Chapter 2 (1/2)
Victory Square is one of the capital’s most important infrastructure, and the Arc of Triumph which lies within it one of the most iconic. Amid the countless number of government offices in its vicinity, the Army’s recruitment office, proudly flying the banner of the military, is also located here.
In accordance to the laws of the Empire, only men between the ages of sixteen and forty-five may enlist in its ranks. However, once enlisted, they may only be discharged with permission from the military administration, while all those who leave without doing so will be treated as deserters and punished accordingly.
Due to the large population size of the empire, manpower for the army have had always been plentiful, so a professional recruitment system was adopted. As the empire is highly segregated by estates, lower cla.s.s citizens will often enlist in the army to try and obtain a higher status.
As for the estates, at the top occupying the position of the first estate is the Imperial clan, with all the immediate family of the Imperial family.
The second estate consists of the n.o.bility, those who has made great military contributions or introduced revolutionary ideas for reforms and governance. The enn.o.blement itself is hereditary, however, to regulate the number of these clans, Imperial laws not only dictate that only one individual may inherit the t.i.tle, but also that in order to retain their n.o.ble states, following generations must also make similar forms of contribution to the state within three generations, otherwise their n.o.bility will be revoked. Nevertheless, even if one is without such status, descendants of those who were once n.o.ble will be considered with preferential circ.u.mstance for appointments and promotions for posts within both the government and military.
The third estate are the upper cla.s.s, consisting of regular state bureaucrats, merchants, landowners, workshop owners, and other such individuals whose positive contributions to society had caught the attention of local and regional magistrates. An application will be submitted naming their merits and once approved, a note would be made with the central imperial administration giving them, along with their descendants the privileges of such cla.s.s.
The fourth estate are the normal citizens, whose official name is “freeman”. They work simply regular citizens with nothing interesting of note, working in various professions as another cog of society.
The third and fourth estate are both considered to be normal citizens.
There is another cla.s.s of individuals, whose existence has yet to be directly recognized by Imperial laws. These individuals are slaves. Having given up their freedom because of crimes, debt, or as prisoners captured during war time, they go about live at the lowest standard of living. To return a slave their status of freeman, his or her owner must produce identification information detailing how they obtained their slave status in the first place. Along with appropriate fees, these doc.u.ments will be submitted to the regional magistrate for their approval. In addition, the Emperor also has the authority to grant the freeman status to slaves.
Because of the rigid social structure and the preferential treatment given to the descendants of the n.o.bility, those of the third and fourth estate often needs to put in several times more effort to receive recognition for promotion. As such, no matter how talented an individual of the lower estates is, their brilliance is often buried under those of the upper aristocracy. This has become a major issue for the empire, a problem that in Li Wufeng’s mind, has become an even more pressing concern than the threat of a foreign invasion.
There are some learned scholars who has realized the drawbacks of this system and raised such questions with the Emperor. However, as this issue affects the privileges of the aristocracy, the group that heavily dominates court politics, these proposals often face with strong opposition and were all dropped without showing any result.
Wufeng had once asked his master what is the necessities for success. After their discussion, the conclusion they reached was that the requirement for true success lies not in the martial ability to best all other experts; nor is it the moral integrity of a saint; nor is it knowledge of undefeated stratagem; rather, it is the ability to make the right choices and utilize talents while having the heart for tolerance and forgiveness, for that is what defines true success. Yet with the current system of the Empire, the genius is often suppressed to such a degree that they are unable to lift their heads and lead a respectable life in the Empire. In the end, many of them are driven out, seek other lands, where some has even become a threat to the Empire.
When he arrived at the recruitment office beside the Arch of Triumph, he found that, despite it being early morning, the square was already jam packed with a crowd.
Not only have the Empire always placed a great emphasis on military achievement, but in recent years, the Empire’s foreign war efforts were also often fruitless, greatly harming its reputation within the international community. Thus, the current Emperor has placed a great degree of attention at finding stronger soldiers, heavily awarding their achievements.
While citizens of lower Estates may find it hard to break through the social constraints of their cla.s.s in the political arena, as long as they have courage, there will be a always be a great number of opportunities for advancement on the battlefield, driving enthusiasm for enlisting with those of lower estates to an all time high.
Looking at the reason for the current recruitment drive, Wufeng saw that in order to face the ever more pressing circ.u.mstance the Empire faces, new divisions were being formed to reorganize the City Guards. As these guards are stationed in and near the city, many of the capital’s citizens had came out to enlist.
After waiting for two whole hours, Wufeng finally arrived at the counter. As he presented his identification information to the middle-aged officer, the officer’s eyes widened in shock and had to double check before finally filling out the forms. Wufeng understood the officer’s reaction for rarely if ever does someone of the n.o.bility enlist in the army through such a venue. Normally, using connections, those of the second estate would join the military as either an officer or as an official with the army administrations.
With an easy identification check, it wasn’t long before the recruitment office approved Wufeng’s application, and just like that, he became the newest soldier of the Empire’s City Guard Army’s Third Division.
During the initial three months of basic training, Wufeng often demonstrated his talents, gaining the approval of the training officer. With his recommendation, as well as Wufeng’s n.o.ble background, he was soon appointed to the rank of lieutenant as the leader for the Second Platoon of the Empire’s City Guard Army Group, Third Division, Fourth Regiment, Fifth Battalion, Third Company.
(TL note: Normally, I’ll put this at the end, but this list of military group is making my skin crawl. If anyone have an idea of fixing it, please comment or send me a message)
After receiving his appointment as lieutenant, Wufeng couldn’t help but feel excited, after all, this is his first achievement following his initial step. The path that he had chosen couldn’t be said to be easy. Normally, a new soldier will find it very hard to advance in rank. Yet despite of that, having not eve reached seventeen years of age, Wufeng had alredy been promoted two ranks directly to that of platoon leader, bypa.s.sing the normal sergeant rank for the leader of a squad.
A platoon is composed of three squads numbering around thirty-five men in total. Whether he can fulfill the capacity of his rank and be accepted and respected by the men under his command is still yet to be seen. It is almost a certainty that there will be veterans and other confident individuals who will purposely make it harder on him, thus rather than wait for conflict to arise, it is better to just openly deal with them as soon as possible. Thinking of this decision, Li Wufeng let out a confident smile.
“Gentlemen, before everyone is seated, let me first introduce myself. I’m from Zhongzhou, and my name is Li Wufeng. As brothers in arms in the future, I will be acting as your squad leader, so I hope we can all cooperate in the future,” standing in front of the men, Wufeng made a simple and concise introduction.
The men’s faces expressed a mixture of surprise, dissatisfaction, and jealousy, but they all kept silent. In accordance to the Empire’s laws, if a soldier is found in contempt of authority, then he will be court martial under military law.
Wufeng’s following words took a different tone, “Despite not saying anything, I’m sure that everyone is thinking, ‘where did this beardless brat come from? Did his relatives meddle with the affairs of the military to allow him to make a living, but then why is he all the way down here?’ I will tell you clearly now, I, Li Wufeng, was born as a member of the n.o.bility, but I did not come here to muddle along for the income. As the proverb once said, whether it be horse or mule, just let it try. Right now, I still haven’t become everyone’s’ leader, so if there are anyone who questions my ability, let him come and teach me. As soldiers of the fighting ranks, the only thing that matters is how effective we are at killing! I swear upon my honor that I will not seek revenge against those that challenge me, and regardless of outcome if I go back upon my word, the heavens shall strike me down. If someone can best me, then I will recommend to the top for you to have my position of lieutenant while I shall become a regular soldier instead.”
Wufeng’s words immediately caused a great deal of commotion within the ranks. How hard can it be to best a youngling? Since he had already sworn in front of everyone, he can not retract his words. For those challengers, even if one loses, there are no negative outcome, but if he win, then the possibility of a promotion or two is almost certain. Faced with such kind of deal, how can the people’s heart not be tempted.
“What, is there no one who has the courage?”
As soon as these words left Wufeng’s mouth, a shout sounded from the crowd,
“I will! Private Kang Jianguo seeks guidance from the lieutenant”