Before the end of summer, my father saw the sea.

As early as the time of Djerkhara, Cesar asked his father to go to the seaside, at that time his father was not familiar with the land, and he was too busy fighting with the Kugit to travel far away. Although he later reconciled with the Kujits, he encountered a conflict between the citizens and the school, so he never found time to visit the beach.

Of course, when my father saw the sea, he didn't go to the mountains and rivers. Vacations like that will be less and less common in the future. When my father went to the beach, there was not the slightest sense of romance and comfort, but a group of exhausted young men who were scolded by an instructor on horseback for field training. When he saw a bright sea, his eyes widened in amazement, and the ocean inside the legend spread out in front of him infinitely, and his father, carrying a large canvas bag, almost cried out. Sweat ran down his forehead, and he grinned, trying to scream his discovery to the people next to him. At this time, the instructor came over and scolded: "Don't look around, go back to the team!" ”

At that time, my father and Cesar were running side by side, carrying a package trapped in a leather belt, which contained a large blanket, a military hoe, a bag of water bottles made of sea otter skins, and twenty pounds of rusks. These things are not particularly heavy on the body, especially for young people. But if you run from morning till night with such a thing on your back, in the words of Cesar, it is: "I would rather go back to Djerkhara and fight with the citizens until I am old." ”

This dramatic change in life makes it difficult for college students from Djerkhala to feel uncomfortable, they miss the warm bedding in the morning, the idle campus atmosphere, and the friendly girls in the city. They are not students who take the initiative to apply for the military academy, they are just tired of endless struggles, and want to find a paradise to do their homework well, but they did not expect to fall into such a harsh place.

Just after that day's orientation, my father and his classmates at Djerkhara University just had a transfer attitude. Aaron had not been burned down, and the site of the school had been built by the Swadian occupation forces, so it did not look glamorous on the outside but cramped on the inside, as Djerkhara was. The architecture here is similar to the old town in Sunuo City, which is simple and generous, mostly built of stone, and has a large interior space. This kind of house does not consider the construction cost too much, but is built as much as possible to make it durable, beautiful and even artistic, which looks pleasing to the eye. Aaron City looks heavy at sunset, and the rows of street markets stretch far away. There was a soft glow on the horizon, and people said that there was the sea.

On the night of my father's arrival, he simply packed up his things and went to bed. He planned to sleep until noon the next day, and then go around Aaron's city to buy some groceries. When they set out from Viruga, the maids of the General's family were very sad, and they liked this amiable young master very much. They boiled him half a basket of lucky eggs, painted them with fuel, and let him eat them on the road, saying that after eating them, he would turn evil into good fortune. On the way, my father distributed the eggs to the people around him, and one of them was a guide hired by Aaron's Naval School, and this man was very happy to get the small gift, and he told my father to look for it on the dock if he wanted to buy something.

Every year, a lot of smuggled goods are detected by the prosecutors at the dock, and then these things are registered in the warehouse, and of course, these things don't just go out of the stage, and after a few weeks, you can find them in the hands of the vendors around the docks.

"Good quality and low price", the man emphasized: "absolutely good quality and low price".

My father had heard that a small nord hand axe sold for 30 dinars in a blacksmith shop in the city, but on the black market at the docks, it was available for 20 dinars. This made him decide to try his luck directly on Aaron's Wharf when he was shopping for groceries. Cesar slept with him and said that he was going to help his father the next day to deliver gifts to some of his old friends. The two of them hurriedly cleaned up, and fell asleep hastily, and the more they chatted, the more sleepy they became, and soon fell asleep.

It seems that as soon as they fell asleep, a sharp trombone sound woke everyone up. When my father woke up in a daze, he heard someone downstairs shouting, "Urgently assemble!" Urgent gathering! ”

The father draped his coat over his back and covered his shoulders. Then he walked to the window to look at the movement below, he saw that the windows of some student buildings next to him had been lit with oil lamps, and the people inside were busy starting to go downstairs, and there were several uniformed men in front of the building who were shouting loudly, and there was an assistant next to them who was holding a lantern for them, and a group of students gathered in front of them were standing together in a mess. Cesar was lying on the bed at this time, and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing outside?" Noisy. ”

"I don't know, there's someone shouting for an urgent gathering," the father replied. He knew that this was a military school, so he looked at the students of the military academy with some schadenfreude. He said to himself: "When our university department comes here, those guys who are studying in military schools will envy us, haha."

Cesar yawned: "I hope it doesn't disturb our lives, this emergency assembly is really troublesome." I was sleeping and kissing me with a barmaid when I was woken up, hell. ”

The father smiled: "When I was in Suno, I heard that Aaron's girl is good-looking, and you can try your luck after you settle down." ”

At this time, a shouting sound sounded in the corridor, and a footstep came from far and near, "You bastards! What is the rubbing? Didn't you see that the other buildings had come out to gather?! Get up for me! ”

Father and Cesar, you look at me, I look at you, and by the moonlight shining through the window, they saw the same surprise on each other's faces: "Shall we also assemble?" ”

The voices in the hallway grew louder and louder, and the sounds of questions, running, and knocking on the door pierced through. The father said, "Shall we go out and see?" ”

Cesar covered his head with a quilt: "It's okay, someone must be mistaken, we are not cadets at all." Go back to sleep. ”

Just as my father was about to say something, there was a violent knock on the door: "The people inside come out!" Hurry up! Urgent gathering! ”

My father was completely tanned for more than a week, and he missed Djerkhara immensely. Here he is faced with the cancellation of vacations, irregular emergency gatherings, and the need to ask for leave when going out, no more than half a day a week.

On more than one occasion, the students of Djerkhala went to the teachers who came with them to report the situation, and the people from the military department gave them a list and told them: "As soon as you enter the school, we will demand you according to the standards of officers." Of course, if you just want to be a college student, then fill out this form and then how you are doing in Djerkhara and how you will be in the future. ”

On the first day, more than half of the people submitted the application form, and when these people came back, their faces were a little gloomy, and some people actually took their application forms back. The father was strange: "Didn't they let you apply?" ”

Most of the people who were asked were flickering: "No" "No, let's think about it again." ”

Father didn't think much of it, he didn't think he needed to think about it. A month of torture had driven him mad, and Sabel laughed in the meteorological class at the beginning of the second week: "Gentlemen, you are now simply black slaves brought in by the Salanders." This made it impossible for them to laugh at all, they had heard of such slaves being brought by the Salanders from the other side of the desert with ropes tied in strings. These people were of a variety of sizes, from tall and stout to scrawny, but they all had one thing in common: they were diligent in their work and rarely spoke. The living requirements of these slaves were extremely low, a little rice and half a liter of fruit wine a day could survive. Because of the labor shortage in Rhodok, more and more people were willing to pay high prices for these black slaves from the slave traders in Salander.

When Sabel laughed at himself, Cesar and his father had had had enough. They were forced to run ten kilometers outside the city every morning, running out at dawn and then being pulled back in ox carts by the farmers waiting there. In the beginning, there was no guarantee that all the people would arrive, and some people shouted on the way to go back, only to get back only the whip of the instructor and the reprimand of the "coward". The instructor told them that the training would last for three whole months, which made my father despair.

Therefore, after the introduction of the policy, my father discussed with Cesar to apply.

That afternoon, when my father sat on a stool and told an instructor that he was going to push it out. The instructor gave him a table with an expressionless face, and when he said that there was another classmate who was going to quit together, the instructor smiled slightly: "Let him come by himself."

My father sat down and started filling out the form, when a non-commissioned officer walked in and greeted the instructor: "How many young masters are left from Djerkhala?" ”

"A dozen or so, this one will leave immediately."

"Oh, this kind of stretching intensity is a bit too much, no wonder some people are scared away." The non-commissioned officer picked up an exit request form and said.

"No way, there is a document from above, saying that cowards don't want it, and soft eggs don't want it. In order to quickly identify this kind of person, the intensity can only be increased. But we've taken care of them, I walked back on my own when I was training, and now Principal Kim has given them an ox cart. Father's instructor said.

My father was stunned when he heard this, and he realized why the previous group of people had taken their applications back. It turns out that in the eyes of these officers, those who can't stand the pain of training are cowards and soft eggs. This made my father feel very unfair, because this kind of training was not something they asked to join, and if it was a coward who voluntarily accepted the training and then quit halfway; They were forced to start training at all, and now it's just overkill, how can they be considered soft eggs?

The instructor noticed my father's indignant look.

"Is there anything wrong, sir? You just need to write your reason and name at the bottom, and tomorrow you can sleep comfortably until eight or nine o'clock in the morning to go to class. And then like you told me, you can go to Aaron's black market, I know a couple of friends who can help you get some cheap things that you can't get anywhere else. Of course, you can also go to the city to find a beautiful girl to comfort your restless youth. Isn't that exactly what you want? Sign it. ”

Listening to these teasing words, my father pinched the quill in his hand and hesitated in his heart, do you want to sign it?

At this time, the instructor called "next", and Cesar walked in beaming.

That night, my father and Cesar were relatively silent.

In a nearby lounge, cheers could be heard from former Djerkhara University students, who, though they were called cowards, quickly overcame their unhappiness and filled their names on the withdrawal application. These people bought drinks from around the university and held a simple party with simple ham and various snacks they searched for to celebrate their freedom.

There were only two people in the entire university who tore up the application form at the last minute, the Rhodok Sisara and the Swadia Ho. Arcadio second.

In the months that followed, when most people's faces began to turn back to their normal color, only two of them had their skin black for a long time to come. This made it easy for the goblins to tell if the two were skipping class. Because on the podium, it is easy to see two black dots looking left and right in the crowd, and the missing one is very conspicuous.

Three months later, after weeding out some unqualified students, the first batch of 100 students received a welcome speech from Principal Kim in the auditorium.

"Cadets, in the last three months, you have stood out from the ranks of nearly two hundred freshmen. You are the best hundred. I didn't give such a welcome lecture at the beginning of your school year because I didn't think of you as my student at that time. I'll be honest with you, in this university, maybe I have the least level of education. I started out as an accountant in a dock warehouse. I've been through a lot of things, and you probably know that. I escaped when Djerkhara was burned down by the invaders from the north. Because there was no navy, the entire Djerkhara soldiers and citizens were trapped in the city, which led to this tragedy. This tragedy cannot be repeated, which is why I came to be the president of this university."

"As you know, in addition to the characteristics that this university shares with other universities, it has a unique mission, which is that it will be the cradle of the Principality's navy. You are all my protégés here, and you are the hope of the future navy. ”

"But I want to tell you one thing beforehand, and that is that not all of you will make it to the end. In the next two years, you will be tested no less than in the last three months. Like a blacksmith who hammers the scum out of an iron mine, I will weed out those of you who are not up to the task. I can tell you that in two years' time, only twenty people will be able to board the ship that has been prepared for you. ”

"You know what? Each of these ships will be manned by thirty-two sailors who are familiar with the nature of the water, who are being selected from the countless fishing villages along the coast and the countless taverns in the harbor; The wood used for the shipbuilding is sturdy fir from Nord and cedar from Vekia, and we have hired the most experienced craftsmen in the North Sea to build the best boats for you; Our sailors will equip each ship with the lightest sails, the most nimble rudder and the most powerful stone thrower. ”

"We have everything ready for you, but the question now is that you have to rush up with all your strength to get your ship. I will tell you now that ten of the best of you will be captains of these ships, and that ten first mates will follow. The rest of the people will also be given the position of captain or first mate, but they will not be given the government-rationed ships, and they will have to wait for their opportunities on the shore. I think this is the most unbearable torture for a person who wants to make a career, isn't it? ”

"Well, that's all I have to say, I hope you will keep your mission firmly in mind. Then, everyone is welcome to join the Navy. ”

At this time, there was a rise and fall of applause.

Kim continued, "Now swear with me. Come, read with me, 'I will be loyal to my country, and I will die to defend my land.'"

The father followed the group and made an oath. "I will be loyal to my country, and I will defend my land to the death"

Principal Kim went on to say, "Swear man, Kim. ”

There was a chaotic voice, and my father heard "Swearer, Cesar" coming from behind, so he followed with "Swearer, Huo. Arcadio second. ”

A man came to Kim's side and whispered a few words to him. The headmaster nodded and said loudly

"Huo. Arcadio two, you stay after the meeting. ”