Chapter 009: Camp

While everyone was lamenting and cursing in despair, news came from Yongling that there was no need to transport any more stones, as the required materials from the mountain had been gathered. Upon hearing this news, the young soldiers of the Wu army, exhausted and famished after a day of labor, erupted in cheers. Zhao Qiang, overjoyed, pulled Qi Zhuang to lie down on the ground, spreading his limbs and remaining still, allowing his joints to relax as much as possible. He was utterly fatigued; when he lifted the last stone onto the steps, his legs trembled uncontrollably, and the strength provided by the black beans had long been depleted through the back-and-forth hauling. He even contemplated the consequences if he were to collapse under the strain. However, realizing that if he let go, it would not only be him crushed by the heavy stone, but potentially a dozen or twenty others as well, he felt a headache coming on. To avoid dragging these men down with him, Zhao Qiang could only grit his teeth and persevere. Fortunately, he no longer had to move those large stones, and lying on the ground, his body felt a sense of liberation, a sensation that was indescribably painful yet also oddly soothing.

Zhao Qiang smiled slightly. Indeed, it was he who saved Qi Zhuang's life, but it was the Zhao Qiang from before. Years ago, when Wang Pingfan led the army to attack Yueyang, they had been unable to breach the city after several days of assault, so he organized a death squad to sneak into the city under the cover of darkness. At that time, Qi Zhuang was a captain in the Wu army, known for his bravery in battle, and was thus asked to join the death squad. However, during their infiltration, they were discovered by the defending troops, and the three hundred members of the death squad found themselves surrounded. Seeing that his comrades were nearly all dead and with no reinforcements, Qi Zhuang realized that continuing to resist would only lead to death, so he discarded his weapon and surrendered. The Qing army, wanting to gather intelligence on the Wu army outside the city, chose not to kill him but instead imprisoned him, planning to interrogate him about the Wu army's situation at dawn. However, before dawn could arrive, Yueyang was breached by the Wu army, as the green camp soldiers inside the city opened the gates and let them in.

Under the shouts of the supervisors from their respective teams, the young men of the Wu army made their way to the stone quarry, joining the ranks of those transporting stones. The stones extracted from the quarry weighed as much as a thousand pounds, and without any mechanical tools, the task relied entirely on human labor. Consequently, it required thirty to forty people to take turns carrying a single large stone before it could finally be delivered to the Yongling on the mountain. This was far more exhausting than logging, and it was extremely grueling. The more than two thousand young men of the Wu army who suffered injuries or lost their lives while repairing Yongling mostly perished under the weight of the stones during the transportation process due to physical exhaustion. Therefore, many would, upon hearing that their work the next day involved moving stones, often take the opportunity to say their last words to close companions, asking them to convey messages to their relatives still in Ningguta and Shangyang Fort. Those without relatives, or those whose relatives had all perished, would be so troubled that they could not sleep a wink through the night, waking up the next day looking haggard and clearly in poor spirits. Under such psychological pressure, many who would not have died otherwise ended up perishing during the transportation process.

The young soldiers of Wu in the quarry either cheered, or sat weakly on the ground, or, like Zhao Qiang, lay back on the large rock, gasping silently. No one moved about, as they had all lost their strength. It was not until the Qing soldiers shouted loudly for them to get up and return that they reluctantly regrouped. Then, under the drive of several hundred Qing troops, they returned to the camp located at the foot of Qiyun Mountain

Hehe

Due to this life-saving bond, the relationship between Qi Zhuang and Zhao Qiang naturally became close. Whenever Qi Zhuang acquired something, Zhao Qiang was always the first person he thought of. Zhao Qiang also took great care of him, and there were naturally no formalities between the two. Zhao Qiang had just expressed his gratitude to Qi Zhuang, which certainly surprised him a bit. However, Zhao Qiang did not say anything further, as the material yard for collecting the stones needed for the excavation of Yongling had arrived, and E Ha and Chen Zhao in the front began calling them to enter the site to work.

Since we set off this morning, the brothers have not eaten anything at all. How can we continue like this?

Just now, more than twenty brothers lost their hands, and several were crushed to death. In my opinion, if this continues, the number of deaths tonight will surely be no less than those by the river.

Zhao Qiang was well aware of the dangers of moving stones, so he constantly reminded himself to pay attention to safety. After strenuously lifting a large stone with Qi Zhuang, Wu Da, and others, they carefully moved step by step along the steps of the mountain. Only when they could no longer move it did they switch to another person to continue carrying. After several hours of this, Zhao Qiang and his companions had only managed to transport three or four stones to Yongling, and by this time, it was already dark. The Qing soldiers monitoring the area had also lit torches around the stone yard, indicating that they truly would not allow the Wu army's young and strong to eat or sleep until the stones were fully transported. After several hours of this, Zhao Qiang and his companions had only managed to transport three or four stones to Yongling, and by this time, it was already dark. The Qing soldiers monitoring the area had also lit torches around the stone yard, indicating that they truly would not allow the Wu army's young and strong to eat or sleep until the stones were fully transported.

After Wu Jun entered the city, Qi Zhuang, who had been imprisoned, was soon discovered. Wang Pingfan learned from the captured Qing soldiers that he had surrendered, and thus decided to execute him along with * Tu * Shu. Since Zhao Qiang and Qi Zhuang were both from Yunnan, they immediately interceded on his behalf, stating that he had surrendered out of exhaustion, and that he had fought valiantly in battle, achieving numerous military accomplishments. Furthermore, after being captured, he had not disclosed any information about his side to the Qing army, and therefore his crime did not warrant death. Due to Zhao Qiang's commendable conduct, Wang Pingfan, who had a fondness for this honest attendant, agreed to his request and did not order Qi Zhuang's execution. Instead, he merely removed him from his position as a captain, allowing him to serve in the army under a guilty status. Later, after Wang Pingfan was defeated and committed suicide, Zhao Qiang and Qi Zhuang, along with the remaining over two thousand Wu troops, surrendered to the Qing army and were subsequently escorted outside the pass.

Qi Zhuang smacked his lips and said: "I have known you for ten years, and I have never seen you be so formal with me. We are like brothers; back in Hunan, if it weren't for you pleading on my behalf to the general, I might have lost my head by now. So, my life was saved by you, and why should you thank me over something trivial like beans? If we are to talk about gratitude, my few years of thanks cannot compare to the life-saving grace you have shown me."

The camp used to detain the young men of the Wu army is situated in a hollow in the mountains. On both sides of the hollow are the Qing army tents that monitor them, effectively blocking their access to the outside world. If these young men attempt to cause trouble, the Qing army on either side of the hollow will suppress them at the first opportunity, absolutely denying them any chance to break out of the camp. The camp is surrounded by wooden fences, and to prevent the monitoring Qing army from having their line of sight obstructed by trees, all trees within a hundred meters have been completely cut down. After the young men of the Wu army return to the camp, the main gate is surrounded, and no one is allowed to enter or exit. Even if there is a fire inside resulting in casualties, the Qing army will not open the camp gate at night; everything must wait until dawn to be addressed.

Damn it, how long is this going to take? Everyone is at their limit!

The young and strong reside in makeshift wooden huts, which lack beds, forcing individuals to sleep on the ground. The walls are merely constructed from wooden planks haphazardly bound together, with some thin mud smeared in the gaps, resulting in a strange howling sound, like "woo woo," when the wind blows through the boards. It is now late March; although it is spring, the nighttime temperatures remain quite cold. Consequently, most people do not remove their cotton jackets while sleeping at night, but rather wear them to bed, lest they be awakened by the cold. When tens of thousands of former Wu soldiers and Yunnan civilians were escorted to the border, the Qing army forbade them from bringing any luggage. Thus, throughout the year, aside from the clothes they wore, they had only two garments: one was the cotton jacket for cold weather, and the other was a single garment for summer. When tens of thousands of former Wu soldiers and Yunnan civilians were escorted to the border, the Qing army forbade them from bringing any luggage. Thus, throughout the year, aside from the clothes they wore, they had only two garments: one was the cotton jacket for cold weather, and the other was a single garment for summer.