Chapter 28: Offering Congratulations

"From this day forward, Chen Mo shall be my thirteenth adopted son." At the banquet rewarding the many Personal Soldiers of the armor-evaluation, Sun Jiangjun patted Chen Mo on the shoulder and announced this news to everyone.

The many veteran soldiers were not at all surprised by this; as early as when they saw Chen Mo lift the eight-hundred-catty stone wheel, they had already guessed this point.

They all smiled and offered congratulations to Sun Jiangjun and Chen Mo, congratulating the two of them—one for taking an adopted son, and the other for paying respects to an adopted father.

There were also quite a few people who tried to establish a connection with Chen Mo; they were of the same clan as Sun Jiangjun, and since Chen Mo had now taken Sun Jiangjun as his adopted father, they could also be considered to have some relation to him.

As for those few new recruits, they were somewhat bewildered by this, completely unaware of why Chen Mo would suddenly be taken as an adopted son by Sun Jiangjun.

But they also understood that from this moment on, Chen Mo was different from them.

Being able to take Sun Jiangjun as an adopted father showed that he was highly regarded by Sun Jiangjun, and the path he would walk in the future would certainly be different from them, these ordinary Personal Soldiers.

Chen Mo held his wine bowl and returned the toasts of everyone who congratulated him one by one, while his other hand never stopped either; he had to drink the wine, and of course, he had to eat the food as well.

Although it had not been long since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he was indeed craving meat right now.

A high consumption of Qi and Blood meant he could eat more, and being able to eat more meant he was more easily hungry.

Braised pork knuckles, roast chicken, tender and juicy lamb chops, and fist-sized four-joy meatballs were mixed together and sent into his stomach.

Chen Mo's stomach and intestines had already undergone a Mortal Transformation nourished by Qi and Blood, and these foods would be digested by him very cleanly.

If not for this, he was afraid that besides eating, the most important thing for him right now would be going to the latrine.

"Come, bottoms up." Chen Mo downed a bowl of rice wine and knocked out the last person in front of him.

This person was also an adopted son of Sun Jiangjun, considered his seventh brother, named Zhao Yuncheng.

Sun Jiangjun had taken quite a few adopted sons; besides himself, the only ones in the military camp were Mo Dao, Mo Hu, and Zhao Yuncheng.

The others had either performed meritorious service and become Martial Officials in other places, or had died on the battlefield.

Watching the other Personal Soldiers who were either sprawled or slumped over on the tables or the ground, Chen Mo grabbed the pork knuckle that still had half left on the table and began to gnaw on it wantonly.

He had indeed drunk quite a bit of wine, and his mind was somewhat hazy, but he still hadn't forgotten to eat.

These rice wines he had drunk would be digested and absorbed in a short time under his powerful internal organs.

Relying solely on this rice wine to make him completely drunk was indeed a certain difficulty.

With no one else to disturb him, Chen Mo finally let go and continued to feast to his heart's content.

By the time he had eaten until his belly was round, the tipsiness on his body had also dissipated.

"I say, Adopted Father, are you not drunk?" Chen Mo was just preparing to swipe some dishes when he suddenly thought of this point and asked in a lowered voice.

With his own strength, he couldn't even get drunk drinking this rice wine; Sun Jiangjun's strength was far superior to his own, so how could he possibly be drunk?

"I say, you brat, I'm drunk and you don't help me back to my room, but you're only thinking of swiping some dishes to take back to eat. I really can't figure it out, why did I take such an adopted son as you!"

Seeing that he had been exposed, Sun Shouren no longer continued to pretend, and rose to laugh and scold.

His face was red and his ears were hot, and his whole body was full of the smell of alcohol, but his eyes and consciousness were still considered clear.

In fact, Chen Mo had swiped dishes every time before, and he had seen it all in his eyes, but he had never taken it to heart.

Being able to eat is good; being able to eat is a blessing, and people who can eat have fewer ulterior motives.

If it were someone who spent all day pondering this and calculating that, they wouldn't have the heart to eat happily every day.

"Then shall I help you back to rest, old man?" Chen Mo said as he was about to reach out.

"Forget it, I can go back myself." Sun Shouren waved his hand, then immediately instructed, "Come find me at the hour of the rabbit tomorrow; I have something to entrust to you."

After finishing, he turned and left.

"Walk slowly, Adopted Father, this child understands." Chen Mo bowed and saluted, watching Sun Jiangjun leave.

He also had something to ask Sun Jiangjun for help with; going to see him tomorrow would be just the right time to bring it up.

He wanted to ask Sun Jiangjun to help first, to redeem Zhao Yu and get her out.

It was just that today he hadn't found an opportunity to ask him for help in private; he must find this opportunity tomorrow no matter what.

Watching him leave, Chen Mo picked up a large bowl and picked and chose from several tables, and soon picked out two large bowls full of meat dishes.

Returning to his own barracks, Chen Mo picked up the peach blossom cakes and osmanthus sugar on the side, and ate a little more to fill the gaps.

…………

The next day was still the same as usual; he woke up extremely early, first practiced his fist techniques twice to warm up his body, then went to the mess hall to eat twenty steamed buns, 8 mantou, and drank a few bowls of porridge.

Estimating that it was about time, he then set off to pay his respects to Sun Jiangjun.

"Adopted Father." Chen Mo walked into the study and bowed.

"Get up, there is no need for us to be bowing all the time." Although he said this, he was clearly quite satisfied with Chen Mo's posture.

"Since you want to take the Martial Imperial Examination, are you literate, and how many characters do you know?"

Even to take the Martial Imperial Examination, candidates must be literate and know how to read and write military books and Policy Essays; it is impossible to pass by only knowing martial arts.

"Replying to Adopted Father, I know some characters, but not many." Chen Mo answered.

"Oh!" Sun Shouren was slightly surprised; he really didn't expect that Chen Mo could actually be literate. This was indeed quite rare among a group of common soldiers.

Even among the Personal Soldiers under his command, one wouldn't dare say that everyone was literate; only some who came from better backgrounds knew a few.

"Look at this book and see how many characters you know." He pulled a book from the table and handed it over.

Chen Mo held it with both hands and opened it carefully. Judging from the text above, this should be a simple military book, not too difficult. Basically, he knew more than fifty percent of the characters, and for the rest, he could only guess.

"I know the rest, but I can only rely on guessing for these characters." Chen Mo opened a page and pointed out the characters he didn't know one by one.

"That's not bad. Later, go and learn from Zhao Xiansheng for a period of time; it will be enough to read simple military books."

Sun Shouren nodded with satisfaction. It is said that if you understand one thing, you understand a hundred. Since Chen Mo already knew quite a few characters, the subsequent learning would naturally be much easier than for the illiterate Personal Soldiers.

"Besides reading and writing, you must read various military books. To earn a Martial merit, you must also learn to ride a horse. Later, find your fifth brother and have him take you to practice horse riding. He has the merit of a Martial Cultivated Talent, and you can also ask him how to take the Cultivated Talent examination." Sun Shouren instructed.

"Fifth Brother also has a merit?" Chen Mo was slightly surprised; he had never heard Mo Hu mention this matter.

"Of course he does. If he hadn't had the merit and been temporarily conscripted under my command back then, he probably wouldn't have become my adopted son." Sun Shouren clarified.

Once the Imperial Court starts a war, those with the merit of a Martial Cultivated Talent, regardless of whether they have an official position or not, will be conscripted into the army by the Imperial Court.

"If you can pass the Martial Cultivated Talent examination, I will pull some strings and incorporate you into the garrison troops under my command. If a war breaks out, you will go on an expedition with me, and after arriving at the border pass, I will let you lead a unit alone."

Sun Shouren spoke his promise; the men he could use under his command were still too few. Originally there were many, but the losses last time were too great, and it was not just Personal Soldiers who were lost, but many elites as well.

As a fifth-rank Martial Official, if placed at the border, he could command at least ten thousand men, and most of the time, even more.

To control his troops well, he could not rely solely on ordinary Personal Soldiers; he needed Personal Soldiers capable of serving as Colonels, for only by relying on them could he fully command his troops.

If the Colonels under him were not of one mind with him and lacked sufficient rapport, then once a real battle started, he would likely only be able to control the Personal Soldiers in his own hands, plus at most two or three Colonels.

Once the others started fighting, they would inevitably fall into chaos as each acted on their own.

Compared to ordinary Personal Soldiers, this type of Colonel was the hardest to cultivate.

A Colonel already held an official rank; according to the Great Gan system, anyone wishing to serve must possess a legitimate academic degree, at least that of a Cultivated Talent.

It was true that he could use certain methods to allow someone without a degree to temporarily hold this position.

But that would be useless; what he needed was not just a Colonel, but someone with the ability to serve as a Colonel.

If they had the ability, then passing the Cultivated Talent exam naturally wouldn't be difficult; if they couldn't even pass that, then any talent they claimed to have was likely just bragging.

The number of men under him currently capable of holding this position did not exceed ten at most; he needed to cultivate at least eleven or twelve more to barely have enough.

Moreover, given Chen Mo's aptitude, his Martial Dao cultivation would definitely not be poor; he needed to put in the effort to cultivate him well, and perhaps when they reached the battlefield, he could become his right-hand man.

If nothing else, just based on this strength of his, equipping him with Heavy Armor to serve as a vanguard would definitely not be a bad choice.

(End of this chapter)