The Eighth Prince (Rewriting) (Barely Updates)

7: The 8th Prince Vs Soldiers

Edited/co-authored By Relendria

I ended up making a few changes but they aren’t huge ones. I’m going to start on chapter 8 but I doubt I’ll finish it today since I’m still feeling it out. Are you doing chapter 9?
 
I plan to have the rumors starting in the enemy camp in chapter 8, have lover-boy wake up from the dream that sends him rushing into the military (does the military take gers?), and have Chia-Hao arrange the guards to start training with the soldiers for Chapter 8.
 
 

Eighth Prince Chapter 7
 
Early the next day – before the sun rose – Sergeant Chu walked out in the middle of camp and soon started to bang a brass gong continuously. The sound was impatient and loud and woke Chia-Hao with a start. He tried to stifle his displeasure at the abrupt start to his day by reminding himself that he was in the military now. He hated that kind of insufferable noise but he knew he didn’t dare reveal how sensitive he was to that sound. If others knew he reacted poorly to certain sounds, it would be a weakness that could be exploited. He had no choice but to swallow his irritation and bear with it.
 
He was dressed in moments and joined Sergeant Chu before he had even traveled halfway through the camp. Joining him served two purposes for Chia-Hao; it allowed him to try and desensitize to the noise and it allowed him to observe the camp and the men as they emerged from their tents.
 
Some of the soldiers were startled awake and most were angered by the rude awakening, so many came out of their tents in a foul mood. When they emerged with black faces and curses ready to fall for their lips, Chia-Hao watched with mild amusement as they paused and then bowed upon seeing that the noisemaker was their Sergeant and that the Sergeant was accompanied by the Prince. They forced themselves to swallow their complaints and bowed to show their respect to the young Royal.
 
Soon all the men stood at attention in front of their tents and Sergeant Chu stopped banging the gong (to the relief of everyone).
 
"Good morning, Sergeant Chu! Good morning, Your Highness the Eighth prince!" the men called out in unison.
 
Chia-Hao was mildly impressed at their ability to do so with no prior rehearsal. He knew these people didn't respect him as an individual, however. Their respect was for his birth and not his person. He was at a disadvantage and he always would be if he didn't take action to change his image as the "weak" and "retarded" prince. 
 
No one would like being labeled as weak and retarded and Chia-Hao was no exception to that. Fortunately, in addition to having the advantage of knowing what to expect for the near future, he was also quite intelligent. Others didn’t know how smart he has always been because he didn’t speak much. Chia-Hao planned to show them that he was not the useless person they thought that he was but was as capable as any one of them – if not more capable. His past life had been a tragedy and he was committed to making sure that this life was better. 
 
“It seems you men have forgotten that you are soldiers of our great Zhong,” Sergeant Chu barked out when the men were all out and at attention. “Your response time is abysmal! Your attitude borders on insubordination! Most of all, you look like a bunch of raw recruits and not like my men at all!”
 
The men drew themselves up into better stances as they wiped all signs of discontent off of their faces. When Sergeant Chu used that tone of voice, it was best not to irritate him further.
 
“Private Wong!”
 
“Here, Sir!”
 
A sturdy young man stepped forward from his tent and resumed his “at attention” stance. His clothing was neat and it was clear that he had been awake before the gong sounded.
 
“Lead these men on a five-mile run. They can eat after they return.”
 
As the men began falling into line, Chia-Hao turned to Sergeant Chu.
 
“I will join them on their run,” he said. “And I plan to train with them after we get back.”
 
There was a glimmer of genuine respect in Chu’s eyes at Chia-Hao’s words. Even though the prince had asked to train with the men, Sergeant Chu had expected that desire to fade as the inconveniences of military life became clear.
 
“Are you sure?” He was hesitant to subject an Imperial heir to hardship. If Chia-Hao felt bullied, Sergeant Chu would definitely suffer later.
 
“I am here to contribute,” Chia-Hao answered calmly. “I must be fit and trained if I am to do so.”
 
“Very well, fall in line!”
 
Sergeant Chu turned and pulled the troop’s cooks out of formation and set them to work while the long line of men began jogging away from the camp, Chia-Hao bringing up the rear.
 
An hour later the last man stumbled into camp, panting heavily. Chia-Hao had already returned and eaten his morning meal when the man arrived. He hadn’t been the first to return but he had managed to keep up with the main body of men. He was feeling good about his growing endurance and the men looked at him with slightly more respect. While the last ten men to finish the run were being chewed out by Sergeant Chu and assigned to clean the camp while the others trained, Chia-Hao joined the others in a clearing. It was time to demonstrate his ability to the men.
 
Everyone went through stretches to warm up after sitting to eat and then the weapons trainer had his two assistants hand out tall, solid poles of bamboo.
 
"Position yourselves men!" he ordered.
 
The men paired up and faced each other. Chia-Hao looked at the man across from him and sighed inwardly. The sneer on the man’s face told him that this was one who wasn’t impressed with his ability to keep up on a five-mile run. The sneer faded a little when Chia-Hao assumed a solid fighting stance with perfect form but Chia-Hao could tell that he still underestimated Chia-Hao’s ability.
 
“Begin!” the drill instructor barked.
 
The man’s bamboo staff flashed the instant the order was given. Chia-Hao was startled and barely blocked the first move but he quickly recovered and exchanged blows in the standard order. The man’s contempt for him visibly faded as their exchange continued.
 
After an hour of martial training, the instructor called for the men to take a break. Chia-Hao was sweating but still energetic so he went to the instructor and made a request. The instructor was startled and sent his young aide off to ask Sergeant Chu for permission. After a few minutes, Chia-Hao stood in the center of the field.
 
“I have noticed that many of you men feel I am a drag on your troop,” he began. His voice was not loud but it reached the ears of every man in the clearing. “This is not conducive to morale. I would fail you as a member of the Imperial family if I were to allow it to continue. So I will exchange blows with any man here who wishes to test my ability. You will not be subject to Imperial law should I be injured.”
 
The last bit was to calm their fears. If a citizen harmed an Imperial member, the penalty could extend to the nine generations of their family.
 
The men muttered between themselves and then one bold soldier stood up.
 
“I’ll try your Highness, then!”
 
Without another word, he charged directly at Chia-Hao in an attempt to grab him and throw him to the ground. Chia-Hao waited until he was almost upon him and then sidestepped, tripping the man as he evaded the charge. This angered his opponent. His face was dark as he stood up and spat a mouthful of blood to the side. This time he stepped forward with a powerful punch.
 
Chia-Hao blocked the punch and quickly struck the nerves in the man’s arm – numbing him and causing a fair amount of pain.
 
“I am defeated,” the man admitted with a scowl as he shook his numb arm.
 
Chia-Hao continued to spar with those who wished to test him for another half hour until one experienced man managed to send him flying with a punch to the jaw. When he got up, the man apologized profusely but Chia-Hao just smiled and admitted defeat.
 
“As you can see,” he said to the gathered men, “I am not quite useless but I definitely still have things to learn.”
 
The men nodded, finally accepting that Chia-Hao was better than many of them even if he wasn’t the best among them.
 
“I’m going to the waterfall now to clean up,” Chia-Hao informed the instructor.
 
The instructor ordered the men to gather clean clothes and head to the river below the waterfall. While Chia-Hao’s actions had eased the tensions between him and the men, true camaraderie would take time to build. Bathing together was out of the question since Chia-Hao still had to maintain some distance to save the Imperial face.
 
After everyone cleaned up and returned to camp they draped their newly washed clothes on stick racks and settled down to a hearty lunch. As they finished eating and Sergeant Chu’s aide was announcing assignments, one of the camp’s guards trotted in to announce a large group of men approaching the camp. They looked like men of Zhong, the guard added.
 
“Your men?” Chu asked gruffly.
 
“Probably,” Chia-Hao answered. He had been wondering where they were. The Empress’s guards were unlikely to rebel but perhaps the Emperor’s men had created trouble.