Border Soldiers: My granaries are full of grain and meat, and I guard this region.

Everyone was quite excited along the way, and Qi Feng didn't restrict them.

A group of county soldiers were talking loudly, and the Great Rong cavalry, who were originally high and mighty in their hearts, did not seem so powerful now.

As Qi Feng listened to their words, a feeling arose in his heart: now, even if they encountered a well-organized Da Rong cavalry unit, they would dare to go up and fight.

However, Qi Feng did not try to dampen their morale. These county soldiers had been suppressed too much in the past, and this battle was a good opportunity for them to hone their skills. At least they would be able to deal with the Rong cavalry more calmly the next time they faced them.

When he entered the city, the guards recognized Qi Feng, but did not stop him. However, their eyes lingered on the cart for a moment.

As the procession crossed the street, pedestrians stopped to watch them, their eyes mostly fixed on the cart. Some noticed a foot sticking out of the cart and quickly covered their eyes in fright.

Qi Feng ordered Liu Dutou to take the county soldiers and spoils of war back to the drill ground, while he went to the county government office to report back.

Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan stood at the entrance of the county government office. Someone had come to inform them when Qi Feng entered the city, and they had made preparations to welcome him well in advance.

Before long, Qi Feng arrived at the county government office and saw Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan waiting at the door. He quickly stepped forward, took out the wolf-head token from Huli Shi's pocket, and handed it over.

"All twelve of the Great Rong cavalrymen are dead, but none of our men are missing, and none of the people from Qijia Village are injured."

After hearing Qi Feng's words, Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan were both stunned.

They had a vague suspicion that Qi Feng might have won, but they never expected that all twelve of the Great Rong cavalry would be killed.

What was even more shocking was that none of Qi Feng's men were injured, not even the villagers of Qi Family Village. This was what shocked Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan the most, not to mention that they had completely annihilated the Great Rong cavalry.

Zhong Shao took the token, examined it twice, carefully checked the large Rong characters engraved on the back, and finally handed it to Zhao Tongchuan.

Zhao Tongchuan took it, glanced at it, and nodded to Zhong Shao.

Zhong Shao then spoke:

"To the drill ground."

Upon arriving at the drill ground, Liu Dutou and the other county soldiers had already finished counting all the supplies and neatly arranged them on the drill ground.

Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan stepped forward. Twelve suits of leather armor were laid out on the ground, with scimitars lined up side by side and bows and arrows in a row. But what attracted more attention were the six strong military horses beside them.

Zhao Tongchuan picked up a curved knife and tossed it around; the handle still had a worn rope loop wrapped around it.

Zhong Shao ignored the curved swords, walked to the cart, and lifted the cloth covering it, revealing twelve corpses neatly arranged.

These people's clothing and appearance were not what people from the Great Sui should look like; they had obvious foreign characteristics, and even if Qi Feng wanted to pretend, he couldn't.

Zhong Shao stared at the corpses for a while, then turned to Qi Feng and asked, "How many people did you take with you when you chased after them?"

Qi Feng said calmly, "It's just me."

The training ground fell silent for a few moments. Zhong Shao looked at Qi Feng with a complicated expression.

He had previously thought that Qi Feng's ability to train troops was questionable, but now this fact had slapped him in the face.

Qi Feng was not only skilled at training troops, but also had outstanding command abilities, and his bravery was beyond question.

Thinking of Qi Feng's brewed beer and the treacherous scheme he used against Ma Shuo at the Feast at Hongmen, Zhong Shao's feelings became even more complicated.

On the one hand, he was pleased that the Zhong family had befriended Qi Feng, but on the other hand, he knew that someone like Qi Feng could never be controlled by the Zhong family.

Finally, Zhong Shao patted Qi Feng on the shoulder: "Get a good rest tonight, I'll write the report of victory."

Qi Feng cupped his hands in greeting to Zhong Shao.

"I'll go back to the restaurant first."

Zhong Shao nodded, and Qi Feng turned and walked out of the training ground, with Ye Ling Shuang following beside him.

As the two walked out of the training ground gate, they could still hear Liu, the head constable, recounting the details to Zhong Shao behind them.

"When Master Qi chased after him alone, I thought he wouldn't come back..."

The next morning, Qi Feng sat in the backyard of Ye Family Restaurant, staring blankly at the old elm tree in the yard.

Yu Yourong brought out a bowl of porridge from the kitchen and placed it beside him. Without asking any questions, she simply sat down quietly next to Qi Feng to keep him company.

Ye Zhiwan peeked out, then retreated back behind the counter, not coming out to disturb them.

Qi Feng's right shoulder was wrapped in a cloth bag. The dressing was changed this morning, and the bleeding has stopped.

Qi Feng picked up the bowl of porridge and took a sip. The warm, wheaty aroma melted in his mouth, and his stomach felt warm.

After returning from the drill ground yesterday, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and slept until dawn. It was the deepest sleep he had had in days.

Wang Chong arrived in the morning, saying that Young Master Zhong had invited him to the county government office.

Qi Feng put down his bowl and followed Wang Chong out the door. Zhong Shao and Zhao Tongchuan were both in the back hall of the county government office. On the table were the wolf-head token and a written victory report.

Upon seeing Qi Feng enter, Zhong Shao gestured for him to sit down and pushed the victory report in front of him.

Qi Feng took the report and glanced at it. It read, "Qi Feng, the assistant commander of the patrol, led 30 county soldiers and some militiamen to defeat 12 Rong cavalrymen outside Qijia Village, beheading 12 and seizing some weapons."

"This report of victory will be sent to Linzhao City. Once my father sees it, he will naturally forward it to the Longxi Prefecture government. You annihilated twelve cavalrymen and left thirty men unharmed in this battle. This achievement cannot be suppressed. Rest assured, even if Huang Dingyuan tries to interfere, he will not be able to."

Qi Feng cupped his hands in thanks to Zhong Shao: "Thank you, Young Master Zhong."

Qi Feng hadn't forgotten that Huang Dingyuan was watching him from the shadows.

Zhong Shao waved his hand gently: "This is all thanks to your own hard work, and you deserve it."

Zhao Tongchuan said with a smile from the side.

"Brother Qi went from being a commoner to making meritorious contributions in battle in just a few months. I imagine we'll be able to work together in the officialdom in the future."

Qi Feng did not show any smugness, but simply cupped his hands and smiled at Zhao Tongchuan.

"I will need your continued support in the future. If it weren't for Young Master Zhong appointing me as the assistant patrol officer, I probably wouldn't have had this opportunity to achieve this."

Zhong Shao smiled gently and continued.

"I told my father in the letter that I recommended you for the position of a ninth-rank county patrol inspector, in charge of patrols and western defenses. Although the rank is not high, it is a real official appointed by the imperial court. You have risen from a commoner to a ninth-rank military officer, and Brother Qi has finally escaped the ranks of commoners."

Qi Feng remained silent for a moment. Although the ninth rank was the lowest military officer rank, he had indeed escaped his commoner status. "Thank you, Young Master Zhong."

Zhong Shao nodded slightly and continued:

"This official position is basically a done deal, especially since you've made such a great contribution at this crucial juncture. No one will hold you back. However, it will take some time before the official appointment document from the imperial court arrives. In the meantime, you can continue working as a county inspector."

"Once you become the county inspector, you can recruit and train local militia in Fuxing County, and you can set up defenses at the four gates of the county town and along the main roads within the county."

"Although the position of county inspector is slightly lower than that of county lieutenant, I know that your future achievements will not be low. For now, just focus on blocking the Rong tribe. Magistrate Zhao and I will fully support you."