Chapter 618 – Urgent News from Chenzhou, The World Calls for Royal Support (Part 2)
On a chilly winter’s day, snowflakes danced down from the northern skies.
With Jiang Pengji’s financial and grain support, An Huan’s recruitment efforts within the Red Lotus Sect were progressing remarkably well.
An Huan was no fool. Even while gathering support and winning over the lower ranks of the Red Lotus Sect, he remained vigilant. He avoided the obviously influential figures and instead focused on those who could contribute but were unobtrusive and reliable. Before he knew it, he had garnered hundreds of supporters.
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji set her winter agenda on three key tasks.
Recruiting talent, enlisting soldiers, and training soldiers.
She delegated the first task to Feng Jin and Wei Ci. The former was well-acquainted with the situation in Shangyang County, while the latter was meticulous and has a dark streak.
With their combined efforts, Jiang Pengji had no worries about attracting capable individuals.
The second task, she handed off to Feng Zhen. Shangyang County had doubled in size since Jiang Pengji assumed control, and the originally sufficient 20,000 troops were barely enough. Recruiting new soldiers was essential. But Feng Zhen was notoriously lazy; he could lounge in bed until noon on a winter’s day.
Unable to tolerate his sloth, Jiang Pengji casually loaded him with a heavy workload. If he didn’t finish it, or dared to slack off midway?
He’d be facing a year without a single sip of wine!
The already pale-faced Feng Zhen turned as white as a sheet upon hearing her words.
With such a leader, Feng Zhen could only dream of switching jobs.
No drinking for the prodigal son?
Time to work?
However, his puny arms were no match for Jiang Pengji’s elephantine strength. Thus, Feng Zhen could only begrudgingly comply, and within days, dark circles formed beneath his eyes. Privately, he grumbled to Wei Ci, “Zixiao, at this rate, will we even get our seven days off for the New Year?”
Wei Ci calmly reassured him, “A gentleman’s word is his bond. The Lord won’t make promises lightly, and once made, he will keep them.”
But Jiang Pengji wasn’t a “gentleman”; she was a “woman”!
Wei Ci swallowed that thought, maintaining a smile that could rival blooming lotuses—he was a man who seemed to carry his own background music.
Feng Zhen had only joined this group mid-year and was unaware of past customs, so he reluctantly believed Wei Ci.
Truth be told, recruiting soldiers wasn’t the grueling task it seemed, but Jiang Pengji insisted on a “quality over quantity” approach.
While others recruited with minimal training of a month or even a handful of days before sending troops to the battlefield, she was different.
Three months of winter training and another three in summer; autumn harvest and spring planting also required participation, meaning daily military drills that couldn’t be skipped.
From what Feng Zhen gathered, under Jiang Pengji’s command, the 20,000 elite soldiers required extensive training before stepping onto the battlefield.
In her words, “Untrained soldiers can’t be called soldiers at all. Incompetent troops should return home to their mothers for milk; they’re just fodder when on the battlefield, nothing but a waste of life!”
Hence, Jiang Pengji set strict standards for enlisting; not just anyone could join.
As the head of this operation, Feng Zhen had to enforce these criteria and register each new ‘hire’ carefully.
Days later, he felt like his right hand might fall off from constant writing. His fingers were stiff from gripping the pen for too long.
“By the way, haven’t you found any suitable candidates yet?”
Even Feng Zhen, the laid-back rogue, couldn’t contain his frustration in the face of such burdensome work.
Now he understood why Qi Guanrang, who managed the household registration department, always wore a face as if everyone owed him a fortune.
Wei Ci and Feng Jin were leisurely sipping tea.
“Patience, patience. The net has been cast, and I have a feeling this haul will be bountiful.”
Feng Zhen could hardly hold back a scoff, “I can’t believe I’m taking you seriously!”
Their recruitment simply involved hosting various poetry and elegant gatherings, inviting scholars from Shangyang County. On the surface, they chatted about poetic themes, while secretly gauging the scholars’ personalities and talents.
What irked Feng Zhen the most was that all expenses were covered by Jiang Pengji, while Feng Jin and Wei Ci enjoyed their public-funded fun.
Considering this, he couldn’t help but wonder if those two were deliberately slacking off to prolong their enjoyment.
Damn it!
How could those two have the audacity to exclude him from such a great deal?
It’s fine if they didn’t involve him, but why hadn’t he seen a single candidate in the last half month?
Without talent, Feng Zhen’s work had become a lonely endeavor.
“If you’re slacking, watch out—I’ll report you to the Lord!”
Feng Jin chuckled, not offended at all; in fact, he was pleased.
What did this mean?
It meant Feng Zhen was overwhelmed and slogging through work like a dog.
As for the third task, training the soldiers, Jiang Pengji directly assigned it to several military generals.
And as usual, all the female soldiers were entrusted to Jiang Nongqin for training.
In previous battles, some female soldiers had distinguished themselves, receiving commendations and promotions. They had now begun to serve as instructors for new recruits. However, given the local prejudice against female soldiers in the Shangyang County area, they had only managed to muster around a thousand women, and even those were reluctantly sent by families who could hardly afford to keep “a liability.”
On the other hand, recruitment for male soldiers was going smoothly, with the total number reaching eight thousand.
“Impressive work, Zishi! Your abilities are truly remarkable. How did you manage to recruit so many in such a short time?” Jiang Pengji remarked, genuinely surprised.
Feng Zhen smiled wryly; he knew he had skills, but he wasn’t one to take all the credit for this endeavor.
“Your praise is excessive, my Lord. This isn’t my doing; it’s simply your generosity and favorable terms.”
Although Shangyang County hadn’t fallen under the control of the Green Garment Army or the Red Lotus Sect, the extended siege took its toll. This year’s summer heat had led to drought after drought, resulting in poor harvests that left the common people in dire straits. Some families even had to mix pig feed into their meals just to fill their bellies.
So why was Jiang Pengji considered generous?
Her recruitment notice was crystal clear, stating that each soldier would receive three meals a day—two bowls of rice, one vegetarian and one meat dish, plus soup.
To ensure everyone understood, the notice included detailed descriptions of the meal weights and types of ingredients.
The recruitment notice was a whopping two hundred characters long, with a hefty one hundred sixty dedicated to the menu, leaving only forty for the actual recruitment requirements.
This was arguably the most bizarre recruitment notice Feng Zhen had ever seen.
Jiang Pengji was straightforward in her recruitment and training of soldiers, with no actions directed against the local aristocracy of Shangyang.
This, ironically, made the latter suspicious and wary, fearing a surprise attack at any moment.
In the end, Jiang Pengji merely swapped out some inconsequential positions for locals, and not one of them was a lucrative opportunity.
These replacements were all from local commoner families.
As the year-end approached, Jiang Pengji was busy with the annual summary when a messenger returned, reporting that the nominal governor of Shangyang County had come to pay a visit.
She thought about the timing and realized it wasn’t yet the New Year.
“Show him in,” Jiang Pengji instructed.
The governor brought her a letter, which had already been opened. Upon glancing at it, she noticed it bore a seal with the text—“Ordered by Heaven, may longevity and prosperity prevail.”
The imperial seal?
She was momentarily taken aback, then quickly scanned the contents of the letter.
“Support the King?”
