Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

outside the capital

The thousand-household garrison was located several miles away.

After leaving Xifang, Cao Liang brought his men directly here, but did not go in immediately.

Instead, they had someone call out the fellow villagers they used to know.

The group sat down in an open space nearby.

"That's the gist of it. We need four people in total. You'll all be appointed as centurions right away. Choose one hundred people yourself. If you do well, you can stay in the position. If you don't, you'll be dismissed. However, this time you'll need to go to the border. Think it over carefully and see if you can go."

As Cao Liang explained his words.

The four people opposite them exchanged glances and fell into deep thought.

They are currently junior officers, and if they are lucky, they can rise to the rank of centurion within ten years if they want to.

If you're unlucky, you might never have any hope in this lifetime.

"This Lord Qin..."

"Lord Qin is a very good person. He doesn't meddle in things too much, and most importantly, he's willing to share the silver; he never embezzles it all!"

Speaking of it.

Cao Liang looked around and lowered his voice:

"Do you know how much silver I've saved up in the month I've been following Lord Qin?"

"Sixty taels, for one month."

The others were all startled.

They were outside the city, unlike the eunuchs in the imperial guards and garrisons inside the city, who could easily extort a lot of money from anyone they grabbed.

I didn't expect it to be this much in just one month?

If that's for a year, wouldn't that be several hundred taels of silver?

"I'll go. It's an opportunity. A hundred men isn't a problem. I can gather them all. They're all willing to risk their lives for me. Otherwise, I'll never see a chance to get ahead. It's just going to the border, not a real battlefield. Besides, in the future, when we're selecting people to gather intelligence, which one isn't more dangerous than going to the border? If I do well, I'll only be a small flag officer when I come back."

One of the burly, dark-faced men gritted his teeth and nodded, indicating that he was willing to go with them.

As for people!

Selecting a hundred brothers from the Thousand Households Office to go there is not a problem. They said that Lord Qin will take care of things on the Thousand Households side.

Moreover, this was a chiliarch personally appointed by the Emperor, so it was naturally different.

At this critical juncture, no one dared to stop Lord Qin.

"I'll go too. What if I can make a name for myself? Things will be different when I come back. The Great Zhou hasn't fought a war in so many years; this is an opportunity!"

Cao Liang nodded slightly and looked at the last two people.

These were all junior officers who had a good relationship with him and were quite motivated. If they wanted to climb the ranks, there was no chance they would have any opportunities if they stayed in the Thousand Households Office.

There are guard posts in the capital, and several thousand-household posts in the surrounding area.

Even if there are jobs that can earn them merit, they usually won't get the chance.

Going to the border with Lord Qin is a good opportunity this time.

"Go to hell, I've had enough of that centurion. This month alone, I've given him five taels of silver, and he still wants more."

"I'll go back and find people... But you should have made it clear that we poached 400 people directly. If the commander asks about it later, it has nothing to do with us."

"rest assured!"

Seeing that the two were also willing to go, Cao Liang immediately stood up.

He whispered the instructions:

"Go back and ask him privately for now. I'll go back and find Lord Qin right now and come here personally to take them away. Once they're gone, even if the commander wanted to make things difficult for you, he wouldn't have that kind of reach!"

"That's what we'll do!"

The four of them also got up and strode away.

……

The next morning.

Qin Feng woke up early, and should have brought his men to the Thousand Household Office outside the capital just as dawn broke.

It was called a thousand-household garrison, but it was actually just a small military camp.

There were some houses built inside, and a piece of land was even cleared in the back to grow some grain.

"Knock on the door!"

The eunuch Miao, who had come with him, was followed by a number of junior eunuchs. Upon receiving the order, he immediately rushed up and knocked on the door.

"Lord Qin, take whoever you fancy without further ado. No need for words. We're here, no one will dare to stop us."

To be on the safe side, Qin Feng sent someone to contact Eunuch Miao in the palace.

The other party should be well aware that the Emperor has given him the position of commander of a thousand households, and choosing the right person to fill the position is a difficult problem.

Directly replacing someone else's position and parachuting them in makes them even more difficult to manage.

It would be better to choose the people yourself.

However, taking people from other garrisons was a risky move that could offend some people. Qin Feng hadn't expected Cao Liang to be so quick; he had already negotiated a deal with the people in less than a night.

We hope he can personally bring people to pick them up and take them away.

To avoid the Qianhu (a military unit) refusing to release people, or even targeting certain individuals.

Qin Feng understood this matter perfectly.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"It's alright. We're all serving the Emperor. You're now a commander of a thousand households appointed by the Emperor himself, a proper official of the garrison. I'll naturally support you. Go and summon Commander Jiang and have everyone in the commander's office rise up."

Don't be fooled by Eunuch Miao's trembling presence in the Imperial Study, where he kneels frequently to serve the Emperor.

But he was the Grand Secretary, one of the most powerful eunuchs in the Imperial Guard.

The other civil officials in the court were one thing, but as for the officers and soldiers under the Imperial Guard, to be honest, they could deal with whomever they wanted without even giving a heads-up.

soon.

Jiang Qianhu, who was sleeping, rushed out with his men without even getting dressed properly.

"Grandpa Miao, why have you come in person?"

"I've brought Commander Qin here to select some men. I'm sure you won't have any objections, will you?"

"Selecting people?"

As soon as Jiang Qianhu saw Qin Feng, he immediately understood what was going on.

He was saying yesterday, "Qin Feng suddenly became a commander of a thousand men, what will happen to his men?"

Unexpectedly, they chose him.

Last time, 100 people were transferred out, and now that they've just filled the gaps, they're having another selection process?

"Commander Qin, the selection of personnel is not a problem. How many men are needed this time?"

"Four hundred people."

"What?"

Jiang Qianhu was dumbfounded.

This is equivalent to selecting almost half of the people in a thousand households.

"Eunuch Miao, isn't this too many? With four hundred fewer people, I can't keep up with some of the work. Could you reduce the number?"

"Commander Jiang, may I speak to you in private?"

Qin Feng smiled slightly.

He pointed to a spot not far to the side, his meaning clear: could we talk privately?

"The four hundred men were all selected in advance. I know this is somewhat unethical, but the Emperor has given the order, and there's nothing I can do about it. However..."

"With so many people gone, Commander Jiang may not be able to complete some of his work. So, I will take one person with me and donate 50 taels of silver to the Commander's Office, so that Commander Jiang can recruit enough people as soon as possible."

"have no idea……"

Commander Jiang was dumbfounded.

Fifty taels per person, four hundred people, that's two thousand taels.

Do you know that recruiting staff for a thousand households is a problem?

Not at all!

Others have to bribe their way in to get in, but he suddenly has 400 openings. In fact, as long as there are people to do the work, just those 400 openings can bring in a lot of money.

Unexpectedly... Qin Feng actually gave him an extra 2000 taels of silver.

"What are you saying, Commander Qin? We're all doing this for the Emperor. Besides, Eunuch Miao is personally involved. I've always wanted to befriend you, but I haven't had the chance. We'll do as Commander Qin says, and I guarantee my cooperation!"

"Thank you very much, Commander Jiang. When you return to the West Ward, please be sure to send someone to inform me!"

"Sure, sure!"

Jiang Qianhu nodded excitedly.

That's impressive!

As long as Qin Feng can return alive from the border, the death of a mere commander of a thousand men is no match for him.

There's absolutely no harm in befriending the other party.

"Let's choose someone!"

After walking back.

Qin Feng whispered an instruction to Cao Liang.