Chapter 188: I Am Very Fair

The Military Commissioner is generally a position held only by provincial-level military officials, meaning at least rank eight or higher.

Now that Li Lin has obtained this post, it means he is a rank-eight military official.

Li Lin merely smiled, showing no great emotional fluctuation.

Obtaining this official post during wartime also represents very heavy obligations and responsibilities.

In other words, Huang Yan basically no longer trusts the local officials of Jincheng.

He would rather promote Li Lin by breaking the rules than place power in the hands of a 'stranger' again.

Li Lin returned home and told Huang Qi about the matter.

If an ordinary woman heard that Li Lin had been promoted, she would certainly be very happy.

But Huang Qi only frowned, then helplessly said, "Father really is something; how could he grant you this position at a time like this? Isn't this just adding trouble for you!"

As a daughter of a prominent family, she understood the current situation very well.

Emergency promotions never bring anything good.

"It's fine; after all, he is my father-in-law. I must help him with this little matter."

Huang Qi sighed, leaning gently against Li Lin's shoulder, and said, "Husband, since marrying you, I have brought nothing to this family; instead, I have caused you quite a bit of trouble."

"You cannot say that. If not for you, how could my father-in-law have entrusted such an important position as the County Commandant to me?"

Huang Qi said softly, "But my husband actually does not need these empty titles... Even without Father's help, you would still become a man who stands tall between heaven and earth, renowned throughout the world."

Having been Li Lin's wife for a few months, she understood that Li Lin was very capable, extremely capable.

Whether it was alchemy, the strange spirit stone small house, or even the Dual Cultivation Art, these were things ordinary people could hardly access.

Not to mention that Li Lin walked the path of 'cultivation'.

To marry such a man was heaven showing mercy upon her.

Even if Li Lin did not rely on the Huang family's influence, he would eventually grow up; it would just be a little slower.

Therefore... in her view, her father's measure of promoting Li Lin was essentially a 'burden' upon Li Lin.

Li Lin smiled, stroking her hair: "It's fine. When such chaotic times are about to arrive, having military strength is also a form of security."

Seeing that Li Lin spoke from the heart, Huang Qi finally relaxed.

She knew very well that Li Lin was not the type of man who cared particularly about power.

Afterwards, she asked with some worry, "Chaotic times?"

Yes, chaotic times!

The rebel army has now occupied Yue Commandery; Jincheng Commandery and Gui Commandery are under their covetous gaze.

Jincheng Commandery has already been invaded once; although the losses appear small and the enemy has retreated, the drop in morale and the distrust of the government it brought are very real.

This is also one of the indirect reasons why Li Lin is cracking down hard on public order.

When the people's hearts are not lifted and morale is low, it naturally triggers many negative events.

If left unchecked, it will eventually cause major problems.

For these three days, the Tree Immortal Lady had not appeared, but seeing the illusion of the peach blossom tree in the sky gradually become clear again, Li Lin also breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems the Lady is not in much trouble; her body has now recovered.

On this very day, three thousand garrison soldiers appeared below the city walls of Yulin County.

These were the troops sent by Huang Yan for Li Lin to command.

Li Lin held the appointment document and the military tally to take command of the army.

He also brought along five hundred militia.

The militia stopped thirty zhang away from the military camp.

Li Lin flipped off his horse and walked actively to the camp gate.

At this moment, the three thousand garrison soldiers had already pitched camp; on the simple wooden camp walls, many guards stood. Seeing someone approach, someone inside sounded a crisp whistle.

Not long after, the camp gate opened, and a middle-aged man with a long beard, wearing bright armor and with a long sword with red tassels hanging at his waist, walked out from inside.

He truly moved with the stride of a dragon and the step of a tiger, looking extremely imposing.

Li Lin clasped his fists and smiled first: "I am Li Lin, County Commandant of Yulin County and concurrently Military Commissioner, here to take command of the southern route garrison soldiers of Jincheng Commandery."

Seeing Li Lin's red cloth official robe and then seeing Li Lin's young and handsome face, the man immediately frowned.

He then also clasped his fists and said, "I am the Deputy Military Commissioner of the Southern Route... May I ask if Your Honor has credentials?"

Li Lin presented the appointment document and the military tally.

The other party took them in hand, and after confirming they were correct, said with a hint of helplessness, "I am Xu Xingchang, subordinate, greeting my superior."

Li Lin nodded, flipped off his horse, and smiled, saying, "Deputy Commissioner Xu, since we are both under Prefect Huang, we should be more close."

"Good, good." Xu Xingchang smiled very flatly: "In the future, I hope Your Honor will take good care of me."

Li Lin saw that the other party did not seem to 'accept' him.

This was also normal; as the Deputy Commissioner, he had been eyeing the position of the Commissioner for who knows how long, thinking he could outlast the previous one and take office himself.

Before he could even be happy, a young man was parachuted down.

Since ancient times, no matter which industry, everyone hates this kind of sudden arrival of a miracle soldier.

Li Lin did not mind; the other party's attitude was merely flat, not hostile toward him.

He then smiled and said, "Then beat the war drum; this official is going to inspect the troops."

The so-called troop inspection is when the commander reviews the soldiers on the camp platform, counts the numbers precisely, and checks whether the equipment is qualified.

This is also preparation for war.

Xu Xingchang was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

He made a gesture of invitation.

A camp of three thousand people, even if simply and temporarily built, is much larger than one of five hundred.

When Li Lin entered the camp, the great drum had already begun to beat.

The drumbeats rolled in waves; the soldiers were divided into six departments, each comprising five hundred men.

And five hundred men happened to be the maximum command capacity of a single Commander.

Within those five hundred men, they were split into four troop types: shield-bearers, spearmen, archers, and cavalry.

It could be said that only an army possessing cavalry was, in the truest sense, a complete military formation.

Similarly, five hundred soldiers of a local militia and five hundred soldiers of a garrison army were two entirely different concepts.

Li Lin was now seated upon the commander's throne on the camp platform.

The throne, covered in tiger skin, felt quite imposing to sit upon.

Gazing at the sea of heads below, along with the glint of armor and weapons, he waited silently.

For at this moment, the soldiers had not yet fully assembled.

After a while longer, the last batch of armored soldiers finally emerged from the tents.

They stood at the very front, arranged in two columns.

These were the armored warriors!

They were also the elite vanguard of the entire army.

At this moment, a Commander stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said: "Reporting to the Inspector, the Southern Route Garrison Army of Jin Commandery has arrived in full strength."

Li Lin observed for a moment, then quickly confirmed that indeed all three thousand men had arrived.

He said nothing, but instead extended his hand.

Someone nearby handed him a scroll; it was the roster of troops.

Li Lin flipped through it casually, then asked again: "Where is the grain ledger?"

Several Commanders nearby looked somewhat troubled and all turned to look at the Deputy Inspector beside them.

Li Lin followed their gaze, looked over, and smiled.

Xu Xingchang had originally been somewhat displeased, but upon seeing Li Lin's smile, he suddenly involuntarily shivered, and a sense of foreboding surged within his heart.

Immediately, he nodded to those few Commanders.

Not long after, a ledger was placed before Li Lin.

Li Lin did not even open the ledger; he merely glanced at it and said: "This ledger looks quite new."

The few Commanders around him had cold sweat on their foreheads.

He flipped through it casually, then laughed: "Interesting."

The ledger was recorded very crudely, but one glance was enough to reveal it was a fake account.

For if it truly recorded so many grain entries, this ledger would surely be very thick.

Moreover, most importantly, Li Lin spotted the errors within it at a single glance.

Many numbers were calculated incorrectly; all of them were under-calculated.

Xu Xingchang lowered his head and said nothing.

The other few Commanders did the same.

At this moment, Li Lin stood up, looked at the three thousand troops below, and spoke loudly: "I am your new Inspector, and I also concurrently serve as the Commandant of Yulin County. I do not know much about being an official, but I know how to be a person. I love fairness above all else. Here, I can guarantee that every single one of you will receive full pay in the coming days, and you will also receive full compensation for injuries or death. If you do not believe me, go outside and ask the local militia I brought with me!"

The entire training ground fell silent, but those low-ranking soldiers, looking into Li Lin's eyes, found them bright and clear.

The expressions of the few Commanders were strange.

And Xu Xingchang's expression... was not good at all.

Very gloomy.

(End of this chapter)