Chapter 32: You Are Different — Everyone Will Be Different

Conferring rewards on over two thousand lower-reward warriors took considerable time.

Regrettably, though Zhu Youjian listened intently for quite a while, he did not catch a single familiar name.

By now the sun was high overhead, and on the parade ground the soldiers who had received no reward had fallen into utter chaos.

Drumming, shouting, shoving.

Human emotion is contagious; when the first man began to grumble out of envy and disappointment, the negative mood quickly spread through the crowd like a plague.

On the review platform, Zhu Youjian took all of this in, his expression calm and unruffled.

The two Camp Officers behind him, however, were on pins and needles, fine beads of sweat already seeping from their foreheads.

Several times they made to speak, but each time they caught sight of the Emperor's young yet cold profile, they swallowed the words that had risen to their lips.

A scene like this, under ordinary circumstances, would long since have called for troops to be dispatched to suppress it.

But today, with His Majesty present, who dared make a move on their own authority?

"Serve the meal."

Zhu Youjian's voice was not loud, yet it reached every man's ears with perfect clarity.

Xu Yingyuan started slightly, then bowed and acknowledged the order.

The command was swiftly relayed, and the previously clamorous crowd on the parade ground first fell silent, then erupted in earth-shaking cheers.

Whether they had earned a reward or not, a meal still had to be eaten.

Heaven is great, earth is great, but eating is the greatest.

And besides, with His Majesty here today, surely they would get a full belly?!

Heads bobbed together across the parade ground, every face wreathed in laughter and cheerful talk.

Yet Zhu Youjian's very next words shattered the atmosphere that had just barely grown harmonious.

"The warriors selected today shall be fed separately, and each man shall receive an extra ration as well."

At these words, the warriors who had won rewards in the archery contest instantly burst into cheers even more fervent than before.

"Your Majesty is sage and wise!"

"We thank Your Majesty for this gracious favor!"

They stood with chests out and heads high, faces alight with pride and delight, and when they looked at the rejected men beside them, their eyes held an undisguised sense of superiority.

As for those on the parade ground who had won no reward, the smiles on their faces froze solid.

We are all soldiers here — why should they feast on delicacies while we can only stand by and watch?

Within the crowd, fresh stirrings began to brew once more.

Zhu Youjian cared not a whit — absolute fairness is the greatest unfairness.

Without a gap in treatment, what is there to stir men's hearts?

Civil officials must compete, the inner attendants must compete, and you soldiers will compete for me too!

Compete fast and compete well, and what harm is there if We keep piling on the bonuses and let you feast on ten rounds in a row?!

Still, there are always exceptions to every rule.

Amid those gazes of envy, jealousy, and resentment, there were also some men gesticulating with excitement, the joy on their faces even more genuine than that of the rewarded warriors.

"See that? The one on the far left! That's my elder brother! He took the upper reward!"

A young soldier was excitedly grabbing his companion's arm and shaking it with all his might.

"The upper reward is four taels! Ha ha ha! My family won't have to worry about next year's summer tax!"

Similar scenes were far from rare among the ranks of the rejected.

When one man finds the Way, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

Though they themselves had not won a reward, their kin, fellow townsmen, and close friends had — for now it was gold and silver, but who could say it would not lead to rank and riches in the future?

Even in the worst case, if they went to serve as a substitute corvée laborer for a noble house, that would still mean an extra copper coin or two, wouldn't it?

Zhu Youjian watched all this in silence; the complexity and rawness of human nature were laid utterly bare in this moment.

He did not rush to suppress those nursing grievances, nor did he move to commend those cheering for their friends and kin.

He merely took advantage of the time while the cooks were lighting fires and preparing the meal to ask for paper and brush, bend over the low table, and rapidly calculate something.

A short while later, he set down the brush, the figures now clear in his mind.

Zhu Youjian nodded, rose from his seat, and swept his gaze over the three thousand so-called "warriors" below the platform — men who, though standing in a single row, had fallen into ragged formation and were whispering among themselves.

"Warriors in such disarray — it truly is an unsightly thing."

He spoke lightly, his voice not loud, yet carrying an authority that brooked no doubt.

He turned to Xu Yingyuan beside him and instructed: "Xu Yingyuan, go down. Have each man who won a middle or upper reward temporarily take three or four lower-reward men and form a small squad, assuming the post of File Leader for the time being."

File Leader!

Though it was the lowest of officer ranks, it was still an officer!

At these words, not only Xu Yingyuan but even the two Camp Officers were stunned.

Was His Majesty… promoting officers on the spot?

This was far too… irregular!

In the army, the selection and appointment of officers had always followed a strict set of procedures — how could it be treated as child's play?

Although His Majesty did say "for the time being"…

But once these soldiers' ambitions were stirred, would they still be obedient afterward?

The two Camp Officers exchanged a glance, and each saw in the other's eyes shock and a trace of… displeasure.

They opened their mouths, as if about to speak.

But Xu Yingyuan gave them no chance to open their mouths at all.

He did not even glance at the two men, but bowed deeply to Zhu Youjian and declared in a ringing voice: "This slave obeys the imperial decree!"

With that, he turned and strode briskly down from the review platform to begin conveying the Emperor's decree.

Seeing this, Gao Shiming immediately grasped the intent. He waved a hand at the junior eunuchs behind him: "All of you, be sharp about it. Go down and help Eunuch Xu organize the ranks. Each of you take charge of ten small squads. Make sure the formation is drawn up neat and orderly for His Majesty!"

"Yes!"

The inner attendants roared their assent and also ran down from the review platform.

Only the two Camp Officers were left, standing awkwardly in place, their faces alternating between ashen and flushed.

A vague sense of foreboding stirred within them, but they could not see it clearly.

His Majesty had stumbled upon the fraud of false enlistment today, yet had not spoken a single word about it — it was like a long sword hanging over their heads.

Until they were certain of their own safety, they dared not utter a single word.

As Xu Yingyuan and the inner attendants passed their orders down, the ranks that had just been preening over receiving the title of "Warrior" instantly descended into chaos.

"What gives you the right to be File Leader?"

"I hit two out of nine, just one short of a reward. You only got a reward too — what gives you the right to order me around?"

"All of you, stop arguing! Listen to Eunuch Xu!"

A new power structure was taking shape, the old equilibrium was shattered — chaos was inevitable.

Amidst this very chaos, Sun Yingyuan, who had been standing at Zhu Youjian's side all along, finally drifted back to his senses from the ecstasy of that "special reward."

He looked at his comrades around him, arguing until their faces were red and their ears crimson over a mere File Leader's post, then looked at Xu Yingyuan and the inner attendants rushing back and forth through the crowd, shouting orders, and felt utterly lost.

His Majesty… seems to have forgotten about me?

He gritted his teeth, a fierce battle raging in his heart.

On one side, the fear of breaching decorum before the sovereign; on the other, the unwillingness to let his future slip away.

In the end, his longing for what lay ahead overcame his dread of imperial authority.

Summoning the greatest courage of his life, he stepped forward from the ranks, faced Zhu Youjian upon the review platform, and cupped his hands in salute.

"Your Majesty!"

His voice was somewhat hoarse from tension, yet in that clamorous setting, it was still clearly audible.

Zhu Youjian's gaze fell upon him.

"Your Majesty, what about me?" Sun Yingyuan looked up, his eyes carrying a trace of grievance and urgency. "I am… the special reward."

Seeing that expression — so nervous yet so full of hope — Zhu Youjian could not help but burst into hearty laughter.

He descended from the review platform and came before Sun Yingyuan, intending to pat him on the shoulder like an amiable leader, only to discover with embarrassment that the fellow was far too tall and brawny; even standing on tiptoe was a struggle.

He had no choice but to smoothly withdraw his hand and pat Sun Yingyuan's arm instead, which was solid as a block of iron.

"Yingyuan, you are the top Zhuangyuan of this session. Naturally, you are different from the rest."

Zhu Youjian's tone was warm and carried a smile.

Sun Yingyuan was somewhat dazed by the Emperor's intimate gesture, but upon hearing the word "Zhuangyuan," wild joy surged in his heart once more.

But… different in what way?

Suspicious at heart yet not daring to ask further, he could only scratch his head, respond with a simple grunt, and withdraw back into the ranks.

Watching him look so unwilling yet too timid to speak further, Zhu Youjian found it somewhat amusing.

He turned around and gazed out at those ranks, still slowly establishing order amidst the chaos, his mind teeming with thoughts.

Yes, you are different, Sun Yingyuan.

And not just you — none of you can ever be the same again.

A man cannot step into the same river twice.

Sun Yingyuan, in this life, your destiny, and the destiny of this nation, are fated to be utterly different from what history recorded!

I, Zhu Youjian, mean every word I say!