Chapter 2: The Great General's Camp In the second year of the Guanghua era of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty, in the year 899 AD, in the vast land of Hebei.

  Former retired warrior, 21st century young actor Li Chengzhong crossed over, he came to an era of Tang Dynasty's vassal states and separatist regimes.

  In this era, the Tang Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles. After numerous peasant wars, the imperial court's authority was on the verge of collapse, with imperial edicts unable to extend beyond a hundred miles from the capital. The central plains were filled with smoke and fire, as regional warlords fought each other, leaving behind a trail of devastation and death.

  Li Chengzhong was incorporated into the Vanguard Battalion due to his "strong physique and good running skills", as a common "xiaoxia" in Hebei.

  The camp commander is Zhou Zhiyu, but Li Chengzhong has not been lucky enough to see him so far.

  Since entering the camp three days ago, the highest-ranking officer he had seen was a certain Director Ren, under whom was the team leader Zhang Zhongyan, with the rank of Youxiao Xunjie, ninth grade.

  So he finally figured out that the name of the guy who "lured" him into the army three days ago was not "Pei Rong".

  He saw most often was Liu Zizhuang, a fellow villager and deputy captain of the garrison, ninth rank down.

  There is no Wu Zhang in the gang, because including Liu Ziyuan himself, there are only five people in total. In other words, the formation is not complete.

  According to Liu Huotou, he himself had been in the army for a year and initially started as a healthy soldier. A month ago, the general summoned Yan Di'erlang, and he was appointed as the partner leader.

  According to Liu Huotou, as long as the war starts, many people can become officials, so he encourages everyone to work harder and make more efforts, it's easy to get promoted and rich! Liu Huotou is very simple-minded and not good at speaking. After gathering a few partners together and saying the above words, he was already anxious and sweating profusely from his nose tip. Finally, wanting to say a concluding sentence to boost morale, but couldn't say it out in the end, could only wave his hand vigorously.

  When Liu Huotou finished waving his hand, Li Chengzhong and the remaining three people were still staring at Liu Huotou with wide eyes until he turned around and left the tent, only then did everyone realize that the mobilization meeting had ended.

  Liu Huotou couldn't speak, but Yan Di's son had a passion of his own. Except for Li Chengzhong, the other three were excited.

  What's the point of the Great General issuing a summons? Isn't it to march into the Central Plains? We, the sons of Yan and Zhao, will also join the ranks of those vying for the throne. Who knows how many battles can be fought, how many official positions are waiting to be taken, and how much money can be seized! The three of you chatted, and in the blink of an eye, you all became veterans, with brothers under your command.

  Li Chengzhong simply rolled his eyes and listened to their discussion, completely uninterested in participating.

  Is fighting just a joke? Do you know that people can die from it? He stared at the small leather bag in front of him, which had several holes in it, and weighed the rusty and broken horizontal knife in his hand. He let out a bitter sigh.

  This matter had tormented Li Chengzhong for several days. Fortunately, he had nothing to lose before crossing over, so he didn't have much to regret.

  His historical knowledge was not rich, except for knowing that the late Tang Dynasty was an era of warlords fighting each other, his mind was a complete blur about what specific events had occurred. Especially regarding the Lulong Army he belonged to, it was a complete blank slate. On the other hand, he had some impression of the Weibo Army which was about to go to war, seemingly remembering that the Weibo Army was quite famous during the late Tang Dynasty? Since they were famous, weren't they very formidable? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder.

  Whether he was coerced or deceived, in any case, he has now joined the army. Wanting to escape? How easy is it to talk about on this plain? Once caught and brought back, it will definitely be a fatal outcome. So Li Chengzhong can only resign himself to his fate and take things one step at a time.

  These past few days, Li Chengzhong had also come to a realization. Since he had already crossed over into the past, he might as well settle down. As the saying goes, "Since you're here, make yourself at home." Before figuring out how to make a living in this era, let's first get some food in his belly.

  Fortunately, he had been a soldier for two years and was very familiar with military life. After a few days, he adapted to this ancient military camp life.

  Two days later, two new brothers joined the group, all crowded in a worn-out tent, chatting and laughing, quite lively.

  Including Liu Huotou, there were seven people in total. Only Liu Huotou was a veteran, the others were all new recruits.

  But Hebei has never lacked brave warriors, and since they were incorporated into the Jieci Camp, they are all soldiers who can fight.

  Although they were all new recruits, the men of Yan and Zhao were originally hot-blooded and enthusiastic, and since they lived in a chaotic world, their conversations were naturally very intense.

  Even when it was late at night and the military camp had a curfew, they were still in the tent asking Liu Huotou questions.

  Liu Houtu was asked to the point of being unable to eat, and he threw out a sentence "The war is about to start, you will know at that time", then turned around and fell asleep with his head down, ignoring others' inquiries. When he was asked again and got annoyed, he shouted "Silence!" Everyone didn't dare to speak anymore, but just thought silently about the upcoming battle.

  A big battle is about to break out. The great army has gathered at the banks of the Ju Ma River, waiting for General Shi to bring his troops over before setting up camp and heading south towards Wei Bo.

  Li Chengzhong didn't have to wait for too long, and the next day Liu Huotou hastily relayed the military order, and the army set off! Everyone was busy, under Liu Huotou's guidance, packing up their tents and equipment.

  Not just Li Chengzhong and his men, but the entire military camp was in an uproar at this moment.

  Some who couldn't find their belongings started blaming and scolding each other, some whose luggage was not tightly tied were reprimanded by the officials, and there were even those who didn't have time to go out and relieve themselves on the spot, making Li Chengzhong, who had been a soldier before crossing over, shake his head repeatedly.

  What surprised Liu was that Li Chengzhong performed much better than him in packing up the military camp, and with a few quick movements, he had already tied up the tent and packed away several woolen blankets shared by the group, all loaded onto a horse cart.

  Liu Hui's heart was filled with joy and satisfaction, thinking that he had a capable person in his group. As a straightforward person from Yan Zhao, Liu Hui didn't have any jealous thoughts, and with a happy heart, he patted Li Chengzhong's shoulder to show his praise.

  Benefiting from Li Chengzhong's quickness, the team finished collecting the first batch and received a nod of approval from Captain Zhang Zhongyan.

  It was already half a watch later when the entire army had finished gathering and forming up, so everyone formed up in ranks outside the camp on the open ground, waiting for Commander Zhou Zhiyong's inspection.

  They called it a formation, but in Li Chengzhong's eyes, such a formation was...not worth complimenting.

  Two thousand men, under the pressure of several dozen brightly armored old soldiers, barely formed a square array, but the rows were crooked and disordered, with some people crowded together in a mess, unable to distinguish between front and back, left and right. In the middle of the array, they loudly chatted and laughed, and it wasn't until several officers patrolled around that they gradually became more orderly.

  This round of fuss has taken up nearly half a day.

  As Jianzhuangying was a newly established camp, Li Chengzhong could understand this chaos. However, he wondered if such a disorganized army could fight when taken out. Especially the weapons they held were varied and messy, with some holding sabers and guns, others grasping clubs and maces, and many carrying bows and arrows on their backs, most of which were brought by themselves when they joined the army.

  Even more than half of the people were like Li Chengzhong, without bringing troops to join the army, but only issuing a rusty and mottled horizontal knife.

  Fortunately, the soldiers of Jian's camp are all sturdy men from the land of Yan and Zhao. Those who can be called sturdy naturally have a good physique and abundant energy. If they were to fight one on one, it seems like they would be able to hold their own.

  Because Li Chengzhong is relatively tall and has a good image, Liu Houtu specially let him stand in the first position of this group. Later, he was seen by Zhang Zhongyan, the captain of the team, who directly called him to stand in the first row of the team.

  This position was also the first row of the entire Jinzuoying army formation, so Li Chengzhong habitually stood in a standard military posture, and even the commander came over to ask his name.

  At the moment when Jian Zhuang was arranging his troops, Li Chengzhong saw clearly from the first row that the great army was not as chaotic as their own military formation.

  Some troops were dispatched from the camp and also assembled in the empty field.

  The rows and columns are all in order, the clothes and armor are relatively uniform, the blades are very neat, and even the flags are erected with more spirit.

  Standing next to Li Chengzhong were several front-row soldiers who raised their heads and looked around, then whispered in envy. "Which one is the mountain guard? Which one is the imperial guard?" Li Chengzhong couldn't hear clearly either and couldn't remember that many details. He just felt that the other team's formation was far better than his own. Although they had set out and their formation was somewhat scattered, compared to the guys behind him who couldn't even tell left from right, it was much, much better.

  Just as Li Chengzhong was watching with great interest, he suddenly felt the ground shaking, and large groups of cavalry rushed out of the camp.

  The hooves of tens of thousands of war horses thundered in unison, like a peal of thunder, shaking Li Cheng's eardrums with an endless rumble.

  That kind of sharp and stern atmosphere, that kind of majestic and powerful momentum, made Li Chengzhong's blood boil with excitement, he just wanted to shout loudly, otherwise it would not be enough to vent the passion surging in his heart.

  Li Chengzhong couldn't help but shout out loud, and behind him, the entire 2,000-strong Jianzuoying army also shouted out in unison.

  It took the cavalry a good half day to finish, and it wasn't until their silhouettes had disappeared into the distance for a long time that Li Chengzhong finally took a deep breath and calmed down. Many people around him were like drunk, with flushed faces, staring in the direction of the departing cavalry, their mouths agape for a good half day before they could close them.

  Such a scene is the most inspiring to the military, so when Zhou Zhi led his entourage to the front of the army array and looked around, he didn't say much, waved his hand and indicated departure.

  Under the command of veterans and officers, Jianzuoying finally set out in batches according to the formation of each capital.

  A mighty army deployed on the vast land of Hebei, with several long dragons driving in unison, banners and flags fluttering, drums and music sounding together.

  Li Chengzhong, as a new recruit, did not know the scale of his own Lulong Army. Some said it had 50,000 soldiers, some said 100,000, and others even claimed 200,000. But looking around, dense troops marched through the fields, with rows of spears and swords reflecting cold glints in the sunlight. From time to time, cavalry units galloped back and forth around them, with voices rising from all directions - laughter, oaths, discussions mixed together, showcasing the straightforwardness and grandeur of the men of Yan.

  Li Chengzhong was also among them, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of courage to overcome all obstacles.

  He suddenly felt that such a life was not bad either! In the following days, the army marched at 5 am every day and camped at 3 pm, stopping after marching thirty miles.

  All along the way, there were still young and strong men joining the army, some were wandering knights, some were robust farmers, and a few had read books.

  Li Chengzhong's partner was a man named Jiang Miao, whose family were farmers. However, he had been fond of books since childhood and his family couldn't afford to pay the tuition fees for him to study with a teacher, so he often secretly listened in on classes outside the school, which actually allowed him to learn many characters and understand much reasoning.

  At this time the world was in great chaos, and warriors were in power. Jiang Miao simply abandoned his family's farming business and joined the army, dreaming of gaining fame and fortune.

  Li Chengzhong saw that Jiang Miao's body was slightly thin and he had some difficulty marching, so he wanted to help him carry more, but Jiang Miao smiled and refused with a single word, only collapsing exhausted every day after setting up camp.

  Sometimes, Li Chengzhong couldn't help but admire his persistence.

  After several days passed, news came from the front that the cavalry had already surrounded Bei State, a northern stronghold of Wei and Bo, so all the armies hastened their pace.

  When they arrived at the foot of Bei State City, rows upon rows of tents had been set up around the city walls.

  The Jianzu Camp where Zhou Wuyou was located was established in the northeast direction of Beizhou City.