Author Notes:
New chapter is up alongside the pictures!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
Though I hate to be a broken record but, if possible, please support this story in any way you can! Both Patreon and Ko-fi have a set of tiers with benefits! With Patreon has a chatroom if you want to stick around and spitball stuff with me or the others! The Generals, in particular, can aid me in steering where this story is heading!
Any help is appreciated by my mother and me! We're in a bit of a pickle lately.
Income goal: 613/700 USD to improve our livelihood
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'Just our luck...' Thought Corporal Ning as she gazed outside the viewing slit of the medical half-track she was riding on.
It's raining cats and gods outside, and the wind seems to pick up the longer the rain goes on. It won't be too much to say that it's stormy right now with how bad the rain curtain is. Currently, the vision range for the entire convoy doesn't even seem to extend past ten meters. This has made their trip up North more difficult than expected. To avoid unwanted accidents, the convoy leader has charted for a different course that hopefully won't put them under a potential landslide. Of course, with how bad the weather is, the convoy speed is also drastically reduced. One may argue that it's arguably faster now to just run instead of staying aboard the vehicles. Some soldiers appear to jokingly say that but so far, none have been stupid enough to act on the joke. If there were such an idiot, Ning wouldn't be the one to save them despite her status as a medic.
Still, just staying in the confined of a steel casket is dreadfully dull, especially when you can't even marvel at the outside landscape. If there's one thing Ning enjoys about this job, even with all the bloodied matters it entails, is the fact that she gets to go around a lot. Now with her visibility impeded though, Ning is starting to regret leaving her Xiangqi board in the supply truck. The combat medic will be bored out of her mind and she dreads the fact that there's no ETA to their destination.
Before her soul can leave her body out of sheer boredom, however, Ning barely manages to see something that shakes her to the core. It has been just a glimpse, but Ning's racked enough search and rescue experience to be wronged about what she saw.
"Stop the convoy!" Ning shouted to the front compartment.
"What?"
"I said stop the fucking convoy!" Ning reiterated more harshly than last time.
Even before the half-track can come to a stop, Ning has already opened the rear door and jumped out into the rain, much to the shocked gazes of her fellow medical practitioners. Uncaring of the water and rain that are buffering her body, Ning retraces the path of the convoy, arriving by a patch of tall elephant grass. Behind her, the convoy has come to a complete stop with soldiers dismounting to secure the perimeter and wondering about what the Hell is going on. Ning could very much be wronged by what she saw, of course, it would mean that she would get penalized right after. But lo and behold, when Ning approaches the edge of the elephant grass, there's an arm sticking out of it. Ignoring the mud, Ning moves to clear the grass and soon reveals to her, and the soldiers that run after her, a person. It's a Chinese woman, a Catholic nun judging by her attire, and she's badly injured. No, it's more like that she has been tortured, going off the whip marks on her back.
The Dynasty, while expansive, doesn't host a large Catholic community, but there's still some element of it. Ning has heard rumors about the mistreatment of the Catholics, but this is like a grenade to her face with how bloody the nun is. Ning frowns before telling the soldiers to grab the stretcher, knowing that the nun is barely alive after checking her pulse and draping her coat over the nun's body.
Mordbidly as it may be, Ning won't be feeling bored any time soon now that a problem has fallen right onto her lap. That said, they probably need to get a heater up and running, fast. There's no telling for how long the nun has been drenched under the rain. Honestly, it's a miracle the demons haven't gotten to her yet. Ning's not sure whether to say this or not, but it would seem like the nun's God has been looking out for her.
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The storm is picking up momentum right outside the tent of a certain Dynasty Emperor. Despite the windy conditions, however, Emperor Cao Long seems nonplussed. The internal of the tent is perfectly dry and comfy, having been expertly constructed using material imported from Belka. It's a spacious tent, with a corner dedicated to work and relaxation. In the middle of the tent is a small table with a couple of stools. There's even a mini stove and heater by the side, with the former being used to boil a kettle of water. Surprisingly, the Chinese Emperor is the one cooking up a meal for two, rather than leaving such a menial task to his servants. The man has been cutting open some packages before depositing the contents into two non-descript metallic bowls. After that, he brings the bowls to the table, with chopsticks already placed earlier.
Cao Long soon heard somebody talking outside the entrance to his tent, however. His bodyguards must have stopped someone for examination, even with the heavy rain outside. His security must be upheld anytime, anywhere, no matter the occasion, according to the Commander of the Emperor's Guards. So unless Heaven itself decides to fall, these men and women will always be by his side. Now that the person is deemed safe and verified, the flaps of the tent are pulled away, revealing General Liu who has draped over his form a dark brown raincoat. Sitting on his stool with his arms crossed, Cao Long greets his loyal subordinate.
"Old Liu, you look like a wet dog."
"Do excuse me if I look like I just took a dip beneath the Yellow River, my Emperor." General Liu replied after using a hand to pull away the hood of his raincoat.
Cao Long snickers before motioning his head to the side. "Hang it over there. Then tell me what you've gotten from your trip at this ungodly hour."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." General Liu then goes on to do as his Emperor has instructed.
Rather than let the man stand though, Cao Long motions for General Liu to take a seat on the stool opposite of him. The old General bows first in appreciation before sitting down as prompted. Before he says anything, however, General Liu pulls out a small food container that he has been carrying inside a small waterproof bag.
"During my walk around the construction site, I've managed to secure some century eggs of good quality from the army cooks. In such weather, it will be good if you can enjoy this nutritional food, my Emperor."
Cao Long raises his eyebrow in mild surprise when the container is opened, thus revealing the glossy black eggs inside. "It's been a while since I last enjoyed such delicacy, believe it or not. The eggs will be a fine addition to what we'll be having."
"May I presume that these are instant noodles, my Emperor?" General Liu looked at the bowls Cao Long prepared personally with an appreciative gaze.
"You presumed correctly. Still, better stop that honorific before it starts getting cumbersome, my friend. We're not anywhere near the Forbidden Palace." Cao Long said while picking up the chopsticks and dividing the century eggs between himself and General Liu.
"Alright then." General Liu nodded. "From what I can see, this seems to be the spicy and sour flavor noodle, am I right?"
"Seems like a perfect choice when it's raining, don't you think?"
"That does seem to be the case. It does seem to be more fitting than the pork flavor one."
Resting the chopsticks on the bowl, Cao Long then changes the subject. "Now then, you have toured the site, any news that I should be aware of?"
General Liu nods. "While there are news and reports, they're ultimately nothing major that warrant an immediate intervention by you, old friend. The construction effort has been well ahead of schedule so far, at least until this wicked weather interferes. They were poised to blast open a hole in the mountain to make a tunnel before laying down the next track segment, but then the heavy rain settled in. The foreman has to call a stop to the construction effort, at least until the risk of the landslide has been eliminated. He does express immense regret at the delay, however."
Cao Long waves a hand at that. "Bah, the man has been doing well, and he seems to take safety precautions seriously, rather than pushing ahead while ignoring the hazards. Instead of fearing punishment at an understandable delay, tell the man to expect a reward for his quality effort thus far."
"Rightfully so, my friend, I've pretty much expressed the same to the man. Moving on, I've surveyed the working and living conditions of the laborers here. I am proud to say that the site supervisors have been following the protocols to the tee. They are well-fed, adequately compensated, and professionally protected during their tenure here. Morale and compliance are surprisingly high as a result, thus leading to exceptional work progress. If we had been going off the old ways, to do the same amount of work, we would be facing a mutiny already. Now that we can easily erect laborers' barracks and feed the workers highly nutritious MREs, thanks to the company-sized field kitchen, we won't ever have to worry about lacking a strong and loyal workforce."
"That's good to hear. The disaster has knocked a great number of citizens away from their former lifestyle, their livelihood is in shamble. Even with the aid supplies from our close ally, the citizens need to work to sustain themselves in the future. The construction of a nationwide train network, one that is linked to the greater transcontinental rail system, is a great chance for them to earn something credible. Men and women can sign up to help lay down the future backbone of our homeland. Depending on their strength, they may be assigned to logistical tasks or physical work. Either way, it's hard work, but it's honest work. With the government being the one to supply them with a place to stay and three meals a day, they can even save up their salary or do something else. They're now able to send the entirety of their payments back home, completely worry-free with the nation backing them from behind."
General Liu nods. "The building of the railroads also creates many opportunities for commercial activities. It will be easy to see that our national economy will soon be back on the rise. The trend is expected to be mirrored by other nations that participate directly in this transcontinental effort."
"Nonetheless, without the persistent aid from Belka's infinite pocket, it would have been impossible to fund such an endeavor. We owe them a great many things." Cao Long reminded them both. "Our military now stands to be among the most modern and armed with the greatest military minds available. Currently, you can even say that our national spirit has once again been ignited, thanks to our people participating in something far bigger than themselves, the building of a legacy that rivals even the Great Wall. Without Belka, would we ever dare look past our borders? China is, for once, now a place of prominence on the global stage. All because we promptly shake hands with perhaps the greatest opportunity ever."
General Liu admits. "We have been fortunate, for everything back then was just one big gamble."
"A gamble that we have won, my friend. I think that when the railroads are finished and connected to the rest of Europe, we finally get the vindication we deserve. Once it happens in the future, naysayers and those who berate our Belkan-aligned approach will have no choice but to fall in line, for the fruits of our labor will be so enticingly sweet for them not to do so. Once it happens, we will finally come to see a truly strong China, united under a single cause. Then, and only then, will I have the confidence to give the Japanese a bloody nose. Until such a time has come to pass, however..."
"It's better if we stay on the lookout for troublemakers, internally and externally." General Liu finished the sentence for the Emperor.
"That would be wise. But now, we should stop the serious talk. The water is now piping hot already." Cao Long stands to grab the kettle.
Once the hot water is added, the pair of old men can now enjoy their noodles in relative peace. Though noodle was invented by the Chinese, Belka made the food very affordable and easy to prepare, even more so than it already is.