Zhou Tai almost got pulled down when he wasn't paying attention. Fortunately, his cultivation level was high enough that he quickly recovered.
Even so, he couldn't hide the surprise in his heart. Back when the two of them parted, wasn't Jiang Qin's cultivation level lower than his own?
But even now, relying on the resources of the water village, he's only at the mid-stage of the third rank, and even that was only achieved with the help of the spiritual energy surge a few days ago. Yet Jiang Qin is now even stronger than him. I really don't know what to say.
Zhou Tai was not good at talking to begin with, and not knowing how to start the conversation, he just kept drinking and drinking. Before long, he was completely drunk.
"Gongyi, you've changed so much over the years!"
"Hey, it's all thanks to Duke Wu! Before, as the leader of the Right Wanderer, my life was just so-so."
"The money I received each month wasn't much. I had to bribe officials and grease palms, and even working myself to the bone every day only brought me so little! Back then, let alone improving my strength, I didn't even have enough to use for cultivation! But everything changed after the Duke of Wu came."
"What's wrong?"
"The Duke of Wu issues out a variety of large-scale and meritorious tasks almost every day. There is even a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who is specifically in charge of this matter."
"For example, the original Mountain Yue Law, also known as the Slave-Capturing Law, roughly meant to encourage wandering knights to go into the forest and capture the Mountain Yue people."
“Each adult Yue person is worth ten taels of silver. An adult Yue woman is worth fifteen taels of silver. As for the elderly and children, they are all worth five taels of silver. I earned my first pot of gold just by relying on this law.”
"At that time, I took dozens of like-minded friends to the Ministry of Works and bought a lot of military-grade weapons. Then, the dozens of us hunted down those small tribes together."
"Those small tribes have populations of only a few hundred, and very few experts. The strongest among them are only at the Innate Realm. Moreover, they don't have any good lineages; they are truly quite ordinary!"
"However, over the past hundred years, they have accumulated a considerable amount of resources, including gold and silver mines. Often, a small tribe of a few hundred people can harvest more than ten thousand taels of silver! Sometimes, with good luck, they can even discover small-scale gold, silver, and copper mines!"
"According to the rules of the Wu Kingdom, once these discovered minerals are reported to the government, one can permanently enjoy a 10% share of the profits! For example, right now, I own three small gold mines, one medium-sized silver mine, and one medium-sized copper mine."
"These mineral resources alone bring me an annual income of 100,000 taels of silver! Plus, I have a large slave-hunting team under my command, so earning 300,000 taels of silver a year is no problem at all!"
Hearing Jiang Qin's words, Zhou Tai nodded repeatedly. Three hundred thousand taels of silver a year—with so much money, it's understandable that his strength would improve.
Back at the water fortress, I made a living doing business with no initial investment each year. Even in my best year, I only earned about 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver. After dividing it among the brothers, I would get about 30,000 taels, which was considered pretty good.
"Are there any restrictions on these tasks assigned by the Duke of Wu?" Zhou Tai asked directly.
"No."
"Then do you think I'm up to the task?"
"Of course you can, but I don't recommend you do it, Youping. Because there's a better opportunity now! An opportunity to be ennobled, an opportunity to rise above others!"
"What opportunity? Is it joining the army? But if I join the army, aren't I afraid of being sold out?"
"Don't be afraid, because this time the general is me!"
"What? Gongyi, are you out of your mind? The position of commander of an army is so important, how could it be given to you? Be careful of a trap!" Zhou Tai said hurriedly.
He now strongly suspected that his young comrade had most likely been framed by the imperial court! Throughout history, how many wandering knights have truly attained high positions? Could it be that he had been secretly plotted against by a villain?
Seeing this, Jiang Qin also laughed. After all these years, it was still his old brother who cared about him the most. However, this time it truly wasn't a deception by the government.
"That's right. The Duke of Wu said that since ancient times, there have been many heroes among the common people. However, these heroes are not used to the strict military law in the army, nor can they stand the various legal constraints after becoming officials. Therefore, he specifically proposed the idea of local militia."
"That means that after making a contribution to the Wu Kingdom, depending on the size of the contribution, one can establish their own militia, which is essentially a private army! According to the size, they are divided into teams of ten people and squads of thirty people. In addition, there are militias of one hundred people, five hundred people, one thousand people, and three thousand people."
"Of course, since the beginning of the hundred-man militia training, the Wu Kingdom has sent officials to the militia, firstly to promote righteousness, secondly to effectively record merits, and thirdly to better train the militia and teach them the correct training methods."
"Right now, I have a militia of a thousand men, all of whom are reliable old brothers who have been through thick and thin with me. When we go to the battlefield, I will personally command them. You could say that this has largely saved us from becoming cannon fodder or being sent to our deaths."
"Youping, why don't you join us too?"
"Okay then!"
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Chapter Thirty-Six: Pre-War Meeting
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Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During these days, due to the differences in world levels, the Heavenly Court had essentially completed its integration. The Underworld was nearly the same. Therefore, some related information had leaked out.
Meanwhile, the world near Jiangdong was gradually revealing itself. It was a vast continent, roughly the size of a state. The total population must have been several hundred million.
Meanwhile, the key officials and military personnel of the entire Wu Kingdom gathered at Lin Yang's residence.
The courtyard is protected by various array formations, which serve to isolate celestial secrets, block sound, and so on.
Inside the courtyard, there are various flowers and medicinal herbs, and in the very center, there is a thousand-year-old peach tree laden with fruit.
The tree was laden with bright red peaches, emitting a sweet fragrance. Once ripe, a Xiantian master who consumed one peach could gain sixty years of lifespan. Even a third-tier Grandmaster could gain twenty years of lifespan by consuming one!
The ability to extend lifespan alone makes it an extraordinary treasure! In some second-rate families, it would be a clan-protecting artifact, a force to suppress the clan's fortune. Yet, at this moment, no one in the courtyard paid any attention to this precious peach tree!
In the spacious courtyard, there were at least a hundred people. These people were divided into two rows according to their status as civil officials and military officers.
In this arrangement, military officers are on the left and civil officials on the right. That's right, military officers are on the left; after all, this is wartime, and military officers are far more important than civil officials!
"Finally, we have a battle to fight!"
"Yes, the whole world is at stake, and the imperial court hasn't sent any reinforcements. It's really..."
"Be careful what you say, be careful what you say..."
"Why would the Taiping Dao rebel when things are going so well?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's all for the sake of becoming emperor!"