Chapter 1048: We Want to Fight! (Seeking Subscriptions)

At the foot of the southern slope of Laoshan, inside the Great Ming Army Military Academy (Nanjing Military Equipment Academy), things were boiling over like a pot of hot water today. After the academy head Hao Yongzhong (Hao Yaoqi) announced in his booming voice during morning drill that the court was going to punish the Andong rebels and had begun recruiting brave volunteers, righteous volunteers, and cavalrymen, no one could settle down to study anymore.

All the students — whether new arrivals who had entered the academy at the beginning of the year, or third-year students about to take their graduation exams and join their units for field training — were still physically inside the academy, but their minds had flown off to who knows where.

It wasn't only the academy students who had lost all interest in studying; even Sun Shining, the twenty-four-year-old probationary Centurion and third-year instructor in the artillery department, had lost his will to lecture on ballistics.

Because he knew that the coming campaign to pacify Andong would create thousands upon thousands of "Overcoming Hardship" meritorious officials!

For a young officer of his "vintage," academy-trained and professionally schooled, holding the "Overcoming Hardship" merit title was beyond doubt the very thing to rely on for a meteoric rise in the future.

And he had one more advantage over the average academy-trained young officer: he was the son of a great martyr!

His father was the Chongzhen Emperor's last hope — Sun Chuanting, Governor-General of Shaanxi, with the concurrent title of Minister of War, Commissioner-in-Chief of military affairs over seven provinces, Lord Sun Wenzhong!

When Sun Chuanting died in battle at Tong Pass, Sun Shining was only eight years old. In the tenth month of that same year, Xi'an, where he and his family lived, was breached by Li Zicheng. His mother, Lady Zhang, his father's two concubines, and his two sisters all threw themselves into a well and died, leaving him alone and wretched, taken in by an old man. Later, when Li Zicheng briefly allied with the Great Ming against the Qing, Sun Chuanting's eldest son Sun Shirui, who held office in the Prince of Dai's establishment, was able to enter Shaanxi, collect his mother's remains, and find his lost brother Sun Shining.

Only then did the two brothers help each other south, going to Nanjing to join the then Army-Commanding Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang.

And by that time Zhu Cilang had already granted Sun Chuanting the posthumous name "Wenzhong," and had also posthumously enfeoffed him with the title of Marquis of Zhenwu.

After Sun Shirui arrived in Nanjing, he naturally inherited his father's title, and Zhu Cilang also granted the favor of one exemption from generational demotion — for although Sun Chuanting was a martyr, he was not an "Overcoming Hardship" meritorious official, so the title he passed down was subject to demotion with each generation.

As for Sun Shining, being the second son, he could not receive a title or official post — under Zhu Cilang there was no such thing as a "hereditary office." Great merit brought enfeoffment, but apart from the inner feudatories, which had hereditary offices, no one else could obtain a hereditary post. So as the son of a great martyr, Sun Shining could only be a commoner without any official rank!

Such an arrangement seemed a little heartless, but it was likewise an encouragement to second-generation and Nth-generation types like Sun Shining. If you were born with everything, even an official post, and could become an official just by lying there, what reason would there be to strive?

So although Zhu Cilang was very generous when granting titles, he always upheld the principles of "no hereditary offices" and "no enfeeffing second sons."

Not only could Sun Chuanting's second son not obtain a title through ancestral favor — even Wu Sanfu's second son was a plain commoner!

The only exception was princely rank! The second sons of Princes and Commandery Princes could be enfeoffed as Marquises and Earls; third sons could be enfeoffed as Earls and Viscounts; fourth sons could be enfeoffed as Viscounts and Barons; fifth sons of Princes could be enfeoffed as Barons; fifth sons of Commandery Princes and below were commoners! And sixth sons of Princes and below were likewise commoners!

And the large number of "plain commoners" of noble birth became the main source of military academy students and recruited cavalrymen — and quite a few boarded the seagoing ships bound for the New World to carve out their fortunes.

In short, without hereditary wealth and rank, people like them could only begin to work hard.

Moreover, although Zhu Cilang did not give them offices and titles, he did open many new-style academies for them, to help them become useful.

After Sun Shining reached Jiangnan, he attended Nanjing Primary School and Nanjing Middle School, and then with outstanding marks passed the examination for the Great Ming Military Academy.

After graduating from the academy, because his marks were especially excellent, he received a treasured sword presented by the Great Ming Emperor, Zhu Cilang. Only the top three in each class and each department had the honor of receiving a sword — these were not the mass-produced imperially bestowed swords that anyone could get, but imperially gifted swords that only nine people per class could receive!

Yet Sun Shining, who had received a sword, had no chance to display his abilities on the battlefield.

Because by the time he graduated from the academy, the Great Ming had already recovered Beijing. Apart from the southwestern corner still occupied by roving bandits, the Great Ming realm seemed already at peace.

This was rather a case of a hero with no battlefield to prove himself on.

Just as Sun Shining was fretting helplessly, his elder brother Sun Shirui, who had already worked his way up to Vice Minister in the Great Ming court, secured for him an opportunity as a "candidate Imperial Son-in-law" — Zhu Cilang's younger sister, Princess Zhaoren, was already a grown young lady waiting in her chambers, and by age she should have married long ago. It was only because Princess Zhaoren loved study too much and attended Jinling Girls' School (a women's academy) that things were delayed a little.

But the Emperor's younger sister certainly had no worry about finding a husband now!

When an emperor's daughters and sisters worry about marriage, that is actually one of the signs of weakening imperial power.

And the imperial power of the Great Ming had not been so illustrious since the time of the Chengzu Emperor!

So if Sun Shining could be selected as Imperial Son-in-law, that would be fine — the problem was, if he was selected, perhaps he could no longer go to the battlefield!

If he couldn't go to the battlefield, was he to spend his whole life as a kept Imperial Son-in-law?

"Mister Sun, we want to petition!"

Just as Sun Shining was full of worries, several students who had been bent over their examination papers in the classroom suddenly stood up and shouted.

Sun Shining looked up and saw that the one leading the shouting was a student built dark and thick, like an iron tower — also the descendant of a martyr, the son of Zhou Yuji, Zhou Yongbin.

When Zhou Yongbin's father Zhou Yuji died in battle at Ningwu, he was still a small child, living in Beijing. He was carried on the back of a loyal family servant and fled together with Zhu Cilang, making his way by twists and turns to Jiangnan.

After things settled down, Zhu Cilang also posthumously enfeoffed Zhou Yuji as Marquis of Zhongwu, inherited by Zhou Yongbin, likewise with one exemption from generational demotion.

In other words, this Zhou Yongbin was a Marquis.

In the military academy, noble sons came in droves — there were plenty of sons of Dukes and Marquises, and even a few young Princes. But they themselves had not inherited titles; those like Zhou Yongbin who came bearing a Marquis title were truly few, and needless to say, all were descendants of meritorious officials.

"Marquis of Zhongwu," Sun Shining said with a stern face, "have you finished your examination paper?"

"Mister, what time do you think this is?" Zhou Yongbin stamped his foot. "War is about to break out — aren't you anxious at all? If we miss this chance before us, the next one might be eight or ten years away!"

"That's right! Let's all go petition together! I, Hu Daya, can't wait any longer!" Another tough-looking fellow jumped up — he too was a martyr's descendant, the son of Hu Dawei, but not the eldest son, so he had not inherited a title. How could he not be anxious?

"Mister, we can't wait either!"

"We can't miss this chance!"

"We want to go to war."

Sun Shining frowned deeply and barked, "You're anxious — you think I'm not? But this matter isn't up to me!"

Zhou Yongbin said, "We can go petition — petition Academy Head Hao. If that doesn't work, we'll petition before the throne, asking him to graciously permit us to graduate early and join the army for battle!"

"Right, let's all go petition together!"

"Mister Sun, let's go together!"

"Let's go petition together!"

"If we don't go, there won't be another chance!"

If they didn't go, there would be no chance! The students were frantic!

Sun Shining thought it over — they were right. This opportunity could not be missed, or else he would truly have no choice but to marry a princess and live off her.

"Fine!" Sun Shining nodded heavily. "Let's go petition together! This officer will lead you there!"

The moment Sun Shining nodded, today's ballistics exam was abandoned. The whole roomful of students surged out after him into the drill ground outside, and only then did they discover that the area in front of the academy head's building was already a sea of people — at least two or three thousand crowded there.

The entire military academy was already boiling over!

The officer cadets in attendance, regardless of year, were all shouting there: "We want to fight! We want to fight! We want to fight!"

(End of Chapter)