In noble families, one sees humility; in good families, one sees nobility.
Although this phrase is an adjective, it also represents the presence of noble families in the Jingan Army's Wuwei Camp.
After Zhou Yuan changed into his red military uniform, he headed to the Military Supply Office to report.
The quartermaster recorded his place of origin, age, and name, gave him a wooden military tag, and told him to come back in two days to collect the official copper tag.
In terms of weaponry, he received a yellow birch longbow, thirty conical arrows, a refined steel saber, and a green oak iron spear.
This setup, with just the yellow birch longbow, was something an ordinary family couldn't afford, not to mention the subsequent refined iron armor.
"Young man, three months of training, a hundred days in armor. If you are still in this camp after three months, bring the documentation to collect your armor.
However, these days shouldn't be wasted. Send an assistant soldier to learn how to armor a combat soldier and maintain the battle armor."
"Li Dazhuang, you stay."
After sending the equipment back to the dormitory and placing it on the weapon rack, Zhou Yuan headed to the West Hall in the camp.
By the time he arrived, many armored soldiers were already eating. The tableware here was quite rough; most people used large earthenware bowls, while a few had more exquisite tableware.
Those with exquisite dining ware clustered on one side of the hall, and passing soldiers avoided them from afar, creating a distinct divide.
Zhou Yuan guessed that those people were either officers or the so-called noble family members.
However, these two categories seemed to overlap naturally; noble family members entering the camp were surely there to become officers, not ordinary soldiers.
"Give me a serving of food."
"New here? You can only take one bowl of meat; take as much of the rest as you want, or you'll be fined."
The food in the West Hall wasn't very varied, but the key was that there was meat.
Even as he sat down with his meal and a bowl of dark brown medicinal soup, Zhou Yuan still felt a bit unreal.
The Jingan Army was truly wealthy, or rather, their logistics system was unreasonably affluent.
Although Zhou Yuan was a modern person, he knew that relying on ancient productivity, it was difficult to provide sufficient meat for a local army.
"Wow, it's solid."
He flipped the meat with his chopsticks, expecting the meat bowl to be like modern ones with meat on top and vegetables below, but it turned out to be fatty on top and lean below, all meat except for the broth.
In comparison, the life of Qiaoxi Village's residents seemed quite inadequate; what they couldn't afford even during the New Year was commonplace in the Wuwei Camp.
"Gulp, gulp."
The bowl of dark brown medicinal soup, though bland in taste, had a spicy-sweet medicinal flavor.
It didn't seem like a good tonic; many soldiers didn't even glance at the soup, directly taking food to eat.
Sure enough, after asking the cook, he learned that the tonic was boiled repeatedly every ten days, with a bowl each morning, noon, and night. Today's soup was a soothing remedy to prevent heatstroke and clear internal heat.
As he was about to leave, Zhou Yuan wanted to wash his bowl at the water pool, but a nimble assistant soldier took it away, truly being treated like a young master.
The key was that enjoying these benefits didn't cost money, and there was a salary every month. If it weren't for the battlefield, it could be considered a welfare unit.
When the new recruits gathered in the afternoon, Zhou Yuan realized that these benefits weren't easy to earn.
After the instructor introduced the camp rules and his name, he required the new recruits to line up and draw bows.
If it were just drawing bows and shooting arrows, the men who could enter the Wuwei Camp would have no problem.
But Instructor Hong required them to practice strength by drawing without releasing, and anyone who dared to release and damage the bow or string would have to compensate.
The yellow birch longbow in Zhou Yuan's hand was a one-stone bow. With three points in his precision attribute and the support of the martial skill [Great Bear Stance], drawing the bow was like child's play.
The other recruits weren't so lucky. After a while of practice, their arms were sore and swollen, their hands trembling, and some couldn't even bend their fingers.
Instructor Hong ignored the struggling recruits and instead walked up to Zhou Yuan.
"This bow is too light for you. I'll get you a three-stone heavy bow."
"Understood."
In Great Wei, one stone equals 60 kilograms, so three stones is 180 kilograms, or 360 jin of draw weight.
Instructor Hong originally intended to curb Zhou Yuan's enthusiasm, letting him know that a bit of bravery was nothing in the army, but he didn't expect Zhou Yuan to actually draw the three-stone heavy bow.
"Well, that's something. Keep practicing.
Your bow is heavy, so I'll allow you to adapt as needed. If you can't hold it, ease the tension and return the string, don't strain yourself and cut your fingers."
Instructor Hong, with a stern face, walked away after speaking, but as soon as he met other instructors, he couldn't hide his smile.
"How about your new recruits, guys? I've got a tough one to handle. What should I do?
That kid is extraordinary; he could draw a three-stone heavy bow on his first day in the camp."
Although Instructor Hong said there was a problem, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
That was a three-stone heavy bow; the arrows shot from it couldn't be called feathered arrows but javelins in the shape of feathered arrows.
In front of a three-stone heavy bow, it didn't matter if you were armored; with an armor-piercing arrow, it was one shot, one kill.
"Old Hong, what's the situation? How did such a good seedling end up in your hands?
Wait, I'll go report to the Commandant and have him transfer that kid to the Shesheng Camp for special training."
"Don't! I haven't had my fill yet. At least let me train him for a couple of days and see if he has any talent for archery.
What if he's just strong but can't aim?"
"Old Hong, you're wrong. Accuracy is trained. As long as he's strong and has stamina, and isn't blind, he'll eventually develop good aim."
"Alright, you go report, and I'll keep training him.
Among these new recruits, he's the only outstanding one. If it weren't for the Commandant, I wouldn't have told you."
"Hehe, we must train this kid well, let those noble family members see that there are good young men among the good families too."
The Commandant of the Shesheng Camp and the Commandant of the Wuwei Camp are not the same person, and their requirements for soldiers differ.
The Wuwei Camp requires soldiers to be brave and valiant, while the Shesheng Camp requires soldiers to have extraordinary arm strength, endurance, and preferably some archery talent.
Zhou Yuan didn't expect that as soon as he arrived at the Wuwei Camp, he would be noticed by the instructors of the Shesheng Camp.
At this moment, he was still practicing strength with the bow, unaware that he was about to receive special attention.
As dusk approached, the new recruits on the training ground gradually dispersed, leaving only Zhou Yuan behind with Instructor Hong.
"Young man, do you want to be an ordinary armored soldier or a camp officer?"
"Naturally, an officer. Who wouldn't want a promotion instead of staying a soldier?"
"That's right. You can draw a heavy bow and have endurance. I've recommended you to Commandant Li of the Shesheng Camp.
In about two days, your transfer order will come. With your ability to draw a three-stone heavy bow, you'll at least be a Decurion in the Shesheng Camp.
If you have some archery talent, it's not impossible to be promoted to Centurion."
"This Centurion is the most basic officer in Great Wei, commanding fifty soldiers. Below a Centurion is a soldier, above is an officer.
With an official position and entry into the official register, you'll be on the fast track, ready to take a chance?"
"Thank you, Instructor Hong, for the recommendation. I couldn't ask for more, what is there to fear?"