Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1177, Part 3: Visiting the Thatched Cottage

Hu Jincai scratched his head: "Hehe, old Hu is incompetent, he should have thought of this method sooner."

Lin Feng waved his hand: "Your greatest achievement is defending Funing City, which deserves the highest credit."

Hu Jincai stood up and clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Boss. My thought is that as long as the city stands, we will live; if the city is lost, we will die."

Lin Feng frowned: "Where did that resourceful and adaptable Old Hu go?"

Pei Qiyin laughed and said, "Perhaps she's a little delirious from hunger."

"Hehehe, it's true, my stomach is always like it's never full. I'm hungry again right after I've eaten."

"Hahaha..."

Everyone laughed.

With the change in the battle situation, everyone felt much more relaxed.

"Don't let your guard down. There are still tens of thousands of pirates eyeing the city from the outside. Their leader, Atsumi Akiyama, has always vowed to take Funing City. Now that he has failed, he will naturally become even more frantic. We need to be careful in dealing with the battles to come."

Lin Feng promptly reminded them not to become too complacent.

Everyone immediately stopped smiling and waited seriously for their leader to issue the task.

"Our current food supplies are far from enough, but they cannot stop the pirate garrison from entering and leaving the city. When Cheng Liang's five thousand cavalry arrive, that will be the time when the pirates are defeated."

"As long as the Zhenxi ship comes, it will bring plenty of food and fodder, and there will be no more hunger."

Lin Feng said in a deep voice.

Everyone present knew very well the iron cavalry of the Zhenxi Army; even the Tartars couldn't withstand them, let alone these pirate infantry.

"Order the three thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry of Jinhao Prefecture to leave two thousand men to guard the city, and the rest to march on Funing Prefecture."

"Yes, boss."

A soldier responded loudly.

Everyone was excited, knowing that their leader was going to launch a full-scale counterattack against the pirates.

The central prefectural city of Zhenxi Eight Prefectures, within the city of Shanglin Prefecture.

Inside the office of Bai Jing, the General Commander of the Western Garrison, sat an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in official robes and wearing a black gauze hat.

Two generals in full armor stood beside the old man.

Bai Jing sat down beside her.

The old man stroked his beard and smiled: "Steward Bai, I have visited you three times. Your sincerity is beyond words. I just don't know what your decision is."

Bai Jing smiled gently and began to speak.

“Your Excellency, your suggestion is excellent. I admire Bai Jing even more for having such a general who is willing to contribute to the Great Clan. However, if you were to appoint the two of them to the positions of Zhenxi Army, the Regent would need to give his approval first.”

This white-bearded, white-haired old man was none other than Han Qi, the prime minister of the Great Dynasty.

He had come three times already, mainly to recommend the two generals standing to one side to Bai Jing.

They were all generals of chariots and cavalry, whose ranks had reached the third grade during the reign of Emperor Dazong, and they came to serve in the Zhenxi Army.

"Chief Steward Bai, you see, there's still no news about the Regent. Right now, the Emperor has issued an edict that they can temporarily take up positions in the Zhenxi Army. Once the Regent returns, we can complete the formalities."

Han Qi patiently persuaded him.

Bai Jing looked apologetic: "Prime Minister, even if we were to arrange for you to join the Zhenxi Army, we would need to speak with General Wang Qian. I am just in charge of military logistics. You don't want the two generals to be assigned to logistics positions in the Zhenxi Army, do you?"

"Alas, these two generals are fierce warriors who are good at fighting on the battlefield. How can they be assigned to logistics positions?"

"Yes, we should talk to General Wang about this."

Han Qi frowned his snow-white eyebrows: "General Wang is too stubborn. He insists that he only listens to Lin Feng and doesn't even look at the Emperor's decree."

Bai Jing spread her hands: "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. We're not subordinate to each other."

Han Qi pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice.

"Chief Steward Bai, look, after all, the Emperor has spoken, so I should at least have a response, right? Look at this..."

Bai Jing shook her head firmly: "Prime Minister, the Regent said that I should not interfere with the military affairs of the Zhenxi Army, and the King will not listen to me."

A general standing to one side spoke angrily at this moment.

"Do you dare to disobey the imperial decree?"

Han Qi immediately shouted, "Tang Yuan, shut up."

This person is the son of Tang Bingqian, the former Minister of War, and currently holds the position of General of the Imperial Guard.

He was a general in name only, without any troops under his command.

Faced with such questioning, Bai Jing shook her head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Han Qi had no choice but to get up and take his leave, marking the third time he had returned empty-handed.

However, less than half an hour after Han Qi left, Cai Lantian, the Imperial Censor of the Great Court, came to visit again.

Cai Lantian also brought two middle-aged officials with him.

These were all veteran officials of the Great Dynasty. Regardless of their official rank or age, Bai Jing could not refuse them outright and had no choice but to serve them tea.

As an imperial censor, he spoke very directly, getting straight to the point.

"Chief Steward Bai, the Emperor has decreed that these two gentlemen must be assigned positions in the Logistics Department of the Zhenxi Army. Please take good care of it."

Bai Jing readily agreed and nodded.

"Alright, please go to report to Lord Zhu Jie, the deputy commander of the Zhenxi Army. He will arrange appropriate positions for you."

Cai Lantian was taken aback by Bai Jing's quick agreement.

"Uh... Steward Bai, these two gentlemen are already high-ranking officials of the third rank. Are there any corresponding positions to be arranged for them?"

Bai Jing smiled wryly and said, "Lord Cai, I don't even have a third-rank position. What do you think would be a suitable position for you two?"

The three adults were stunned and unable to answer for a moment.

Are you suggesting they take over the logistics department of the Zhenxi Army?

Even if Steward Bai agrees, probably no one will listen to them. In the end, not only will no one pay attention to them, but they may not even have a place to work.

After a while, the three high-ranking officials had no choice but to leave temporarily.

Emperor Zhao Cun has been staying obediently in the palace ever since he ascended the throne.

Of course, the so-called palace was just a slightly more luxurious mansion.

They also had to pay rent to the Zhenxi Army's logistics department regularly.

After the old emperor Zhao Zhen passed away, he did not leave behind much money, only some valuable items that were transported from the imperial palace in the capital.

By this time, a considerable amount had been sold.

There was simply no money to pay these court officials their salaries; they had to rely entirely on their own savings to barely make ends meet.

It was a stretch, as each minister was quite wealthy and could secretly live a life of luxury and comfort, but they had to plead poverty in front of the emperor.

When Lin Feng was around, they were all very well-behaved, staying at home and not showing their faces, for fear of attracting the attention of others.

But since Lin Feng has been missing for so long, some people think that it's time for the imperial court to take over the administration of the Zhenxi Army and the eight prefectures of Zhenxi.

After all, this is still the Zhao family's territory. The emperor is still alive, and the entire country should belong to the emperor's family, including their land and property.

Therefore, Han Qi, Cai Lantian, and other veteran officials urged Emperor Zhao Cun to issue an edict to appoint officials to the Zhenxi Army and the eight prefectures of Zhenxi.

This wasn't the first time; he had brought various officials to persuade Bai Jing on multiple occasions that she needed to have a broader perspective, as the Great Zong was the domain of the Zhao family, not her Zhenxi Army.

At the same time, several veteran officials were conducting ideological and political work on Wang Qian, the commander-in-chief of the Zhenxi Army, and Wen Cheng, the chief administrator of the eight prefectures of Zhenxi.

Emperor Zhao Cun, who was hiding in the palace, had long heard of the wealth of the eight prefectures in Zhenxi. How could such a rich country fall into the hands of others?

Zhao Cun was persuaded by several ministers to consider the idea.