New and dark light years

Chapter 367 I am just a concubine

The fact that the government troops were recruiting soldiers and building camps at the same time could not be kept secret from the people of Jin County.

Normally, people in the Great Qi would avoid military recruitment like the plague. Only those who had no other options and had no choice but to join the army to survive would be willing to become soldiers.

But now it's different. As soon as people heard that it was Li Lin's army recruiting soldiers, many followed.

After all, almost everyone in Jin County knew that Li Lin was generous to his subordinates.

Soldiers who usually get time off or leave go home with bags full of things.

The answer was that Supervisor Li had distributed money again!

This is a rare occurrence. Usually, it's only officials who are greedy for soldiers' money, but now an official is willing to give money to soldiers... Such a 'foolish' official, when he recruits soldiers, we naturally have to go immediately.

They'll rely on him for the rest of his life, until he's too old to move or lift a gun.

Therefore, Li Lin planned to recruit 40,000 men in six months, but in just over a month, the manpower was almost full.

This, naturally, also brings logistical pressure.

Fortunately... the funding from Huang Yan's side was very timely, and several truckloads of tax money were delivered.

They also sent a lot of old grain, enough to last for two or three years.

Otherwise, Li Lin would have to refine pills and sell medicine every day to support the expenses of an army of 40,000.

That day, Li Lin was practicing martial arts at home. Not long after, Hong Luan came in through the moon archway, carrying a small wooden box with three silver notes inside. She smiled and said, "Commander Xiao sent someone to deliver these, saying they are clean."

Li Lin glanced at it and nodded slightly.

He doesn't care about the amount of money; as long as the sentiment is there, that's enough.

"It seems Commander Xiao's inner conflict has been resolved," Li Lin said with a smile. "He can become a right-hand man to the Li family in the future."

Huang Qing walked over and said, "Congratulations, sir, on gaining another trusted confidant."

"It's a pity there are still too few; only two that can be trusted."

“A good man is hard to find, let’s take it slow,” Hongluan said from the side.

Li Lin nodded, then looked up at the Tree Fairy floating in mid-air, somewhat lost in thought.

"Sister Liu is so beautiful."

Huang Qing raised his head and looked at the true form of the Tree Fairy, his eyes filled with envy.

Li Lin said, "You will become more and more beautiful in the future."

“My lord is just trying to make me happy. A girl’s appearance is already set after sixteen. How can she become more beautiful?”

Li Lin said, "Haven't you noticed that your physique, skin, and even your figure are slightly different from before?"

Huang Qing was somewhat skeptical and looked at Hong Luan.

Hongluan nodded.

Huang Qing examined Hong Luan carefully for a while and said, "Hong Luan has indeed changed a bit."

Then she believed it.

Because if Hongluan can get something, she will only get better and more. There's no reason why Hongluan can become beautiful but she can't.

From that day on, Huang Qing became even more attentive to dual cultivation.

For women, appearance is more important than martial arts skills or strength.

After some time, the commanders of the various armies returned.

Three military town chiefs were captured, and one of them committed suicide.

Seeing that the other three had succeeded while he had failed, Mu Tianen knelt down on one knee to plead guilty: "Chief Commander, I have failed in my duty and I beg for punishment."

"It's alright. Although we didn't capture him alive, he's dead. As I said before, the dead military town chief can only be considered to have neither merit nor demerit. Get up."

Mu Tianen breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight.

The three town chiefs looked at Li Lin, each with an angry expression on their face.

One of the oldest men shouted angrily, "Commander-in-Chief, what right do you have to arrest us? We have all been diligently guarding the border town. Your actions are disheartening."

Li Lin picked up a booklet from the side and said, "This booklet records your dealings with the Tang family army, which has exceeded the limit. You should understand what I mean."

The other two looked dejected.

But the elder retorted angrily, "The Tang family army is also a border army of our Great Qi. What's wrong with me associating with them? Can't a military garrison commander associate with other officials?"

Li Lin raised an eyebrow: "Accepting bribes and planting spies for them in the military town, is that considered normal business dealings? Everything you've done recently is recorded here, yet you still won't confess!"

"That's just normal business dealings. Who doesn't help their relatives and friends get a few positions in the army? Don't even mention you, Commander Li, even the local prefect does the same thing."

Li Lin nodded: "You're right. It's normal to place relatives in the army, but the problem is... the Tang family army is going to rebel. I don't believe you can't see that. Why didn't he place them elsewhere? Why did he choose to place them in the military town? I don't believe you can't figure it out."

The elder was speechless. He could only mutter, "This is just a guess. The Tang family has guarded the southern border of the Great Qi for generations. What you are doing will make people feel disheartened."

"Since Qin Tuo has already rebelled, it's not surprising that Tang Qi would also rebel."

The old man's eyes were vacant, and he said nothing more.

Li Lin said, "Tell us everything you know. Confess how many bribes you've received over the years, how many members of the Tang family you've placed in military towns or elsewhere. Confess and you'll be treated leniently; if you resist, you'll be punished severely."

The three of them remained silent.

Li Lin said, "I can make the decision that after confiscating your property, your family members will be exiled to the heart of the Central Plains, not to the brothels. How about that!"

In the heart of the Central Plains, they didn't call it exile, they called it driving people away.

But if you say that, you won't have any major problems in this kind of situation.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the three men softened considerably.

The military town magistrate surnamed Hao said, "Commander-in-Chief, I'll confess everything. I hope you can keep your word."

"I promise."

These words immediately broke down the defenses of the three people.

Li Lin said, "Take them down, and after they confess, send them to Tianjin City to be handled by Prefect Huang."

After saying this, Li Lin got up and left the tent. At this time, the military camp had been expanded to a great extent, and a large number of soldiers brought in mud and sand from outside to fill in the low-lying areas of the camp and make them level.

Everyone worked very diligently, and it was almost impossible to see anyone slacking off.

This was mainly because the soldiers of Jin County ate three meals a day, all of which were dry, and they even had a thin piece of mutton to taste with each meal.

For ordinary soldiers, such a life is something even a god wouldn't trade.

Therefore, they were all afraid of being kicked out of the army if they slacked off, which would be a great regret.

Li Lin was satisfied with the progress of the camp expansion; it was much faster than he had imagined.

This way, more time can be devoted to training soldiers.

If something really happens, he will have the power to fight back.

After leaving the camp, Li Lin arrived at Green Mountain Pass.

Su Bei beamed with joy and greeted Li Lin as "Godfather!"

Li Lin nodded and asked with a smile, "The date is approaching, isn't it? When?"

"Ten days from now is an auspicious day; we'll get married then."

"Okay." Li Lin patted his shoulder: "Do your job well. I'll sit in the seat of honor that day and wait for you to toast me."

Su Bei nodded repeatedly, extremely happy.

The so-called "upper position" refers to the position of the parents. After he brings the bride home, he will offer a toast to Li Lin and Huang Qing.

Li Lin then entered the Green Mountain Valley, and Li Yanjing came out of the small house.

She said happily, "My husband, the rice ripened yesterday. I was just thinking of finding you, but I didn't expect you to come here on your own."

"Really?"

Li Lin immediately went over.

The thirteen culture media pieces are not very large, each about one square meter in area.

But the rice growing on it was golden, as if it were glowing.

This does not happen with ordinary, mature rice.

As Li Lin walked over, he smelled a pleasant fragrance.

It still smells mostly of rice, but there's also a strange, pleasant aroma in it.

Upon arriving at the thirteen culture media, Li Lin first walked around them.

It was then determined that the rice grown on that particular culture medium was the best.

But instead of rushing to eat the best, he started by trying the worst.

He picked a grain of rice, cracked open the husk to reveal the soft white rice inside, and then put it in his mouth.

Unlike regular hulled rice, this rice is soft and tastes like it's cooked, but it also has a fresh, raw rice flavor.

It also has a slightly sweet taste.

He swallowed the rice, and then he faintly felt a very weak spiritual energy spreading out.

The spiritual energy was so subtle that Li Lin almost thought he was hallucinating.

But when he grabbed a dozen or so grains of rice and put them in his mouth at the same time, he could feel that the spiritual energy had grown a bit.

"It really is spiritual energy."

Li Lin laughed.

It seems that in the future, spiritual rice can not only be used as a medicinal material, but also as a regular food to accelerate the pace of cultivation.

"Yanjing, why don't you try a couple of pills?" Li Lin said with a smile.

Li Yanjing guarded these good things and didn't steal a single one. She tried to eat one herself, her eyes filled with joy.

"Although it is not as delicious as my husband's blood and qi, it is still a rare delicacy."

Li Lin nodded, and then tried rice growing on other culture media.

Finally, the best culture medium was identified, and the ratio of soil to Yujie powder was recorded.

That's done; now it's time for large-scale planting.

This mountain valley doesn't look very big, but refining a large amount of Imperial Realm Powder and mixing it with soil to form several spiritual fields is no easy task.

"Yanjing, we're going home now."

Li Yanjing was stunned for a moment. She looked at Li Lin and asked with great surprise, "Husband, can I go home now?"

"The important things have been done. From now on, large-scale planting will no longer require your attention."

At that time, it will be heavily guarded with layers of defense.

Li Yanjing laughed happily, appearing very pleased.

"You don't actually think I'd let you stay here forever, do you?" Li Lin asked, noticing her strange expression.

Li Yanjing gave an awkward laugh; she really did think so.

Because these spirit rice are too important, they need to be guarded by someone who can be completely trusted.

Therefore, Li Yanjing assumed that she had been 'exiled' here.

She felt a pang of sadness, but she didn't object.

After all, she was a concubine, and she came from a brothel.

She was already very content that Li Lin would visit her from time to time.

Li Lin said helplessly, "How could I do such a cruel thing?"

“But I…” Li Yanjing stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes were filled with joy.

What she really meant was, "I'm just a concubine... isn't this the kind of thing I'm supposed to do?"
(End of this chapter)