Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 276 Tang He, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun

"My name is Xu Wuqi, from Yongfeng Township, Zhongli County."

"My name is Zhao Chongwu, a native of Zhongli County. I was originally a righteous soldier defending the county town, but I surrendered to the Ming King."

"I am Chang Yuchun, and I cherish the memory of those far away."

"My name is Geng Sijiu, a native of Sizhou. I have come to serve the Ming King after hearing that he is recruiting soldiers."

"My name is Tang Wuyi, and I have come from Chuzhou to join the army."

"I am..."

A group of newly recruited soldiers from Haozhou and surrounding states who had passed the assessment were sent to the Imperial Guard camp.

"Stop talking!"

The tall and strong Fu Youde stepped forward and greeted the group of new recruits, "I am your centurion, my name is Fu Youde."

"I am from Suzhou. Because the Yellow River breached its banks and flooded my hometown, I fled to Yingzhou."

“When the Ming King descended to earth and manifested his Dharma form, I joined the Red Turban Army, participated in the siege of Yingzhou, and was awarded the honor of being the first to scale the walls.”

Upon hearing this, everyone showed respect.

This is the foremost of the four great merits, the merit of being the first to ascend the mountain, a merit that can only be obtained by risking one's life nine times over.

It takes not only skill, but also luck.

After all, those who got onto the city wall first but died in battle do not count as meritorious service.

Only those who made it to the city wall and survived until after the war, while those who got there before them were all dead, could be considered to have made a meritorious contribution.

The credit for the first expedition belongs to only one person.

Chang Yuchun, his heart burning with excitement, immediately asked loudly, "General, what reward did you receive?"

Everyone is very concerned about this.

This is related to their future combat motivation.

“I received a reward of three thousand strings of cash from the King of Light and was promoted to the rank of centurion by the King of Light.”

Fu Youde laughed heartily, extremely pleased with himself.

"My position as a centurion is different from other centurions; I am a centurion of the Ming King's personal guard!"

“The Imperial Guard was already at full strength, so I was just a commander without troops.”

"Fortunately, we have captured Haozhou this time, and the Ming King has allowed me to select the 100 most outstanding soldiers from the newly recruited troops and bring them under his command."

“You are all heroes I have chosen.”

The newcomers smiled with satisfaction at being able to follow a valiant general who had distinguished himself in the vanguard.

"Remember this," Fu Youde shouted, "You must not slack off in daily training, duty shifts, and night school."

"If there is any mistake, military law will be applied!"

It was Chang Yuchun who spoke first, "Sir, what is night school?"

When this matter was mentioned, Fu Youde looked regretful, saying, "My achievements were originally more than just those of a centurion."

"Unfortunately, I am illiterate, which caused me great distress."

"The Emperor has decreed that only those who are literate, literate, and capable of arithmetic may hold military positions above the rank of centurion."

"If one remains illiterate, no matter how great one's achievements, one will at most become a centurion."

"Of course, the King of Light will give sufficient rewards as compensation."

He pointed at everyone and said, "Remember this!"

"I want to be a high-ranking official, I want to be a general!"

"You have to study! You have to go to school!"

"The Ming King set up night schools to give us martial arts practitioners, who only have skills, a chance to advance!"

"Anyone who doesn't want to go to night school, leave now."

"I don't want unambitious good-for-nothings on my team!"

The crowd readily agreed.

Who wouldn't want the opportunity to read and write?

For ordinary people, this is incredibly good news!
“My name is Fu Youde, formerly known as Fu Chuba.”

Fu Youde reiterated, "It was the Ming King who received me, inquired about my family history, and bestowed upon me a new name."

“Since we are anti-Yuan, we will no longer use the Yuan court’s previous methods.”

"What do you mean by the eighth day of the month, the ninth day of the ninth month, and the fourth and sixth days of the month? The Mongols really treat us like pigs and dogs!"

"From now on, each of you shall choose a new name for yourself and shall no longer use these numerical names."

Upon hearing this, everyone cheered and jumped for joy.

Since ancient times, even the poorest people in China have had their own surnames, clan names, given names, and courtesy names.

When these Mongols arrived, they changed all the Han people's names to numbers, a humiliation that finally brought them to be completely abandoned!
As the cheers subsided, Fu Youde took out the military manual.

“The King of Ming has reviewed your ancestral origins and family backgrounds, and has specially bestowed names upon a few of you.”

These words immediately sparked a great uproar.

To be bestowed a name by a wise king is an immense honor.

Everyone stared intently at the military register in Fu Youde's hand, hoping that they would receive a name bestowed by the Ming King.

Fu Youde read aloud.

“Zhao Chongwu, a native of Zhongli County, was given the name Zhao Desheng, which means to win by virtue and to pacify distant places with virtue.”

Zhao Desheng hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing upon me this name!"

"Do not disappoint the King's high expectations."

"I am willing to die for the Wise King!"

Fu Youde turned to the next page.

"Geng Sijiu, a native of Sizhou, was given the name Geng Zaicheng, which means to achieve continuous success."

Geng Zaicheng stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing upon me this name!"

"Geng Zaicheng is willing to die for the Ming King!"

"Tang Wuyi, a native of Chuzhou, was given the name Tang He, which means 'heart and mouth in harmony,' and 'harmony and mutual dependence.'"

Tang He stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing upon me this name! I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

Fu Youde then read out the names bestowed upon several more people.

I turned to the last page and looked up at the new recruits.

He shouted loudly again.

"Xu Wuqi is from Yongfeng Township, Zhongli County."

Xu Wuqi was clearly taken aback for a moment, then stepped forward and bowed under the gaze of everyone.

"Xu Wuqi is here."

"The Ming Emperor bestowed upon you the name Xu Da."

"Taken from the idea of ​​reaching all under heaven, do not fail the high expectations of the wise king."

The young Xu Da bowed and shouted, "Xu Da thanks the Ming King for bestowing upon me this name! I am willing to die for the Ming King!"

After closing the troop register in his hand, Fu Youde instructed, "Now come with me to collect your personal belongings. After dinner, go to sleep."

"Training tomorrow morning, duty shifts in the afternoon!"

"Come with me!"

The group followed Fu Youde in a chaotic procession.

Among the crowd, those who received names from the Ming King mostly wore joyful expressions and chattered incessantly along the way.

Those who were not given a name, feeling dejected and disappointed, began to consider what name they should change to.

Only Chang Yuchun's face was terribly grim. He was confident in his martial prowess and had always been competitive.

To think I didn't receive a name from the Ming Emperor! That's truly...
I'm so angry!

Fu Youde brought the military roster to the warehouse and called the new recruits to come forward and collect it.

The first thing the sergeants received was their own badges, which were their officer's identification cards.

These ivory tags were usually only available to officers.

Lin Dao's place, however, has it for all regular soldiers, which can enhance their sense of honor and cohesion.

"I'll keep the ivory tokens for you for now."

Fu Youde gathered the ivory plaques together and instructed them, "Before tonight, give me the names you've decided on so the craftsmen can carve them."

"Forget about names bestowed by the Ming Emperor, just take it and have it engraved now."

Chang Yuchun lowered his eyelids and clenched his fists.

The new recruits lined up under Fu Youde's reprimands, and one by one stepped forward to sign and affix their fingerprints to receive the full set of supplies.

Two sets of spring casual wear~

Two summer outfits~

"Two pairs of Liberation Shoes~"

Two leg wraps~

Five pairs of calf-nose trousers~

"Twenty pairs of socks~"

"A set of rain gear~"

"A pair of rain boots~"

Ten notebooks~

Ten mechanical pencils~

"One military-style bag~"

"A set of toiletries~"

"A lifesaver!"

One bag of laundry detergent~

"A blanket to wrap yourself in~"

"A thin blanket~"

"A set of tableware~"

"One water bottle~"

Two literacy boards~

"One bag of emergency rations~"

One box of water purification tablets~

'I'm spontaneously ignited~'

"~~~~~~"

Everyone was very curious; the army was actually distributing so many things.

Moreover, many of these things are unfamiliar to me.

After everyone had received their items, Fu Youde announced loudly, "Weapons and armor will be distributed after you have completed your training."

“You are lucky to have been selected for the Imperial Guard.”

"The Imperial Guards are all issued iron armor!"

"Iron armor, that's a lifesaver!"

We arrived at a tent area within the camp.

With a strange laugh, Fu Youde instructed, "I'm short two fifty-man squad leaders and ten ten-man squad leaders."

"You can choose who will take on the role yourselves."

"I can recommend one."

"One person recommended by ten people can be appointed as a squad leader."

"If one person is recommended by fifty people, he can be appointed as the captain of fifty men."

Zheng Chenggong originally intended to assign Fu Youde an officer, but Lin Dao stopped him, saying that the new recruits selected to join the Imperial Guard could handle it themselves.

"If you're unwilling to make a recommendation, then let's have a martial arts contest."

"Might reigns supreme!"

They're all young and impetuous guys, why would they recommend you?
They stared at each other, a tension palpable between them.

Naturally, they started to distance themselves and began to compete with each other.

After a fierce battle, only the three strongest remained, and everyone else submitted.

With blood dripping from his nose, Chang Yuchun waved to the two people opposite him, saying, "Come at me together."

With his face bruised and swollen, Xu Da frowned and simply took two steps back.

Tang He, who had several footprints on his body, let out a strange laugh and charged forward.

After a fight, Tang He lay on the ground.

He struggled several times, but couldn't get up.

Gasping for breath, Chang Yuchun looked at Xu Da.

"You've used up too much energy."

Xu Da shook his head. "Wait until you've rested before you fight."

Chang Yuchun didn't say anything, but he pushed off with his legs and rushed forward.

Punches and kicks flew, swift and powerful.

The idea of ​​a hundred or eighty rounds of fighting is all nonsense.

Under normal circumstances, a fight can be decided in just a few punches and kicks.

Even if they are evenly matched, it will only take the time it takes to drink a cup of hot tea.

In the end, Xu Da, who had been kicked in the stomach, fell to the ground and did not get up again.

The swaying Chang Yuchun spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and said, "Get up. I know you can get up."

"I lost."

Xu Da simply shook his head. "You defeated a total of seventeen people, while I only defeated eleven."

Pointing at Tang He, he said, "You fought Tang He, who had defeated eight people, and then you fought me without resting."

"None of us are as good as you."

Fu Youde, who was watching from the sidelines, initially had a relaxed and amused expression.

By halftime, his expression had become serious.

When Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and Tang He were fighting, they were already grimacing and their eyelids were twitching wildly!
These three people are all more capable than him!

Among those who were defeated, there were also a few who were on par with him.

Where did such a powerful expert come from in Haozhou?!

"Okay, okay~~~"

Fu Youde stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "I hereby declare that both Chang Yuchun and Xu Da are 50th-rank officers, with Chang Yuchun concurrently serving as deputy centurion and Xu Da concurrently serving as garrison commander."

"Tang He, you are the standard-bearer."

"Alright, let's go eat, and then everyone go to sleep!"

(End of this chapter)