Chapter 49: Team Member Assessment, Demanding Conditions

Chapter 49: Guard Candidate Assessments and Rigorous Conditions

"What"
"The"
"F"
"K"
Alpaca: .?

What kind of names are these? Yang Zimo wore a speechless expression, barely holding back a laugh.

"Han Xin!"

"Oh?" Suddenly encountering someone with a complete and proper name, Yang Zimo looked astonished. Could this person actually be that legendary Han Pao-pao... wait, no... the military genius Han Xin?

As the steward called out name after name, individuals emerged from the crowd one after another, quickly forming a line in the open space to the left of Yang Zimo.

Half an hour later, the roll call finally concluded. Those standing on the left side wore joyful expressions, while those on the other side whose names were not called sighed despondently, completely lacking in spirit.

Seeing this, Yang Zimo felt a pang of sympathy, but there was nothing he could do. He stepped forward and said, "Those who did not pass should not be discouraged. Your names have all been registered in the Marquis's Estate roster. The next time the estate recruits personnel, priority will be given to selecting the best among you. Furthermore, to express your support for this Marquis, the participation bonus will be increased by an extra half-dan of grain as encouragement!"

"Many thanks, My Lord!"

Realizing that matters were settled, the crowd could only look forward to the next recruitment drive by the estate. They collected their grain and happily returned home.

"Congratulations to the two of you thousand who have successfully passed the preliminary assessment. However, this does not mean you are yet members of the Marquis's Estate guard unit. The estate requires only one hundred men, yet there are two thousand of you here. Those who feel the difficulty is too great may withdraw now, and this Marquis will present you with one liang of silver. I give you ten breaths of time to consider!"

Whispers broke out across the entire formation. After ten breaths, not a single person chose to withdraw, leaving Yang Zimo immensely satisfied.

"Now, after you have partaken of your evening meal at the manor and rested well, the true guard assessments will commence tomorrow!"

"Many thanks, My Lord!"

***

The Second Day, The Manor

The open space was packed with candidates preparing for the assessments. Standing haphazardly about, they chatted amongst themselves from time to time until the arrival of Yang Zimo brought an abrupt halt to the conversations.

Observing their behavior, Yang Zimo did not mind; after all, they were still ordinary commoners.

"Gentlemen, this Marquis will spare you any lengthy preamble. The duty of the guard unit demands that you embody wisdom, courage, loyalty, trustworthiness, and righteousness. The introductory assessment for the guard unit begins now!"

"Everyone, divide into pairs and engage in direct, head-to-head combat. Pull your punches when necessary! The winner remains, the loser is eliminated! Those who resort to improper methods will be eliminated!"

With these words, Yang Zimo began observing the sparring crowd. The two thousand men consciously paired up, forming one thousand groups, and began fighting each other in pairs across the open ground.

The area echoed with the sounds of solid blows landing on flesh, dust billowed into the air, and a spray of blood occasionally flew. Before long, only one thousand men remained standing across the entire field, the victors and losers having been decided! A physician standing nearby hurriedly stepped forward to tend to the wounded.

"Congratulations to those still standing for advancing to the next round of assessments. Please receive treatment now. Those who have been eliminated should not be disheartened; the Marquis's Estate will give you priority consideration next time. If you are unwilling, this Marquis can recommend you to enlist in the major military legions! Additionally, I have five liang of silver to present to each of you as an expression of my apologies." Yang Zimo instructed his servants to bring out the silver.

After the eliminated men departed, Yang Zimo continued, "Over the next three months, this Marquis will arrange for tutors to give you lessons, teaching you how to read and write. We will also invite martial arts masters to impart martial skills and instruct you in horsemanship and archery. Three months from now, I will personally examine your results, and only the top three hundred will be selected. Anyone who is afraid may step forward now. This is your only chance!"

"My Lord, we are not afraid!" the men shouted in unison.

"Good! Truly worthy of being sons of Great Qin!" Yang Zimo praised them loudly.

With this phase of the assessments temporarily concluded, the conditions for entering the State Preceptor's Estate recruitment spread outward, instantly arousing the keen interest of Ying Zheng and numerous military generals.

Although the Imperial Military Academy provided a more comprehensive education than the State Preceptor's Estate, its students were still wet behind the ears, and not everyone possessed exceptional physical strength.

The first hurdle at the State Preceptor's Estate tested sheer physical strength; only those with great power could advance. Moreover, many commoners in the populace could not attend the military academy due to age restrictions or illiteracy, or they had missed the imperial military recruitment dates, naturally leading them to apply at the State Preceptor's Estate.

Those capable of passing the first hurdle possessed bodily strength that undoubtedly met the standards of elite soldiers, far surpassing the students within the academy in raw power.

Upon hearing that this thousand-man group would also be taught to read, write, martial arts, horsemanship, and archery, Ying Zheng muttered repeatedly to himself: Was the official establishment granted to the State Preceptor too small? It would truly be a pity if any of these men were eliminated!

***

It seemed someone had to be sent to keep a close eye on them. Sharing the exact same thought as Ying Zheng were the commanders of the major military legions, for they too were short on men, and here was a ready-made pool of talent.

Three months slipped by imperceptibly, and Yang Zimo's manor was exceptionally lively today. Hearing that today was the day of the guard assessments, many civil and military officials had arrived. With Ying Zheng himself in attendance, they had no choice but to show up and rub shoulders with the powerful.

Ying Zheng sat on the left side of the high platform. Today's protagonist was Yang Zimo, and he had no intention of stealing the spotlight.

Yang Zimo stepped onto the high platform, looking out at the neatly arranged formations below with a heart full of gratification. Not bad at all; they had been trained into quite a respectable shape.

"Warriors, congratulations on surviving three months of grueling hardship. Now is the time to inspect your results. Whether the sweat you have shed over these past three months was worth it will be decided today. I hereby declare the assessments underway!"

"Item One: Wisdom—Literacy and Composition."

A thousand-word essay was placed before each candidate, requiring them to read the piece within half a quarter of an hour, write down its core theme, and explain its meaning.

At the sound of a bell, the candidates picked up their writing brushes and began reading and composing.

"Collect the papers!" Half a quarter of an hour later, Yang Zimo had his men collect the papers and immediately deliver them to the dozen or so resident tutors invited to grade them against an answer key.

"Next, Item Two: Courage—Horsemanship and Archery. Those whose names are called shall step forward for the assessment in turn. This segment is divided into four sub-events: stationary shooting at a fixed target, stationary shooting at a moving target, shooting at a fixed target while riding a galloping horse, and shooting at a moving target while riding a galloping horse. Each sub-event consists of five arrows, with a maximum score of ten rings per arrow. Rankings will be determined by the total score."

After announcing the rules, Yang Zimo ordered the examination to begin.

"State Preceptor, this batch of men has been trained quite well. Spare a few for me later!" Meng Tian asked with a beaming smile as he looked at Yang Zimo.

"Indeed! State Preceptor, allot a few to the rest of us as well!" the commanders of the other legions chimed in.

"State Preceptor, I..." Ying Zheng too looked at Yang Zimo and spoke up.

"Your Majesty, my esteemed colleagues, let's wait until the examinations are finished before discussing this, shall we?" Yang Zimo said helplessly. With so many people showing up today, he had known all along that they were all eyeing this group of recruits.

It was not that the empire lacked talent, but talent personally trained by Yang Zimo was immensely coveted by Ying Zheng and the civil and military officials alike—after all, these men were not trained by ordinary means. Moreover, they could all see that if placed in the military, these individuals would easily possess the foundation of senior officers, and with a little seasoning, they would become formidable vanguard generals.