Chapter Sixteen: The Curtain Staff

  The sound of horseshoes echoed through the streets of Dingzhou City, striking the flat bluestone pavement. The pent-up frustration in his chest dissipated, and Li Qing felt invigorated, his whole body refreshed. Since arriving in this world, he had never felt so carefree. His emotions infected Tang Hu and Yang Yidao, who were following closely behind him. Seeing Li Qing's excitement, the two of them also became inexplicably excited.

  "General, why are you so happy today?" Yang Yidao asked.

  Li Qing smiled and said: "Today's happiness is because I finally figured out what I want to do."

  Yang Yidao scratched his head in confusion and said: "Didn't General know what he wanted to do before?"

  "En, yes, I don't know, just doing a day's work as a monk and striking a day's bell, there is no clear goal, but today, I figured it out."

  Tang Hu patted his horse and walked a few steps closer, falling behind Li Qing by half a horse's head. He asked: "What does General want to do?"

  Li Qing glanced at him and asked in return: "Tang Hu, what is it that you most want to do?"

  "General, I just want to follow you as a personal soldier, save some money over the years, find a wife, have some kids, and when they grow up, let them continue to be your personal soldiers."

  Seeing Tang Hu speaking seriously about his ideals, Li Qing couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Yang Yidao, what about you?"

  "Me?" Yang Yidao thought for a moment, then said: "I haven't really thought about it seriously, General. Your question has stumped me! Hmm... before I joined the army, I had a wife and a daughter, but back then I was so poor and exhausted that my family often went hungry. That's why I joined the army - at least in the military, I could provide for them. Now with the chaos in Dingzhou, I don't even know if they're safe... My greatest wish is to let them live without worrying about food or clothes, and to be happy every day."

  Li Qing nodded, "You're right, you all want to live a better life, I do too. But if we want to live a better life, our fate must be in our own hands. We can't beg others to make our lives better."

  "General, you're wrong," said Tang Hu with a puzzled expression. "We follow the general, as long as the general is doing well, we naturally will be too."

  Li Qing suddenly came to his senses, realizing that the height he stood at was different from the other two, and of course, their expectations for a good life were also different. They could rely on themselves, but who could he rely on? The Li family? Li Qing let out a cold laugh, the clan?

  With a clamping of his legs, the horse suddenly broke into a small trot. "Yang Yidao, I'm giving you a few days off, go back and take care of your wife and daughter! Tang Hu, make sure to do your job as my personal guard well, and while you're at it, find yourself a nice woman to marry, General, I'll take care of the arrangements for you, haha, since you're relying on me, I naturally want to make sure you all live well."

  Tang Hu and Yang Yidao quickly followed on horseback, both surprised and delighted. "Thank you, General."

  The next day, 100,000 taels of silver and two scholars arrived at Li Qing's Changsheng Camp.

  "I have met the young master, I am Lu Yi Ming, and I have been ordered by Lord Ning to come and assist the young master." A slightly older scholar bowed deeply and said in a loud voice. Li Qing looked up and down at this person, his hair was combed neatly, a scholar's hat hung from his head, his eyes were deep and wise, one glance and you could tell he was a seasoned official, whether it was speaking or etiquette, there was not a single flaw to be found.

  "I'm not some young master, you'd better call me General!" Li Qing said calmly, Lu Yi Meng couldn't help but be taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

  Before he could speak, Li Qing's gaze turned to another scholar in his thirties. The man was very casual, wearing a white robe that was clean but with hair tied up with just one ribbon, letting it fall loosely on his shoulders. Seeing Li Qing look at him, he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, saying: "General, please, my name is Shang Haibo. Unlike Lord Lu, who is deeply favored by the Duke of Shouning, I am just an unhappy scholar who has been hiding in the duke's mansion, doing some literary work to make a living. I'm a persona non grata in the mansion and really can't stay there anymore. Hearing that you need people here, I came to offer myself. If you think I'm useful, keep me; if not, send me away."

  Li Qing couldn't help but laugh at the interesting conversation. This person was indeed straightforward and confident, but his tone was arrogant and self-important, clearly looking down on Lu Yi Ming. A glance at Lu Yi Ming revealed a look of disgust on his face, and it was clear that the two were not compatible.

  "Shòuníng candidate doesn't know what to think, since he sent people to help me, but let two unsuitable ones come, is it because my place isn't troublesome enough?" In his heart, he thought so, but in his mouth, he said: "Mr. spoke too heavily, this Changsheng camp was just established and is very hard-pressed, the two gentlemen are willing to come and condescend, Li Qing is grateful to the extreme, if there's anything not done properly, please don't take offense."

  Lu Yi Ming hastily said: "Young Master Hou, no, General Li, since we came to assist the general, we must share the joys and sorrows with the general. How can there be complaints? At present, the general is like a young phoenix spreading its wings, soon to soar high in the sky. To work together with the general is our honor."

  Li Qing summoned Tang Hu and instructed, "Go set up two tents for the two gentlemen, one each, just pitch them next to my command tent. Mr. Lu, since our army is newly established and there's a lot to attend to, I'd like you to help me plan ahead. And Mr. Shang, please take care of all the paperwork for me. Is that alright?" He looked at the two men inquiringly.

  Lu Yi Ming hastily replied, "That's great." Shang Hai Bo slightly raised the corner of his mouth and said indifferently, "Let's hear General Tang's arrangement." As he watched the two follow Tang Hu down, Li Qing furrowed his brow. These two guys didn't seem like they'd conserve energy, but that was fine. He didn't want to be a conservative himself either. Let them do their thing for now and see how capable they were later on.

  Two newcomers, Li Qingzhao and Wang Qiniang, were arranged to ask about the training situation of new soldiers. Soldiers are his foundation, and he cannot afford to be careless at all.

  "General, as you instructed, my left wing now has 500 people enrolled, and they have been divided into groups and are currently training. In a month's time, they should be able to reach the level of the veteran soldiers." Wang Qinyan was overjoyed, Li Qing had risen through the ranks, and he too had benefited from it, now becoming a majestic Eagle Wing Captain. It was something he never dared to dream of before, rising from an ordinary soldier to Eagle Wing Captain in just one month. In his eyes, Li Qing was his lucky star, and he couldn't help but feel a deep admiration for him.

  Jiang Kui and Feng Guo, who were also promoted to Eagle Wing Captain, seemed a bit absent-minded. Jiang Kui had 300 men under his command, all of whom knew how to ride horses, and some of them were quite skilled in horse riding. However, he didn't have any horses at the moment. In fact, Dingzhou was a border state, and most people here knew how to ride horses, but there was still a big difference between riding ordinary horses and warhorses. It was really not easy to find qualified soldiers who could fight on horseback. Although Jiang Kui had gathered 300 men, they could only serve as infantry for the time being. Feng Guo's situation was even more miserable. Li Qing assigned him to the Scout Team of the Changsheng Camp, and his soldiers were indeed elite, comparable to Li Qing's personal guard team. However, there were fewer people under his command because these men not only needed to have high martial arts skills but also be agile and quick-witted. After selecting them carefully, Feng Guo only had a little over 100 men. Among the three Eagle Wing Captains, he was the most forlorn.

  "There will be horses, there will be people, everything will have. Li Qing can only comfort them, look forward and believe that the days will get better one day."

  Although that's what they say, Li Qing doesn't think so. At present, Dingzhou is controlled by the Fang and Xiao families, and as a disciple of the Li family who has inserted himself into this situation, it would be strange if he didn't become a thorn in their side. Later on, he might have to wear small shoes, but for now, Li Qing doesn't have any ideas about what to do next. Everything will have to wait until the imperial envoy leaves and the entire Dingzhou army is reorganized before he'll know what's going on. He believes that's when his difficult days will begin. For now, however, military supplies are still indispensable to him. Li Tui is still keeping an eye on things in Dingzhou.

  The framework of the Changsheng Camp has been set up, and Li Qing has become somewhat idle. The three of them, including Wang Qinyan, have become more organized, and the entire camp's training ground has expanded several times. A larger drill ground has also been opened in the camp, and every day is filled with the sound of drills. In recent days, apart from attending endless social events at the Military Governor's Mansion and the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, the only thing that surprised Li Qing was Shang Haibo. This unkempt scholar brought a thick stack of documents in just a few days, covering everything from logistics management to military supplies, from daily operations to emergency preparedness. Iron-faced, Li Qing read through Shang Haibo's proposals and had to admit that he had been too idealistic before. His assumptions about everything were far removed from the reality of this era, while Shang Haibo's proposals clearly conformed more closely to the current situation. And so, another change began in the Changsheng Camp.

  Three chapters today, business as usual tomorrow.

  Thick-skinned asking for votes and collections!