2.2

Off in the distance of a small camp, a figure rode in on a pitch black horse as the morning sun rose behind them. The camp was well off anyone's radar, in the middle of nowhere, in fact, so the figure obviously had to have known where to go.

The men doing their morning sparring paused for a brief moment to look at the person as they rode closer, squinting their eyes at the figure.

The figure seemed to be a man, looking as if he was nearing twenty years of age. His tan cloak was dusted with snowfall, yet his black hair was immaculate in a long ponytail. Sharp brown eyes lay under thick black brows, burning with a foreign emotion.

Could it be that this man was power hungry...or just hungry?

The figure kept his chin up as he rode past the training soldiers, pink lips twitched downwards in a serious expression. The soldiers didn't dare ask who he was, it just seemed as if the man belonged there naturally.

He rode towards the largest tent situated in the center, a red flag with the country's emblem sticking up and waving valiantly in the morning winds. He tied up his horse by the others before opening the tent's flaps to see other men hovering over a table.

"I'm sorry if my arrival was late."

The other men look towards the newcomer. The newcomer had a confident and almost cocky air to him, unlike the nervous soldiers out in the snow.

Meanwhile, the newcomer examined the men opposite him. All 6 of them were older, between their late twenties to early seventies, but looked as if they had been to Hell and back.

Glad I fit in.

"Who are you?" One of them finally asks as the boy reaches into his coat and withdraws a scroll.

"I am Shi Zixin, but many know me more as Wang Jianjun's Zhùshǒu," Shi Zixin comments before dipping into a bow, hair shifting.

"Why is Wang Jianjun not here?" Another asks as Shi Zixin rises with his brows furrowed.

"Did you not yet receive my correspondence?"

"Who was it addressed to?"

"General Wu," Shi Zixin responds as someone in the back nods.

"General Wu is to come in three days from now. He is busy getting the recruiters to travel the country," a middle-aged man informs. "I am General Yao, and I recall that I have written to you before," General Yao comments as he steps forward. While he was in his forties, he was still muscular and strong looking, albeit smaller in height than Shi Zixin. "In fact, all of us have spoken to you before."

"Of course, how can I forget you, General Wu, General Lin, General Liu, General Ho, General Fong, and Unit Commander Lau?" Shi Zixin questions. "I have written to all of you in the past eight months, after all. I just haven't associated your names with faces, yet; for which I apologize."

"No need, young sir, we haven't attached our portraits to our letters," the oldest of the seven haughtily laughs. "I am General Lin."

"General Ho," the second youngest of the six says.

"General Fong," another middle-aged man adds as he pushes up rounded glasses.

"I am General Liu," a wiry man with a slight overbite nods.

"Unit Commander Lau."

The last man who spoke was an utter beefcake compared to the rest, and seemed to be the youngest--yet, the highest ranked. It was no doubt that he fought hard for his position, as evident by the scars on his hands and on his face.

I definitely have to watch out for him...

"Why has Wang Jianjun not been able to join us?" General Yao asks as Shi Zixin's face falls. "It seems as if Wang Jianjun's mental health has deteriorated. He no longer remembers things as he once had and it'd be irresponsible to bring him here."

No one dared to double check if this youngster was lying or not--the sadness on his face was all the evidence they needed.

"Well, we should begin right away, since General Wu's position has already been accounted for," General Liu states. "Shi Zixin, you will be considered as a General for now."

'Congrats, Shi Zixin, you're already halfway there.'

But the war has yet to begin. It'll surely take a long time before I'm in full power.

"Thank you," Shi Zixin bows before rising.

"To fill you in," General Yao starts, "we are to begin filling camps slowly over the next couple months to accommodate for any changes. The men already here are most likely going to be apart of the main battalion, since they have the most experience. At the end of the two month period, we'll evaluate how many side-troops we'll dispense."

"Have we evaluated the villages' strengths, yet?" Shi Zixin asks as the men exchange glances and nearly facepalms when she realizes no one has. In this body's previous life, she had served as a nurse during the war and died tragically--which could be totally preventable if everyone knew what they were getting into.

"We should send some people out as soon as this meeting is over," General Ho agrees. "How many do you estimate?"

"I-"

"At least 20," Unit Commander Lau interrupts Shi Zixin. Shi Zixin's brows twitch slightly in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Commander, but we don't have the resources to send out twenty men just yet," Shi Zixin argues. Everyone's head snaps towards her in disbelief that the newbie would disrespect their highest authority within the first ten minutes.

Ugh! I should've just stayed silent...but I have to hold up my side now so I don't seem like an idiot!

"And why not?" UC Lau asks, hiding his annoyance. If he waits for the newbie to mess up, UC Lau can shame Shi Zixin into subordination!

"Is everyone out training the only soldiers we currently have?" Shi Zixin asks.

"Yes," UC Lau confirms.

"I counted about 50 men, add or subtract ten if you think I'm wrong. Let's say we send 20 men to the nearest five villages by the border, which means four men per village. If you have four, burly men who are riding to the villages on warhorses of all things, scouting the village, do you not believe that wouldn't be suspicious at all?" Shi Zixin asks as everyone remains silent for a moment.

"Well, what would you suggest, then?" General Lin asks as Shi Zixin leans over the map on the table. It had miniature houses to represent villages, and the five nearest were pretty spaced out.

"We have 5 men, one per each village. They should be in the middle of their ranks. Dress them up as farmers, give them a common man's horse, and send them out for a week.  They'll act as if they're passing through," Shi Zixin explains as she pushes forward five soldiers, represented as small pebbles. "They'll pass through the fields between and pass about a kilometer past the village before rounding back to it. When they leave, they will head back south a few miles and round back through the fields between."

"Should we do it right away, then?" General Lin asks and Shi Zixin shrugs. "Depends on how quickly we can get normal horses. If people have normal horses, we'll consider it a loan from them."

They murmur in agreement as Unit Commander Lau remains silent on the topic.

"When do the new soldiers come in?" Unit Commander Lau finally asks.

"Between a week and three weeks. They're coming in from all directions, which is understandable," General Fong comments. Fong and Yao seemed to be the most empathetic of the group, which Shi Zixin can use to her advantage...

"We should have a chance to increase the food supply between now and then," UC Lau responds. "General Lin, you're primarily in charge of the recruits, pick out five. The best people would be those who grew up closer to the Southern border and were farmers. General Ho, you check where the horses are stored and look for common ones. Send them out tomorrow for maximum success."

The generals nodded at this.

"Then, the meeting is adjourned. General Zixin, I will guide you to your private tent," U.C Lau concludes.

Shi Zixin nods at this and follows behind UC Lau. Shi Zixin grabs her horse's reins and guides it behind her as the two walk to where the general's private tents were.

"This is our area," UC Lau informs as he gestures to a tree with wide branches where the other horses were tied.

Shi Zixin ties up her horse, and the moment she lets go of reins a hand slams against the tree base, trapping her in.

While Shi Zixin was a tall person, UC Lau was a hulking giant compared to her.

"I don't know who you think you are smart-mouthing me in the meeting, but I am your superior," he glares. Beneath the scars, he was quite handsome, but at this moment he was terrifying with the anger burning in his black eyes.

This is oddly familiar...and oddly disappointing...

Shi Zixin sighs. "I wasn't intending to be rude, I was simply pointing out the facts. I'm a tactician, not a kiss-up. We both want to overtake the Shaolian government. And I'm not going to let that chance slip from our grasp because I was too hung up on being polite in a dire circumstance. If we can't figure out the population of towns we're going to overtake and undermine our own strength, we'll never win."

His jaw clenched and he leans closer. "You haven't seen half the shit I've seen, kid."

"I beg to differ," Shi Zixin laughs. "You'd puke blood at the mere thought of what I've done. Everything I've been doing in the past year and will do for the next hundred years will be for this country. I'm quite selfish in that retrospect, you might say-- but never think I'm not as strong because I'm not as old as you."

He laughs as he doubts her claim. "Have you nearly lost your eyesight in a battle when they stabbed you in the eyes for torture?" he asks, jabbing his free hand towards his right eye. Surrounding his eye was a deep scar, crossing over his eye. It seemed as if he had barely made it out alive with his sight.

But nearly losing your eyesight makes you a warrior?! I was actually blind!

"Not because of torture, but not all torture is physical, bucko." Shi Zixin pushes him off and steps away from the tree trunk. "I respect that you have endured so much pain for a cause, but sacrifice means nothing if you don't use that arising opportunity. So, let's not waste this."

Shi Zixin grabs her baggage swiftly and turns from him, leaving him to stare at her as she walks away. After all, no one would talk to their Unit Commander like that. UC Lau scoffs and begins to walk away before looking back in confusion. What did Shi Zixin mean by 'bucko?'

Shi Zixin glanced around the empty tent. Her tent was the furthest on the General line, which would work perfectly fine for her. She quickly unpacks her stuff and removes her armor, heading to the field where General Fong was showing a group of trainees how to use a bow and arrow.

"That's his area of expertise," a voice whispers from behind Shi Zixin, causing her to jump up. She turns back to see General Ho give her a slanted smile. "Mine is sneakiness."

She laughs awkwardly at his joke. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

He glances over at General Fong jogging over. Fong reaches into his bag and holds out a shiny red apple.

"General Zixin, may you throw this apple up into the air when I give you the signal?" he asks to which Shi Zixin nods. He tosses it to her with a nod before running back.

"Ah, he does this trick every time," Ho laughs. "That's how he met his wife."

"Hm?"

"Throw it!" A shout sounds out from across the field and Shi Zixin quickly launches it into the air. Almost immediately an arrow pierces its ruby skin, skewering the apple into the ground. The trainees gasp in surprise at his accuracy.

"What weapon do you use primarily?" Ho asks as Shi Zixin. "My saber."

"Do you not know how to use a bow and arrow?" he asks as Shi Zixin glances back at the trainees trying to hit targets on nearby trees.

"Let's say I was at the same level as the recruits after a couple years," Shi Zixin lies. "Using a saber is much easier. What do you use?"

"My hands."

"Huh-/"

Ho lifts up his hands and reveals Shi Zixin's sword, still entrapped in its hilt.

"You're quite quick," Shi Zixin compliments as she takes it back from him.

"I was a thief for a while, but I changed my ways," General Ho shrugs off. "I'm not the worst General in this camp, I guarantee."

"Right," Shi Zixin nods as General Ho chuckles. "No need to worry. Anyway, I've come to ask what your special skill is," he asks. "For training the others, that is."

Shi Zixin took a moment to ponder. "I'm quite good at using my sword, but it isn't my strong suit. My tactics are where it's best. When the officers come, I suppose I can concentrate my efforts on training them so they can manage their own divisions," she answers. General Ho nods. "Alright, but you will still be able to train the soldiers?"

"Of course." Shi Zixin nods. She had a feeling that General Ho will soon become U.C Lau's right-hand man, so she better watch her mouth around him. He grins, a crescent moon smile on his face once more.

"Good." With nothing else to say, he walked away and left Shi Zixin to wonder what will happen next.

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