Chapter 28: Obtaining the Army

  The words were ominous and frightening, Yun'er looked at her aunt in horror. Xin Niang continued in a soft voice: "That's the first and most miserable outcome, the second is that Aunt will still live in the Zhou Mansion as a concubine, in which case Aunt will strictly follow the womanly way and spend the rest of her life in the Zhou Mansion, you don't have to worry about Aunt's affairs anymore."

  Yuner's expression relaxed slightly as she nodded, but then shook her head and said: "If Aunt is not doing well, Yuner will think of a way to rescue Aunt from the Zhou residence."

  Xin Yiniang looked at Yun'er with a moved and gentle gaze, thinking that she hadn't wasted her efforts in taking care of this niece from the same clan. After a moment's thought, she spoke softly again: "The third outcome is that your aunt was sold by the Zhou family; you should find a way to buy back your aunt and let her enter the Lu family as a concubine."

  Yuner was taken aback and whispered: "Auntie, are you thinking of becoming Lu Qi's concubine?"

  Auntie's face was slightly flushed, and she lowered her head for a moment before speaking in a soft voice: "A woman belongs to the man she marries. When I was a young girl, I was infatuated with the sound of the guqin. Lu Qi's 'Quan' melody resonated deeply with me. If fate allows it, I would love to play a duet with him. Yuner, will you despise me as a shameless woman?"

  Yuner shook her head calmly and said softly, "I won't, I know that Auntie's greatest admiration before marriage was a heroic warrior. If life gave Auntie another chance to fulfill her dreams, I would only help her achieve it."

  The Tang Dynasty was an open era, inclusively accepting people and ideas from various ethnic groups, even some living customs. For example, Emperor Taizong of Tang took Wu Zetian, a concubine of his father, as his own empress, while Emperor Xuanzong of Tang took Yang Guifei, the wife of his son, as his own concubine. Therefore, it was not unusual for sons to inherit their fathers' concubines among officials and common people, as concubines were considered property within a family.

  After the Anshi Rebellion, the world was in great chaos and foreign tribes were rampant. The war caused families to be broken and people to die, with a sharp reduction in male population. In society, widows and orphans were everywhere, and for survival, they had no choice but to become slaves or remarried and attached themselves to large households. Once they became slaves, they became the property of the master's household. The masters didn't care if you were a mother or a daughter; if they liked you, they could play with you as they pleased. If you gave birth to children, you might be granted a concubine title. In short, during the war-torn period after the Tang Dynasty, it was an absolute patriarchal society. Once a woman entered that household door, she became that family's person. The masters only cared about whether the woman's belly was big with their child, not about the relationships between women.

  Yuner agreed without hesitation, but Xin Niang was stunned, and after tens of seconds, she suddenly shook her head and said irritably: "No, this is not good. I am a woman of the Zhou family, how can I have such shameless thoughts."

  "Aunt, you're a woman, and it's reasonable to find an escape route in times of danger. If the Zhou family doesn't want you anymore, the Lu family can certainly take you in - that's just how things go. You'll make mistakes if you keep blaming yourself like this. Wake up and focus on the immediate crisis first, that's what's most important." Yun'er hastily pulled and tugged at Xin Niang's hand, urgently warning her.

  Xin Yiniang was startled, and after a soft "oh" sound, she came back to her senses. She stared blankly for a while before her thoughts returned to normal. With some fatigue in her voice, she said: "It's nothing much now, the rest is all up to Auntie. Once everything is arranged, Auntie will quietly hand over the control of the Zhou family's finances to Madame (the first wife) and Second Madame (the secondary wife), then move to live with Old Madame, serving her day and night. I hope that Auntie's relinquishing of power and serving Old Madame can bring a glimmer of hope for survival."

  Yuner nodded and said softly: "Auntie, if I were to leave the Zhou residence, would it be suitable for me to often accompany Miss?"

  Aunt Xin said in a soft voice, "It's not related to the thread, as long as the old lady is alive, you can go see Yan'er without anyone daring to make trouble. However, you must pay attention to your words and deeds, and be even more harmonious when meeting people than before."

  Yuner nodded and said: "I've taken note of it."

  Xin Yiniang let out a soft sigh, her eyes gazing vaguely into the distance. Yun'er's beautiful eyes looked at her aunt with affection and respect. Her aunt was a capable woman who had always stood firm in the midst of the intense power struggles within the Zhou household. Since taking control of the family finances, she had managed them with an iron fist, doubling the family's wealth through shrewd business deals. The Zhou household now possessed over 200,000 taels of silver.

  It was this woman who had brought wealth to the Zhou family, but now she was about to lose everything because she was a woman, a concubine. No matter how capable she was, she was just one of the many assets in the Zhou household, and assets have no autonomy. If marrying into the Lu family could really make her a legitimate wife, it would be a great blessing from her aunt. Yun'er's heart suddenly yearned eagerly for the arrival of tomorrow and the days after, hoping to know if she could obtain the noble status of 'wife'.

  Under the scorching sun, outside the west gate of the city, five miles away, in the official training camp, Lu Qi wore a light blue county lieutenant uniform, with an official long knife hanging from his waist belt. He stood upright and majestic, his eyes coldly staring at the front. In front of him, five meters away, stood five rows of strong men wearing green clothes, each row consisting of twenty people. These one hundred brave warriors were selected by him in just one morning, out of more than seven hundred soldiers.

  Most of the eyes of the hundred people looked at this young county lieutenant with some confusion, their standing posture was somewhat scattered, and even the back rows were whispering to each other.

  "Gentlemen, I have been ordered by my superior to select and train a special squad of brave soldiers. From now on, you will be under my command. I hope that you can give me face from this moment on. If anyone is unwilling to give me face, let me remind you that I am a general who has killed over a hundred enemies, and I will not hesitate to retaliate at any time. Do you understand?" Lu Qi's cold and stern opening speech.

  "I understand." About twenty or thirty people responded in a low and scattered manner.

  Lu Qi furrowed his brow and sharply scanned the soldiers, who immediately lowered their heads in embarrassment as soon as they met his gaze.

  "Gentlemen, I won't say much pleasant words. Just a warning to you all: military law is ruthless. If anyone disobeys my command, don't blame me for being heartless and cruel." Lu Qi saw that the soldiers were so lax, he had no choice but to use intimidation. Although there was some effect after intimidating them, many of the soldiers showed disdain on their faces.

  "You, bring a bow and arrow to this official. You, take the target and set it up fifty paces away." Lu Qi raised his hand and pointed, coldly ordering the two soldiers to act.

  One soldier went to fetch the bow and arrow from the armory and handed them over to Lu Qi. Another soldier took the target and ran fifty steps away to set it up. Lu Qi looked at the target fifty steps away with a calm expression, held the bow and familiarized himself with its strength, took an arrow and shot it out. The soldiers all turned their heads to look at the target, seeing the arrow flying straight into the center of the target, Ah, immediately more than ten soldiers exclaimed in surprise.

  Lu Qi smiled proudly, his bow and arrow skills were trained by his father since he was six years old, it was his most skilled military martial art. He took an arrow and shot one after another, when he put down the bow, all thirty arrows hit the target, the soldiers were stunned, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn, many soldiers looked at Lu Qi with respect in their eyes, sometimes, a person's divine skills can be even more impressive.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, now the official will assign tasks according to their abilities. The hundred people will be divided into four troops: thirty long spear soldiers, thirty knife shield soldiers, thirty cavalry archer charging soldiers, and ten messenger scouts."

  Lu Qi changed his expression after displaying his skills, and began to explain in a loud voice. After finishing, he started to distribute the soldiers one by one, first according to their personal preferences, then again according to their abilities, and finally finished after two hours of busy work.

  "Gentlemen, I hereby issue the order. Today's training is complete. Tomorrow at 5 am, assemble here for drills. Let me warn you once: those who are late will be punished with three military rods; ten messengers will stay behind, and the rest will disperse." Lu Qi's loud voice gave out the command.

  The soldiers cheered and dispersed with joy, the soldiers were not as formal as the recruited official army, but belonged to the nature of semi-recruited and semi-hired militia. In peacetime, they were scattered and managed on a regular basis for training, and when there was a task, they would be notified to gather at any time. The military pay they received was only one-third of that of the official army. This time, 100 people were selected as guards, and the selected soldiers knew that their monthly salary would be paid according to the official army's standards. They thought they would also stay in the barracks like the official army, but now it was still the militia system of scattered management and gathering for training. The soldiers naturally felt happy about this, and the military pay they earned was well worth it.

  Ten messengers were selected by Lu Qi from among the hundred, all of whom were agile and nimble. These ten people were actually the leaders of the soldiers and also served as Lu Qi's temporary personal guards, ready to receive his orders at any time. Of course, these ten people also doubled as scouts, known as "explorers" in the Tang army. Scouts played a crucial role in military campaigns and battles, discovering many dangers and opportunities.

  Lu Qi left behind ten orderlies, mainly to familiarize themselves with them and establish emotional connections. He couldn't just rely on his official authority to suppress the soldiers; he had to win over some talented people to support him.