"Can you carry it?"
"You jest, my lord. This little weight is truly nothing to Xue Three."
"If you can't carry it, let me know."
"Alright, thank you for your consideration, my lord."
Zheng Fan's armor and some clothes were carefully prepared by Feng Siniang and placed in a box, which Xue Three carried on his back. There was also a knife tied to Xue Three's body. It was obviously heavy, but the small figure still walked with ease after shouldering it. Liang Cheng wore his own armor, a knife in his hand.
Originally, Siniang had planned to buy a horse for both Zheng Fan and Liang Cheng, but Blind Bei rejected the idea outright. The reason for the refusal was simple: now that they were equipped with armor, if thrown into the ranks of civilian laborers, they could probably land a minor supervisory role, perhaps acting as guards during grain transport just for show. But if they actually had horses, they would likely be drafted as auxiliary troops and sent to the battlefield. Blind Bei might have said it would be beneficial for his master to go out and see the world, but he certainly didn't want his master to die inexplicably for this Yan State.
At the same time, the armor and weapons purchased from the inn were deliberately ordinary, without any flashy embellishments. They aimed to be as low-key as possible, within the bounds of what was permissible.
The farewell breakfast was exceptionally sumptuous. Blind Bei informed Zheng Fan that he planned to use his master's absence to get things in order in Hutou City again. This way, when his master and the others returned, they could formally begin the first step of their strategy for Hutou City. However, all that was for the future.
Especially when Zheng Fan and the other two stepped out of Hutou City and arrived outside the military camp, looking at the bustling figures inside, Zheng Fan truly felt as if he had stepped into another world.
It had only been a few days since he was reborn into this otherworld, and now he was going to war.
PHEW...
At the entrance of the military camp, there was a large tent where a clerk was responsible for registering the civilian laborers who were arriving successively. The poor, or those without dependents, had already been drafted into the supply camp during the census the previous day. Those able-bodied men with families or property, however, were given an extra day to prepare. The latter group found it difficult to flee; even if the monk could escape, the temple could not, as the saying went. If they ran, their property would be confiscated.
During registration, the clerk seemed quite dissatisfied with Xue Three. But after Xue Three mentioned that he knew how to feed horses and had brought his own dry rations, the clerk said no more and allowed Zheng Fan's group of three into the supply camp. The entrance to the supply camp was guarded by soldiers, and a troop of cavalry could be seen patrolling the perimeter.
Once inside, they saw three men tied to wooden stakes behind the camp gate, their flesh raw and bloody. These three had attempted to escape the previous night but were caught, flogged as punishment, and were now tied up as a warning to others.
In reality, Yan State had previously maintained certain regulations for the conscription of civilian laborers. For example, from each household, the levy was typically one man in four, or one in three; at its most severe, it was one in two. But Yan State was home to many powerful clans, each with its own industries, retainers, and private armies. These clans were like leeches on the empire's body, sucking its vitality and gradually diminishing the taxes and civilian labor the imperial court could collect. Consequently, when faced with this sudden military campaign, the authorities, in their haste, could only resort to the desperate measure of "draining the pond to catch the fish," conscripting civilian labor in a way that exhausted local resources. It was no wonder that the current ruler of Yan, ever since ascending the throne, had been focused on centralizing power and curtailing the influence of these clans. This seemingly mighty empire had, in fact, been hollowed out from within.
Fortunately, while Qian State and Jin State did not suffer from such a proliferation of powerful clans, their scholar-bureaucrat class had long since become corrupt and unwieldy. This was especially true for Qian State. Despite possessing the fertile lands of Jiangnan and flourishing trade, the Qian court consistently failed to collect sufficient commercial taxes, leaving its finances perpetually strained. They often even defaulted on the pay and provisions for the border army stationed in the north to defend against the Yan iron cavalry.
Because the "Zheng Family" was considered to have property in Hutou City, and Liang Cheng cut an impressive figure in his armor, he was made a squad leader in the labor camp. Since a squad consisted of five men, three more laborers were assigned to join them. Why three additional men? Because Xue Three wasn't counted as a man here.
After much ado, by the time the tents were set up and their belongings were stowed, it was already afternoon. Zheng Fan and the other two sat outside their tent, nibbling on pancakes. The spring onion pancakes, rich in oil and filled with meat, tasted exceptionally good. Noticing the envious gazes of the other three men in their squad, Zheng Fan gave each of them a pancake. They accepted them with delight, thanking him profusely.
Liang Cheng, however, showed no reaction. He just sat there quietly, observing the Yan State cavalry that occasionally passed by the camp.
"What are you looking at?" Zheng Fan asked.
"Our future opponents."
...
He almost called him a lunatic but hesitated and stopped himself. Although he felt no sense of belonging to this Yan Kingdom, nor did he have any particular fondness for it, it wasn't as if he was already consumed with thoughts of rebellion only a few days after arriving in this world. But it was clear that these demon lords under his command had already been scheming for a while.
All in all, today had felt like a picnic to him: go out into the wilderness, set up a tent, and then, as night fell, gaze at the stars before drifting off to sleep.
「The next morning,」
as the army bugle sounded, their leisurely day was instantly shattered. Soldiers with whips came to hurry everyone along, and the chaotic labor camp began to stir, then... hit the road in utter disarray.