Chapter 6: Junior Officers

In recent days, what he has heard and seen is an army that exudes a sense of lifelessness, silence, yes, silence, an eerie silence where no one speaks except when absolutely necessary

This precisely aligns with the image of basic officers in the Qin army; they are not concerned with the interpersonal relationships required by higher-ups, nor do mid-level officers possess such extensive thoughts. Basic officers should be rigid and indifferent, awaiting orders.

Long? Long? Or long?

This is the third time hearing the sound of the horn. ... The first time was during the "Thousand Men" review of the troops, at that time it was just three short segments; the second time was when the prisoners of war revolted during the construction of the straight road, that was three long segments; this time ... ?

The sound of footsteps

He began to change the expression on his face, believing that he should be more Qin Jun than Qin Jun himself, that his face should be more ferocious, or perhaps even more ferocious than that!

A series of footsteps echoed until they ceased, and the tent flap was lifted. Lü Zhe's expression remained fierce as he stared at the person who had suddenly appeared. Maintaining his menacing demeanor while feeling a sense of trepidation inside for at least five seconds, he finally reacted by silently picking up his long sword and stepping out of the tent. At that moment, there were already at least fifty soldiers lined up in formation in the corridor.

The somewhat confused individual, who had finally come to his senses, stopped running around aimlessly. He was deeply concerned that he might be executed due to the delay, and with a loud shout, he began to run with all his might

The soldier responsible for delivering orders from hetushucom.com submitted the bamboo slip and ran off without a word, which left Lü Zhe quite frustrated. Is the literacy rate in this era so high that the basic military officers can only understand what is written on the bamboo slip? At the very least, they should say what to do, as he cannot understand seal script!

Stop

These individuals come from different places within the borders, with none hailing from the same district or county, let alone the same township. In a situation where they are unfamiliar with one another, they will not form local factions, and there will be no small groups that would engage in inexplicable actions for the sake of survival, thus establishing the foundation for obedience to military orders

What did Lu Zhe see

It seems that he misheard? He slightly regained his senses from his daze, as it seemed he had just heard the sound of a horn.

Indeed, in films and television, the armies of the vast land of China have always used war drums, while those uncivilized savages would resort to the use of horns, which lack any technical sophistication. However, the Qin army truly did use horns; the sound of drums was never heard, at least not for Lü Zhe.

Perhaps I should exercise more? Not for appearances, but for survival

Lu Zhe has not yet figured out the extent of his official position, and he is even unclear about what he is supposed to do, while no one has informed him of his responsibilities either

Like a parrot mimicking speech, Lü Zhe felt a bit embarrassed after issuing the command. His subordinates, having sprinted through the library, were still in good spirits, but he, on the other hand, was somewhat out of breath

Lu Zhe certainly knows that all armies have their own means of communication, and he is also clearly aware that there has been another riot among the prisoners of war

The view ahead gradually becomes more expansive, with a constant influx of noisy sounds, and the air that drifts by carries a strong scent of dust.

After stepping out, he received a bamboo strip from the soldier who had lifted the tent. Some characters were inscribed on this bamboo strip; these characters were aesthetically pleasing yet difficult to write. He knew that this type of script was called seal script.

It is likely due to being an officer that he occupies a rather small tent alone, which further accentuates the monotony and boredom; this is the experience of Lü Zhe thus far

The soldiers were not wearing armor; they were dressed in gray tight-fitting robes, standing silently and expressionlessly while holding long spears

His entire impression of the military comes from modern times, and his understanding of the army is that it consists of a group of big men who should speak loudly, often shouting with all their might. Occasionally, a figure like an instructor would talk to the soldiers about life, ideals, and dedicating themselves to the country, but it is not like that.

The Qin army had a strong sense of class consciousness, indeed it was class consciousness, and this was not merely a simple matter that arose during mealtimes

He only knows that the soldiers have great respect for him, not the kind of respect that is formalistic, but rather the kind that comes from the heart. This respect is reflected in the fact that the soldiers do whatever he says; sometimes he even doubts that if he were to order the soldiers to run naked, there would be any opposition

In a state of urgency, Lu Zhexin, while jogging, felt a deep sense of anxiety, completely at a loss as to what to do. Upon hearing the sound of the horn again, he thought he should slap himself a few times.

Lu Zhe, who did not know what to do, really wanted to just stay still. As the saying goes, the more one does, the more mistakes one makes; the less one does, the fewer mistakes one makes; and not doing anything results in no mistakes. It seemed that serving in the Qin army made one more likely to be executed. Seeing that no higher-ranking officers had come to issue orders, he looked around at the soldiers standing in formation and began to jog. As long as he was moving, that was good enough; what to do next could be decided later.

I am dizzy! Since it is a prisoner of war riot, it is only natural to suppress it!

In contrast to the previous chaos, at this moment, the Qin army displayed their usual discipline, standing in formation with long spears in hand, while armored officers walked back and forth along the ranks

Lu Zhe had the impression that people in ancient times were generally not tall. He originally thought that his height of over 1.8 meters would give him an advantage, but the reality was different. He discovered that the average height of the Qin army was around 1.7 meters, and he often saw soldiers who were 2 meters tall, with most soldiers being more robust than he was

Those officers (including himself) would not shout like fools; in the military camp, such noise would lead to a direct loss of one's head. No one would incessantly talk about sacrificing their lives for someone (including the country), nor would anyone instill such thoughts. Even during times without drills, it seemed that no one was willing to step out of their tents; usually, they were either sleeping or daydreaming.

The roads in the military camp are designed to be straightforward, allowing for quick assembly or gathering without the complexities of winding paths. Thus, this group of soldiers, feeling somewhat dazed, follows their squad leader in a hurried manner, unsure of the reason for their run.

Lu Zhe is not foolish; on the contrary, he is quite intelligent (at least he believes so). The gathering of troops signifies that there is a mission at hand. He glanced around, and aside from his own team of fifty, there were no other troops assembled or showing signs of assembly. He instantly deduced that the scale of the unrest was not large, or that other units responsible for suppression had already departed.

The soldiers seemed quite pleased with the grim expression on the officer's face. A commander who usually does not issue orders lightly, and a general known for his ferocity in battle, are both well-loved by their subordinates

For the soldiers, Lü Zhe embodies the image of a grassroots officer in the Qin Dynasty. He is unable to issue commands due to his poor command of the language of this era, and his lack of understanding of his position makes him hesitant to move around the barracks freely. It always seems as though he is waiting to die in the tent unless higher-ranking officers give orders.

Out of boredom, he has been imagining what expression he would use if he were to suppress a riot at https://m.hetushu.com

After running for approximately fifteen minutes, Lu Zhe saw more and more groups converging from all directions towards this location. This relieved him, and he uncertainly thought to himself: "At least I haven't run to the wrong place; I shouldn't be executed now, right?"

There are no impassioned speeches, no grand aspirations as imagined. There is neither wind nor rain; apart from staying in the tent, there is nothing but idleness and foolishness. Perhaps this is the essence of the military? There is no need for superfluous thoughts; it is swift as the wind, steady as the forest, aggressive as fire, and immovable as a mountain

What is the life of a soldier like in the military? Lü Zhe has never had a clear concept of it. He originally thought that soldiers should be bold and fearless, willing to sacrifice their lives for a certain belief at any moment. However, it seems that the unit he is in is somewhat different

What he saw was a sky filled with yellow fog, countless figures seemingly engaged in a frenzied melee, while the assembled soldiers merely stood by on the periphery, disdainfully watching those prisoners of war... if he wasn't mistaken, it appeared to be a brawl

What was the reason for the last prisoner riot? He did not know and did not want to know, but he heard that not many people were killed. This was not the Qin army he was familiar with. The Qin soldiers he knew were supposed to be ruthless, killing without blinking an eye, slaughtering people as if they were dogs, and extremely ferocious. ... At least that is how it is portrayed in movies or TV series ...