Chapter 1071: This Is Where I Belong

"... You don't need to worry about a thing. Do you know Zhuang Liu, the regiment commander of the Second Regiment in the First Brigade? He's the number two man in our Prosper the Dragon Society. Don't you know how loyal he is to Lord Jin? And Zhang Hubin, the deputy brigade commander of the Personal Guard Brigade—he's the most outstanding figure among the household troops, and he's also one of ours in the Prosper the Dragon Society. He's both loyal and has rendered great service..."

After listing these examples, Ge Tianfeng grew excited. So this was the kind of organization it was. In this third-rank class, hardly anyone associated with Ge Tianfeng. At first, he was ostracized by every circle, which made him seem withdrawn. But how could Ge Tianfeng not want friends? He had no family left and was in a strange land; he desperately wanted friends, companions he could advance alongside. And this Prosper the Dragon Society could give him all of that.

"I am willing to shatter my bones to dust for Lord Jin. This life was given to me by Lord Jin, and I can never repay what I owe him. I am willing to join this Prosper the Dragon Society!" Ge Tianfeng made up his mind very quickly.

After he made this declaration, that senior brother from the second-rank class told him to go back and await word, and specifically gave him a few instructions, telling him to keep the secret and not speak of it to anyone else. Because if the secrets of the Prosper the Dragon Society were leaked, they could no longer keep an eye on the goings-on around them, and it would also attract a horde of sycophantic rats to join, which would rot the Prosper the Dragon Society from within and prevent it from properly serving Lord Jin.

Ge Tianfeng was more level-headed than most in his class. He acted as if nothing had happened and returned to his normal routine. When he went back, Ge Tianfeng also noticed that quite a dozen or so classmates in his class were inexplicably excited. He didn't know if they had also been approached by a senior brother or someone else. But Ge Tianfeng still kept a measure of caution. He had already prepared himself: if anything seemed off, he would report it immediately. He absolutely could not afford to be tricked into some evil cult again.

Three days later, Ge Tianfeng received a notice telling him to go to a certain warehouse in the martial academy after dinner. The time after dinner was free activity within the closed academy. Ge Tianfeng went very cautiously, and hardly anyone noticed him heading toward that secluded area. The warehouse, which should have been pitch-black, was actually lit up. There were people standing guard outside, and even hidden sentries. Ge Tianfeng gave the prearranged password, "Prosper the Dragon Protects Zhao," and only then was he allowed through by the men who stopped him.

After entering the warehouse, Ge Tianfeng saw over twenty classmates. There were peers from the third-rank class and also senior brothers from the second-rank class. What surprised him even more was that the deputy chief instructor of the martial academy was also there. The moment he saw this deputy chief instructor, all of Ge Tianfeng's doubts vanished completely.

For the young men within the sphere of influence of the Zhao Character Camp, being able to study at the Xuzhou Martial Academy was like stepping onto the bright road to official rank and wealth. But for the household troops who had already reached the rank of deputy company commander or higher, the interest in coming to the Xuzhou Martial Academy was rather limited. Official rank still had to be seized immediately; battlefield merit was the proper path, let alone coming to the Xuzhou Martial Academy for a leisurely post like instructor.

Only those household troop leaders who were disabled, carried hidden injuries, were advanced in age, or could no longer go to the battlefield for various reasons were assigned here. The reality was more or less what everyone imagined. But this place was neither a retirement home nor a convalescent ward; it still required people with real skill. So the ranks were set very high. An instructor for one class received the pay of a company commander, the six deputy chief instructors held the position of battalion commander, and the chief instructor was concurrently held by Zhao Jin.

The deputy chief instructor in the warehouse was surnamed Lu, named Lu Yunzheng. He was in his twenties and had once followed Zhao Jin in putting down the roving bandits beneath the walls of Xuzhou. His seniority was very deep. Had he not been left with a crippled right leg during a battle against the Shandong government troops, he would likely have had a position as deputy regiment commander in this expansion. Back in the day, this deputy chief instructor had been dirt-poor. When he was sent to be a household trooper, someone in his family was already on the verge of starving to death. It was by following Zhao Jin that he managed to support his family, gradually achieving a comfortable life, and now his family was one of the respectable households in Xuzhou. Therefore, this Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng was utterly loyal to Zhao Jin; there was absolutely no possibility of betrayal or rebellion.

Precisely because of this, Ge Tianfeng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this deputy chief instructor. The peers from the third-rank class in the room were first surprised to see Ge Tianfeng, then immediately showed warm, friendly smiles. Even those usually stern senior brothers from the second-rank class nodded in greeting. This made Ge Tianfeng feel very warm inside. He had finally found his destined place to settle and belong.

Several oil lamps were lit inside the warehouse. Everyone stood at ease just as they did during daily drills. The room was quiet; no one spoke. After a while, a few more student soldiers from the third-rank class arrived. The deputy chief instructor, who had been sitting silently, stood up and spoke: "Fall in and dress ranks!"

A senior brother from the second-rank class raised his right arm high as a marker. Everyone used him as the reference point, as they did in daily drills, and quickly formed up into a square formation. It was fortunate the warehouse was spacious; otherwise, it would have been too cramped. The deputy chief instructor and two other student soldiers from the second-rank class unfurled a banner in front of the formation. This banner was the earliest style of the Zhao Character Camp's flag—a simple design of black and red, with the character 'Zhao' on it.

"We were all poor and suffering in the past, never knowing when we might rise above our station. That we have today, that our families are fed, clothed, and prosperous, that we can hold our heads high—it is all because of Lord Jin. We must be grateful. We must be loyal to Lord Jin and serve him with all our loyalty." The deputy chief instructor spoke in a deep voice, his tone solemn.

Everyone in the warehouse stood ramrod straight. After several months of study in the martial academy, through this constant indoctrination and education, combined with what they had seen and heard before entering the academy, every single person agreed with Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng's words. Looking at the banner before them, each person felt a sense of solemnity and reverence.

"Out there now are the Great Ming's government troops, the village militias and trained braves of powerful families, the outlaws and mounted bandits of the greenwood, and further away, the foreign Tatar slaves. Within, there are still men with traitorous hearts who will not die, constantly seeking to harm Lord Jin and the Zhao Character Camp. Our Prosper the Dragon Society exists to protect Lord Jin and defend the Zhao Character Camp. When Lord Jin gives an order, we must charge to the very front. Should anyone seek to harm Lord Jin or endanger the Zhao Character Camp, we must detect it and we must block it!" the deputy chief instructor said in a muffled voice.

Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng's tone was very flat, and his phrasing was very plain, yet his words carried a kind of power. Without realizing it, Ge Tianfeng was shaken by this power.

"In joining the Prosper the Dragon Society, glory and riches may not necessarily come in the public eye, but in enduring hardship and fatigue, in sacrificing life and forgetting death, you must strive to be first. As a member of the Prosper the Dragon Society, you must stand out above the rest. If others have ten parts of skill, you must have eleven. Otherwise, how can you be more loyal than others? Upon entering my Prosper the Dragon Society, to serve Lord Jin loyally, besides your own official duties, there will be additional toil..." Lu Yunzheng's speech became more fluent at this point.

"If you are unwilling to join the Prosper the Dragon Society, you may still withdraw now. No one will blame you, nor will it hinder your future prospects. But if you do join, then in life and in death, you are the backbone and core of our Zhao Character Camp, never to retreat for all eternity! Are you willing to join this Prosper the Dragon Society?" Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng raised his voice and asked.

Those selected to study in the martial academy were all die-hard sons from within the Zhao Character Camp's domain. Their fathers and elder brothers all worked for the Zhao Character Camp. In daily life, they already regarded Zhao Jin with the reverence of a god. Several months of study in this martial academy had only reinforced that impression. When asked now, only a few hesitated briefly before joining everyone else in saying: "We are willing to join!"

A smile appeared on Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng's face. After giving this answer, the student soldiers all felt their blood boil for a moment. They felt they had drawn a little closer to Zhao Jin, that they themselves had become more powerful. Ge Tianfeng had the same thought, but another doubt lingered in his mind. The voices in the warehouse had been a bit loud just now—would they be discovered by outsiders? Yet the deputy chief instructor and the others seemed completely unconcerned.

What followed were all procedures. They pressed their fingerprints into a roster and wrote down their names, some neatly, some crookedly. The martial academy taught reading and writing, so even those who had been illiterate before could now write it out. Then they were told the rules: they could not reveal their identity as members of the Prosper the Dragon Society in public; those who joined the Prosper the Dragon Society together today could not form cliques or contact each other openly; they had to constantly observe their surroundings, and there was a set procedure for reporting.

At the same time, Lu Yunzheng emphasized heavily that joining this Prosper the Dragon Society did not confer any special privileges. Everyone had to work especially hard and perform better than others; only then would they be worthy of this qualification. If anyone slacked off or fell behind, they would be expelled after a few warnings.

After all this was done, Deputy Chief Instructor Lu Yunzheng offered a few words of encouragement to each person individually. He actually knew the circumstances of every single person, which greatly stirred the student soldiers. When everything was over, they agreed to gather here again in a few days to be taught more rules and other details. Ge Tianfeng walked out in a daze. It was only after he had washed up and gotten into bed that he came back to his senses.

Ge Tianfeng knew his grades were decent, but he had always felt he wasn't particularly outstanding. Because where others spent one measure of effort, he had to spend several times that to achieve the same result. He had never imagined he would be chosen by this Prosper the Dragon Society. The classmates who had joined the Prosper the Dragon Society with him in that warehouse were all people of exceptional performance. He hadn't expected to become one of them. That night, Ge Tianfeng slept very deeply. He no longer woke with a start in the middle of the night, and that faint, lingering dread in his heart vanished completely. He had found his place to settle his life and establish himself.

Among the wealthy idlers throughout South Zhili, there was only one topic of conversation at the moment: the Grand Tournament Under Heaven at Qingjiangpu. From the sons of the Xu family, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, to the sons of Elder Xu's family in Songjiang Prefecture, and on to every wealthy and leisured notable in every corner, all wanted to go and see this Qingjiangpu tournament.

Not to mention all over South Zhili—in Kaifeng Prefecture and Luoyang Prefecture in Henan, and in the wealthy locales of Jinan, Jining, Linqing, and Qufu in Shandong, everyone was utterly fervent about this grand tournament. Their fervor was transmitted through the various branches of the Cloud Mountain Firm to Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu, and then all sorts of news was disseminated back from Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu. News like how the pleasure boats of Yangzhou would sail north along the canal to Qingjiangpu, and how the most famous courtesans and celebrated beauties of the Qinhuai River would also go to Qingjiangpu, where a thousand charms and a hundred graces would all gather in one place.

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