Immortal Dao Fruits, Cards to Help Me

Chapter 15: Resurrection!

Cao Bianjiao, one of the two battalion commanders in Wadang Fort in Liaodong, is far more capable than ordinary mid-level officers, making him quite formidable.

There are posts about this person on the forum. It is said that he later made great contributions in the war against the boar people.

Although Chen Xiuxian's cultivation time is still short, he has been fighting every day.

Watching him casually kill the headless Zhou Da Guanren who had transformed into a vengeful ghost, he knew he was no match for him.

At that time, I guessed he might be around level sixteen or seventeen, but I was wrong.

Later, Chen Xiuxian discovered that Cao Bianjiao was at least level 27!
According to the game forums, a significant number of high-ranking officers in Liaodong do not have this rank.

Moreover, his skills are clearly not lacking, making him an absolute high-level combatant.

……

The military system of the Great Shun Dynasty was somewhat chaotic, consisting of two or three different systems mixed together.

It was generally a garrison system, with a fixed number of more than 5,000 soldiers, and the top officer was the garrison commander.

Below are the ranks of thousand-household commanders, hundred-household commanders, general flag officers, and junior flag officers.

However, in the nine border towns where battles frequently occurred, this garrison system was somewhat rigid, so a more flexible military system was also developed.

Every 5 soldiers form a squad leader, 10 soldiers form a platoon leader, 30 soldiers form a captain, 90 soldiers form a sentry officer, 450 soldiers form a battalion commander (a rank 7), 1100 soldiers form a company commander (a rank 6), and more than 2200 soldiers constitute a battalion-level unit...

and also:

General: The highest commander of a war zone, without a fixed rank (often held concurrently by officials of the first or second rank), commanding tens of thousands of troops.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief (Deputy General): Second rank, responsible for the defense of a large area.

Lieutenant General: A third-rank official, responsible for guarding one route and commanding approximately three thousand soldiers.

Guerrilla General: Rank 3, commander of mobile forces, capable of cross-regional operations.

Garrison Commander: Rank 5 to 6, responsible for the defense of a certain city.

The reason it became so complicated was because the Great Shun Dynasty lasted for so long, accumulating many problems over six hundred years. Lacking the resolve to solve them, they could only turn a blind eye and rely on the wisdom of future generations.

When we talked about the four player birthplaces in the game before, we mentioned that the area surrounding the Great Shun Dynasty was not very stable.

In the southwest, there are various barbarian tribes such as Man, Liao, and Yue in the Ten Thousand Mountains that are not very compliant; in the southeast, Japanese pirates occasionally come ashore to plunder; and in the northwest, the Western Regions, the Xixia Quanrong, and the Ji Ta Ma people frequently invade the border.

The most severe situation is in the north and northeast.

The situation in the north is somewhat better. Apart from the frequent three-way battles in the Hetao region, the werewolves of the Liao Kingdom north of the Yanshan Mountains are already quite well-behaved.

Two hundred years ago, when the Liao Kingdom was just rising to power, it was incredibly fierce, and its internal problems once put the Great Shun Dynasty in danger of collapse.

However, later, Emperor Yongshun, a member of a collateral branch of the imperial family, raised an army in Yanjing to defeat the Langliao, suppressed rebellions in the Central Plains, and reclaimed several prefectures in Yanyun that had been lost for nearly ten years. He also conquered Liaodong.

He eventually ascended the throne and moved the capital to Yanjing.

This period is historically known as the "Three Prosperities of Yongshun".

Since then, the Liao Kingdom and the Da Shun Kingdom have entered a period of stability, but after the Liao Kingdom has enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle of the humans, it has gradually declined.

Especially after the introduction of Buddhist beliefs, they lost all their wildness and settled down to enjoy life.

In recent years, a considerable amount of land has even been occupied by the emerging Wild Boar People's Kingdom.

The armies of the Liao Kingdom, which were engaged in battle on both sides, were not exactly routed at the first contact, but their fighting capacity was greatly reduced, and they were no longer considered a threat by the Great Shun.

The most significant threat at present is naturally the Liaodong Wild Boar Man.

When these alien races first rise to power, they are at their most ferocious and dangerous.

Last year, the Wild Boar King Hachi completely unified the area north of Liaodong, including the Jianzhou tribe of Nurgan and the Wild Boar tribe of Haixi, and established a great power.

The establishment of the reign title "Tianming" (Heavenly Mandate) may have been intended to compete with the current emperor of the Great Shun Dynasty, Emperor Tianshun, or it may have been a deliberate attempt to provoke him—"Aren't you Tianshun? I am Tianming!"

That reveals their wolfish ambitions, which are obvious to all!
The Liaodong region appears stable at present, but it has already been secretly mobilized in preparation for war.

Therefore, many places are short-staffed.

So Cao Bianjiao invited Chen Xiuxian to do some "outsourced work" for Wadang Fort.

Chen Xiuxian: Before I transmigrated, I often did some freelance work to earn extra money. Now that I've transmigrated, if I'm still doing freelance work to earn extra money, then I'm just wasting my time... Wait a minute? You mean the military will open up a certain amount of military supplies as a reward?

"Hey! Forget about awards and prizes, I just want to do something practical for the people of Wadangbao!"

This era was marked by firearms!
There are four cannons on either side of the gate tower of Wadang Fort!
The army also had muskets, but they were outdated and not very effective.

Chen Xiuxian had thought from the beginning that if he had a musket, killing monsters would be so much easier!

The problem was that while weapons were not prohibited among the common people, firearms and armor were strictly forbidden. There was nowhere to get them.

Besides, according to players on the forum, taking on missions from the military is also a good option.

However, the Great Shun Dynasty had many problems, and corruption in the army was one of them.

Embezzling soldiers' pay was colloquially known as "drinking soldiers' blood."

What constitutes falsifying headcount and "receiving salaries without working"?

You need to find a good officer with good character, otherwise you'll not only waste your time, but you might also get into trouble. Chen Xiuxian checked on the forum and found that Cao Bianjiao, the platoon leader, was quite capable and had made significant contributions in the battle against the boar people two years later.

Moreover, he also had an uncle, Cao Wenzhao, who was also a garrison commander in Huianbao, Liaodong, and had some connections.

He has a good character and is quite generous.

As the battalion commander, he should have had 450 men under his command, but in reality, he had 380.

That's quite solid.

A typical commander has fewer than 300 men under his command!
If you actually recruit all 450 people, and the imperial court reduces your salary one day, you won't have any flexibility whatsoever.

You think it's already too much to embezzle public funds and exploit soldiers, but those civil officials at the top are truly ruthless!
The three million taels of silver allocated for military service were reduced by 20% before they even left the capital.

By the time it reaches the general in Liaodong, it will be less than 70% complete.
Some people on the forum have conducted detailed analysis and argumentation, saying that: theoretically, Liaodong Garrison has a quota of 260,000 troops, but in reality, there are less than 80,000 troops available for combat.

The main reasons for the depletion of military strength were the desertion of military households and serious embezzlement of rations and pay.

One player once revealed that a certain garrison had a roster of 300 able-bodied men, but only seven old soldiers with gray hair and beards came out for roll call.

There was also the issue of armaments—there should have been 2,700 registered muskets, but fewer than 200 were actually usable.

A certain sergeant privately complained: "The match cord gets so damp it's like rotten noodles, the lead bullets don't match the caliber of the gun, and you have to pray before firing that the barrel doesn't explode."

There were also quite a few audacious individuals who took military supplies and resold them...

That's why it's so difficult to defend Liaodong.

The Great Shun Dynasty has lasted for six hundred years, and it is clearly nearing its end.

The saying goes, "Once is acceptable, twice is acceptable, but three times is not." It has already survived two "revivals" and three "revivals"... Things don't happen more than three times!

Do you think the Great Shun Dynasty can last until its seventh hundred years?

……

Chen Xiuxian spent the next few days in a relatively relaxed manner.

Aside from practicing martial arts at night and swordsmanship in the morning, he would drink and chat with Cao Bianjiao.

Of course, practicing the Changhong Heart Sutra at night and the Changhong Sword Technique in the morning will earn you experience points, but it's far less than fighting monsters.

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat, no matter how small!
However, the internal energy cultivation techniques are improving too quickly now, so I need to familiarize myself with them more in order to bring out their full effect.

As for swordsmanship, the required cultivation points to advance the Changhong Heart Sutra to higher levels are too numerous. It's better to equip the Changhong Sword Technique in the cultivation slot and improve your swordsmanship there.

This offers good value for money.

After resting for three or four days, Chen Xiuxian went to the Dushisi (military affairs office) of Wadang Fort to see if there was any news or good missions.

In the cities of Liaodong, everything was geared towards military purposes, so their ranking was determined according to their military importance.

There are five levels in total!
The highest level is the town, which has two cities—Liaoyang and Guangning.

One in Liaodong and one in Liaoxi, equivalent to the headquarters of a military region.

Below that is Lucheng, and below that town are five Lucheng.

Further down are the garrisons, each garrisoning over five thousand people, or even several large garrisons garrisoning two or three garrisons!

Further down is the fortified city, built around the citadel, like stars surrounding the moon.

The lowest level is a fortified town like Wadangbao—the most basic "beacon outpost," of which there are 26 in the entire Liaoxi Corridor.

Depending on the severity of the situation, the number of people involved ranges from three to five hundred to over a thousand.

Beyond the fortress lies either uninhabited territory or the border area with other alien forces, marking the true first line of defense.

Many fortresses were built right next to the Great Wall!

For example, Wadang Fort was established to guard against elite squads of boarmen crossing over from the Thousand Mountains.

Of course, this is to guard against wild boarmen, as well as other mountain spirits, monsters, and other enemies.

Expanding territory is no easy feat. Especially since the wilderness of this world is teeming with demons and monsters.

For over a hundred years, only the Liaohe Plain has been developed in Liaodong, and problems have arisen from time to time.

And these offices were responsible for administration in cities of all sizes.

In addition to the Department of Administrative Affairs, there was also the Department of Records, which was in charge of documents and bookkeeping; and the Department of Judicial Affairs, which was in charge of the law.

If a headless ghost appears in the city, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Capital Affairs Department.

Cao Bianjiao handled it personally back then—because there was no one else under him who could handle such a matter.

In addition to its own small town, Wadangbao was also responsible for more than a dozen villages behind it.

How could a mere battalion commander like him possibly manage to get all that over there?

That's when he persuaded Chen Xiuxian to "do his part for the villagers!"
Chen Xiuxian hadn't seen anything unusual in the past few days, but today, Zhao Ying, the Chief of the Bureau of Affairs (a seventh-rank official), slapped his thigh in surprise!
"You've come at the right time! There's a strange case of a corpse coming back to life here. Go take a look and handle it. Don't let Commander Cao down!"

Chen Xiuxian took the reports and glanced at them: Hey! I remember this!
The Dongzhigou Village Zombie Incident!

(End of this chapter)