Duoti had thought that the treatment of the soldiers in Jing Country was even worse than on the grasslands, because Jing Country valued propriety and literature, as was well known on the prairies.
Even the cavalry horses were just purchased from their grasslands this year.
At the border area where the two countries met, Duoti had also seen Jing Country soldiers in the trade markets, all looking dejected, somewhat old, and clearly not very capable.
Those soldiers looked even less cheerful than ordinary citizens of Jing Country.
"Brother Duoti, we'll reach our Capital Outskirts Camp in half a day's travel," said Hou Yuchuan, leading Duoti and about ten accompanying grassland cavalrymen. "We'll need to ride through the night, so why don't we stop for a meal first?"
The Capital Camp the Emperor spoke of naturally did not refer to the main camp.
The capital city of Jing Country was the paramount priority for military defense, housing at least three-tenths of the entire elite forces of Jing Country.
These elite troops were not concentrated in any single camp, but divided into five major guard units.
Apart from the West Mountain Camp, there were four other major ones.
Within each guard unit, there were further subdivisions with their own encampments for training.
The camp that Hou Yuchuan brought Duoti and his men to today was the closest thousand-strong unit camp to the sparring grounds designated by Xiao Yunzhou.
Even if the grasslanders harbored ill intentions and leaked information about Jing Country's defensive layout, at most they would only know the locations of these thousand-strong units.
Hou Yuchuan dismounted, tying his horse to a tree, and took a rest on the ground.
He instructed his subordinates to prepare some food, then smilingly made small talk with Duoti, "Brother Duoti, have your men in Yun County ever sparred with our Jing Country soldiers?"
Yun County was located at the border between the two countries.
Wu Yun Country and Jing Country had opened trade markets there, each dispatching a hundred guards to maintain order in the market area in rotation.
There were no major conflicts, but minor clashes were hard to avoid.
Even family members quarrel at times.
"No," Duoti answered bluntly.
The ten-odd grassland warriors behind him all revealed a hint of disdain.
One even gestured at Hou Yuchuan with his burly arm, as if to say he could take out a Jing Country soldier with a single punch.
If it weren't for the Emperor of Jing Country's outlandish idea, they wouldn't have bothered sparring with Jing Country soldiers at all.
"But if we beat you guys up, wouldn't that violate the trade rules? Then if you guys make a fuss and stop selling us grain, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage," one of the grassland men behind Duoti grunted.
"..." Hou Yuchuan's expression changed. "Brother, are you underestimating the capabilities of our Jing Country soldiers? Before any sparring, with the outcome undecided, who knows who would beat whom?"
Duoti frowned to stop his subordinate's impulsiveness, giving Hou Yuchuan a glance. "Arrows from the grasslands are only shot at prey."
With the trade markets open, and the transition from autumn to winter, they had been busy stockpiling food and hadn't even had time for the final hunt of the season on the grasslands.
How could they have any leisure to take a second look at the listless Jing Country soldiers?
"I presume your country has also been busy harvesting military fields and preparing winter provisions for the army," Duoti was well aware of the food situation for Jing Country soldiers. "We on both sides are self-sufficient, with no spare time to pause for sparring."
In Jing Country, the soldiers had to farm their own land and harvest grain to feed themselves when not training.
Similar to how the grassland soldiers had to rely on hunting and plundering other tribes to sustain themselves.
In essence, the Emperor of Jing Country and their Khan were equally useless.
Not to be relied upon.
Thinking of this, Duoti felt no enmity towards Hou Yuchuan, only a shared sense of pity. "I've heard that you don't receive military wages, and after battles you're both exhausted and hungry, yet still have to farm yourselves. The rice and flour you grow might even be snatched away by the scholar-officials, leaving you with only scraps that can't fill your bellies."
"It's pitiful."
Recalling what the storyteller had said a few days ago, Duoti felt the Jing Country soldiers truly suffered hardship.
If he were in their shoes, he would have shot any official who stole his men's rations with an arrow!
"I don't want to fight you starving fellows either."
Hou Yuchuan: "..."
What?
Were the border soldiers of Jing Country truly in such dire straits?
Who was in charge of Yun County?
Hou Yuchuan was baffled. There might have been issues before?
But this year, the military wage situation should have greatly improved, right?
As he was pondering this, a rich aroma suddenly wafted over from their left.
Duoti and the few grassland men were about to gnaw on the dry rations they had brought from the inn, but their eyes lit up before they restrained themselves.
"Commander Hou, I didn't expect your camp would be so close to civilian residences - that smell is truly enticing. We haven't caught a whiff like that even in the capital city," the burliest of Duoti's subordinates, who had been most disrespectful earlier, said enviously as he took a bite of the hard meat bun in his hand.
"You Jing Country folks really know how to cook. The roast duck smells incredible, the pork looks firm and juicy, but this aroma that's even more mouthwatering than roast duck..."
The burly man was clearly salivating.
"You Jing Country people are true masters of cuisine."
"Not at all," Hou Yuchuan laughed. "This fragrant smell wasn't cooked."
"Huh?"
"And it's not what the civilians eat - it's instant noodles, a special ration for our elite troops."
"???"
Duoti and the dozen-odd grassland warriors were all dumbfounded.
What?
Special rations for the elite troops?
Hou Yuchuan turned with a smile, and beside him, ten of his elite soldiers were sitting in a circle to the left of the grassland men, each holding a hollowed-out bamboo tube.
They kindled a fire, added clear water to the bamboo tubes, and then placed them vertically on the fire to heat up.
Not long after, they took out carefully protected small paper packets from the inner layers of their armor - upon opening them, they revealed a solid, glistening red block inside.
They carefully broke off a quarter of the block and put it into the bamboo tubes.
Instantly, the rich aroma became even more intense and pungent!
Duoti and the other grassland cavalrymen all widened their eyes.
What was this?
Dry rations?
Oil cake?
Putting it into water-filled bamboo tubes wouldn't make it all soggy? Could it be some kind of oily tea?
But this dramatic food aroma was something they had never encountered before.
In an instant, Duoti and his men felt their mouths watering.
"We're traveling urgently, only reaching the camp after a day's ride, so we can only eat something simple on the way," Hou Yuchuan chuckled.
Simple? With such an aroma!
The grassland men instantly felt their dry buns in hand were inadequate.
But just as they were about to resist their curiosity, white wisps of steam began rising from the bamboo tubes.
Almost immediately after, Hou Yuchuan's Jing Country soldiers took the bamboo tubes out, plucking two twigs to use as chopsticks. They then fished out from the bamboo tubes full portions of slick noodles, glistening with red oil or dripping with chicken broth!
Whoosh—
The Jing Country soldiers savored the fragrant noodles in just two or three mouthfuls, then took out dried ration buns similar to those of the grassland men from their pockets, dipping them in the hot soup from the bamboo tubes as they ate.
A bite of dry bun, a sip of hot soup.
Their expressions were blissful.
It seemed they were not on a military march, but dining and spending money in street shops.
"???"
Duoti and the steppe people were dumbfounded.
Soon, a fast horse came running from ahead, "Who goes there!? This is a critical military camp area, none may approach without authorization."
The one on the fast horse was clearly a scout patrolling the camp.
By Hou Yuchuan's side, a subordinate who had just finished slurping noodles stood up, grinning, "Our own men, Commander Hou has come under imperial order."
Hou Yuchuan quickly produced his token to verify his identity.
The scout on the fast horse immediately relaxed, "Commander Hou, the Thousand Troops Commander sent me to receive you, I'm glad we've met at last."
"Have you eaten, brother?" Hou Yuchuan's soldier was friendly. "Have some of this noodle soup?"
The scout laughed, "Not yet, but the Thousand Troops Commander rewarded me one too, to eat on the road today."
Saying so, the scout dismounted and took out a bamboo tube of instant noodles from the warhorse.
"???"
Duoti's eyes went wide.
How was this different from the storytellers' tales?
Weren't they saying the Jing soldiers starved, exploited by the scholars?
"Why don't you have these on the borders?" Duoti had never seen such a thing.
"Brother Duoti, you mean the instant noodles? Ah, they've only just been developed in a few batches for trial in our Capital Camp. They'll probably be shipped out to you come spring."
"Let me tell you, this stuff is delicious, even the palace can't get it - only us soldiers have it."
"!"