Chapter 40: The Three Lists of Names

  His smiling face infected Liu Ze, and Liu Ze put down the worries in his heart. After all, he was also eager to get this result. Guan Hai handed over the first volume of bamboo slips and said: "This volume is a comprehensive list of civil and military personnel, listed as Tianzi No., with a total of 500 people."

  Liu Ze nodded, took the bamboo slip, opened it, and on top of it was written "Tian Zi No. 1" which was Pan Feng. He couldn't help but ask: "Is this Pan Feng the first child bought back last year?"

  "It's true. Pan Feng performed exceptionally in this competition, achieving multiple first places. The gentlemen who graded the essays all saw it and praised him unanimously, recommending him as the top scorer in the essay test. In the final martial arts competition, he also ranked second, with an overall score that put him at the top of the list, ranking first among the heavenly characters. This time, Pan Feng has truly excelled, and our lord has a keen eye for talent!"

  Liu Ze was secretly delighted, it seemed that his guess was not wrong, this Pan Feng was none other than the general Pan Feng under Han Fu's command as the governor of Jizhou more than a decade later. What's even more remarkable is that he was a versatile talent in both literature and martial arts, and would surely become a great figure in the future. However, what Liu Ze was even more curious about was that although Pan Feng had lost to Hua Xiong, Hua Xiong was after all a renowned general of Western Liang, and it was no easy feat to exchange blows with him. This showed that Pan Feng's martial arts skills were not inferior either. Who would be the one to defeat him on the arena? The answer should lie in that volume of martial arts competition results.

  However, Liu Ze still patiently read through the Tianzi scroll. Later came Pan Feng, followed by Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Chen Biao, Li Bao, Guo Shi, Bai Ying, Zong Xiong, Fei Yan, Xiao Lang, and Wang Mang...Liu Ze was getting a bit confused - this row of names were either fierce beasts or flying birds, more uniform than the names he had come up with himself.

  Guan Hai smiled awkwardly and said, "Most of these kids have duplicate names and surnames. If you call out 'San Mao Er Gou', dozens will stand up. There are also many who can't even say their own name. I thought this wasn't a good method, so I took the initiative to rename those without names or with duplicate names. Starting from Pan Feng at the top of the heavenly chart, I arranged them in order using animal names. If you think it's not suitable, Master, we can revise it again."

  Guan Hai was a rough and crude person, but he had a meticulous mind. Liu Ze was very pleased with him and said: "You handled this matter well, it's exactly what I wanted. This tenth-ranked Fei Yan - could it be that there is still someone with the surname Fei?"

  "This name Fei Yan was not obtained from her family, this girl's original name is indeed Fei Yan, only she herself doesn't know what her surname is anymore, so she just reported her given name."

  Liu Zejiao said with interest: "In this Tianzi list where strong people are like forests, there is actually a girl who can enter the top ten, great!"

  "This flying swallow may be a woman, but she is clever and agile, with quick fists and feet, and her skills are not inferior to those of men."

  "How many girls can get into the top three?"

  "There are 64 girls on the Heaven List, 41 girls on the Human List, but no one on the Earth List." The Earth List is the martial arts list, and it's reasonable that none of the girls made it due to their lack of physical strength. However, it was unexpected for Liu Ze that there were actually 64 people on the Heaven List.

  After reading the Heavenly Character List, Liu Ze took over the Earth Character List. The Earth Character List had a total of 1,080 names on it, and at the top was Wu An Guo. Liu Ze secretly exclaimed in surprise, "This is incredible!" No wonder Pan Feng lost; the general who could exchange dozens of rounds with Lü Bu at Tiger Trap Pass without losing his life was no ordinary person. That Wu An Guo had an astonishing arm strength, wielding a pair of 300-pound iron hammers, and even in front of Lü Bu, known as the world's number one hero, he showed no fear. He fought bravely for over ten rounds, but unfortunately had one wrist cut off by Lü Bu, after which his name disappeared from history, dying in the chaotic times, making people sigh with regret.

  Liu Ze finished reading the list of 336 people on the Renzi ranking, and was slightly disappointed to find no one with a good reputation. However, he soon let it go, thinking that finding a treasure is like buying antiques at a street stall - being able to pick up a bargain is already a rare occurrence. Moreover, he had already picked up two big bargains in Pan Feng and Wu Anguo, so his luck was already exceptionally good.

  Guan Hai then presented another large scroll and said: "Here are the names of 1,355 people who were not listed on the previous scrolls."

  Liu Ze took it over and only briefly flipped through the volume, then put down the bamboo slips and said: "Is there an arrangement for the personnel to stay or leave?"

  According to the master's plan, most people will be placed in blacksmith shops, carpentry workshops, tailor shops and stables. Some are preparing to go to Luoyang, and more than 400 useless people have been listed on the repatriation list, planning to send them back to their hometowns in two days.

  Liu Ze sank his voice and said: "The personnel who are sent back will be given 200 coins as travel expenses, and they will also be given ten days' worth of dry rations."

  "My lord is so benevolent."

  Liu Ze let out a bitter laugh and said, "Benevolence? Alas, I'm ashamed to face these two words. All this, I've had no choice but to do it myself. After all, these idle people, I couldn't afford to raise them, so I could only give them some money and grain, and let them fend for themselves."

  For the next two days, Liu Ze began to arrange for those who were not on the list. Those with quick tongues and agile hands were sent to Luoyang Fuyuanzhuang as apprentices, while the strong and sturdy ones were assigned to the blacksmith shop, carpentry shop, and horse stable. The girls were mostly arranged in the tailor's shop. The most difficult to deal with were the more than 400 people who were being sent back. When the list of those being sent back was announced to each battalion, the children of those being sent back cried uncontrollably, some refusing to leave.

  Guan Hai's face turned red with rage, and he shouted: "You people are used to being idle and hating hard work, lazy by nature, and no matter how much you're taught, you can't be changed. Even if the master is kind-hearted, it's impossible to support such useless people as you. Guards, take them away!"

  Those in charge of military discipline immediately ordered them to be dragged out.

  At the gate of the camp, Wu An Guo led a team to inspect the luggage of the repatriated personnel one by one. Those who had been inspected could leave the camp, and outside, there were people distributing 200 yuan and a bag of dry rations. The children who received the money and food still stood at the gate of the camp, reluctant to leave for a long time.

  Wu An Guo had just finished inspecting one and turned his gaze towards the next candidate for inspection.

  That was a boy of only eleven or twelve years old, thin and weak, unable to withstand the wind. He didn't bring any luggage, but tightly clenched his fists in his hands. Wu An Gu frowned, having already checked out several people who were secretly carrying valuables. If it weren't for the master's orders, he would have beaten those thieves until their skin was torn and their flesh was lacerated.

  "What's in your hand?" Wu Ankou shouted loudly.

  The little boy took a step back and stammered: "Th-this is mine."

  "Yours? I clearly see it's stolen by you, hand it over!"

  The little boy said in a low voice: "It was me, I did it myself, not... stolen."

  Wu Anguo was furious, and he shouted: "You dare to be so arrogant!" A slap landed on the child's face. Wu Anguo used a lot of force, causing the child to see stars, spin around three times, and fall to the ground, dropping the object in his hand.

  "What's all the commotion?" Liu Ze happened to be making his rounds at the camp entrance and stopped Wu An Guo.

  Everyone saw the master arrive and lined up to pay their respects. Wu An Guo reported back, "Reporting to the master, I was inspecting the personnel leaving the camp when we caught this little thief red-handed, but he refused to confess. In a fit of rage, I slapped him."

  Liu Ze said in a low voice: "I'm not emphasizing it long ago, no matter what reason, you can't beat people, why do you deliberately commit the crime?"

  Wu An's heart skipped a beat, he knelt down on one knee and said: "I know I was wrong, please punish me, my lord."

  Liu Ze's expression slightly eased, and he said, "Considering it's your first offense, I won't punish you today. You may withdraw."

  "Good!" Wu An Guo stood up and stood on one side.

  Liu Ze crouched down, picked up the object that the child had dropped, a small black stone with a thin needle tied to it, just a crude toy made by the child. Liu Ze put the toy back into the child's hand and said softly, "Hold on tight, don't drop it again." The child knelt on the ground, speechless, and knocked his head against Liu Ze several times before standing up and slowly walking out of the camp gate.

  Looking at his slender back, a strange sourness surged in Liu Ze's heart, and his gaze never left the little boy. The child walked unsteadily for dozens of steps, as if with infinite reluctance, turned his head to look back at the place where he had lived for more than half a year, and tears slid silently down his cheeks.

  Liu Ze's gaze fell on the toy in his hand, and suddenly he let out a loud cry and rushed to the child's side. Everyone was shocked.

  "Can you let me see your toy again?" Liu Ze stretched out his hand and asked for the toy back.

  The little boy looked at Liu Ze in confusion and handed over the toy obediently.

  Liu Ze placed the toy flat in his palm, slowly moving its position. It was noon at that time, and no matter how Liu Ze moved his hand, the pointer always pointed towards the sun. Just now when Liu Ze first picked up this inconspicuous toy, he didn't notice it at all, but just now when the child turned around, he saw from a distance that the pointer did not move with the child's body, but always pointed in his direction. He then realized that this was not a toy and immediately rushed over to check.

  "Compass! Good heavens, this is actually a compass!" Liu Ze suppressed the great excitement in his heart and asked the child, "Did you make this toy?"

  The child nodded timidly. Liu Ze continued: "What's your name?"