Eternal Immortal Dynasty: Starting as a Petty Official

Chapter 182 After the war, we enter Ronghuai (Seeking monthly votes)

"Snapped!"

Zhao Xian slammed his hand on the table, glared at Zhao Ji below, and shouted, "We are ordered by the county magistrate to quell the bandits. How can we sit idly by and watch them besiege Nankou Township Pavilion!"

"This is a matter of vital importance to both the military and the people; how dare you spout nonsense here!"

"Guards! Throw him out of the tent!"

Upon seeing Zhao Xian's sudden outburst of anger, all the officials from Nankou Township inside the tent fell silent, their faces grim.

"Please forgive me, Sir!"

Seeing the anger on Zhao Xian's face, Zhao Zheng immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Zhao Ji misspoke, all because he was concerned about the compensation for his fallen comrades!"

"Zhao Ji never harbored the slightest selfish motive!"

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ji also rose and bowed deeply.

Seeing the situation inside the tent, Jiang Zhuo, the head of Nankou Township, could only sigh inwardly and bow in return: "If it weren't for the soldiers under the command of the military commander fighting to the death, our Nankou Township would have surely suffered a great calamity!"

"Please forgive this officer's inappropriate words, Sergeant!"

"!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian's expression softened slightly, but he still snorted coldly and rebuked, "If there's a next time, you'll receive twenty lashes!"

Zhao Zheng and his companion thanked Zhao Xian again, bowed to Jiang Zhuo, and then returned to their seats.

"Soldier, we have captured over fifty people. Our Nankou Township simply cannot accommodate so many!"

After a moment's consideration, Jiang Zhuo raised his head again and spoke to Zhao Xian, a hint of helplessness on his face.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian exchanged a glance with Liu Sheng below. Liu Sheng then looked at Jiang Zhuo opposite him and said with a smile, "Twenty-five prisoners, five hundred thousand talisman coins!"

"I'm giving you all of these, along with the swords and spears!"

"We'll gather them within three days!" Zhao Xian added.

Jiang Zhuo wanted to say something more, but Zhao Xian waved his hand and said directly, "Seventy-five heads, three of which are the heads of bandit leaders, will cost 102,000 talisman coins!"

"If you produce another 102,000 talismans, I will give all these heads to Nankou Township!"

"What use are those heads to us!"

Upon hearing this, a young man from a wealthy family below muttered something.

Before he could finish speaking, the young master from the wealthy family beside him tugged at his robe and whispered a few words of advice in his ear.

"Jiang Jun, and the gentlemen of Nankou, what are your thoughts?" Zhao Xian asked with a smile, glancing around at the officials of Nankou Township below.

"Sergeant, is this true?" Jiang Zhuo asked in a deep voice, his face showing excitement.

"I am absolutely not joking!" Zhao Xian immediately replied solemnly.

"Wait!"

A shout suddenly came from inside the military tent. Liu Ping stood up, saluted, and said solemnly, "Sir, according to regulations, the head must be handed over to the county officials for verification!"

"We have no time to wait for the county officials to arrive!" Zhao Xian shook his head and said helplessly, "Handing these heads over to the gentlemen of Nankou will save us a lot of trivial matters!"

After saying that, Zhao Xian waved for Liu Ping to sit down.

"We, along with the gentlemen of Nankou, serve in the same court and should naturally look out for and help each other!"

"What the clerk says is very true!" Jiang Zhuo, the village head of Nankou Township, immediately laughed and said.

With these heads, and after a little more maneuvering, the credit for suppressing the bandits can fall on them!

What are a few hundred thousand talismans compared to that!

Afterwards, the group discussed and finalized the arrangements for burying the corpses, transporting the remains of the fallen, and treating the wounded.

After everything was agreed upon, everyone got busy with their own tasks.

According to the investigation and statistics conducted by Liu Sheng and Liu Ping, there were a total of 54 wounded soldiers in the army, including 23 seriously wounded and 31 slightly wounded.

Among those with minor injuries, sixteen others were not seriously injured and could recover after taking the elixir and resting for a few days. They did not go to Nankou Township with the other wounded.

In the end, only thirty-eight people went to Nankou Township to recuperate, and all their expenses during the recuperation period were provided by Nankou Township.

The following morning, Zhao Xian dispatched a squad of cavalry to escort the wounded back to Nankou Township.

Subsequently, with the combined efforts of the auxiliary troops and the drivers and laborers brought from Nankou Township, the remains of the thieves were burned and buried.

In the sweltering heat of midsummer, the remains of the fallen could not be preserved for long. Zhao Xian had no choice but to order the remains to be burned one by one, leaving only the ashes, which were then placed in earthenware jars and transported back to Wohu Township and Xixiang Township along with the compensation.

As for the compensation for the injured, it will be distributed after Zhao Xian and the others return.

The bandit's head needed to be buried with quicklime, and since the money had not yet been delivered, Jiang Zhuo and other local officials and wealthy young men had to stay in the camp to help with miscellaneous tasks.

"Commander, the losses of each unit have been tallied!" Zhao Zheng and several other platoon leaders and squad leaders came to Zhao Xian's side.

"Not counting the soldiers resting in the camp, the first squad of the first garrison lost eight men, and the second squad lost twenty men," Zhao Zheng, the garrison commander of the first garrison, reported to Zhao Xiansu.

"The first team of the second garrison has lost thirty-three men, and the second team has lost fourteen men!" Zhao Cheng, the garrison leader of the second garrison, then stepped forward to report.

"The riding team suffered no losses!"

"No auxiliary troops suffered any losses!"

Cavalry captain Xu Dejing and auxiliary troop captain Zhao Ze spoke in turn.

"Lord, it was my poor command that caused such heavy losses to our unit!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Zong, the captain of the first squad of the second garrison, stepped forward, knelt down and kowtowed to beg for forgiveness.

Seeing this, Xu Hua also knelt down and shouted, "I have also made mistakes!"

Zhao Ji and Zhang Gong exchanged a glance, their faces also showing solemnity.

"Get up, both of you!" Zhao Xian sighed and bent down to help the two of them up one by one.

Both of them looked at Zhao Xian with shame on their faces.

"We have lost this battle!" After a moment of silence, Zhao Xian sighed again. "The soldiers only received a few days of cursory training after enlisting before being attacked at night. This was entirely my fault! The blame lies with me!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zheng and the others all bowed deeply and said in unison, "It is not the fault of the military commander, but rather our poor command!"

"Alright, get up, all of you!" Zhao Xian said with a slight frown.

"What pains me most is the death of those more than ten officers!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly, and the tent fell silent.

"Those dozen or so wounded soldiers, once they recover, will return to their respective units!" Zhao Xian pondered for a moment before issuing the order, "Eight brave soldiers will be drawn from the auxiliary troops to fill the first squad of the first garrison; the second squad will be merged with the first squad of the second garrison into one squad, with Xu Hua as the squad leader and Zhao Zong as the deputy squad leader; the second squad of the second garrison will remain unchanged for now!"

"We need to stay here for two more days to continue training our soldiers!"

"We will obey your command, General!" Upon hearing this, everyone immediately bowed and accepted the order.

The next day, officials from Nankou Township finally arrived, with five oxcarts loaded with baskets of golden, overflowing talisman coins!

This scene left the soldiers in the camp dumbfounded.

A moment later, all the teams had assembled.

"The fallen will receive a compensation of ten thousand coins, the lightly wounded two thousand, and the seriously wounded five thousand!" On the makeshift earthen platform, Zhao Xian looked down at the soldiers and shouted solemnly.

"Zhao Ding, the first platoon of the first team of the first garrison, died in battle. His pension is ten thousand coins!" Zhao Xian read aloud solemnly, holding a green bamboo slip.

Below, a basket of neatly counted talisman coins was carried onto the earthen platform. Team leader Zhao Ji, carrying a palm-sized pottery jar, solemnly walked onto the platform, placed the jar on top of the talisman coins, wrapped the bamboo basket with coarse cloth, and tied it securely with hemp rope.

Liu Ping, who was standing to the side, had already written the seal, dipped it in rice paste, and stuck it firmly onto the coarse cloth.

"Next......

As Zhao Xian continued to call out names, bamboo baskets filled with talisman coins were carried onto the earthen platform one after another, and the corresponding earthenware urns containing the ashes of the soldiers were placed on them, then tied tightly and sealed.

The number of bamboo baskets on both sides of the earthen platform increased, and the soldiers below became more and more solemn.

Even the wealthy young men under Xu Dejing's command, influenced by this solemn atmosphere, had solemn expressions and slightly red eyes.

After all thirty-seven bamboo baskets were carried onto the earthen platform, Zhao Xian looked at the two officials wearing red turbans below and said, "Chief Chen and Chief Liu, I will trouble you two to escort the compensation and ashes to Wohu Township and Xixiang respectively!"

"We will deliver them intact to the families of the fallen soldiers in both villages!" the two men replied loudly, cupping their hands in unison.

Then, with the help of the soldiers, the group carried the bamboo baskets onto the oxcart.

Both men were the village chiefs of Nankou Township. Zhao Xian had dealt with them when he inspected the township and knew that they were both brave and resolute men.

He trusted the two men quite a bit!

"Continue the training!" Zhao Xian gave the order, turned around and walked down the earthen platform, without saying another word.

The soldiers bowed in unison and shouted, "We will repay your kindness with our lives!"

Jiang Zhuo and the others, who were watching from a distance, also had solemn expressions and remained silent.

After a long pause, Jiang Zhuo looked around at the officials behind him and said with a wry smile, "When the garrison commander led the troops to Ronghuai County to quell the bandits, we all thought he would never return! Now it seems we were wrong! With such morale and fighting spirit, how can we not quell the banditry!"

"What Your Majesty says is absolutely right!" The official behind him immediately echoed.

"Since the sergeant trusts us and has entrusted his wounded soldiers to our care, we will certainly not let him down!"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, we will take good care of the wounded soldiers!" the officials behind them shouted in unison again.

After Fu Qian and all other matters were handed over, Jiang Zhuo and the others returned to Nankou Township overnight.

The camp was finally quiet again.

On the third day, the soldiers under his command continued to train. Zhao Xian and Zhao Zheng, among others, looked down at the ranks from the earthen platform and saw that the ranks were more orderly and disciplined than they had been a few days before.

"After this baptism of blood and fire, these new recruits have also gained some ferocity!" Zhao Zheng said with a sigh as he looked at the soldiers below.

"It's a pity we don't have enough time. If we could train for another half month, our combat strength would definitely be even higher!" Zhao Cheng said with some regret as they were about to set off into Ronghuai County the next day.

"Did you reach the Bone Refinement level last night, Brother Zhong?" Suddenly, Zhao Xian looked at Zhao Zheng and Zhao Cheng and asked with a smile.

"Ah Ji has been a second-rate practitioner for several years. That night, he fought against the bandits and finally found a good opportunity to complete his tendon training and enter the bone training level!" Zhao Zheng replied with a smile, his face full of pride.

"Ah Cheng, you're also nearing the completion of your tendon training, you must be close to it soon, right?" Zhao Zheng asked with a smile, looking at Zhao Cheng beside him.

"After a few more battles, I might be able to successfully advance to the Bone Refinement level!" Surrounded by close friends, Zhao Cheng didn't mince words and immediately replied with a smile.

"Da da da!"

The sound of hooves suddenly rose, and a rider galloped toward the earthen platform.

"Whoosh!"

Before the mount had come to a complete stop, the rider dismounted, his armor clanking and clattering.

"Dejing, you led your troops to Ronghuai County to investigate, why are you back so early?" Zhao Xian was quite surprised to see that the person who came was Xu Dejing, and then asked.

Of the three sets of iron armor obtained after defeating the bandits that day, Zhao Xian distributed them to Zhao Cheng, Xu Dejing, and Zhao Ji. As for Zhao Zheng, he already had one set of iron armor.

"General, look who's here?" Xu Dejing smiled knowingly and pointed towards the camp gate.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian and the other two looked up and saw three riders standing outside the camp gate, with the leader being a female cultivator in green.

The camp gate was only a few dozen steps away from the earthen platform, and Zhao Xian, being on high ground, could see it clearly.

Upon seeing the person's appearance, Zhao Xian showed a hint of surprise.

"Who is this?" Zhao Zheng and the others had excellent eyesight and recognized the newcomer. They then looked at Xu Dejing with puzzled expressions.

"Brothers, those are your unmarried siblings!" Xu Dejing said with a smile.

"Huh?!" Zhao Zheng and Zhao Cheng exchanged a glance and instantly understood the identity of the newcomer.

"Please invite this Fellow Daoist Chen into the military tent!" Zhao Xian pondered for a moment and said calmly.

A moment later, the group had gathered inside the military tent.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Chen!" Sitting upright in the main seat, Zhao Xian was the first to bow to the female cultivator below.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Zhao!" Chen Yuanqing also stood up to return the greeting.

"Acong, Awen, how come you two came with Fellow Daoist Chen?" Zhao Xian asked with great curiosity, his gaze shifting to Wang Cong and Zhang Wen behind Chen Yuanqing.

"Master Chen instructed the two of us to escort Fellow Daoist Chen all the way here!" Zhang Wen immediately stepped forward and replied with a cupped hand.

Zhao Xian nodded slightly, his gaze returning to Chen Yuanqing, and for a moment he didn't know how to speak.

Seeing that Zhao Xian remained silent, everyone in the tent looked at Zhao Zheng, who was sitting to the lower left.

Zhao Zheng was Zhao Xian's elder brother, and his status was second only to Zhao Xian among the crowd. It was only natural that he should step forward to help them out of this predicament.

"Acong, Awen, before you leave, does Lord Chen have any other instructions?" Zhao Zheng looked at the two of them and asked with a smile.

"As Chen Junyan said, the military commander is still lacking a military physician. Fellow Daoist Chen has some medical skills and has already entered the late stage of Qi Refining. He also has a magic weapon to protect him, so he is more than capable of serving as a military physician!" Zhang Wen replied without hesitation.

"We deeply admire Chen Jun's meticulous thinking!" Zhao Zheng immediately praised him, then sighed, "If there had been a military doctor here the night before, so many seriously wounded soldiers would not have struggled and died in agony!"

'

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng, Zhao Ji, and others below him echoed his sentiments.

They could all see that Zhao Xian was unwilling to let this Fellow Daoist Chen stay in the camp, but since Fellow Daoist Chen had already come, he couldn't send him back, otherwise it would inevitably cause a rift between the two.

Zhao Xian was also struck by Zhao Zheng's words, which touched on his own thoughts.

Of the more than two hundred men under his command, only he, Liu Ping, and Liu Sheng were Qi Refining cultivators, but none of the three were Wood Element cultivators, so they could not use the Rejuvenation Spell to heal the soldiers.

If there were a military physician skilled in wood element techniques by their side, many soldiers might be spared from the pain and suffering of injuries.

"In that case, please let Fellow Daoist Chen temporarily assume the role of the army physician!" Zhao Xian looked at Chen Yuanqing, stood up, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice.

"Yuanqing will do his utmost to live up to the trust placed in him by the military officer!" Chen Yuanqing smiled as he replied to Zhao Xian's agreement.

Before she left, Chen Yuancheng tried to dissuade her, both because he was worried about her safety and because he knew Zhao Xian's character.

According to Chen Yuancheng, Zhao Xian was extremely strict in his military discipline and would never allow a female cultivator to appear in the camp and disrupt morale.

But Chen Yuanqing insisted on coming, so Chen Yuancheng had to find a way to deal with her, which led to Zhang Wen's words just now.

"Ah Hong, quickly make room for Fellow Daoist Chen in a military tent!" Zhao Xian said, looking at Zhao Hong beside him.

"Huh?!" Zhao Hong was slightly taken aback and blurted out, "Brother, where are there any extra military tents? Only your main tent has some space."

"Nonsense!" Zhao Hong's voice grew weaker as he saw Zhao Xian glaring at him.

"It's alright, I brought my own military tent with me!" Chen Yuanqing blushed slightly, quickly raised the storage bag at his waist, and said with a smile.

"In that case, please, Fellow Daoist Chen, go and rest first!" Zhao Xian said, then looked at Zhao Hong, "Ah Hong, go and help Fellow Daoist Chen set up his military tent!"

"Fellow Daoist Chen, please!" Seeing Zhao Xian's unfriendly expression, Zhao Hong immediately composed himself and said solemnly.

After the two men left the military tent, Zhao Xian looked at Wang Cong and Zhang Wen and asked, "Cong and Wen, do you two intend to stay here, or return to Lord Chen's side?"

"Chen Jun ordered the two of us to stay here and assist Zhao Jun in suppressing the bandits!" Zhang Wen immediately responded solemnly.

"Then we'll incorporate them into the cavalry and put them under Dejing's command!" Zhao Xian said after a moment's thought.

"We will obey your command, General!" the two replied in unison, bowing with their hands clasped.

"With the help of two top-notch experts, the cavalry team's strength will surely reach a new level!" Xu Dejing interjected from the side. He was already acquainted with Wang Cong and Zhang Wen, and his words were quite casual.

"We will rely on Mr. Xu's care in the future!" The two bowed to Xu Dejing.

Meanwhile, news of a female doctor accompanying the army to the camp quickly spread among the soldiers.

Behind the largest military tent in the center of the camp, a small military tent had appeared at some point; that was Chen Yuanqing's residence.

In the afternoon, after settling everyone in, Chen Yuanqing changed into a dark blue Taoist robe and began treating the dozen or so soldiers with minor injuries.

After learning the news, Zhao Xian also went to the rear to check.

Chen Yuanqing sat upright behind the desk, with a blue spirit pearl placed to his left.

With a flick of his wrist, the spirit pearl emitted a faint blue light, and a gentle blue light gathered from the spirit pearl and landed on a soldier.

A few breaths later, the blue light dissipated, and the soldier got up and stretched for a while. Then, with an incredulous look on his face, he rolled up his sleeves.

The thin, long wound on his arm had completely healed!

"Immortal magic! Is this what immortal magic is?!" the soldier murmured to himself.

Before he could thank Chen Yuanqing, he was pulled away by a soldier behind him. The soldier knelt down and cried out urgently, "Immortal Master! I also want to recover quickly, please save me!"

Upon seeing this, the others also knelt down and bowed, their faces showing anxiety.

"Don't worry, I will treat you one by one!" Upon hearing this, Chen Yuanqing pointed at the spirit pearl in front of him again, and a beam of green light spread out, covering an area of ​​several feet in front of him.

The soldiers, enveloped in a blue light, gradually calmed down and stopped being agitated.

Watching Chen Yuanqing treat the soldiers methodically, Zhao Xian was quite satisfied and said to Zhao Hong, "Starting tomorrow, you will follow Fellow Daoist Chen and protect him."

"Understood, elder brother!" Zhao Hong replied with a smile.

"Please give these five mid-grade spirit stones to Fellow Daoist Chen to help her recover her magical power!" Zhao Xian thought for a moment, then took out five palm-sized, pure white spirit stones from his sleeve and handed them over.

"Okay!" Zhao Hong said with a smile as he took it.

In the afternoon, Chen Yuanqing ordered Zhao Hong to deliver a list.

"Brother, this is a list of herbs compiled by my sister-in-law. She says they can be used to brew a tonic soup to help the soldiers regain their strength!" Inside the military tent, Zhao Hong bowed and handed over the list.

Zhao Xian glanced at the list and said helplessly, "Where are we supposed to find these herbs in this desolate wilderness!"

"Why don't we send a message to Song Ming and ask them to gather these herbs in the county town? Once we enter Ronghuai County, we can have them send someone to deliver them!" Zhao Hong suggested with a smile after a moment's thought.

"Very well, then you can send a message to Ah Zhong!" Zhao Xian nodded and immediately agreed. "It's just some herbs, it won't take much effort!"

As for the words "sister-in-law" mentioned by Zhao Hong, Zhao Xian simply ignored them.

The next morning, after everyone had finished eating, Zhao Xian ordered his soldiers to set off for Ronghuai County.

Although dozens of people were lost, the team still had a large and imposing presence.

After eight auxiliary soldiers were transferred to Zhao Ji's team, only about forty men remained, which was barely enough to handle logistical matters.

After marching for several miles, the group entered Ronghuai County.

Zhao Xian ordered one cavalry unit to act as scouts, patrolling several miles away to clear the way and guard the main force; another cavalry unit was to join the baggage train and auxiliary troops at the rear to protect the flanks of the column.

As for Xu Dejing, he led the remaining cavalrymen on foot with Zhao Xian and others to save horses.

At this time, news that soldiers from Rongtai County had entered Ronghuai County to quell bandits had already quietly spread within Ronghuai County.

Upon receiving a message from Zhao Hong, Song Ming and Huang Zhong immediately went to pay their respects to Chen Sheng, the county magistrate, in Ronghuai County.

Chen Sheng was quite surprised to learn that Zhao Xian had defeated a band of more than two hundred people at the border of the two counties a few days ago.

Upon hearing that Zhao Xian needed a batch of herbs, he immediately summoned his subordinates and ordered them to gather the required herbs.

After all, even a large quantity of herbs wouldn't be worth much in talisman money.

Meanwhile, news that Zhao Xian had led his team to defeat a band of thieves also reached the ears of some interested people in Ronghuai County.

As night fell, the large group of people set up camp on the open ground outside the official road.

Today, we only marched twenty li in a whole day, which is not much, and even less than the thirty li we marched in the previous days.

This was all because Zhao Xian wanted to preserve the strength of his soldiers and guard against the bandits launching another night attack.

After the soldiers finished their meal, Zhao Xian and the other military officers began to eat.

Tonight, the soldiers on duty are Zhang Gong's platoon.

Although there were only two hundred people and seven or eight military tents, everyone followed the rules and set up camp in a very secure manner.

Wooden fences, barricades, deer enclosures, toilets, patrolling soldiers, sentries both visible and hidden, and lookouts on high platforms—everything was there.

The forty-odd auxiliary soldiers were unable to complete these tedious tasks, so Zhao Xian sent Xu Hua's team of soldiers to work in coordination with the auxiliary soldiers.

Xu Hua and Zhao Zong had no objection to this arrangement.

After all, their team was the weakest.

As the moon rose high in the sky and the night deepened, the officers wrapped themselves in blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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