Chapter 6: Recruiting Personal Soldiers

"This..." Ma Cai revealed a hint of a smile on his face, unwilling to continue speaking further.

If Chen Mo helped him this time, then he would naturally inform him of this matter. If he did not help him, then he would not speak of this matter for no reason.

"You two go get the silver, I will go talk to Master He about this." Chen Mo pondered for a moment and agreed.

He was quite interested in that good opportunity; Ma Cai had some connections at home, so the good opportunity he spoke of should not be a lie.

"It's already prepared; the silver we've made during this time is all here." Ma Cai hurriedly took a heavy, grey-black cloth bundle from his Huai, and one could tell at a glance that it contained quite a few copper coins.

Chen Mo took the cloth bundle, picked up the lotus leaf chicken, and then stood up to walk toward the barracks where He Maguan lived.

Seeing this, Ma Cai and Ding Bao followed closely behind him, step by step.

The barracks where He Maguan lived were relatively more spacious, and the interior furnishings and displays were also more complete.

He was currently sitting on a lounge chair, smoking a dry pipe in a desultory manner.

Seeing Chen Mo arrive carrying the lotus leaf chicken, his eyes could not help but narrow slightly.

"What, you brat, are you treating me to chicken today?"

"No, this chicken was bought by Ding Bao and Ma Cai to show their filial respect to you, Elder." Chen Mo picked up a rag to wipe the table, unwrapped the chicken, and placed it on the table.

He Maguan's expression changed, his gaze looking toward the door, "Offering favors without a reason—either a traitor or a thief!"

Chen Mo raised his brows, his heart having seven or eight parts of a guess.

"You, Elder, know about them secretly selling horse manure behind your back?"

He Maguan let out a cold snort, tore off a chicken leg, looked toward the door, and said, "They could hide it for a day or two, but could they hide it from me for a month or two!"

He had been struggling in this army for decades; what trickery did he not understand?

He had noticed this matter a few days ago; the reason he let Chen Mo go shovel manure was also to see if he knew about this matter, and if he would hide it from him together with them after knowing.

If the three of them really joined forces to hide it from him, then even if it were troublesome to replace all three at once, he would still have to replace them.

Outside the door, Ma Cai and Ding Bao's faces turned pale, their bodies trembling like chaff, and they could not help but feel a wave of relief in their hearts.

Fortunately, they listened to Chen Mo's advice and took the initiative to confess the whole matter to He Maguan.

Otherwise, all that awaited the two of them would be military punishment.

"Don't be too angry, Elder; the two of them already know they were wrong, and the money made during this time is all here." Chen Mo took the money bag and handed it to He Maguan.

He weighed it in his hand, and the anger on his face immediately diminished by three or four parts.

He was angry, not because the two of them secretly sold horse manure, but because the two of them had actually been hiding it from him all along and not sharing the money with him.

In their eyes, there was simply not a shred of respect for him, this Horse Official!

"The two of them didn't do this on purpose, Elder, don't be too angry, or you'll ruin your health." Chen Mo advised repeatedly.

"All of you, get in here!" He Maguan shouted angrily toward the door.

Ma Cai and Ding Bao were trembling with fear, heads lowered as they shuffled into the room.

"Today, seeing as Chen Mo is pleading for you two, I will no longer pursue your mistakes!" He Maguan's expression was serious.

He actually did not want to make too big a scene out of this; if others knew that such a thing had happened in the Stable he managed, he would lose face as well.

He had thought before that if all three were hiding it from him, then he would have no choice but to replace everyone.

If only two were hiding it from him, then giving them a sound beating and observing their future behavior would suffice; there was no need to make a big fuss.

And now that the two had taken the initiative to hand over the money they had embezzled, it was not impossible for him to let them off the hook.

"Many thanks, Master He!" The two were covered in sweat, their hearts finally relaxing.

He Maguan did not say much, but his gaze toward Ding Bao was still full of annoyance and disappointment.

It was one thing for Ma Cai to hide it from him, but Ding Bao had been with him for more than two years, yet he had colluded with an outsider to hide it from him—this was the point that made him the angriest!

"From now on, both of you behave yourselves and don't harbor any improper thoughts again!" He scolded in a low voice.

The two naturally nodded repeatedly, not daring to utter a single word.

"From now on, if there is such a thing again, I will take half the money, and the remaining half will be split among the three of you." He Maguan did not intend to stop this matter.

Even though he had some status in this camp, military pay was issued sporadically; being able to have some extra income was naturally for the best.

Ding Bao's expression turned joyful; he had originally thought that since Master He already knew about this in advance, he would probably never be able to make money again.

Now it seemed there was still hope; although it would be less, it was still better than having nothing at all.

Not to mention that with He Maguan participating, this matter could be even more secure.

"Alright, get lost." He Maguan waved his hand.

Ma Cai and Ding Bao felt as if they had been granted amnesty; their steps were not large, but their speed was quite fast.

Chen Mo stood up to leave as well, but was stopped by He Maguan reaching out to hold him back.

"Regarding this matter of secretly selling manure, keep an eye on it in the future, especially that Ma Cai; don't let him cause any more trouble."

"He has some connections at home and will be transferred sooner or later; you all still have to continue feeding horses here with me." He Maguan's tone softened slightly as he gave instructions.

"Understood." Chen Mo naturally knew that even a small connection was still a connection; Ma Cai would not be like these common Soldiers, continuing to toil here for too long.

He only wanted to steadily accumulate Qi and Blood now and did not want to provoke other matters.

"Take this chicken back to eat, and keep this money for yourself." He Maguan carefully counted out a hundred or so copper coins from the cloth bundle and handed them to Chen Mo.

"Yes!" He did not refuse, carefully tucked the money into his Huai, and carried the chicken back to his own camp.

Ma Cai was lying on the bed resting, his body covered in a foul odor; Chen Mo had long since grown accustomed to the smell in the air, tore off a fatty chicken leg, and began to feast.

"Brother Mo is back." Seeing him return, Ma Cai hurriedly sat up from the bed.

"Master He even let you bring this chicken back!" When he said this, he could not help but swallow his saliva.

The treatment of horsemen was much better than that of ordinary Soldiers, but they rarely had meat to eat; usually, at most, they would steal a couple of eggs.

"Let's eat together, and just happen to tell me what good opportunity you have." Chen Mo greeted him warmly and tore off a chicken wing to hand to him.

"Do you know General Sun Shouren?" Ma Cai leaned in and lowered his voice.

Chen Mo shook his head slightly; he had been here for too short a time, and he hadn't even fully figured out the situation inside the military camp yet.

"In another month or two, Sun Jiangjun is coming here to recruit Personal Soldiers." He wore a solemn expression, clearly believing that what he said was true.

"Is this for real? I've never heard of any general recruiting Personal Soldiers from the barracks."

Chen Mo's tone was slightly skeptical, wanting to pry more information out of Ma Cai.

So-called Personal Soldiers, also known as retainers, are the most important troops for a general.

Often, whether a battle can be won depends on whether the number and strength of the Personal Soldiers under one's command are sufficient.

And for Personal Soldiers, the most important thing is to be close to the general.

Generally speaking, they are either of the same clan or from the same hometown, and are basically all related to the general himself.

As for recruiting Personal Soldiers directly from the barracks, few generals do that.

"You don't know about this, do you? As far as I know, Sun Jiangjun won a great victory a while ago, but too many of his Personal Soldiers were lost. Therefore, he specifically requested the Emperor to transfer him back to our Xingyuan Prefecture to garrison and train troops.

And since Sun Jiangjun is also from our Xingyuan Prefecture, that is why he is selecting Personal Soldiers from here." Ma Cai leaned very close to Chen Mo, lowering his voice even further.

The number of able-bodied men from the same clan or hometown is limited; if too many are lost at once, it is very difficult to replenish them.

If one wants to recruit more Personal Soldiers, one can only expand the scope of recruitment and then spend more time training the troops.

"This matter is so important, how do you know about it?" Chen Mo expressed slight suspicion.

Troop movements and the appointments of generals can be considered secrets of the Imperial Court; how could Ma Cai easily learn of such a secret?

"A distant cousin of mine married one of Sun Jiangjun's Personal Soldiers, and the Imperial Court sent her a pension a while ago. My family inquired about it many times, and that is how we found out. You must not tell anyone else."

The reason Ma Cai only told Chen Mo about this and no one else was because he had his own selfish motives.

Being able to read and write, even if only a few characters, is considered rare among the rank-and-file soldiers.

With his ability to read, Chen Mo might be able to be selected for the Personal Soldier battalion, and if they stuck together then, it would be better than going in alone.

Even if Chen Mo failed to be selected as a Personal Soldier, with his literacy, it was unlikely he would be stuck struggling at the bottom forever.

Being on good terms with him might be helpful in the future, and all he had to pay was a piece of news that everyone would know sooner or later; it was definitely a sure-fire deal.

Chen Mo silently noted this matter in his heart; if he could really become a Personal Soldier, not only would his treatment improve and he could better accumulate Qi and Blood, but most importantly, his status and position would also rise.

When that time came, he could figure out how to redeem Zhao Yu; Chen Mo had always remembered this matter.

If she hadn't given him her indenture money, he wouldn't know if he were dead or alive right now.

Since he had promised her back then that he would help her redeem herself, he must do it.

(End of chapter)