Wang Qi's enlistment test was simple. With his special talent, all that mattered was a decent physique and a suitable age... no, even being a little outside the age range would not have mattered.
Besides, his long, ape-like arms were perfectly suited to drawing a bow. He was only sixteen now; once he was older and stronger, even drawing a powerful iron-framed bow would be no trouble.
Just like that, Wang Qi went straight onto the list of "promising recruits," earmarked for careful training.
He was issued an identification waist token that very day, officially becoming part of the army. Only then was he told a little about the unit he had joined.
The officer recruiting here was a Bandit-Quelling Commandant surnamed Lin, who had been ordered to put down the mountain bandits in Danyang Commandery, in northern Yangzhou, south of Xuzhou.
Wang Qi did not yet know how badly the mountain bandits were running rampant, and the Military Marquis Xu chatting with him did not say.
But his familiarity with the Great Peng Kingdom's circumstances allowed him to work out that something did not quite fit.
The Great Peng Kingdom's mortal enemy was undoubtedly the northern Hu tribes. Since unifying the Central Plains, Peng had passed through three generations of rule, and only under the reigning sovereign's illustrious military achievements had it gained the upper hand over the northern steppes.
The sovereign had been on the throne for thirty years, launching a minor campaign almost every three years and a major one every ten. These campaigns had exhausted the once-menacing Northern Hu until their oil ran dry and their lamps went out; even the Chanyu Court had been shattered and reconstituted once.
Yet Peng's own military strength and civilian resources had also suffered enormous depletion.
Wang Dashan had said that ever since the incident ten years ago, the sovereign had become obsessed with alchemy and Daoist arts... Wang Qi had thought that at least the people of Great Peng would have had these ten years to recuperate.
As it turned out, the third major campaign had arrived right on schedule...
So, while preparations were underway for a third decisive showdown with the Northern Hu, this small force of three thousand had specially selected its recruits merely to head south and deal with mountain bandits...
It was not that Wang Qi looked down on mountain bandits. Rather, these bandits were actually descendants of people who had fled into the mountains to escape the ravages of war during the five-hundred-year Warring States era before Great Peng's founding... Strictly speaking, they shared the same origins as the people of the Great Peng Empire occupying the Central Plains; they had simply grown accustomed to coming down from the mountains to plunder.
Whatever the case, mountain bandits were merely an itch of scabies, while the northern expedition was a matter of national importance.
Unless there was something special in those southern mountains?
This discovery made Wang Qi especially cautious, and he mentally prepared himself to hunker down and play it safe if things went wrong.
This was not role-playing as it had been in his previous life. This was a living, dangerous world.
Wang Qi was exceptionally industrious that day. His acceptance had already been decided, yet he showed no sign of smug satisfaction.
Instead, he stayed on the drill ground, helping the veterans with this and that... He had learned that the Military Marquis Xu, who had tested him earlier, would command a company in the soon-to-be-formed archer division—a mid-ranking officer in charge of two hundred men.
This newly recruited force was called the "Divine Archer Battalion"... Its name alone made it clear that archers formed its core.
Thus, although they were only recruiting six hundred archers, or three companies, their status hardly needed explaining... The fact that the drill ground had testing facilities only for archers was enough of a clue.
The other eight companies of Spear Soldiers and four companies of Sword-and-Shield Soldiers felt as though they existed solely to support the archers.
Those other troop types looked like expendable stock. Naturally, Wang Qi chose to be a competent archer without standing out too much.
The day's recruitment drew to a close as the sky darkened. Wang Qi had already become friendly with several veterans and learned that they were all Commandant Lin's personal guards or followers, each possessing a special skill.
Of course, he could not yet learn what those skills were. What surprised him was that Scribe Zhao, who registered information at the entrance, was actually also a Confucian student of the Imperial Academy... How unexpected. Why would a Confucian scholar come to an army camp, a place they considered utterly crude?
He did not understand, nor did he ask. More questions meant more trouble.
At the end of the day, the Military Marquis Xu finally gathered all the new recruits enlisted in Langya Commandery... Many only now got their first look at the comrades they would be eating and sleeping alongside.
Naturally, those gathered with Wang Qi were all archers, just one hundred and seventy-four in total. These were probably not merely that day's recruits, but everyone accepted over the entire three days... Better to leave vacancies than accept inferior men.
The man speaking at the front was the Military Marquis Xu he knew.
"My name is Xu Sanlang. From now on, you're all soldiers of my 'Sanlang Company.' I won't introduce your Garrison Commanders, Team Commanders, and squad leaders one by one today. I haven't got the damn time. All you need to remember is that good performance will earn you extra rewards, and five-man team leaders will be selected from among the best performers."
"My Sanlang Company has two hundred men at full strength, which means forty team leaders will be chosen from among you... Train hard."
"Now, go get your food. Turn in early after you eat. Tomorrow morning, we'll set out to join the other units."
The first address to Sanlang Company ended in that brisk, whirlwind fashion. As Wang Qi followed the crowd to the nearby serving station to collect his food, he carefully analyzed the information revealed in that speech.
To boost morale, Xu Sanlang had offered the recruits forty team-leader positions, while all the junior officer positions above that rank were already filled.
If the other two archer companies were in the same situation...
Then, judging by that, Commandant Lin's personal guards should include sixty squad leaders, twelve Team Commanders, six Garrison Commanders, three Military Marquises, and at least one Sima who excelled at archery.
He wondered what the situation was among the Spear Soldiers and Sword-and-Shield Soldiers.
Having just entered unfamiliar surroundings, Wang Qi put his mind into full gear, analyzing every piece of information around him and assembling as much of it as possible into something useful.
For now, he was already certain of one thing... he had to secure one of those forty team-leader positions!
Taking the middle road did not mean being mediocre. He simply had to avoid being the most outstanding, most conspicuous one.
Only after settling his plans did he begin eating the meal he had collected... Then he felt rather miserable.
It was nothing but a large flatbread, two scallions, a small dish of dipping sauce, and a bowl of vegetable soup...
Although this was certainly enough to fill his stomach, Wang Qi felt it lacked nutrition. It was coarse and unappetizing, too... So being a soldier was this hard?
He was already beginning to feel the hardship. Back when he and Wang Dashan had lived by hunting in the mountains, whatever else they lacked... at least they had meat every day.
At just sixteen, Wang Qi was deeply concerned about his future growth... He decided that his next priority was finding a way to supplement his meals.
His face could not help falling into a miserable frown.
Just then, the benefits of having made himself familiar to the officers ahead of time came into play.
After the meal, his assigned section leader and squad leader happened to come into the camp to put faces to their men... In fact, the assignments had already been made, with all fifty men of a section sleeping in a single tent.
Before coming here, his squad leader and Team Commander had already been briefed on which promising recruits deserved special attention.
Thus, his Team Commander and squad leader spotted Wang Qi, the recruit they were supposed to take particular care of, wearing a miserable frown...
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