Otherworld Advance Team-Chapter 1789 - 1782: Military Camp Inspection

Just as he was about to reach the door, he heard the old man’s faint voice from behind: "Betting on both sides is not good."

"It’s better than walking a dark road to the end," Huayu Xuan replied without turning his head.

About two days later, Emperor Wu indeed summoned Luo’er. Luo’er was prepared and, along with Fulajie’er, boarded the carriage that came to pick them up.

Luo’er had just left not long ago when their mansion welcomed three unexpected guests. Cheng Ziang went out to greet them and saw three men waiting at the door.

"I am Jiuyun Shuang, greetings to the Manor Lord." Jiuyun Shuang hurriedly cupped his hands and approached as he saw Cheng Ziang coming out.

"Jiuyun Shuang, the fourth son of the Jiuyun family?" Cheng Ziang spoke instinctively.

"Indeed, it’s an honor for the Manor Lord to know me." Jiuyun Shuang displayed a humble demeanor.

"And the other two?" Cheng Ziang looked at the two behind him.

"Oh, these two are my close friends, Ziyan and Yungui," Jiuyun Shuang quickly introduced.

"I’ve met the Manor Lord!" The two also cupped their hands respectfully in greeting.

Ziyan and Yungui, as the names suggested, were commoners. It was unexpected that someone with Jiuyun Shuang’s prestigious status would have friends among commoners.

It seems that within the Wen family camp, the nobles’ resistance to commoners was not as severe as in the Wu family, likely due to the Imperial Examination System promoted by the Wen family.

These two were robust, with prominent temples, clearly practitioners, and obviously cultivators as well.

For Jiuyun Shuang to know these two and have a good relationship, they were likely all in the same department. So Cheng Ziang guessed they might all be reserve officers from the Military Armament Department.

"What brings the three of you here? The National Master just entered the palace; if you’re here to see the National Master, you may be disappointed," Cheng Ziang said after a moment of pondering.

"No, no, we are here specifically to see the Manor Lord," Jiuyun Ying quickly explained.

"Me? What worth do I have?" Cheng Ziang scratched his head in confusion.

"All you Manor Lords assisted the Demon Clan’s army in defeating the Heavenly Army in the West Outer Heaven; you must be extraordinarily skilled. The Imperial Court has just formed a new army, and if we had the Manor Lord’s assistance, our combat power would greatly increase. So I came specially to visit," Jiuyun Shuang explained.

"Oh, it’s about this matter."

Cheng Ziang was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. Previously, Luo’er indeed mentioned that he had reached an agreement with Ichuan Fei: the Advance Team would assist the Imperial Court in establishing a new army, and in return, the Wen family’s court promised no more expeditions to the West Outer Heaven.

"I implore the Manor Lord to offer your guidance!" Jiuyun Shuang requested with his head lowered.

"Alright, but where will we be guiding?" Cheng Ziang nodded and asked.

"If the Manor Lord is not averse, please accompany us to the military camp outside the city," Jiuyun Shuang respectfully suggested.

"Okay, I’ll prepare a bit and then set out with you, how about that?" Cheng Ziang considered and said.

"That would be best, thank you for your help, Manor Lord," Jiuyun Shuang said happily.

"Thank you for your help, Manor Lord," Ziyan and Yungui also cupped their hands hastily.

"No need to be so polite, since I’ve promised you, I should follow through," Cheng Ziang hesitated a bit and then, slightly embarrassed, asked, "Well, shall I go inside to prepare, or will the three of you come inside the mansion with me?"

"We will wait outside the mansion, no need for the Manor Lord to worry," Jiuyun Shuang noticed Cheng Ziang’s attitude and proactively reassured him.

"Alright then." Cheng Ziang nodded and turned back into the mansion.

After some preparation, he brought along Hu Daoke and left the mansion, joining Jiuyun Shuang and the others to take the carriage to the military camp outside the city.

The reason for bringing along Hu Daoke instead of the more professionally skilled Baiyue was mainly due to the fact that the military camp was predominantly male, making it inconvenient for her to go.

Actually, Hu Daoke’s skills were not inferior; it just depended on who you compared him to. Despite being at the bottom within the Advance Team, Hu Daoke had completed his university graduation defense, qualifying him as a college graduate.

As the group arrived at the military camp, as soon as they got off the carriage, Jiuyun Shuang and his companions eagerly came up and presented gifts that had been prepared for a long time.

They gave Cheng Ziang a Kyushu-style short sword, exquisitely crafted and already sharpened. Though not as sharp as Kedal’s metal blades, it was considered one of the best in Kyushu.

For Hu Daoke, they gave a cavalry saber over a meter long. The sheath could be combined with the hilt to become a pu dao, similarly well-made and extremely sharp.

"This might not be appropriate..." Cheng Ziang really liked the gift but couldn’t help feeling hesitant.

"Just a small token of appreciation; the Manor Lord’s liking is enough. Meanwhile, I’ve also prepared gifts for the other Manor Lords; please help deliver them on your way back," Jiuyun Shuang waved away any concerns.

"Old Cheng, we can’t refuse this; I really love this blade," Hu Daoke admired the sword in his hand while expressing his satisfaction.

"Shut up already; you have no standpoint whatsoever..." Cheng Ziang sighed deeply.

Although he complained, he couldn’t seem to find a reason to refuse. His unease stemmed mainly from not knowing what Jiuyun Shuang was scheming.

"We offer this with no other intent, just hoping the Manor Lord can assist in training the new army and guiding their tactics," Jiuyun Shuang seemed to see through Cheng Ziang’s thoughts and quickly explained.

"Alright, first send these gifts back to the mansion, and let’s take a look at your new army."

After calming down slightly, Cheng Ziang nodded, handed the gifts to an attendant, and urged Jiuyun Shuang towards the military camp for inspection.

The military camp had received advance notice, so when Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke walked in, they heard a sharp whistle, and the scattered soldiers immediately began to line up, waiting for Cheng Ziang’s inspection.

Cheng Ziang and Hu Daoke observed with interest, finally realizing what was new about this so-called new army.

Three years ago, when the Advance Team confronted the Dongsheng army outside the West Outer Heaven, they were still a traditional cold weapon army.

Although there were cases of capturing demon clan guns and cannons for use, these were rare; most of the Dongsheng army relied heavily on projectile weapons like bows and crossbows and melee weapons like swords and spears.

But now, what Cheng Ziang saw was an almost fully modernized army, both in dress and weaponry.

The soldiers wore neatly uniformed Kyushu-style military outfits, devoid of armor, and their primary weapons had transformed into firearms, almost exclusively flintlocks, evidently absorbing the demon clan’s firearm technology.

Their guns were over one and a half meters long, and with sharp bayonets, their sabers could exceed one meter eighty with ease.

What surprised Cheng Ziang the most was precisely the bayonets attached to their firearms.

Because, even among the gun adept demon clan, the idea of attaching bayonets to gun barrels wasn’t considered before the High-peak people intervened.

It was only after the High-peak people helped reform the demon clan’s military that bayonets were introduced to their army.

Clearly, the Dongsheng army had been secretly learning from the demon clan’s military reform achievements, as they had been for a hundred years.

If this army had simply been fully equipped with firearms, Cheng Ziang wouldn’t have been surprised, but they even completely copied the bayonets, which was beyond his expectations.

Because most of the time, what they heard regarding the Dongsheng army was rather conservative rhetoric.

Even more than a hundred years after the demon clan invented firearms, the Dongsheng army still had no intention to adopt them. It wasn’t until the arrival of the Western Continent people that the Dongsheng army continued to focus on cold weapons.

Cheng Ziang did not believe that it was the defeat in the West Outer Heaven war that made the Dongsheng army realize the arrival of the firearm era.

He preferred to think that the Dongsheng army had always observed the development of demon clan firearms. The reason for no reform might be that demon clan firearms did not meet the Dongsheng army’s needs.

It wasn’t until the West Outer Heaven war, with the demon clan’s firearm advancements soaring under the Western Continent people’s help, that the Dongsheng army subsequently launched military reforms, fully adopting the successful models of the demon clan.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l