“I understand!”
Shen Jing nodded lightly, a bitter smile secretly forming in his heart.
That girl Chi Chi really did speak a prophecy!
After hearing Pei Ji's words, he suddenly felt immense pressure.
It was fine for him to do things like swindling, but fighting battles, he really didn't know how!
At this moment, Pei Ji stood up again, took a package from the side, and handed it to Shen Jing.
“Is this... books?”
Shen Jing felt it through the cloth.
“They are military books!”
Pei Ji patted Shen Jing's shoulder, “You're a smart lad, with the potential to become a scholarly general! Read military books more often when you're free. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask this old man, or you can ask Prince Wuping!”
“Thank you, Duke Qi!”
Shen Jing said solemnly, “I will definitely study them diligently!”
Damn it, since there was a possibility of going to the battlefield, he had to take it seriously.
These were six thousand men!
He couldn't joke with his own life, nor could he joke with the lives of these six thousand men.
After chatting with Pei Ji for a while, Shen Jing left with the military books.
From Pei Ji, he also received good news.
The generals arranged by the imperial court would only be assigned up to the rank of Commandant; the rest would be decided by them, and they just needed to report the list of names to the Ministry of War.
In other words, he could arrange a large number of his own people among the grassroots officers.
As Shen Jing walked out of the Ministry of War Office, he saw Ning Ji standing outside.
Ning Ji stepped forward, smiling, and said, “We're colleagues now. How about we find a place for a drink?”
A mischievous smile appeared on Shen Jing's face, “You wouldn't want to drink with me.”
“Hmm?”
Ning Ji looked at him in confusion, “You don't think I would believe that you snatched my position as Commander of the Dragon Martial Army, do you?”
Shen Jing laughed dumbfounded, then curiously asked, “Did you ever think that?”
“I really didn't.”
Ning Ji said seriously, “Although I made some contributions in suppressing the rebellion this time, if you hadn't broken through the city wall and the battle had dragged on too long, I wouldn't have just made a contribution, I'd be lucky not to be punished! Moreover, in my eyes, the Commander of the Dragon Martial Army is not as good as my previous official position!”
He was directly promoted from a fifth-rank martial official to a fourth-rank, which was certainly a promotion.
But this official position was not what he wanted.
His Suanni Iron Cavalry were elite soldiers, and they were cavalry.
Now, although he was promoted, he was facing an empty shell.
It was right to train the soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army well, but if they weren't trained well, he would still be punished!
Calculating this, he would rather not be promoted and continue to command the Suanni Iron Cavalry.
But now that the order had been issued, his reluctance was useless.
“Alright, then let's find a place for a couple of drinks!”
Shen Jing readily agreed.
Led by Ning Ji, they arrived at a restaurant.
They ordered a few hearty dishes and two pots of wine, eating, drinking, and chatting.
“By the way, I've never been involved in military matters before, and now I don't understand anything! I need to quickly study military books. I'll leave the matter of forming the Dragon Martial Army to you.”
After three rounds of drinks, Shen Jing finally revealed his true intentions.
“What?”
Ning Ji's eyelids suddenly twitched, “You, as the Commander, won't handle affairs and will leave everything to me? Do you think this is appropriate?”
Suddenly, Ning Ji seemed to understand why Shen Jing had said earlier that he wouldn't want to drink with him.
So this scoundrel was waiting for him here?
“Appropriate, perfectly appropriate!”
Shen Jing looked at Ning Ji with a full smile, “You see, the Emperor made me this Commander, and I can't do anything, that won't do! The Dragon Martial Army will be formed in ten days; I have to cram, right? Do you want the entire army to laugh at me?”
“Can't you learn while forming the Dragon Martial Army?” Ning Ji simply didn't believe Shen Jing's nonsense.
It was already difficult to complete the task assigned by Pei Ji within ten days, and this scoundrel still wanted to be a hands-off boss?
No way!
If there was a headache, he couldn't be the only one with it!
“I think learning military strategy and battle formations is more useful!”
Shen Jing cleared his throat and said earnestly, “This is a military order!”
Military order your ass!
Ning Ji cursed wildly in his heart.
This scoundrel, just say it if you want to be lazy!
Since Shen Jing had directly issued a military order, Ning Ji had to agree whether he wanted to or not.
There was no choice; a higher rank crushed people.
Ning Ji poured a large gulp of wine into his mouth, then lightly fanned his mouth, saying with a face full of frustration, “I really shouldn't have had this drink with you!”
...
On the way back, Shen Jing told Du Heng about Fan Qinghu and then asked, “Do you want to be my personal guard commander, or do you want to be a Qujunhou or something similar?”
“Does that even need asking?”
Du Heng chuckled, “Of course, I want to be your personal guard commander!”
“Oh, quite enlightened!” Shen Jing teased.
“Enlightened my ass!”
Du Heng grinned, “I'm just afraid of dying!”
“...”
Shen Jing's face darkened.
This Sunzi, couldn't he say something nice?
Like, he was willing to go through fire and water for him?
Damn it!
Not an ounce of enlightenment!
The two chatted idly all the way back to Su Manor.
As soon as they arrived at Su Manor, they received good news.
Fang Liuqi had arrived!
Upon hearing this news, Shen Jing was immediately overjoyed.
He finally came!
Seeing Shen Jing and Du Heng walk in, Fang Liuqi quickly stood up, “Greetings, Marquis Shen, greetings, brother-in-law.”
“Are you here alone?”
Du Heng put on his brother-in-law's air, “Where's my sister?”
Fang Liuqi replied, “Father-in-law said that once I've settled things here in the capital, he'll bring Sister Ying to the capital! Oh, and there's also a family letter that Father-in-law asked me to bring to you, brother-in-law.”
With that, Fang Liuqi pulled out the family letter from his embrace and handed it to Du Heng.
Du Heng received the family letter as if it were a treasure, then scurried off to the side to read it.
“Come with me!”
Shen Jing didn't bother with Du Heng and led Fang Liuqi to the study.
With the door closed, Shen Jing immediately asked Fang Liuqi, “How are things going with the merchant caravan?”
The merchant caravan Shen Jing mentioned was not just a merchant caravan; it also had to undertake the important task of an intelligence organization.
“The basic framework is already set up.”
Fang Liuqi respectfully replied, “It's just that there aren't too many goods to transport right now, so the personnel aspect is still a bit lacking, but as soon as we start transporting large quantities of goods, the personnel will quickly catch up...”
The Wu Family originally ran a horse caravan, and now with the cooperation of the Du Family, setting up a merchant caravan was not difficult.
The news of Shen Jing being enfeoffed as a Marquis had also reached Luochuan Prefecture, and with the boost of this news, the Wu Family and the Du Family were even more enthusiastic.
Now they had prepared everything according to Shen Jing's requirements, just waiting for his next instructions.
“That's good!”
Shen Jing relaxed, “You rest for a bit. Tomorrow, I'll have Old He take you to find a suitable place for a workshop in the city.”
“Alright!”
Fang Liuqi nodded, “Oh, Marquis Shen, Lord Feng has been transferred to the capital for his achievement in exposing Prince Ji's rebellion. He should arrive in the capital in a few days.”
“Ah?”
Shen Jing was very surprised and curiously asked, “What position will Feng Min hold in the capital?”
He had been busy with another matter these past few days, so he really didn't know about this!
Fang Liuqi shook his head, “I'm not clear about that.”
Never mind!
If he wasn't clear, then so be it!
He would know naturally when Feng Min arrived in the capital.
After chatting with Fang Liuqi for a while, the two left the study.
When they saw Du Heng again, they noticed his eyes were red, clearly having just cried.
“Have some backbone.”
Shen Jing complained, “A single family letter made you cry like a baby?”
“Who said I cried?”
Du Heng stiffened his neck and stubbornly said, “I just got sand in my eyes...”
Shen Jing pouted, then let Du Heng chat about family matters with Fang Liuqi, while he went to find Su Yourong to discuss selecting people from the manor to join the Dragon Martial Army.
“This is good news!”
Su Yourong's eyes lit up, and she asked, “Are there any requirements for the personnel?”
Shen Jing thought for a moment and replied, “Not many requirements, just strong and healthy! Most importantly, they must be trustworthy!”