Chapter 27: Training the Villagers
Many ordinary people in the Xu Kingdom worked hard in the fields all year round and might not even get to eat a single meal of white rice. Zhaojia Village, having produced a Prime Minister, was considered a relatively wealthy village in the entire Changxi County, and even the entire prefecture. But there were still more than a dozen families who had no land of their own and could only work as long-term laborers for others.
Ah Wu had originally been a long-term laborer for Zhao Tongming’s family. But when Zhao Tongming’s entire family moved away to enjoy life in the capital, they certainly couldn’t take him with them. He had thought he was going to starve, but less than two days later, the steward of the Zhao family’s eldest young master, Hai Bo, came to find him. He asked him to help dig earth at the kiln. Not only would he get a string of cash per month, but he would also get three full meals a day. If the amount of earth he dug exceeded the standard, he could even have meat—fried eggs with pork cracklings or a bone with meat on it. After working for over a month, he had gained a lot of strength, and his face had filled out.
Ah Wu touched the string of coins wrapped around his waist, wondering whether to make a new set of clothes or save up for two years to find a wife.
He went to the digging site early again today, but he only saw a few workers who were digging earth for the Zhao family’s eldest young master’s kiln. He didn’t see anyone from the village’s brick and tile kiln. He asked the long-faced man next to him strangely, “Did Liu Biaozi and the others all wake up late today? Why haven’t I seen a single one of them?”
The long-faced man swung his hoe and said with some jealousy, “The Zhao family’s eldest young master is going to teach them martial arts. Unfortunately, he only called the people from the brick and tile kiln, not us.”
Ah Wu started filling his basket with earth as soon as he arrived at the site. As he worked, he also said indignantly, “We didn’t get a share when they distributed the money, and now we don’t get to learn martial arts either. We outsiders are really inferior in every way.”
Another middle-aged man responsible for digging, Uncle Li Er, glanced unhappily at the gossiping Ah Wu and the long-faced man. “Our families are all refugees who came to Zhaojia Village in the last few decades. It’s already very good that they were willing to take us in. You’re still thinking of sharing money with them and getting the same treatment? Dream on.”
He spat and continued digging, educating the restless young men beside him. “Think about the life we used to live. Working as a long-term laborer for Zhao Tongming, or as a short-term laborer for the villagers and the people in the city. We could only get two dry meals a day during the busy farming season. Now, the eldest young master gives us three full meals a day, even meat, and money. Why are you still not satisfied?”
He changed direction to dig, making it convenient for his partner to load the earth into the basket. He continued, “Don’t get any funny ideas. Just save up your wages. In a year or two, we’ll be busy too. We’ll repair our houses, marry a wife, and our lives will slowly get better.”
As he was speaking, he felt the people behind him suddenly become quiet. Sensing that the atmosphere was a bit off, he turned his head and saw Zhao An standing not far behind him with Qin Tong, smiling at him.
Zhao An had to marvel that the people of this era were still relatively simple-minded. Except for those in the Zhao family who had enjoyed special privileges, the villagers almost never resisted his decisions. He knew that in this era, even hardworking and honest people might not be able to protect their own lives, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like such hardworking and diligent people.
He said to the workers who were digging, “Work hard. The kiln is about to produce results. When the whole set of ceramic pipes is fired, I’ll give each of you a bonus.”
Just now, when he had gathered people in the open space by the kiln, the kiln workers had come out to watch the excitement, their faces full of eagerness. Seeing that they were also very interested in the training, Zhao An had comforted them. This was the third time he had said the same thing, because there was another group of workers responsible for chopping firewood and making charcoal who were not participating in the training.
Although he knew they might face defeated rogue soldiers and famine-stricken people from the drought-reduced harvest, Zhao An still hoped to fire that set of drainage and shower systems as soon as possible. Firstly, the ceramic pipes could greatly improve his living environment. And after mass production, these things could be sold to other gentry for a large sum of money. The season for picking gastrodia had long passed. What he could sell now were just some silver ear and wood ear fungus, and grapes. It was only five or six qian of silver a day, just enough for the food expenses of the workers at the kiln.
Moreover, there were already more than one hundred and twenty villagers participating in the training, which was enough to protect a small village. So he didn’t have his own kiln workers train together, planning to wait until they had finished firing this batch of ceramic pipes.
Today was the first time the villagers of Zhaojia Village participated in training. Because of the collective labor and collective queuing for meals over the past month, they already had a basic sense of obedience and a foundation for training. So, Zhao An easily had them line up in neat formations. Then he had Liu Huan lead the people to run laps around the village as the most basic physical training.
After the participating villagers had run a lap around the village and returned to the flat ground in front of the kiln, which was originally used for storing firewood, everyone was out of breath. Zhao An hadn’t run with them. He stood on the flat ground waiting for them and pointed to a pile of sharpened wooden sticks on the ground. “Pick up your weapons. In groups of ten according to your previous shifts, we will practice charging.”
This morning, he had sent Hai Bo and Liu Hu to the city to hire a blacksmith to make farm tools. But he still felt that sharpened wooden or bamboo sticks combined with a collective charge would surely be more effective than fighting individually with knives. However, some iron farm tools should still be prepared to guard against a large-scale invasion of rogue soldiers, and the potential damage that could be brought about in alley fights.
Most of the villagers were very obedient and obediently picked up the wooden sticks that Zhao An had Qin Tong prepare. But one of the three troublemakers who had been spanked by Liu Huan last night said defiantly to Zhao An, “Young Master Zhao, do you think we can beat those refugees with these wooden sticks? I heard my grandfather say that when he was young and fleeing a famine, they even broke through the city gates of a county town.”
He looked at Zhao An with a skeptical gaze. “The eldest young master is a scholar. Do you know how to train people? You’re not just fooling us, are you? Making us run and play with wooden sticks. This is child’s play.”
Qin Tong, also holding a wooden stick, stood beside Zhao An. Hearing this, he was very indignant. The Young Master is someone chosen by the immortals. He even knows immortal arts. Even a wolf can be tamed by him. How dare these illiterate villagers question him?
Qin Tong raised the wooden stick in his hand, wanting to hit the man on the head to teach him a lesson. But Zhao An caught the stick halfway, his gaze turning to the provocateur. He smiled slightly. “Since you think I don’t know how to teach, why don’t we have a match? If you win, you can teach everyone.”
The man swallowed, wanting to back down a little. But someone in the crowd jeered, “Old Zhuang Liu, don’t be a coward. The eldest young master wants to practice with you. Show him what you’ve got.”
It was clear that although only three people had dared to openly oppose Liu Huan and not participate in the training, more than thirty percent of the people were unwilling in their hearts. They just didn’t dare to say it openly and could only express their dissatisfaction by jeering on such occasions.
Old Zhuang Liu thought of the scene where he, a grown man, was spanked with a bamboo slip in public. A fire of anger also burned in his heart. He immediately grabbed a wooden stick and charged towards Zhao An. Although he didn’t dare to really strike Zhao An hard, and this blow was only aimed at his leg, his sudden attack was intended to catch Zhao An off guard, which was very insidious.
However, Zhao An’s powers of observation were far superior to those of ordinary people. He had been prepared from the first step he took. Taking advantage of the opening when he swung the stick, he quickly moved to his side and struck him on the spine with his own stick, causing Old Zhuang Liu to fall flat on the ground. Then he stepped on the back of his neck.
Old Zhuang Liu was like a turtle on its back, his limbs flailing, but he couldn’t turn over. Only then did everyone suddenly remember how cleanly and efficiently Zhao An had dealt with that big fatty, Zhao Tongming. But that incident had happened three months ago, and in these three months, Zhao An had always been very kind, like a child of wealth. He had first distributed most of the money from selling the strawberry seedlings to the villagers, then provided them with plenty of good food and drink. The brick and tile kiln that had been built with great difficulty was also given to the village.
Under Zhao An’s gentle demeanor, most people had forgotten his previous ferocity and saw him as a naive young master. But today, his ability to take down a big man like Old Zhuang Liu with just one move, and his fierce appearance when dealing with the Zhao Tongming family, suddenly made their skin tighten.
Now, when Zhao An smiled at them again, no one dared to treat him lightly. They all obediently shut their mouths and held their breath, trembling like prey being stared at by a hawk.
Seeing that his young master had completely gained the upper hand, Qin Tong said proudly to the now-subdued villagers, “My young master was specially taught martial arts by a master. How dare you compete with him?”
Only then did Zhao An speak. “Line up and start training.”
Everyone began to line up again. Zhao An removed his foot from Old Zhuang Liu’s back, then used his wooden stick to lift his arm. “Get up and continue training.”
Zhao An took two steps towards the side of the open space. Suddenly, he pushed off with his feet, his toes tapping lightly, and leaped onto the top of the pile of wood stacked by the side of the field. Then, with his hands behind his back, he looked into the distance.
He wanted to show the villagers another move, but when he opened his eyes, he found a person standing on the tip of a bamboo on a nearby hill, floating with the wind like a feather. Now that is true qinggong.
Zhao An looked at Hu Sheng with some embarrassment. In the blink of an eye, Hu Sheng had arrived beside the woodpile. His blue eyes were like transparent glass in the sunlight, and the corners of his lips were slightly curved. As if bewitched by him, Zhao An suddenly jumped down from the woodpile.
Fortunately, Hu Sheng caught him; otherwise, he would have fallen directly to the ground and made a fool of himself. Zhao An became even more embarrassed and lowered his head, not daring to look into Hu Sheng’s eyes.
It wasn’t until Hu Sheng laughed and said, “You looked very handsome just now,” that Zhao An managed to shake off his embarrassment. He patted Hu Sheng’s hand, signaling him to put him down.
“As long as you’re not laughing at me. I just wanted to awe the villagers. Don’t think my methods are childish.” Amidst the shouts of the villagers practicing charging with their wooden sticks under Qin Tong’s guidance, Zhao An’s voice sounded a little weak.
Hu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then put his hand on Zhao An’s shoulder and pulled him in. “Making an example of a troublemaker is also a common practice in the army. You did very well.”
Being affirmed by the person he liked, Zhao An finally couldn’t hold back a smile. His heart felt as sweet as if he had eaten a peach.
