Chapter 454: Three Thousand Martial Artists, I Occupy One

The highest official of Fucheng is the Fucheng Monarch, who is also a hereditary Marquis from a noble family, holding the dual status of an Enfeoffed Monarch's subject and the leader of a noble family.

It is precisely because of this status that he can command all the forces in Fucheng, with everyone responding to his call.

The three forces he conscripted—the garrison, the Martial Arts Association, and the Hundred Guilds—cover all groups in the city capable of combat.

The garrison is the force controlled by the authorities; all cities within the territory of a prefecture and the armies stationed in the wilderness are under the unified control of the Fucheng Monarch.

A garrison unit ranges from one thousand to several thousand men, managed, trained, and commanded by a Commandant.

Commandant Chen is one of the garrison officers, serving the Fucheng Monarch alongside his colleagues.

Conservatively estimated, the regular army directly commanded by Fucheng is between ten thousand and twenty thousand.

This great army is the pillar of the prefecture; no matter how many cities fall or how many commoners die, as long as the army remains, this land is still under control.

Only the Fucheng Monarch's order can mobilize the garrisons from various places to provide manpower and resources.

The Martial Arts Association is not an official organization; it is essentially a guild spontaneously organized by the people.

However, as one of the three forces, the Martial Arts Association is the one with the greatest mobilization potential and the strongest advantages.

Martial artists are natural high-quality soldiers; they make a living through fighting and dueling in their daily lives, so they can fight after minimal training once brought to the battlefield.

There are hundreds of martial arts schools in the city, so gathering three thousand people is absolutely no problem.

Recently, a huge number of martial artists from other places have flooded in; many have no livelihood and cause trouble and fights, which has even led to a decline in public security within the city.

If this opportunity is taken to seize idle martial artists for military service, wouldn't it be killing two birds with one stone? Of course, the one holding the dominant power this time is the Martial Arts Association President, the "Hateful Overlord" Yan Shan; whether to choose someone or not is decided by his word alone.

The final group, the Hundred Guilds, refers generally to the guilds organized by various trades in the city.

The nature of these guilds carries a hint of the prototype of a vibrant organization; they have structure, gang rules, and family laws, with strict hierarchies, and they spend money to support a group of martial experts to seize markets and suppress competitors.

Especially in industries involving heavy labor like stonemasons, carpenters, leatherworkers, and woodcutters, the quality of the members is extremely high, and organizing them into an elite force is effortless.

Ordinary gangs are like little brothers compared to them!

The order issued by the Fucheng Monarch spread throughout the city that night, leaving every household unable to sleep through the night.

The Zhou Family...

After the wedding night, taking advantage of the clarity of mind during the post-coital period, Zhou You and Hua Youxing began to discuss.

"I am a newcomer with shallow roots; there must be a place for me among the three thousand martial artists. This battle cannot be avoided."

"I will be away on the expedition, and I will have to trouble you to help look after things at home."

Hua Youxing interrupted him, correcting the error in his words, "You and I are one as husband and wife; there is no talk of 'helping.' Go with peace of mind."

Zhou You tucked the quilt up to cover their bodies pressed together.

"With a great battle imminent, prices are soaring, especially for various wound medicines, medicinal wines, pills, and the like; we must stock up in advance."

Hua Youxing's fingertips traced lightly over Zhou You's chest while she planned the upcoming business.

"I must rise early tomorrow and go home for a trip!"

Zhou You gently stroked her hair, "Sleep early!"

In fact, before dawn had even broken, Fucheng was already boiling.

Several markets and various shops were exploding with activity; everywhere there were customers purchasing supplies. With a great battle imminent, everything was rising in price.

Whether setting out on an expedition or staying behind, one cannot avoid eating and drinking, and daily necessities are indispensable for even a single day.

Price hikes, everywhere there were price hikes.

Zhou You heard that, taking advantage of this trend, the Shen family's business had picked up; although it had not yet recovered to its scale in Gongliang City, it was operating well and showing an upward trend.

After serving tea to her parents-in-law early in the morning, the new bride immediately changed out of her wedding attire, removed her jewelry, and threw herself back into her career. "Sigh, looking at this, when will she be able to have children?"

Not only were Zhou You's parents worried, but relatives and friends like Zuo Shier were also somewhat concerned; Hua Youxing's demeanor did not look like that of someone who would stay home to raise children.

"Don't worry, it's easy for Master to take a few more concubines to expand the family line."

Before lunch, the conscription order for the Martial Arts Association arrived.

Sure enough, Zhou You was listed as one of the three thousand martial artists, becoming one of the chosen ones qualified to serve the Fucheng Monarch.

Although he had anticipated it, he still felt some emotion when the matter arrived.

There are hundreds of thousands of martial artists in Fucheng; although most are low-level martial artists, selecting three thousand people from this base meant the probability of being chosen was not small at all.

Zhou You could only attribute it to the fact that it was a targeted selection!

Yan Shan has always been swift and decisive; by the afternoon, the conscription orders had already been delivered to everyone's hands.

Qin Lie and Yang Kuoqiong arrived at the door one after another; when everyone compared notes, sure enough, the new school masters had all been conscripted.

"They still don't treat us as one of their own."

Qin Lie was filled with resentment, his fiery temper finally unable to be suppressed, "I've asked around; many martial arts schools in the city didn't send a single person. Why treat us like stepchildren? And there's more..."

Yang Kuoqiong said to Zhou You that the Martial Arts Association had acted unfairly this time, avoiding many martial arts schools and conscripting a large number of martial artists from other places.

In other words, half of the three thousand men in the Martial Arts Association were foreign martial artists like Zhou You; the local martial artists were numerous and powerful, yet their proportion of people sent was a fraction of that of the foreign martial artists.

"The 'Hateful Overlord' Yan Shan is just a bird of the same feather after all!"

They had originally thought Yan Shan was different from the others in the Martial Arts Association, but now it seemed they were all favoring their own people.

Such an excessive conscription ratio could never have been pushed through without the nod of the President, Yan Shan.

Zhou You frowned and asked, "How many people is the Overlord Martial Arts School sending?"

Qin Lie and Yang Kuoqiong looked at each other, unable to answer.

A moment later, Zuo Shier walked in quickly, bringing brand-new news.

The Overlord Martial Arts School, led by the master Yan Shan, accompanied by his nephew Yan Wanjun, fellow disciples, and over 20 other martial artists, totaled 500 people.

His martial arts school alone claimed 1/6 of the total number.

Now, no one had any more doubts about Yan Shan; his move could be considered selfless, without a shred of selfish desire to preserve his own strength.

"But, why is this?"

Qin Lie and his companion were completely baffled.

Yanshan condones the high-level management of the Martial Guild in substituting others to take the blame, using outside martial artists as cannon fodder while local martial arts schools provide no men.

He also deployed 500 elite personnel from the martial arts schools to join the Martial Guild's force of three thousand, including his own blood descendants and fellow Senior Brothers.

Such contradictory actions left people momentarily unsure of how to evaluate him! "This 'Hateful Overlord' is no simple character!"

Zhou You exhaled and commented, "Those he summoned this time are all skilled hands and experts; he clearly put some thought into it."

Outsiders all think he is favoring the local martial arts schools, but in reality, the local schools have enjoyed long periods of peace, relying on intricate, deep-rooted connections to occupy advantageous resources and grow fat and lazy, with very few who can actually fight.

Were it not for the local protection mechanism, the number of martial arts schools that failed during the recent wave of challenges would have at least increased tenfold.

Those with true combat effectiveness are precisely the destitute outside martial arts masters; having broken through harsh environments to escape here, they dare to risk their lives for a future, making them the best warriors.

(End of this chapter)