freenovelworld Chapter 532 Separation
Chapter 532 Separation
So Xia Yan and his fellow recruits gritted their teeth and persevered. No matter how tough or tiring the training was, they never complained. With their strong willpower, they pushed their bodies to the limit and endured a month of training before entering the camp.
After getting through this month, Xia Yan and the others naturally became official soldiers of the three major battalions, and at the same time successfully received their first military pay: 500 coins.
In fact, during the time when Xia Yan joined the army, even the lowest-ranking soldiers in the three major camps of the capital received a military salary of 2 taels of silver and 500 coins from the imperial court, which was already a heavily deducted salary.
Even so, five hundred coins were enough to excite Xia Yan and the others.
Simply because after joining the army, they not only escaped hunger but also gained an income...
Even now, Xia Yan still remembers the ecstatic feeling he had when he received 500 coins as military pay. He carefully counted the coins in his hand, repeatedly confirming that it was indeed 500 coins, and then kissed each coin one by one before carefully hiding the 500 coins under his bedside.
“I have no worries about food and drink in this military camp. I can send these five hundred coins home. My parents will be very happy, and my younger siblings will be able to eat more.”
That night, Xia Yan slept with a smile on his face. He believed that with these five hundred coins, his family would definitely be able to live a better life.
After sending 500 coins home through an intermediary, Xia Yan trained even harder, exceeding his daily training goals and making rapid progress in his skills.
Of course, the strength mentioned here is not Xia Yan's level. The lower-ranking soldiers of the three major camps in the capital do not receive martial arts instruction. Only generals with military ranks can have the opportunity to learn martial arts.
The strength mentioned here refers to Xia Yan's physical attributes.
Xia Yan, who exceeded the training requirements every day, quickly surpassed the other soldiers in physical fitness and became the most outstanding among the new recruits.
This also drew the attention of the high-ranking officials of the Beijing Garrison.
Before long, Xia Yan gained the appreciation of a high-ranking general in the Beijing Garrison and was subsequently taught martial arts, embarking on the path of martial arts.
Xia Yan's talent for martial arts was undoubtedly exceptional. Without any medicinal herbs to aid his cultivation or any external support, relying solely on a low-grade martial arts manual, Xia Yan rose from an ordinary person to a ninth-grade martial artist. Within half a year, he advanced to the eighth grade and became a lower-ranking general in the capital garrison.
However, on the very day Xia Yan was granted a military rank, Xia Yuanying, who was still in the capital at the time, stepped into the military camp and immediately took a liking to Xia Yan, who had just been promoted from a lowly soldier to a general.
"Would you be willing to follow me and become one of my personal guards?"
Xia Yuanying asked at that time.
"What can I get?"
Xia Yan, with his straightforward nature, said this.
"Become my personal guard, and all cultivation resources can be obtained from the imperial treasury. I will not mistreat anyone who is willing to follow me."
"I am willing to become your personal guard."
Xia Yan knelt on one knee and accepted Xia Yuanying's invitation. Having practiced martial arts for half a year, he was no longer the ignorant boy he once was. He knew the importance of resources on the path of martial arts. If he stayed obediently in the three major camps of the capital without enough resources, his cultivation level would inevitably stagnate, or even be stuck at the eighth or seventh rank forever.
Only by attaching himself to a powerful figure could his path in martial arts proceed more smoothly.
Therefore, after receiving Xia Yuanying's promise, Xia Yan immediately accepted Xia Yuanying's invitation.
"Very good! From now on, you will be called Xia Yan and will serve as the commander of my personal guards!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
From then on, the gears of fate began to turn.
Xia Yuanying was always very generous to his loyal subordinates. After Xia Yan became the commander of his personal guards, he no longer had any worries about resources. His martial arts progressed by leaps and bounds. He reached the seventh rank in one year, the sixth rank in two years, the fifth rank in three years, the fourth rank in five years, and finally reached the peak of the fourth rank...
As Xia Yan's cultivation level rose, his status in Xia Yuanying's heart also rose accordingly, and his family benefited as well.
Upon learning that Xia Yan had become the commander of the Qing King's personal guards, the magistrate of the county where Xia Yan's hometown was located personally visited his family and presented them with a large amount of gold and silver.
The villagers no longer dared to look down on them; instead, they greeted them warmly and showed great respect to Xia Yan's family.
In his third year as the commander of the Qing King's personal guards, Xia Yan took some time to return to his hometown, and the entire village mobilized for the trip.
The village chief, the village elders, and all the villagers gathered at the village entrance to welcome Xia Yan's return.
As Xia Yan was ushered into the village by the crowd, he felt refreshed and his vanity was greatly satisfied...
This feeling was amplified to its extreme the moment he saw his family.
After several years, Xia Yan's family looked much better. His younger siblings were no longer wearing tattered clothes, and even the wrinkles on his parents' faces had become much shallower. Clearly, because of his presence, his parents and younger siblings were living a better life.
But for some reason, when Xia Yan met his family again, he could no longer find the familiar feeling he had before.
Because... the gap in status between him and his family was too vast.
As the commander of the Prince of Qing's personal guards, he was considered a prominent figure even in the capital, and his family...
Although my parents were wearing new clothes, they still maintained their frugal nature and never ate extravagantly. My younger siblings were the same; they would always finish all the rice in their bowls, leaving not a single grain.
This kind of life is completely different from Xia Yan's life in the Qingwang Mansion.
Inside the Prince Qing's mansion, everything from food to clothing was extremely luxurious. Not to mention rice, there were often leftovers of meat, which were then casually thrown away by the servants or used to feed the livestock.
As for clothing, even the lowest-ranking servants in the Prince Qing's mansion wore silk that ordinary people wouldn't dare to wear even once in their entire lives...
Having grown accustomed to this kind of life in the royal palace, Xia Yan found it impossible to integrate with his family.
Therefore, after only staying at home for three days, Xia Yan hurriedly left his hometown and returned to the Qingwang Mansion.
As he left the village, Xia Yan glanced back at his parents and younger siblings waving to him from the village entrance, his heart filled with complex emotions.
He didn't know if it was him who had changed, or his family who had changed. He still deeply loved his family, but he felt a disconnect between them, making it impossible for him to be close to them...
He had thought about lowering his status and getting along well with his family, but it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance and difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Having been used to the luxurious life in the Qingwang Mansion, he could no longer adapt to the frugal life he once had, where a bowl of white rice was shared among several children and a small piece of meat was chewed repeatedly before swallowing.