They said they would train at night, but Ren Ning still made preparations first. It was not on a whim that he pulled the entire fifth battalion up the mountain that night.
He continued to teach the soldiers how to navigate the mountains, find water and food, and launch attacks or protect themselves.
Every three to five days, groups of people from the fifth battalion were sent up the mountain to practice their courage.
The method is very simple, that is, let the soldiers go up the mountain alone to find a grave to sleep in, and then come back down the next day.
The ancients had serious superstitions. There were endless legends about new graves, ghosts, mandrills, and zombies. Even if there was no sky ban, many people would not dare to go out at night, let alone sleep next to earthen tombs in the mountains.
The Starfall Legion is indeed the elite of the military, killing people without blinking an eye. But the fear of the unknown hidden in people's bones is no different from ordinary people.
Especially when you are alone in the mountains in the middle of the night, surrounded by all kinds of strange noises, and there is a grave next to you, this fear is even more amplified.
Ren Ning just asked them to go up the mountain to find an earthen grave to sleep in. As a result, everyone turned pale and felt as if they were going to die.
However, the Starfall Legion has always had strict military discipline. Even if the soldiers are fighting in two groups, they have to climb the mountain before dark to find a solitary grave to spend the night, and the higher they climb, the better.
There is no other reason. Mosquitoes only live at a certain height. Once you reach a certain height, the number of mosquitoes will decrease or even disappear.
More than half a month passed in a hurry, and the people in the fifth camp took turns to go up the mountain to sleep for a few times, and the effect was remarkable. When it came to the lonely female ghost in the mountains haunting the mountains in the middle of the night, everyone snorted and stopped taking it seriously.
In the blink of an eye, it is already the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.
On this day, Yingshan camp was carefully disinfected inside and outside, and the general of the army announced an annual holiday.
The annual holiday is very long, starting from the 30th of the New Year and ending on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, a total of six days.
Normally annual leave is not that long, usually only three days.
But the Starfall Legion has not really had an annual holiday for several years. Especially last year when they were at Rock Frontier Fortress, they were still rolling in the snow for training on the first day of the new year, and they didn't even have time to write family letters home.
So the general decided to make up for it this year.
The 30,000 soldiers suddenly beamed with joy.
Even though they couldn't leave Yingshan Camp during the annual vacation, let alone go home, it was always good to have a few days of rest.
Ren Ning stood in front of everyone in the fifth battalion with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.
"After a few months, everyone should understand that I, Ren Ning, don't like to talk nonsense. I am going on annual leave now, and I won't take up too much of everyone's time. I will disband after just saying a few words."
Bang bang bang.
The soldiers laughed and clapped.
Ren Ning pressed his hands and signaled the soldiers to stop.
"The first thing is that today and tomorrow we will organize literate soldiers in the literacy camp to help you write letters home for free. If you need it, don't miss it."
Buzz!
The soldiers were all happy.
Wow.
Applause broke out, even more enthusiastic than before.
The happiest thing for Xiao Bing is that he can receive news and replies from his family during the Chinese New Year and holidays. Even just a few words are enough to satisfy him.
Ren Ning could be said to have scratched their itch.
"The second thing is, you can't leave the camp during the annual vacation, so you don't have to worry about being bored during the six days."
He pointed to the large and small rubber balls at his feet.
"I will teach you how to play basketball and football. Like polo, they can not only exercise and release stress, but also teach you to trust each other and cooperate with each other. I believe you will fall in love with these two sports in the future."
The soldiers looked at each other.
They understand polo. It's a game for nobles.
Polo is very easy to damage and expensive. A good polo will take the soldiers almost a year of military training, which is really unaffordable. In addition, the various requirements of horse racing and polo are very high, and there is no time to play every day because of training.
They have only heard about it but have never seen it.
As for basketball and football?
What the hell is this?
Including Lei Er and Xiao Gang next to them, everyone looked confused.
Ren Ning smiled enigmatically, "If everyone learns these two ball games, we can consider playing some formal games on the fourth and fifth days of the Lunar New Year. The winner will be rewarded with many rewards."
puff!
Lei Er spat out the snack in his mouth.
Regardless of what happened, he immediately raised his hand: "I, Lei Er, will sign up first to lead the team in the competition."
Xiao Gang was not far behind, "Since Lei Er has signed up, I, Xiao Gang, will also sign up."
Ren Ning nodded loudly and then announced the disbandment.
After returning to the barracks, the three of them moved out tables and chairs, and as soon as they put pens, inks, paper and inkstones on them, soldiers immediately lined up eagerly.
The three of them wrote for two days. It was not until New Year's Eve that they were able to finish writing about nearly a thousand families in the fifth camp.
This is the result of the soldiers being so proud that they took the initiative to block the entrance of the camp and not allow soldiers from other battalions to come in, otherwise they would not know what to write.
On the first day of the new year, Ren Ning received the red envelope from the general of the legion and met with several nearby chiefs, then took the ball to the prepared field.
Yingshan Camp already has a lot of flat land and grassland for training, as well as basketball and football fields. They were renovated after a little renovation.
He taught basketball first and then football.
As expected, the soldiers all had too much energy. Compared with the narrow and small basketball court, the football field where you can run and gallop at will is more popular with most people.
Ren Ning introduced the rules: "This is called football. You can only play it with your feet. You are not allowed to touch it with your hands, and you are not allowed to use wrenches or hammers."
"Where's the saber?" Lei Er whirred and waved his broadsword.
Ren Ning wiped his sweat and said, "The saber won't work, well, the cavalry rifle won't work either. All weapons must be put away and cannot be used. Only feet are allowed!"
Then he watched dumbfoundedly as a bunch of soldiers threw the football aside and fought with their feet.
Beep!
Ren Ning blew the whistle and took out the red cards to send off the players who had played the hardest. After several rounds of back and forth, the court finally started to play properly.
Soon Ren Ning explained to them what forwards and defenders were, how to attack and how to defend.
The soldiers understood it quickly and practiced more methodically again, even winning cheers from the surrounding audience.
Finally, Ren Ning explained the penalty area and penalty kicks.
"If someone pulls and stumbles in the penalty area during the attack, then we can get a penalty kick, right?" Lei Er touched his chin and looked at the wide goal thoughtfully.
Xiao Gang saw what he was thinking at a glance, and quickly said: "Lei Er, you can't fall down."
Ren Ning laughed and said, "You never tire of deceit. Whether it's a real fall or a fake fall, as long as you can hide it from the referee, you will naturally get a penalty kick."
After a lot of teaching, the first football match of Yunchui Empire finally started.
From Ren Ning's perspective, whether it was Lei Er or Xiao Gang, both sides were naturally making mistakes, their offense was not as good as offense, and their defense was not as good as defense.
However, it was the first time for people in this world to see this kind of gameplay. Whenever someone touched the ball on the court, they cheered loudly as if they had won a prize. This excitement even attracted bored soldiers from other battalions to come and watch.