139: Chapter 139 A Precious Treasure is Bestowed, Undercurrents Surge (2)

In the open space between the tents, one or two officers wearing the short shirts of the Logistics Department could occasionally be seen—the collars of their short shirts were pinned with blue-green badges, not the dark red of the Unified Coordination Department.

These officers were checking the troop rosters—the rosters were bamboo slips, and the edges of the bamboo slips were not sealed with red lacquer.

They flipped through the rosters, stopping at a certain page to make a mark on the bamboo slip with a charcoal pencil—the mark was a horizontal line, and the number next to the horizontal line was a few people less than the day before.

Adjutant Tie stopped at an intersection.

About fifty zhang ahead of the intersection was an encampment enclosed by thick wooden stakes—the stakes were half the height of the fence in the Central Army area, and there were no Array Patterns on the stakes.

The gaps between the wooden stakes were wide—wide enough to see what the people inside the encampment were doing.

Several soldiers were squatting by the wooden stakes—some were using stones to smash a piece of moldy Spirit Rice cake, some were sewing the third patch on their shoe soles, and some were doing nothing at all—just squatting there, watching the people passing by.

The armor plates on their bodies were severely lacking—the chest armor of several people only had half left, and the other half was nailed on with a piece of raw iron plate without any Array Patterns.

The edges of the iron plates were not polished—the burrs could be seen clearly in the afternoon light.

"This is the Sin Battalion." Adjutant Tie stood at the intersection without walking forward.

He unhooked his horsewhip from his waist—he didn't swing it, just rested it on his knee and tapped it lightly.

Lu Changyuan stood at the intersection and looked into the depths of the encampment.

There were no officer tents in the encampment—all the tents were the same size and the same height.

The surface of the tent fabric had no spiritual waterproof layer—when it rained, water would seep in through the gaps in the fibers of the linen cloth.

The open space between the tents was muddy ground—the soil had been stepped on countless times, the surface was packed hard, but underneath it was slushy.

A foot stepping on it could sink in half an inch—when pulled out, the sole of the shoe would be covered in a layer of mud mixed with gravel.

There was a water trough in the encampment.

The water trough was chiseled from stone—the surface of the stone was not polished, and the chiseled walls of the trough were pitted and uneven.

The water in the trough was diverted from an underground ditch outside the encampment—a very thin layer of grayish-white scum floated on the surface of the water.

Several soldiers were squatting by the water trough, scooping water with broken bowls—they would scoop it up and smell it first before drinking.

"Adjutant Tie—does this battalion have a Vice Lieutenant?"

"There have been three. The first one was transferred away—before he was transferred, he was ambushed and beaten twice in the battalion, and to this day, no one has admitted who did it."

"The second one stayed for less than a month—he resigned himself. The third one was someone shoved over from Right Commander Li Feng's side—this person wasn't beaten, but he couldn't control the troublemakers in the Sin Battalion. Those troublemakers don't listen to anyone."

Adjutant Tie flipped his horsewhip over on his knee, "Right now, the ones in charge in the battalion are a few veteran soldiers—they have no official rank, but they can keep people in line. Their method is their fists."

Lu Changyuan pulled the transfer order out of his sleeve halfway—the three characters "Lu Changyuan" written in vermilion ink on the transfer order flashed in the afternoon sun.

"Tomorrow—I will go in and take a look."

Adjutant Tie turned his head and looked at him.

That glance lasted half a breath longer than a normal "glance."

"Deputy Envoy Lu—do not wear your military robes when you go in."

Lu Changyuan nodded.

He turned and walked towards the Central Army direction—the soldiers squatting on the gravel road looked up and glanced at him as he passed by.

Those eyes were numb. A kind of gaze that, after squatting in a military camp for too long, expects nothing and desires nothing.

The fortress right flank camp. Inside a three-section deep military tent, Right Commander Li Feng sat behind a desk.

A copy of the transfer order was spread out on the desk—this copy had just been retrieved from the Logistics Department half an hour ago.

The copy stated that Lu Changyuan of Blue Moon Island was transferred into the Sin Battalion as the commanding officer. The signatory of the transfer order was Commander Tie Zhan.

Right Commander Li Feng's fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the desk. When he tapped for the third time, the tent curtain was lifted—an officer wearing a gray short shirt walked in.

The officer's short shirt had no Logistics Department badge—only a tiny dark red cloth tag sewn inside the collar. The color of the cloth tag—was identical to the red of the Unified Coordination Department badge. A secret agent of the Unified Coordination Department.

"My Lord—it has been verified. Adjutant Tie intercepted Vice Commander Han Yi's men directly on the trestle bridge. Vice Commander Han Yi's men retreated—they didn't even dare to leave a harsh word."

"As expected." Right Commander Li Feng moved his hand away from the edge of the desk, "The people on the trestle bridge were sent by Vice Commander Han Yi at my request—I just wanted to know to what extent Commander Tie Zhan would go to stand up for Lu Changyuan. He went to the extent of Adjutant Tie personally wielding the whip. That is enough."

The secret agent officer took half a step forward.

"There is one more thing. On the transfer order Commander Tie Zhan gave to Lu Changyuan—the Sin Battalion is under the jurisdiction of the Logistics Supervision Department. It does not go through the Unified Coordination Department. Vice Commander Han Yi's waterway seal—cannot control the Sin Battalion's supplies."

Right Commander Li Feng's fingers stopped on the desk. He paused for about three breaths—then he flipped the copy of the transfer order over and wrote a character on the back with his finger. Without dipping in ink—his finger scratched a very shallow indentation on the bamboo slip.

That character was "Wait."

"The three thousand men of the Sin Battalion—are all troublemakers and rejects. Commander Tie Zhan shoved this pile of trash to Lu Changyuan—either Lu Changyuan chose it himself, or Commander Tie Zhan is training him."

Right Commander Li Feng moved his hand away from the bamboo slip—his fingertips were covered in a layer of very fine bamboo shavings, "Pass down the order—the supply allocation for the Sin Battalion should follow the lowest standard. Do not touch what Commander Tie Zhan has already approved—but starting from tomorrow, new applications should be issued according to the specifications of the lowest-tier battalion."

"My Lord—the Spirit Rice allocation for the lowest-tier battalion is only one-quarter of a standard battalion. This—"

"Not enough? If it's not enough, let Lu Changyuan make up for it himself. He is the Lord of Blue Moon Island—he has Spirit Stones in his hands. He wants to support three thousand people—let him support them."

Right Commander Li Feng wiped his hand on his lapel—the bamboo shavings on his fingertips left a thin white mark on his dark blue robe, "Commander Tie Zhan wants to train him—then I will help him increase the stakes."

The secret agent officer exited the tent. The tent curtain fell—the spiritual light lamp in the military tent flickered the moment the curtain fell.

Right Commander Li Feng placed the copy of the transfer order back on the edge of the desk—the indentation of the character "Wait" on the back of the copy was almost invisible under the spiritual light lamp.

The Central Army area. Lu Changyuan stood at the fence gate for a breath.

Wei Chuan and Jiang Shi had already packed up the Array Pattern drawn on the ground—when the two of them stood up, their knees were covered in a layer of crushed lime.

Fang Yan turned the mended shoe sole over and knocked it twice against the fence post—the loose thread ends that fell out landed in the grass roots under the wooden post.

Duan Xiaoshi finished counting the Spirit Stones—twelve Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, wrapped in an old cloth and tucked back into his bosom.