Guard Camp

Rows of barracks built with green bricks and green tiles stood neatly aligned on the plain. In front of the barracks was a tamped-earth training ground, where various military equipment used for drills—such as long spears, bows and arrows, and stone locks and stone wheels for building strength—were arranged in an orderly fashion.

The walls, made of mud and straw, stood over a zhang high and nearly six chi thick, enclosing the entire military camp, leaving only the east and west gates for entry and exit.

Inside both gates, several watchtowers were built along the walls, allowing observation of enemy movements in case of sudden war, or harassment with arrows.

At the gates themselves, chevaux-de-frise were placed to prevent cavalry charges.

This place, though called a military camp, was more like a fortified stronghold. If war broke out, it could be held in defense.

If an enemy wanted to take it, they would have to spend time transporting siege equipment or assault it with several times the troops.

If they bypassed it, the soldiers in the camp could harass their supply lines.

It was not far from the official road, so enemy grain transports could not avoid it.

But in peacetime, these preparations were largely useless, especially in Xingyuan Prefecture, where war was almost impossible.

Yet from the soldiers stationed in the watchtowers and those on patrol, it was clear that General Sun governed his troops with strict discipline and meticulous care.

Even though war was virtually impossible in Xingyuan Prefecture, he and his Guard Camp never slackened.

Truly a veteran who had spent years fighting on the border.

"Fifth Brother, how's the food in the Guard Camp? Is there meat? Can we eat our fill of fine grain?" Chen Mo asked Mo Hu with a curious look.

He had wanted to ask this for a while, but since Mo Hu rode a horse while he took a carriage on the way here, he never had the chance.

Now that he finally had the opportunity, he had to seize it.

He didn't care much about other conditions in the Guard Camp—only one thing mattered: the food.

He needed to eat well and be full to build up his qi and blood strength faster.

"Ha, don't worry about that. In our Guard Camp, we have white flour every meal, and meat every day without fail," Mo Hu replied with a chuckle at Chen Mo's question.

He had brought many people into the Guard Camp before. Some had asked about the pay—how much and whether it was paid on time.

Others had asked about General Sun's official rank, wondering if following him could lead to merit and honors for their families.

Still others had cared about the training in the Guard Camp and what they needed to learn and be tested on.

Only Chen Mo, with such earnest simplicity, focused on the food.

But Mo Hu had a good impression of this question. A straightforward man who only cared about eating was fine—it meant that as long as he was fed, everything else would be easy.

"Fifth Brother's back." As Mo Hu approached, many guards at the camp gate greeted him with smiles, clearly showing he held some status in the Guard Camp.

"Mm. Brought a new recruit," Mo Hu nodded in reply, leading Chen Mo into the camp.

"As a new recruit in the Guard Camp, you don't need to worry about anything else for the first three months—just focus on training. After three months, you'll be assigned to a squad and given duties," Mo Hu explained as they walked.

In the Great Qian military system, five men formed a Wu with a Wu Leader, two Wu formed a Shi with a Shi Leader, three Shi formed a Huo with a Squad Leader, and five Huo formed a Team with a Team Commander.

All these positions were unranked—they had a grade but no official rank.

Beyond that, three Teams formed a Battalion under a Colonel.

The Colonel Wang Chen Mo had seen earlier was at this level, the lowest ninth-rank military officer in the Great Qian army.

Since the Guard Camp currently had few men, there were no Team Commanders; everyone was divided into squads, with Squad Leaders directly under General Sun's command.

Chen Mo listened very carefully. He would be staying in the Guard Camp for a long time, so these matters were important.

A new recruit like him received one tael of silver per month as pay, with one day off every ten days. On rest days, besides regular meals, he got an extra two jin of meat and one jin of wine.

On ordinary days, fine grain was plentiful—three meals a day, vegetables with every meal, and meat at noon.

This treatment could almost be called luxurious.

That General Sun could afford such generous treatment for his guards was also because his rank was high enough.

As the Principal Fifth Rank Garrison General of Xingyuan Prefecture, he commanded all military affairs within the prefecture.

This was the highest rank for a military officer who could directly command troops.

Promotion was possible beyond this, but in peacetime, one could no longer hold direct military authority.

The Great Qian system was divided into County, Prefecture, and Province. The court would not allow anyone to hold military power over an entire province—a single prefecture was the limit.

Garrison Generals of each prefecture were directly overseen by the court and were not subject to any local official's control.

General Sun, holding military power over an entire prefecture, took in no small amount of phantom pay each year, more than enough to support his own Guard Camp.

But General Sun was not yet in the camp. Chen Mo would have to wait at least another month to see him.

Of course, not seeing General Sun didn't affect his other circumstances in the recruit camp. As a new recruit, he just needed to train slowly.

He would be in the military camp for a long time; he would meet General Sun sooner or later.

Listening to Mo Hu's introduction of the camp, Chen Mo soon arrived in front of a row of barracks.

"There aren't many people in the camp right now, so there's plenty of empty space. Pick your own spot, but there are no beds or anything—I'll go with you later to get them," Mo Hu said, pointing at the empty brick barracks.

Originally, the Guard Camp had over four hundred men including him, but a few months ago, in a battle at the border, they had been reduced to just over a hundred.

That is why General Sun requested to return to Xingyuan Prefecture for training, and because the losses were truly too heavy, clansmen and fellow townsmen could not be replenished in time, so the scope of recruitment was expanded.

"This one will do." Chen Mo sized up the house before him, quite satisfied in his heart.

This room was built entirely from bluestone, even the floor laid with tightly fitted bluestone slabs—far better than the barracks he had lived in before.

It was also quite spacious, over a zhang in length and over a zhang in width, more than enough for two or three people.

More importantly, besides the door, this room actually had a window.

Compared to the barracks he had lived in before, it was countless times better.

With Mo Hu's help, Chen Mo went to the logistics officer to collect a wooden bed, a wooden table, two long benches, bedding, and two sets of Guard Camp uniforms.

After briefly tidying up the room, the time had already reached evening.

"Come on, Fifth Brother will take you to eat, let you see the food in our military camp!" As mealtime approached, Mo Hu came to fetch Chen Mo on his own initiative.

The barracks where he lived was not far from Chen Mo's, with only three barracks in between.

"Coming!" Chen Mo put down the broom woven from reeds in his hand and hurried to follow his steps.

Outside the barracks door, besides Mo Hu, there was another man of considerable height, at least six and a half chi tall, his face taut, not uttering a word.

"This is my brother, my blood brother Mo Dao. You can call him Fourth Brother." Mo Hu introduced him.

"Fourth Brother." Chen Mo smiled and called out.

"Mm." Mo Dao gave a slight nod, still not saying much.

"My brother is just like that—cold on the outside, warm on the inside, doesn't like to talk much. You'll know once you deal with him more." Mo Hu was quite familiar, hooking his arm around Chen Mo's shoulder.

There weren't many people eating in the mess hall; many guardsmen, like Mo Hu, had gone out on General Sun's behalf to select new guardsmen, and a considerable number still hadn't returned.

If Mo Hu hadn't needed to send Chen Mo back first, he might not have made it back to camp by now either.

A few people familiar with Mo Hu greeted him, while more cast curious glances at Chen Mo.

Paying no heed to those curious looks, Chen Mo took a large bowl from the side, ladled himself a big serving of tofu stewed with cabbage, grabbed eight white-flour steamed buns, and began eating as if no one else were there.

It had to be said, the food in the Guard Camp was truly countless times better than when he was tending horses, and there was no limit on quantity—they guaranteed you could eat your fill.

After eating, he returned to his room to rest. The next day, Chen Mo began training under Mo Hu's lead, alongside other newly enlisted guardsmen.

There weren't many who could lift a three-hundred-jin stone, but looking at the entire Xingyuan Prefecture military camp, there were about eleven or twelve in total.

Additionally, some of General Sun's clansmen and fellow townsmen, another fifty or sixty people, were also supplemented into the Guard Camp.

Chen Mo trained alongside them, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.