Chapter 557: Chapter 557: Clothing
General Guo, as the main general of the prefecture, found it too easy to change a small soldier’s orders. It took him only a moment to write a new set of orders, stamp it with his seal, and then have his guard take it to the Prefecture Government Office. After it had been stamped with the Prefecture Government Office’s seal, it was sent to Tianfu County Soldier Station and was done.
Vice General Lan watched the guard take the orders to the Prefecture Government Office, and with a fist salute, said to General Guo, "General, I’m grateful."
After saying this, he ran to find Qin San Lang and told him about the change to Qin Er Lang’s orders.
"He’s been assigned to a pretty good place, in Central State Yuchang Prefecture. Disasters have happened there, and the Prefecture Government Office was almost overturned by disaster victims. Although it’s stable now, things are still a bit chaotic. Going there, Er Lang has a better chance to earn merit."
Qin San Lang happened to pass through Central State Yuchang Prefecture with several families fleeing from famine, where they met Sister Liu and her group.
It was within his expectations that Yuchang Prefecture could be breached by disaster victims causing trouble.
Tens of thousands of disaster victims gathered outside of Yuchang Prefecture, yet the city’s gates were tightly shut, not letting anyone in, and the government officials were sent to drive people away. The victims who had traveled far and wide fleeing famine were already furious, so naturally, they resorted to creating disturbances.
"Young man thanks Uncle Lan," Qin San Lang said with genuine gratitude, saluting Vice General Lan with his fist. Their lives, it seemed, were saved.
Vice General Lan laughed heartily and patted Qin San Lang’s shoulder, saying, "What’s there to thank? It was just a word away. But since you’re here, stay for a few more days and finish the night training with us."
The night training for the prefecture garrison armies lasted only three days and three nights, with two days left to go. Qin San Lang had already informed Gu Jinli that he might return late. Thinking it over, he consented, "I will obey the order."
"That’s the spirit, a real man!" Vice General Lan was very pleased, and after wrestling with Qin San Lang, he finally went to bathe, eat, and sleep.
Jiang Qi had already eaten and bathed, and when he came out to see Qin San Lang all covered in dirt, he handed him a wooden basin and a cloth: "Here, for you. Go wash up quickly, eat breakfast, then go back to your tent to sleep. You’ll have to get up in the afternoon to continue training. It’s exhausting."
Qin San Lang accepted with a smile, "Many thanks, Uncle Jiang."
The night training for the Prefecture garrison wasn’t difficult for him; he had been through tougher ones that lasted five days and nights without returning to camp, constantly in the wild without so-called breaks, where eating and sleeping were part of the training.
After bathing and eating, Qin San Lang returned to his tent at Tianfu County Soldier Station to rest with the other soldiers who came for night training. In the afternoon, he was woken up by the sounds of the copper gong and rushed into the nearby mountains for another night of training.
Having stayed in the military camp for three days, as soon as the night training was over, he bade farewell to Vice General Lan, Jiang Qi, and his comrades from the Military Office. He then mounted his red horse and headed straight for the Prefecture.
This red horse was one of the rewards from the night training; because he took part, Tianfu County Soldier Station ranked second and received a warhorse as a prize.
Since the warhorse was valuable and belonging to the Soldier Station, Jiang Qi was very happy to have acquired it. Knowing that Qin San Lang had come with Elder Gu to the Prefecture, he lent the horse to him for use, with the agreement that he would ride it back when he returned to the Soldier Station.
His comrades at the Soldier Station were quite envious.
The soldiers in the Prefecture army camp, however, felt a bit sour. Several Prefecture Soldiers of similar age to Qin San Lang watched him ride away and snorted, "A county soldier riding a Prefecture army camp’s warhorse; he’d better not fall off and cripple himself!"
"What did you say? Say that again!" The soldiers from the Soldier Station, hearing this, became furious. They surrounded the sour-speaking soldiers and said, "Are Prefecture Soldiers so great? You Prefecture Soldiers..."
"Silence!" Jiang Qi shouted angrily, interrupting the Soldier Station soldiers’ words. If they continued, it could lead to a conflict between Prefecture Soldiers and county soldiers, which was undesirable.
The soldiers from the Soldier Station respected Jiang Qi, and upon hearing his command, they promptly shut their mouths and stood aside.
The soldiers from the Prefecture who had made sarcastic remarks earlier saw this and were quite pleased themselves, snickering to each other, "You had a go at us, and even your own Company Commander doesn’t side with you."
However, Jiang Qi glared at them and said, "Tianfu County is subordinate to He’an Prefecture, and soldiers from the Military Office are one family with Prefecture Soldiers. We won’t lay a hand on our own brothers, but it’s also wrong of you to make those sarcastic remarks. If you’re not satisfied, then try to win it back with real skill during the next night training. Chewing the fat behind people’s back makes you no different from a gossiping shrew!"
Deputy General Lan had been watching the situation all along and upon hearing this, he said, "Brother Jiang puts it well!"
He pointed at those who had been making sarcastic remarks and said, "What the hell, are you all women? Have the couple of ounces below been shaved off? Learning to gossip behind people’s backs, run thirty laps around the camp for me!"
The few Prefecture Soldiers who had made sarcastic remarks had no choice but to admit their fault, running laps around the camp together, and their flag leader was also held accountable, joining them in the run.
...
Qin San Lang rode a fast horse into the Prefecture and returned to the Jiang Residence on Le’an Street. Seeing him return, bringing back a horse with him, the gatekeeper exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Qin from the Qin family, did you buy a horse?"
Oh my, this was something. Not being someone from an official’s family, yet able to buy a horse.
Qin San Lang smiled and said, "It’s a horse from Tianfu County Soldier Station, not mine. Just borrowing it to ride for a few days."
The gatekeeper, knowing that Qin San Lang was a soldier at the Military Office and that even someone like the County Captain Jiang - his own master - knew that not everyone could ride a horse from the Military Office, was not disappointed when he heard this, but instead felt even more admiration.
Qin San Lang then inquired, "No issues at home these past few days, right? Are Elder Gu and Miss Gu here?"
The gatekeeper replied, "Nothing much at home, no visitors. Miss Gu asked Elder Gu, and today they are taking Qiu Lang and the others to the Prefecture Government Office to watch the sentencing of Ma Shisan and his fellows."
The Gu Family People have also been going out every day for the past days, saying they need to buy some things for the family before returning home.
Hearing this, Qin San Lang quickly asked, "Have they left yet?"
Gatekeeper: "Not yet, they are still preparing."
Upon hearing this, Qin San Lang entered the residence, threw the horse’s reins to the gatekeeper, "Take the horse to the livestock shed and tie it up. Feed it some fodder, then go and tell the Gu Family People to wait for me. After I wash up, I’ll go with them to the Prefecture Government Office."
He wondered whether all of Boss Bao’s men had been captured cleanly. If not, with Xiao Yu and others heading to the Prefecture Government Office for the spectacle, there might be danger.
"Alright, I’ll take care of it. Brother Qin, rest assured." Liking the horse very much, the gatekeeper immediately took the reins and led the horse away.
Qin San Lang returned to the guesthouse, quickly took a bath and washed his hair. Just having finished, still dressed with his hair damp, Gu Jinli came running over, "Brother Qin, you’re back."
Her voice was crisp, filled with joy. Qin San Lang felt reassured upon hearing it, thinking that her recent days must have gone smoothly without any troublesome matters, or else she couldn’t be this cheerful.
"Yep, just got back," Qin San Lang wiped his hair with a dry towel, and said, "Just wait a bit, I’ll be right with you after I’m done."
Saying that, he went into his room and closed the door.
Seeing this, Gu Jinli ran back to her own guesthouse, grabbed a set of men’s clothes, and waited in the courtyard.