Mid-April, Yan Province.
Dongping Kingdom, Wuyan.
News of Zhang Jing establishing the Heroes’ Shrine and founding the Taiping Administration spread throughout the four commanderies.
The people under his rule felt as though they had finally found a place to belong.
They began to regard the land beneath their feet as their own homeland.
In these chaotic times, they asked for very little.
All they desired was a place to settle and a patch of fertile land that could support their families.
What Zhang Jing provided, however, far exceeded their expectations.
As a result, the four commanderies were now filled with scenes of prosperity and vitality.
After the spring plowing had concluded, even Wuyan City, once sparsely populated, saw its streets gradually become crowded with pedestrians.
……………..
Inside the Taiping Administration.
“Zhongde.” Zhang Jing summoned Cheng Yu and asked, “Ziyi reported earlier that he has already gathered two thousand elite soldiers and is asking where they should establish camp and conduct training. Does the treasury currently possess enough grain to support a cavalry force?”
“My lord.” After a moment’s thought, Cheng Yu replied, “Since grain from Xu Province has arrived, combined with the profits from recent trade, the treasury should presently hold roughly two hundred thousand shi of grain. Supporting a cavalry unit should not be a problem.”
“Excellent.” Zhang Jing nodded.
“Allocate fifty thousand shi of grain to Ziyi later and order him to establish camp west of the city for training.”
“As you command!” Cheng Yu bowed respectfully.
“Oh, right, Zhongde.” Zhang Jing continued, “Have the five hundred law enforcers been assembled yet?”
The matter of these five hundred law enforcers had been entrusted to Cheng Yu in the middle of the previous month.
Nearly a full month had now passed.
Zhang Jing’s requirements for these five hundred men had been extremely strict.
Literacy was mandatory.
In addition, they had to have families, be loyal, and possess quick wits.
“My lord.” After some consideration, Cheng Yu answered, “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all five hundred law enforcers should report to camp before tomorrow evening.”
“Good!” Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing’s spirits lifted.
He had placed great hopes in these five hundred brothers.
One could say that they were the Taiping Administration’s first sword to cleave through the chaos of the age.
“Zhongde.” With a serious expression, Zhang Jing said, “Once these five hundred brothers enter camp, they are to receive three meals a day—at Mao hour, noon, and You hour. They are not to be fed hot porridge. Their meat rations are also to be doubled.”
“As for these five hundred brothers…”
“I will personally train them for two months. Every evening at Xu hour, I will also teach them. If you have the time, Zhongde, you may attend as well.”
This time, he intended to become a sort of “Zhang Hitler.”
He would instill his own ideology into these five hundred men and then have them carry it forward.
“I have long been looking forward to it as well.”
Deeply moved, Cheng Yu bowed once more.
At this moment, he again realized just how much importance his lord attached to these men.
As their commanding officer, there was naturally no way he could be absent.
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
On the banks of the Wen River, at the central military training ground as always.
“We pay our respects to our lord!”
The five hundred young men, all dressed in plain cloth garments, stood in orderly ranks.
Upon seeing Zhang Jing appear, they immediately clasped their fists and shouted in unison, their eyes burning with enthusiasm.
“No need for such formalities, brothers.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
The five hundred men responded together before lowering their hands and awaiting further instructions.
“The fact that you have come here today,” Zhang Jing said as he stepped onto the command platform, his expression solemn, “proves that you have passed the strategist’s examination, whether in loyalty or capability.”
“Beginning today… I will spend the next two months alongside all of you.”
“Let me be frank first. These two months will be extremely difficult. Ordinary armies train only two hours a day.”
“But you… Will train for four hours every day—and perhaps even more.”
Upon hearing this, quite a few of the young men swallowed nervously.
At the same time, however, they were excited.
After all, they would be training alongside the lord himself.
If word got out, countless others would envy them.
“However!” Looking down at the crowd, Zhang Jing continued, “Since your training load is increasing, your meals must improve as well. Starting tomorrow, you will receive three meals a day. I guarantee that none of you will ever train on an empty stomach.”
“I won’t say much more today.”
“I simply want to give you a warning. If you can endure these two months, even if you don’t emerge completely transformed, you will at least benefit from it for the rest of your lives.”
“That’s all for today. Dismissed!”
“Breakfast will be served at Mao hour tomorrow. Do not be late!”
Having finished speaking, Zhang Jing stepped down from the platform and departed.
“We respectfully see our lord off!”
The five hundred young men shouted in unison, their faces filled with excitement as they clasped their fists.
“Hiss… The lord himself is going to train us? Th-this… this is incredible!”
Only after Zhang Jing had left did some of the young men finally come to their senses, their eyes filled with exhilaration.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”
“Our ancestors must truly be watching over us!”
“Father, your son has finally made something of himself…”
“Four hours of training every day? As long as we’re fed, that’s no problem at all!”
………………
The next day, at Mao hour (around 5 a.m.), Zhang Jing arrived at the camp on time.
The training methods of this era were, in terms of practicality, not inferior to those of later generations.
There were physical conditioning exercises to build strength, drills for identifying command flags and formations, and other forms of military training.
These five hundred young men, however, would rarely see the battlefield.
What they truly needed to learn was the full range of scout and reconnaissance skills.
No matter the era, scouts were often comparable to special forces in terms of combat capability.
After dinner, as You hour arrived, the training ground was brightly illuminated by torchlight.
Zhang Jing sat in the center of the field, while the five hundred young men and Cheng Yu formed a circle around him.
“What I am going to speak about today,” Zhang Jing said seriously, “is the origin of the Imperial Dynasty.”
Everyone sat upright and listened attentively.
“Thousands of years ago, humanity lived in tribal settlements… Great Yu earned merit through controlling the floods and ushered in the era of hereditary rule. In other words, from the time of Yu onward, the throne passed from father to son…”
While Zhang Jing was training the law enforcers, news that Yuan Shao had recommended Lu Bu for the position of Governor of Yan Province rapidly spread in all directions.
……………….
Mid-April, Yu Province.
Runan Commandery, the Administrator’s Residence in Pingyu.
“Lu Bu is nothing but a brute!”
Inside the main hall, Yuan Shu was on the verge of exploding with rage.
He roared:
“And Yuan Shao, that bastard son! Where do they get the nerve to covet my Yan Province?”
“Yan Province was mine to begin with!”
“Mine!!!”
“Yan Xiang!”
“Send an urgent message to Ji Ling immediately and have him determine Lu Bu’s whereabouts. If that brute dares cross into our territory, he is authorized to attack and annihilate Lu Bu’s forces at once!”
“I want to see Lu Bu’s head!”
Yuan Shu had already concluded a deal with Zhang Jing.
The grain and funds had been paid, and tens of thousands of civilians had already been relocated to Yan Province.
Yet at this very moment, Yuan Shao had nominated Lu Bu as Governor of Yan Province.
How could Yuan Shu possibly tolerate that?
Fortunately, he still had Ji Ling’s twenty thousand troops stationed in Yan Province.
Otherwise, he would have been forced to swallow this humiliation.
Even so, the matter infuriated Yuan Shu to no end.
As he himself had said, in his eyes Yan Province already belonged to him.
After all, Zhang Jing had shown clear willingness to align himself with Yuan Shu.
“This subordinate obeys!”
Yan Xiang hurriedly acknowledged the order and quickly left to make the necessary arrangements.
If this matter was not handled properly, the four commanderies they had only recently acquired might once again descend into turmoil.
………………..
Yingchuan Commandery, Yangdi City.
A young man dressed in plain cloth robes, wearing a headscarf, slender in build, and carrying bamboo slips in his hand, strolled leisurely down the long street.
Knock, knock, knock—
When he arrived outside a small courtyard, the young man expertly knocked on the gate.
From his manner, it was obvious that he came here often.
“Stop knocking already!”
Creak—
Before he could knock again, a clear and cheerful voice sounded from within the courtyard.
The gate then swung open from the inside.
“I knew you’d come.”
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Come in—and don’t forget to close the gate behind you!”
— The end of the Chapter–
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