allonlinenovel Chapter 109 Camp
Chapter 109 Camp
The mission traveled southeast for two days and finally entered the territory of Yucheng. Yucheng was a major supply city behind Pingshan Pass, and its residents were mostly military families with a fierce and tough culture.
Shen Che presented his credentials and explained his purpose to the city guard. The delegation entered the city smoothly and stayed at the post station. At this time, they were some distance from the battlefield of Yiyang Pass and within the protection range of the Chixiao Army, so their safety was somewhat guaranteed.
But since they were already there, and the Marquis of Yongyi had done a great favor for the Shen family, it wouldn't be right not to pay him a visit.
"Brother, I want to go too."
"The military camp is full of men, what would you be doing there?"
That's ridiculous. Aren't all the hundreds of people in the entire delegation men?
"I will protect you!" Shen Qing said righteously and sternly.
Shen Che didn't believe this explanation. He glanced at Shen Qing and wondered if she wanted to see Lu Yu.
Well, anyway, she would sneak off on her own even if he didn't let her go. To avoid someone being mistaken for a spy and causing trouble, Shen Che had no choice but to comply.
And so, Shen Qing followed Shen Che out of the East Gate in a perfectly legitimate manner, heading towards the military camp. Military camps are generally located far from populated areas in order to maintain the army's strict combat readiness and concentrated military training, and to a certain extent, to prevent the enemy from spying on military intelligence.
After leaving the city and walking for seven or eight miles, we finally saw the camp gate. There were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, guarding the camp.
This was Shen Qing's first time getting up close to an ancient camp. While waiting for the announcement, he couldn't help but wander around and carefully observe it.
The surrounding area is basically consistent with what is seen in movies and TV dramas. A wooden fence was built to isolate the area from ordinary people. The fence was tightly constructed, and a deep and wide trench was dug outside the fence, which should be used to resist enemy attacks.
In addition, watchtowers and observation towers were built every hundred paces inside the wooden fence to facilitate long-range observation.
Yes, it's a very traditional and ancient wooden palisade camping method.
Shen Qing felt that there were still many areas for improvement, such as the trenching and fortification methods.
The trenching method requires digging trenches and horse traps. Although the trenches outside the camp have already been dug, some details can be added, such as setting up deer antler guns in the trenches and using pontoon bridges for passage.
The construction of the fortified camp required the building of low walls for defense, five feet high and eight feet wide, with parapets four feet high and two feet wide. In addition, wooden palisades, horse pits, and flails and blasting cannons were needed, although cannons did not yet exist at that time.
How does Shen Qing know so much?
Ha~ Which man hasn't had a passionate, immature moment?
After Shen Qing mentally imagined how he would renovate the camp to make it more advanced and scientific, the messenger still hadn't returned. The commander-in-chief was probably very busy, after all, he was in charge of tens of thousands of people and had a lot of military affairs to deal with every day, which was understandable.
Shen Che did not feel neglected and even had the leisure to explain the Xuanguo military system to Shen Qing.
The basic organizational units of the Xuan Kingdom army were generally: one battalion, one division, one troop, one garrison, one squad, one detachment, and one squad.
Five men form a squad (五人), headed by a squad leader; two squads form a troop (什), headed by a troop leader; five troops form a team (队), headed by a captain; two teams form a garrison (屯), headed by a garrison commander (屯将) and a 100-man commander (百人将); five garrisons form a unit (曲), headed by a unit commander (曲将); two units form a division (部), headed by a commander (牙将); five divisions form a camp (营), headed by a colonel (校检校尉); two camps form an army (军), headed by a colonel (校尉).
Wait a minute, I heard that Mu Qi led 10,000 troops to Yancheng to assist Jiang Se in suppressing the rebellion. The corner of the camp I saw from outside the gate... the Chixiao Army is overstretched!
"Ahem~" Hearing Shen Qing's question, Shen Che said in a low voice, "Besides the Chixiao Army, Marquis Yongyi also has the Chongxiao Army and the Lingxiao Army under his command."
Shen Qing always felt that the Three Immortals were not auspicious.
Clearing his mind of distractions, Shen Qing pondered that if Marquis Yongyi hadn't been receiving a salary without working, then Pingshan Pass should have had 30,000 garrison troops, but now that 10,000 had left, there would still be 20,000.
"Shen Shaoqing," just as Shen Qing was pondering the security of Pingshan Pass, the messenger returned, "The Marshal requests your presence."
Marquis Yongyi was Lu Zhen's title. In the military camp, soldiers often referred to him as Commander Lu.
Shen Che nodded and led Shen Qing into the camp with the messenger.
Upon entering the camp, Shen Qing could see the defenses more clearly. Soldiers in squads of ten, fully armored and armed, patrolled in formation, their spirits indicating strict military discipline.
After passing through the left and right vanguard armies, they finally arrived at the central army camp. The guards outside the tent had already received instructions, so they saluted and led Shen Che and his men directly into the tent.
"Nephew, it's been a long time!"
"Greetings, Uncle."
Shen Qing looked in the direction of the voice and saw a vigorous middle-aged man with a burly build, a dignified face, shiny sideburns, and a hint of menacing aura between his brows.
"One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand," that's the kind of aura forged in the battlefield.
Shen Qing followed behind Shen Che, bowing and listening to their insincere formalities like a ghost, trying to glean some useful information from between the lines. After all, their presence at Pingshan Pass was like standing under a crumbling wall, which was also the purpose of his visit to the camp to see Marquis Yongyi.
However, Shen Che clearly misunderstood him. After catching up, he asked, "Why haven't I seen the Crown Prince?"
"Hongfei received orders to be transferred to Jiayong Pass for garrison duty."
"The Di Kingdom has also invaded the border?" Shen Che frowned. Why did all the countries become agitated after his mission?
Shen Qing also sensed something strange about it and couldn't help but interject, "Wouldn't this leave Pingshan Pass undefended, giving them an opportunity to take advantage?"
Lu Zhen looked at the young guard with suspicion. Shen Che had a bad feeling and explained, "This is my cousin. He came along to broaden his horizons."
So it's a young nobleman out here to gain experience. Lu Zhen nodded and said, "Anguo has always been peaceful and docile, and because of its scarce arable land, it cannot support a large army. It has no chance of winning against Xuanguo."
"What if they take an unconventional approach, taking advantage of the weak defenses at Pingshan Pass to expand their territory and then defend it from a strategic position?"
Throughout history, territorial invasions have always been a slow and gradual process; no one can become fat overnight.
Lu Zhen laughed and said, "Young master, there is no need to worry. As the art of war says, if you have ten times the strength, surround them; if you have five times the strength, attack them; if you have twice the strength, fight them. Pingshan Pass has high walls and deep fortifications. Anguo's forces cannot take it down."
"What if there are reinforcements?" Shen Qing walked to the map hanging on the wall and pointed to the three kingdoms of Di, Jing, and An that border Xuan.
Lu Zhen was puzzled, and even Shen Che thought Shen Qing was worrying unnecessarily. The three kingdoms were far apart. The Di Kingdom was in the northwest of Xuan Kingdom, and it was separated from the Jing Kingdom in the southwest of Xuan Kingdom by the Northern Desert. The Jing Kingdom was separated from the An Kingdom in the southeast of Xuan Kingdom by the Qi Kingdom. They were completely unrelated.
But Shen Qing didn't think so. Xuan Guo was such a big piece of cake that it deserved to be divided among the three countries.
"I am not exaggerating, Marshal, please take a look." Shen Qing took a wooden stick placed next to the diagram and drew a few lines in the background.
Shen Che didn't quite understand at first, but as he watched, he seemed to realize something, and Lu Zhen's expression also turned serious.