Surviving as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms

Until just a few days ago, all the soldiers here were ordinary civilians.

They were like common extras A and B that could be seen anywhere, with different values depending on whether they were married or not, whether they had children or not.

However, now all the men following Liu Bei were thinking the same thing:

“Today’s training hasn’t even started yet, but I already feel like I’m going to die.”
“If I had known it would be like this, I would never have come.”
“We’ve been doing this for two weeks already. I think I’m going crazy.”

They all wished that training would be canceled, at least for today.

Among them was Zhong Wu, who had followed Liu Bei with dreams of living a great life after the banquet in the peach orchard that Zhang Shiping had opened.

“We’ll die before we go to suppress the Yellow Turbans again.”

However, Guan Yu, who was supervising their training, had no intention of granting their wish.

“Everyone, face forward and shout loudly!”

At those words, Zhong Wu and the other soldiers let out a cry filled with despair and lamentation, thinking they were going to die again today.

“Aaagh!”

As soon as they finished shouting, Guan Yu immediately looked at them with an evil smile and said:

“Start calisthenics! Anyone who slacks off during the exercises will have to deal with Yide over there separately!”

At those words, Zhong Wu and the other soldiers turned around to look at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei was wearing the same red hat as Guan Yu and holding a wooden club, grinning.

Although Zhang Fei had tried to smile as kindly as possible, to the soldiers who had suffered under her after being singled out, that smile looked like she was going to kill them.

That’s because if they ended up training with Zhang Fei, they would not only have to run beyond their physical limits, but also…

If they made mistakes during other training, they would have to have an intimate sparring session with Zhang Fei, and according to those who had experienced it, they all knew that they would undergo such intense training that it made them think, “I can’t believe people don’t die or get injured from this.”

“Anyone want to train with me?”

At those words, Zhong Wu also became fully alert.

“After calisthenics, we run! Today’s run is 20 li (8km) at full speed! After catching your breath and eating, we train!”

No matter how much Zhong Wu and the other soldiers had built up their stamina from doing farm work and such since childhood, running 8km quickly was not easy.

However, the fact that they were running 20 li today meant that at least there wouldn’t be that terrible guerrilla training, so faint smiles appeared on the soldiers’ faces.

“Start calisthenics!”

As soon as they finished the easy calisthenics, the soldiers immediately started running following Guan Yu.

In the Korean army where Guan Yu had served, running wasn’t done at a very fast pace, but the modified running suitable for an era focused on close combat had to be done at almost full speed.

While everyone was dying, those who were good at handling swords and had some strength, and were selected as instructors after receiving harsher training in advance, pointed out the soldiers in loud voices.

“You there! I can see your feet! If you fall out of the run, you’ll have a very enjoyable training session with Lady Yide!”
“Aaagh! I’m sorry!”
“Keep up with this instructor’s pace!”

Since falling out meant receiving customized training with Zhang Fei that would make guerrilla training seem much easier in comparison, the soldiers had no choice but to run for their lives.

Zhong Wu, of course, had to run with all his might, even squeezing out the strength he used to suckle milk, if he didn’t want to die.

Even if his breath was coming up to his chin and his heart felt like it was about to burst, if he didn’t want to receive that deadly training with Zhang Fei.

“Aaagh! Someone save me!”

Still, taking comfort in his stamina that seemed much better than at the beginning, he somehow endured, and then Guan Yu in the red hat stopped in place.

“End of run!”

At those words, the soldiers sat down on the ground and started catching their breath.

“It wasn’t this bad even when we fought the Yellow Turbans, I feel like I’m going to die.”
“Why is running so hard?”
“At least there won’t be guerrilla training, right?”

As the soldiers were chatting like this, the lucky soldiers who had been selected as cooks for the day came bringing the meals for them to eat.

“Meal time!”

Although it was just mixed grain rice balls with salt and side dishes of salted radish or vegetables, to the hungry soldiers, this was a feast.

No, they didn’t need anything else, they were just too happy to be able to sit down, rest, and eat.

“Ah, I think I’ll live.”
“We’re surviving because they at least put a lot of salt in the rice…”

As Zhong Wu ate this meal, he felt moisture automatically forming in his eyes.

‘Why on earth did I say I’d follow Liu Bei, to suffer like this…’

Some other soldiers were thinking the same thing while resting.

As the joyful mealtime passed in an instant, Guan Yu gathered the soldiers and ordered:

“Everyone prepare for guerrilla calisthenics!”

The soldiers couldn’t believe their ears when they heard those words.

Surely until yesterday, when they ran 20 li in the morning, they didn’t do guerrilla calisthenics, so why suddenly today, when they felt like they were going to die after running 20 li…

They couldn’t believe the fact that they were doing guerrilla calisthenics.

However, according to the command-and-obey system that had been instilled over two weeks, Zhong Wu and the other soldiers were unconsciously forming into the guerrilla calisthenics formation.

“One drop of sweat shed here reduces a bowl of blood shed on the battlefield later! If you don’t want to die like a dog on the battlefield, endure with evil and guts! And from now on, all responses must be fierce!”

At those words, Zhong Wu and the other soldiers answered with a feeling of giving up everything.

“Agh!”
“Exercise 1, jumping jacks, 20 times! How many times?”
“20 times!”
“I don’t like the sound of your spirit! 40 times!”
“Agh!! 40 times!”
“Good, do 30 times! Skip the last shout!”

Hearing those words, all the soldiers started the exercise, hoping that this time it would end quickly.

Moving their tired bodies, they did jumping jacks, and when they finally reached the 30th count…

‘Please, there shouldn’t be any crazy person shouting the final count…’

Everyone prayed in their hearts, and this time their wish came true.

Although they couldn’t talk during training, when their eyes met with the soldier next to them, smiles formed even in this difficult situation.

This was because there was an expectation that if they could just go straight through to number 13 like this, they could finish the training without much suffering.

‘Please let’s go through in one go… please in one go…’

Perhaps because everyone here was working hard on the exercises with one heart and one mind?

Amazingly, from exercise 1 to 7, not once did the final shout come out.

Therefore, they didn’t have to do any additional movements.

“I’m truly glad that you all focused on the guerrilla calisthenics without making a single mistake. Are you glad too?”
“Agh!”

At those words, all the soldiers lay on their backs with their legs raised at right angles.

They had all done well without mistakes so far, so they prayed that even if not for other movements, at least for this hellish number 8, there would be no final shout.

Some even prayed to their unknown great-great-grandfather in heaven whom they had hardly ever sought before.

Zhong Wu was one of them.

‘Please, no final shout…’

Whether knowing or not knowing their desperate hearts, Guan Yu ordered in a cold voice:

“Exercise 8, 30 times! How many times!”
“30 times!”
“Exercise 8, 20 times! Do 20 times! Skip the final shout!”
“Agh!”

Zhong Wu and the other soldiers twisted their bodies hard according to Guan Yu’s commands.

With their waists stuck flat to the ground and both legs raised in the air, moving left and right, they felt pain as if their whole body was being squeezed.

“One, two, sixteen, aaagh!”

Screams mixed with shouts echoed here and there, and everyone desperately remembered the count.

Because the moment someone miscounted and shouted the final count, repetitive movements would be imposed.

“One, two, nineteen!”

Zhong Wu twisted his body and closed his mouth, clearly remembering the number ’19’.

Because the moment he added the shout for twenty, they would have to do 40 repetitions next.

‘I don’t care about other movements, but please no repetition of number 8.’

However, as if heaven was indifferent, someone in the corner of the training ground shouted the final count in a loud voice.

“One, two, twenty!”

Although Zhong Wu and the other soldiers couldn’t look that way because their heads were stuck to the ground…

Guan Yu looked down at the training soldiers and shouted:

“Do you think your superior’s orders are a joke? Can’t you even follow something as simple as not doing the final shout?!”
“Agh!! No, sir!!”
“It’s clear you all haven’t come to your senses yet. How can we do drills or weapon training in this state! Prepare for exercise 8 again! This time we’ll do 40 repetitions! How many?”

At those words, moisture that wasn’t tears welled up in Zhong Wu’s eyes.

To think they had to do that damn exercise 8 again, and 40 times at that.

“40 times! Agh!”
“Skip the final shout!!! Do 40 repetitions!”

And Zhong Wu did it 40 times, feeling even more pain than the first time.

This time he hoped that there wouldn’t be a repetition shout, but suspiciously, a repetition shout was heard from somewhere again.

“One, two, forty!”

Zhong Wu and the other soldiers thought that whoever did the repetition shout this time should be taught a lesson using hands and feet before going to sleep, but…

Regardless, Guan Yu gave orders again.

“Is exercise 8 not enough? Change the order, number 11!! Prepare for exercise 11!”

However, the soldiers didn’t know.

In fact, except for the first week, the final shouts were being made by instructors who received signals from Guan Yu, and the reason for doing this was for physical training.

As Guan Yu had said at first, to survive in this era where close combat with cold weapons was the main form of battle, it was necessary to endure for a long time while matching movements.

However, the soldiers, not knowing this, trained their physical strength by doing various guerrilla calisthenics until lunchtime on this day.

After eating lunch, they learned how to handle spears and weapons according to drills and how to form battle formations.

And after a month had passed like this, Liu Bei led these 1,000 men towards where the Governor of Yu Province was.