The day after the six hundred new herdsmen recruits arrived, two hundred recruits conscripted from Tohai Commandery also reached Weishan Commandery. These two hundred men had likewise taken a train to Xingang Commandery to report in, then temporarily escorted a convoy of horse-drawn wagons loaded with wooden crates from a Xingang Commandery warehouse, heading together toward the Shence Guard's military camp.
The wooden crates were unpainted, and their nails had been hammered in crudely. They were nothing like the common household wooden crates. These boxes were so rough that they looked as though someone had simply picked up a few planks and nailed them together. Not only were their surfaces unpainted, they had not even been planed or polished. The only trace of color came from the several lines of writing in dark green paint on top.
'Standard Rifle*10'
Accessories included: 'Sword-Type Double-Edged Bayonet*10, Magazines*200'
'Standard Model 1 Shotgun*10'
Accessories included: 'Sword-Type Double-Edged Bayonet*10'
'Standard Model 1 Shotgun (Short)*20'
Accessories included: 'Individual Multi-Function Hunting Knife*20'
There were more than three hundred crates like these in the convoy, spread across dozens of wagons, yet the recruits were not excited in the slightest. Instead, they were utterly puzzled.
"Hey, brother, what do you think is inside these? Could they be the weapons they're giving us? Look at what's written on top. It's all guns and knives, plus a bunch of characters I don't recognize."
"Who knows? It shouldn't be, right? Guns?! I don't think so. It's not like we've never seen what the garrison troops in Tohai Commandery are like. The guns they use are three and a half meters long. How long is the biggest crate here? How could it possibly hold a gun? If you said these contained saber, I'd believe you."
"Knives?! That can't be right either!"
"Look. These