Doomsday Code

Chapter 885 Military Formations and Camps

As mentioned earlier, orcs are discriminated against by humans in the North.

Similarly, the orc race itself, due to physiological and other reasons, is also unwilling to live with humans.

After all, no intelligent being wants to constantly try to please others and then live in an environment of discrimination.

Only when a true resting place has lost sufficient resources to support its inhabitants will orcs come out to look for work in such orc territories.

At this point, the concern is no longer about discrimination, but about survival.

In the inland regions, this situation is seen in the savage tribes that live deep in the mountains.

The term "savage tribe" was merely a derogatory term used by the high-ranking nobles to refer to them. They were simply a group of people living together in a tribal form, possessing their own unique survival culture.

However, these tribes were not completely isolated from the outside world. They would use the pelts and other items they hunted in the deep mountains to trade with slave-hunting teams when they came to their door.

That's the point. Teams like the slave-catching teams were not only itinerant merchants in the deep mountains, but also brought essential goods such as salt to powerful tribes in the mountains.

They were also villains who committed massacres of villages and clans, and human trafficking.

The territory of the deer-orc girl and her kind was such a place that it could no longer support the lives of her people.

However, in the North, due to the discrimination of humans against orcs, and the fact that orcs are naturally stronger than ordinary humans, the situation is different.

Therefore, for tribes like the deer-orc girl, they cannot use forceful means, but instead recruit them through methods such as labor recruitment.

After they've worked for a while, they'll meet someone willing to pay a high price to take them away. After leaving the North, they'll effectively become slaves.

Now, out of pity, Chen Cheng gave them a sufficient sum of money, and the other half-orc women naturally agreed immediately after hearing what the deer half-orc woman said.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, they all knew that if they left the tribe with the recruiters, their only fate would be to become slaves.

However, this transformation was somewhat milder compared to that of the human slaves.

After receiving their sisters' reply, the deer-orc girl and her companions immediately headed towards their village.

“Mr. Brown, once you cross those peaks ahead, you’ll reach the military camp.”

This morning, after Chen Cheng and his two companions went out, they saw the guide that Elaf had mentioned yesterday. Chen Cheng was very familiar with this guide; it was Augudin, the man whose hands he had injured and who had paid him 5,000 gold coins.

Augustine pointed to the large snow-capped peaks ahead and spoke to Chen Cheng, then added a reminder:

"There are some things I need to explain in advance about this important military camp location."

Once we're inside the camp, don't wander around or look around aimlessly. If you violate military regulations, even the city lord can't protect you.

Chen Cheng laughed and said:

"How is this possible? Lord Ailaf is the highest-ranking officer in charge of this garrison. Is there anyone in this camp who would dare to disobey the Lord?"

Chen Cheng's seemingly flattering words about Ai Lafu were actually a way of indirectly inquiring about information within the military camp.

Perhaps because of the large bag of gold coins from yesterday, or perhaps because his master was Elav, Augustine spoke with a hint of resentment:

"What are you saying? Our city lord is of course the highest-ranking officer, but the military affairs are still handled by the Marquis of Zhenbei in the army."

He was also known for his strict military discipline. If it weren't for the city lord's suggestion to send troops to hunt monsters to train the garrison, given the Marquis of Zhenbei's temperament, where would the northern border get so many furs to sell every year?

"Don't be fooled by his indomitable appearance. Once the furs are sold for money, he won't dare to utter a single word."

Not only did he dare not utter a single word, but he also had to obediently open a gate for merchant caravans carrying the city lord's warrant to enter and exit the military camp to select goods.

This last sentence seemed like Augustin trying to make amends for Elav, but Chen Cheng didn't pay any attention to it.

Whether this Marquis of Zhenbei is truly unyielding in the face of power is none of his business.

Just after the four of them crossed the snow-capped mountain and stood on the mountaintop to look out, Chen Cheng and his companions instantly saw the enormous military camp stretching for an unknown distance.

Meanwhile, looking north from here, Chen Cheng could see a winding, long, dark shadow on the horizon at the edge of his field of vision.

Augustine pointed to the military camp at the foot of the snow-capped mountain and said:

"This is the first camp of our Engla Kingdom's northern garrison, where more than 200,000 troops are stationed, including more than 30 epic-level commanders."

The commander of this army was the Marquis of Zhenbei, who was also a legendary-level powerhouse.

When the Marquis of Zhenbei's realm was mentioned, Augustine's body trembled slightly.

After all, he was Ailaf's subordinate, and Ailaf's relationship with the Marquis of Zhenbei was somewhat similar to that of a military commander and a eunuch supervisor in Chen Cheng's previous life.

Of course, this analogy isn't quite accurate, but that's exactly the kind of relationship we're talking about.

If the commander-in-chief and the supervisor have similar temperaments, or if one side is strong enough to subdue the other, then they can be said to live in peace.

However, if one side and the other side have conflicting ambitions and are evenly matched in strength, then it is very bad, and there will definitely be conflicts among the high-ranking officers of the army.

And it is quite clear that this is the relationship between Ailav and Zhenbeihou.

As for whether the discord between the commander-in-chief and the supervising officer was preordained by His Majesty Engela, only the parties involved know the answer.

At this moment, the Snow Woman pointed to another place outside the gate of the military camp at the foot of the mountain and said:

"Look! There are so many merchants over there!"

Following the direction pointed out by the Snow Maiden, a gap was indeed opened on the west side of the camp, and merchants coming and going quickly formed a military market on the west side of the camp.

This situation was very common in the inland areas of Chen Cheng's previous life and this life. After all, soldiers are also human beings, and they naturally need to spend their wages.

Especially with armies of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, these soldiers represent a very large consumer group.

Throughout history, besides logistics personnel, a large number of merchants have accompanied large armies on their campaigns.

They not only sold goods, but also bought spoils of war from soldiers, such as slaves and silks that were difficult to preserve.

At the same time, these merchants accompanying the army could also act as spies, helping the army provide intelligence along the way.

In some cases, they could even be recruited to supplement the army's logistics in critical moments.

The reason for removing the northern border is that the army stationed there is very important and needs to maintain a high level of combat effectiveness at all times.

This was also because the northern region was too cold and resources were extremely scarce.

Chen Cheng may not have known these things in his previous life, but he has learned some of them in this life.

He was astonished that this military camp now had such a market, and that these merchants were indeed willing to endure any hardship for profit.

At the same time, he understood why the Marquis of Zhenbei had agreed to open an entrance here.

As I said before, it's normal for markets to be set up alongside troops, especially in areas where large armies are stationed year-round.

If there is no place for these soldiers who are constantly under tension to release their tension, then in such an ancient-style military camp, the soldiers are likely to have a mutiny after being cooped up for too long.

If a riot were to occur, it would have unimaginable and severe consequences.

The least severe consequence would be a small number of casualties, while the most severe consequence would be the collapse of the entire camp's army.

The main reason why other garrisons do not do this is due to geographical limitations.

Moreover, Chen Cheng believed that the garrison commanders in other places would have their own ways to solve this problem. It was just that the Marquis of Zhenbei used a simple method that could ease the conflict between him and Ailaf.

The reason this market was able to be established here is because of Elaf's management of Engla City, which attracted many merchants.