The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Chapter 12 Camping

The team from Qingshi Village merged into Wang Er's team like a stream flowing into the Yellow River, disappearing after a few swirls.

The massive crowd of tens of thousands moved slowly and clumsily, like a swarm of ants crawling across the land.

Li Chengye soon discovered that Wang Er's team was not a monolithic entity.

The core of Wang Er's force consisted of several dozen cavalrymen with horses, simple armor, and weapons, whose status was equivalent to that of a border general's personal guards. Aside from serving as the vanguard clearing the way, they surrounded Wang Er and his large banner. Discipline appeared quite strict, and supplies were plentiful.

One layer outside were several hundred core members who had started the uprising with Wang Er. They were all brave and strong young men, and they called themselves the "Old Camp." They were the backbone of the force, and each of them had a weapon. Their clothes were also relatively neat; the better ones wore silk vests, while the less well-off ones wore cotton or linen clothes.

The outermost layer, which also had the largest number of people, consisted of refugees who had been drawn to the area after hearing about Wang Er's uprising. Their composition was diverse. There were farmers fleeing famine, deserters, and even craftsmen. Most of these people were emaciated and had numb eyes. They carried only a wooden stick, a kitchen knife, or simply followed the group empty-handed.

What held this team together was less Wang Er's prestige and more their fear of hunger.

The team from Qingshi Village was positioned in the middle and rear, not too far from Wang Er's core and "old camp," but some distance from those completely out of control on the edge of the team. This made Li Chengye feel somewhat at ease.

But their few oxcarts, clearly loaded with grain and fodder, stood out starkly against the backdrop of abject poverty, attracting countless eyes that stared at them like wolves.

"Everyone, get your gear out and be alert!" Master Qin whispered to his men, "But don't cause trouble, and keep your hands steady."

According to Master Qin, this is similar to his days selling smuggled horses in Huanglong Mountain. As long as you have the resources and the people are united, others will lose face from the start, and many unnecessary troubles can be avoided.

Yang Chongwang brought a few men, and this time they were not just scouting the way, but were nervously guarding both sides of the vehicle.

Li Chengye was also busy running around the team, keeping an eye on the overall situation, afraid that someone would fall behind.

At the same time, he was also trying to observe and learn from Wang Er's management style of the team.

He saw that Wang Er did not always act superior and act like a leader. Sometimes he would ride his horse on the side of the group, shouting loudly to urge those who had fallen behind to catch up, or he would lead a few people to move broken carts or trees blocking the way while cursing.

As for the scholar-like man who used to follow Wang Er, Li Chengye now knows that his surname is Xu. He used to be an accountant, but he chose to join Wang Er when he started his rebellion. Now he is relied upon as a military advisor and supply officer, and he is in charge of the logistics of the army.

Li Chengye originally thought that as long as they remained cautious and didn't get involved in other people's affairs, they could at least have a few days of peace. Unexpectedly, trouble struck when they set up camp on the first evening.

When they set up camp at dusk, they chose a sheltered spot on a flat, earthen plain, next to a dried-up stream.

Just as the villagers of Qingshi Village had formed a small circle around the vehicles and hadn't even set up a simple stove, several men in tattered prison uniforms with thuggish looks on their faces strolled over. The leader, a man with triangular eyes, glanced directly at Li Chengye and the others, his gaze fixed on the grain on the vehicles.

"Newcomer, do you know the rules? Once you're in camp, food and supplies will be centrally allocated!"

Li Chengye's heart skipped a beat, knowing that this was someone looking for trouble. He blocked the car and said, "Brother, we've come from Baishui County to seek refuge with Commander Wang. When we came, Commander Wang personally told us that we could manage our own grain."

"Oh dear," the man with the triangular eyes chuckled, and the men behind him also let out malicious sneers. "The Commander-in-Chief is so busy with state affairs, how could he have time to argue with you newcomers about such trivial matters? I said, rules are rules, and supplies must be allocated uniformly. We'll keep your grain for you for now, so that those starving peasants won't steal it in the middle of the night." As they spoke, they tried to push past Li Chengye to pull the grain from the cart.

"Clang!" Yang Chongwang's sword was half-drawn from its sheath. The other men of Qingshi Village immediately gripped their weapons tightly as well.

The man with the triangular eyes looked startled: "What, you want to fight? Don't you know whose territory this is?" The men behind him also drew their short blades, machetes, and even axes.

Li Chengye was unaware of the triangular-eyed man's background. Since he had just joined the team, he decided to be cautious.

He pressed down on Yang Chongwang's hand, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Brother, please calm down. This grain was indeed allowed to be managed by Chief Wang. If you don't believe me, we can go to see Chief Wang together and ask him directly. If Chief Wang says he wants to change the regulations, we will have no objections."

The man with the triangular eyes flickered, clearly showing some apprehension.

He knew that he had acted on his own initiative today. If what the man in front of him said was true, and the chief really allowed him to manage the food himself, and he had brought this matter to the chief's attention, he figured that even he, the captain, would be in deep trouble.

He then sized up Li Chengye and his group. Although they were dressed in tattered clothes, their weapons were quite complete and better equipped than theirs. In particular, the man who had just drawn his knife had a ruthless look in his eyes, and he didn't seem like a pushover.

Although the food is good, it might not be worth it if something really goes wrong, and the higher-ups might not necessarily favor us.

"Hmph, you dare to trouble the Commander-in-Chief with such a trivial matter?" The man with the triangular eyes withdrew his hand sullenly, cursing with a fierce but weak voice, "Just wait and see, those who don't know the rules in the camp will get what's coming to them!"

After saying that, he glared at them fiercely, cursed, and left with his men.

Even after the people left, the villagers of Qing Shi Village didn't relax at all. Old Wang's legs were weak; he muttered, "How are we going to survive now?"

Li Chengye's face was also gloomy; he knew this was just the beginning.

In such a large camp, lack of clothing and food was the norm, and their meager rations were like a piece of fatty meat.

Although Wang Er made a verbal promise, how effective would it be if someone was really starving?

"We'll be on night duty in two shifts tonight, everyone stay alert. Make sure the vehicles are surrounded and the fire doesn't go out," Li Chengye instructed in a deep voice. He then looked at Yang Chongwang, "Brother Yang, you're from the border army, what do you think of the rules in this camp?"

Yang Chongwang sighed and scratched at the ground with a twig: "Wang Er's place can hardly be called an army; it's just a camp of refugees. If there's any rule, it's that the old bully the new and the strong swallow up the weak."

Look at the chaos in the camp today. Wang Er can't manage it at all. As long as there's no major trouble or disruption to the march, he'll probably just turn a blind eye to these sordid things even if he finds out.

"That triangular-eyed guy just now, I think he's a henchman of one of Wang Ershou's leaders, sent specifically to test us. They might not give up now that they didn't succeed today."

Yang Chongwang continued his analysis: "Just like when I was in the army, new recruits had to find someone to protect them so that no one would dare to bully them."

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Armor of the border troops in Suide during the Ming Dynasty