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How Xiu’s Company came to be
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, August 13th, under the searing sun of summer, the ones bearing the fate of ‘saving House ZiChuan from imminent destruction’ had left the City of Di Du. Their goal was the province of Mozof, Kesan and Anxing located in the heart of House ZiChuan.
“Sir, we are dying from the heat! Why do we have to march when the sun is at its hottest, are you trying to get us killed?”
“Sir, does Supreme Commander – Luo Ming Hai have a grudge against you? Why is he sending you to do the recruiting? It’s bare none the most excruciating task available. We did nothing to deserve this!”
“Save your breath. That idiot wasn’t listening at all! See, he is giggling like a little girl again staring at the ‘Capital Times’!”
“Sir, what is so funny?”
“Oh, Bai Chuan. Here, have a look. They wrote an article about me in the news, and it is on the front page as well! It’s been so long since I last made it to the front page!”
“Let me see.”
“According to one of Stirling’s childhood friend – Stirling has always been a high achiever ever since he was young, and was often praised as a dedicated student. His childhood dream was to one day, be able to serve House ZiChuan and that honorable goal had guided him over the years, made him the man he is today. It gave him the courage to overcome any obstacles in his way and finally, become one of the greatest Generals of our time! Stirling’s story taught us that, as long as you put your mind to it, you can accomplish just about anything! Once you have a clear goal in sight, and it will show you the way! Stirling is the role model of countless youngsters…”
“Sir, I don’t see your name anywhere?”
“Oh, that ‘Childhood Friend’ is me. But I didn’t say any of those words, what I told the reporter was…”
“Stirling was a bloody rascal when he was young. He skipped class everyday to play Cards with Di Lin, and whenever he loses, he would always run away instead of paying what he owed, no integrity whatsoever! Also, he cheats on his tests every time by peeking Di Lin’s answers, but Di Lin wasn’t any better at it either! So they would both fail their tests every year. The teachers often scolded them: ‘How do you two always have the exact same wrong answers?’”
“Somehow my words got twisted when the reporter wrote them down!”
……
The group arrived at Province of Kesan two days later. The local Reserve Division Chief – Deputy Banner Master Jing Chang gave them a warm welcome.
Jing Chang was a little over thirty years old, average looking and well-spoken. The first impression Luo Jie, Bai Chuan and the rest had of the man was that of someone surprizingly familiar yet incredibly annoying. Somehow his smile reminded them of a certain someone way too much!
“So, the enlistment of militia, how has it been going so far? Master Jing?”
“Oh, rest assured, Sir! I always made sure to fulfil my quota when it comes to National Security. We trained every week and adopted all the military disciplines required of us! Everyone’s morale is high and they are confident. Just give them the word, and they would march fearlessly towards battle, and bring hell to House ZiChuan’s enemies…”
ZiChuan Xiu interrupted his monologue: “I see. But my question is how many have enlisted so far?”
“Ever since I heard of the Far East Rebellion, how the lowly savages desecrated our House’s sacred ground, my heart has been fuelled with anger and passion. My only regret is not having a pair of wings to fly me directly to the distant Far East, where I can bring death upon the Rebel Army myself! It’s very unfortunate that I’m but an insignificant officer working in the Reserve Division, and without direct order, I’m not allowed to abandon my post. I could only funnel my rage and passion into preparing the new recruits for what is to come. Through my actions, I shall proof my undying loyalty to House ZiChuan…”
“Good, very good. I fully understand your honorable intentions. So how many new recruits do we have?”
“Thanks to every Reserve Division staff’s tireless efforts, great progress has been made to the mobilization of the Army Reserve, and we were able to book great results! Naturally, we are not without faults and mistakes were sometimes made. But we should not let our occasional slip up define us. I assure you in the greater scheme of things, they are but needles in the haystack. Our achievements and contributions are what are important here; our shortcomings and failure are merely…”
“How many recruits?!”
Jing Chang hesitated, and then whispered softly to ZiChuan Xiu’s ears.
ZiChuan Xiu leapt to his feet: “That is all?”
“Ahem, surely someone as wise as you should understand the difficulties we have to face, Sir. Due to the severe lack of funding, we can’t ensure the welfare of our staff, no yearly bonus to speak of, and even the public funds for recreational activities were limited to thirty times a week per person… Life is hard! Yet, despite our challenging work environment, the majority of the Reserve Division staff still managed to carry on with their tasks and overcome all obstacles. They are worthy of praise for achieving as much as they did, Sir.”
“But this is way too few…”
“I have heard many stories of your great military achievements, Sir. Surely someone as wise as you understands the importance of quality over quantity! Yes the number of our recruit may fell short in term of numbers… but we are definitely ahead in term of quality! A hundred well-trained soldiers can easily best a thousand unorganized rebels! The average age of our new recruits is merely thirty-one years old! We have both battle-hardened veteran warriors, and brave young lads! The perfect combination in term of combat effectiveness! They are definitely the elite of the elites!”
“Very well, then you wouldn’t mind to conduct a military drill I presume.”
Just when Jing Chang was about to relay the order, ZiChuan Xiu stopped him: “Out of curiosity, are you really a Deputy Banner Master?”
“Well. I was initially part of the Army Reserve. I was reinstated to active duty after the event in Far East. Sir, what about you…?”
“Well. I was part of the Army Reserve as well…”
Both of them shared a smile, and they both understood: “So you are also a son of a bitch just like me!”
Bai Chuan whispered to Luo Jie: “Doesn’t that Deputy Banner Master reminds of you someone?”
……
The few guests from Di Du were dumbfounded when they saw the “Elite of the Elites” gathered in the training square.
Bai Chuan stuttered: “Why are there so many elderly holding crutches, with barely any teeth standing in the line? And that one, he couldn’t even walk straight without someone holding him up… Shit, he just fell on his face after taking two steps!”
Jing Chang explained: “Oh, Old man Wang is just having another heart attack. Let him rest a bit and he will be fine! As you see, Sir. These are all battle-hardened, extremely experienced veterans of war! Some of them even participated in the fourth generation Headmaster’s great crusade! They are the glorious, revered and priceless treasures of House ZiChuan!”
Luo Jie was shocked too: “And that kid over there, he is at most fifteen years old, and there is one even younger… Hey, brat, get away from me. My pant is not for you to wipe your snot with!”
Jing Chang elaborated: “And that is the young warrior of our future! He may seem a bit weak for now, but I’m sure after a few battles, he will become a great fighter! The young ones all have incredible potential! It is nothing to be scoffed at!”
Chang Chuan frowned: “I doubt they can survive even one battle. Master Jing, is that how you come up with the average age of thirty one? Is there even one young men of age twenty to thirty amongst them?”
Jing Chang acted as if he was wronged: “Master Chang Chuan, why would you say something like that? Don’t you see that man over there? He is exactly thirty years old!”
Everyone’s gaze quickly shifted towards the direction his finger was pointing – A man with only one arm sitting on a chair with his wooden leg pointed sideways…”
ZiChuan Xiu turned back towards Jing Chang: “You must have misunderstood. We did not come here to open a nursing home, kindergarten or to provide shelters for wounded.”
……
Everyone returned to the camp, and sighed.
“What do we do, Sir? High Command’s deadline is in September. We are out of time!”
“Sir, I have a suggestion. Should we just stuff the order at that stupid Jing Chang, tell him to get it done within the week?”
“Those damn useless bureaucrats! We can’t rely on them to get anything done. We have to find a way ourselves.”
“Sir, what are you writing?”
ZiChuan Xiu said: “Bai Chuan, come here for a second. Did you bring that mini-skirt of yours?”
……
Day two, the billboards of Bai Chuan wearing a super sexy mini-skirt had shown up everywhere in the streets of a certain Provincial Capital.
–Once in a lifetime opportunity for any well-endowed man!–
–Tour registration is now open! All young men are welcome!–
–Three day’s tour in the Capital! The glory of the historical sites and the mystery of ancient ruins awaits! Everything you need to fill your senses with wonder!–
–Lovely schoolgirl, Miss Bai Chuan will tell you everything you want to hear, promising a night you will never forget!–
–Travel costs are all included! Totally free!–
–Hard to believe? But it is all true!–
–Are you interested? Then take action! You do not want to miss out on this golden opportunity!–
–Make sure to bring your papers and contact us–
–Address: Phoenix Hotel, Room 123–
–Contact Person: ZiChuan Xiu, Luo Jie and Chang Chuan–
Within three days, every single useless bums, thieves, bandits, robbers, con-artists, and perverts within three hundred miles radius of a certain Provincial Capital had lined up in front of the Phoenix Hotel. Many of them even got into a fight trying to secure themselves a better position in the line.
The things they all had in common were: Young, energetic, healthy and like to get in to trouble. The good news however, was that the public security of that certain province had seen great improvement after Xiu’s Company’s recruitment effort. Especially the crime rate of robbery, thievery and public violence had dropped to an all time low.
As for them, Deputy Commander ZiChuan Xiu accepted anyone willing to sign up. In less than three days, he had accomplished everything High Command ordered him to do, and would soon return to Di Du with what would later be known as, the most powerful ‘Army’ of House ZiChuan!
According to Historical Records, on that day, Imperial Calendar, Year 779, August 18th, ZiChuan Xiu accomplished the mission to replenish troops for the first time! It was a day to be remembered, it was the day that marked the incredible future waiting for them!”
After returning to Di Du, Bai Chuan brought a white banner from High Command and reported joyously: “Sir, High Command has given us the permission to name our new Army!”
“Nice! How about we call this unit the Luo Jie’s deathguards?”
“F*ck off! I’d rather call them ‘Luo Jie’s death’ guard. Naturally, we should name them Chang Chuan’s handsome unit!”
“What a disgusting name! Bai Chuan, which one do you prefer?”
“Neither! I think we should call them the Pink Army of Bai Chuan!”
“That is just terrible… Sir, what do you say…”
“Hey, Sir. What are you doing?”
None of them had noticed, that ZiChuan Xiu already wrote down a big character of ‘Xiu’ right in the center of the white banner!
“That is it. From now on, our army will be known as, ‘Xiu’s Company’! I have a feeling, that this army will one day… Hey, stop peeing on it! Desecrating the army banner is punishable by death!”
……
The first banner of Xiu’s Company was still preserved in House ZiChuan’s Family Museum to this day.
Its historical value and importance were truly priceless.
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