Ch 85: Guidance
“Master, when it comes to recruiting soldiers, Duke Wei Guo is absolutely experienced!”
Yu Huadian cautiously reminded him, continuing, “Your servant has lived in the Palace for many years, but I have also heard that Duke Wei Guo’s subordinates are full of excellent commanders. There are even many good commanders who had to retire…”
“Yes, Xiaotian.”
Lin Che’s eyes lit up. He had forgotten Old General Wen Hong.
The reason he wanted to recruit retainers from the prison cells was to prevent spies from infiltrating, but Old General Wen Hong was known for his strict military discipline, so asking the Old General would definitely be no problem.
Perhaps, he could directly raise a decent troop.
This Yu Huadian is not bad, a real clever guy. He started contributing right after joining.
“Thank you, Master, for your praise. It is a blessing from ten lifetimes that your servant can relieve your worries, Master.” Yu Huadian was about to bow again.
Lin Che reached out to stop Yu Huadian from bowing, and asked:
“Why did you risk your life to remind me at the hunting grounds?”
“This… this, Master… I, I…” Yu Huadian didn’t know where to begin.
“Speak. This isn’t the Imperial Palace, what are you afraid of?”
“It’s actually very simple. Your servant thinks you, Master, are a good person. After being in the palace for many years, we eunuchs like me have no status whatsoever. Even around Your Majesty, there are mostly maids, not eunuchs. Every few days, we are beaten by the Superintendent, scolded by officials—it’s commonplace.”
Yu Huadian grinned, his face full of effeminate charm: “Only you, Master, treat us as people. Your servant can feel that you are different from others. You didn’t look down on me. Now it seems I wasn’t wrong. Even a useless person like me, Master, is willing to take me under your wing…”
Lin Che was stunned, and seemed to slowly feel a sense of empathy.
Eunuchs like Yu Huadian originally had huge physical defects and lost their dignity. As long as you treat them equally, or even help them with a couple of small things…
They will remember this hard-earned kindness forever.
“Xiaotian, since you have followed me. From now on, stand tall and be a man. I will teach you real martial arts. You don’t have to call me Master, call me Marquis like the others.”
Yu Huadian bowed respectfully: “Yes, Master—”
“…”
Lin Che brought the two hundred retainers back to his mansion and settled them.
He immediately went to find Old General Wen Hong.
Upon meeting, Lin Che said with a smile, “Old General, I’m bothering you again!”
“Your Majesty gave me the power to recruit retainers, but I’ve been thinking, when it comes to military discipline, I can ask anyone, but I must ask the Old General. Otherwise, I’ll have to take at least thirty years more to learn.”
This was an invisible compliment.
Who could resist?
I’m here to borrow soldiers and ask for help, but I won’t say it directly. I’ll come to ask for advice first, humbly seek guidance, and then asking to borrow soldiers will be much easier.
If the Old General is displeased, then I won’t mention it at all.
Wen Hong laughed heartily, a satisfied smile on his old face. Indeed, what other generals know about military discipline? When he established his merit and career, those generals were still in diapers.
“I heard that with the Marquis title comes the power to recruit retainers, this is unprecedented. Your Majesty’s praise for you is extraordinary.”
“The way of military discipline lies in strictness! Rewards and punishments must be clearly defined!! As for the way to strengthen the army, it depends on the commander.”
“Lin Che, you’re just starting to recruit retainers, this is a great opportunity. From day one, you must establish the military law. Don’t make exceptions for anyone. Once there are exceptions, this army will never cultivate an army soul.”
Old General Wen Hong didn’t hold back at all, imparting his knowledge of military discipline to Lin Che.
He shared all his knowledge without reservation.
Before his transmigration, Lin Che was an officer in the army, so this was going back to his old profession. But he couldn’t reveal this yet.
He was already showing off his brilliance. Any more and he would be too outstanding.
Towards evening, Lin Che found an opportunity: “Old General, do you have any advice on recruiting retainers?”
“What? It seems you’re short-handed?”
Wen Hong was sharp-eyed, seeing Lin Che’s difficulty at a glance. He simply smiled and continued:
“You want to recruit three thousand men, looking for them one by one, that won’t work. Because you don’t have enough time. In a little over a month, you’ll be going on a mission to Yan Yun Kingdom. There’s no way to properly train them.”
“I know a place you can try. It’s only three hundred li from Tian Du City, a place called Sky Pit. There’s a group of veteran soldiers there. If you can get them under your command, that will solve your current problem.”
“Don’t worry, those veteran soldiers all have some sort of criminal record. If they had connections, they would have been dealt with long ago. Those left there can’t possibly belong to other clans.”
Understood.
The Old General was truly thoughtful.
Lin Che instantly understood Wen Hong’s intention. Wen Hong could, with a single sentence, provide more than three thousand retainers.
But commanding an army is no child’s play.
Three thousand elite soldiers, can you control them?
Now Wen Hong wanted to test him. If he couldn’t even pass the recruitment stage, forget about leading three thousand retainers to Yan Yun Kingdom.
Give up on that idea, and go kneel before Your Majesty to beg for the revocation of the imperial order.
“Old General, wait for my good news!”
Lin Che was clear about his goal, and after bidding farewell to Wen Hong, he immediately went to Drunken Moon Tower.
Lin Che had Sheng Huinan handle the gifts, and they should be almost sold out.
Sure enough.
Sheng Huinan had sold them for a total of eight hundred thousand silver taels.
This gave him another eight skill points.
Eight hundred thousand taels was actually quite a lot, after all, there was an unwritten rule among those who gave gifts; no one should stand out; everyone should give similar gifts.
Summoning System.
【Host: Lin Che】
【Cultivation Realm: Fourth Rank Object Manipulation Realm（Great Perfection）】
【Cultivation Technique: Blazing Sun Invincible Body（Level 10/10）Dragon Spine Skill（Level 10/10）Dragon Bone Technique（Level 10/10）Dragon Tendon Scripture（Level 10/10）Celestial Gang Dragon Body（Level 10/10）Nine Apertures Divine Back（Level 10/10）Regenerative God Crocodile Hide（Level 10/10）】
【Cultivation Technique: Circulating Heaven Qi-Nourishing Scripture（Level 10/10）Dragon Cicada Absorption Scripture（Level 10/10）】
【Cultivation Technique: Dragon Elephant Twelve Apertures（Level 10/10）Dragon Yang Blazing Fire Eyes（Level 10/10）】
【Cultivation Technique: Daoist Sect True Mind Record（Level 10/10）】
【Remaining Points: 70】
Seventy points sitting here are a waste.
The past two days were spent cultivating all the secret manuals left behind by Zōnghéng Tiānmìngrén. I checked several Fifth-Rank True Essence Realm secret manuals, but the system didn’t indicate that they could be cultivated.
A grand banquet was approaching, hence the need to go out.
This time, he had to recruit retainers; his own strength couldn’t be too weak.
As the saying goes, the general is the heart of the soldiers, and the soldiers are the might of the general. The commander is crucial; he must be strong, tough, fierce, and persistent…
Back to the Daqian Imperial Library!
This time, even if he had to search through every Fifth-Rank True Essence Realm secret manual, he had to break through to the True Essence Realm.
What Lin Che never expected was that he would run into Empress Jiang Li in the Daqian Imperial Library…
