Chapter 116

In the blink of an eye,

a month passed.

Qinghe Xincheng was still under hot construction, and the General's Prefecture had already been built seven or eight tenths.

Such a massive project could only be completed by the imperial court in such a short time.

On the fairly flat official road,

an extremely long procession moved slowly.

There was not a single merchant caravan around.

The only ones who could monopolize the official road in the Yu Kingdom were naturally the military; the official road was originally prepared for transmitting intelligence and marching.

"General Cao, we are almost at Qinghe."

A middle-aged military general said excitedly.

From afar, the city walls of Qinghe could already be seen.

Cao Wei, the Assistant Regional Commander of the Anning Guard riding at the front, nodded.

"Has Jiang Linxian arrived in Qinghe?"

The middle-aged military general replied: "I heard yesterday that he just set off from Anning Prefecture; it's estimated it will take at least three days to arrive."

"Hmm."

Cao Wei gave a casual "hmm."

In the entire Anning Guard, the only one who could make him wary was Jiang Linxian.

"Jiang Linxian..."

Cao Wei said these three words in a low voice.

He was not from Yunzhou, nor even from the departments within the Annan Town range, but a person from the capital.

Originally a Sixth-Rank Vice Minister in the Ministry of War, under the instruction of the Fifth Imperial Prince, he was sent out this time to become a Proper Fifth-Rank Assistant Regional Commander.

An official from the capital is half a rank higher.

But the competitive pressure is also great; his status as the son of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works was not enough to be looked at.

Fierce generals must rise from the ranks, and prime ministers must emerge from the prefectures and counties.

Cao Wei had always been an official in the capital.

This time, the Fifth Imperial Prince also had the intention of cultivating him; only by supplementing his military experience would he have the possibility of sitting in the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War one day.

This is the benefit of having someone behind you.

Otherwise, a naive boy wouldn't know these twists and turns.

Truly capable people have long had their promotion trajectories planned, with every step calculated.

That's why it's good to have connections at court to be an official.

Before leaving the capital,

the Fifth Imperial Prince specifically told him to be wary of that Jiangdong Sword Immortal.

According to what he knew, Jiang Linxian had once met the current Son of Heaven.

This point alone was enough to make him wary; not everyone is qualified to meet the Son of Heaven.

A quarter of an hour later,

Cao Wei led over a thousand men and horses to the city gate of Qinghe.

A large group of people had long been standing in front of the gate waiting.

Ning Zhongtian, as Garrison Commander, had the highest official rank and stood at the front, followed by Wei Ming and County Magistrate Zhang, then the loyal officials of Qinghe, and Li Rui and Ge Hong, officials of the Anning Guard, at the back.

"General Cao."

Ning Zhongtian walked two steps quickly, greeting him with a face full of smiles.

"Hmm."

Cao Wei dismounted, only nodding lightly at Ning Zhongtian, and then bypassed Ning Zhongtian to walk toward County Magistrate Zhang Linkang.

What kind of person was Zhang Linkang?

He had been a county magistrate in Qinghe for over a dozen years.

He immediately understood that Cao Wei was deliberately slighting Ning Zhongtian to give him a show of force.

"Terrible."

County Magistrate Zhang's forehead was already slightly sweating.

Recalling certain rumors,

he understood that he had fallen into the disputes of big shots—an unprovoked disaster!

Ning Zhongtian looked at Cao Wei and smiled faintly.

This had long been within his expectations.

"County Magistrate, Zhang Linkang?"

Cao Wei asked.

County Magistrate Zhang nodded repeatedly: "It is indeed this humble official."

Cao Wei was previously a Director in the Ministry of War, a proper capital official, an existence that County Magistrate Zhang couldn't even find the door to if he went to the capital; now he was a Proper Fifth-Rank Assistant Regional Commander, and he absolutely dared not offend him.

Cao Wei put his hands behind his back:

"Let's go, take me to see how the new city is built."

"Yes, yes."

County Magistrate Zhang bowed his waist, nodding fawningly. Where was there any appearance of a blue-sky official?

Afterward,

the newly appointed Assistant Regional Commander Cao inspected the new city and then returned to the General's Prefecture with satisfaction.

Sending off this big master,

Wei Ming finally let out a long sigh of relief and muttered: "What great official prestige!"

Ge Hong agreed deeply.

With such a superior, the days ahead would not be easy.

Ning Zhongtian patted Wei Ming on the shoulder: "When Elder Jiang comes, we should be able to be more comfortable."

He was Lei Yong's man.

Given the relationship between Lei Yong and Jiang Linxian, in Cao Wei's eyes, he automatically became a member of Jiang Linxian's faction.

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It would be strange if he could have a good expression for him.

The difficulties in the future would certainly not be few.

Of course, with Jiang Linxian checking and balancing, it would be difficult for Cao Wei to go too far.

These roles were just performances for the big shots behind them.

Li Rui didn't speak.

His mind was full of Cao Wei's appearance covered in golden light.

Originally, he thought Jiang Linxian's equipment was already that of a "pay-to-win" big shot, but compared to Cao Wei, it was even a few notches weaker.

"Worthy of being someone from the capital."

He secretly clicked his tongue.

"Let's go."

Ning Zhongtian was broad-minded; after sending off Cao Wei, he calmly led Wei Ming and the others toward the military camp.

Calling it a military camp,

it was actually a large residential area.

These were places for the soldiers of the Anning Guard to live.

The Anning Guard had over a thousand people in total, with five soldiers to a room for ordinary soldiers, one room for officers above the rank of Platoon Leader, and the higher the rank, the larger the area of the residence.

Li Rui was a Provisions Officer, Proper Eighth-Rank.

The residence he was assigned was smaller than the one at the Qinghe Branch of the Tiandi Alliance before; after all, his official position here was the smallest.

Provisions Officer.

As the name implies, it is an official in charge of provisions.

In ancient times, when marching and fighting, provisions were the top priority. If you couldn't eat your fill, how could you win a battle?

These provisions were not just wheat and soybeans, but also spirit pills, cultivation methods, weapons... the kickbacks were terrifyingly high.

Of course,

these didn't have much to do with Li Rui, this tiny Provisions Officer.

Simply put,

he was still a warehouse manager.

The power of allocation only belonged to those at the level of Garrison Commander; he was only responsible for registration. There were several other Provisions Officers like him in the Anning Guard.

Each was in charge of a warehouse, some managing pills, some managing weapons.

Li Rui happened to be in charge of cultivation methods.

"Could it be that I am destined to be a librarian?"

Bidding farewell to Ning Zhongtian and the others, Li Rui returned to his residence; today was truly a day of tossing and turning.

He had just walked into the residence.

"Old Li, you're back."

He heard Yang Yong's voice coming out.

Li Rui moved to the new city, and Yang Yong and Wang Zhao naturally followed.

Unlike border armies,

the Annan Town had only over twenty thousand people in total, and each guard battalion had about a thousand people; such a number was very different from the guard battalions of over ten thousand people in border prefectures.

Of course, this was also because of the different functions.

Therefore, although the Annan Army had fewer people, they were all elites.

It was not like the border armies where anyone willing to risk their life could join the army.

The treatment was naturally extraordinary.

They were even allowed to keep concubines in their own residences for high-ranking officers.

As long as they didn't delay official business, generally no one would care.

The days were incredibly comfortable.

Besides that, the reserves of spirit pills and cultivation methods were even stronger than most sects.

If not for this, why would those people squeeze their brains out wanting to join the Annan Army?

Wasn't it because the treatment was too good, the status was high, and they were the favorites of mothers-in-law?

(End of chapter)