Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 647 I will be leaving the county seat soon, and the Dao Asking Pavilion needs someone to be stationed there.
There was a moment of silence in front of the prefectural government office.

Suddenly, a scholar in a green robe stepped out of the line: "I, Han Zhao, am willing to pledge my literary courage to you!"

This Confucian scholar was none other than the young Confucian scholar whose Daoist heart was on the verge of collapse in the camp that day.

Unexpectedly, he was proficient in both Confucianism and martial arts, and was able to pass two rounds of the personal guard selection.

"I am willing to leave my name here."

"If my birth date and time are engraved on the monument, I will be entitled to have a separate page in the family genealogy when I return home to the ancestral hall."

Shouts rang out.

When ten thousand streaks of blood-red light entered the Mountain and River Cauldron, the earth's veins in Donghan County seemed to shake violently.

Wu Daoling, who was stationed at Yinma Plain, raised his head, and as if sensing something, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"What a Zhang Qingyang! He's actually turned the new army into a living, breathing mountain and river formation!"

"Is this the bodyguard he wanted to select...?"

On the upper floor of the alley in front of the prefect's mansion, Yao Baiyue looked out the window at the rising blood and qi, her eyes revealing a deep gaze.

Inside the prefectural governor's residence, Zhao Defang, who was reviewing case files behind a long desk, looked up and a slight smile appeared on his face.

That night, Zhang Yuan sat alone in the Dao Wen Pavilion.

The book "The Military Mirror of Mountains and Rivers" in front of him turned its pages automatically, and the fate of each guard transformed into a winding bloodline, eventually converging on the pages to form the surging force of the Nine Rivers.

The roars of the new army training could be faintly heard outside the pavilion, the sound so powerful that the thunderclouds in the clouds trembled and could not gather.

"Let me see if the Ancestral Dragon Guard's training methods can truly produce an iron guard capable of slaying immortals and destroying demons."

Zhang Yuan slowly closed the scroll in front of him, his eyes gleaming.

The reason he wanted to select personal guards was because the training method for the Ancestral Dragon Guards that Mu Xuan had given him required martial artists and cultivators with at least a half-step Innate Realm cultivation level to be eligible for selection.

Zhang Yuan couldn't wait for the newly trained recruits, so he had to select from martial arts practitioners and scions of aristocratic families.

"Master Hou."

Yin Jiuyou's voice came from outside the door.

Yin Jiuyou, dressed in a gray-black robe, and Chen Duange, the leader of the Han Ya Sword Sect, carrying a long sword, walked side by side.

At this moment, Chen Duange's aura was heavy, and his cultivation had been stabilized at the Free and Unfettered Realm.

Rumors circulated in the Eastern Jianghu that Chen Duange's cultivation had reached the level of a half-step Grandmaster, but that was actually a rumor.

Chen Duange's cultivation had only recently broken through, so it was impossible for him to reach the level of a half-step Grandmaster. However, he had exchanged several treasures for military merits, making his combat strength no less than that of a half-step Grandmaster.

"I've met the Marquis."

Chen Duange clasped his hands and bowed to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan waved his hand and said indifferently, "I will be leaving the city soon, and the Wen Dao Pavilion needs someone to be stationed there."

"Although you are a member of the martial arts world, you have a good character. When I am not in the prefectural government, you will guard the Daoist Pavilion together with the head of the Underworld."

Guarding the Pavilion of Inquiry!
Chen Duange had received a message that the Marquis of Qingyang had invited him to the prefectural government, and he had made many guesses about it.

But he never expected that Marquis Qingyang would have him stationed at the Dao Asking Pavilion!

The Wen Dao Pavilion contains copies of the Wen Dao sutra.

"Rest assured, Lord Marquis, I, Chen, will do my utmost to ensure that the Daoist Pavilion remains intact."

Chen Duange bowed and spoke in a loud voice.

Marquis Qingyang is a man of his word, so there's no need for Chen Duange to make excuses.

The fact that he was allowed to stay at the Dao Asking Pavilion shows the trust placed in him.

How could the Marquis of Qingyang, who is in charge of the Zhen Tian Division, not have any strong people to employ?
Zhang Yuan nodded and looked outside the Asking Pavilion.

Although the 50,000 newly recruited guards have not yet undergone training, their aura is already gathering momentum, and the shimmering power of their blood and qi illuminates the sky with a faint blood red hue.

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Donghan County, Dongyang Prefecture.

There are 500,000 new soldiers in the Dongyang camp outside the city.

Near the camp, there were over 1.2 million river workers repairing the river channels.

To supply the river works and the army with logistical materials, Guo Chengyuan, the Sima of Dongyang Prefecture, personally led a team of twelve patrol battalions, along with able-bodied men from surrounding villages and towns, to form eight grain transport convoys with a capacity of ten thousand men each.

On a dirt road beside a river embankment in the northern suburbs of Dongyang Prefecture.

Li Shuanzi wiped the sweat from his forehead, carrying two baskets of coarse rice on his shoulder, and followed the grain transport team, moving along with them, his steps uneven.

The July sun is so intense that it can cause your skin to peel.

In the distance, shirtless river workers swarmed like ants in the yellow mud of the riverbed, their shouts echoing so loudly they shook the reeds on the bank. "Brother Shuanzi, look at those mud-covered men," Wang Laizi, a fellow villager, fanned himself with a towel and gestured toward the riverbank. "I heard they make thirty copper coins a day, enough to buy two pecks of rice."

Wang Laizi's words were tinged with envy.

"Soaking in mud and water in this sweltering heat, this money isn't easy to earn," a young man with his robes all stuck to his back said in a low voice.

The sharp pain of the basket rope digging into his shoulder made Li Shuanzi frown. Just as he was about to reply, a mud figure suddenly sprang out of the mud, waving his arms and shouting at them, "Shuanzi! Wang Laizi!"

The man wiped his face, revealing two rows of white teeth.

It turned out to be Chen Dazhu from the same village, who had been conscripted for corvée labor last year.

"Brother Dazhu."

Wang Laizi grinned, and Li Shuanzi waved happily.

Having waded through the mud, Chen Dazhu rubbed his hands together and called out loudly, "Come on, let's go to the camp. I'll treat you to a meal."

Upon hearing about food, Li Shuanzi and the others' eyes lit up.

Having traveled over a hundred miles, they were already starving.

"Brother Dazhu, do you... do you have any meat...?" Wang Laizi wiped his mouth, his face full of anticipation.

Everyone else looked up.

I'd heard that you get to eat meat while working at the river engineering camp.

Chen Dazhu didn't reply, he just grinned.

……

Camp.

The aroma of stewed meat in the big pot was so enticing that it made one's mouth water.

Chen Dazhu stuffed two steamed buns into his childhood friend's hands, the oily soup dripping through his fingers onto his coarse cloth shirt.

A dozen or so strong young men carrying grain sat around a straw mat, staring intently at the trembling chunks of fat meat in the wooden bucket.

"Brother Dazhu, how much money is this?" Li Shuanzi asked, holding a steamed bun in his hand and looking at the meat. "We'll give you the money later."

Chen Dazhu works here alone, and this meal will probably cost him ten or fifteen days' worth of wages.

The others looked at each other and nodded slightly.

We all come from the same village, and we all know that life isn't easy for us.

"What kind of money?" Chen Dazhu waved his hand and pointed to the canteen stall not far away. "You don't have to pay for meals while working, and you can eat as much as you want."

"Given the number of guests today, we'll calculate it as one coin per person."

Chen Dazhu said with a hearty expression, "The steward said, who doesn't have relatives or friends?"

"It's daytime, not a day off on the 7th of the month. Otherwise, I'd treat everyone to drinks."

For just one penny per person, you can get this kind of meat?

There are days off from work, and you can still drink alcohol?

Everyone stared at Chen Dazhu, feeling that he was somewhat unfamiliar now.

In the past, Chen Dazhu never spoke with such boldness and generosity in the village.

"Eat quickly, I'll get more if you're not full." Chen Dazhu scooped up a large spoonful of meat and placed it in the wooden bowl that Li Shuanzi was holding.

Once everyone came to their senses, they quickly stuffed the steamed buns and meat into their mouths.

More than forty steamed buns and three catties of meat were added before everyone finally finished eating.

In reality, most people didn't eat their fill. They didn't dare believe Chen Dazhu's words, fearing he was spending too much money.

After everyone finished eating, Chen Dazhu wiped his hands, took out a blue cloth bag, inside which were two strings of copper coins neatly stacked.

"Payment is paid on the first and fifteenth of each month, and the money is delivered directly to our hands."

"Please trouble Shuanzi to take this to my mother."

He then pulled out a piece of letter paper folded into a square knot, with mud splattered on the edges.

Chen Dazhu spread the letter paper out on the wooden table, took a brush, and slowly drew words on it.

Although the writing is crooked, it is still writing.

Although Li Shuanzi is illiterate, he would never make a mistake in recognizing characters.

Li Shuanzi stared blankly at the winding lines on the letter paper.

"Brother Dazhu, when will you... when will you be able to write?"

(End of this chapter)