"Tell me everything that happened today in detail," Li Wenying said.
Thus, Fang Yun recounted everything that had happened.
Li Wenying praised Fang Yun and everyone else and said that he would reward them according to their contributions in three days. Then, he left.
Everyone continued to clean up the battlefield and only returned to the barracks when the eastern sky began to brighten. As usual, the morning drill was exempted after the night patrol. However, Fang Yun woke up as usual and went to study the art of war in the barracks' library after breakfast.
After lunch, the uninjured soldiers of the first battalion continued to exercise. In the end, there were less than a hundred people left, so the Guard General simply let them go back and rest.
Yesterday, Fang Yun's room had been the gathering place of the third battalion, but today, it had become the resting room of the entire battalion. More than a hundred people were squeezed there, and even the wounded from the other battalions had come to join in the fun.
The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive at first, but soon, everyone was talking about the rewards and the imperial examinations. The atmosphere became lively.
There were five hundred people in the first battalion, but only one hundred and sixty-three survived. Among them, one hundred and thirty decided to go home and study again to take the imperial examinations next year. The remaining people couldn't bear to part with this contribution, so they decided to study for the examinations while serving in the army. They would wait until they were completely confident before taking the examinations.
Soldiers couldn't casually retire from the army, but this time, everyone had performed meritorious deeds and had the right to retire. However, their contributions would also be erased. Those who didn't retire would inevitably be promoted. Even the most ordinary soldier would be promoted to squad leader within a year and be able to command fourteen people.
The squad leader of the first squad, Hong Cheng, was the happiest. He had already performed meritorious deeds, so with this contribution, not only would he be promoted to squad leader, but he would also have the right to become a ninth-rank deputy captain and an official officer.
The day passed peacefully.
A new day arrived, and dark clouds covered the sky. The heavy rain poured down, but the people of the first battalion weren't affected in the slightest. This was because the Meritorious Service Department had sent someone to assess everyone's contributions and reward them. Meanwhile, the personal guard of the Dinghai General, Yu Xingshu, had personally come to find Fang Yun.
In the pouring rain, Fang Yun and the personal guard each held an umbrella and arrived at the general's tent.
The rain was too heavy. Even with an umbrella, the bodyguard's clothes below his waist were wet. On the other hand, the rainwater on Fang Yun's clothes flowed down naturally, leaving only a puddle of water at his feet. His clothes were clean, without a single trace of water.
Fang Yun put the umbrella aside. He said, "Fang Yun greets General Yu."
Dinghai General Yu Xingshu's expression was rather helpless. He went straight to the point and said, "This awl of yours is too sharp. No matter where you put it, it can pierce through everything. I had a discussion with Jian Mei Duke yesterday. Even he did not expect that you would achieve such a great military merit on the second night you entered the military camp. Tens of thousands of people were saved. Preventing the destruction of an important human port is enough for you to level up twice. After you pass the Jinshi examination, the Notre-Dame will submit the merit report to Jingguo. I'm afraid you'll be the first genius in the history of the Ten Nations to become a fifth-grade official right after becoming a Jinshi. "
"This is a coincidence." Fang Yun did not claim credit, but after thinking about it, he found it strange. Cai He was a Jinshi, but he was only a seventh-grade county magistrate. He was still four grades away from becoming a fifth-grade magistrate.
Yu Xingshu said enviously, "You've already made a solid military merit in the Notre-Dame's Book of Merit. You've saved Jade Seaport. It's almost comparable to the lifetime military merit of an ordinary Jinshi. However, your identity is too unique and this merit will not be announced to the public. It will be announced at the right time. "
Fang Yun asked in surprise, "Is the Book of Merit part of the Legalist Half-saint Shang Yang's Book of Merit?"
"Yes. The Shang Yang's laws are known for being strict, so the merits of every human will be recorded. There can't be any problems. "
Fang Yun nodded, knowing that Shang Yang was strict and was once known as a ruthless official. He even opposed the Confucians and the School of Vertical and Horizontal Doctrine. Later on, the Shang Yang studied Confucianism and found that the overly strict laws left a hidden danger for the Qin. Although he opposed the School of Vertical and Horizontal Doctrine, he no longer opposed the Confucians and rebuilt his foundation to become a Half-saint.
Before Shang Yang's reform, in order to gain the trust of the people, he once placed a piece of wood at the south gate of the Qin capital. He showed a notice saying that if anyone could move this piece of wood to the north gate, they would be rewarded with ten gold. No one believed him, so Shang Yang raised the reward to fifty gold. If someone tried to move the wood to the north gate, they would immediately be rewarded with fifty gold.
"Li Mu Kenxin" and "Shang Li Mu" were widely known in the Qin Kingdom and became the foundation of Shang Yang's reform. After Shang Yang was canonized as a saint, his sacred foundation was the famous "Li Mu Code", which was not only a set of laws but also a set of extremely strict merit system. It became the foundation for the Sacred Academy to test the talents of the Human Tribe.
It was said that Kong Sheng once thought that Shang Yang's Book of Merit was too harsh, but later on, he personally made it the foundation of the Notre-Dame's laws, and no one could change it.
Since then, Legalism's status rose and it became a prominent school. The disciples of Legalism all admired Kong Sheng's breadth of mind.
Yu Xingshu said, "Your talent is amazing. Before you become a Scholar, you can train in the imperial court. But after you become a Scholar, if you don't cultivate politics, the Notre-Dame is your foundation. Suppressing the other Confucians in the Book of Merit is the right path. The Minister of the Left and the Duke of Sword-Eyebrows are both Scholars. Although the Minister of the Left is powerful, he can't do anything to the Duke of Sword-Eyebrows. He was even scolded by the Duke of Sword-Eyebrows in the imperial court, but he didn't talk back because the Duke of Sword-Eyebrows had more military merits than him in the Book of Merit. "
"I understand," Fang Yundao said.
A strange look flashed across Yu Xingshu's face. He coughed softly and said, "I've been General Dinghai for many years. In a few days, I'll be going to the Notre-Dame to report on the Eastern Sea. I'll also go to the River of Enlightenment."
"I wish you success in comprehending the Dao." Fang Yundao wouldn't try to persuade him anymore.
"I'm just giving it a try. It's just like how students have to go to the Marquis Temple or the Half-saint Ancestral Hall before the imperial examinations," Yu Xingshu said.
Fang Yundao thought to himself, is he putting the River of Enlightenment and the Half-saint Ancestral Hall on the same level?
Then Yu Xingshu said, "We thought you'd be unknown in the military, but we didn't expect you to make such great contributions. Since the military can't make you ordinary, we can only change your name. In the future, you'll appear as a descendant of the School of the Military. You'll be called Fang Bing. This name is very ordinary. As long as you don't reveal it, no one will connect you to Fang Yun. "
Yu Xingshu looked helpless.
"Okay, in the future, I'll officially change my name to Fang Bing. I'll be a descendant of the School of the Military." Fang Yun remembered the name Fang Bing.
Yu Xingshu nodded and said, "I received two pieces of information. The first is from Gyeongo. Lord Shi's first disciple will personally deliver Lord Shi's Qixi poem as a congratulatory gift for our Jade Sea Prefecture's Qixi Poetry Festival. At the Qixi Poetry Festival, if our Jingguo people can come up with a good poem, they won't cause trouble. If they can't, Lord Shi's first disciple will definitely come out to suppress our Jingguo scholars. "
"Those people still haven't given up?" Fang Yun pointed at the sky, hinting at Half-saint from the School of Miscellany and the few great scholars from the School of Vertical and Horizontal.
"Even Chen Sheng can't stop them, much less you," Yu Xingshu said.
"Sigh …" Fang Yun let out a long sigh. Since he was already involved in the battle of the Divine Dao, he could only take it one step at a time. Victory or defeat.
"The second piece of information is from the Dragons. The Flood Dragon King will take revenge for the smallest grievance. He'll be launching a revenge operation soon. But don't worry, we'll be fully prepared."
The Flood Dragon King's hateful gaze before he left appeared in Fang Yun's mind.
"There's one more thing. Liu Zizhi has returned from the capital to attend Liu Zicheng's funeral."
"Thank you for the reminder, General."
With so many things intertwined, Fang Yun felt that a storm was coming. If he could overcome this hurdle, he could safely participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival gathering of the scholars of the ten countries and enter the Holy Ground. If he couldn't, he could only hide in the army and continue to study military books.
Fang Yun was about to leave when he saw that Yu Xingshu seemed to have received a message. However, because it was a secret text, he couldn't see the text and could only guess from Yu Xingshu's expression and actions.
After a while, Yu Xingshu sighed softly and said, "Yesterday, the Yangtze River began to flood and the water level skyrocketed. There's heavy rain everywhere in Jiang District. It seems that the flood season is coming. There are countless rivers in Jiang District and there's never a shortage of water in spring. However, the autumn harvest will be in a month or so. Once there's a flood, the farmland will be flooded and there will be a decrease in production. The civil officials of various places are about to organize a conference to stop the flood. I still have to defend Jade Sea City against the sea demons, so I can't go to the Notre-Dame or the River of Enlightenment. "
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
Yu Xingshu shook his head and said, "If the heavy rain this year doesn't cause a disaster, it'll be the same whether you're here or not. If it really causes a disaster in Jiang District, you won't be able to do anything alone. However, the message said that only Jiang District has a heavy rain, while the other districts and Gyeongo, which is separated by a river, have no rain. I hope it's just a meteorological phenomenon and not the Dragon Palace causing trouble. Otherwise, things will become extremely troublesome when Chen Sheng goes into seclusion. "
Fang Yun knew that he was busy with official affairs and said, "If you have any orders, I'll definitely obey. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Okay, tomorrow you'll change your name to 'Fang Bing' and be transferred to the 1st Guard Battalion. No one in the 3,000 guards will recognize you. Your battalion won't have to go out of the city to patrol to avoid trouble. These days, you'll have to do your best to prepare the words to be used at the Qixi Poetry Festival. You can't let the people of Gyeongo lose out. "
"Yes, Sir!" Fang Yundao said.
Fang Yun left with his umbrella and returned to his own barracks. The people here had already obtained the corresponding merits and were in high spirits.
Everyone had passed the examination and some would be discharged from the army in a few days while some would be assigned to different places in the army. The sorrow of parting brewed in the barracks as everyone slowly talked about the important and interesting things that happened in the army to ease their worries.
The Ding Hai army was not an official army and was not allowed to drink alcohol. Everyone did not even have the chance to get drunk and only decided to have a meal in the canteen the next morning before going their separate ways.
The heavy rain continued to fall and even after the night had passed, it did not stop until dawn.
When he woke up in the morning, Fang Yun stood at the entrance of his barracks and frowned as he looked at the white world in the rain. If this continued, once the Jade Belt River and Calm Lake overflowed, Jade Sea City would definitely be flooded and bring great trouble to the residents.
Suddenly, the sky brightened and Fang Yun subconsciously squinted his eyes.
He saw a circular clear sky above Jade Sea City as the dark clouds were pushed away. Furthermore, the circular clear sky was rapidly expanding and soon, it covered the entire Jade Sea City.
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