From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

When Emperor Taizu established the nation through military force and was vying for supremacy, he implemented a twenty-rank system of military merit to boost morale. This proved effective, inspiring soldiers to fight to the death. However, by the time the empire was pacified, the number of soldiers enfeoffed had reached tens of thousands!

There were thirty-seven marquises alone, known as the Thirty-Seven Marquises!

Among them, thirteen were Marquises of Che, who, in addition to their fiefs, also had fiefs, such as the Marquis of Jing'an and the Marquis of Dingyuan. The remaining twenty-four were Marquises within the Passes, who had fiefs but no fiefs.

Although lower-ranking nobles below the marquis did not have fiefs or estates, they still enjoyed many privileges such as exemption from corvée labor and taxes.

The Great Qian Dynasty has been established for over seventy years.

These military merits and titles were passed down from father to son and from son to grandson, effectively creating powerful clans. Through various means, they amassed land, and because they were exempt from corvée labor and taxes, these clans grew increasingly wealthy, while the imperial court became increasingly impoverished.

Later emperors also introduced various policies to restrict it, but they were not very effective.

The imperial court knew that recruiting soldiers on its own and giving them undue power would cause trouble, but at present the court could not afford to support so many troops. In desperation, it could only drink poison to quench its thirst.

"So even emperors have it tough."

After leaving Xiao Fengxiao's place, Chen Shi couldn't help but smile.

Of course, whether the emperor is doing well or not is none of his business. What Chen Shi needs to do now is prepare for this rebellion.

It was getting late when word came that the master had gone to rest, and Chen Shi was able to leave this time.

Back home, nothing was said that night.

The next day, he went to the Marquis's residence first, gave some brief instructions, and then left immediately.

Gu Tingshu ordered him to recruit one hundred soldiers.

This is actually not difficult. There are plenty of refugees in and around the city. Let alone a hundred, as long as we feed them, a thousand is not a problem.

But these refugees were just ordinary people, and because they had been starving for years, they were too weak and had some fighting ability.

Those rebels were originally displaced people, so it's a simple contest of who has more people against whom. But this side probably can't possibly outnumber the rebels.

Therefore, the only way to win is through quality.

In fact, neither the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion nor the Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion had started recruiting soldiers, but neither had directly recruited refugees.

Chen Shi's side only has one hundred slots, and they must be elite soldiers.

They took a horse-drawn carriage and went straight to the Flying Eagle Gang.

"Big brother! What brings you here today?"

Upon seeing Chen Shi arrive, Du Yueming was overjoyed and quickly offered him the seat of honor.

"Call the third and fourth brothers over."

Chen Shi didn't say anything else, he just gave an order.

"Yes."

Du Yueming was taken aback. Could it be that something big had happened?

But he didn't ask any further questions and immediately ordered someone to fetch him.

Upon hearing Chen Shi's summons, Zhang Xiaotian and Huang Jingui rushed over in less than half an hour.

"Big brother, what's wrong?"

Everyone had arrived, and the three looked at Chen Shi with a puzzled expression.

"You've heard about the rebels, haven't you?"

Chen Shi didn't mince words and went straight to the point.

"Yesterday, the imperial edict was issued, ordering the Marquis of Jing'an and the Marquis of Dingyuan to raise troops to quell the rebellion. The Marquis told me to take one hundred men with me."

"Big Brother is going to quell the rebellion!"

Upon hearing this news, the three of them widened their eyes, their faces filled with shock.

"Our eldest brother is going to war. As his younger brothers, we should be at his service, ready to go through fire and water for him, but..."

Then, coming to their senses, the three of them looked troubled again.

"What will happen to this gang's mess if we leave? Especially lately, there are homeless people everywhere in the city, and things are getting chaotic on the streets. If we're not here, who knows what kind of trouble might arise."

"You don't need to come along, just send people."

Chen Shi glanced at the three of them and gave a soft snort.

"Send someone!"

"That's easy!"

"It's just a hundred people, I'll field them all!"

The three of them felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they pounded their chests in celebration.

As long as they aren't allowed to go to the battlefield, they'll send out not just a hundred, but a thousand men.

"It's not that simple."

Chen Shi sneered, then his face darkened.

"I don't want ordinary people; they must at least be ninth-rank martial artists!"

"A warrior..."

The three who had been so confident just moments before were instantly dumbfounded, and then their brows furrowed.

Although their gang has a large number of members, they are just street gangs after all. To put it bluntly, they are a bunch of thugs, not a martial arts sect. The proportion of martial artists is actually very small.

Even though they have dominated Yongqiu City for the past two years and grown much stronger, if all the warriors from each gang were gathered together, they would only number around a hundred.

Chen Shi wants a hundred people right now.

Although it's only 30%, you have to understand that these martial artists are usually the backbone of their gangs. How many of them are willing to risk their lives on the battlefield? And how many can they persuade?

"Since our elder brother has spoken, how can we refuse!"

Du Yueming hesitated for a moment, then said directly.

"I'll put up thirty-five!"

"I'll also put up thirty-five!"

Zhang Xiaotian gritted his teeth and followed closely behind.

"I'll cover the remaining thirty!"

Huang Jingui's forces were the weakest, but he had already lost five men; what else could he say?

"Okay, you have three days."

Chen Shi nodded, then got up and left.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war, so the Marquis's residence has decided to depart in five days.

Chen Shi needs to allow two more days for a buffer period.

"Three days..."

The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment; this was far too hasty.

But Chen had already laid out the truth; what else could they say?

"Give us more money!"

Du Yueming gritted his teeth and said something.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men. Give each person one hundred taels of silver, and I bet no one will go. If one hundred taels isn't enough, then two hundred or three hundred taels!

One hundred people, if each person receives one hundred taels, that's ten thousand taels of silver! That's no small sum.

But since Chen Shi had spoken, they had to gather all one hundred warriors no matter what.

After leaving the Flying Eagle Gang, Chen Shi went straight to the Hundred Refinements Iron Shop.

Although they are called ironware, apart from ordinary tools, the most sold items are weapons.

"Steward Chen! What brings you here? You didn't even tell me beforehand so I could have prepared!"

Upon seeing Chen Shi's carriage stop, Manager Jiang hurriedly came out to greet him.

This Bailian Ironware Shop is one of Xiao Fengxiao's businesses.

Although martial arts are prevalent in the Great Qian Dynasty, how can one sell weapons without a powerful background?

"I wonder what brings Steward Chen here today?"

After leading Chen Shi inside, Manager Jiang asked a somewhat guilty question.

Chen Shi sat there, picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and then looked up to speak.

"Order a batch of armor."

"Fixed armor?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said with a big smile.

"I thought it was something serious. It's such a small matter. Steward Chen could have just sent someone to give instructions. Why did you have to come all the way here yourself?"

"I want full heavy armor."

"Heavy armor..."

Manager Jiang, who had been all smiles just moments before, froze for a moment, and his expression turned ugly.

Heavy armor is not like other ordinary armor; both its cost and craftsmanship are much higher.

Furthermore, the government has extremely strict control over heavy armor, so even if he had it, he wouldn't have many.

"Steward Chen, how many sets would you like?"

Coming to his senses, Manager Jiang asked another question.

Even if it's only eight or ten sets, he would have to bleed heavily in order not to offend Chen Shi.

One hundred sets.

"one hundred……"

Shopkeeper Jiang's eyes widened instantly, and he froze on the spot. It took him a moment to come to his senses, and his face was full of embarrassment.

"Steward Chen! You know..."

"If you miss a single set within three days, Second Madam will find out everything you've done."

Chen Shi interrupted him directly, slamming the teacup down on the table.

"..."

Manager Jiang opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

A hundred suits of heavy armor would indeed kill him, but if Chen Shi told Xiao Fengxiao what he had done, Xiao Fengxiao would really kill him immediately.

To save his life, Manager Jiang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and could only grit his teeth and agree.

"One hundred sets? I'll get them done within three days!"