Chapter 1048: Chen Sheng's Cry

The servant squads standing below the wooden platform began to stir, but during this formation inspection, moving or shouting without orders was a breach of discipline. After a moment of bewildered hesitation, someone found a way — the servants began pounding the ground with their long spears. Thousands of spear shafts hammered the earth in a thunderous roar, while the firearms servants clashed their wooden musket rests against their firelocks.

No squad leader with axe-spear in hand moved to restrain them. They first glanced toward the wooden platform, and seeing no one intervene, they too began striking the ground with their long-hafted axe-spears.

Chen Sheng raised the banner in his left hand, his right fist thrust high, and bellowed with full-throated vigor: "We eat Lord Jin's rice, wear Lord Jin's clothes, draw Lord Jin's pay — we heed only Lord Jin's words, pledge loyalty only to Lord Jin, and stake our lives for Lord Jin!"

Zhao Jin, standing behind Chen Sheng, was first puzzled, then his face broke into a rueful smile. Wang Zhaojing's expression showed disapproval, and he moved to step forward and stop it, but Liu Yong reached out and held him back. Ji Xiang, however, listened with rapt attention, murmuring Chen Sheng's words under his breath, his face alight with fervor.

These words were all plain truth — every single servant present muttered them often. Yet it was precisely such plain truth that could stir men's hearts. In this atmosphere, each man felt as though his whole being was about to burst open, but in that moment, none knew how to give it voice.

Just then, Liu Yong strode forward several steps and shouted at the top of his lungs: "For Lord Jin, we would go through fire and water, and face ten thousand deaths without flinching!"

The servants below seemed to have found an outlet. As the order-passing servants roared it out, they joined in a thunderous chant: "For Lord Jin, we would go through fire and water, and face ten thousand deaths without flinching!"

"Lord Jin's tiger-might! Zhao Battalion, ever-victorious!" Liu Yong again raised his arm and bellowed, and below, a tidal-wave roar answered back.

Zhao Jin shook his head with a rueful laugh, but strode forward. By the time he stepped ahead of Chen Sheng and Liu Yong, the smile had vanished from his face. Chen Sheng and Liu Yong automatically parted to either side and took a step back.

"I will not fail you all. Follow me forward!" Zhao Jin declared in a clear, ringing voice.

The moment Zhao Jin spoke, every squad formation beneath the wooden platform fell utterly silent, listening as the personal guards stationed in the gaps between formations relayed Zhao Jin's two sentences.

When those two sentences were delivered, the scene was quiet at first. No one knew who shouted first, but then the others roared out again, and the atmosphere seemed to boil over.

Zhao Jin waved his hand in acknowledgment again and again. Watching his gesture, the servants below responded with even wilder fervor. In that instant, every servant thought of how this man before them had given them food, warmth, and dignity — had led them to victory after victory, made all others bow their heads before them, and look upon them with awe-filled eyes. These things, these victories, had always seemed so ordinary, so taken for granted. Yet in this moment, they all realized: it was this tall, straight-backed young man who had given them all of it, who had led them to seize it.

The boiling atmosphere lasted a while, then slowly cooled. Chen Sheng, holding the banner, was about to descend the wooden platform when Zhao Jin said in a low voice behind him: "Dasheng, what's the rush?"

"Sooner or later, someone had to say it. Better it be me!" Chen Sheng replied. He did not look back, but strode straight down from the platform.

Zhao Jin shook his head and stepped back two paces. At that moment, a faint smile surfaced on Wang Zhaojing's face, and he said in a lowered voice: "The rhyme and meter of that cry were far too clumsy. In the end, nothing beats 'Long live Lord Jin' — simple and resounding."

"Did you two arrange this beforehand?" Zhao Jin looked over at him, caught between tears and laughter. Wang Zhaojing smiled and shook his head.

Next to be conferred was the regiment banner of the Second Regiment. The First Regiment's banner had already been given to Chen Sheng in advance, since he concurrently held the post of First Regiment commander.

The regiment banner's design was far simpler than the brigade banner — the traditional black field with red border, a large Zhao character written upon it, and to the left of the Zhao character, a vertical line of black script reading "Zhao Battalion, First Brigade, X Regiment."

In the official army, banners were of paramount importance — they distinguished each battalion, represented different battlefield commands, and even served to intimidate or deceive. Hence, banners were numerous. But within the Zhao Battalion, banners were merely a command symbol. Because the formations were so rigorously ordered, each regiment and company needed no banner to tell them apart — they were already standing in place. Orders were transmitted primarily by drum and suona horn; banners were relatively secondary.

The commander of the Second Regiment mounted the platform to receive his regiment banner. Chen Sheng had already stirred things up earlier, so those who followed dared not make any overly outrageous gestures. All strictly observed protocol, not daring the slightest slip.

The commander mounting the platform to receive the Second Regiment banner was Zhuang Liu. Before the details of this expansion and reorganization were made clear, many had assumed the four company commanders of the great companies would be promoted to regiment commanders. No one expected that, of the First Brigade's four regiments — aside from the First Regiment commander being Chen Sheng in a concurrent post — the First Regiment deputy commander and the commanders and deputy commanders of the other three regiments would all be filled by veteran company commanders from the three regiments and the personal guard unit. This was surprising, but not all that surprising.

Those veteran company commanders were already of roughly equal seniority to Lu Da, Li Wu, Zhang Hubin, and the others. The sole exception was that Li He.

The Second Regiment's commander was Zhuang Liu. His promotion to this post surprised no one at all. As the company commander of the personal guard unit's First Company, Zhuang Liu's seniority was more than sufficient.

"I vow to die for Lord Jin, my loyalty unwavering unto death." As he received the Second Regiment banner, Zhuang Liu said to Zhao Jin with solemn gravity.

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded, then spoke words of encouragement: "Do your work well. Do not disgrace this banner, and do not disgrace our Xuzhou."

Zhuang Liu snapped to solemn attention and acknowledged the order. Zhao Jin did not say much more to him, but moved on to confer banners upon the commanders of the Third and Fourth Regiments, and then to offer encouragement to the three regiment deputy commanders who had mounted the platform together. Suppressing his surging emotions, Zhuang Liu raised the Second Regiment banner high and descended the wooden platform. As he stepped down the stairs, he glanced at the Second Regiment, and at the other regiments as well.

With just a few casual sweeps of his eyes, Zhuang Liu spotted many familiar faces — all members of the Prosperity Dragon Society. Outsiders would see nothing, but Zhuang Liu knew: in this formation of the First Brigade, including the First Regiment, many of the regiment commanders, deputy commanders, company commanders, and deputy company commanders were Prosperity Dragon Society members. True, these Society members had indeed earned merit — diligent in training, strict in observing drill regulations, competent in battlefield command, always vying to be first — yet in this round of promotions, Prosperity Dragon Society members had clearly been given priority.

"This is Lord Jin's trust in us. We absolutely must not fail Lord Jin!" Having reached this conclusion, they all encouraged one another.

Ever since learning this, Zhuang Liu's heart had been surging with emotion. His thoughts ranged far, and he made a firm resolution: he must do his work well, must ensure that the troops under his command were absolutely loyal to Zhao Jin. Zhuang Liu also dimly perceived another matter — beyond his own troops, he must also ensure that the other battalions were absolutely loyal to Zhao Jin. Yet on this line of thought, he dared not delve too deeply. Still, seeing those Prosperity Dragon Society members below, Zhuang Liu again felt that more of the servants loyal to Zhao Jin should be cultivated and recruited into the Prosperity Dragon Society.

After the banner-conferring ceremony, Zhao Jin mounted his horse and reviewed each regiment and company of the First Brigade. Clad in expertly crafted armor, riding a choice steed, he galloped between the formations, rousing wave after wave of frenzied cheers. Next, Zhao Jin publicly announced several matters, the most important of which was the rewarding of the servants.

For those servants who had rendered meritorious service within the Zhao Battalion, military rewards went without saying — they received a modest sum of prize money and a solid, tangible plot of farmland. This land required no tax payment and would be cultivated by others on their behalf. If they retired from service, the land would remain tax-exempt but must be cultivated by themselves. The plot would grow larger with further merit and seniority. Beyond those who had earned merit, servants who had served in the Zhao Battalion for a certain number of years and participated in successive battles also received a plot of land — this land required only a token twenty-percent tax and was to be cultivated by their families. If they served even longer in the Zhao Battalion, the tax would be waived entirely, and their land, like that of meritorious servants, would be cultivated by others on their behalf, until it ultimately became their family's own property.

For regiment commanders, deputy commanders, company commanders, deputy commanders, squad leaders, and deputy squad leaders, the rules were the same as before: they too were granted tax-exempt farmland, which would increase with their rank, merit, and seniority. The moment this was announced, the servants were utterly and irrevocably devoted. Staking their lives for Lord Jin not only meant food, warmth, and dignity for their families — it meant they could build up a family estate. Tax-exempt farmland — wasn't that the same as those degree-holding scholars and provincial graduates, those lords?

Those who had received land were beside themselves with excitement; those who had not were brimming with drive. For what Zhao Jin had announced was not harsh — so long as you put your heart into it and worked hard, you could surely achieve it. As for whether Lord Jin would keep his word and honor his promises, no one worried about that. Lord Jin's word had always been his bond. And all these years of campaigning east and west — how much land had been seized? Hadn't a batch already been distributed? What was there left to worry about?

When the First Brigade entered Shandong territory, even before the various regiments had taken their positions, the situation in Shandong's Yanzhou Prefecture instantly quieted down. Whatever intention lay behind the Zhao Battalion deploying such strength, within Yanzhou Prefecture, no one could match such force. Anyone with a slightly broader view knew even better: never mind Yanzhou Prefecture — the whole of Shandong would likely have to muster every last ounce of strength just to hold its own.

Faced with such power, who would dare stir? Who would dare bring their petty schemes into the open? All anyone could do now was cooperate wholeheartedly and curry favor with the Zhao Battalion, to see if they might gain some advantage under the rules of Xuzhou and the Zhao Battalion — rather than overestimate themselves and play any cunning games.

The First Brigade began moving into position. The manpower shortfalls at the various manors — caused by unrest and desertion — were gradually filled. Those manor laborers who had fled and been sheltered or hidden elsewhere were all sent back. The sect followers who had been operating with the tacit approval of local gentry and strongmen were all rounded up and pressed into service to replenish the Zhao Battalion's manors.

"The numbers of this single brigade, when revealed, are staggering to behold. But we are dispersed across Yanzhou Prefecture's various estates — not near any city, not close to the official roads, not at any strategic chokepoint. That many fewer people will take notice. Four thousand-odd men are inconspicuous against the whole of Shandong."

Thanks to book friend "1650172222" for the screen-flooding tips — a rather subtle feeling. Thank you all for your subscriptions and support. Shall we do an event in a few days?