26 A visit to the Southern Army 2 (1/2)
Visiting the Army Adjutant was a little more complicated that what Qin Feng had imagined. Apparently there were a good number of security checkpoints along the way, and he was scrutinized at every one of them. If not for the fact that he had Li Changhai at his side he would have been flustered to the point of losing his temper.
Fortunately, the Second Ducal Prince was more than aware of what it involved, and shielded him from some of the harsher questions quickly. And he was quick to display the military version of the Fu Lai Medicine Hall bronze tag to these idiot military men. Which was enough to silence most of them at once.
But the episode was enough to cement Qin Feng's decision not to become part of the military, regardless of the benefits involved. It was certainly going to take more patience than he had, to deal with these brainless dolts.
And he was rather certain that he would lose his temper if he had to repeat himself so often. It was a wonder, he realized, how this Second Ducal Prince could manage to keep himself from blowing his top himself.
After all, this Second Ducal Prince had been more than a little accommodating so far. And he had warned Qin Feng about the tight security around the camps already, hadn't he? Just that morning, after he had boarded the Ducal Prince's enclosed carriage?
”These camps are where my uncle's most senior generals are training up their crack troops, so it is rather out of the way, and hidden from the sight of the City proper. It wouldn't do to let everyone see how terrible the soldiers are at what they are supposed to be doing, after all. And it usually takes about three to six moons of making mistakes before they start to get better.”
Qin Feng had nodded sagely when he heard that. It wasn't any different for him, when he was at the Heaven Sword School. Although there were more exceptional disciples, who managed to ascend to the Heavens in one single step. He was not one of those, however. Besides, he didn't really care.
”So the camps are all hidden in the Southern Forest? To ensure that the new soldiers learn how to live off the land there? And to get used to fighting in the same?”
”Yes! I am surprised that you know of this. Have you some experience with the military?”
Qin Feng shook his head and gestured in the direction of the mountains. ”The Heaven Sword School has a similar system, that forces its disciples to learn a few tricks while inside the woods below its peaks. So ... you could say that I am not completely ignorant of what needs to be done.”
”That is good! You will stand a better chance of getting a spot as a courier then.”
The Second Ducal Prince looked as though he was about to share more, but they had already arrived at the main training camp. So they simply held their tongues, and allowed their armed and armoured guides to lead them in, and show them into a rather small but somewhat comfortable tent in the middle of the grounds.
A tall man with a bushy beard, wearing a rather beat-up suit of armor was waiting for the pair within. And he didn't waste any time, after they had introduced themselves.
”I am Yuan Kaixing , and I am Adjutant to General Ling Yongjian, the General handling the Logistics of the Third Army. And I am already aware of why you two are here,” he said, after waving the pair of them to a simple table.
”As you can guess, we often use people who look nothing like our own officers or troopers, to serve as couriers for our forces. And equip them with spatial rings to allow them to transport the items that we need.