Visiting the Army Adjutant was a little more complicated that what Qin Feng had imagined. Apparently there were a good number of security checkpoints along the way, and he was scrutinized at every one of them. If not for the fact that he had Li Changhai at his side he would have been fl.u.s.tered to the point of losing his temper.Fortunately, the Second Ducal Prince was more than aware of what it involved, and shielded him from some of the harsher questions quickly. And he was quick to display the military version of the Fu Lai Medicine Hall bronze tag to these idiot military men. Which was enough to silence most of them at once.
But the episode was enough to cement Qin Feng"s decision not to become part of the military, regardless of the benefits involved. It was certainly going to take more patience than he had, to deal with these brainless dolts.
And he was rather certain that he would lose his temper if he had to repeat himself so often. It was a wonder, he realized, how this Second Ducal Prince could manage to keep himself from blowing his top himself.
After all, this Second Ducal Prince had been more than a little accommodating so far. And he had warned Qin Feng about the tight security around the camps already, hadn"t he? Just that morning, after he had boarded the Ducal Prince"s enclosed carriage?
"These camps are where my uncle"s most senior generals are training up their crack troops, so it is rather out of the way, and hidden from the sight of the City proper. It wouldn"t do to let everyone see how terrible the soldiers are at what they are supposed to be doing, after all. And it usually takes about three to six moons of making mistakes before they start to get better."
Qin Feng had nodded sagely when he heard that. It wasn"t any different for him, when he was at the Heaven Sword School. Although there were more exceptional disciples, who managed to ascend to the Heavens in one single step. He was not one of those, however. Besides, he didn"t really care.
"So the camps are all hidden in the Southern Forest? To ensure that the new soldiers learn how to live off the land there? And to get used to fighting in the same?"
"Yes! I am surprised that you know of this. Have you some experience with the military?"
Qin Feng shook his head and gestured in the direction of the mountains. "The Heaven Sword School has a similar system, that forces its disciples to learn a few tricks while inside the woods below its peaks. So ... you could say that I am not completely ignorant of what needs to be done."
"That is good! You will stand a better chance of getting a spot as a courier then."
The Second Ducal Prince looked as though he was about to share more, but they had already arrived at the main training camp. So they simply held their tongues, and allowed their armed and armoured guides to lead them in, and show them into a rather small but somewhat comfortable tent in the middle of the grounds.
A tall man with a bushy beard, wearing a rather beat-up suit of armor was waiting for the pair within. And he didn"t waste any time, after they had introduced themselves.
"I am Yuan Kaixing , and I am Adjutant to General Ling Yongjian, the General handling the Logistics of the Third Army. And I am already aware of why you two are here," he said, after waving the pair of them to a simple table.
"As you can guess, we often use people who look nothing like our own officers or troopers, to serve as couriers for our forces. And equip them with spatial rings to allow them to transport the items that we need.
"Most of this occurs behind enemy lines, or at the front where the fighting is hottest. Hence, the rings are often offered as rewards for the first three missions. Complete three of them, and the ring is yours."
The Adjutant certainly did not waste any time, and stuck to the salient points. Qin Feng could appreciate that, and simply acknowledged what he had heard with a nod.
"There are essentially, two positions that are up for consideration now: The first is to be a supplier to the Army Cookhouse. That requires you to convey sufficient fresh meat and vegetables to the front-line troops, regardless of the state of the battle. This is somewhat dangerous, since some of these units would be fighting against the enemy. Hence, we have rather few applicants for this particular job.
"The other would be to take charge of supplying medicines and such to our field hospitals. That is even worse than the first, since these are places that are situated very close to the actual fighting. The ones who are injured cannot be conveyed too far, so they are usually treated in makeshift hospitals made from tents and such. That is, unless we can find some sort of building to house them in."
The Adjutant sighed then, and ran a finger down the length of his bushy beard. He had been doing that for a while now, and it seemed to be an nervous habit of his, Qin Feng thought. Perhaps he was more anxious about this than everyone thinks?
Yuan Kaixing looked up then, turning to the Second Ducal Prince, and his eyes held a bit of an apology. But Qin Feng decided to ignore that. No doubt, he was worried what the n.o.bleman would think, since he was only putting the most difficult, and probably the most undesired, jobs onto the table. After all, Li Changhai might complain to the Old Marquis about this!
"Regardless of which of these I choose, I will end up taking the same test? Is that correct?"
Qin Feng decided to ask about the procedure of the test itself. Regardless of the situation, he would have to pa.s.s that first, before he took up the position. And get his hands on one of those precious rings!
If he could get one, his future as a proper merchant of medicinal herbs would be secure! And that would lead to more lucrative trades falling into his lap!
"The tests are all the same. It basically makes sure that you are able to use the rings, and are able to hide from the scouts who would be searching for you in a specific environment. That may change from time to time, depending on where we might be called upon to fight."
The Adjutant seemed a little more agitated as soon as he said that, then recovered and waved a hand at the Forest to the South of their camp. "Since we are here, we shall be conducting the test in the Woods there. You just need to wear a ring marked with the insignia of our forces, and go through the Woods to one of our auxiliary training camps to the West.
Of course, there will be scouts from this camp out to stop you from reaching your target. And they will pretend that you are an enemy scout, if you are caught. So you will be dragged back here for interrogation. If that happens, you are considered to have failed."
Sneaking about? And in the Forest at that? Qin Feng felt a lot more confident already!
"In that case, why not begin now? I am eager to get my hands on one of those rings!"
* * *