Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1187: Chapter 402: Strengthening the Army and Time Off, South City’s Liveliness, Ji Jiang’s Affair, Defenses Slowly Lowered (Part 2)

Soldiers in the army can take turns on leave, each having two opportunities a year, each lasting five days, with at least a six-month gap in between. Due to the staggering, only two or three people can go at a time, making it hard to arrange.

Besides taking turns, there’s another situation for a regular leave.

For regular leave, an order must be personally issued by the Commander, then conveyed by each camp’s Colonel, and finally notified step by step to all soldiers. That’s why as soon as he spoke, everyone knew it was an order from Commander Hou Quan.

Regular leave is more frequent than rotating leave; after a major battle or training session, the Commander will give some time for soldiers to relax and move freely out of the camp.

However, frequent as it may be, tonight’s situation clearly does not align with post-battle or training scenarios. These past two days, they only escorted supplies without really engaging in any combat, which isn’t particularly tiring.

So when the crowd heard Zhang Qingyuan announce that they had over four hours of leave, their reaction was surprise and delight.

Zhang Qingyuan chuckled and said, "What, I give you over four hours of leave and you’re still questioning it? If you don’t want it, I’ll report to the Colonel and have you on duty at the camp gate. How about that?"

"No, no, no, Captain, we want it, absolutely we do!"

"Please be generous, Captain. It’s hard to come by a leave period, please don’t."

"Quickly remove your armor and eat. Several taverns have opened in South City. I’d heard about them back in Bashang, and you can use contribution values to get extra drinks. We should definitely have a good drink later."

"Oh, really? We should quickly remove our armor and eat!"

.........

Seeing the soldiers’ reactions, Zhang Qingyuan laughed heartily and finally turned to look at Ji Hong beside him, smiling, "Ji Hong, although you are not a formal member of the Dragon Martial Army, you must follow the same military rules as everyone else, understand?"

"Ji Hong understands!"

Ji Hong hurriedly cupped his hands, nodded solemnly, and agreed.

Zhang Qingyuan made it very clear, only giving over four hours of leave. Tomorrow night at the roll call, those absent will receive fifty strokes of the cane.

Given the Cold Resistance Level skin membrane strength, if it were ordinary fifty military canes, it wouldn’t be much. However, the canes used by Great Xia for punishment are made from Five Ape Mountain Red Wood.

The more firm the skin membrane, the stronger the adherence of the wood. The harder the user strikes, the harder the cane becomes. Plus, it is always personally executed by the camp colonels, making each stroke genuinely tough to endure.

Previously, when in the Bashang City military camp, Ji Hong saw with his own eyes a soldier from the eighth battalion of the Dragon Martial Army made a mess due to drinking and was punished with twenty strokes, being unable to stand for over an hour afterward.

He inquired further, learning that the punished soldier had the strength of a Seven-maned.

A Seven-maned strength with Cold Resistance Level, yet even twenty cane strokes were this severe. With his Basic Strength only at Three-maned, if he realistically takes fifty strokes, he might not die but would certainly shed a layer of skin.

"Perhaps it’s best not to go out. It’s only four hours, and in case..."

Ji Hong initially dismissed the idea of going out, but recalling his promise to Chen Yiqing and others before entering the city, a hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes.

"Just stay in the city, mind the time, and there should be no issues!"

Having made up his mind, Ji Hong returned to his room, removing his armor, changing into regular clothes, and after eating with his fellow soldiers, declined their invitation to the South City tavern, leaving the camp alone.

Once outside the camp, Ji Hong immediately sensed something amiss. He turned and glanced to the left and right, then quickly perceived all the surrounding camps, his expression slightly brightening.

"With so many people housed in the camps, indeed, the Lord should have gathered all the troops into Hongmen City, and it’s probably more than just the troops..."

Ji Hong quickly spotted ten-meter-long giant iron wheel cars at several camp gates. Each car was tightly covered with black tarpaulins, and after pondering for a moment, Ji Hong immediately guessed what was inside, his pupils slightly narrowing.

Surely, something big is going to happen the day after tomorrow!

Ji Hong took a slight breath and stopped observing the military camp, heading towards the southern exit.

Leaving the camp and bypassing the Ministry Building, Ji Hong soon entered the South City.

"Xianghan Point, two coins a pack, come take a look!"

"Sour Crystal Fruit Skewers, five coins each, sweet and sour, come and see."

"High-level Beast Bone Pendants, Red Jade, Green Pine Jade Hairpins... all crafted by renowned Great Xia artisans, come into the shop to see; the more you buy, the cheaper!"

"Cotton and silk fabrics, brocade satin, all kinds of materials available at this store. Additionally, ready-made summer clothes for men, women, and children in various styles. Don’t miss them, come in to see them, free of charge to try on!"

.........

Crossing the South City archway, as soon as he stepped into the main street, the clamorous calls and shouts became incessant. Ji Hong looked up, seeing the fifteen-meter-wide main street lined almost entirely with vendors and shops.

The street sides were designed similarly to Xia City, with iron stakes every five meters along the street, each holding a coal stove and five torches. Together with the ample lighting from the buildings on both sides of the street, the entire South City was lit as bright as day, appearing much more lively than their North City camp.

This bustling atmosphere was not new to Ji Hong; street vendors and merchants had existed in Xia City since June this year.

However, truth be told, the bustling feeling on this street seemed even richer than in Xia City.