Chapter 735

"Master's insight is profound!" He Lingchuan cupped his hands, "I have learned." "Learned what? It was just idle talk. Hurry up and treat me to a meal!"

So he grabbed Master Sun and went to settle down in Yuheng City, incidentally having dinner.

The number of people in the city was visibly increasing. Panlongcheng snacks were everywhere on the street, and there was even Fuling paste.

Although Yuheng City was a border fortress, merchant goods transported from Baishawan in the south had to transit here if they wanted to go to the Jin Tao and Xiluo nations. Passing meat to others means getting your hands full of grease; He Lingchuan once again realized the importance of Yuheng City's status.

If the bandit problem in Longchuan is not eliminated and the southern trade route is frequently disturbed, merchants will refuse to come, and both Yuheng City and Panlongcheng will be affected.

This is probably the intention of certain forces.

The small restaurants in Yuheng City served food in a rough and ready way, with startlingly large portions but more vegetables than meat, and no refined patterns, focusing on being affordable and inexpensive. He Lingchuan had the beauty for company, whispering with a faint smile; although it wasn't a feast of gold and jade, he felt this was the life he wanted.

Thinking back to the step-by-step terrors in Lingxu City, he felt as if it were a lifetime ago.

Let's stay at the inn tonight.

This inn had also been renovated not long ago, and there was a large color difference between the old and new wood. He Lingchuan sent her to the door as usual.

The two looked at each other.

Even in such dim light, Sun Fuling's eyes were still very bright: "Anything else?"

The words that should have been said had already been said at the dinner table. He Lingchuan coughed: "No, no more. You've been busy all day and are tired; sleep early."

The two doors were next to each other. Just as he was about to push the door, Sun Fuling suddenly approached, grabbed his shoulders, and turned him back around.

Before he could react, Sun Fuling stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.

Very light, very fast, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

He Lingchuan wanted to hug her back, but just as his fingertips moved, she had already retreated.

Retreating faster than advancing.

"You came, I'm very happy!" Her face was slightly red, and she left behind an unfinished sentence before pushing the door open.

Creak, only He Lingchuan was left in the hallway.

Master Sun's red lips were so soft! He was stunned for a moment, his heart pounding several extra times.

Heh, hehe.

Sure enough, there are rewards for surviving.

The smell of wood and paint around him seemed to get heavier. Two more guests walked up from downstairs and, seeing him standing in the hallway, grinned foolishly at the door.

"Is this person sick?" Bad luck.

He Lingchuan's face darkened upon hearing this, and he glared at them.

The blade-like gaze scared the two into shivering, and they hurried back to their rooms.

He Lingchuan slowly exhaled, finally calming his state of mind, when he suddenly remembered that he had been ambushed again.

It seems that whether Master Sun kisses him or stabs him, he still can't avoid it.

Uh... he sighed sincerely, this makes no sense at all.

The next morning, He Lingchuan found Deputy General Chao Qian, who was as busy as a spinning top, in the government office.

This person was also from the Great Wind Army. After General Hong conquered Yuheng City, he remained to guard the city. Previously, as Commander Xiao's deputy in Yuheng City, he was quite familiar with the local customs, public sentiment, and military administration.

As soon as Cao Shi introduced He Lingchuan, Chao Qian immediately straightened his back and saluted with a solemn expression.

He Lingchuan saw at a glance that his respect came from the bottom of his heart and was not just a formality, which made him a bit strange, as he and Chao Qian had never met before.

He didn't know that 'Broken Blade' was already a battle hero famous throughout Panlongcheng; not only in the army, but legends about him were also starting to circulate on the wasteland.

"Forget it, trouble." He Lingchuan waved his hand at him with a smile, "What are you busy with?"

"Oh, this is the recruitment list from recent days." Chao Qian shook the roster in his hand, quickly entering a work reporting state, "Following instructions from Panlongcheng, we established the Yuheng Army. The first batch finished reorganization two months ago and entered training, but the number of people was small, so we are now starting to recruit the second batch; the initial backbone and generals are some Great Wind Army soldiers and Panlong patrols with combat experience, while simultaneously recruiting a large number of new soldiers."

"Disturbances from across the river?"

"Yes, in the past two months, the Jin Tao people have crossed the Yin River five times to rob, steal, and set fires in the villages of Yuheng City. We negotiated with the other side, and Jin Tao claimed it was done by civilians and had nothing to do with them."

"Did you catch anyone?"

"Caught them twice. They claimed to be Jin Tao refugees driven over by their officials and soldiers. However, several were recognized as water bandits from Longchuan." This was mutual buck-passing, "The Panlongcheng army cannot stay in Yuheng City forever; we must recruit as many people as possible and rush to train them during the winter, otherwise, the spring plowing season will be here by the end of February."

"How many people have you recruited?"

"As of yesterday, 1,100 new soldiers, including 700 Xiluo people; about 400 Xi-Ji, uh, that is, Changhou people." Chao Qian said, "Oh right, there are also more than ten demons, not counted in the total."

He Lingchuan asked as soon as he heard: "That's quite a few people, were they all recruited?"

"The number of applicants is more than three times this. Some Xiluo people rushed from remote villages to sign up, insisting on joining the army. We screened out many, and among the active applicants, there were more than 300 Changhou people." Chao Qian smiled, "They all came for the name of the Great Wind Army, and since they couldn't get into the Great Wind Army, settling for the next best thing was fine."

"Screened according to the requirements of the Panlong patrols?"

"Yes." The recruitment standards of Panlongcheng had long been formed, and they had only been making minor adjustments over the years.

"Too high." He Lingchuan shook his head, "Lower it appropriately. The Yuheng City army doesn't need to be as strict as the Panlong army in the beginning; you need quantity before you can have quality."

"Yes." He was the commander, and Chao Qian would not refute whatever he said.

"How were the original troops of Yuheng City handled?"

"According to General Hong's requirements, they were scattered to various places, armies, and teams, reorganized and retrained. Only less than 200 people were left here in Yuheng City."

Surrendered troops are generally handled this way to avoid them grouping together and causing trouble. Therefore, the current security and stability of Yuheng City mainly rely on support troops from Panlongcheng.

This is not a long-term plan. He Lingchuan must build the Yuheng City army and put it into practice and combat as soon as possible.

You have to rely on your own bones to grow meat.

"Okay, just follow the plan." The army doesn't just have him working from top to bottom; as commander, he just needs to issue orders, "Tell me about the Longchuan bandits; have you had any dealings with them?"

Wen Daolun oversees the overall situation, and his understanding of Longchuan should not be as good as the soldiers who catch robbers.

"Slippery. On the whole, they are much smarter than the bandits on the Panlong Wasteland. They basically don't confront us head-on, and they hide back in Longchuan at the slightest sign of trouble. That place is truly a snake and rat nest!" Chao Qian said, "We disguised ourselves as merchant caravans three times and fished out two bandit nests. Since then, they have been more cautious and won't attack unless they are sure."

He Lingchuan only grasped the key points: "Where does their certainty come from?"

"They have eyes and ears in places like Yuheng City and Baishawan. Even merchant associations and caravans have their people hidden inside."

(End of chapter)