Old Camp

Biodata

Background / History

The Old Camp was established in the mountain forests to force conscripted laborers to cut timber and burn charcoal for the prefectural city’s mining and smelting industries. Zhou Ye and several other laborers were secretly diverted from river-dredging corvée work to this site under military escort. 1

A herd of wild boars attacked while the workers were outside the camp, killing or scattering both soldiers and laborers. The camp itself remained largely intact because its fences withstood the charge; Zhou Ye became the only known survivor present afterward. 1 2

Zhou Ye initially scavenged essential gear from the camp before leaving to establish Little Homestead. After confirming several days later that no one had returned, he began using the abandoned site as a supply depot and temporary refuge. 3 6

Over ten days, Zhou Ye made five trips to transfer the camp’s food and miscellaneous supplies to Little Homestead. The Old Camp later sheltered him during a torrential storm and during a prolonged confrontation with the wild-boar herd. 9 10 13

By the time Zhou Ye had moved its equipment, provisions, and much of its charcoal, the camp was nearly empty. He nevertheless continued retrieving its remaining charcoal during later preparations for winter and relocation. 15 24 31

Facilities & Defenses

Resources Recovered by Zhou Ye

• Food and agricultural supplies

  • Rice, flour, soybeans, peas, black beans, potatoes, wheat grain, vegetables, salt, and vegetable seeds. 6 9
  • The final recorded transferred stores included four fifty-jin sacks of rice, two sacks of flour, more than one sack of soybeans, two sacks of potatoes, several dozen jin each of peas and black beans, and three sacks of wheat grain. 9

• Tools and household goods

  • Iron pots, ceramic bowls, buckets, water jars, sickles, a hoe, rope, iron nails, bedding, furniture, tents, and assorted kitchen utensils. 6 9 10 11
  • Zhou Ye kept some daily necessities at the site after the storm so it could remain usable as an overnight shelter. 10

• Clothing and protective equipment

  • Leather armor, chainmail, helmets, leather boots, cloth shoes, straw sandals, foot wraps, towels, and spare clothing. 3 6 8 9

• Weapons

  • A foot bow, arrows, military waist sabers, a round shield, daggers, long spears, a spiked hammer, and small throwing knives. 3 6 8
  • Zhou Ye eventually removed all remaining armor and weapons from the camp. 8

• Documents, medicine, and martial materials

  • Writing brushes, inkstone, account books, a fifty-tael banknote, Golden Wound Ointment, cold medicine, beast-repelling powder, two Blood Qi Pills, and the Ten Military Saber Forms manual. 3 6

Role in Zhou Ye’s Survival

• Served as Zhou Ye’s first source of food, weapons, clothing, medicine, and wilderness equipment after the wild-boar attack. 2 3
• Provided seeds, farming tools, water containers, and construction materials that supported the founding of Little Homestead. 4 6 9
• Functioned as a secure fallback shelter during severe weather and wildlife attacks. 10 13
• Its fortified fence allowed Zhou Ye to withstand the wild-boar herd overnight, prepare throwing spears, and later kill three boars after luring them into a trap. 13 14
• The soldiers’ cabin was converted into a smokehouse for surplus wild-boar meat, using the camp’s abundant pinewood. 14
• Its charcoal stocks remained valuable long after most other supplies had been removed, supporting Zhou Ye’s kiln work, winter preparations, and woodcutter disguise. 15 24 31

Trivia

• The Old Camp lay approximately forty to fifty li from Little Homestead. 6
• Although it was abandoned after a lethal beast attack, its fence was stronger than Little Homestead’s early defenses. 13
• Zhou Ye’s first major martial experiments with spears and throwing knives at the site led to the initiation of Basic Thrusting and Basic Throwing. 8