Found a Treasure

Outside Shouchun, three men on three horses headed northwest of the city.

"Do you truly want to join the army, Zhaochu?" Xiahou Xian turned in his saddle to size up Ji Shao's build.

To be honest, Ji Shao was unremarkable-looking and sloppy at work. He had never really looked him over closely before.

Though Ji Shao was quite tall, he was also thin and frail, at least on the surface.

Ji Shao replied, "To tell you the truth, this has always been my wish. A true man should wield a three-foot sword and achieve deeds without equal."

"A fine ambition." Xiahou nodded.

Wen Qin, riding beside them, scoffed. "Oh, spare me. Get past me first before you start talking about that three-foot sword of yours."

Ji Shao said nothing more. He squeezed his legs against his horse and lashed it hard with his whip, immediately pulling ahead of the other two.

"My lord, he..." Wen Qin said. "He really can't take a joke. I was only saying it. If he wants to join the army, isn't that just a word from you?"

"No. If he isn't qualified, I won't allow it either," Xiahou replied evenly.

"My lord, you're serious?" Wen Qin's mouth fell open in surprise.

Xiahou Xian ignored him and flicked his own whip, picking up speed.

Soon, the three reached the military camp outside the city.

After dismounting, Wen Qin began introducing it to Xiahou Xian. "My lord, you left in such a hurry last time that I never had the chance to report to you."

"Please look, my lord." Wen Qin pointed toward one corner of the tents. "That is the infantry camp, made up of foot soldiers, archers, and crossbowmen, four thousand men in all."

"Beside the stables over there is the cavalry camp, with eight hundred men in total."

"Eight hundred?" Xiahou Xian frowned slightly. "Why so few?"

Wen Qin explained, "Huainan doesn't breed horses to begin with. Most of these horses were transported here from places like You Province and Liang Province. They don't acclimatize well to Huainan and often die suddenly for various reasons, so none of the forces in Huainan have particularly large cavalry establishments."

Xiahou Xian nodded thoughtfully. Though their numbers were small, he thought, it was an auspicious number.

"Oh, right," Wen Qin added. "There is also a scout camp of roughly two hundred men. Almost all of them have military mounts."

"I see."

The so-called scout camp was a special unit responsible for gathering intelligence on the enemy during wartime.

Xiahou Xian took a general look around, then turned to Wen Qin. "All right, let's get down to business."

Wen Qin immediately walked up to a squad of horsemen just back from patrol and bellowed, "You there, come here!"

The horseman Wen Qin called hurriedly dismounted and walked over with him.

The man had dark skin and a goatee. His eyes were small but keen, and one look told of his baptism in war.

Clad in armor, he approached, removed his helmet, and gave them a military salute. "This subordinate, Jiang Ban, pays his respects to Lord Xiahou."

Jiang Ban was a native of Lujiang.

It was said that in his early years, his father and his older clansman Jiang Qin had served under Sun Ce. At the time, Sun Ce was still dependent on Yuan Shu. Later, Jiang Qin followed Sun Ce to Jiangdong, while Jiang Ban's father remained in Huainan.

After that, to better conduct his campaigns in Huainan, Cao Cao relocated the local commoners inland. Following his father's death, Jiang Ban returned to Huainan once more, starting as a military farming soldier and working his way up to his present position.

In fact, Jiang Ban had also left his name in the histories.

Later, as a trusted subordinate of Zhuge Dan, he slew the great Wu State general Liu Lüe at Gubei when Wen Qin rebelled and joined Wu to campaign against Sima Shi, winning considerable fame for a time.

Later still, he abandoned the obstinately misguided Zhuge Dan and surrendered to Sima Zhao. Ultimately, as a subject of Jin, he contributed his share to the war that destroyed Wu and unified the realm.

Jiang Ban currently served as military major, making him the cavalry camp's deputy commander. However, Wen Qin rarely interfered much with his work, so in practice, Jiang Ban was the true commander of this cavalry camp of just eight hundred men.

"Commandant Wen, is this the man you meant?" Jiang Ban turned to look at the somewhat frail-looking man beside Xiahou Xian.

"That's right," Wen Qin replied. "He was a minor clerk under our lord, but he insisted on joining the army. So Lord Xiahou brought him here to get some experience."

"Experience?" Jiang Ban looked puzzled.

"Yes." Wen Qin folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "That's what I mean."

"What do you mean?"

Looking at Jiang Ban's wooden expression, Wen Qin could not tell whether he genuinely did not understand or was merely pretending.

Just then, Xiahou Xian interrupted their conversation. "Major Jiang, you needn't hold back. Follow the army's rules and see whether this man has the makings of a soldier."

Jiang Ban understood that immediately, while Wen Qin looked utterly bewildered.

Huh? You're serious!?

Jiang Ban immediately got down to business and called out to Ji Shao, "State your name!"

Ji Shao cupped his fist and straightened like a soldier. "I am Ji Shao, courtesy name Ji Zhaochu."

"Good! Follow me." Jiang Ban turned and led Ji Shao to a drill ground in the camp, with Xiahou Xian and Wen Qin close behind.

Jiang Ban told Ji Shao to remove his upper garments, explaining that the first requirement for enlistment was physique. This was Huainan's regular army, and its requirements were naturally far stricter than those for the military farming troops.

Ji Shao loosened his sash and bared his chest, the thick hair on it immediately catching their eyes. Only once he had completely removed his upper garments did everyone discover that he was quite powerfully built. Though his frame was not large, every inch of muscle was well developed.

Was this the legendary "muscular undressed, slim when dressed"?

Even Jiang Ban was startled, but he said nothing. He walked over to the weapon rack, drew out two ring-pommeled sabers, and tossed one to Ji Shao. "Know how to use it?"

Ji Shao picked up the ring-pommeled saber and examined it for a few seconds, then gripped it tightly, assumed a stance, and fixed Jiang Ban with a fierce stare.

"General, I'm ready."

"A good look in your eyes." Jiang Ban nodded in approval. The instant he finished speaking, he charged with a roar.

Jiang Ban opened with a horizontal slash, only for Ji Shao to prove nimble, swiftly dropping into a crouch. After dodging the oncoming slash, Ji Shao immediately flicked his wrist and thrust toward his opponent's abdomen.

Jiang Ban was no pushover either. He clamped down hard on Ji Shao's wrist, preventing his blade from advancing an inch, then drove his knee upward.

Pain shot through Ji Shao's wrist. It shook involuntarily, and his weapon fell to the ground. Just as Jiang Ban thought he had him, Ji Shao suddenly kicked at Jiang Ban's lower body.

Caught off guard, Jiang Ban retreated several steps, opening a gap between them. Ji Shao quickly snatched up his weapon and slashed straight at him.

With a clang, their weapons met. Only then did Jiang Ban realize how strong his opponent was, actually overpowering him for a moment.

But Jiang Ban had fought his way through real battles with real blades, after all. He assessed the situation in an instant: his opponent's attacks looked ferocious but had little technique behind them.

So Jiang Ban decided to repeat his earlier trick. First, he turned aside to evade Ji Shao's attack. Just as Ji Shao thought he was about to succeed, Jiang Ban shifted sideways, seized control of his saber arm, and, with a roar, hurled him heavily to the ground in an over-the-shoulder throw.

Ji Shao still wanted to resist, but Jiang Ban's sword tip was already poised at his throat.

"Good! That's enough." Clapping, Wen Qin walked toward the center of the drill ground, praising him as he went. "To think Ji Zhaochu possessed such valor. I've never seen anyone in this army hold out against Major Jiang for so long."

"I want this man." Jiang Ban glanced at Wen Qin, then reached down and pulled Ji Shao to his feet.

Wen Qin said, "What do you mean, you want him? Our lord hasn't spoken yet."

Only then did Jiang Ban realize his discourtesy, and he hurriedly saluted Xiahou Xian as he approached.

Xiahou Xian said, "It seems Major Jiang is very pleased."

Jiang Ban nodded, his hands held respectfully before him.

Xiahou Xian turned to Ji Shao. "Good. Since you have genuine ability, I will naturally give you a chance, Zhaochu."

"But where did you learn those moves, Zhaochu? Did your forebears serve in the army?"

Ji Shao smiled. "My family has been in decline for many years. Only through my father's dozen or so years in trade did we barely manage to establish ourselves in Huainan."

"My grandfather was indeed a soldier, though, but that was many years ago."

Curious, Xiahou Xian asked, "May I ask your grandfather's name?"

"My grandfather was named Ji Ling."