Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 263 Lack of Etiquette

On the turbulent sea, three destroyers are cutting through the waves. In the distance, target ships are drifting at a speed of five knots.

The scene inside these target ships was as follows: after the official personnel withdrew, a timer-equipped cell inside the target ship began to ring, and the countdown started—it contained the target ship's "artificial guidance" chip.

"Let me out!" "Hurry up!" Frenzied voices echoed from the target ship's confinement chamber. Meanwhile, in the target ship's corridor, red lights flashed. Officials outside the target ship had already boarded ships and were quickly leaving. Torpedo boats that were evacuating were reporting their numbers. After the numbers were reported, the steam valves were pulled, and the torpedo boats quickly left the target ship, which was on the verge of death.

As the torpedo boat bobbed up and down on the waves, the target ship also rose and fell. After the torpedo boat had moved a kilometer away, the hull revealed a frenzied figure. Those left on the target ship were pirates.

These pirates committed unforgivable crimes: trafficking people around the present-day Han Dynasty, smuggling gold and stone artifacts from foreign countries, and smuggling a type of contraband.

One category of prohibited items includes drugs that render people neither human nor ghost, and invasive insect eggs imported from overseas.

What? A humanitarian convention? The modern Han dynasty would never sign any convention with barbarians.

As a morally hegemonic system, the modern Han dynasty only needs the barbarians to morally align themselves with it. If they don't? The modern Han dynasty doesn't care, because barbarians are barbarians.

The current Han dynasty wields an iron fist against groups outside of "legitimate occupations," and coldly exploits those who disrupt legitimate occupations.

Inside the dimly lit, confinement chamber aboard the target ship, the bandits waited anxiously. They had considered picking the lock, but that required a keyhole. The chamber was smooth, and the door had no keyhole. Only when the mechanical spring-loaded lock stopped at a set time could the iron door unlock, allowing them to escape.

Before these prisoners were released, they were told that there was a 10% chance of escaping by piloting the target ship. But in reality? There was no 10% chance at all; the ship's fuel was simply not enough to support an escape.

All that talk was just to give the prisoners hope and get them to run away.

As for their belief that they saw through the sinister intentions of the current Han officials and wanted to jump into the sea to avoid the shelling?

Heh, all the prisoners were bound with a tortoise-shell-shaped iron bundle around their chests—a heavy shackle. If they jumped into the sea, they would have no chance of survival and would only sink to the bottom. The officials in the past could devise all sorts of cruel tortures; today, they certainly wouldn't leave any loopholes for the most vicious criminals.

To say they've become targets of attack? That would be contrary to Confucian benevolence, but it also offends the concept of great revanchism.

For example, there might be murderers and lechers on this ship. But ordinary lechers wouldn't end up like this. Only those who have touched "children" would suffer this fate. Such people would be attacked by all the other lawbreakers in the martial arts world.

…punishment is as severe as a thunderbolt…

Even bandits in the martial arts world follow the "code of honor," and even the code of honor in the gray areas of the martial arts world is divided into several levels.

Theft without harming anyone is what these self-proclaimed "righteous thieves." These individuals, who avoid running into the authorities, often find their crimes becoming long-standing cold cases unless they involve high-ranking officials.

The thief injures someone but doesn't kill them, leaving money for the injured person's medical treatment. This is purely a case of "seeking money," and the government will arrest as many as possible in such cases, resulting in a case closure rate of over 70%.

As for ruthless thieves who specialize in murder and robbery without any moral compass, they are not only watched by reputable and righteous sects. "Righteous thieves" also keep an eye on them.

Such notorious bandits who break the rules, if they dare to appear in the eighteen provinces of the interior, will be offered a bounty and hunted down to the ends of the earth. Only a handful of such people appear each year.

Those lecherous thieves and bandits who adhere to the most basic code of chivalry will at most be sent to the penance camp or the southern Thousand Islands region, but will not be put on the target ship.

Therefore, most of the "talents" on the target ship were obviously not from Han territory.

The moral teachings of Confucianism in modern China have made bandits within the country far more principled than those of the barbarian tribes. So what can be done when these barbarian bandits try to bully the kind-hearted Han people?
The Han people sought revenge, and no matter how far away, they would punish the enemy. When Han ships encountered retaliation overseas, maritime merchants would display wanted posters.

Once a major case occurs overseas, the fleet will sail there, and the revenge teams arranged by the merchants will also go; at the same time, some disciples from prestigious sects will also go there to gain experience.

The current Han dynasty's cross-regional crackdown on evil is far more domineering than the transnational law enforcement of the United States in Xuan's previous life. And this "domineering" approach is aimed at those who "do not submit to the king's rule."

The Han scholar-officials now have a "royal" hierarchy for both vassal states and foreign states, oh, this is just like the "human and wood hierarchy" in the west before Xuan Chong crossed over.

Now, every continent in the world is more or less affected by the "royal" hierarchy of the modern Han dynasty, because the popular forces of the modern Han dynasty are truly "punishing even those who are far away".

"When a child holds gold, all men are devils; when Vajrapani stands by his side, even devils become saints." Modern Han merchant ships now sailing through Europe and the Abbasid Caliphate receive escorts from their navies to prevent accidents.

From a young age, barbarians do not follow morality and even take pride in "cruelty." And when faced with cruelty, the Han literati regard them as "destructible objects."

Using the target ship as a wet item was actually the most merciful thing to do; others were turned into "medical" supplies.

Looking at the target ship, Xuan Chong couldn't help but sigh: Why does the unspoken rule of "morality" prevail in all walks of life? It's nothing more than the Legalist school's severe punishments. If you don't act according to "morality," the Legalist school's severe punishments mean that the entire group will be held accountable.

The barbarians on the target ship now come from the Southeast Asian region.

That area is currently the front line of the battle between the modern Han and Eastern Shu, where order has collapsed and many unscrupulous warlords have emerged. The modern Han needs to exert influence here, which has led to a number of major cases.

Although it was common for Han Chinese to be persecuted there, the current Han Chinese are very reckless and never issue "warnings to overseas Chinese"! Instead, they constantly infiltrate law enforcement forces.

…in the imperial court…

On the third destroyer, the sailors operated the engine room and gun turrets, while Xuanchong was in the fire control room.

In the current era of ironclad warships, fire control systems are still mechanical. Each turret sends the observed firing point to the fire control room after the first round of test firings.

In the fire control room, the overall speed difference needs to be calculated, so the faster the calculation, the smaller the deviation.

In the fire control room, Xuan Chong began angle mapping. To onlookers, Xuan Chong simply picked up the half-meter-long protractor on the table, went to the window, stretched out his forearm, and aimed at the clouds in the sky.

However, from Xuan Chong's perspective, the torque actually deflected within a range of tens of kilometers as the protractor was adjusted. More than sixty key data points were read. Multiple related values ​​verified that his calculations about the enemy were accurate.

Xuan Chong mobilized the true energy he had just generated, and the fat in his lower abdomen quickly transformed into energy. A sense of "clarity" surged into his brain; the parameter data tables he had memorized appeared like "data codes" in the various data models of the ship conceived in his brain.

During the exam, while his teammates were still busy calculating, Xuan Chong had already reported the firepower data of all the main guns on the entire ship.

His fellow ship crew members were slightly taken aback. Although they had heard about it before, they were still somewhat surprised by Xuan Chong's rapid reporting of numbers.

Of course, most of their classmates chose to believe Xuan Chong and immediately ran to the transmission point to report the data to their respective locations.

The artillery fire began. During the third round of firing drills, Xuan Chong's team achieved high accuracy, taking out their assigned target ship first, and then providing fire support to the other warships. —At this point, the other warships didn't appreciate this kind of "support"; in this assessment, having someone else complete their test was tantamount to forcibly giving them a zero.

Just as Xuan Chong was getting excited and preparing to use torque to make the trajectory match the "theoretical value",

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my back. Then I felt a slight increase in gravity, and the newspaper next to me seemed to be stuck to the table.

"Young man, what you're doing is wrong!" The voice came from the steel plate of the ship beneath Xuan Chong's feet.

Xuan Chong suddenly sensed something and his mind went blank for a moment: "The Earth God?"

But he quickly realized he was on a ship, so there was no "local deity" to be found. However, he remembered the military legend that every warship had a "ship soul." So, the one speaking to him was the warship's "machine soul"? Therefore, Xuan Chong deployed his torque network to conduct a comprehensive search of the entire fleet.

The deck below quickly responded: "Young man, no need to look anymore. Report to the Marshal's Mansion when you return."

…appreciation…

On the main warship nearby, in the spacious metal bridge observation room, the marshal watched as the young gunners reported the good news of a first-shot hit; he raised his glass to the warship where Xuanchong was located on the sea. An official nearby understood and immediately signaled with flags to send praise to the new recruits in the exercise.

Xuan Chong had already used torque detection to realize that the sound he was hearing was coming from the deck beneath his feet.

The sound caused by the deck vibrations was controlled by the marshal's "dragon power"; his dragon power could attach itself to matter, giving objects a spiritual quality. When Xuan Chong, the young dragon, tried to interfere with the competition using his newly awakened "dragon power," the old dragon began to take notice.

Just as Xuan Chong heard the flag signal announcing the commendation of the entire fleet, he suddenly felt his boots being firmly stuck to the deck, unable to move.

Xuan Chong immediately adjusted his torque, sacrificing one millimeter of material from his shoe soles to escape. He then applied a two-millimeter force field between his shoes and the floor (keeping his feet "floating") and distributed six thousand contact points across the ship's hull as he measured them, ensuring he had multiple points of leverage.

The marshal was slightly taken aback, because he sensed that Xuan Chonglong's power was directly connected to the steam engine room, and that mechanical force could be unleashed at any time to tear apart the ship's hull. He then ceased his probing.

The ship returned to port. After disembarking, Xuan Chong mingled in the crowd when a high-ranking officer suddenly called out, "Is Liu Hao (pseudonym) here?"

Xuan Chong suddenly jolted, as if his teacher had called his parents. After confirming several times that it was indeed him being called, he stepped forward to report. The staff officer next to the marshal glanced at Xuan Chong and then said, "Tonight, you will attend the Ding Shi Hui (a banquet for high-ranking officials)."

After the officers left, the crew cheered, clearly indicating that Xuan Chong's selection was a recognition of the ship's capabilities by the higher-ups!

"Well done, Haoxing!" "We didn't lose face!" "Those guys from the Flying Fish ship have nothing to say now!"...

Even the fire control personnel in Xuan Chong's group felt no jealousy, but instead offered their congratulations! Because on the same warship, one's loss is the loss, and one's glory is the glory.

According to naval regulations, if a fire control officer is to be transferred out of a warship in the future, he must train his fire control colleagues in the same group until they reach a certain level before he can leave.

In other words, Xuan Chong has now been designated as the group leader, and will be responsible for the group's fire control performance during the upcoming sea training. He has already been teaching them how to memorize fire control forms and how to conduct mechanized training. As for his actual responsibilities as the "big brother," Xuan Chong plans to share his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine.

The current Han Navy is a very conservative and traditional fleet, full of various "family rules" and systems.

Even after hundreds of years, the current Han Navy still retains this outdated concept: women must never be allowed on board ships.

…ceremony…

That evening, the feast began. Xuan Chong glanced at the dishes in the bronze vessels and thought to himself: It's not as good as the company dinners in my previous life.

It's just a bit more ritualistic. Xuan Chong: This leans more towards a "meeting" than a "dinner".

Three days ago, the sacrificial cattle and sheep used in the Five Oceans Festival were frozen and preserved for several days; now, after being put into the large cauldron and steamed and processed again, the different parts of the cattle and sheep are divided into different plates according to the serving style.

The most important cut of meat, the ox head, was distributed among the various departments of the fleet; the other parts were allocated according to rank. Whether the meat tasted good or not was not the point; it was a matter of rank within the army.

The chefs scooped the beef and mutton out of the cauldron, carefully removed them, cut them into small pieces, and placed them on individual plates labeled with names. The beef eyes and hearts were the exclusive domain of the important figures in the fleet, and mistakes were not tolerated.

As for important positions not receiving any benefits at such a meeting, that's a very serious matter.

A Chinese proverb: "Each goes its own way." In 607 BC, the states of Song and Zheng went to war. Before the battle, Song's commander, Hua Yuan, slaughtered a sheep to reward his men, but neglected to reward his charioteer. As a result, the chariot drove directly into the enemy's territory.

A Chinese idiom: "to dip one's finger in" or "to have one's index finger twitching." The story goes that Prince Song (also known as Zigong) of Zheng, along with his son Zijia, went to see Duke Ling of Zheng. As they were about to enter the palace gates for a banquet, Prince Song suddenly stopped, raised his right hand to boast of his superpowers, and claimed he would definitely get to eat the best food that day. However, the duke, jokingly, didn't give him any soup. In response, he dipped his finger into the duke's soup, stormed off, and later betrayed the duke.

The Han Dynasty is no longer the Warring States period. The power to distribute meat is supreme among the upper echelons. Not receiving any meat is a direct expression of dissatisfaction among the powerful figures towards their subordinates.

Xuan Chong offered a localized interpretation of the ritualistic significance of "鼎食" (dingshi) in modern Chinese literature: the phoenix tail and ox tail are not just simple idioms and allusions, but also workplace rituals.

That evening, the venue was brightly lit, and most people were seated with their plates set out. However, no one touched their chopsticks yet.

Everyone sat upright. The central fire was still burning brightly, and there was still some meat left in the cauldron. The cook stood by with a knife, waiting.

Xuan Chong, who was also holding a plate and waiting for his food, muttered to himself, "I hope I don't get a really bad part of the meal."

With so many people sharing one cow, the meat amount is only one bite—well, just one bite for an adult man—yet this bite carries immense symbolic significance. Absolutely no waste is allowed; even if the cow hair isn't completely removed, it must be eaten.

The music from the chime bells began, and Xuan Chong paused for a moment before suddenly looking up to see that it was Qin Tianyi who was playing the music.

Qin Tianyi seemed to sense Xuan Chong's gaze and glanced at him with a smile; however, Xuan Chong immediately turned his head back, avoiding any "male gaze." Amidst the music, Qin Tianyi's curiosity flashed, then she smiled. Knowing the implications of this, she observed Xuan Chong for a moment before giving him an encouraging smile.

Soon, the meat broth began to be distributed. Those whose names were called stood up and lined up in front of the marshal's table. Xuan Chong also stood up and joined the line. While waiting in the line, Xuan Chong looked at the marshal and had a feeling that the marshal had been waiting for him for a long time.

Sure enough, he nodded to the young man who was dividing the meat in front of Xuan Chong.
However, upon seeing Xuan Chong, the marshal said gently to him, "Have you adapted well to life in the south?"

Xuan Chong replied cautiously, "Yes, life in the army is very good."

After testing the waters, the marshal smiled and nodded: "The Dragon Group will be coming to see you in the next few days. Be prepared to be officially appointed."

The sound wasn't loud, but it silenced the surprised people within a five-meter radius.

Xuan Chong was completely bewildered, and suddenly asked in a daze, "What is the Dragon Group?"

The marshal's smile softened further, and he picked up the iron tongs and placed meat on Xuan Chong's plate.

Xuan Chong glanced at the plate and saw "a cow's ear"—a part of the cow's head.

Xuan Chong wasn't stupid; he knew this beef head meat was special, because those who had been distributing it before were all captains. But he hesitated, unsure what this meant.

Just as I was thinking of what to say, I realized my "workplace experience" was too lacking, so much so that someone kicked me from behind and whispered, "Take charge!"

After being impolitely reminded by the person behind him, Xuan Chong finally regained his composure and shouted, "Thank you for the sacrificial meat, sir!"

However, the marshal did not let Xuan Chong off the hook, and gently reminded him, "Since we are receiving the offering here, will you eat it here, or take it away to eat?"

Xuan Chong was puzzled by this statement, but realized that everyone else understood it.

At this moment, the captain who had brought Xuan Chong along, who was also the elder brother Xuan Chong had recognized before boarding the ship, also realized what was happening and immediately reminded Xuan Chong, "The lord told you to eat here!"

As the current superior, Xuan Chong instinctively obeyed the orders given.

Without hesitation, Xuan Chong picked up the cow's ear, put it in his flatbread, and ate it. Finally, he took a small piece of flatbread, wiped all the grease off his plate, and stuffed it into his mouth to enjoy.

It is said that the senior soldiers said that every last bit of food must be eaten in order to receive the protection of Heaven and Earth during the war.

Xuan Chong felt as if he had just eaten not just beef, but made an important choice that satisfied a group of people in the navy, especially the marshal.

But I always felt something was off. It was like wandering into a place with different customs and traditions, falling directly into a trap set by local customs, and unwittingly stepping into it, only to end up having to enter the bridal chamber according to the local rules.

Two servants were staring intently at him, clearly indicating that he seemed to be bound by the "rules" at the banquet.

Everyone else took their trays back to their seats, but Xuan Chong was kept by the marshal's side.

Music started playing, followed by the clatter of chopsticks and plates, the music drowning out the noise.

…The ceremony is complete…

The marshal said to the people beside him, "He's only fourteen years old, very innocent, and doesn't know any manners; you should take him to get to know him better in the future."

(End of this chapter)