Chapter 174

First Volume, Chapter 174: Fulfilling a Promise

A prototype in one month, tangible results in three months, and no funds from the Ministry of Revenue.

Qin Feng's mind raced, his abacus clicking furiously inside his head.

The Liang Emperor deliberately omitted the exact numbers of these two forces, effectively implying: If you try to fool me with just dozens or a few hundred men, don't blame me for being unforgiving.

In ancient times, military formations had no fixed numbers; troop counts often fluctuated, but there were general benchmarks.

According to Qin Feng's knowledge, the Liang Kingdom's military structure largely followed the Zhou Ritual system.

One army: over twelve thousand men.

One division: about two thousand five hundred men.

One brigade: five hundred men.

One battalion: one hundred.

One squad: five men.

The "tuansystem" as a unit of organization belonged to the fu-bing system and was not implemented in the Liang Kingdom.

Aside from the twentyfold difference between squad and battalion, all other levels followed a fivefold progression.

Commanding a division-level force requires at least a general's rank; even if you could build one, you must not—lest the Emperor grow suspicious later!

You casually assemble a division-level force? If I don't punish you now, should I wait until the New Year?

After careful thought, the safest level was brigade.

Two brigade-level forces amounted to only one thousand men.

But then he realized something was off.

After months of effort, if the Liang Emperor saw only this small number, he'd accuse Qin Feng of deceiving the throne.

Therefore, these two brigades must be trained into the elite among elites, each soldier capable of holding off ten, to silence the Liang Emperor's complaints.

This would cost a fortune!

The training cost for a single soldier, including all miscellaneous expenses, was at least five taels of silver—this didn't even include weapons or equipment.

If both brigades were trained like special forces, expenditures would be at least ten times higher!

Just training costs alone would exceed ten thousand liang.

Then there were weapons, equipment, provisions, and pay…

Just thinking about it made Qin Feng's head throb.

Seeing Qin Feng bow his head in silence, the Liang Emperor raised an eyebrow: "Troubled?"

Words spoken cannot be taken back; Qin Feng dared not retract, or the Crime of Deceiving the Emperor would be confirmed.

Though his heart bled, Qin Feng forced a bold smile: "Three months it is—but I have a humble request."

The Liang Emperor sneered—he knew this brat had a trick up his sleeve—and feigned indifference: "Speak."

Anything related to military readiness required real silver to be spent.

Moreover, Qin Feng held no official title; he treated this as a business deal, no longer hiding his true intentions, revealing a smile that appeared loyal in his own eyes but struck the Liang Emperor as utterly deceitful.

"I have three requests, Your Majesty, please decide."

"First, I intend to build a Gongfang dedicated to manufacturing tools, primarily for civilian use, but also including some weapons."

This idea was extremely dangerous—especially regarding private weapon production, which could cost one's head—so Qin Feng immediately added: "These weapons will be used solely to equip the New Army; no private use. All blueprints and prototypes will be submitted unconditionally to the Ministry of Works."

"But now, during this critical phase of military preparation, the Di certainly won't sit idle—they'll send Imperial Spies to infiltrate the Liang Kingdom. To prevent leaks of military secrets, I propose that weapon production be fully transferred to the Ministry of Works after the war. Until then, let my Gongfang handle it."

Hearing Qin Feng speak of "private weapon production," Qin Tianhu broke into a cold sweat, desperate to stop his idiot son—but he couldn't, and he wanted to kick him hard.

The ministers also stared in shock, wondering why Qin Feng, favored by the Emperor, would take such a reckless risk.

This was a foolish move!

The Liang Emperor hesitated, unable to decide immediately, and told Qin Feng to continue.

This outcome was expected by Qin Feng; he remained calm and pressed on: "Second, before the war with Di is settled, the Commander of the New Army must be chosen by me. Please do not appoint anyone midway—otherwise, poor coordination will prevent the New Army from reaching its full potential."

"Third, during this period of military preparation, all my actions shall be classified as Jiwei, exempt from interference by the Six Ministries and the Twenty-Four Departments, and directly overseen by Your Majesty—for a term of three years."

At this point, Li Xu should have stepped forward to oppose him.

But the opposite happened—the entire Taihe Gate fell silent; ministers lowered their heads, pretending not to care.

First, no official wanted to oppose the Qin Family at this critical deadline. Second, Qin Feng's three requests were too sensitive and bold—no one wanted to get involved.

Let the Qin Family bear the blame—it won't crush anyone else!

The Liang Emperor pondered for a long while before speaking: "I will allow you to appoint the Commander of the New Army as you wish—I won't interfere. As for building the weapons Gongfang, it's acceptable—but you must submit the Bingqitupi to the Ministry of Works immediately. Who better to prevent infiltration than the Ministry of Works? As for the Gongfang's privileges, three years is too long—only one year!"

Though all his benefits were halved by the Liang Emperor.

Qin Feng's face showed distress, but inside he was ecstatic.

He'd feared the Liang Emperor would refuse outright—or worse, strip him of the "private weapon production" right—so he'd inflated his demands. Even halved, the outcome far exceeded his expectations.

And among these three demands, only the last one truly mattered.

One year of privilege was more than enough for Qin Feng to make a fortune.

With the Emperor's decree protecting him, Qin Feng silently marveled—worth staying up all night for this damn Early Court.

When he left the Imperial Palace and returned home, the sky was still pitch black.

After a post-survival "whipping" from Qin Tianhu, Qin Feng rubbed his sore backside, feeling wronged, and each went to his own courtyard to catch up on sleep.

He'd barely closed his eyes when he was woken again—rising to find the entire household in chaos, servants and maids rushing about preparing food. He learned that officials and nobles from Jingzhong had sent Military Dispatches the night before, all coming to visit today.

Qin Feng wasn't surprised—after all, at the Qingyi Ceremony, he'd been too flashy.

Hard to stay low-key.

As for Qin Tianhu, he'd gone to court again.

As a key minister, he was required to attend court three times daily: Early Court, Midday Court, and Third Court.

Early Court was at dawn, Midday Court at morning, and Third Court at afternoon. In short, most of the day was spent circling around the Sacred Person's side—this high minister's position was not for just anyone; just the sheer exhaustion made Qin Feng keep his distance...

All those high officials, those who stood at the pinnacle of power—take it for free, I wouldn't accept it!

As for today's family banquet, Qin Feng resisted it fiercely.

Better to take a bird on your shoulder and bring Xiaofu out for a stroll through the streets, gazing at young maidens and newlywed wives.

Qin Feng gritted his teeth in his heart—screw the family banquet!

He immediately summoned Lin Quqi to handle things at home, then took Qin Xiaofu and Shu Feng and dashed out of Fu Men, heading straight for the City Patrol Bureau.

But they hadn't gone far before they ran into the Ning family's carriage.

Ning Hu pulled back the curtain and stuck out his head, exclaiming excitedly: "Brother Qin! I was just on my way to your mansion—where are you headed?"

Qin Feng replied irritably: "What's there to visit? I'm going to find Xu Mo—are you coming or not?"