Chapter 39: The Military Camp

  This was Qing Xia's first time entering the military camp, last time she had framed and imprisoned, what she feared most was alerting the imperial army next door. The world is indeed unpredictable, who would have thought that one day she would enter this renowned military stronghold with such an identity.

  Qing Xia's past life had involved multiple missions of infiltration, disguise and deception. She was accustomed to playing the role of a god or a ghost, so it wasn't difficult for her to adapt when she arrived at the military camp. Moreover, she couldn't help but recall her childhood training in the special forces unit. Getting along with these robust men wasn't a problem for her either. Furthermore, before arriving, she had already conducted thorough investigations.

  It wasn't an accident, Chu Li had mobilized a large number of Green Camp soldiers to guard the palace in advance. The leader of the Green Camp, Tan Bian, was promoted to general by Chu Li for his meritorious service and went to defend the border town. Last night, Qing Xia sneaked into the Imperial Censorate and set fire to the west wing. The fire wasn't big, but it just happened to burn all the name lists of the Green Camp soldiers guarding the palace.

  Losing the military roster, whether in ancient or modern times, is a serious crime. Fortunately, the fire did not spread far, and if the officials of the Imperial Secretariat still have some brains, they will definitely keep it secret and not report it. In the next few days, people were sent to the border town, and secretly investigated in the palace to make up for the roster. So even if the Imperial City Guard received any personnel adjustments and reported them up, they would be treated as a minor matter and suppressed. By the time they made up for the roster and found that there was no Xia Qing, she had already escaped.

  Things turned out as she had expected, General Hou Yong of the Imperial Guard only asked her a few simple questions and arranged for her to be quartered. Qing Xia held the newly issued clothes, hat, and armor, and slowly walked towards the designated camp, greeting the soldiers of the Imperial Guard along the way with a natural air of calmness.

  Just as he stretched out his hand, the curtain of the camp was suddenly lifted from the inside. Yang Feng grabbed a long gun and lowered his head to go outside, seeing Qing Xia, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

  Qing Xia hastily stood up straight and moved to one side, giving Yang Feng a path to exit.

  "Thank you." Yang Feng said lightly and walked past Qing Xia's side, heading in the direction of the Eighteen Training Grounds.

  The living conditions in the military camp were quite good, and surprisingly, there were only two people per tent. Each tent was like a small Mongolian yurt, sturdy and warm, unlike the simple tents that Qing Xia often stayed in during his military campaigns in the wilderness.

  Two people live here, and the space is not very large. In the center, a huge sheepskin blanket is placed, enough for three people to sleep together. At the door, there is a small table with two wooden chests and a washbasin, among other things. On the table, an oil lamp and several books are scattered about. There is nothing else besides this.

  She opened one of the trunks, which was filled with a large number of books and a small amount of clothing. She knew it was Yang Feng's trunk, so Qing Xia didn't look any further and closed it. She put all her things in the other trunk, then knelt down on the low table, suddenly feeling a little amused. Who would have thought that she had escaped from Chu Li's harem only to end up in his military camp, and even become a soldier? The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed.

  With a rustling sound, the curtain was lifted and Yang Feng walked in with a food tray, placing the dishes on the low table without looking up, saying in a deep voice: "You didn't eat anything this morning, right? There's training at the practice court later, have something to eat."

  Qing Xia sat on the ground with her legs crossed, half leaning back and looking at the man squatting in front of her, no longer disguising her voice as she said: "How did you figure it out?"

  Yang Feng's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he remained silent. Qing Xia continued, "Since you can see it, others must also be able to see it. Please tell me."

  "You're dressed up nicely." Yang Feng suddenly nodded and said, "Don't worry, others can't tell."

  Qing Xia's eyes narrowed slightly, sizing up the man who had transformed from a miscellaneous soldier to a regular imperial guard in just a few days. He was tall and stately, but not bulky, with refined features that didn't make him appear weak. A tough and resilient aura emanated from his entire being. His sword-like eyebrows reached his temples, and he had a faint stubble on his chin. His arms were long, and his palms were wide. Qing Xia's eyebrow suddenly rose as he stretched out his hand to tightly grasp the man's hand.

  "It's really you." Qing Xia smiled faintly, her eyes curved into a crescent shape as she gently felt the calluses on the man's palm, laughing and saying: "Were you the one who sent me medicine and food? You smelled the medicinal scent on me, didn't you?"

  "It's not just the medicine, there's also the fragrance of jasmine." Yang Feng seemed to have expected that she would discover it, and didn't show any signs of panic, saying: "Back then, Your Highness saved my life, and I will repay your kindness with a small favor, so please don't worry about it."

  "After all the hardships and difficulties of leaving the palace, there's no more 'niang niang' (a term used to address a princess). Qing Xia shook her head, suddenly becoming serious and saying: "From now on, in this world, there will be no more Qing Xia, only Xia Qing."

  "Alright." Yang Feng nodded in agreement, picked up a piece of dry rations and handed it to Qing Xia, "As long as there's an opportunity to go out on a mission, you can escape safely, don't worry, eat something."

  The food in the barracks, of course, cannot be compared to the delicacies in the palace, but when Qing Xia eats it, she feels an indescribable joy and excitement, thinking that it is fragrant, sweet and delicious beyond compare.

  As soon as he put down his chopsticks, the curtain was lifted and Hong Dayuan's sturdy head poked in, shouting loudly: "Gather at the 18th teaching ground, Xiao Xia, the captain has assigned you a new horse, I've brought it for you."

  The living conditions of the Imperial Guard in the dark imperial city are indeed good. A newly arrived small soldier can live in an independent apartment, and is also assigned a mount. In modern times, this would be the treatment that only a mid-level official could enjoy.

  Drunk in the pavilion, holding a lamp to watch the sword,

  Dreams return to blow horns and connect camps,

  Eight hundred miles of troops under the command of the commander,

  Fifty strings of bows competing outside the nephew's door,

  Autumn on the sandy field, pointing at the soldiers.

  Used to the modernized way of warfare with planes, tanks, cannons and missiles, he suddenly found himself on this vast training ground, and Qing Xia was shocked by what he saw before him.

  The entire military camp of one hundred thousand men and horses stood on the vast drill ground, lined up in formation, with swords and guns at the ready, their iron armor glistening. As far as the eye could see, there were steel warriors standing like stone statues. The white clouds drifted lazily across the sky, the cold wind whipped against their faces, and the yellow sand and earth stretched out before them. Their iron armor seemed to gleam with a fierce light, and Qing Xia grasped the reins of his horse tightly, standing stock-still as he gazed out at this magnificent scene, feeling the blood in his veins suddenly boiling over.

  "Don't be afraid." A low voice suddenly sounded in her ear, Yang Feng walked up from behind, patted Qing Xia's shoulder, took the reins of her horse and grasped them firmly, saying in a deep voice: "Later you just follow me, sit carefully on the horse, don't fall off."

  It's not unreasonable to have such concerns, after all, in other people's hearts, she was just an abandoned palace wife who had been discarded. For a young lady from a wealthy family who had grown up in the inner chambers, it was already fortunate that she could climb onto a warhorse unscathed.

  "Good." Qing Xia nodded, flashing a brilliant smile at Yang Feng. Even with his completely changed appearance and the addition of a beard, he was still dazzling to behold. Yang Feng was taken aback for a moment before turning around and walking ahead, leading Qing Xia's horse by the reins.

  Following Yang Feng, standing in the formation, a hundred thousand people gathered together, yet it was unusually quiet, with no one making a loud noise. The war drums on the platform suddenly started beating loudly. Qing Xia looked up and gazed at the platform. There, Chu Li wore a silver-white armor, a helmet on his head, white flowing ribbons hanging down from the top of his head, his hand pressing against the hilt of his sword, looking elegant and refreshing, with an air of grandeur, having a youthful emperor's majestic aura.

  The fierce drumbeat shook the sky, and in the midst of this cold winter, the drummer, a robust man, went into battle bare-chested. Sweat slowly trickled down his muscular body in the thin morning mist. Suddenly, the drumbeat stopped abruptly. Yang Feng pulled Qing Xia, and Qing Xia knelt down with him. All the soldiers almost simultaneously knelt down and shouted in unison: "Long live our king!"

  Perhaps the pedantic and poor scholars of the imperial court are still obsessed with whether Chuli should ascend to the throne, and whether he should use the imperial ritual, but in the eyes of these imperial soldiers, Chuli has long been the de facto ruler of Chu State.

  A deafening sound echoed across the training grounds, and Chu Li raised his hand to signal. The guards on the high platform pulled down a black canvas behind them, which was as tall as a house. A loud roar followed, and Qing Xia looked up to see a ferocious tiger with two bloody characters on either side of it: "War" and "Peace".

  "In the southern border, the Heiwu tribe's tiny territory dares to rise up in rebellion. The beacon fires have been burning for 28 strongholds, and our Great Chu garrison's 17 outposts in the south have been challenged. All the civil officials in the court advise me that a new emperor should ascend to the throne with a policy of leniency and benevolence to appease the border regions. But I want to hear the voices of my Great Chu warriors, who fought to establish our empire - tell me, should we go to war or make peace?"

  "War!" A loud voice suddenly boomed like a thunderclap, Chu Li stood tall on the platform, shouting loudly. The crowd below was stirred up, and 100,000 people shouted in unison, their momentum shaking the earth, yellow sand swirling everywhere.

  At this moment, a sharp arrow suddenly shot out from the crowd and rushed towards the high platform. The guards behind Chu Li were in a state of panic, shouting loudly, but Chu Li remained calm and composed.

  Only a shrill cry was heard, and the crowd looked intently to see that the arrow had accurately shot into the eye of the fierce tiger. The technique of piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces is not an unparalleled skill in the military, but what's remarkable about this arrow is that it entered from the left eye and exited from the right eye, with one arrow penetrating both eyes of the tiger, finally passing through its body and landing steadily on the character "和".

  Everyone's gaze suddenly fell, Yang Feng stood upright in his original position, his cyan armor made him look even more slender and handsome. He held a giant strong bow in his hand, his face was calm as water, still maintaining the posture of shooting an arrow.

  "What a man, how bold!" The Imperial Guard officer immediately drew his long sword and jumped in front of Chu Li, shouting: "How dare you plot against the Crown Prince!"

  Yang Feng said calmly and loudly: "The southern border is a barbarous and desolate land, with few soldiers and sparse population. For a hundred years, it has been under the jurisdiction of Great Chu without any unusual movements. This time, it actually dares to openly challenge the dignity of Great Chu, it must have been instigated by treacherous people to be so bold. Your Highness has just ascended to the throne, it is not suitable to go to war with the southern border, lest you fall into the trap set by petty people and cause the territories under your jurisdiction to split apart. General Yang advises Your Highness to think thrice!"

  "How dare you! What status do you have, that you also get to speak here?" The Imperial Guard shouted loudly, still blocking Chu Li's path.

  Xiao Jiang is a junior squad leader in the Imperial Guard.

  "Haha!" The loud laughter suddenly spread throughout the entire military camp, and everyone burst out laughing. In a low voice, you dare to be so arrogant as a small squad leader in this place, and Captain Li of the first team was even more furious with Yang Feng, his face twisted in anger.

  "Come on! Take him down!"

  "Wait!" Chu Li said calmly, slowly turning his head, his eyes fixed on Yang Feng like a hawk.