Chapter 1: The Most Unique Person in the Border City Part Two

“How come everyone likes him, someone who is that afraid of death?” Fu Baobao asked while pouting.

“Because…” Lieutenant Li Gandang pulled a gold chain off the bandit leader and huffed on it while saying, “That Fang Jie… is too good at making money. The life at Fangu City gets better every year because of him. I bet that even the equipment of the royal soldiers in the Capital isn’t as good as ours!”

At this moment, a good-looking young man who looked to be about 15 years old appeared from somewhere. He wore leather armor that seemed a bit too big for him, and he rubbed his hands and laughed, “To celebrate another great victory, how about I invite you all to drink liquor at Yun’s Meat Shop?”

…

-Major Li Xiaozong’s Study in Fangu City-

[TL Note: In this context, a major is the commander of a battalion that is comprised of close to 1,000 soldiers.]

[TL Note: A study is a room in a house that is used for paperwork, computer work, or reading.]

The fire was blazing in the brazier, and grey ashes would rise with the flames sometimes. The temperature in the room was drastically different from the outside, and the warmth in here would make others reluctant to leave.

Li Xiaozong was the highest-level commander of the 800 soldiers in Fangu. Although he was only a rank 5 major in the military, he had a prestigious status and absolute privileges in this city that was about two kilometers in both length and width and in this area that he managed with a diameter of about 100 kilometers.

This man was born in the Long-West Li Family. Although he wasn’t born as a close member of the family, he could be counted as an aristocrat, and he had a rank 7 nominal position in the empire when he was born, which was a status that many people with poor backgrounds couldn’t obtain in their lifetimes.

[TL Note: Long-West meanings to the west of Mount Long. In ancient China, many families were referred to by their locations.]

However, what people saw in Li Xiaozong was his talent and not his background.

Since he became the leader of the military in Fangu, the area that was under his manage became a lot safer. In his first year, the military went on 33 operations and killed more than 900 bandits. Last year, the military moved six times and killed more than 200 bandits. This year… more accurately, since the last operation six months ago, there was only one operation.

Therefore, Li Xiaozong had a headache, and he thought, “I have fewer counts of military merits to report. How can I ask for more rewards?”

At this moment, he stopped this train of thought and reflected on when he became so greedy.

He had his 26th birthday last month. Not only did he have a good background, but he was also a great student from the Martial Arts Academy in the Capital. As soon as he graduated, he was given the position as the leader of the military at Fangu. It proved that he was a dashing figure in the academy.

It was heard that Principal Zhou of the Martial Arts Academy, who didn’t have the greatest power in the military system but had the greatest status and reputation, had once praised Li Xiaozong in public. Principal Zhou who could influence the military’s decision once said, “Li Xiaozong, if you don’t die from your bad temper before 30, you might become the youngest governor-general of the empire.”

This sentence showed how much Principal Zhou valued Li Xiaozong. However, Principal Gu’s next sentence perhaps was more important.

“Of course, if nothing goes wrong, you can’t even live until 25! You studied at the Martial Arts Academy for three years, but you still know about offense and nothing about defense. However, the Ministry of War wants to move you to a border city? I feel sad for you!”

[TL Note: The central political system of ancient China was divided into three tiers.

The first-tier was the emperor.

The second-tier had three departments, and they were Secretariat which was mostly in charge of creating new laws, Chancellery which was mostly in charge of reviewing the laws, and Department of State Affairs which was mostly in charge of executing the laws.

The third-tier had six ministries, and they are all under Department of State Affairs.

Ministry of Personnel was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles.

Ministry of Revenue was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes and handling state revenues.

Ministry of Rites was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals and sacrifices. It also oversaw the reception of envoys from tributary states and foreign relations.

Ministry of War was in charge of the appointments, promotions and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment and weapons, as well as the courier system.

Ministry of Justice was in charge of judicial and penal processes.

Ministry of Works was in charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, and the maintenance of roads and canals.]

Principal Zhou miscalculated. In the last three years, Li Xiaozong lived a great life in this border city. Whenever he recalled Principal Zhou’s comment, he wanted to laugh.