Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 390 - 239: Military Camp Life_2

Chapter 390: Chapter 239: Military Camp Life_2

In fact, this is recorded in historical materials.

The Qi Dynasty’s general use of thatched bamboo huts, already quite rudimentary among all civilian dwellings, still cost about ten guan per unit, while the construction standard for military barracks was no more than four guan per room.

One can imagine what kind of living quality that would be...

Moreover, bringing the entire family with the army at first glance indeed seems like some kind of welfare benefit, but upon closer scrutiny, one can find a significant pitfall.

On one hand, this practice of the Qi Dynasty was actually also a means to prevent desertion.

After all, if a soldier were alone, they could just run off, head straight home to find their wife and children, and with the conditions of ancient times, it would be difficult to apprehend them; but what if their wife and children were all in the camp? If a soldier then thought of running away, they’d have to flee with their whole family, making it easier to be discovered.

Furthermore, if a soldier deserted and abandoned their wife and children, it would be only natural for the officers to sell the family members as slaves and compensate the dynasty.

On the other hand, with a dilapidated thatched hut costing less than four guan, some cheap labor was gained for nothing.

Due to the prevalence of redundant soldiers and the common practice of officers embezzling provisions, the soldiers’ actual pay was substantially discounted. Moreover, soldiers in the Qi Dynasty had to bear the cost of their own equipment repairs, purchasing leather strips for bows, strings, and various other expenses.

A soldier’s military pay was simply not enough to support a family.

Under such circumstances, soldiers had no choice but to seek other ways to make a living, doing small businesses in the market to earn money.

This further led to the collapse of morale; when all the soldiers were thinking about how to make money, how could they concentrate on training?

For those who did make money, it was still manageable; they could use the funds to hire someone to serve in their place and happily continue their business ventures. But for those who did not make money, their already dire family situation would grow even more desperate.

Hence, the soldiers’ wives and children also had to join in the work, like cleaning armor or gathering firewood nearby.

Since the barracks consisted of thatched huts, fires were not allowed at night, so families had to make do with cold food and then continue to toil until late into the night.

In other words, when these soldiers’ wives and children arrived at the camp, they weren’t coming to enjoy leisure but rather became akin to auxiliary troops, undertaking a large amount of miscellaneous work in the camp.

If they were back in their hometowns working in the fields or weaving, they might have been able to earn a bit of extra money. However, in the camp, such opportunities were utterly nonexistent.

In short, during his time in the camp, Zhao Haiping also found it extremely frustrating and infuriating.

It was too miserable!

Is this the treatment that soldiers deserved?

How could an army like this talk about combat effectiveness, and with what confidence could they fight the formidable Jin soldiers?

But at the moment, he was just a rookie who had recently enlisted, without the power to change any of this, so he could only take each day as it came.

After all, judging by the recent anxiety-ridden atmosphere in the camp, the Jin soldiers might very well attack soon.

...

"Brother Zhao, come on, have another piece," Wang Fang offered.

Zhao Haiping took a small piece of hard cake from him, soaked it in millet soup until it softened, then dipped it in a bit of sauce before putting it into his mouth.

Both the cake and millet soup were cold, as fires were not allowed at night.

After all, in a camp full of cheap thatched huts, the consequences of a fire would be dire, and no one could bear the outcome.

As for these soldiers, they had grown accustomed to it.

Cold food was fine—they just needed to avoid starvation.

The tolerance level of these ancient lower-class people for survival issues was beyond the imagination of modern people.

In the camp, Zhao Haiping was known as Hai Ping. The soldier in front of him, also tall and robust, was similarly a special lance corporal, named Wang Fang.

Zhao Haiping was alone when he enlisted, but Wang Fang was different—he had a wife and children.

His child was just seven years old this year.

According to Wang Fang, his family had been living with him in the Peace Army until about a dozen days ago.

But as news of the Jin soldiers’ southward invasion grew more prevalent, Wang Fang became worried that Pingding County would soon become a battlefield. Right then, the authorities relaxed the rules, allowing some families to leave the camp and return home, so Wang Fang took the opportunity to send his wife and child back.

Compared to the ordinary soldiers, special lance corporals like Zhao Haiping and Wang Fang were among the elite and received more military pay on a regular basis. They also generally enjoyed some preferential treatment. Even if there were instances of their pay or other funds being embezzled, it was not as common as with other soldiers.

Moreover, the Peace Army was located in a desolate area. Although living conditions were poor, since the location was prone to face war directly, the embezzlement of military pay was somewhat restrained.

Therefore, overall, the two managed to make a passable living in the camp.

As for the daily meals, they were generally similar to what they had while on the march.

The Qi Dynasty was an era of great development in food culture. Those like Li Hongyun in the city could indulge in the delights of taverns, savoring stir-fried dishes. But in camp, the diet was basically limited to various hard cakes and a very small amount of vegetables.

Since the Qi Dynasty, hard cakes, blocks of salt, and sauces became the standard provisions for marching soldiers—a significant improvement compared to the times of the Great Chu Dynasty and earlier, when soldiers had to eat millet at every meal, although it still couldn’t be considered tasty.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.