Chapter 18
Chapter 18 – Joining the Army
Unknown location, City of Luo Yang .
"To think that godfather made a mistake, or should I say that we underestimated the A . I . ?"
"Well, this is quite troublesome . "
"…"
*sigh*
"I guess I have no choice . "
"I hope Friday won't blame me for this . "
…
Inner Palace, Official Resident, Tian Shui City .
"What the heck!? What did the A . I . do to my lifespan?"
"How can I go back if I only have 50 years to live?"
"I can't kill the natives? This is absurd! A . I . is a jerk!"
"…"
"Ah! There's that way!"
"Heheheh! As long as I find him then the problem will be solved . "
"I'm such a genius! Hehehehe!"
…
January 2nd, 181 AD, Morning . Zhang resident .
Tong and Hua Shi gathered up and discussed what skill they bought last night .
Hua Shi had bought the [Sword Master] skill which gave her boost when she used a sword as a weapon and also gave her additional lifespans if she killed a person .
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[Sword Master] Cannot be leveled up
- Master all kinds of swords . Increase all attributes by 10 times if the host is using a sword .
- If the host kill an enemy, increase the host lifespan by the remaining lifespan of the dead enemy .
********************************************
Hua Shi claimed that she didn't want to participate in the upcoming war, so she needed a skill to defend herself when she returned home .
She also started up another mission right away . She had to heal one hundred natives within a year then she would get another 10,000 years of lifespans and the right to buy another item from the system .
Tong didn't activate any new quest yet . He still possessed two major quests that he still hadn't completed . Tong had to officially join the Yellow Turban Army and would have to make sure the army successfully formed up in the next two years, just like in the history .
…
In the afternoon, Tong went to see his father, Zhang Jiao .
His father was delighted when Tong came to see him . But what Tong asked him next sadden and terrified him .
"I knew what you are doing . You're going to start a war soon . "
"Count me in, make me one of your soldier . "
As a father, Zhang Jiao never wanted his son to participate in the mess he created . He wished his son would continue pursuing the path of merchants .
Zhang Jiao refused it right away and was about to scold Tong .
However, Tong suddenly mumbled "Time Stop" and teleported behind Zhang Jiao with a dagger pointed at his neck .
At the time, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, Zhang Jiao's two brothers, was there as well . They witnessed a miracle of teleportation for the first time in their life .
"I can use this magic once a day . "
"I'm also invincible, no one in this world can kill me . "
"If you don't believe it, you can try . I won't dodge or defend myself . "
Tong challenged the three of them . His stern voice and his face showed his seriousness .
Zhang Liang, who hadn't interacted much with this nephew, got angry . He determined to teach this little brat a lesson that war wasn't a place for a kid . He threw a punch at Tong .
The punch landed on Tong's face .
Betraying everyone's expectation, Tong didn't move an inch . Instead, Zhang Liang stepped back while holding his hand that had hit Tong in pain . He felt like he just hit an iron plate with his bare hand .
Zhang Bao raised his eyebrow and smirked in amusement . Then he threw a kick aiming at the back of the head .
The result was the same . Tong was standing still as if nothing happened, but Zhang Bao felt pain on the foot that kicked Tong .
Feeling interesting, Zhang Bao drew a knife and stabbed at Tong's arm . The tip of the knife was stopped by Tong's mysterious skin . His skin wasn't pressed in even a tiny bit .
Then Zhang Bao threw his knife away and grabbed a sword . He slashed Tong 20 times in a row, cutting his cloth into pieces . But no wound appeared on Tong's skin .
Zhang Bao gave up . He walked back and confirmed to Zhang Jiao and Zhang Liang that he didn't hold back yet Tong was still fine .
Everyone was shocked especially Zhang Jiao . Though he already experienced this weird phenomenal when he treated Tong's injured knee, he was still astonished when he witnessed it again .
Zhang Jiao was skeptical about this and insisted not accepting Tong into his army . If he was truly invincible, then how did Tong get that knee injury?
However, Zhang Bao ensured that Tong wouldn't be harmed if he supervised Tong himself . It could also serve as a rehabilitation camp for Tong because he always cooped up in his warehouse or his room all day .
Zhang Jiao reluctantly transferred Tong to the training camp that Zhang Bao supervised . But he made a condition that Tong had to rest until his injury healed . And if Tong got injured again then he would be grounded in his house and won't be able to mention about joining the army again .
Succeeded coaxing his own father, Tong smiled but he felt pain in his heart . He wanted to tell his father about his past, his previous life and the missions, but it wasn't the right time to do so .
Tong glanced at the status menu and looked at his mission . There was no announcement from the system . It seemed he had to be officially instated as a soldier or a higher rank officer first so he could complete the mission .
…
February 9th, 181AD .
For a month, Tong stayed in his room, studying his handgun structure . He wrote several cannon designs focusing on the 16th to 18th century wheeled cannon models .
The earlier version was not good enough in Tong's eyes . The cannons could not aim properly and most of them were designed to affix with a fort or stone wall and was used solely on the defensive warfare, which lacked versatility .
Now, he had to solve another issue with the design . He lacked materials and proper manufacturing methods, such as iron or bronze ores, gunpowder, cannon casting method, chamber drilling method, cast sand forges and etc .
It was not an easy task to simply skip a few technology trees of the 21st century civilization, and imported the more advanced warfare technology into the medieval era in short period of time without a cheat or an overpowered genius witch that could help on the task .
Tong knitted his brows, stopping his research for now .
Tong sensed that his knee injury got better and he could walk freely without any pain . He went up to Zhang Bao training camp to see how his uncle trained his militias .
What Tong saw disappointed him . What the training all rookie soldiers did were wailing their weapon widely, hitting scarecrows without any proper martial art forms or styles .
'This is bad . If this continues, all of them will die in the war . '
'More of my dad's followers will gather here soon, this useless training cannot go on . '
Tong had seen many medieval war movies in his previous life . He had a rough idea how the real war during cold-weapon era worked and how tactics were applied .
What the current Yellow Turban Army camp did right now wouldn't make their soldiers stronger or be able to use more tactics . It was like a children playground where children wailed their sticks, playing war .
Tong couldn't stand it anymore . He barged into Zhang Bao's tent, ignoring the surrounding guards trying to stop him . Anyone who tried to get in his way was punched or thrown away like a rag doll .
"Uncle! I want to change the way you train the soldiers . "
Tong didn't waste any time . He spoke using all the air in his lung and stomach . The voice was loud enough that the others outside the tent could hear it .
Inside the tent, there were three people sitting on a chair, facing the middle table . On the only table in the tent, a map was laid there with several wooden dolls and rocks placing on different location of the map . It was as if everybody here was playing a table-top game .
But the reality wasn't as comical as Tong imagined . Those were not table-top game but a strategy map and wooden dolls and objects on the map represented troops, mountains, forests and cities .
Tong knew one of the person in the tent . He was Zhang Bao whom Tong came to see . As for the other two, Tong never met them .
"Who is this brat? How come the guards let him in? Drag him out and give him 20 whips!"
One of two men Tong didn't know shouted .
Zhang Bao grinned, feeling amused from the reaction of this man . Then he gazed at Tong as if he was looking forward for a good show .
Tong's eyes corner twitched . This uncle of his had a bad habit . He enjoyed watching people fell into a complicated situation .
"I am Zhang Tong, nephew of Commander Zhang Bao . Who are you?"
"Hah? If you are Zhang Tong then I am Emperor Ling! Do you think great teacher will let his precious son coming here? Now screw off or I'll screw you myself!"
Tong glanced at his uncle . Zhang Bao was trying his best not to laugh . This person was really enjoying it .
'I can't rely on my uncle . He only enjoys this mess too much . '
'I guess I have to establish my dominance here from ground up . '
'And this situation is kind of stupid . '
'I'm actually at fault . Where was my manner and common sense?'
'He has the right to be angry . '
'If I'm a commander I won't let a brat barging in the command center too . '
'My speech and my action was too frank . I need to fix that in the future . '
Tong recollected his thought . He swore that he would fix many bad habits of his . His behavior was still the same as in his previous life, frank, reckless and always acted before thinking .
Tong looked at the scolding man and shook his head in guilt . Let wrong be wrong, since he was in the wrong then he shall follow through till the end .
"Make me . "
Tong stared straight at the man and made a finger gesture to challenge him .