Chapter 418: General Ping

Bright sunlight streamed through the large glass windows of the corridor, shining on the whitewashed walls, the reflection so white and glaring that Zichuan, who had been bedridden for a long time, felt a little dizzy for a moment. He stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, a nurse was there to support him.

“Be careful…”

The nurse in the blue dress spoke a kind of Chinese that he was not very familiar with, similar to what the chiefs spoke. Zichuan knew this was Mandarin, the “national language” spoken by the Australian chiefs. He had been trying his best to learn it, but he just couldn’t get the hang of it, and he was far from the level of this young nurse.

Zichuan’s Mandarin teacher was a naturalized citizen corporal. The teacher’s level was not very good, so the student naturally couldn’t be much better.

The long-corridor-style ward smelled of disinfectant. The wards of the Ma Niao Army General Hospital were now full of patients, most of whom had been sent from the recent purification camps.

The chaos in Shandong had reached its climax. A large number of refugees flocked to Laizhou and Qimu Island every day. These people had survived against all odds, but they were sick and hungry. Even after being purified in the refugee camps in Jeju or Kaohsiung and recovering somewhat, they still showed a large number of symptoms of being unaccustomed to the new environment after arriving in Lingao. The result was that all the hospitals were crowded with patients receiving intravenous fluids, and the steam sterilization rooms were operating 24 hours a day.

When Zichuan entered the courtyard of the hospital office, he felt that something was different. There were several cold-faced guards in the courtyard. Zichuan was led by a guard to an office:

“The chief is waiting for you inside.”

“Chief-dono, Zichuan, corporal of the security forces, Hideji, at your service!” Zichuan announced himself at the office door.

Like all employers, the Australians didn’t mind their Japanese mercenaries adding a bunch of miscellaneous things to their names according to their own samurai customs.

“Come in!”

“I heard that Corporal Zichuan was honorably wounded and is recovering well.”

“Thank you for your concern, Chief-dono! I serve the Senate and the people!” Zichuan tried to stand up straighter.

“This is Minister Si Kaide of the Executive Committee.”

“Minister-dono!” As he spoke, Zichuan was about to prostrate himself on the ground. During his training in Lingao, he had roughly learned that a minister was similar to a powerful daimyo in the service of the public, and an executive committee member was similar to a bugyo or tairo in the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, an existence even more terrifying than a daimyo.

“Get up and speak,” Si Kaide said, standing up as well. “Zichuan Hideji!”

“Yes!”

“In view of your heroic performance in the Battle of Jeju, the Executive Committee has decided to award you the Medal of Light! I have also brought the wound badge issued by the Military Affairs Department last time. I will now award you the medals. Please stand at attention!”

“Yes!” Zichuan’s face flushed with excitement, and he immediately saluted.

The full name of the Medal of Light was the “Beidou Guangming Medal,” which was divided into three classes of medals and badges. It was awarded to meritorious personnel in the wars of colonial and territorial expansion. As for the wound badge, it was awarded to armed personnel and militiamen who were wounded in battle, but the injury had to be a direct result of enemy action; accidental injuries were not eligible. Those who received the wound badge received a small annual subsidy.

“I serve the Senate and the people!” Zichuan looked at the medal on his chest and remembered the “certificate of appreciation” that he had seen in the home of a high-ranking samurai, which was issued by the lord and treasured by the family. He never thought that he would also have an Australian certificate of appreciation! He was so excited that he couldn’t help but say it out loud.

“Please sit down!”

“Yes!”

“The Senate and the people have decided to give you a new, glorious, and arduous task.”

“Hideji will go through fire and water without hesitation!”

“You are now injured and it is too much for you to wield a nodachi, so it has been decided that you will be transferred from the security forces system to the Ministry of Colonization and Trade from today!” Si Kaide said as he took a sword from the table. “On behalf of the Senate, I award this sword to you! May you become a new sword of the Senate in your new post!”

Since the steel plant went into production, steel had become a third-level controlled material, and the export of metal products was no longer strictly controlled. The Ministry of Colonization and Trade had ordered a batch of various swords and sabers for export. At present, they were mainly sold to Southeast Asia. The 1629-style machete was a major export item, mainly sold to the Southeast Asian region. In addition, some other swords and sabers were also produced in small batches. This one was a replica of the Type 65 cavalry saber, but the brass fittings were replaced with steel. It was light, long, sharp, and tough, and was very popular with Europeans.

“A good sword!” Although it was not a samurai sword, as a samurai, he could tell the quality of the steel at a glance.

“I am not worthy. Hideji is willing to be the sword of the Senate, to give my life…” In the Warring States period of Japan, it was a great honor for a lord to give a sword to a vassal. It was equivalent to saying, “I give you this sword, you are my sword.” Similarly, Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Tokugawa Hidetada a suit of armor to show that he was transferring the command of the Tokugawa army’s main force, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave Tokugawa Ieyasu a jinbaori to show that he was granting him the command of the world’s battles…

“To be the sword of the Senate and the people, we are all revolutionary comrades working for the Senate and the people.” Unconsciously, the sense of incongruity had fallen to the ground.

“The organization is giving you this sword not for you to fight and kill,” Si Kaide was very satisfied. The little Japanese’s tune was actually quite good. “Let’s start with this sword. In a few days, a ship from the So clan of Tsushima will arrive at Jeju Island. I remember that your father worked under Konishi Yukinaga during the Taiko’s invasion of Korea.”

“Yes, Chief.” The samurai was confused.

“Back then, Konishi’s army rescued So Yoshitoshi several times. In a few days, you will go to Jeju Island as Chief Ping’s attendant. The people of the So clan will soon arrive on the island. Your old master was their master’s benefactor. You can use this sword to chop something for them to see.”

“My lord… no, the Senate wants to sell swords to the So clan of Tsushima?”

“Chief Ping will give you your specific tasks,” Si Kaide said. “You are now a staff member of my Ministry of Colonization and Trade. Congratulations.”

The command, military affairs, and personnel of the security forces to which Zichuan belonged were all under the leadership of the Army Department. However, their use in various places was mainly the responsibility of the local administrative leaders. For this reason, Si Kaide had handled the transfer procedures for him. Zichuan was no longer in the security forces, but a low-level clerk under the Ministry of Colonization and Trade. He had entered the lowest level of the naturalized citizen cadre system.

In the words of their old world, he had gone from a temporary worker to someone within the system.

Zichuan had been in the security forces for a long time, and he could speak Chinese and had more contact with the naturalized citizen commanders. He knew the importance of “establishment.” This status was equivalent to him going from an ashigaru to an ashigaru group leader—the lowest-ranking samurai.

Needless to say, he could continue to eat rice at every meal, and probably even better. He had turned a misfortune into a blessing!

However, he was also a little puzzled. He roughly knew that the Ministry of Colonization was a business department. What did they want him, a nodachi wielder, to do? Did they really want him to demonstrate the power of the swords?

As a low-ranking samurai, Zichuan was very clear about the true level of Japanese swords. Although later generations blew the Japanese sword up to be magical, as if every one of them could cut a hair, in fact, the truly top-quality ones were as rare as phoenix feathers and had to be treasured like family heirlooms. Although the chief’s swords were not as good as the best Japanese swords, they were much better than the ones equipped by ordinary mounted samurai.

Zichuan received the medal and the sword and returned to the ward in a daze, as if he were walking on clouds. He was already anxious to be discharged from the hospital.

Ping Qiusheng went to the organization department, received the official appointment document, and then rushed back to his apartment.

Ping Qiusheng was a member of the “masturbation party.” As the “General Ping” of the Ping shogunate he was preparing to create, he felt that he should at least marry a daughter of the Seiga family. Therefore, despite the advice of many people about the appearance of Japanese girls in this time and space, he steadfastly followed the path of the masturbation party. Because he was not planning to have a woman in the short term, he even bought the smallest apartment.

But the days of the masturbation party were really hard. Ping Qiusheng watched as others came home in pairs, with hot meals at night, and inevitably made a lot of noise at night. He slept alone in his bed, with long nights and no sleep. Finally, one day, he had an epiphany and went to the maid school to buy a maid—of course, only D-class was left.

This D-class maid was actually quite good-looking. The reason for her low rating was mainly because she was flat-chested and short—only one meter fifty. According to the original selection criteria, she was originally unqualified, but her looks gave her a lot of extra points. She was still sent to the maid school.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the landing, all the Senators were anxious to find full-breasted and big-hipped types to fully satisfy their physiological desires. Flat-chested loli types were not popular, so she had been unsold. The maid school had no choice but to rent her out to Wu Nanhai to work at the coffee shop.

Ping Qiusheng felt that she was still acceptable. Although Ping Qiusheng was quite knowledgeable about Japanese otaku culture, he had no particular preference for flat-chested stars. It was purely a matter of having one or not. After buying her, he gave her the name Ping Lingzi.

Ping Lingzi wore a maid’s dress with a white apron and a large bow in her hair. She was petite and had large eyes. According to the standards of their old world, she was the “moe” attribute type of girl. Ping Qiusheng unconsciously reshaped her according to the image he was familiar with.

At this moment, Ping Lingzi was packing his luggage in the apartment. He would be gone for at least a year and a half in Jeju and Japan, and many things had to be carried with him. Especially some things that were already commonplace in Lingao were not available in Jeju. It took too long to transport packages by ship, so he had to bring as much as he needed.

As for the valuable things from their old world that were in the apartment and not currently needed, they had to be sorted out and sent to the warehouse set up by the General Office in Gaoshanling. The storage environment there was much better than in the apartment.

“Master, the luggage is almost packed. Should I bring those books too?” Ping Lingzihui reported when she saw Ping Qiusheng return.

“Bring them. Foreign language learning needs to be reviewed regularly,” Ping Qiusheng said. These were all Japanese oral language textbooks printed in small batches by the Lingao Printing Factory. They were compiled by the Ministry of Education and the Great Library and were specially for training foreign affairs personnel. When Ping Qiusheng had nothing to do, he would teach his maid Japanese. In the future, when he had the Ping shogunate, Ping Lingzi would be his best assistant and could also get a position in some kind of institution.