A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Zhao Daxuan looked embarrassed. "I haven't looked into this before. I imagine this small amount of money is nothing to a city guard like us."

"It's a small amount of money for the city guards, but do you know that the monthly paychecks are already the limit? And everyone wants such good equipment, why should we give it to you?"

Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't help but roll his eyes at Zhao Daxuan.

"I am just a lowly captain. There are captains and generals above me. I cannot make this request."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan, though expecting it, couldn't help but show a look of disappointment.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Zhang Xiaoshan, who was at the head of the table, spoke up: "However, although I cannot provide you with the equipment you need, there is a batch of unused long shields in the camp warehouse."

"If you're interested in training a group of swordsmen and shieldmen, I can arrange for you to practice with these long shields first."

"Excellent, thank you, sir!" Zhao Daxuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed to Zhang Xiaoshan in gratitude.

Zhao Daxuan then took Zhang Xiaoshan's approval slip and returned to the training ground.

Seeing the increasingly energetic state of his men, who didn't seem to have undergone two days of intense training, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Li Erlong, take your men to the camp warehouse and have each person collect a long shield."

Zhang Xiaoshan's approval slip was handed to Li Erlong. Although Li Erlong looked puzzled, he still carried it out seriously and led everyone to the warehouse to collect the long tokens.

They returned shortly afterward. These long shields were about 1.2 meters long and 60 centimeters wide, and were made entirely of wood. The only metal parts were the shield caps and studs.

Zhao Daxuan picked it up and tried it out. The long shield was naturally no match for the heavy-duty standing shield, but it was enough for training purposes.

He threw the long shield back to Li Erlong, and then converted his men into sword and shield soldiers.

As Zhao Daxuan's men gripped their shields and longswords, a sense of familiarity suddenly welled up within them. They felt as if they were flesh and blood connected to the shields and longswords in their hands, as if they were born as one.

Before anyone could react, Zhao Daxuan shouted, "No long-distance running training today. Li Erlong will organize everyone for sword and shield formation training."

Li Erlong was about to retort that he didn't know how to train sword and shield soldiers, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the training methods for sword and shield soldiers appeared in his mind.

Li Erlong was taken aback. Could he be a genius? So, gritting his teeth, he gave it a try, turning to the crowd and shouting, "Form ranks! Raise your placards!"

Zhao Daxuan's men instinctively dispersed and lined up in a completely different training formation than usual, shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, forming a horizontal line.

At the same time, he clenched his left hand tightly, his knuckles turning white, and with a forceful lift, he raised the shield in a standard posture.

"Change formation!"

"cut!"

Following Li Erlong's orders, the group constantly changed formations and swung their long swords. This training was unlike the usual ordinary sword formation training.

It requires holding shields and wielding long swords for extended periods, constantly changing formations, making it far more complex than before.

Zhao Daxuan nodded in satisfaction as he watched his soldiers advance and retreat in an orderly manner, perform their movements with precision, and train with great momentum.

This is only using ordinary long shields and long swords. If it were equipped with real heavy standing shields and heavy horse-slaying swords, the destructive power would be terrifying.

Thinking about other equipment, Zhao Daxuan's head started to ache again. It seemed he could only try to find out if there were any other ways to obtain this equipment, even if it meant paying for it himself.

These hundreds of people are the foundation for his future growth, and they must be carefully nurtured.

When Li Tiezhu brought the food at noon, he called Li Tiezhu and Li Erlong to his side.

"Do you two know where you can get hundreds of heavy shields, heavy sabers, and chainmail?"

Zhao Daxuan looked at the two men expectantly, but after they exchanged glances, Li Tiezhu said weakly, "Brother Xuan, if you can't get it in your military camp, you'll probably have to buy it outside. Bailianfang might be a good option."

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong echoed, "Indeed, unless someone has one readily available, but I think that's unlikely. Bailianfang is the largest weapon-refining workshop in Zhenbei City; choosing it is definitely the right choice."

Zhao Daxuan nodded in agreement. It seemed he would have to find time to visit Bailianfang.

Then he looked at Li Tiezhu, "Tiezhu, after they finish eating, let's go check out the shops in the east of the city. Also, this afternoon you accompany your sisters-in-law to the brokerage to buy some maids and servants. I'm not comfortable with them going by themselves."

Li Tiezhu nodded repeatedly to indicate that there was no problem.

After Zhao Daxuan finished eating, the others had also almost finished eating. So Li Tiezhu asked the servant who had come to deliver the food to take the food back, and he accompanied Zhao Daxuan straight to two shops in the east of the city.

Zhao Daxuan and Li Tiezhu stood in front of two side-by-side shops on a street where the east and south of the city met. After looking them over, they unlocked the doors and went inside.

Both shops are two stories high, and it seems they used to be a clothing and fabric business. The inside is clean.

The shop also has a backyard, and the two tiled houses in the backyard are quite suitable as a kitchen.

I don't know why he eventually mortgaged the shop to Jubao Fang, but it must have been because he lost everything gambling.

After making their rounds, Zhao Daxuan and Li Tiezhu both wore satisfied smiles.

"Tiezhu, it looks good, doesn't it? We can partition the second floor into some individual rooms, buy some tables and chairs, and it'll be ready to open for business."

Zhao Daxuan smiled and looked at Li Tiezhu.

Li Tiezhu nodded excitedly.

"This place is great, the location is perfect, and partitioning off some individual rooms won't be difficult; it can be done in a day or two. That way, we can open soon. I'll quickly finalize the kitchen chef appointment in the next couple of days."

The two then discussed some details, and Zhao Daxuan left the rest to Li Tiezhu, telling him to come to him when he needed money.

Li Tiezhu then hurriedly left, as he needed to find a carriage to pick up Li Shishi and the other two.

Zhao Daxuan glanced at the sky and realized it was still early. Since he had already left the military camp, he might as well go to Bailianfang in the south of the city.

Bai Lian Fang is a three-story fortress-like building, covering an area the size of two football fields. It is one of the top buildings in Zhenbei City. It is more like a small fortress than a shop.

Even before you get close, you can smell a unique aroma of burning coal and iron pillars, and faintly hear rhythmic clanging sounds of metal.

Zhao Daxuan walked through the elm wood gate covered with sheet metal and entered the reception room. The sound that he had only faintly heard outside was now much louder.

Inside the reception room, there were rows of armored soldiers and some tables and chairs for entertaining guests.

Upon seeing a visitor, a burly middle-aged man sitting in a chair strode over and said in a deep voice, "What would you like to buy, sir? We have all kinds of weapons here!"