Outside, soldiers with beaming smiles walked by at a leisurely pace. They weren’t carrying spears or halberds, and the leather flasks at their waists clinked as they moved. Some soldiers gestured and chatted with their comrades as they walked, looking quite cheerful.

After stepping out of the tent, Brian Clark straightened up and stretched his back. He listened closely and heard the soldiers discussing matters about the Great Qin border army. Their conversations were fragmented and intermittent, but he got the general idea...

Winter was coming, and the grasslands would soon be covered by wind and snow. Before that, bands of nomads had attacked nearly all of Qin’s borderlands. However, it was clear that in the face of the elite Qin border troops, none of the nomadic tribes had gained any advantage.

Unlike the Qin soldiers who were excited at the prospect of battle, Brian Clark was not a native Qin man—he wasn’t even a proper ancient person. His mindset was still stuck in the “modern” era, so hearing this news only made him more uneasy. He already knew that the Qin army he was with would be marching to Shangjun at the end of the year, which happened to be one of Qin’s northwestern border regions at this time.

According to the “inevitability of history,” Modu would unify the Xiongnu, first defeating the Yuezhi, then crushing the Donghu tribes, and finally pressing toward the Qin capital, Xianyang. Whether he liked it or not, Brian Clark was well aware that the northwestern regions would be the most war-torn areas in the coming years!

On the road, as Brian Clark walked by, the soldiers would automatically make way for him. Likewise, when higher-ranking officers approached, Brian Clark would consciously step aside. He called this phenomenon “military culture.”

It was well known that promotions in the Qin army depended on military merit, whether inherited from elders or earned personally.

If inherited from elders, in this era that relied heavily on hands-on teaching, the elders would train the younger generation to be brave or well-versed in military texts. Wasn’t someone with courage and skill worthy of respect?

Of course, earning military merit oneself was even more respectable. At this time, there were no military academies; to become an officer, one relied not on academic performance but on taking enemy heads on the battlefield.

Respect for superiors was enforced with utmost strictness in the Qin army, with an emphasis on absolute obedience. This might be one of the reasons for the Qin army’s invincibility.

Naturally, because of the ironclad military laws and strict discipline, the escape plan Brian Clark had been pondering all day probably had no chance of success. If his subordinates discovered he was trying to escape, they would likely tie him up and deliver him to a higher-ranking officer immediately. Besides, even if he did manage to escape, where could he go? The harsh laws of Qin left no room for a deserter to survive.

As he drew closer, the various noises became clearer. Unlike the solemn encampment area, here all sorts of camp followers and peddlers occupied small or large patches of ground, hawking their wares and haggling with soldiers or officers. Most of the goods were food, though some were selling small weapons like daggers.

At present, the Qin army didn’t seem to have any plans to upgrade to iron weapons. The longsword and spear that Uncle gave Brian Clark were both bronze, and he hadn’t seen any soldiers using iron weapons—though he had seen a commander of a thousand with an iron sword.

Judging by the fact that both soldiers and officers brought their own weapons, many might mistakenly think that Qin didn’t issue standard arms to its troops. In fact, this wasn’t correct. The Qin army certainly had standardized weapons, and the earliest assembly-line manufacturing came from the Qin state’s foundries. However, it seemed these were only distributed in emergencies?

The weapons sold by the camp peddlers were mostly small and handy, and since iron wasn’t popular, they were almost all bronze, with bronze-bladed spears and halberds being the most favored by the soldiers.

Passing through the encampment, the view ahead opened up. There were long lines, and after collecting their rations, soldiers who wanted extra food would run to the peddler area several li away.

Brian Clark looked down at the guokui (a type of flatbread) in his left hand and the bamboo tube of mixed-ingredient soup in his right. He then looked up at the bustling peddler area, thought for a moment, and walked over.

He couldn’t understand why the strict Qin army would allow merchants and peddlers to follow the troops, but that wasn’t something to ponder right now. All he wanted was to find a peddler selling alcohol, so he could have a little before bed after eating—otherwise, he feared he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

His head was foggy, and it really wasn’t ideal to be walking around in such a noisy place. Brian Clark endured the dizziness and searched for a long time. The peddlers were enthusiastic, but he never found what he was looking for.

Although after half a year of study he could now speak fluent Qin dialect, it was clear that not all the peddlers were Qin people. Among them were those speaking the soft Chu accent, others with the crisp Zhao or Yan dialects, and some with Qin dialect mixed with nomadic tongues, making his head spin.

“Wine! Do you understand? Wine!”

Heaven only knew if wine was even called “wine” in this era. The peddlers seemed not to understand what this somewhat confused officer was gesturing about.

Of course, the peddlers had their own signs, but just because Brian Clark could speak didn’t mean he could read the characters of this time. He was about to give up when he finally spotted a familiar face.

“Edward!”

This guy grinned broadly, patting his leather pouch, the sound of water sloshing inside, looking quite satisfied.

“Do you know where I can buy wine?” To make himself clearer, he used a serious tone: “I mean, fermented grain!”