Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3 First Steps

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TL: Benguin

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and before anyone knew it, a year had already pa.s.sed. Under Wufeng’s leaders.h.i.+p, the second platoon engaged in extensive training throughout the year, and by doing so, he became a lot more familiar with the soldiers under his command.

Seeing as how Wufeng never displayed the same arrogant and demeaning att.i.tude as the other members of the aristocracy, the soldiers also began to interact with Wufeng with more familiarity.

Liang Chongxin was born to a family of wealthy workshop owners from the Huzhou Prefecture of the Jiangnan Commandery.

Huzhou prefecture is renowned throughout the world for the high quality of their four essentials of calligraphy and scholars.h.i.+p: the inkstone, paper, brush, and the ink. Many scholars from all parts the empire enjoy using these Huzhou specialties, greatly driving the demand up, making it impossible to fully supply the market of the capital.

The craft of making these quality goods is also a very skill-intensive industry, and the Liang family is one such business that has always been the source for these products which they then sell to distributors.

For Liang Congxin however, his family’s business holds no interest for him, so instead he spends his time learning and practicing martial arts, which thankfully, his parents are understanding of.

His way of life persisted until he was some twenty years old. Being still unemployed, Chongxin was very embarra.s.sed, so four years ago, he kept the appearance of traveling the world before joining the army instead. He hopes to make a name for himself before returning home, bringing honor upon his family name.

Due to the talent he showed during his time in the military, he was promoted to the rank of corporal and squad leader. However, due to his freeman status, along with the lack of connections, he was unable to advance any more in rank. Furthermore, since Wufeng was a.s.signed to the squad as their leader despite being a recruit, many of their brothers in arms found this to be highly unfair.

Wufeng only found out this piece of information later in the year after, he became more familiar with the soldiers. Learning of this story, Wufeng was also somewhat pensive, in accordance with Chongxin’s abilities, not to mention a platoon, he’s even capable of leading a battalion or brigade as a lieutenant colonel or brigadier general.

However, facing the Empire’s favoritism for individuals with strong social background, many of talents such as Chongxin were neglected, decreasing the Empire’s strength day by day. Seeing this situation, surrounding nations have also continuously provoked the Empire with border friction, seeking to exploit them in their moment of weakness.

Internally, there are a few talented magistrates on the borders who recognizes the urgency that the Empire currently faces, and secretly have prepared for the possibilities of conflict. Similiarly, the Imperial court isn’t completely incompetent either and have also raised more troops and weapons to combat the worst possibilities.

Within the platoon, Wufeng had also found some talented individuals after learning of their background. One such person was a blond hair teen named Luhman who hail from an upper middle cla.s.s family from Wuhu Commandery, Huanggang Prefecture.

Although Luhman’s martial abilities weren’t too great and somewhat anti-social, his understanding of logistics is exceptional. His family is a significant landlord with business ties to crops, leatherwork, alcohol, and various other markets. Luhman himself was born as a mixed-blood son of a favored concubine, which allowed study and quickly find his natural talent in business.

However, his successes evoked the envy of his legitimate half siblings of the main wife, causing them to spread vicious rumors behind his back. Eventually, even his father believed them, which greatly angered Luhman, leading to his self-exile into the army.

For such individual tempered under the stress of life, he will no doubt be capable of greatness in battle, which is why Wufeng often admire and encourage him, hoping that one day he will be step into his own and display his potential to the fullest.