Taiheiki

Chapter 325 Joining the Class
Fortunately, the two passersby didn't do anything and let Fan Yang and Wang Kuang pass by. As the conversation behind them faded into the distance, Wang Kuang breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Good luck! I thought I was going to have to fight tonight!"

Fan Yang smiled and was about to reply when two men emerged from the intersection ahead, wielding swords and knives, their intentions clearly hostile. The two exchanged a glance and were about to draw their weapons when a series of hurried footsteps sounded behind them. It was the same group of passersby who had caught up; they had clearly fallen into a trap.

"Use the mules to charge forward, then follow up. Deal with the first two!" Fan Yang whispered. Wang Kuang nodded in understanding, then used the tip of his sword to stab the mule's rump. The beast cried out in pain and charged forward. The two men were about to say something when a large, dark mass rushed towards them. Instinctively, they moved to the walls on either side to avoid the mule's charge. But in the rush, with the sky dark and the distance between them too close, they couldn't completely avoid it. A scream rang out as one man was kicked hard by the mule and fell to the ground, screaming. The scream was abruptly cut short as Fan Yang stepped forward and delivered a fatal blow to the chest.

The other thief who blocked the road managed to avoid the mule, but he couldn't avoid Wang Kuang's sword thrust right behind it. The sword pierced his chest, pinning him to the wall. He clutched the blade through his chest in agony, trying to speak, but blood gushed from his throat, choking him. Wang Kuang coldly withdrew his sword, gave the thief a gentle push, and the thief collapsed to the ground, dead.

The thieves who caught up were planning to utter a few more threats before attacking Fan Yang and Wang Kuang from both sides and killing them. But to their surprise, in the blink of an eye, their two companions were gone. Wang Kuang and Fan Yang, their blades gleaming red, stared at them with murderous intent, and the thieves felt a sudden chill run down their spines.

"Who sent you to kill us? Bian Rang or Liu Fan?" Fan Yang said coldly. He disliked that his original ring-pommel sword was too short and unsuitable for fighting, so he picked up a ring-pommel sword from the ground and held it horizontally in front of his chest.

"Speak quickly! Who is the mastermind behind this?" Wang Kuang shouted.

Just as the thieves were hesitating whether to make a move, they suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. Someone shouted, "It's bad! It's the night patrol soldiers of the Commandant of the Capital Region! Run!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the thieves fled into the darkness. Wang Kuang wanted to give chase, but Fan Yang grabbed him, saying, "That's enough. Don't pursue a desperate enemy. It's more important to find the mule!"

Just as the two finished packing the mules, a dozen or so night patrolmen carrying torches arrived. Before they could ask any questions, Fan Yang took off his waist badge and handed it over: "We are both subordinates of the General's Mansion. We were just moving when we encountered thieves on the way. We fought with them, killed two of them, and the rest fled in that direction!"

The leader checked the waist tag and quickly bowed, saying, "My apologies, please forgive me. You two escort these two gentlemen, the rest of you follow me to continue the pursuit of the thieves!"

"My name is Fan Yang, and my friend's name is Wang Kuang. We are both in the logistics military training class. If we catch the thief, please interrogate the mastermind behind him and let others know!"

"Logistics and Military Service Qualification Training Class?" the leader repeated, becoming more convinced of the identities of Fan Yangwang and Wang Kuang. After all, no one would use such a strange and difficult-to-pronounce name if it were fabricated. He cupped his hands in greeting to the two men and then led his men to chase after them. Fan Yangwang and Wang Kuang found a mule and headed towards their lodgings.

Upon arriving at their lodgings, Wang Kuang took out twenty five-zhu coins from his waist and gave them to the two escorting soldiers as a token of his gratitude. He then took out his waist token and entered the large courtyard. He unloaded his luggage, returned the mule, and went back to his lodgings. Recalling their recent experience, Wang Kuang cursed, "Those two scoundrels, Liu Fan and Bian Rang, usually so respectable, are unexpectedly ruthless! They actually sent men to harm you. If we hadn't been lucky enough to be moving today, we would have died at their hands!"

"Enough!" Fan Yang snorted coldly. "What's the use of saying all this? Anyway, we're now the General's men. From now on, we're on opposing sides. It's our duty to kill them and for them to kill us. There's no point in saying more!"

"That's right!" Wang Kuang nodded. "From now on, we'll be mortal enemies. I really wish I could wipe them all out!"

“We’re students now, let’s worry about our studies!” Fan Yang said. “Judging from what Military Advisor Qin said, this training course isn’t going to be easy. But he also said that the General himself will be teaching, so if you do well, you’ll definitely have a good future. When that time comes, you’ll naturally have your chance for revenge!”

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Office of the General of the Five Offices.

"My godfather wants to recruit a group of soldiers from Jianghuai to fill the vacancy in Luoyang after Zhang Huan's northern expedition!" Nie Sheng said to Zhou Jin, who was sitting below him, as he sat behind the table. "I thought of you. After all, you are from Lujiang, so it will be more convenient for you to handle the task!"

"Thank you, General!" Zhou Jin quickly bowed and said, "I will do my best to complete this task!"

"Yes, we need to recruit four thousand men! Half crossbowmen, half swordsmen and shieldmen. The selection criteria will be the same as those used in Jiaozhou, do you understand?"

"Understood, sir!" Zhou Jin was secretly delighted. As the saying goes, "When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." With Wei Cong taking control of the central government in Luoyang, he had also been promoted. He was now a Tiger-like Physician, which was nothing special in Luoyang, but in local counties, it was a very important figure. As for recruiting soldiers, it wasn't a difficult task. The Jianghuai region had always been rich in archers and infantry during the Qin and Han dynasties; the so-called Xuanrun crossbowmen and Danyang infantrymen were from that area. The recruitment standards had already been set, and he only needed to follow them, treating it as a triumphant return home.

Nie Sheng could easily see through Zhou Jin's thoughts, and suddenly smiled: "So you're thinking of returning home in glory?"

"Yes, yes, no, no!" Zhou Jin realized his mistake as soon as he spoke and quickly denied it. Nie Sheng smiled and said, "You don't need to deny it. It's only human nature. To be honest, I also think that being the General of the Five Offices is too tiring. It's not as good as when I was in Jiaozhou or Chaisang. If possible, I would like to go out for a while to relax!"

"Then why don't you ask the General?"

"How can I possibly get away!" Nie Sheng said with a wry smile. "My godfather needs me to take charge of the Three Departments and the Palace Guards. As long as my godfather is still the Grand General, I must serve as the General of the Five Departments. I can only leave when he steps down!"

"The General relies on you as much as he would on his own son!" Zhou Jin said with a smile.

"Alright!" Nie Sheng waved his hand. "Go back and pack your things. I can't set a specific departure time. But recruiting soldiers is a matter of military importance, and we can't delay! Understand?"

"Understood, sir!" Zhou Jin hurriedly replied, "I'll go back and pack my things, and leave the capital tomorrow!" After leaving the Wuguan Zhonglang General's office and returning to his residence, Zhou Jin was beaming with joy. He called Zhou Yi over: "The Wuguan Zhonglang General has ordered me to return to my hometown to recruit soldiers. Would you like to come with me?"

"Of course I'm willing, thank you for your promotion, brother!" Zhou Yi said happily.

"That's good!" Zhou Jin nodded. "When the bandits rose up, many members of the Zhou family in Lujiang were killed in our hometown. Only a few survived in the capital. I'm going to Jianghuai to recruit soldiers. Go and find out if anyone is willing to go with me. Recruit them all. This is a rare opportunity to restore our family's reputation. We'll leave tomorrow; we can't delay!"

"Understood! I'll go right away!" Zhou Yi hurriedly left, not returning until the afternoon. Zhou Jin asked, "So? How many people are willing to go with you?"

"Only three or four from the concubines are willing to go!" Zhou Yi's expression was not good: "The main ones have all declined!"

"Why did you decline?" Zhou Jinqi asked.

"It feels like they don't want to be subordinate to anyone, or maybe they don't want to be too close to the General!" Zhou Yi said with a wry smile.

"These ignorant bastards!" Zhou Jin roared in anger. It turned out that the so-called Lujiang Zhou clan had many branches, with the highest-ranking official considered the main branch, namely Zhou Jing, who served as Grand Master of Works, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Minister of Works, and Grand Commandant during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han. However, Zhou Jing had already passed away in the first year of Jianning (168 AD), and his son Zhou Zhong was also an official in Luoyang. Zhou Jin and Zhou Yi were from collateral branches, and their status within the family was much lower than that of Zhou Jing and Zhou Zhong's branch. During the E'zhai Rebellion, the Zhou clan suffered greatly in their hometown, with few survivors, while the main branch in the capital remained largely unscathed. After Wei Cong entered power, especially after the Lugu Incident, Zhou Zhong was also implicated and marginalized. Zhou Jin had originally planned to recruit some people from the main branch to help him return to his hometown to raise troops, and at the same time, elevate the status of his branch within the clan. However, Zhou Zhong's group kept their distance, and Zhou Jin, having been snubbed, was naturally very unhappy.

“Brother, calm down. These fellows are ignorant of the ways of the world, still thinking that things are the past. They don’t realize that if they are not under the General’s command, they are no longer human!” Zhou Yi sneered, “They will regret this in the future!”

“Well said!” Zhou Jin nodded. “Since they don’t consider me one of their own, I don’t need to consider them one either. From now on, I’m no longer the Zhou family of Lujiang, but the Zhou family of Jiaozhou. Hmph, anyway, the Zhou family didn’t originally rise to prominence in Lujiang!” Centuries later, everyone will only remember the Zhou family of Jiaozhou and the Zhou family of Panyu; no one will remember the Zhou family of Lujiang!

The next day, Zhou Jin and his group left Luoyang and headed south along the flat Wanluo Avenue towards Nanyang.

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Luoyang, the General's Mansion, the Academy.

"Have you heard? Our class's first lesson will be taught by the General himself!" Wang Kuang excitedly told Fan Yang.

"Really? The General is really coming?" Fan Yang couldn't believe it. That was General Wei, who was second only to the emperor. It sounded like a dream.

"Isn't this the norm?" the man next to him laughed. "When these training courses start, the graduating generals will come as long as they can spare the time. What did you guys do before? You don't even know this?"

Fan Yang and Wang Kuang exchanged a glance and respectfully replied, "We are both students of the Imperial Academy in Luoyang, and we are both from Youzhou. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Chen Jiao, and I am from Yuzhang Commandery. I have served under the General since the first year of the Yongkang era. Since then, I have participated in campaigns against mountain bandits, attacks on Jiaozhou, the conquest of Linyi, the pacification of the E bandits, and the campaign to Luoyang. I am currently a captain in one of the five schools of the Northern Army, and my rank is Gongcheng!" The man said arrogantly, "You two are just students of the Imperial Academy. How can you be my classmates here?"

Wang Kuang was overwhelmed by the string of resumes and could hardly breathe. He stammered, unsure how to answer. Fan Yang, however, remained calm and composed, replying neither servile nor arrogant: "We were recruited by Qin He, the military advisor. He asked if we could ride horses and knew we were skilled in calligraphy, so he sent us!"

"Qin He? So it's that kid!" Chen Jiao shook his head: "Lucky lad, you two are so lucky to have been recruited. Well then, study hard. You'll only encounter such a good opportunity a few times in your entire lives!"

"Yes!" Fan Yang responded, but seeing Chen Jiao's indifferent attitude, neither of them dared to speak to him. As more and more people arrived, the two realized that most of them were acquaintances, many likely Wei Cong's former subordinates. This made sense, though; these training courses naturally selected their own people. Chen Jiao was right; they were just lucky. Thinking this, they couldn't help but exchange a wry smile.

Just then, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen entered from the outer room. He was tall and imposing, with a natural air of authority about him. The group of people who had been chatting and laughing in small groups immediately knelt down and bowed to the young man, showing the utmost respect. The young man simply nodded in return.

"Where did this fellow come from? He's so arrogant, he can't even be bothered to bow!" Wang Kuang laughed.

"Shut up! This is the General's adopted son, General Nie Sheng, the young master of the Five Offices!" Chen Jiao said in a low voice as he pulled Wang Kuang down to kneel.

Nie Sheng didn't seem to mind. He found his seat and sat down calmly. Given his current status, he naturally wouldn't attend such a training course. It was only because Wei Cong had told him that today's lesson was important and that he should come to listen that he did come.

Not long after Nie Sheng sat down, General Wei Cong arrived. Everyone hurriedly bowed and knelt in obeisance. Fan Yang cautiously peeked at him out of the corner of his eye. Wei Cong was a fair-skinned young man, very tall, dressed in a scarlet robe, with a jade-hilted sword at his waist. From his appearance, he showed no trace of the imposing and menacing aura of a man from the capital; instead, he possessed a scholarly air. If you removed his robes and told him he was just an ordinary student from the Imperial Academy in Luoyang, he would believe you. Could this man be the usurper Liu Fanbian, whom they cursed day and night? He was completely unrecognizable!

"Today I'm here to give you a lesson on how to command an army in campaigns, marches, and battles!" Wei Cong's voice wasn't loud; those sitting in the last row could barely hear him. Seeing someone pick up a pen to take notes, he said, "No need to write anything, just listen attentively. There will be handouts after class for you to copy!"

(End of this chapter)