Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

The Longxi Circuit of the Great Qian Dynasty was divided into three prefectures: Que Prefecture, Ding Prefecture, and Bing Prefecture.

Arranged in a pincer formation, these three prefectures guarded the western border defense, facing the foreign enemies of the Western Qiang directly.

For many years, the Western Qiang barbarians had repeatedly violated the border, burning, killing, looting, and committing all manner of evil. If the Longxi Circuit hadn’t been blocking the front, the heartland of Qian would have been engulfed in the flames of war long ago. However, this meant suffering for the people of Longxi; the border citizens endured the bitterness of war year after year, struggling to survive.

Luo Yu was from Que Prefecture, so he naturally joined the Que Prefecture Border Army. After parting with his parents, he rushed nonstop to the conscription point, which also served as a key border defense location:

Yunyang Pass.

Hundreds of people were squeezed into the enormous plaza, a dark, teeming mass. The noise was deafening, a chaotic din that made Luo Yu feel as if his eardrums were vibrating.

These were all new recruits conscripted from various places. As far as Luo Yu knew, most of them were able-bodied men seized by force or prisoners released from jails. Someone like him, who actively signed up to join the army, was actually the anomaly.

Hundreds of men in tattered clothes stood in groups. Government clerks were distributing uniforms and weapons one by one; the scene was extremely casual and disorganized.

“Here’s yours. Take it.”

A military uniform embroidered with the character “Qian” on the chest and a weapon were shoved into his arms. Luo Yu looked at the rusty scimitar with a dark expression; the material was countless times worse than the long swords of the General of the East’s Manor. As for the uniform, it didn’t carry even a single piece of iron armor; it was purely a slightly thicker set of cloth clothes.

“Quiet down, all of you!

“Shut your mouths for this old master! Damn it! What’s all the noise about!”

A middle-aged man who looked like a military officer stood at the front of the drill ground. He had a big belly, and his armor barely fit, but his angry roar quickly silenced the field.

The middle-aged officer cleared his throat, his nostrils pointing to the sky.

“From today on, you are members of the Que Prefecture Border Army! The Western Qiang army is pressing on the border, launching constant raids, vainly attempting to breach the Great Qian’s border pass!

“For the sake of the elders and villagers behind us, for the sake of your wives and children at home, we must…”

This guy spoke passionately for a while, but the response was lukewarm. Many people were staring blankly or whispering among themselves.

“What’s the use of saying all that? Hurry up and let us eat. I’m starving.”

A sturdy man in front turned back and smiled at Luo Yu. “Brother Yu, are you hungry?”

Luo Yu glared at him.

“I’m not hungry! Eat, eat, eat, you only know how to eat!”

Meng Hu. He was the first person Luo Yu met after arriving at Yunyang Pass. True to his name (“Tiger”), he had a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear. The only problem was that his appetite was too big; he thought about eating from morning till night.

The two knew each other because they signed up one after the other. Meng Hu was illiterate, so Luo Yu helped him write his name. In return, Meng Hu shared half a flatbread with him as a gesture of gratitude.

“Alright, that’s all I have to say!”

The middle-aged officer finally finished his long speech and took out a register.

“Now you will be assigned to the various fortresses at the front lines to become fortress garrison soldiers. I hope you will kill the enemy bravely and defend your country!”

“Damn it, I thought we were guarding Yunyang Pass. We actually have to go to the fortresses!”

“We’re done for. Isn’t this a death sentence?”

The new recruits all had mournful faces, and even Luo Yu was dumbfounded.

The so-called fortresses were strongholds built in the desolate wilderness outside the pass. They guarded strategic points, sounded alarms, and delayed the advance of the Western Qiang cavalry.

In other words, those fortresses were west of Yunyang Pass, constantly exposed right under the eyelids of the Western Qiang cavalry. Extremely dangerous!

Luo Yu wasn’t afraid; he was just shocked. Sending these new recruits to the front lines without any training or familiarity with drum and signal commands… how was this any different from sending them to their deaths?

“Liu Ermazi, Erdao Ditch Fortress!”

“Zhang Badan, Sanhe Fortress!”

“Heaven bless me, don’t send me to the very front!”

“Yeah, just send me to some remote corner. Just don’t let me run into those Qiang barbarians!”

Everyone around was praying. There were over a dozen fortresses, large and small, outside Yunyang Pass. Some were on the flanks, some at the front. The further forward, naturally, the more dangerous. No one wanted to go to the forward-most fortresses to die.

Names were read out by the officer one by one, like judgments or verdicts, essentially determining the fate of the new recruits.

“Luo Yu, Jiming Fortress!”

“Meng Hu, Jiming Fortress!”

“Jiming Fortress?”

Finally hearing his name, Luo Yu, who didn’t know much about the border situation, asked blankly, “Where is that?”

The people around him cast sympathetic and pitying looks.

“One of the three fortresses at the very front.”

* * *

Yellow sand billowed; the cold wind rustled.

Luo Yu leaned against the corner of a wall, resting on a shovel, sweat pouring down like rain. He looked around. This was his first stop in the army:

Jiming Fortress.

In reality, it was just a small fort enclosed by wooden planks and sandbags, situated among rolling dunes. It wasn’t much bigger than a landlord’s farm estate.

The fortress walls were about two zhang high, far less majestic than Yunyang Pass, but more than enough to stop the warhorses of the Qiang soldiers.

A few dilapidated crossbows were mounted on the walls, and weapons were piled everywhere. Two rows of wooden huts inside the fortress served as sleeping quarters for the garrison soldiers. The environment was extremely harsh, and a faint stench hung in the air.

In the three days since arriving at Jiming Fortress, he had roughly figured out the situation inside. Counting the dozen or so new recruits, there were only sixty defenders in the fortress. The standard commander leading the team was named Wang Shuang, and the vice standard commander was Zhang Gui.

“Damn, I’m exhausted.”

Meng Hu plopped down on the ground with a thud, his hands already blistered with blood.

“Rest a bit. Doing a little less work won’t kill anyone.”

Recently, Qiang scouts had been approaching the fortress for reconnaissance, indicating the main Qiang force could arrive at any time. Therefore, Jiming Fortress was rushing to reinforce the walls, and the new recruits hadn’t rested since the day they arrived.

Compared to the other uneasy recruits, Luo Yu was actually looking forward to the Qiang soldiers coming sooner.

If the Qiang soldiers didn’t come, how could he earn military merit? If he didn’t earn military merit, how could he fulfill the Five-Year Pact?

Meng Hu’s gaze accidentally swept over Luo Yu’s arm, and he said with surprise, “Brother Yu, your body is so solid. I really couldn’t tell usually.”

Luo Yu looked thin, but when he lifted his clothes, lines of muscle were visible, excellent.

“Hehe, I did a lot of farm work. It built me up.”

Luo Yu laughed it off. This world had no high martial arts or qi gong; everything relied on one’s own physique.

So, from a young age, he had followed that special memory to strengthen his body, maintaining his training and mastering a set of combat skills. Three or five ordinary men couldn’t even get close to him.

Otherwise, where would he get the confidence to join the army at the border?

“New recruits, all of you, stand up! Stand up!”

A cold shout rang out. Vice Standard Commander Zhang Gui walked up to the wall with his hands behind his back. The dozen or so new recruits scrambled to stand in a row. Zhang Gui swore constantly and often beat and scolded the soldiers; getting whipped was a common occurrence, so the new recruits were all afraid of him.

Zhang Gui said with cold eyes:

“Look at you all, crooked and slouching, what kind of discipline is this! Perk up!

“Listen to me. In the last two days, Qiang scouts have approached multiple times for reconnaissance. Standard Commander has ordered Squad Leader Wu Mazi to lead a team out of the fortress to slaughter them. Five veterans, five new recruits.

“I’ve already chosen the veterans. Which new recruits want to go?”

Hearing this, the new recruits all lowered their heads, terrified of making eye contact with Zhang Gui.

They were already unlucky enough to be assigned to the frontline Jiming Fortress. Hiding inside the walls gave them a little sense of security; who dared to go out and fight the Qiang soldiers?

Every border citizen of Longxi knew that the Qiang people were skilled in archery and horsemanship and possessed formidable combat power. What use would a group of untrained recruits like them be?

“Look at you spineless cowards!”

Zhang Gui mocked.

“You’re all men who piss standing up, how can you be so gutless?”

“I’ll go!”

A resonant, powerful voice suddenly rang out. Everyone looked in astonishment at Luo Yu, who had spoken.

Was this guy crazy? He actually volunteered to go out and kill the enemy?

“Oh? There’s actually one with balls.”

Zhang Gui was also somewhat surprised. The seventeen-year-old’s face looked too immature in his eyes. He stared intently into Luo Yu’s pupils.

“You’re not afraid?”

Luo Yu replied calmly:

“Is being afraid useful?”

“Well said. Being afraid is useless.”

Zhang Gui looked at Luo Yu with interest, then picked a few more people and waved his big hand.

“Pack up and prepare to move out. Wu Mazi, take them to see some blood. Once a rookie sees blood, he becomes a veteran.”

NOTES

Zhang: A unit of length, roughly 3.3 meters. Two zhang is about 6.6 meters or ~22 feet high.

Translator’s Note: We’ve moved from family drama to the gritty reality of the border. 

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