The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Li Yi spent the night at Zhang's residence. Thinking that his annual salary of 100 shi (a unit of dry measure) should already be stored in the warehouse of Sanyi Manor, he prepared to go back early in the morning, sell part of it to his colleagues, and then use the money to buy several hundred catties of lean meat.

He went out with Zhang Lingyi, who was on duty, and rode off on horseback. Before they even left the city, he suddenly noticed a fleeting figure beside him.

"My dear brother."

"Brother Qin, what brings you here today?"

Li Yi turned his head to look at the ghost and smiled.

Qin Kaixian flicked his sleeves and put his hands behind his back, saying, "I just finished working with the River God of the Azure Dragon River and collected a lot of fresh fish."

Li Yi's eyes lit up. "Brother Qin, how many do you have to give me?"

Qin Kai pointed at him and laughed and scolded, "You're really too kind! The people from the Fengshen Division told me that the River God felt sorry for the shrimp soldiers and crab generals in his river, so he went to the confluence of the rivers to guide the fish and shrimp of the Qiujiang River into the moat."

Fortunately, the Qiujiang River did not give birth to a river god, otherwise it would have been beaten to a pulp.

He paused for a moment and then said, "I have prepared two hundred catties of fresh fish for Sanyi Manor. Don't let my daughters go hungry."

Li Yi rolled his eyes and said, "Look at what you're saying."

Qin Kaixian became more familiar with him, his respect waned, replaced by a playful chuckle:

"Do you remember the relic I mentioned to you? It's in the northwest corner of the woodshed. What, you don't like it?"

Li Yi slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten about it!

At the time, he was only thinking about snatching food from the City God's mouth and grabbing a subordinate for himself, so he didn't listen to any of his instructions.

What's inside?

Qin Kai turned around and left, saying, "Go see for yourself."

Li Yi spurred his horse back to Sanyi Village, cleared out the northwest corner of the woodshed, and sure enough, knocked out a hidden compartment.

He moved the floor tiles aside and counted out 150 taels of silver notes, 20-30 taels of loose silver, and a bottle of Blood Qi Pills, totaling four pills.

Nothing particularly unusual, but it could solve an immediate problem.

The legacy of Qin Kaixian, the annual salary of the Duke of Shangzao, plus two hundred catties of fresh fish.

With all these provisions combined, there would be no need to worry about meat for at least two or three months, and even if distributed among subordinates, it would be enough to last through most of the winter.

If the grain is resold, some blood-qi pills can be stockpiled.

Li Yi immediately set off for Ersanzhuang, where he met Liu Zhongliang in the official residence and explained his purpose directly.

Liu Zhongliang smiled wryly, "Yesterday, the Commander-in-Chief mentioned the war, and everyone in the centurion's garrison was in a panic, too busy hoarding grain to even think about reselling it, Brother Li?"

"It's alright, I won't starve."

Liu Zhongliang saw that Li Yi was unaware of the deeper meaning in his words, shook his head, and said directly:

"As garrison soldiers, we naturally won't starve. But once war breaks out, the grain stored in the garrison is one thing, but our own grain storage is another..."

The words weren't fully said, but that was about it.

That's true. At this time, grain is money. Who would complain about not having enough money?

Li Yi hesitated for a moment, but when he thought about the daily consumption of cultivation, he realized that if he didn't accumulate more blood qi pills, he might run out of meat one day, which would delay his cultivation.

It's better to take the money and be safe with it. At most, you'll make a small profit, it's not like you're losing money.

"So, Brother Liu, will you accept it?"

"receive!"

Liu Zhongliang took out twenty taels of silver from the drawer of the table. "I'll take all your hundred shi of grain."

With grain prices rising, normally 100 shi of grain would only sell for 10 taels of silver.

"Sell half," Li Yi said, accepting ten taels of silver. He then brought up another matter, "Brother Liu, have you heard about the formation of sentry garrisons in the garrison?"

Liu Zhongliang replied, "Yesterday I heard from the commander that at least half of our Beidajie Hundred-Household Garrison will be going on the expedition with the army, so they are naturally eligible to compete for the scout position—Brother Li, are you interested?"

Li Yi smiled without saying a word, then bowed and took his leave.

To be selected as a sentry, strength is naturally the most important factor.

Although the garrison was preparing to form a sentry cavalry, it would not send out all its elite troops. At least most of the captains and centurions would have to stay behind to secure the rear.

In this case, perhaps the selection process would be based on the military system, choosing from among many small flags, but it would be unclear how to conduct the election.

Li Yi walked back to Sanyi Manor, and was about to go to the North Street government office to check things out when he saw a group of people rushing over and stopping in front of the official residence.

The leading soldier dismounted and sized up Li Yi. "Are you the junior officer from Sanyi Manor?"

"Exactly."

The soldier flashed his badge and said, "I am Zhang Ren, the scout messenger. The commander has ordered that Li Yi, the junior officer of Sanyi Village, and his soldiers go to the commander's office to receive orders one day from now."

"Li Yi obeys."

It turns out that the decision was made directly by the garrison, and given the current tense situation, there really wasn't enough time.

Li Yi watched Zhang Renyi and his party mount their horses and leave, seemingly to deliver orders to other households. He imagined that after today, this place would be the subject of much discussion.

In just half a day, the news of the garrison's formation of sentry cavalry spread far and wide among the millions of military households. The tall man and the man with uneven eyes, who always enjoyed the comforts of the government office, also arrived at noon, presumably to stay at the garrison for a while.

The two captains each gathered their men outside the taller captain's residence. This area was also managed by military households, and those with many able-bodied men in their families would take on extra farmland and earn more income.

The man with uneven eyes stood with his hands behind his back, completely calm; the tall man stepped forward and spoke loudly:

"I'm sure you've all heard the news. We need half of our men to accompany the army. I won't force anyone. Those who wish to make military contributions, please step forward."

The junior officers did not embarrass anyone; five of them stood up unanimously, including Li Yi.

It must have been agreed upon yesterday.

The tall man nodded in satisfaction. "In that case, let's start reviewing military formations from today, lest we end up in complete chaos on the battlefield."

Five small flags were left outside the official residence. After dismissing the other five flags, Li Yi glanced at everyone. Apart from Liu Zhongliang and Feng Jun, the other two were only vaguely familiar faces.

Each of the four small flags had about ten people. Li Erhu, Guan Tian, ​​and Liu Zhi stood behind Li Yi, appearing to be outnumbered and outmatched.

Feng Jun chuckled and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the man with the large and small eyes, "Commander, this expedition represents the face of the centurion. Leaving behind such a crippled little flag would only damage our prestige."

The man with uneven eyes didn't answer, but looked at the tall man, who indeed had a furrowed brow and said calmly:

"It's alright. Sanyi Manor is not part of the army's entourage. Didn't a messenger visit early this morning? Li Yi and his soldiers will serve as scouts, which is just the right number of personnel."

Feng Jun's face twitched. "The garrison selects its sentries from the elite, so what makes Sanyi Manor so special? Two greenhorns at the early stages of Qi Refining, plus two lowly peasants?"

The tall guy ignored him, exchanged a glance with the guy with uneven eyes, and both of them looked helpless.

"Alright, Feng Jun, both Commander Du and I are well aware of Li Yi's capabilities. There's no need for you to interfere. The important thing is to train the troops well."

Feng Jun turned to look at Xiao Yan'er, only to be met with a glare from him. He felt frustrated all afternoon during the drills.

He simply couldn't understand why a country bumpkin from the mountains could be so self-righteous and unrestrained. He was just a greenhorn who had only recently begun to cultivate Qi, so how could he be chosen as a sentry?

Just because he has some aptitude for cultivation?

"No! My liver qi is currently stagnant; how can I possibly master military formations? Every time I think about this, it will only hinder my cultivation!"

Feng Junteng dropped his long spear and went to find the man with the uneven eyes to file a complaint:

"I heard that a military officer from the Trapped Camp came to Sanyi Manor to requisition grain, but guess what? Li Yi refused him!"

He has no regard for military discipline whatsoever! He was selected as a sentry by the guards, and they paid him countless sums of money; where would a peasant like him get that kind of money?

The man with the uneven eyes held Feng Jun down. "I told you before, Li Yi is truly capable. Why make an enemy? Wouldn't it be better to have more reliable colleagues?"

Feng Jun's face was contorted, and he suppressed his emotions as he said in a low voice, "This humble official just can't understand it, and I can't stand it."

This is demonic possession.

Once we cultivators are provoked by the Mother of the Liver, we are more prone to extremes than ordinary people. If we do not cultivate our nature and virtue, we will often suffer calamities in the future, and the consequences are often unimaginable.

This calamity is both a celestial calamity and a human calamity.

It's difficult to truly empathize without putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

The man with the uneven eyes sighed inwardly, his face becoming solemn and serious. He said earnestly, "Feng Jun, you are my brother and confidant. I don't want you to make a single wrong decision and ruin yourself. Now that things have come to this, I must take you down!"