in the final against the opponent. The winner would be personally awarded a reward and medal by Xiao Ruxun, and the winner would also get better capital for promotion in the army.
Now, the 3,000 soldiers of the Zhennan Army naturally brought this tradition over.
This time, all the soldiers who came to the north with Xiao Ruxun were from the army. They chose to play two football matches at the same time. Football matches were very easy to prepare. Although the conditions were not as good as in Myanmar, they could easily play the match in an open space.
The cheers of the 3,000 soldiers quickly attracted more people from other troops. People from other troops were very curious to see what the Zhennan Army was doing. They saw more than 20 people running around in the open space fighting for a round ball-shaped object, and the soldiers of the Zhennan Army kept cheering. They all felt very strange.
This game looked a bit like Cuju, but it didn't seem to be Cuju.
Cuju was widely popular among the people, but it rarely appeared in the army. The main reason was that in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic, Zhu Yuanzhang had once issued an imperial edict to prohibit the army from playing Cuju. As time passed, there were occasionally people playing Cuju in the army. However, what the Zhennan Army was doing was obviously not the same type of Cuju.
China's Cuju and modern European football actually had nothing to do with each other. If one insisted on a relationship of inheritance, China's Shuttlecock kicking was the inheritance of Cuju. Modern football originated in Europe.
Soon, someone went up to ask what the soldiers of the Zhennan Army were doing. Then these people who asked became interested and followed along to watch. After a while, they realized the beauty of it and cheered loudly when someone scored a goal.
The appeal of competitive sports was one of the best. In less than half a day, the two football fields were surrounded by many soldiers watching together. The cheers were almost deafening.
At noon, the soldiers had an extremely satisfying lunch. Not only did they have meat to eat, but they also had fried rice to eat. They could also drink meat soup and eat side dishes with oil. Many soldiers said that this was a war meal they had never eaten before. Many generals secretly clicked their tongues, thinking that Xiao Ruxun treated the soldiers too well.
Even if they could afford to eat this level of war meals, they would not give the whole army the same meal, let alone the fact that they could not afford it. The best food would be given to the private soldiers who were closest to them, and the rest would be given to the soldiers of the imperial court. How could they be like Xiao Ruxun?
The whole army provided fried rice with oil!
How rich are you, exactly?
Aren't you corrupt, embezzling the military funds, and gaining some benefits?
Even Li Rusong had such an idea. But thinking of Xiao Ruxun's invitation to do business, Li Rusong felt that Xiao Ruxun might not care about these so-called benefits at all.
The lives of Li Rusong's thousands of elite servants were very good, but they couldn't enjoy such treatment every day. At most, they could fill their stomachs and not go hungry, but there were only a few times a year when they could eat meat and oil.
But looking at the soldiers of the Zhennan Army, Li Rusong even suspected that Xiao Ruxun was not bragging when he said that it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to raise the soldiers, but he really invested in it and gave the soldiers meat and oil to eat. Otherwise, how could he raise such a strong Zhennan Army?
Now, eating meat and fried rice, the soldiers of the Liaodong Army were really surprised.
Similarly, Nurhachi's female soldiers had never eaten such delicious war meals. A group of people held the bowls and almost buried their heads in them, which made Nurhachi feel embarrassed.
Looking at the soldiers' satisfied faces and the bowls of rice in their hands, Li Rusong felt that he seemed to have found one of the reasons why Xiao Ruxun was trusted and loved by all the troops.
In the afternoon, the soldiers who wanted to sleep went back to sleep contentedly, and the soldiers who wanted to go out for a stroll also went out for a stroll. More people put their eyes on the football game that continued in the afternoon. This kind of novel competitive game really attracted them.
Including Li Rusong, many local generals went to see this novel game mode, and they all felt curious and amazed.
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