The capital was currently in early autumn, signalling the arrival of the strong winds that would blow and disturb the people’s daily lives every once in awhile. On the other hand, the northern border- specifically the city of Liangzhou- was already in the early stages of a desolate winter.
The roaming nomads had already stopped grazing their herds. They set up tents instead, storing up food to pass their winter. In the army camp just 5 kilometres away from Liangzhou, other than handling their normal daily chores, the army was still training for battle.
Smoke was rising from the cookhouse in the camp. It was already time for dinner.
The setting sun hung at the boundary of the horizon, casting its red light over the wide, vast plains, breathing additional colour into the scenery. However, no matter how vibrant and warm the colours, they couldn't erase the cold, piercing winter winds that blew over the plains at this time of year.
A crisp, loud signal began to ring throughout the camp, transmitted to every nook and cranny.
The moment the last section of training on the grounds ended, there was a roar of male voices as the captains shouted to begin eating.
Even though it was the start of winter, the northern border troops were on standby, so they only got to eat two meals a day. One in the morning and one at night.
After training for the whole day and getting drenched in sweat, the troops were so hungry that they could eat a horse, each. When the captain gave the order, they dashed towards the cookhouse at a speed that even the general's fastest shot couldn't match.
In Captain Guo's camp, more than three hundred elite soldiers charged towards the cookhouse like hungry wolves.
The tall, burly Captain Guo followed behind his soldiers. His tanned face carried a smile as he mock-scolded his speedy troops.
Two men followed behind Captain Guo. The one on the left was sturdy, and even taller than Captain Guo by a full head. His eyes were like deep pools and his nose was tall and straight. He looked to be about twenty or so. However, his good looks were obscured by a thick, full beard covering half of his face. What a pity.
The man on the right was about as tall as Captain Guo. He was clean-shaven, but his face was too square and his eyes were too small. Furthermore, his body was about one size bigger than Captain Guo's, so he wasn't as good-looking as his companion. However, this burly, square-faced man seemed to be rather young as well.
Captain Guo patted the backs of the two people next to him. "Zixiang, Hongyu, you should manage these brats carefully. They're too rowdy!"
Zixiang was He Changdi's name, while Hongyu was the burly square-faced man, of course.
Due to Count Jing'an and Prince Jin's influence, although this was He Changdi's first time serving in the northern border troops under Captain Guo, he was able to start off a little higher than the rest thanks to his status. He had managed to join as a lieutenant.
In the Great Wu Dynasty, the rank of lieutenant meant that he had a small group of about a hundred men or so under his command.
Captain Guo had three lieutenants serving under him. Other than He Changdi and Xiao Hongyu, there was also a man in his thirties, Zhang Mai.
He Changdi and Xiao Hongyu quickly chuckled and agreed with the captain.
When Captain Guo saw that they had already started fighting over the food over at the cookhouse, he quickened his pace. "Let's move a little faster before those hungry brats eat up all of our food."
Captain Guo was only joking. The army cooks would always keep his and his three lieutenants' meals aside.
But even with this little courtesy, Captain Guo treated his soldiers like brothers. His meals were exactly the same fare as what the troops ate, although his portions might be a little larger. He was an upright, honest person who never ordered any separate or special meals from the army cooks.
The only time he had ever eaten something different from the troops was when he had insisted on leading their training even while he was sick. The old army cook hadn't been able to bear with seeing this, so he had specially made some wild chicken soup for him. That had already been a whole year ago.
However, the northern border was a poor place to be anyway. Although the troops were regularly given provisions and money, there was still a limit to the circulation of goods in this place. The army provisions were also rough fare. When they weren't preparing for battle, it was only enough to fill the stomachs. Even if Captain Guo wanted to have something better, there wasn't really much else to eat.
When the three of them reached the cookhouse, the old army cook quickly brought out three large porcelain bowls and placed them on a small wooden table, which had four wooden stools placed around it. It was still dusk. Under the cover of the tent flap, which blocked the wind from reaching them, they could use the fading light to have a rough meal of army fare.
Captain Guo had his two assistants sit down first before pointing at the three bowls on the table. "It's been a tiring day, let's just eat!"
He Changdi and Xiao Hongyu didn't stand on courtesy and picked up some chopsticks to begin wolfing down their food.
Today's dinner was Chinese olive porridge with some cabbage thrown in. There were two wheat pancakes thrown on top of the porridge- and no meat. The porridge itself was simply flavoured with a little bit of coarse salt. Since it was the lowest quality of salt, there was a strange taste to it as well.
With this kind of food, they couldn't be picky about the taste. They could only use it to fill their stomachs out of a lack of better options.
Xiao Hongyu finished off a wheat pancake in two or three bites. When he tried to swallow it down, it got stuck in his throat. He had to gulp down quite a few mouthfuls of the porridge before he could push that piece of pancake down into his stomach.
His face was flushed red from the exertion, and he stared into his bowl in a daze.
Although he looked as strong as a bull, he was younger than He Changdi by a year at only nineteen years old. He had joined the army just last year, and his family was also a military official house. Although his family had been strict with his education, he had never lacked for any sort of food ever since he was young.
"Brother Guo, Brother He, at every meal time, I really miss eating the meat that my mother cooked. Back at home, I still thought that that meat was too fatty and oily. If I could have a whole pot of it now, I'd finish it all up and lick it clean..."
Captain Guo found it funny and pointed at his bowl. "What's wrong? You still have half your bowl left. If you can't finish it, give it to me; I'll help you eat it up!"
Xiao Hongyu quickly pulled his bowl into a protective embrace, just like a little puppy trying to protect its food. The others couldn't hold back their laughter at the sight.
"No way! Brother Guo, I'm not done yet!"
"Hmph! Didn't you say you wanted to eat meat?"
"But there isn't any! If there was meat, who would eat this porridge or these pancakes?"
He Changdi held his bowl and slowly ate his meal. Although he ate pretty quickly, he didn't look like a starving wolf at all, and even seemed to have an elegant grace in his actions.
It was just his beard that seemed a little inconvenient. Some porridge would get on it from time to time. He Changdi simply buried his head and ate his meal, acting deaf to the conversation of the two people beside him.
Right after Captain Guo and Xiao Hongyu finished talking, a man's voice joined in, easy like a refreshing breeze. "Who says there's no meat!"
"What? There's meat?" Xiao Hongyu immediately stood up, his eyes almost shining red from his hunger. He hadn't had a bite of meat for months now. Thanks to his excitement, his small eyes had grown wide.
The man who spoke walked over with an empty bowl. He was about as tall as He Changdi, but without a beard on his face. He was also wearing a lieutenant's uniform, but he was clearly older than He Changdi by a whole decade. He was the third lieutenant under Captain Guo's command, Zhang Mai.
Zhang Mai had been exempted from training today due to an old wound flaring up. After resting in his tent for half the day, he had wandered over to the cookhouse for dinner.
For some reason, the previously silent He Changdi suddenly froze.
Xiao Hongyu was practically drooling from the thought of having meat to eat. He quickly moved over to Zhang Mai, face sticking out as if he could smell the meat. He pleaded in a friendly tone, "Brother Zhang, you just said that there's meat to eat. You can't forget about your brother here!"
Zhang Mai smiled mysteriously before reaching out with one finger and pointing at the now rigid He Changdi.
Both Xiao Hongyu and Captain Guo's gazes turned in unison to He Changdi. He Changdi looked up with a stiff expression; his deep eyes drew their attention, but screamed his innocence.
Zhang Mai awkwardly coughed into his fist. Embarrassed, he said, "Captain, I was a little too hasty with my words. The meat I mentioned was something that Zixiang's wife sent to him via messenger."
Life was tough out here in the border troops. Even a captain wouldn't be able to eat meat more than once a month out here. If someone wanted some, they would have to hunt it themselves out in the plains, and that was only when they were on a rare vacation. However, with the arrival of winter, the animals were all in hibernation. It was getting harder and harder to find anything to hunt. Suffering from meat withdrawal was an all too common problem out here amongst the northern border troops.
The troops did not maintain contact with the Tuhun or the nomadic barbarians, and they didn't raise any livestock in their camp either. The amount of meat available to them was pitiful.
Zhang Mai shared a tent with He Changdi, and usually took good care of his junior. Big Brother Zhang was older than He Changdi by a whole decade, and had already been in the army for about that long as well. He had participated in countless battles and was Captain Guo's most trusted subordinate. He had much experience to share, but his years in the army had left old wounds on his body, so his health wasn't as good as the others.
Furthermore, Liangzhou had just entered winter. After sweating it out on the training grounds and getting hit by a blast of cold wind, coupled with the aching of his old wounds because of the chill, Zhang Mai had caught a cold. It had unfortunately manifested in a high fever, leaving him bedridden.
The old doctor in camp had come over to take a look. All he had done was some acupuncture, and then had prescribed some medicine. As for food and water, that was all left to the patient’s means to supply.
When Captain Guo was notified of his situation, he ordered the army cooks to send a pot of white rice porridge to Zhang Mai. Captain Guo had had nothing better to offer.
Since He Changdi shared a tent with Zhang Mai, he took up the responsibility of caring for him. As he watched Zhang Mai grow ever paler and skinnier due to his illness and old wounds, He Changdi quietly took out the translucent shredded beef that Chu Lian had sent to him. He scooped some out of the jar and placed it into Zhang Mai's porridge.
When the bedridden Zhang Mai saw the shredded beef covered in oil sitting on top of his usually plain porridge, his eyes went completely wide.
Zhang Mai didn't stand on courtesy with He Sanlang, and quickly wolfed down his porridge in only a few big gulps. After he was done, he wiped his mouth and pointed at the bowl, asking with surprise, "Where did that come from?"
The normally taciturn He Sanlang then said, "My wife sent it over."
Zhang Mai laughed out loud, which only ended up making him cough. "Since your wife sent it to you, you must have eaten much of it in the past. Why don't you leave the rest of it for your big brother here? It'll be good for my recovery."
Although He Sanlang looked calm and composed, Zhang Mai still hadn't expected him to be such a tough nut to crack. He Sanlang refused to answer him. In the end, he only gave Zhang Mai that shredded beef a few more times. When Zhang Mai had recovered, he had searched through every nook and cranny of that tent, but it was pointless. He couldn't find where He Changdi had hidden that little jar of translucent shredded beef.
Zhang Mai could only shake his head and smile.
When he had overheard that kid Xiao Hongyu talking about eating meat, Zhang Mai had simply mentioned He Changdi's store of meat casually.
Although Captain Guo raised his troops with love, he trained them very strictly. He might seem coarse and open-hearted on the surface, but he actually wasn't too easy to get close to. Zhang Mai had been serving under this superior officer of his for many years, so he understood him a lot more than Xiao Hongyu and He Changdi did.
Right now, though Captain Guo called these two kids his 'brothers', they weren't all that important to him on the inside. In order to soften the steel walls of Captain Guo's heart, some small tricks were needed.
For example, this small matter of eating meat.
Zhang Mai had seen He Changdi's ability. He came from a good background and had proven that he had both ambition and the talent to back it. He was also a good kid inside. Unfortunately, perhaps since it was his first time in the army, he still fell a little short when it came to interacting with others. Zhang Mai didn't know why, but he guessed that it might have been due to how he grew up when he was a child. That kid liked to keep a blank expression; although half of it was usually hidden by his full beard, it was inevitable that the combination of He Changdi’s appearance and attitude would give a bad first impression.
When he had first started interacting with He Changdi, Zhang Mai hadn't really liked him. He had toiled for ten years to get to this position of lieutenant, while He Changdi had gotten in just by a letter from Prince Jin.
However, after interacting with him more, he had slowly began to approve of this young man. When he had fallen sick, He Changdi had taken very good care of him despite his cold expression. From his clumsy actions, Zhang Mai could tell that He Changdi had never really taken care of someone before. It was then that Zhang Mai had set down his initial misgivings and fully accepted this junior of his. He had come out now with the intention of helping He Changdi out.
Xiao Hongyu's eyes were alight. He quickly moved up to He Changdi and stared at him with wide eyes. "Brother He, you really have meat?!"
Although he spoke with some degree of yearning, he didn't ask for it outright. Still, Xiao Hongyu’s desire was visible; his drool was about to drip out of his mouth.
Captain Guo didn't press He Changdi at all. Instead, he continued eating the hard wheat pancake in his bowl. He looked up with a smile and shot He Changdi a glance.
Zhang Mai was starting to regret trying to help this blockhead out, seeing as he hadn't realised what he was supposed to do. He kicked the wooden stool under He Changdi and said, "You stupid brat, what are you blanking out here for? It's just something your wife sent you. It's fine if you couldn't bear to let me eat it, but now you're even refusing to serve it to the captain?"
He Changdi pressed his lips together and stood up. He bowed respectfully towards Captain Guo and said, "Please wait for a moment, Captain."
He Changdi returned soon enough carrying a small jar. He placed it on the table and opened the lid; the unique smell of pickled beef drifted out and filled the room.
"Captain, it's all here now. Please try it."
He Changdi ordered someone to bring another bowl. He poured the remaining half of the translucent shredded beef into it.
Captain Guo used his chopsticks to pick some up, and took an experimental bite. After savouring the taste, his eyes lit up and he praised, "It's good. Sister-in-Law must be a really good cook." After saying so, he used his chopsticks to point at He Changdi. "You lucky brat, you married a good wife! You were crazy enough to come all the way out here to the northern border, but not only did your wife not blame you, she even sent you something good to eat. I heard that you came out here just a few days after getting married, too!"
Xiao Hongyu hadn't heard of this news. He had been intently listening to this juicy piece of gossip while shoveling the shredded beef into his mouth, and didn’t even bother to swallow before noisily asking, "Brother He, what's wrong? Is Sister-in-Law not pretty enough for you?"
Captain Guo harrumphed. "Not pretty? So what if she's not pretty? As long as she can manage the household and give birth to a few sons, she's a good wife! Besides, I heard that he married a legitimate daughter from House Ying!"
When Xiao Hongyu received a sudden warning glare from Zhang Mai, he abruptly came to a realisation.
The captain's wife was an ugly woman, but was deeply respected by the captain. She had also given birth to a fair amount of good sons and daughters for him. Xiao Hongyu came from a common family, but he still knew this much from listening to his mother and sisters’ gossip sessions from before. That was also why he knew that, although House Ying was on the decline, their ladies had the reputation of being exceptionally fertile. Furthermore, their looks were all top notch. His wife was most likely not the reason that Brother He had left his home in such a hurry.
Xiao Hongyu knew that he had stepped on a landmine with his careless words, so he stopped talking and buried his head in his bowl of meat.
From the side, Zhang Mai tried to smooth the dispute over. "Captain's right. In the future when we return to the capital, we definitely have to go to the captain's estate and visit Sister-in-Law."
It was only then that Captain Guo was satisfied. He continued pointing at He Changdi as he lectured him. "Since you've come out already and you can't disobey army orders, you won't be able to return home for quite some time. Still, you can’t keep your head in the sand! You left a young wife back at home, you heartless bastard! She’s living like a widow, but she hasn’t forgotten to send you packages even with how you’ve treated her. If you have time, make sure you send more letters back home. And when you have the money, don't forget to buy some local specialties and send them back to your wife and family."
Compared to how he usually addressed his brothers on the training grounds, there was an additional trace of sincerity in Captain Guo's tone. The way he was pointing out He Changdi's wrongs seemed more like an older brother earnestly lecturing a younger family member for their own good.
Zhang Mai's smile widened a little upon hearing this. He Changdi also stopped being a block of wood and immediately stood up to bow deeply towards Captain Guo in thanks for his teachings.
He could also feel that he had become much closer to Captain Guo thanks to this small jar of translucent shredded beef.
He Changdi stared at the empty jar with mixed feelings in his heart.
In the middle of this brotherly atmosphere, Xiao Hongyu, who had been acting like a backdrop up till now, pointed at the bowl of shredded beef and mumbled, "Brothers, if you're not going to eat, this little brother is going to eat it all!"
Right after he finished speaking, everyone's chopsticks shot towards the bowl. Now that everyone had joined the fray, the bowl was quickly emptied. When there was only a thin layer of beef left, Captain Guo glared at He Changdi and said, "What are you still eating for? Your wife made this, so you must have eaten tons of this before. And yet you still have the face to keep fighting with us?"
This time, He Changdi was much more thick-skinned. He scooped up another piece with his chopsticks and, with nary a change in his expression, he said in a low voice, "I left my home just a few days after getting married. This is my first time eating my wife's cooking, so why can't I eat more of it?"
Zhang Mai patted He Changdi's shoulder and burst out into loud laughter. "Well, look who's become a miser now!"
That small bowl of shredded beef wasn't enough when shared between four people. When the bowl was finally empty, none of them was satisfied. In the end, Xiao Hongyu poured the remaining scraps and oil into his own bowl to mix in with the porridge and fill his stomach.
After that meal, Xiao Hongyu stuck close to He Changdi. "Brother He, when is Sister-in-Law going to send more things over?"
He Changdi's gaze was solidly stuck to the ground. He was truly beginning to regret giving them that taste of beef! Since the beef was so precious to him, he had only eaten small bits of it each time he had taken it out. If he had known that this day would come, he would have definitely eaten his fill and saved himself from heartbreak.
However, he hadn't revealed all his cards. He hadn't taken out the beef and pork jerky that Chu Lian had sent him along with the shredded beef.
When he heard this brat Xiao Hongyu asking for more, He Changdi looked up and stared coldly at him, thinking in his heart, 'My wife didn't cook this for a stinky man like you! Dream on!'
Xiao Hongyu awkwardly rubbed his nose. He was inwardly bubbling with frustration. Brother He seemed easy to get along with normally, so why was he being so stingy now? Xiao Hongyu was determined; in the future, he definitely had to marry a wife from House Ying who could cook well!
When they finished their meal, the group began to idly chat. Due to this sudden event, they had become much closer when compared to before.
As they were speaking, there was a sudden burst of commotion from the outside of their small tent.