The main army was supposed to be ahead, while the civilian corps was responsible for transporting supplies from the rear. The main army had set off a day earlier than their contingent.
Aside from stopping for a quarter of an hour at noon, the entire day was spent escorting the supplies.
The deeper they ventured into the desert, the fiercer the wind and sand beca. What surprised Zheng Fan was that he initially thought he wouldn’t be able to endure it. However, he gritted his teeth and persevered, without needing Liang Cheng or Xue Three to help him.
When it was ti to make camp for the night, Zheng Fan even had enough energy to help Xue Three gather firewood and get the bonfire going.
A small iron pot was set up, water was boiled, and Xue Three took out the flour he had brought, starting to knead dough for noodles.
Feng Siniang had made the most comprehensive logistical preparations. After all, no one thought Zheng Fan would be stingy with money, especially concerning himself.
At the sa ti, no one, including Zheng Fan, actually harbored the idea of "saving for retirent." Especially after their route was confird, they all understood that the outco for people like them was either to strike it rich while stirring up trouble or to die in the attempt.
The three other n in their squad knelt nearby, drooling.
When the noodles went into the pot, and they saw Xue Three take out precious spices, the three n grew even more excited.
"The noodles are ready!" Xue Three called out. He first served Zheng Fan a large bowl, then one for himself and Liang Cheng. Then, pointing to what was left in the pot, he said, "You guys can have the rest."
The three n imdiately scrambled to get their share of the noodles. In the end, they even drank every last drop of the noodle soup.
Feeling lethargic after dinner, Zheng Fan was about to return to his tent to rest when Liang Cheng called him over.
"What’s up?"
"There’s a problem." Liang Cheng glanced around as he spoke.
"What problem?"
"My lord, I inspected our cargo today while we were escorting the supply convoy."
"And?"
"The amount is a bit low."
"Low?"
"Moreover, theoretically, the main army should be ahead of us, but as we traveled today, I saw no traces of the main army having passed through."
The civilian laborers had no right to be inford of such matters. Generally, during battles, even regular soldiers rarely understood the true strategic objectives. As for the civilians, they were rely responsible for escorting supplies and helping set up camp. If things went awry, they might even be forcibly driven to the front as cannon fodder.
"Most importantly, My lord, this whole operation is too hasty. From the conscription of civilians to the army’s mobilization, there had been absolutely no prior warning or preparation."
Where was the target of the attack? Unknown.
How large was the army ahead? Unknown.
How large was the enemy force? Unknown.
Was this a blitzkrieg or a war of attrition? Unknown.
At this point, Xue Three leaned in and whispered, "How about I go grab soone to question?"
When others spoke of grabbing soone for interrogation, it usually ant capturing soone from the enemy. Xue Three, however, was clearly planning to target one of the officers overseeing their own civilian camp.
There were two Centurions in the civilian camp: one responsible for commanding the camp and its movents, and the other specifically leading a cavalry troop that patrolled nearby. More than two hundred regular soldiers supervising two to three thousand civilians was considered adequate.
Liang Cheng shook his head and said, "Let’s wait and see for a few more days."
In this matter, Zheng Fan was a re novice and offered no opinion. Most importantly, he trusted Liang Cheng and Xue Three. If nothing unexpected happened and everyone could return safely after the war, that would be great. However, if there were any unexpected mishaps, his survival would depend on these two. Zheng Fan was acutely aware of this.
「The night passed peacefully.」
The next day, the column of civilian laborers continued its march, setting up camp in the evening just as they had the night before.
「The third day was still quiet.」
By dusk on the fourth day, the civilian corps made camp again. This ti, the location was excellent: beside a river, flanked by sloping valleys that offered shelter from the wind and sand.
After setting up camp, many laborers went to the river to wash. After several days of traveling north, their bodies felt caked with layers of sand. They hadn’t had a chance to wash before, so now that they could, they were eager to clean up and get a comfortable night’s sleep.
The three companions got to work: one fetched water, another gathered dry firewood, and the third set up the tents. Xue Three only needed to focus on cooking.
The camp did provide rations—after all, most laborers weren’t as well-equipped as the "Zheng Family"—but compared to the als from their small stove, the camp food was practically swill.
After bathing in the river, Zheng Fan ca ashore and saw Liang Cheng standing on the bank.
The scene montarily reminded Zheng Fan of a princess bathing in the wilderness, with her general standing guard. Of course, he wouldn’t voice such a thought, not even as a joke; it was too absurd.
However, Liang Cheng clearly wasn’t just standing guard. When Zheng Fan ca ashore, he walked up to him and said seriously, "My lord, I believe sothing is about to happen tonight."
"What’s wrong?"
"What do you think of this campsite, My lord?"
Zheng Fan pondered. He wasn’t familiar with ancient warfare tactics, nor had he been a military enthusiast in his previous life. Therefore, he could only analyze the situation from his own perspective: "Well, it guarantees a water source. Secondly, camping in this canyon reduces our defensive periter. If enemies were to ambush us, we could defend more effectively, right? And they can’t cut off our water supply."
"You’re wise, My lord."
These people have all learned bad habits, Zheng Fan thought. Such insincere flattery, offered as if it cost nothing. He knew this complint was just a preamble; there was surely a ’but’ coming from Liang Cheng.
"But, My lord, you might have overlooked one point," Liang Cheng continued. "If three thousand soldiers were camped here—even if not elite field troops, just regular army n—they could indeed leverage this terrain to mount an effective defense. However, My lord, we have at most just over two hundred soldiers here, plus another two hundred or so like us who brought their own armor and weapons. The rest are ordinary civilian laborers. It would only take a few hundred cavalry attacking from one side, with another group raiding from the other, to cause this entire camp to collapse."
Zheng Fan had seen the caliber of these laborers. Reflecting on his own earlier optimistic assessnt about defending an ambush, he now realized it was impossible for these mostly unard civilians to suddenly transform into hardened warriors if attacked. On the contrary, they would be the critical vulnerability, causing the camp to disintegrate from within.
"Have you ntioned this to the military officers over there?" Zheng Fan asked.
Liang Cheng shook his head, pointed to the distant cavalry, and said, "Besides, there’s sothing else that’s odd. It’s normal for cavalry to escort a supply convoy. But this cavalry unit hasn’t dispersed as scouts; they’ve remained in formation these past few days. Rather than escorting the supplies, it’s more like they’re monitoring the civilian laborers."
"Ah, I see." Now that Liang Cheng ntioned it, Zheng Fan realized it too.
"Have you fought in a war before?" Zheng Fan couldn’t help but digress.
A reminiscent look flickered in Liang Cheng’s eyes. "I did," he replied, "in ancient tis."
"Oh."
Was that from the ’Zombie Liang Cheng’ side stories? Zheng Fan thought. He couldn’t recall the specifics.
Just then, Xue Three’s voice suddenly ca from behind them, as if he were a ghost. "My lord, I have noticed sothing very concerning."
As Xue Three spoke, Zheng Fan felt a cold shiver run straight up his spine, making him suck in a sharp breath. But now, Zheng Fan could only suppress the lingering shock and ask, "What happened?"
"While I was cooking earlier, I figured I’d try to get so grain from the supply wagons. After all, who knows how long it’ll be before we return? We should save our own provisions when we can. To avoid being seen, I specifically picked a grain sack from the very bottom of a wagon. But who would have guessed..."
Xue Three opened his hand.
A stream of small stones trickled from his palm...
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