Chapter 1290 - 317: Troops Set Out (Part 5)

Chapter 1290: Chapter 317: Troops Set Out (Part 5)

The improvement in food greatly boosted everyone’s morale for work.

Relying on his father Guo Dayong’s connections, Guo Dong could get an extra bowl of meat at every meal, which he shared with Hui An.

Three days later, the military fort was already up.

Guo Dong, Hui An, and the others were assembled again, marched twenty li south, and began building the second fort.

When the construction of the second fort was halfway done, a group of laborers arrived from the north. How to put it... in Guo Dong and Hui An’s eyes, that laborer contingent from the north had far, far higher spirit and vigor than their own side. When they worked, they even sang together—those who knew understood they were laborers; those who didn’t might have thought they were soldiers.

After all, laborers and auxiliary troops did the same monotonous physical work day after day; it was hard for morale to stay high—but they managed it.

With the northern laborers joining in, the second fort was built very quickly.

Then,

the column continued twenty li farther south and began building the third camp fort.

Of course, Guo Dong had no idea why they kept building camp after camp instead of using the ones already built, and he stayed angry and resentful about it.

He didn’t dare vent at anyone else, so he could only let it out on Hui An.

Hui An comforted him, telling him to endure it for the sake of the food.

At the very least, Hui An was satisfied, because the work was the same kind he’d done back in Ying Capital City, but the food was much better than in Ying Capital.

On the day the third camp fort was finished,

eight hundred riders came from the north. On their orders, the laborers from the Yan region and Jin land were told to go bathe in a nearby river, and each squad of ten was given a bar of soap to use.

When Guo Dong saw the soap, his eyes went wide. You had to know that back in the old county, soap was valuable enough to be part of a dowry—and here they were handing it out to laborers?

Everyone bathed, and their bodies carried a fragrance. Many people had never in their lives felt so fresh and smelled so nice.

Some even invited others to come touch them after their bath, to feel the smoothness on their skin after using soap.

Right after that,

the soldiers from the north summoned everyone and reiterated the army regulations.

Guo Dong and Hui An had in fact heard this many times along the way, but here two new rules were added: one was that they were forbidden to drink raw water—water had to be boiled first; the other was that the camp had to be kept clean, and they themselves had to stay clean.

Once this was reemphasized, the laborers were invited into several tents for inspection. Those who went in had to strip naked.

After being inspected, Hui An received a wooden token.

When Guo Dong came out, he looked miserable, and he was clutching a token in his hand as well.

Guo Dayong came over specially; when he saw the token in his son’s hand, he burst out laughing in delight.

It turned out that Snow Sea Pass was selecting soldiers, and only those whose physical condition passed muster could be chosen.

Because of his age and the old injuries on his body, Guo Dayong hadn’t been selected, but his son had. As a simple, patriotic old man, he was overjoyed.

After Guo Dayong left, Hui An reached out and poked Guo Dong, asking:

"Why the long face?"

Guo Dong said bitterly:

"Getting stripped naked for the inspection was bad enough, but they had a soldier in there—I’m grossed out!"

Hui An laughed.

The laborers who were given tokens no longer had to do laborers’ work. They were issued leather armor and weapons and reorganized into new units.

From then on, inside the camp,

the previous mixing of laborers and auxiliary troops with no distinction between them disappeared; the auxiliaries began daily drills, while the laborers continued doing the work.

Three more days passed,

and suddenly,

a horn sounded in the camp.

Right after that,

a vast black shadow appeared from the north—it was cavalry, masses and masses of cavalry.

The main gate of the camp was opened,

and rank upon rank of horsemen entered the camp in tightly ordered formations.

Along the way, Guo Dong and Hui An had actually seen many different troops—elite iron cavalry like the Earl of North Border’s army and Lord Jingnan’s army, they had seen those too.

But none of them had ever struck them as forcefully as the cavalry before their eyes now!

That strict order, that silence, that oppressive, killing aura—it hit the eyes and the heart with tremendous impact.

At last,

Guo Dong and Hui An saw, within the column, a general in golden armor riding a Pixiu, slowly entering through the camp gate.

In an instant,

all the laborers who’d come from the north dropped to their knees,

shouting:

"Lord Pingye, ten thousand victories!"

"Lord Pingye, ten thousand victories!"

Swept up by the moment, Guo Dong, Hui An, and the others also knelt and began shouting.

Guo Dong didn’t like war and was afraid of dying, but he truly admired Lord Pingye, and he called out with great fervor.

As for Lord Zheng, riding the Pixiu into camp, he was long used to this kind of universal attention and cheering, yet the sight still stirred his feelings.

He turned his head to look at Liang Cheng and the Blind Man, who were riding abreast beside him,

and said:

"Do you remember? A bit over three years ago, outside Nanwang City, I led the troops from Green Willow Fortress on the outer perimeter, and we watched Lord Jingnan and Lord North ride their Pixiu past right in front of me, just like this."

The Blind Man asked, "Was my lord thinking then ’Such is what a true man should be,’ or ’I could take their place’?"

Lord Zheng shook his head,

and said:

"I remember very clearly—what I was thinking then was: ’Why is this column so long and still not past, and this sun, it’s really blazing.’"