As He Changdi’s face turned more and more stiff, in order to stop these people in the tent from blurting out any more earth-shattering revelations, he reached out to his side, picking up a package and tossing it to them.
Zhang Mai caught it smoothly and opened it. When he saw the beef jerky he had been longing for day and night within, his eyeballs almost fell out with how wide he opened his eyes.
“You lucky brat! It’s not safe out here in the northern border, make sure your family’s soldiers protect Sister-in-Law properly.” Zhang Mai immediately tore open the oil paper packaging wrapped around the beef jerky.
He Changdi kept a serious expression on his face as he said, “Brother Zhang, you’re older than me by a whole generation. It’s not really appropriate for you to call her Older Sister-in-Law like Hongyu does!”
After so many years spent in the army, Zhang Mai was already as thick-skinned as he could possibly get. How would He Changdi’s mild provocation bother him? He chuckled and said, “He Sanlang, you have a higher ranking position than me now, so it’s proper for me to call your wife Older Sister-in-Law.”
Captain Guo and Zhang Mai sat down by He Changdi’s bedside, munching happily on the goods they had been given.
Xiao Hongyu was rather sharp-eyed. His brows drew together as he suddenly recalled what he had seen while getting carried in on a stretcher.
“Brother Guo, did my eyes deceive me? I seemed to have seen a woman while I was being carried in just now…”
After Xiao Hongyu mentioned that, Captain Guo and Zhang Mai abruptly stopped wolfing down their food and let out similar constipated expressions, as if they had been forced to swallow a few kilograms of flies…
“Oh, her…” Captain Guo scratched his head. He didn’t know how to explain this. That female general had just arrived in the camp two days ago. Furthermore, she seemed to be trusted by General Qian.
When Zhang Mai saw that Captain Guo didn’t know how to explain, he cut in. “Zixiang, Hongyu, you guys should have heard of the Sima family, right?”
He Changdi, who lived in the capital and socialised in noble society, knew a little more than Xiao Hongyu did.
“The Simas should be… that rich and influential family in Shandong?”
Zhang Mai nodded and continued speaking. “The Simas of Shandong have been around for thousands of years and can be traced back to the Great Xia Dynasty. In the last dynasty, there were plenty of Simas working as court officials. Later on, when this new dynasty was founded, the Simas of Shandong started moving away from politics. Some people say that it’s because the Simas lost too many talents during the changing of the dynasties. Others say that it’s because the Simas don’t want to stand out too much during the early stages of this dynasty, so they’re hiding their abilities.”
Zhang Mai paused before continuing again. “That female general you saw today, she’s called Sima Hui. She’s from one of the Sima’s branch families. Although you might not recognise her name, you should have heard of Sima Feng at least, right?”
Xiao Hongyu replied first. “Of course I know about Sima Feng! He was one of the border generals of the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his most trusted adjutant in the end and died at the feet of the Russians. He passed away filled with hatred.”
Zhang Mai nodded in agreement. “That Sima Hui in our camp, she’s Sima Feng’s legitimate granddaughter.”
Xiao Hongyu was so shocked that his jaw had dropped.
“She’s actually one of Old General Sima’s descendants?!”
“As far as I know, the main branch of the Simas didn’t support Sima Feng at all. They even fought with Sima Feng’s branch of the family. All of Sima Feng’s male descendants entered the army and most of them died on the battlefields. By the time it reached Sima Hui’s generation, there were only the old, weak, women and children left. Sima Hui practically grew up in the army. Without caring about her family’s objections, she bravely enlisted in the army. This time, she was the one who brought the Shandong troops over as support.”
Xiao Hongyu’s cheeks were a little flushed from embarrassment. “So that girl turned out to be so impressive… I’ve underestimated her.”
Although He Changdi’s expression was calm, his mind was racing. He hadn’t participated in the war against the Tuhuns in his past life, and he hadn’t heard of someone like Sima Hui before, either. Had the natural course of events changed, or were there other secrets behind this anomaly?
Captain Guo harrumphed. “Don’t judge her for being a woman. She’s one of the fiercest generals in our army. She’s already led soldiers for five to six years, and she’s more experienced than a greenhorn like you. General Qian trusts her ability enough to place her in important positions.”
The shape of Zhang Mai’s mouth suddenly formed into a slight leer. “Most importantly, General Sima has specially formed a female camp; there are hundreds of female soldiers there!”
Hearing this, Xiao Hongyu’s eyes were about to pop out. “What?! Female soldiers? Women can be soldiers too? Don’t tell me they’re… Hehe…”
Captain Guo gave a resounding smack to the back of Xiao Hongyu’s head. “General Sima’s female camp was made at the personal order of the Emperor himself! Stop having all these dirty thoughts in your head all the time! If you lose to that group of female soldiers in the battle against the Tuhuns, I’m going to break your legs!”
Xiao Hongyu’s shoulders immediately shrunk upon being chastised.
Captain Guo glared at Xiao Hongyu for good measure before turning to He Changdi. “One more thing, General Qian has given orders for you and Hongyu to investigate the area where you met the Tuhuns in the forest. You have to keep this mission a secret- both that its been given to you and that you’re doing it. You can’t leave camp too many times, as well.”
He Sanlang was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected Great General Qian to have entrusted this matter to him. It seemed like the events in the commander’s tent earlier had just been a show that the general had put on for outsiders.
Captain Guo and Zhang Mai stayed in He Sanlang’s tent for an hour. As they left, they even forcefully snatched away half of the food that Chu Lian had given to He Sanlang.
Xiao Hongyu took pleasure in his loss while lying on the bed next to his. “Hehe, Brother He. Luckily, I was already prepared for that. I’ve already hidden all the goodies that Sister-in-Law gave me.”
