Chapter 32: Entering the Main War Camp for the First Time!

He possessed an understanding of history from a future era.

Zhao Feng knew deeply that in this age, there was no such thing as romantic love; everything was dictated by parental commands and matchmakers, or women simply waiting for a matchmaker to arrive at their door to propose.

Women!

Destined for such a fate.

Of course.

For women of noble families, marriage was essentially for the sake of family interests. For women of ordinary families, there might be a bit more freedom—falling in love with someone from the same village and then having a matchmaker or an elder come to propose.

Regarding Wang Yan's identity.

After hearing her surname was Wang and seeing the personal guards around her—the kind only possessed by a commanding general—Zhao Feng had already guessed her identity: the daughter of Wang Jian.

This was truly one of the highest-ranking aristocratic families in Great Qin. For Wang Yan to escape her fate and avoid political marriage—it would be difficult!

"You speak as if you are unaware of the hardships of the common people."

"If you had been born into an ordinary family, you would have faced even more troubles. Your status as a member of the nobility is something countless people across the land would envy," Zhao Feng spoke slowly.

He wasn't trying to offer comfort; after all, these were simply the facts.

She might not want to be a sacrificial lamb for political marriage, but in the common world, countless people didn't even have such an opportunity; all they wanted was to survive in these chaotic times.

"Perhaps."

Wang Yan did not argue against Zhao Feng's words.

The two walked one after the other.

When they reached a military encampment, the sounds of training could be heard from a distance.

This had originally been a Han army camp, but it had now become a temporary station for the Qin army.

"Greetings, Military Marquis Commander."

Upon reaching the camp entrance, a group of sentry soldiers immediately bowed in welcome.

"Rise," Wang Yan said, then walked slowly into the camp.

Zhao Feng followed closely behind, filled with curiosity.

This was truly the first time Zhao Feng had visited a camp of actual combat-ready elite soldiers.

Inside the camp!

There was a massive training ground, large enough to accommodate perhaps tens of thousands of troops. At this moment, many elite soldiers were scattered about for their daily drills: combat with long spears, archers practicing their strength, and military formation drills.

The State of Qin was known as a "army of tigers and wolves."

Bolstered by the meritocratic system, the Qin army had become a massive engine of war.

But even with the advantage of the merit system, the intensity of Qin's training was stronger than that of the other states.

Particularly the military formations, which were a core strength of the Qin army.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!!!"

On the training ground, the shouts of training rang out continuously, with elite soldiers from Wang Yan's Marquis Company scattered throughout.

"Spear combat, archery training, formation drills."

"So this is the training of true Qin elite soldiers," Zhao Feng observed curiously.

"How does it feel?"

"How does it differ from the logistics troops?"

Wang Yan turned her head and asked Zhao Feng.

"The spirit and morale are different," Zhao Feng replied without the slightest hesitation.

The spirit and morale of combat-ready elites and logistics troops were entirely different worlds.

The soldiers here had all experienced life-and-death battles; every one of them was filled with killing intent and possessed an invisible military prestige.

These were the true soldiers of Great Qin.

In contrast, when Zhao Feng was in the logistics troops, most of the soldiers around him were just passing the time; they lacked this sharp, murderous aura. To use one word, they were lax.

Currently, the soldiers guarding Yangcheng were not on the march, but their training did not stop. For the logistics troops, aside from collecting bodies from the battlefield every day, they mostly transported grain and supplies, and then had little else to do.

The difference between combat-ready elites and logistics troops was the difference between a regular army and a ragtag militia.

"Spirit and morale?" Wang Yan was somewhat puzzled.

"There is killing intent in the eyes of these soldiers, and military prestige in their bearing."

"Their training is filled with passion, whereas the logistics troops are mostly lax."

"That is the difference and the essence," Zhao Feng explained in different terms.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan nodded. "You are right."

"I have been at the Lantian camp for so long, yet I have not seen any cavalry. Is there no cavalry in Lantian?" Zhao Feng asked curiously.

"Do you know how many major camps Great Qin has?" Wang Yan turned and asked him back.

"I have only heard of Lantian and Mount Li," Zhao Feng replied.

"Besides those two, there is also the Northern Territory. Almost all of Great Qin's cavalry is stationed at the Northern Territory camp. After all, the primary purpose of the cavalry is to deal with the foreign tribes of the north."

"They raid our northern borders; without cavalry, they cannot be suppressed."

"However, Lantian does have cavalry, but only five thousand. They are generally responsible for reinforcement duties," Wang Yan said.

"I see," Zhao Feng nodded in understanding.

Previously, he had been a mere commoner, so naturally, he didn't know these things. Now, hearing it, he had a bit of an understanding.

The North was for dealing with the Xiongnu and other northern tribes.

Lantian served as the main force for Qin's conquest of the six states, which was also the case in history.

Wang Jian was the great God of War of Great Qin following the Duke of Wu, Bai Qi, undefeated in every battle.

"Assemble!"

Wang Yan raised her hand and shouted loudly.

Instantly, the soldiers on the training ground acted as if they had heard a command, converging toward the center.

"Why are you gathering them?" Zhao Feng asked in surprise.

"You killed the commanding general of the Han army. The officers and soldiers in the army must be very curious about you. Now that you have arrived, how can we not meet?" Wang Yan smiled.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Zhao Feng said, somewhat bewildered.

But at that moment, the soldiers on the training ground gathered rapidly; it took very little time for nearly four thousand elite soldiers to assemble.

Originally, Wang Yan had five thousand elite soldiers under her command. After the battle at Yangcheng and the subsequent pursuit of Bao Yuan, only about three thousand six hundred remained; the rest had all fallen in battle.

Soon, all the soldiers had gathered before Wang Yan.

Thousands of eyes fell upon Wang Yan and Zhao Feng.

As a daughter of a military family and a Military Marquis Commander, Wang Yan was naturally accustomed to such attention.

And although Zhao Feng was confident and had an outgoing personality, facing the gaze of thousands of eyes still gave him a strange sensation, though it wasn't fear.

"Qin's Elite Soldiers!" Wang Yan raised her hand and shouted loudly.

"Feng! Feng! Feng!"

Thousands of soldiers raised their arms and shouted loudly in unison.

"Five days ago! Our army was ambushed at Yangcheng. The enemy general led his troops to hide within Yangcheng to attack us, intending to sever our supply lines."

"If the enemy had truly succeeded, we would all have been criminals of Great Qin."

"And as for what happened next, you all know."

"The logistics sergeant Zhao Feng led the logistics troops with great courage to fight the enemy, ultimately succeeding in stalling them, allowing our army and the logistics troops to join forces and annihilate the enemy."

"And the person beside me is none other than Zhao Feng!"

Wang Yan pointed to Zhao Feng beside her and spoke loudly.

Upon hearing this!

All the elite soldiers on the training ground fixed their gaze on Zhao Feng, their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude.

For those guarding Yangcheng, if Bao Yuan had truly succeeded, it wouldn't just have been Li Teng who was held responsible; their entire army would have been held accountable.

While it might not have resulted in death, it would have led to military scrutiny and affected their annual pay and promotions.

Zhao Feng's appearance had undoubtedly saved them.