CH 12

Early morning.

Xia Zuoyi wakes up amidst the sounds of seabirds, slowly crawls out the bed, and grunts with a slightly sleepy nasal voice, “Udit, I’m up.”

“I’m here, my lord.”

Udit’s voice resounded at the foot of the bed.

Xia Zuoyi turned around, looked over in a daze, yawned and sat up. The soft pajamas were attached to his body, and the hem was slightly curled, revealing a white and tender belly.

Udit walked to the bed and pulled the pajamas gently, then said, “Are you ready to wash? My lord.”

“Yeah.” Xia Zuoyi nodded softly.

Udit immediately rang the bell.

Not for a while.

Kelly opened the door and walked in with a basin of water and toiletries. Toby followed behind, with a towel in his hand.

Xia Zuoyi took the towel and wiped his face after washing, and asked vaguely, “Does Gibran have a math test today?”

Toby, “Yes, my lord, my brother got up early and went to Grandpa Nick’s place.”

Nick is the name of the old treasurer.

In order to allow Gibran to learn more efficiently, Xia Zuoyi mentioned a few words to the old treasurer without a trace, so that the knowledge he was going to be assessed was made into the style of a test paper.

There is a quiz every half month and a big exam every month.

Gibran’s daily studies are arranged to the full—literacy, mathematics, how to do business, etc.

Sometimes, Xia Zuoyi would pretend and go to class with him. After all, he could not be an illiterate lord.

Even if he spent three days fishing and two days drying the net, he can still get full marks in the exam.

The servants in the castle agreed that the young earl is a genius!

After Udit helped Xia Zuoyi get dressed, he asked, “My lord, are you going to take the exam today?”

Xia Zuoyi shook his head, “No, let Nick keep the exam papers for me, I’ll do it when I’m free. I’m going to the alchemy room today.”

He needs to use alchemy experiments to show the efficacy of herbs little by little. 

Prior to this, his preparation was to order people to dig up some unusual or rare plants on Pal Mountain, and then bring them to the castle.

After a period of time, let the knight publish a notice in the city.

It states that if civilians or slaves find or pick plants with unknown species and names, they can use these plants to exchange for a certain amount of copper coins in the castle.

Over time, almost everyone in Wissas became aware of it—Lord Earl seemed to be studying alchemy about plants.

Later, in exchange for copper coins, civilians or slaves often went up the mountain to search or search in other places, and the number of plants sent to the castle began to double.

Xia Zuoyi’s approach was very effective.

By comparing the pictures in “Encyclopedia of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Detailed Explanations”, he quickly discovered herbs such as mugwort, plantain, nettle and other herbs among many plants.

He has been immersed in the alchemy room for experiments these days, he’s also studying how to make herbs or ointments.

For this reason, he exchanged his reputation points for the two books “Chinese Herbal Medicine Formula” and “Chinese Herbal Ointment Encyclopedia”. The study time of three days of fishing and two days of drying the net slowly passed in the system reading.

He is actually very diligent and hardworking 

Before going to the alchemy laboratory, Xia Zuoyi asked, “How long will the recruit’s first training end?”

Udit, “There is still more than half a month, my lord.”

Xia Zuoyi, “I remember Fernandi and Walker told me more than two months ago that there are some knights who want to join the training. Have they persisted?”

“They’ve been holding on and trying to win the position of platoon commander or company commander.”

“Oh, that’s it.” Xia Zuoyi said, “When the training is over, we will have a unified assessment. I hope they won’t lose face.”

Don’t even compare to civilians and slaves.

Soldiers have five days of training and two days of rest. They are not allowed to leave the training camp at will.

During the two-day rest period, soldiers can be allowed to go home to visit their parents and family members, but the number of people who go out each time is not more than 30, and they will take turns after approval.

In the beginning, many civilians and slaves were a little unable to adapt to the high-intensity training and took a rest to recover their strength in two days.

After getting used to it for some time, some civilians and slaves did not relax their training during the rest period in order to win the position of squad leader or even platoon leader.

This is the case with Mike Andrew.

He hasn’t returned home for more than half a month. Today, he took advantage of the rest day to submit the report and it was quickly approved.

While passing the meat shop in the city, Mike Andrew spent eight copper coins to buy some pork back.

The neighbor of Mike Andrew’s family was also a slave from Fort Comoy. His son was also in boot camp, but he did not come back today.

Neighbor Uncle Mok greeted him when he saw him, “Mike, your parents are working in the saltern today. They won’t go home until sunset.”

Mok works on the salt refining production line and has a day off every six days.

Today is his day of rest.

And Mike Andrew’s parents won’t have a day off until tomorrow.

Mike Andrew nodded, “Thank you, Uncle Mok.”

“Don’t mention it. Go on, Old Andrew will be very happy to see you back.” Mok laughed loudly.

After a few more conversations, Mike Andrew walked into the house.

The place where they live now has changed a lot since they first came to Wissas.

Old Andrew’s a good carpenter.

At first, there were only simple beds in the house, not even a table.

Now it is warm and complete, filled with necessary furniture and decorations. Some wildflowers dotted around the window, the petals trembling slightly in the soft breeze, and a hint of fragrance can be smelled.

Mike Andrew was in a good mood and began to clean up the house.

Before the sun set, Old Andrew’s hearty voice sounded outside the door.

After rejoicing.

Mike Andrew chatted with his father, while his mother went to prepare dinner.

Old Andrew, “I’ve heard from Myer that you’ve added a lot of items to your training and you’re very tired every day. You can eat two pieces of rye bread when you go to the canteen, and there’s some meat in the canteen, right?”

Myer is the son of Uncle Mok.

Mike Andrew hummed, “The cafeteria has plenty of food, you can eat a lot every day. The training programs are indeed increasing slowly, and some knights have also joined in.”

Because of this, he has a lot of urgencies, afraid that even the standard of becoming a squad leader can not reach.

Old Andrew asked curiously, “You said that the training programs were made by the lord. What else did he add this time?”

Mike Andrew, “Five thousand feet running around the mountain, two hundred feet short speed exercises, sit-ups, push-ups… wrestling, grappling, practice big swords, stabbing with spears, crawling and climbing… I persevered.”

Mike Andrew reported a lot of projects. When he heard that, old Andrew looked complicated, distressed, and gratified, mixed with pride for his son.

After entering the soldier training camp.

He watched his son’s changes every time he came back. He’s taller and stronger, and his waist is straightened when he walks. He could not say what was good, but he looked more energetic.

Not to mention the changes with their son, their changes are also obvious.

They are also slaves, they are also working for the manor owner.

But in Wissas, they had regular working hours, a day off every six days, and earned more copper coins than before. This kind of life was more beautiful than they had ever dreamed of.

“Oh, thank you lord, thank you for your kindness!” Old Andrew couldn’t help saying.

He now prays to the God of Creation every day, hoping that the lord will grow up in good health and peace.

“Yes, thank you, lord!” Mike Andrew said piously.

The three-month training is over.

Xia Zuoyi came to review the results again.

The reserve soldiers stood behind Fernandi Edwards neatly dressed in black, while the ordinary soldiers stood behind Walker William in white.

Xia Zuoyi waved his small hand and said hello, and the uniform greeting replied back, resounding through the mountains and forests.

When Gibran followed for the first time, his eyes widened.

Toby is also so shocked his mouth opened and unable to close it for a while.

Xia Zuoyi sat on the platform, looked down and said, “It’s time to start.” 

The first drill was carried out by the reserve soldiers, with 12 people in a group. Fernandi Edwards is responsible for recording the first place in each drill, followed by the ordinary soldiers, and Walker William is also responsible for recording the first place.

After the drill was finally over, the sun was about to go down.

Udit took the parchment with the names to Xia Zuoyi.

Xia Zuoyi took the parchment, got up from the chair, and walked to the edge of the stage, “I am very satisfied with the results of this exercise. I believe you can also feel how much progress you have made…”

“I have a list of the first person in each drill. After that, I will give each person a reward of 20 copper coins…” 

Before the words were finished, the people below suddenly became lively.

Walker William sounded the gong to silence them.

Xia Zuoyi continued, “Commander Fernandi and Commander Walker have another list in their hands.”

“It records how well each of you performed on weekdays and the training results of one month… Your commanding officers will divide you into squads according to these two lists, and the one who performs most prominently will become the leader of each squad.”

“As for the platoon leader and company commander, unfortunately, only a few knights met the standard.”

The civilians and slaves didn’t feel regret, but were aroused to win in their hearts.

Especially for those who almost reach the standard of being a squad leader, those who got second place in the exercise were even more disappointed.

Xia Zuoyi, “The position of the squad leader and even the company commander is not set in stone.”

“Each quarter’s assessment is divided into usual performance and drill performance. If the squad leader is unqualified, or your performance exceeds the squad leader, then you can also become the squad leader or even the company commander.”

“As long as you are willing to work hard, everything is possible.” 

The soldiers below were excited to hear it.

Fernandi and Walker took some time to divide the squads and announced who’s the leader of each team.

Mike Andrew was on the list, and he became the squad leader of the first team.

Finally, Fernand Edwards stepped forward and shouted, “I hope you don’t forget who brought you today’s honor. It’s because you live in Wissas and because you have a wise and tolerant lord!” 

“Swear an oath! You will always be loyal to Lord Desinia!”

The soldiers on both sides stood upright, right fist on the left chest, and made a solemn oath.

—”I will be loyal to Lord Desinia for my whole life! Defend the honor and brilliance of the lord to the death!”

The author has something to say:

Xia Zuoyi: Since then, my army team has been formed 

Translator’s Note:

Here’s the last update for today, everyone. Have a nice weekend~~ Come back in Sunday though, I’ll do a double update for End of Century