Chapter 533: Heroic Outlaw

Chen Baojia's logic left Chen Wuji thinking for a while, unable to sort out the sequence.

So let's leave it at that; after all, it's not anything too urgent.

What truly surprises Chen Wuji now is Chen Baojia's cavalry unit.

Where the hell did this come from?

If he remembers correctly, Chen Baojia's force apparently had no cavalry at all, nor any armor.

Where did this armor come from?

"What's going on with this cavalry?" Chen Wuji asked.

Chen Baojia said, his face stern yet tinged with a bit of simple honesty: "I beat it into them—if any little bastard won't learn, I'll beat him to death; after a few beatings, most of these kids pick it up. If it weren't for the village lacking warhorses now, my whole unit could be cavalry."

"And the armor?"

"Family Head, you ask about this—armor naturally comes from the armory workshop."

Hearing this, Chen Wuji flared up instantly: "You little brat, you're taking advantage of being close to the water, aren't you?"

What are the others supposed to do if you do this?

"It's not scarcity we fear, but inequality—Chen Baojia's clan troops are now armored; what about Yang Tiejiang's and Qian Fugui's followers?"

"Will their hearts feel unbalanced?"

"If not for that, Chen Wuji would have already produced a batch of armor and assigned it."

"How many armor sets has the workshop produced?" In front of all these people, Chen Wuji couldn't say certain things outright, so he had to find another way—since the clan troops were already armored, he couldn't very well strip the armor off them.

But this incident gave him a heads-up: such favoritism must be stamped out in the future.

"A thousand sets!" Chen Baojia said.

"San Shu said, given your temperament, Family Head, this batch of armor certainly wouldn't be equipped to a single unit, so he split it into three shares, evenly divided among three units. I've brought the remaining armor with me."

Chen Wuji: ……

Some people seemed to have anticipated him.

This blew up, and it seems the words were spoken too early.

"How did this batch of armor get done so fast?" Chen Wuji, unwilling to let himself be embarrassed, immediately followed up.

Chen Baojia stared blankly at Chen Wuji, saying, "Family Head, we have lots of people in the workshop—over a thousand now. One person can make a set of armor in about half a month. And since you ordered division of labor, with each handling a part, the speed has seemed to pick up a bit."

"I'm not sure exactly how much faster, but it's definitely quicker than before. With over a thousand people working for more than two months, turning out a thousand armor sets seems rather slow."

"But San Shu also explained that earlier everyone was unskilled; now practice makes perfect, so it naturally goes faster."

As a qualified hands-off shopkeeper, Chen Wuji truly found himself unable to stay uninvolved.

He felt as if Chen Baojia had looked down on him.

But this probably isn't really his fault—he has too many things to worry about each day to keep track of every detail's progress.

In Chen Wuji's feeling, the armory workshop seems to have only just started operations.

But upon reflection, it really has been over two months.

The Xishan Village, whose construction was launched at the onset of winter, is now eyeing the approaching year-end.

"Later, send someone to deliver this batch of armor to the Sheep Commandant, and Qian Fugui's… you take it back yourself." Chen Wuji ordered, "To keep you lot from grinding your teeth in my presence, once the armor comes out in a batch, I'll divide it equally among the three units—how you split it is your business; just don't bother me."

On this point, Chen Bushi proved truly perceptive.

He had already arranged it long ago.

"Yes!" Qian Fugui replied loudly, hurried over, and gave Chen Baojia a meaningful look, saying, "Old Chen, where did you stash the armor? Hurry up and show me!"

"Right on the horse, I hauled it over with the warhorse." Chen Baojia said, "Right, right, I almost forgot—the officers' armor is different; so far we've only made a few sets for ourselves."

"The officers' armor isn't the same as the ordinary soldiers'?" Qian Fugui's eyes lit up at once.

Chen Wuji said, "Naturally they're different—if soldiers and officers had the same gear, you'd be grinding your teeth at me again; by regulation it couldn't be the same."

He waved his hand, "You go handle this; after you're done, we'll have the government council."

"Yes!"

The two clasped fists in acceptance; before they could lower their hands, Qian Fugui dragged Chen Baojia away.

Cheng Zhiheng kept looking over the Chen clan troops' armor, and on the way back he asked curiously, "My lord, to this subordinate, these armors seem quite different from the court's."

"The court's armor has many shortcomings; I've tweaked it a bit, but as long as the court approves, we're still its people." Chen Wuji said.

Cheng Zhiheng quickly bowed and explained, "My lord, I don't mean that—I'm saying this armor bears a mighty, imposing aura that looks better than the court's."

Since Qin Feng and the others arrived in Hezhou, the former highest official of the Hezhou Prefecture Office suddenly felt a surge of survival instinct, completely committing to follow Chen Wuji's footsteps, resolved to go all the way.

"Since it's an improvement, it definitely has to be better than the court's version." Chen Wuji said.

He doesn't know much about armor, but he knows a little, and he's clear on what's good and what's bad.

Back at the prefecture office, everyone took their seats in Qinzhi Hall.

Chen Wuji, as usual, greeted Xu Zhang to brew tea, then got straight to the point: "Regarding the alliance with San Guan Jun, what do you think? In this tea talk, speak freely—don't hold back."

Zhang Xun spoke first: "My lord, Yang Jinglve is no ordinary man; his scheming runs deep. My humble opinion is that we can ally during internal and external troubles, but if there's no major enemy outside, we must guard against him."

Cheng Zhiheng didn't wait for Zhang Xun to sit before immediately adding, "My lord, I share this view as well."

"Yang Yu is overly easygoing, his words and deeds always give the impression of a kindly old fellow, yet in San Guan Jun he employs outright thunderbolt tactics, a stark contrast, coupled with his talent for reading people—this man must be guarded against."

"This subordinate lacks the ability to see through a person like Yang Yu, but people of his sort are generally extremely troublesome; one could say he bears the mien of a heroic outlaw, merely very adept at hiding himself."

Chen Wuji was somewhat surprised.

What Zhang Xun and Cheng Zhiheng said was something he had never considered.

As for Yang Yu, he now has a rough idea of what kind of person he is, yet on the contrary he feels admiration for Yang Yu's loyalty, but doesn't think he poses much of a threat.

"Do you all think Yang Yu has other designs?" Chen Wuji asked.

Zhang Xun said, "My lord, he isn't necessarily harboring ulterior motives. If he is a true loyalist, he might not just dislike Ping'an Lu; he could take issue with every force around him."

"If he isn't a loyalist, then he must be a heroic outlaw; after stabilizing San Guan Jun, he'd likely consider annexation and expanding his power."