Loan Wusheng

Chapter 73: Growing Stronger (5.6k)

Cai Xun is in a complicated mood now.

The source of the complexity lies in Zheng Jun.

When they first met, Cai Xun remembered his grandfather's teachings clearly. He knew that after the death of the Emperor Shenwu of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the world would be in chaos. He had to win over the county soldiers and protect his family. Then he felt that Zheng Jun was a talent that could be used. Therefore, he gave him some blood-enhancing pills, which he didn't care about, in an attempt to win the heart of this poor boy from the mountains and make him work for him.

But unexpectedly, in the days that followed, Zheng Jun's performance became even more outstanding.

When refining blood, you can face the energy accumulation directly without being at a disadvantage.

Later, after accumulating energy, he defeated Gao Jingxing, the genius and chief disciple of Canghai School who was also in the Qi Accumulation Stage, with two sword strikes.

These things shocked the family, and they even wanted to recruit him as a son-in-law.

Now, he killed Meng Xian, who was at the peak of the outer realm, and defeated him with one sword.

This……

Although Meng Xian was injured when he fled.

But that is also the genuine peak of outer power!

You never know when you will be able to open up the meridians in your body and become a true martial artist!
How could such a person be killed by Zheng Jun?

Moreover, he killed it single-handedly when Gu Chengqi and the outer guards were stopped by a toad monster?

This made Cai Xun feel very complicated.

Don't know what to say.

Boo.

I thought Zheng Jun was my destined general. Now that the news has spread, it will no longer be kept secret within the family. I guess my eldest brother will have to come here in person, and it will have nothing to do with me anymore.

However, by doing this, I can be considered a great achievement within the clan.

I guess it can erase the impact of my incident, right?
"Ugh."

Cai Xun sighed deeply, but at this moment, Sun Rong's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, the recruitment has begun. Zheng Dutou and Shen Zhubu are in place. Please go over and take charge."

"Ok?"

After hearing this, Cai Xun was stunned.

Recruiting soldiers?

What recruitment? Why didn’t anyone come to notify me?

Although he was confused, Cai Xun did not say anything. He just stood up and walked out of the house. As soon as he walked out of the county lieutenant's residence and took a few steps, he saw that the parade ground was extremely lively. There were more than 200 people who came to sign up for the recruitment!

"Ok?"

Seeing this scene, Cai Xun once again exclaimed in surprise.

In just a cup of tea, Cai Xun was surprised twice.

Are there so many qualified soldiers in Heishan County?

I thought we had to report to the county and recruit troops from other counties.

As soon as he thought of this, Cai Xun immediately put on a smile. Just as he walked over, he saw Zheng Jun stand up from his seat and take the initiative to greet him: "Sir, County Lieutenant."

"Sanlang, please don't be polite. Sit down with me. Sit down with me."

Cai Xun hurried over, spoke enthusiastically to Zheng Jun, and then sat down together.

The chief clerk Shen Yunyi on the left seemed a little absent-minded, and he didn't know what was wrong with him. He was somewhat timid and seemed a little afraid of Zheng Jun.

Seeing Shen Yunyi's current appearance, Cai Xun actually felt somewhat the same way, thinking that Zheng Jun was somewhat vicious and sinister.

Although he is an outer Gang, the means by which he is doing this... is not right. Before he set out, his old father forced him to have an initiation upon himself, using external force to stimulate the outer Gang. The strength is weak. If you say so, it is just equivalent to a large-sized Qi storage.

There was no way. Cai Xun was originally a playboy in Bozhou City. He just listened to music and enjoyed himself every day. He had never been willing to practice martial arts since he was young and was content to be a rich young master.

Anyway, there is a big brother in the officialdom and a second brother in the underworld.

If these youngsters do not have any particularly amazing talent in martial arts, the family will not train them wholeheartedly. They will just have to worry about daily dispatches and can have fun on their own as long as they don't cause trouble. When they reach a certain age, they can marry the daughters of other families and have more children to see if they can have more martial arts geniuses.

But being born in troubled times, the old patriarch, that is, his grandfather, became more ambitious after coming out of seclusion. Therefore, he temporarily gathered these "spoiled dandies" together, matured them into outer Gang as quickly as possible, and then selected a few loyal servants to follow him, and made some arrangements to send them to serve in counties throughout Bozhou.

Although he is a rich and wealthy man, he is not well regarded in the clan.

But when you get to the place, you naturally have to pretend to be humble and polite: at least Cai Xun did so, changing the bad habits in the county town and doing things seriously.

After all, having been a dandy boy for more than thirty years, he also wanted the clan to pay attention to him.

He has now achieved what he wanted, and the clan pays special attention to him.

but……

This is based on Zheng Jun's work.

Therefore, Cai Xun looked at Zheng Jun with a complicated expression, not knowing whether Zheng Jun was his lucky star or unlucky star.

But just when Cai Xun was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a voice coming from the training ground: "I am Xu Tianfang, I am in the middle stage of Qi Accumulation, and I have completed Qi Gathering. I am honored to meet the county lieutenant."

Cai Xun looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xu Tianfang standing on the parade ground, bowing to Cai Xun in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

After seeing Xu Tianfang, Cai Xun was stunned: "Are you here to join the army?"

"Exactly."

Xu Tianfang did not hesitate at all and immediately bowed and said, "A few days ago, Zheng Dutou came to challenge me and fought three rounds with me. He pointed out many of my martial arts problems, which helped me improve my martial arts. I am grateful, so I want to join Zheng Dutou's army and become a flag bearer to repay his great kindness!"

After hearing Xu Tianfang's words, Cai Xun's brain started buzzing.

You are in the Qi Accumulation Stage, and you come to join the army to serve as a soldier?
This……

Cai Xun didn't know what to say for a moment and just felt dazed.

Is Zheng Sanlang's power so strong now?
Even Qi-accumulating warriors, officers who are pillars of the army, have come to surrender on their own initiative?
After hearing what Xu Tianfang said, Zheng Jun on the side said: "Master Xu is too modest. What virtue and ability do I have to have?"

"Master Xu is a Qi-accumulating warrior. It would be a waste of his talent to join Zheng's army. I don't have the space for a third captain in the Black Mountain Guard."

Zheng Jun smiled and rejected Xu Tianfang's request to join the army.

He had secretly established a "Tongzhou Society" before, but before he had the chance to recruit Xu Tianfang, Xu Tianfang came on his own initiative. It was really emotional.

Xu Tianfang naturally could not join the army. What would he do after joining the army?
The chief of the personal guards around him?

This position was left to Du Ding by Zheng Jun.

Du Ding is a young man and can be easily controlled by himself.

The strength of the personal soldiers is not important, what is important is their loyalty.

Zheng Jun couldn't expect anyone to protect him.

After all, if he can protect himself well and is stronger than himself... then this person should be the head of the city, not himself.

For someone like Xu Tianfang, the number one martial arts gym owner in Heishan County, a high-ranking official who earns several thousand taels of silver every year, it would be a bit of a waste of his talent to have him stay by his side as a captain of his personal soldiers.

Tongzhou Club had just been established, and old man Ma Zhiyuan’s strength was not enough, so a Qi-accumulating warrior was needed to take charge.

Therefore, Xu Tianfang is the most suitable candidate.

I had been eyeing him originally, and now he came to me on his own initiative, which is really great.

However, so many people came to the Xu family martial arts school, which really made Zheng Jun very satisfied.

In this way, his own soldiers can select better quality soldiers.

There were 236 people in total present, including those from the Ma family boxing gym, the Xu family martial arts gym, and several good family boys who wanted to make a name for themselves.

The Black Mountain Guard has a staffing limit and can only recruit a maximum of seventy-three people.

Naturally, all those good family children who did not belong to the Ma family boxing gym or the Xu family martial arts gym would be recruited.

As for the remaining people from the two martial arts schools, naturally they would select the most capable ones, and absorb the rest into the Tongzhou Club.

In the world of the past, there was a term called militia; in the world of today, there is a term called gang.

Anyway, no matter what, it is a way for one to privately control civilian armed forces.

The imperial court recruited the most able-bodied people and sent troops to support them.

As for the remaining people, they have to support themselves.

Having set this tone, it was impossible for Zheng Jun to recruit Xu Tianfang into the camp.

After hearing what Zheng Jun said, Xu Tianfang had a calm expression, without any frustration. Instead, he bowed respectfully to Zheng Jun and said, "In this case, I would like to thank Captain Zheng! If Captain Zheng has any instructions in the future, I will go through fire and water to fulfill them without hesitation!"

He didn't really expect to join the army this time.

I'm just expressing my stance, saying that I will always stand on the same front with Zheng Dutou.

If Zheng Dutou needs anything in the future, just tell me!
This is the attitude Xu Tianfang wants to express.

After saying that, Xu Tianfang did not leave, but pointed his finger and continued to introduce: "Captain Zheng, let me introduce you. This is my eldest disciple, and also my adopted son Xu Zhilei. He has refined blood five times, but unfortunately his talent is not good. It seems that he still needs to refine blood twice before he can accumulate energy. Don't look at him as fat as a pig, but he is also proficient in my family's Iron Sand Demon Subduing Skill. If he wears armor, he is enough to charge into battle!"

The fat man couldn't help but shudder when he heard this.

Good on you old man.

What you said about letting me be the owner of the museum was purely to trick me into coming here to serve as a soldier?!

Xu Zhilei felt like the sky was falling.

At this moment, Xu Zhilei only felt that several eyes were looking at him at the same time, including the county lieutenant Cai Xun, the chief clerk Shen Yunyi... and the captain Zheng Jun!
The first two can be ignored, but the last one cannot be ignored.

Therefore, Xu Zhilei could only bite the bullet and step forward, bowing to Zheng Jun and saying, "I have long wanted to join the army and serve my country, and I want to get a job under the captain!"

"good!"

Zheng Jun nodded with satisfaction and accepted the fat Xu Zhilei.

Those who are proficient in horizontal training kung fu are the best type of soldiers.

Then, Xu Tianfang did not hesitate and continued to introduce his other apprentices: "This is my apprentice Zhang Fen, he has also practiced blood twice and has a solid foundation in horizontal training..."

Xu Tianfang only brought six people with him, all of whom were blood-refining warriors.

Each of them was full of vigor and vitality, and the oldest was no more than 30 years old. They were all well-known men.

Zheng Jun was very satisfied.

On the other side, Ma Zhiyuan was unsure.

Because compared to Xu Tianfang, in his martial arts school... there is only one blood-refining warrior, Du Ding, who came to sign up, and the rest are ordinary warriors who have opened up their body meridians but have not yet refined their blood.

Zheng Jun nodded one by one and recruited all these blood-refining warriors into his personal guard.

Five squads form a group. The six blood refiners from the Xu family martial arts school, including Xu Zhilei, can serve as squad leaders, while Xu Zhilei himself and Du Ding can serve as the chief and deputy chief respectively.

The grassroots officers are from the Xu family martial arts school, while the soldiers are from the Ma family boxing school.

This can also ensure that they will not collude or communicate with each other and disobey their orders.

In addition, there is a blood-refining warrior from a good family, named Huo Song, who was naturally recruited by Zheng Jun. Zheng Jun planned to place him in the first group and convert as many other veterans in the army as possible into his own private soldiers.

It will still take some time to completely change the surname of Heishanwei to Zheng.

"Damn it, if I were in the Yuan Dan realm now, I would raise my arm and call for help, why would I need to think of these cunning schemes?"

Zheng Jun sighed in his heart, feeling that after all the scheming, his heroic image had been greatly compromised.

The recruitment went smoothly and soon all the soldiers were recruited.

The warriors who were not selected were in low spirits and frustrated, and could only leave the Bingmasi under the leadership of the two martial arts hall masters, Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Tianfang.

On the parade ground, military flags fluttered and war drums beat.

After selecting the new recruits, Xu Zhilei served as the chief and Du Ding as the deputy chief of his own group of soldiers.

The other five blood-refining warriors naturally served as squad leaders of the five squads under their personal guard.

Except for Xu Zhilei who had a somewhat unnatural expression, all the other selected people were extremely excited. They felt that it was a great honor to be able to serve under the legendary Zheng Dutou!

As Zheng Dutou's personal soldiers, their future is naturally limitless.

After the selection of soldiers and horses was completed, the chief clerk Shen Yunyi stood up first and bowed to Zheng Jun, saying, "Since Captain Zheng has finished selecting soldiers, there are still many things to do in the county government office, so I will take my leave first."

The county magistrate, county assistant secretary, and registrar were all dead, and all matters in the county government were now in the hands of him, the chief clerk. As the chief clerk, he naturally had a lot of things to do and had not wanted to come at first, but when he heard that it was Zheng Jun who was recruiting soldiers, he was afraid of offending Zheng Jun, so he came.

Now that the recruitment is over, I naturally have to hurry back to attend to my official duties.

"Thank you, Master Shen."

Zheng Jun also bowed to Shen Yunyi, who had no grudge against him.

This may be the only official in the county government who has no conflict of interest with him.

But before leaving, Shen Yunyi thought about it, gritted his teeth, approached Zheng Jun, and whispered to Zheng Jun: "If Zheng Dutou has any instructions in the future, just tell him. Shen... Shen is also willing to work for Zheng Dutou."

After hearing Shen Yunyi's words, Zheng Jun was stunned. He said nothing, but just nodded slowly.

Seeing Zheng Jun nod, Shen Yunyi smiled. Then he bowed respectfully and said goodbye, and quickly returned to the county government office.

Cai Xun watched the whole scene from the side.

Although he didn't hear clearly what Shen Yunyi said, he could guess something by seeing Shen Yunyi's expression.

His expression suddenly became complicated.

It seems that Heishan County will be named Zheng.

I just don’t know if the officials added by the court can compete with Zheng Sanlang.

Cai Xun now felt that the great ambitions he had aroused before had dissipated. He could not even control a county, so how could he control the whole world?
It’s better to just go back and eat and wait for death.

He discovered Zheng Jun, a good talent, and gave the Cai family the opportunity to invest in advance.

I can now rest on my laurels and enjoy the good life.

Cai Xun took a deep breath, then took the initiative to step forward, and forced a smile towards Zheng Jun: "Sanlang, you have made great contributions this time, and the county should give you a great reward. According to the county records, you will be promoted one level for killing the outer gang spy. If you don't want to be promoted, you will be rewarded with 5,000 taels of silver and a set of top-grade martial arts."

"Five thousand taels for a top-grade martial art?"

Zheng Jun was delighted when he heard this, and immediately asked, "Sir, when will the money be distributed?"

As for the matter of promotion, he simply omitted it.

He was promoted to the seventh rank military officer, but he had to serve as a non-military chief military officer in the county army.

Zheng Jun doesn't want to be one.

It is a case of a rise in name only and a fall in reality.

Therefore, Zheng Jun wanted something more affordable.

"Of course it takes time."

Cai Xun said weakly: "According to the situation of exploitation at all levels, you can get 3,000 taels out of the 5,000 taels. This is already a favor to my Cai family. As for the top-grade martial arts, you need to be rewarded by the court and then go to the county scripture pavilion to choose one."

"I see. Thank you, Lord County Lieutenant, for clearing up my doubts."

Zheng Jun suddenly realized and immediately bowed.

It was just right that I could take advantage of this time to refresh my Iron Sand Demon Subduing Skill and practice more martial arts.

After hearing what Zheng Jun said, Cai Xun quickly waved his hand and said to Zheng Jun: "Don't be so serious in the future. I am older than you, you can just call me brother."

Maybe we will be a family in the future.

Cai Xun has figured it out, and he will go home during his day off.

Have a good talk with your father and grandfather.

If An Jun doesn't want to get married, at least send her a few beautiful members of the side branches as concubines. In short, the most important thing is to win over Zheng Jun.

Such a great talent must not be made an enemy.

Moreover, after winning over Zheng Jun, Cai Xun felt that Heishan County was also in his hands.

After hearing what Cai Xun said, Zheng Jun did not hesitate and said directly: "Brother Cai!"

Cai Xun also gave Zheng Jun a response: "Zheng brother!"

"Brother Cai!"

"Brother Zheng!"

"..."

After they called each other again, they clasped their hands together tightly. Then Cai Xun said to Zheng Jun excitedly, "Brother Zheng, from now on, if you have any problems, just make your own decisions. I will leave the entire military division to you! Unless there is something extremely urgent, you don't need to notify me!"

Zheng Jun was stunned when he heard Cai Xun's resolute expression.

Is it going so smoothly?
"Brother, to be honest with you, there is one thing."

Zheng Jun paused, then continued, "In a few days, we will fight against the bandits..."

"Suppress them, suppress them vigorously! Sanlang can say whatever he wants, and he can take as many soldiers as he wants out of the city! If you send out troops, I will write a note and report it to the county!"

Cai Xun nodded vigorously and said firmly: "But you are short of manpower? I will let Cai Liu and Cai Qi serve you and go with you! They are also good at fighting, so it will be no problem for them to help!"

Cai Xun was so enthusiastic that Zheng Jun didn't know what to say for a moment.

What's going on, bro?

If you don’t know, you would think I’m your benefactor.

I also want to cling to your big legs and get more resources, why are you more active than me?
Zheng Jun didn't know what to say for a moment and could only nod in agreement.

Then Cai Xun bowed and said goodbye.

After Cai Xun left, Zheng Jun let out a long sigh and felt inexplicably relieved.

The Bingmasi have the final say.

In the county government, the only eighth-rank civil official, Shen Yunyi, also showed his goodwill to him.

The only place in the entire county that was not under his control was the Zhenfusi Yamen.

One is the general flag of the outer gang, and the other is the secret guard of the outer gang.

Good thing...

I am also from the Pacification Division.

But now that Sun Bu is dead, I don’t know where the reward money will come from.

Zheng Jun shook his head, then looked around and saw the fat man Xu Zhilei with a face full of flesh. He immediately stretched out his hand and motioned Xu Zhilei to come over.

"I?"

When Xu Zhilei heard Zheng Jun calling him, his heart suddenly stopped. He was afraid that Zheng Jun was looking for him to settle the score. Just as he was about to slide down and kneel over to slap him, he heard Zheng Jun say to Xu Zhilei: "Captain Xu, please go to the Xu family martial arts gym and inform the owner Xu that I will host a banquet at Huichun Tower tonight."

After saying that, Zheng Jun also instructed Du Ding to go and invite Master Ma.

After finishing, Zheng Jun took out another 100 taels of silver note and stuffed it to the third team leader Sun Rong, saying, "Team Leader Sun, please treat all the brothers of the Black Mountain Guard to more meat tonight. If the silver is not enough, you can buy it on credit for now. I will make up for it tomorrow."

"Please rest assured, Captain. I promise to make sure the brothers have a good meal and remember Captain Zheng's reward."

Sun Rong took the silver and nodded immediately.

Make up?

Zheng Jun still needs to make up the difference. If the budget exceeds one hundred taels, Sun Rong is prepared to pay for it out of his own pocket.

After doing all this, Zheng Jun let out a breath and started to think about his next move.

I am now very famous.

This is the case in Heishan County. This matter will definitely spread to the county and the state. Zheng Jun has no idea what chain reaction it will cause.

In short, I am now gradually becoming more mature in Heishan County.

Have the power to protect themselves.

Hopefully, everything will develop in a better direction.

(End of this chapter)