Chapter 89 - 73: Wings Growing Stronger

Chapter 89: Chapter 73: Wings Growing Stronger

It would still take some time to completely change the Black Mountain Guard to the surname Zheng.

"Damn it, if I were in the Primordial Pill Realm now and rallied the troops, why would I need all these deceitful schemes?" Zheng Jun sighed inwardly, feeling that after all this scheming and calculating, his heroic image had been somewhat compromised.

The recruitment went quite smoothly, and the troops were soon fully enlisted. The unselected Martial Artists felt down and thoroughly frustrated; they could only leave the Military Department under the leadership of the two Martial Arts Hall Masters, Ma Zhiyuan and Xu Tianfang. On the training ground, military flags fluttered in the wind, and war drums beat rhythmically.

Having selected the new recruits, he organized his Personal Soldier Squad. Xu Zhilei served as the Crew Leader, and Du Ding served as the Deputy Crew Leader. The remaining five Blood Refining Martial Artists naturally took on the roles of Decurion for the five ten-man units under the Personal Soldier Squad.

Among those selected, aside from Xu Zhilei’s slightly unnatural expression, everyone else was extremely excited. They felt that serving under the legendary Captain Zheng was an immense honor! As Captain Zheng’s Personal Guards, their futures were naturally boundless.

After the troops were selected, Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi was the first to stand up. He cautiously cupped his hands toward Zheng Jun and said, "Since Captain Zheng has finished selecting the soldiers, and there are still many matters to attend to at the County Government Office, I will take my leave first."

The two County Magistrates and the Historian had all died, so all the affairs of the County Government Office now fell into his hands as the Chief Clerk. He was naturally overwhelmed with work and hadn’t wanted to come initially, but upon hearing that Zheng Jun was recruiting troops, he had feared slighting Zheng Jun’s pride and thus squeezed out the time to attend. Now that the recruitment was over, he naturally had to hurry back to handle official business.

"Thank you for your trouble, Chief Clerk Shen," Zheng Jun said, returning the salute to Shen Yunyi, with whom he had no grievances. This man was probably the only one among the officials in the County Government Office who had no conflict of interest with him.

Before leaving, however, Shen Yunyi paused to think, gritted his teeth, and leaned close to Zheng Jun. He whispered, "If Captain Zheng has any orders in the future, please feel free to instruct me. I... I am also willing to serve Captain Zheng."

Hearing Shen Yunyi’s words, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned. He didn’t say a word, only nodding slowly.

Seeing Zheng Jun nod, a smile appeared on Shen Yunyi’s face. He then respectfully cupped his hands in farewell and walked briskly back to the County Government Office. Meanwhile, Cai Xun witnessed the entire exchange from the sidelines. Although he hadn’t heard exactly what Shen Yunyi had said, he could guess a few things just by looking at the man’s demeanor. His expression instantly became complicated.

It seemed this Black Mountain County was about to take on the surname Zheng. He just didn’t know if the replacement officials sent by the Court would be able to contend with this Zheng San.

Cai Xun now felt that the grand ambitions he had previously stirred up had entirely dissipated. If he couldn’t even grasp a single county, how could he talk about conquering the world? He might as well go back with peace of mind and coast through the rest of his life. After all, he had unearthed this excellent seedling, Zheng Jun, giving the Cai Family an opportunity for an early investment. He could already rest on his laurels and enjoy his good fortune.

Taking a deep breath, Cai Xun also stepped forward. He forced a smile and said to Zheng Jun, "Sanlang, you have made a great contribution this time, and the Commandery should have a major reward for you. According to the county’s records, by killing an Outer Gang spy, your official rank will be promoted by one grade. If you don’t wish to be promoted, you will be rewarded with five thousand taels of silver and an Upper Grade Martial Arts manual."

"Five thousand taels and an Upper Grade Martial Arts manual?" Zheng Jun was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately asked, "County Captain, when will this money be issued?"

As for the official promotion, he directly omitted it. Being promoted to a Seventh Grade Military Officer would mean going to the army in the Commandery to serve as a non-commanding Military Officer. Zheng Jun didn’t want that at all. That was practically a nominal promotion but an actual demotion. Therefore, he preferred something more practical.

"It will naturally take time," Cai Xun replied listlessly. "Considering the layers of exploitation, the fact that you can get three thousand taels out of that five thousand taels is already out of respect for the Cai Family. As for the Upper Grade Martial Arts, after the Court issues the reward, you will have to go to the Commandery’s Scripture Pavilion to choose a manual yourself."

"I see. Thank you for clarifying, County Captain." Realizing the situation, Zheng Jun immediately cupped his hands. Perfect—he could also use this time to return the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill and practice more Martial Arts.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s formal address, Cai Xun hastily waved his hand and said, "There is no need to be so formal from now on. I am slightly older than you, so you can just call me Brother."

In the future, they might be family anyway. Cai Xun had already figured it out. He would take a trip home during his next day off to have a good talk with his father and grandfather. If An Yun didn’t want to marry, they would still send over a few beautiful female clan members from collateral branches born of concubines. Even if they only became concubines, winning over Zheng Jun was the most important thing. They absolutely could not afford to offend such a great talent. Furthermore, by winning over Zheng Jun, Cai Xun felt that Black Mountain County would also be securely in his family’s pocket.

Hearing Cai Xun’s words, Zheng Jun didn’t hesitate at all and immediately called out, "Brother Cai!"

Cai Xun also responded to Zheng Jun, "Zheng Di!"

"Brother Cai!"

"Zheng Di!"

"..."

After calling out to each other again, their hands clasped tightly together. Then, Cai Xun said to Zheng Jun with intense excitement, "Zheng Di, if you have any matters in the future, just decide for yourself. I’m handing over the entire Military Department to you! Unless it’s something extremely urgent, there’s no need to notify me!"

Zheng Jun was stunned by Cai Xun’s resolute attitude. Was it really going to be this smooth?

"Brother, to be honest with you, there really is one matter," Zheng Jun paused before continuing, "In a few days, the bandit suppression operation..."

"Suppress them! Suppress them fiercely! Sanlang, whatever you say goes. You can take as many soldiers out of the city as you want! When you deploy the troops, I will write a report and send it to the Commandery!" Cai Xun nodded fiercely, speaking with absolute certainty. "Are you short of hands? I will have Cai Liu and Cai Qi attend to your left and right and go with you! The two of them are also at the Qi Storage realm, so they won’t have any problem lending you a hand!"

Cai Xun’s enthusiasm was a bit too overwhelming, leaving Zheng Jun speechless for a moment.

"What’s going on, bro?" Zheng Jun thought to himself. "Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was your benefactor. I was still thinking about clinging to your coattails to eat up more resources, but why are you acting even more proactive than I am?"

Unable to find the right words, Zheng Jun could only nod in agreement. Soon after, Cai Xun cupped his hands and took his leave.

After Cai Xun left, Zheng Jun let out a long breath, inexplicably feeling a sense of relief in his heart. In the Military Department, his word was now law. In the County Government Office, the only Eighth Grade Civil Servant, Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi, had also shown goodwill toward him. The only place in the entire county town that wasn’t under his control was the Garrison Command Government Office.

An Outer Gang Commander and an Outer Gang Dark Guard.

Fortunately... he was also part of the Garrison Command. It was just that since Sun Bu was dead, he didn’t know where his future reward money would come from.

Zheng Jun shook his head and looked around. Spotting the fleshy-faced fat man, Xu Zhilei, he immediately reached out his hand, gesturing for him to come over.

"Me?" When Xu Zhilei saw Zheng Jun calling for him, his heart skipped a beat. Terrified that Zheng Jun was looking to settle an old score, he was just about to slide onto his knees and slap his own face when he heard Zheng Jun say, "Crew Leader Xu, make a trip to the Xu Family Martial Arts Hall and inform Hall Master Xu that I am hosting a banquet tonight at the Rejuvenating Building."

Having said that, Zheng Jun gave a similar instruction to Du Ding, telling him to go and invite Hall Master Ma.

After handling that, Zheng Jun pulled out one hundred taels in silver notes and shoved them into the hands of Sun Rong, the Crew Leader of the Third Squad, who was standing nearby. He said, "Crew Leader Sun, please treat all the brothers of the Black Mountain Guard to some extra meat tonight. If the silver isn’t enough, put it on credit for now, and I will make up the difference tomorrow."

"Please rest assured, Captain. I guarantee that the brothers will eat well and remember Captain Zheng’s reward." Sun Rong accepted the silver and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Make up the difference? Would Zheng Jun even need to do that? If the bill exceeded the budget of one hundred taels, Sun Rong was fully prepared to pay out of his own pocket to cover it.

Only after doing all this did Zheng Jun exhale a breath of foul air, turning his thoughts to his next moves. He had truly made a name for himself now. If things were like this in Black Mountain County, the news would undoubtedly spread to the Commandery and the State. Zheng Jun didn’t know what kind of chain reaction that would cause.

Regardless, he was now steadily growing his wings in Black Mountain County. He had the power to protect himself. He just hoped that everything would develop in a better direction.