Chapter 119: Strict Training (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The garrison was a semi-independent system. Although the civil authorities had the power to intervene, the two generally kept to their own lanes, neither interfering with the other.

Compared to Sun Dalei's slick ingratiation, Dong Bingfeng's words, though spoken only after the fact, came across as very sincere.

Zhao Jin walked up and punched Sun Dalei in the shoulder, teasing him, "You've got the guts to charge into a fight, but afterward you scurry around like a rat. What good can come of acting like that? You do the work, but you act like a coward."

At these words, everyone laughed. Zhao Jin had aimed his remark at two people, and those concerned understood perfectly well.

Chen Sheng said nothing and just gave Sun Dalei a punch. Sun Dalei staggered, his grin widening, then said with a pained expression, "When I charge in with everyone, I don't think about anything. But afterward, when I do, I get scared and can't bear to stick around."

"We're brothers, no need for so many explanations!" Zhao Jin said with a laugh. Just then, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, Liu Yong, and the others came running over.

"Big Brother, the materials for repairing the trading house have arrived, and those household retainers who signed up are here too. I've arranged for them to work on it together," Liu Yong reported.

Children of the poor grow up fast. Among Zhao Jin's friends, Liu Yong, having hustled on the streets from an early age, had experience organizing and arranging tasks and actually did it best. Next was Shi Manqiang, who spent his days forging iron at the blacksmith's shop and had to work alongside hired hands, so he understood coordination and cooperation. The others were not as good.

Zhao Jin nodded and, surrounded by everyone, walked into the courtyard. Shi Manqiang's father was directing the placement of materials, and Ji Xiang's father was leading the cooking. Seeing Zhao Jin approach, both of them came over to greet him with respectful courtesy.

Though they were courteous and respectful, Zhao Jin would not neglect proper manners, as this concerned the face of both Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang. He said, equally politely, "Uncle Shi, Uncle Ji, there's no need to stand on ceremony. I had you stay here in fear and worry yesterday. The matter is now settled, so you may both return home."

Hearing this, both Father Shi and Father Ji breathed a sigh of relief. They more or less knew about the slaughter south of the city yesterday; the fear and worry were unavoidable. Though they understood staying here would be safer, they couldn't bear to leave the pots and pans at home unattended.

Knowing they could go home lifted their spirits considerably, and the two men hurriedly briefed Zhao Jin on the work they had undertaken.

The Shi family ran a blacksmith's shop but had many dealings with other craftsmen. Though repairing houses and courtyards wasn't their trade, the Shi family could easily muster the needed hands by taking the lead, and the work had already begun. As for the Ji family, Father Ji had personally come to help, but cooking for so many people required hiring help, a dedicated kitchen, and a storeroom for ingredients—both of which required Zhao Jin to provide additional silver.

Everyone else had gathered in a group, discussing the newly recruited fellows. Although these men were Zhao Jin's household retainers, everyone understood that they themselves would eventually have to lead them into fights, so they couldn't help but observe each person's appearance and bearing. Only Chen Hong followed behind Zhao Jin, listening intently, unwilling to miss a single word.

Once the discussion was over, Father Shi and Father Ji went off to attend to their respective tasks. Zhao Jin turned to Chen Hong and said, "Erhong, under the bed in the west wing room there's a wooden chest. Go take out the silver the two elders need and deliver it to them."

Zhao Jin hadn't taken those several hundred taels of silver home. Instead, he had packed them in a wooden chest and left them here, guarded by Shi Manqiang and the others. He felt at ease about it anyway.

At these words, Chen Hong froze, then asked cautiously, "Brother Zhao, you trust me to go get the silver?"

"What's there not to trust? In the future, you'll be managing all the accounts," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Chen Hong froze again, then his young face flushed bright red. He said excitedly, "Big Brother, don't worry, I'll definitely manage them well."

With such a trustworthy, free bookkeeper, and with Chen Sheng acting as a "guarantor," Zhao Jin naturally wasn't going to pass this up.

A moment later, Chen Hong came running out of the wing room. As he exited, he accidentally tripped over the threshold, stumbling a few steps and drawing a burst of laughter from the courtyard.

Though young, Chen Hong was very methodical. He first came to Zhao Jin to show him the amount and confirm how much to pay, and only then did he take the silver and go deliver it.

Just as he ran off, Chen Sheng walked up to Zhao Jin and asked in a low voice, "Are you at ease letting Erhong manage the silver?"

Zhao Jin glanced back at Chen Sheng and shook his head. "With your brother managing it, what's there for me to be uneasy about?"

Chen Sheng paused, then chuckled. "Erhong's the right one, Erhong's the right one. He was already very serious when working at the charcoal yard. I have a distant clan uncle whose accounts were a bit unclear. My father always turned a blind eye, but Erhong found out and wanted to hold him accountable."

Zhao Jin nodded with a smile. With that kind of temperament, he was even more reassuring.

Before long, Chen Hong came running back. He walked up and said, "Brother Zhao, at this rate of spending, we'll be out of money in five days. I think the household retainers' meals don't need to be so good. If we simplify them, we can save quite a bit of silver."

Zhao Jin shook his head and replied with a smile, "Since the training is so grueling, we can't skimp on food and provisions."

"Brother Zhao, how much silver can we get today..." Chen Hong pressed on, only falling silent after Chen Sheng shot him a fierce glare.

He really is diligent, Zhao Jin chuckled inwardly. Over there, the "household retainers" had finished moving things and were now standing around chatting in separate clusters. The sixteen retainers who had come yesterday, however, looked slightly more serious.

"I'll count to ten. Everyone assemble at the goods yard outside. Anyone late gets three strokes of the rod!" Zhao Jin suddenly shouted.

After speaking, Zhao Jin strode out of the courtyard and arrived at the goods yard. Holding his long spear as a staff, he shouted, "One, two..."

Zhao Jin's companions were all quick to move. Even though they knew his order didn't include them, they followed out of habit and all walked out briskly.

The second wave was the sixteen retainers from yesterday. Lu Da ran at the very front, and all sixteen rushed out in a swarm.

As for those who had come this morning, some reacted quickly, some reacted slowly, and some were laughing and joking, not taking it seriously at all. This lack of seriousness wasn't because they had the nerve to be negligent—even without yesterday's killings south of the city, they all held Zhao Jin in considerable awe.

But Zhao Jin and his group were fifteen years old, and the household retainers were fifteen years old. Among peers, it always felt like play. Hearing Zhao Jin's shout, many thought he was joking.

By the time the count of ten was finished, seven people were still in the courtyard and hadn't come out. Seeing everyone outside turning to look back, they finally realized something was wrong and hurriedly quickened their pace.

Zhao Jin shook his head and raised his voice. "Lu Da, Li Wu, take the men who signed up yesterday and grab those seven."

Li Wu was the one who had pointed out the difference between a "hired hand" and a "household retainer." It was precisely because his words had started the discussion that everyone had become Zhao Jin's household retainers. For that reason, Zhao Jin remembered him distinctly and called out his and Lu Da's names directly.

Both of them jolted upon hearing this. No matter how slow their wits, they could understand that this was a sign of promotion. They both shouted a loud "Yes!" then turned and called for others to follow them. The thirty-some household retainers all watched them with envious eyes.

The seven men, faces full of terror, were brought to the front. No matter how slow they were, by now they all knew Zhao Jin meant business.

"Get down. Three strokes each!" Zhao Jin said coldly.

A beating, just like that? The seven men looked at each other. This was, after all, the first day. If it was going to be this strict all the time, why had they even come here?

If they had received this treatment yesterday, many would have begged for mercy and tried to weasel out of it. But by last night, the slaughter south of the city had spread throughout Xuzhou. Other news might have taken a while, but this was simply too shocking, too sensational. Anyone who knew about it couldn't help but tell others.

They knew about yesterday's events. They knew the man before them was a god of slaughter. Not to mention, they had already signed the indenture papers. They had no capital to be stubborn, nor the guts.

Once the seven men were pinned to the ground, Zhao Jin turned to his friends and said, "Each of you take one. Three strokes to the backside."

Chen Sheng and the others found this quite amusing. Someone had already brought out a bundle of rods from the courtyard. Each chose a target and struck down hard.

They trained in martial arts and tempered their bodies every day, so their strength was considerable. With each stroke, a scream rang out. Seeing this, the newly arrived household retainers all trembled with fear.

"My word is an order. Disobedience means punishment, means a beating," Zhao Jin announced loudly.

If he had shouted this earlier, everyone might have just listened. But now, seeing their comrades clutching their backsides, grimacing in pain, every single person grew serious.

Compared to the tension among the household retainers, Chen Sheng and the others were all laughing and joking. At that moment, Zhao Jin turned around, his expression stern. "Brothers, watch my training carefully. In the future, you'll all have to do the same."

"The sixteen who stayed from yesterday, step forward!" Zhao Jin shouted.

Lu Da, Li Wu, and the other fourteen hurriedly ran out. Their formation couldn't exactly be called neat, but compared to the remaining men, it was somewhat better.

"I'll call the commands. You follow them. Those behind, watch carefully. After they finish, you'll follow my commands as well. Mistakes will be punished!" Zhao Jin announced.

Behind Zhao Jin, Sun Dalei, elated at having been forgiven, was chattering away, talking to this person and that. Suddenly, Zhao Jin glanced back, his gaze cold. Sun Dalei immediately shut his mouth.

"Stand at attention!"...

Zhao Jin repeated each command three times. If anyone made a mistake, he would step forward to correct them, then repeat the command another three times.

The process was very tedious. Fortunately, all the household retainers who had come to sign up today were seeing it for the first time and found it novel, which kept their attention.

Chen Sheng and the few who had seen it yesterday were fine, but Wang Zhaojing and the others watched with rapt concentration.

Zhao Jin's record didn't have many details on drilling troops. He only remembered that friend once saying that the various exercises in modern school PE classes were actually military traditions, and that his second uncle Zhao Zhenxing had said the key on the battlefield is not to scatter — only by staying in formation without chaos can you have fighting strength. Once it falls apart, it's a rout, and even a victory yields no real results.