The Chaotic Great Qian

"Yunyang Pass, I'm back!"

Looking at the ancient border city built of gray bricks and stones, Luo Yu sighed.

Just over a month ago, he left here as a new recruit, heading to the front lines with a broken knife. Now he was a headman, leading dozens of comrades who had crawled out of the jaws of death.

After spending so long in a tiny fort, Yunyang Pass, which used to seem ordinary, now looked especially imposing. Cavalry units came and went, the drum beats thundered, and the city walls were shrouded in a deadly atmosphere.

Thousands of civilians were working on the city walls - some swinging pickaxes, others stacking sandbags. Most were ragged and emaciated, looking no different from beggars.

The soldiers overseeing the work, holding whips, beat and cursed the laborers:

"Damn it, you're slower than donkeys!"

"If you keep this up, when the Qiang soldiers come you'll all die. Don't drag me down with you! Move faster!"

"Smack smack!"

The whips kept lashing at the civilians, leaving bloody marks. Their eyes were filled with a numbness and emptiness, as if they had long grown accustomed to the abuse, living like zombies.

Some people would collapse while working, their noses showing they were already dead. The bodies were casually dragged away and piled in the corner, waiting for carts to haul them off for burial, the stench filling the air.

"Damn it, another one dead. Bad luck, get rid of it quickly!"

"These old people are useless. They can't even last five days before dying. A bunch of trash."

Death brought no sympathy, only disdain from the soldiers.

Even Luo Yu, with his heart of stone, couldn't help but frown. How could they be so cruel? The lives of civilians here didn't even count as lives.

Someone in the refugee group whispered:

"How is this different from the slave court? Did we come to the wrong place?"

Everyone was silent. Such tragic scenes were all too common in the border region.

Xiao Shaoyou's face was equally cold:

"Some of these people were conscripted, others were released from prison. They do the hardest work - moving military equipment, repairing walls - but they get the least food.

To put it bluntly, for these civilians, dying at the hands of Qiang soldiers or their own people makes no difference. Either way, they're dead.

It's not just Yunyang Pass - the entire border region is like this.

If one day I hold military power and repel the enemy…"

Luo Yu raised an eyebrow: "Then what?"

"I can't promise they'll have enough food and clothing, but at least they'll live like human beings."

Luo Yu nodded inwardly. Though Xiao Shaoyou was ruthless about military power, he wasn't that evil at heart.

Xiao Shaoyou couldn't bear to look at the dead bodies in the corner anymore, so he spurred his horse forward, with everyone following closely behind. With Xiao Shaoyou's captain's token, they entered the city gate without any trouble.

But when they passed the gate tower, Luo Yu curiously glanced around because he noticed that the flags on the wall weren't just "Qian" characters, but also "Jun" and "Li" characters.

On the way to the camp, Xiao Shaoyou roughly explained the recent situation:

"These days, not only Cockcrow Fort and Black Gorge Fort have been attacked by Qiang soldiers, but most of the dozen or so outer forts have been devastated. The remaining soldiers have all retreated to Yunyang Pass.

There are now ten thousand civilians and four thousand defenders in the city. According to reliable intelligence, this time the invading Qiang soldiers number five thousand, making this a tough battle."

Luo Yu nodded silently. Five thousand Qiang soldiers in the open field would be enough to wipe out the defenders completely. Yunyang Pass's sturdy walls were their only protection.

Xiao Shaoyou pointed to a row of barracks:

"This is our hundred-man unit's quarters. You'll temporarily stay here until we receive new orders from above."

"Dong Brother, Meng Hu, you two take the brothers to clean up the barracks."

Luo Yu waved his hand:

"Same rules as before - refugees stay in camp and don't go out to avoid trouble."

"Got it!"

Everyone dispersed, and Xiao Shaoyou finally said:

"You should clean up too. Tomorrow I'll take you to meet Commander Kong Xian of Yunyang Pass. You earned great merit at Black Gorge Fort, so I'll take you to claim your rewards."

"Fine."

Luo Yu nodded happily. Rewards were his favorite.

"By the way, I have a question."

Luo Yu suddenly stopped Xiao Shaoyou, pointing at the fluttering flags:

"Why are there 'Jun' and 'Li' flags on the wall along with the 'Qian' flag?"

Xiao Shaoyou clearly hadn't expected this question, looking stunned:

"You don't know the Jun and Li families?"

His shocked expression was as if he had seen something incredible.

"Never heard of them."

Luo Yu rolled his eyes: "I told you before, I grew up in a small mountain village. I've barely even been to the county seat. How could I know about any Jun or Li families?"

"Fine, let me explain properly."

Xiao Shaoyou sat down patiently:

"Our Longxi region is divided into three states: Quezhou, Dingzhou, and Bingzhou. Among them, Quezhou and Dingzhou are near the border, while Bingzhou is inland. Each state has its own governor, who oversees all military and political power.

The governor of Quezhou is surnamed Li, and the governor of Dingzhou is surnamed Jun. Whenever the Qiang enemies invade, these two families send troops to fight alongside the court, which is why their flags are also on the wall."

"Fight alongside the court? What does that mean?"

Luo Yu was getting more and more confused:

"Aren't they the court's troops? Why is there a distinction?"

"Looks like you're really a bumpkin who knows nothing."

Xiao Shaoyou's disdain grew:

"They are indeed appointed by the court, but within their territories, their word is law."

Luo Yu was shocked. How was that possible?

"A century ago, our Great Qian was in turmoil. The imperial army suffered repeated defeats, and rebel forces threatened the capital. The emperor had no choice but to delegate military power and tax collection, calling on the aristocracy and local officials to recruit troops to fight the rebels.

After the rebellion was quelled, the private armies of local officials were allowed to remain, known as 'yabing' or 'yachibing'.

The original purpose of forming these private armies was to protect their territories and keep the peace, but after gaining military power, the ambitions of local officials grew. They gradually became too powerful to control, and now they stand as equals to imperial authority.

To put it bluntly, even imperial edicts can be ignored by regional governors and state governors. The court has no way to deal with them."

Luo Yu suddenly understood - wasn't this just like the so-called late Tang Dynasty in his memories?

Regional warlords were too powerful, treating imperial edicts as mere words. They nominally respected the emperor as the Son of Heaven, but in reality, each ruled as their own petty emperor.

"After a century of development, now not only regional governors and state governors can recruit private armies, but even county magistrates and clan leaders can do so. They fight small-scale conflicts over territory.

Small clans depend on large clans, who in turn use military power to gain as much influence as possible in the court.

In short, whoever has the strongest fist makes the rules!

So in our Great Qian, there are two types of troops - one completely loyal to the imperial court, and another belonging to various local clans."

Luo Yu was stunned. This was too chaotic.

"Now you understand why there are two family flags on the wall."

Xiao Shaoyou said coldly:

"Qiang enemies invade, the court sends troops to fight, and since the territories of the Jun and Li families are on the border, they naturally send troops to fight together."

"So that's how it is."

Luo Yu asked instinctively:

"Three armies fighting together, can they cooperate?"

"Cooperate? Ha ha."

Xiao Shaoyou sneered: "You'll see when the fighting starts."

"What about us? Are we part of a clan's private army or an imperial army?"

"We're definitely an imperial army! We eat the court's salary!"

"Hmm, then why don't you join those clan families? With your talent, you should be more valued."

Xiao Shaoyou said coldly:

"These clan families control local military and political power, thinking only of their own interests, weakening our country! A bunch of maggots!

Joining them, how can you strengthen the army? You'd just be a lapdog."

Luo Yu remained silent about his words. It was hard to say which was better between private armies and imperial armies. At least the military officers he had encountered weren't good.

"Never mind."

Xiao Shaoyou perked up:

"Clean up quickly, tomorrow I'll take you to meet General Kong!"

Luo Yu crossed his arms, lost in thought, muttering to himself:

"If what he says is true, could I recruit my own private army once I have enough power?"