Changning's Imperial Army Chapter 22

The day of the new recruits' evaluation was not exactly a special day – no matter how much one flipped through the almanac, he would not be able to find any good omen. Before daybreak, there were already people who had gotten out of bed and headed to the compet.i.tion grounds to perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows. To the combat soldiers, these people looked like clowns – they could not understand their intense desire to change their family's situation.

Naturally, performing the three kneelings and nine kowtows was not efficacious.

Whenever this day arrived, the breakfast for the new recruits would be very sumptuous. The majority of them would wolf down their food in the hopes that eating more would contribute to greater strength, in preparation for the compet.i.tion.

After Shen Leng was about seventy percent full, he put down his bowl and chopsticks. Being seventy percent full was more than enough for him.

Early in the morning, Yang Qibao had already made his way over to provide moral support for him. He seemed to be more anxious than Shen Leng himself. As for Shen Leng, all he could think about was seeing Master Cha early in the morning tomorrow. Master Cha is so beautiful.

Ever since a few years ago, when he first climbed onto the water bandits' battles.h.i.+p, he realized that the more stressful the situation was, the more calm he would be. Thereafter, he did not think much of it. Nonetheless, how many people could actually achieve such mental resilience?

The new recruits' camp had been carrying out recruitment over a long period of time. Even the new recruits who just joined the day before were qualified to take part in the evaluation. As long as they pa.s.sed the evaluation, they would be qualified to join the combat military. This was a promise personally made by Zhuang Yong.

The new recruits' evaluation was split into three segments. The first one tested for physical strength, such as carrying a heavy load while covering the distance of three miles, speed climbing a five-meter rope ladder, as well as putting their jumping abilities to the test, etc. The second one put their various fundamental skills to the test, such as their bow and arrow skills, knife techniques, boxing techniques, etc. The third segment was the martial arts compet.i.tion – this segment was the most cruel one.

If they could pa.s.s the first two tests, they would be able to qualify to join the combat military. There was no limit put on the number of people who could pa.s.s. Recruits who failed three months in a row would be asked to leave the camp. In the eyes of every recruit, the evaluation was considered their first door of opportunity to success, or it could also be their gate to h.e.l.l. As for the martial arts compet.i.tion, it decided their future ranking within the combat military.

The new recruits entered the grounds according to the sequence of their formation. Shen Leng and the rest had to go through the physical test first. Because there were too many people, the new recruits were split into two groups – the first one had to go through the physical evaluation first, and the other one had to go through the fundamental skills evaluation. Thereafter, they would switch over. The remaining people would have to draw lots to decide the pairing for the martial arts compet.i.tion.

Every evaluation would go on for three days. Generally, the first two segments would be completed within a day. The martial arts compet.i.tion took up two days' worth of time. This was because it was not only a one on one compet.i.tion – there were also group compet.i.tions, where they would get into groups of five and ten. However, these group compet.i.tions required them to register in advance. More often than not, there were not enough partic.i.p.ants.

Shen Leng followed the troops to the drill ground. The equipment required for each test had already been laid out in an orderly fas.h.i.+on.

In the first item, there were dumbbells. The starting weight of the dumbbell was 55 pounds, and each one weighed 27.5 pounds more than the previous one. The heaviest one was said to be 330 pounds. Ever since the Navy was founded, not a single person had lifted it before. According to the rule set by General Zhuang, as long as they could lift the 165 pound dumbbell, they would pa.s.s.

Whether or not they were willing to admit, in some cases, hard work might not necessarily play a huge role in achieving certain things. For example, some people were born with the strength to lift a 220 pound dumbbell, whereas others might not be able to do so even after training for five or ten years.

The test was carried out according to the sequence drawn up by the respective squadron leaders, which was determined the day before. Shen Leng was number sixteenth.

The squadron leaders were veterans within the combat military. They were very well-equipped with various kinds of skills and abilities. Furthermore, the squadron leaders in the new recruits' camp possessed greater authority than the ones in the combat military camp – they were in charge of the training and sequence of 120 recruits.

On the whole, the fifteen people before him did not have an exceptional performance – they conformed with the norm and went straight for the 165 pound dumbbell. Thirteen of them succeeded the first time, and the other two managed to lift it the second time. None of them wanted to expend too much energy in the first item. As long as they meet the requirement, it was good enough for them.

When it was Shen Leng's turn, Du Weiming, who was standing behind him, sneered at him, “I heard that you are very conceited. I want to compete with you.”

Shen Leng turned around and shot him a glance; he ignored him and was about to step forth, but Du Weiming seemed to have no intention of letting him go. He mocked and ridiculed him, “I even heard that you got the garrison leader Yang Qibao to pull some strings for you in order for you to join the new recruits' camp. Regardless of whether you pa.s.s the evaluation or not, you will still enter the combat military. I simply feel indignant on behalf of some of the brothers – they painstakingly put in so much effort and got in with their own abilities. As for you, you used connections. Don't you feel embarra.s.sed?”

Shen Leng smiled sinisterly. He turned around and faced Du Weiming. “Even though I know that you are trying to provoke me by saying those remarks, I do not intend to compete with you. In my opinion, a compet.i.tion with no stakes is meaningless. Not to forget, you're still very poor.”

The two words, 'very poor' pierced Du Weiming's ego like a knife. He was originally rather apprehensive, but after hearing those words, the rage within him surfaced.

“So, tell me. What shall we bet on?!”

Shen Leng replied, “I'm a very easy-going person, as long as you can bring something that's of a reasonable value to the table, I'm good with it.”

Du Weiming pondered for quite some time before he forced out a sentence, “If you win, in the future, I will always hide in the shadows wherever you appear within the camp.”

Shen Leng lamented, “This is very childish…”

He walked towards the 165 pound dumbbell. Du Weiming panicked and said, “The person who loses has to kneel and call the other party 'father'!”

Shen Leng ignored him entirely.

Within the new recruit's camp, Du Weiming had always meant what he said. That was because he was highly skilled in martial arts, and he had a very strong and muscular physique. The majority of the new recruits were afraid of him. This was his first time being disregarded by someone else, causing him to panic even more. He went over and stopped Shen Leng. “Then tell me, what do you want!”

Shen Leng replied plainly, “I'm rather unscrupulous – I like money.”

Du Weiming responded, “A year's worth of pay – shall we bet on that?”

Shen Leng shook his head, “I never fork out anything for something I can't see any benefits or profits in. As I've mentioned before, I'm rather unscrupulous.”

Du Weiming panicked even more. He took out a gold ingot. “How about this!”

The day before, he had rushed home and gave the majority of the money Mu Xiaofeng gave him to his parents, but kept one gold ingot for himself just in case he needed money for food or if something were to happen. However, at this moment, an impulse rushed over him and he could not care less about it.”

When Shen Leng saw the gold ingot, he understood everything. How was it possible for a person like Du Weiming to be in possession of a gold ingot? Gold was a very precious and valuable item – it was highly unlikely for ordinary folks to even see it in person throughout their entire lives. Naturally, it must have been given to him by Mu Xiaofeng.

Shen Leng narrowed his eyes and looked at the gold ingot. “This is indeed valuable enough, but it's only sufficient to bet on the dumbbell test.”

Du Weiming thought to himself about how he was going to finish him off during the martial arts compet.i.tion the next day anyway, and that all he wanted to do was to suppress his arrogance for now. “You think that you can win me?”

Shen Leng replied, “Since you're so confident, why don't you go first?”

The invigilator, who was also in charge of recording the results, started to get annoyed. “What are you two babbling on about? If you don't want to take the test, scram. Let the people behind you take it.”

Du Weiming said, “Quick, you go first. All I need to do is to lift a heavier dumbbell than you.”

Shen Leng replied, “I simply refuse to go first.”

Du Weiming frowned. “Your number is before mine, why aren't you going first?”

Shen Leng responded, “Because I'm shameless.”

The invigilator was slightly furious. “Do the both of you not want to take the test?!”

Shen Leng raised his hand and said in a loud voice, “Excuse me, there is something wrong with my shoes – I need to adjust them. Please allow number seventeen to go first.”

The invigilator impatiently gestured. “Number seventeen, Du Weiming, enter!”

Du Weiming thought to himself: Why is this person so shameless? But he quickly thought of something else – if he lifted a dumbbell of a weight that Shen Leng could not lift, no matter how shameless Shen Leng was, it would not matter. He was absolutely confident in his own abilities. Out of more than a thousand recruits in the camp, n.o.body dared to say they were better than him.

Du Weiming entered and swept his glance across the row of dumbbells. He walked straight towards the 220 pound dumbbell and stood next to it. That made the invigilator's eyes light up. He had heard from a long time ago that Du Weiming was the most capable recruit. The first fifteen people did the bare minimum to pa.s.s the test, and he felt that it was rather dull, but at this moment, Du Weiming went straight for the 220 pound dumbbell. Finally, something interesting was about to happen today.

He could not exactly hear Shen Leng and Du Weiming's exchange from before, but it was evident that they wanted to compete. The boring and mundane day was finally taking a turn for the better.

The invigilator smiled at Du Weiming with a look of gratification in his eyes. After Du Weiming saw that, it boosted his courage. He lowered his head and looked at the 220 pound dumbbell. He abruptly thought about the fact that Shen Leng was a person who could run ten rounds around the barracks. Even though endurance and strength might not necessarily be directly related, he felt that he should not lower his guard.

Hence, he took a step to the right, where the 248 pound dumbbell was. After he steadied himself, he turned around and smiled at Shen Leng, in a bid to provoke him.

However, he realized that Shen Leng was not even looking at him. Instead, he was pinching his fingertips, counting. He coughed a few times before Shen Leng looked up and nodded at him. It seemed as though he was trying to cheer him on.

Shen Leng was trying to figure out the value of Du Weiming's gold ingot – it was around twenty taels. How much is twenty taels of gold in terms of silver? I think it's enough to buy two decent jewelry for Master Cha, like a hairpin. She has been using that one hairpin for so many years…I should also buy two boxes of aged tea for sir. He has been living life more and more frugally. Even though General Zhuang said that he was shameless, Shen Leng knew that over the past few years, he had been spending money without making any earnings. Hence, it was only normal for him to be frugal.

He thought about the year he left to live with Mr. Shen, when Mr. Shen cut off his finger just to take back the silver that Master Cha gave out recklessly. Shen Leng's heart could not help but ache.

It was said that Mr. Shen came from a wealthy family; in Huaiyuan city, the Shen family was considered an influential family. He must have led a comfortable life. From Mr. Shen's elegant demeanor, one could tell the standard of life he had lived before. But right now, he had to even take into account the cost of a portion of tea leaves.

Naturally, Du Weiming did not know what Shen Leng was thinking about. If he did, he would most likely vomit blood out of anger.

When he saw that Shen Leng looked rather nonchalant, he felt that something was amiss. Hence, he took another step to the right, next to the 275 pound dumbbell. Just as he was about to lift it, he noticed that Shen Leng's eyes were looking at the 330 pound dumbbell. Without hesitation, he took two steps and stood next to the 330 pound dumbbell. He clenched his teeth as he braced himself.

The invigilator smiled; the hand that was holding the writing brush trembled slightly. The record…he's about to break the record.

Du Weiming tightened his belt. He grabbed the dumbbell and exerted his strength. He roared and captured the attention of all the people nearby. The moment they saw Du Weiming attempting to lift the 330 pound dumbbell, they immediately cheered loudly. Du Weiming did not rush to drop the dumbbell. Instead, he turned around and looked at Shen Leng provokingly. However, he got a shock immediately after…Shen Leng had already walked over and was standing next to him.

That fella walked over with a nonchalant look on his face. He grabbed Du Weiming's belt with both hands and lifted him before putting him down. He repeated this three times…

Thereafter, he despicably took the gold ingot from Du Weiming's body and hurriedly placed it on his own.

The invigilator was in a daze. What do I indicate as the weight?

Du Weiming wanted to chase after Shen Leng, but he got stopped by the invigilator. “How heavy are you? Quick, tell me how heavy you are!”

Shen Leng put the golden ingot into his pocket and walked off, feeling extremely elated.

However, before he could walk any farther, two garrison soldiers stopped him and brought him to the viewing stand. The commander of the Navy, Zhuang Yong gestured for them to step down. He reached his hand out towards Shen Leng and said, “Give it to me.”

Shen Leng was baffled. “Huh?”

“You know that we have our own set of rules in the military camp. This thing cannot possibly belong to Du Weiming. I will send someone to investigate this matter. Give it to me first.”

Shen Leng covered his chest. He had a resolute look on his face and in his eyes. “I won this with my own ability, why do I have to give it to you?”

Zhuang Yong was rendered speechless by what he said – he was especially dazed. He could not help but questioned…in this fella's eyes, am I even considered a general?