The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 270 Test
Three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The more than 100,000 military dependents were divided into three groups and headed to the Seven Guards of Guanzhong.

Leading the group were military families with stable property or those holding the rank of centurion or higher, along with their household servants.

These people mostly used horse-drawn carriages or large blue mule carts to transport people and goods.

The number of people is nearly three thousand.

On average, each household owns three to four vehicles.

Horses and mule carts are fast and can travel about 100 li (50 kilometers) a day, reaching the Kansai region within a month.

The grand finale of this group was a camel caravan consisting of fifty adult wild camels from the Xilu Ranch.

The carriages pulled by each wild camel were twice as long and wide as those of ordinary horse-drawn carriages.

They look like little houses on the move.

The carriage contained the rations that these three thousand people would need for a month's journey.

Although wild camels are not as fast as horse-drawn carriages or mule carts, their endurance is first-rate, and traveling 100 to 200 miles a day is incredibly easy for them.

It's the perfect choice for long-distance moving where you have the physical strength!

The military dependents following behind the camel caravan rode in oxcarts or donkey carts, and could travel fifty or sixty li each day carrying their loads.

To help these hundreds of thousands of military families move.

More than 50,000 working livestock from the entire Huaiqing Prefecture and nearby counties were rented out.

The round trip takes two to three months.

The rent is a flat rate of ten taels of silver.

Pay half before departure, and the other half upon return!
These draft animals will be returned by special personnel, and General Zhao of the border town will act as guarantor for the military families who rent these draft animals.

If livestock are unfortunately injured or killed, you will receive double the rent as compensation!
Be nice!

With the five taels prepaid, the owner of any cattle or donkey that dies will receive twenty-five taels of silver.

For a time, livestock used for portering in the Northwest became extremely valuable!
The West Slope Ranch also rented out two hundred cattle, earning one thousand taels in rent!

Leaving aside the fact that this round of relocation was so spectacular, it was the sheer number of pack animals that caught people's attention.

Those walking at the back of the group are the real highlight of this trip.

More than nine thousand boys aged between twelve and sixteen were informed that they were not eligible to ride in oxcarts or donkey carts.

They were actually asked to walk from the border town to Guazhou!

They don't understand, and they don't want to understand.

All I know is that I have been treated unfairly.

Some of the more unruly ones even started acting like shrewish women, throwing tantrums and rolling around on the ground.

Finally, they were all gathered in one place to listen to the messenger relay the orders.

Judging from his appearance, he was only three to five years older than them, yet his speech and actions were as composed as those of the centurions they had ever met.
"General Xiong has ordered that you, as sons of military households, will follow in the footsteps of your fathers and brothers in three to five years."

No one who joins the army escapes hardship! In border garrisons, infantry is the main force, and only the most outstanding elite soldiers can serve as cavalry.

These elite soldiers were naturally selected from the infantry!
Infantry, infantry, they spend most of their time on the march!
The journey of three thousand miles is a basic test of your ability to serve as infantry.

Speaking of tests, the standards were personally set for you by General Xiong, the commander of the Guanzhong region.

The boys who were supposed to reach Guazhouwei within the stipulated two months.

The top 100 will each receive a prized horse from the Western Regions; those ranked 101st to 500th will each receive ten fat sheep; and those ranked 501st to 1000th will each receive ten taels of silver!

There was a "buzz" sound.

The boys who were just acting like troublemakers were now stunned by this amazing news.

They scrambled to their feet and asked all at once:
"Young man, are you telling the truth? All of the top 100 have Hu horses?" The messenger addressed the mischievous boys with the seriousness of an adult.
"The General's words are military orders, and military orders cannot be taken lightly. The horses from the Western Regions are even faster than Mongolian horses, and they can easily sell for hundreds of taels of silver at the horse market."

The boys felt their breathing quicken.

What does one hundred taels of silver mean?

All my family's assets combined don't even amount to that much!
Everyone believed their team could squeeze into the top 100.

Someone else asked:

"I heard they'll only give us enough dried meat for ten days. What if we get hungry or thirsty on the road? We can't let us die on the way, can we?"

The messenger dismissed it:
"Otherwise, how could it be called a test? Don't worry, you'll each be given a wooden gun and a map. Along the way, you can take any fish from the water and any game from the mountains! As long as you bring enough salt and tinder, the chances of starving or dying of thirst are slim!"

Another round of discussion erupted, even more heated than before.

After a while, a chubby boy asked loudly:

"Brother, there are over nine thousand of us, so why is it that only the first thousand people get a reward? Doesn't that mean the remaining eight thousand people have suffered for nothing?"

The messenger looked in the direction of the voice and saw his plump figure. Suppressing a laugh, he said again:
"You all know about the vanguard battalion led by General Gan, right?"

"Know!"

"Brother Ang is inside!"

"."

The messenger straightened his clothes and solemnly said:

Before Ang returned to the border town, General Gan said: "In the future, we will most likely be fighting with the Kashgar Khanate and the various tribes of the Western Tatars for many years."

Her vanguard battalion selects only the bravest, most fearless, and most resilient soldiers who can survive in any environment!

Today, we are sending you on a hike to the Seven Guards of Kansai, which is also to select promising candidates for the vanguard battalion.

General Gan's military tactics are unconventional! She prefers to use those with strong survival skills in the wild, outstanding leadership in small teams, or those who can perfectly execute the tasks assigned by the leader.

Ang isn't afraid of letting it slip! Do you know how much the entire Vanguard Battalion has earned on this trip? Well, I can't tell you the exact number, but it's definitely enough to buy two or three Western Region horses! And this is all the money they earned after just conquering Hami City!
"I reckon General Gan is already leading his men to the Fire Province of the Kashgar Khanate by now! What good things does the Fire Province have? Raisins, wine, and cotton cloth; all the chieftains, big and small, are rolling in money!"

"Wow!" The boys were in an uproar.

"No wonder those damned barbarians wanted to rob our Seven Guards of Guanzhong; that place actually has so many good things!"

"My goodness! Pigskin, isn't your older brother in the vanguard battalion? Your family has really struck it rich this time!"

"Hehehe, the money Brother Ang earns belongs to Mother Ang, Sister-in-law Ang, and Nephew Ang. And Grandpa Pig Ang is definitely going to join the Vanguard Battalion!"

"Yes, yes, yes! If you're going to be a soldier, be the best soldier! If you enlist, be in the vanguard!"

"Become the King of Soldiers!"

"Vanguard Battalion!"

"."

The slogans rose and fell, and the atmosphere was very passionate.

The rewards of horses and fat sheep were certainly tempting, but which of the military households' sons didn't long to make a name for themselves as soon as possible?
The vanguard battalion is the most tangible and visible stepping stone to their success.

It's done!

It's just three thousand miles, isn't it?

Two months.

I walk an average of 50 miles a day!

Sure, that works!

(End of this chapter)