Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 389 - 239: Military Camp Life

Chapter 389: Chapter 239: Military Camp Life

While Chu Ge was busy trying to outsmart the emperor in the capital, Zhao Haiping had just finished a day’s training.

Before that, Zhao Haiping had undoubtedly secured his qualifications for distinct effectiveness through his skilled horse riding and excellent equestrian skills and had been assigned to the Peace Army.

The Peace Army was stationed in Pingding County, at a mountain pass in front of the Taihang Mountain, a temporary lodging place used by the founding emperor of the Qi Dynasty during his attack on Taiyuan City, and also seen as an essential route from the Qi Dynasty capital to Taiyuan City.

Zhao Haiping initially thought that, as a combatant, he would soon be facing a thrilling battle with the Jin soldiers, but he was proven wrong.

Upon arriving at the camp, he first went through a period of tedious training.

At that time, the soldiers’ training lacked any specific scientific theories for guidance; it merely consisted of repeatedly practicing certain motions in unison on the training ground or having other training schemes based on differing abilities.

For instance, cavalry skills such as equestrian skills and mounted archery were indispensable.

However, due to the rather concerning quality of the troops at that time, such training could not be too complex. For most ordinary soldiers, being able to hold a long spear, raise it, and barely perform a couple of thrusting and parrying actions was already quite an accomplishment.

This isn’t an exaggeration, for ancient military formations indeed used very long spears, about two to three meters long. Even if the spear shaft was made of wood, just trying to hold it upright from the end was a considerably strenuous task.

After all, using a long spear involves the principle of the lever; with the left hand as the fulcrum, the right hand only needs to move a small distance for the spear tip to cover the enemy’s head, chest, and entire body. However, this requires the hands to exert significant strength.

Therefore, such training was indeed rather arduous for the ordinary soldiers.

Having previously developed martial skills in other historical instances, and possessing a robust and tall stature, Zhao Haiping found such training redundant. As a lower-ranking officer relatively higher in status, he was soon able to lead and guide some soldiers in training or have separate areas to engage in personally chosen training programs with other officers.

What Zhao Haiping found harder to accept, though, were the conditions in the military camp.

Previously, Zhao Haiping had also played the role of a lower-ranking soldier, such as under General Deng’s command in the instance "Sealing a Marquis Was Not My Intention."

At that time, he thought that the treatment of soldiers in the late period of the Great Sheng Dynasty was already quite poor, but now he realized that the soldiers under General Deng’s command had relatively good conditions.

Their living conditions were good, and they were provided sufficient rations. This might have been one of the key reasons why the troops under General Deng’s lead were invincible in many battles.

Although the Qi Dynasty was still in the early phase of the dynasty, the adverse effects of excessive troops had fully manifested.

Since the beginning of the Qi Dynasty, the court had adopted a recruitment system.

The recruitment system, as opposed to the collapsed military system, was definitely a progression. The advantage of recruitment was that it allowed for selective enlistment of soldiers suitable for combat and motivated them with adequate rations. Professional training could then elevate their combat effectiveness far beyond conscripted troops.

However, the problem was that the recruitment system of the Qi Dynasty wasn’t the same as a proper recruitment system.

The Qi Dynasty’s recruitment strategy hardly involved any stringent selection of the enlisted, considering it more as a method for maintaining stability.

Emperor Taizu of the Qi Dynasty once famously said: "That which can benefit hundreds of generations is the upkeep of the army. In the years of famine and hardship, there may be rebels but no rebellious soldiers; in the unfortunate good years when changes arise, there are rebellious soldiers but no rebel civilians."

That is to say, wherever there was a disaster, the court would recruit soldiers to prevent the emergence of unrest.

The soldiers recruited this way often lacked a strong willingness to fight, merely joining the army as a temporary means of survival after being devastated by severe calamities. Additionally, they were unlikely to possess adequate physical condition and combat skills, mostly being impoverished farmers inadequate in all aspects.

Moreover, excessive recruitment reduced the rations distributed to each soldier, especially for those who were less capable in combat, who were given only a meager sum of money, hardly enough for their sustenance.

Considering the exploitation by various levels of military officers, massive desertions among these soldiers were not surprising.

Hence, the extreme measure of tattooing faces to prevent desertion was employed.

Before, Zhao Haiping had also learned about the treatment of Qi Dynasty soldiers and encountered some misleading statements.

For example, it was said that after enlisting soldiers, the Qi Dynasty would provide a resettlement fee and even relocate the entire family inside the military camp. Soldiers could return home daily for meals, living alongside their colleagues.

This arrangement meant families would not suffer the hardship of separation, representing a very humane approach.

However, having lived in the Peace Army camp, Zhao Haiping soon realized that this was all deceptive!

When Zhao Haiping first saw the military housing, he was shocked.

Could this even be called a house?

It was just a ramshackle hut made of simple straw and bamboo boards; it leaked wind when windy and rain when rainy, neither insulating against the cold nor the heat—overall, just barely better than sleeping out in the open field.

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