Chapter 115: Recruiting Soldiers and Horses

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Spring in the northwest was like a secret tryst between a man and a woman; it arrived late but left very quickly.

The sun in the sky was already beginning to show its fierce heat.

Lei Qing’s recruitment station was set up by the market in Tieling City. A group of elite soldiers borrowed from Xiahou Huan stood in a row, their armor bright and their aura imposing.

Be it discipline or military appearance, Lei Qing was extremely satisfied.

The old subordinates Lei Qing had subdued at Fierce Tiger Ridge had arrived in Tieling City one after another, bringing him a large amount of warhorses and armor. Just in terms of full-body iron armor, Lei Qing now possessed over two hundred sets, and the number of warhorses and weapon s was also considerable. He could be said to have a substantial family fortune; even Xiahou Huan looked on with envy.

The old brothers from Fierce Tiger Ridge had essentially helped him pull off a big job. Faced with such a huge temptation, they had eventually made their way to Tieling City through twists and turns. While this made Lei Qing feel very gratified, he naturally could not treat them unfairly.

He distributed a thousand or so gold coins and gave them two days off to have fun in Tieling City. They had suffered for so long; it was time to let off some steam.

Presumably, in these two days, business in the brothels of Tieling City would skyrocket. Lei Qing’s brothers were all young and strong, full of vigor.

But Lei Qing, leading a dozen Personal Guards and taking the borrowed elite soldiers, began setting up the recruitment station to recruit troops.

It had been over ten days since Leng Yuewu took the reluctant Li Baobao away. Leng Yuewu had stayed in Tieling for three nights in total. Each night, taking advantage of the absence of others and relying on the terrifying skills of a Holy Rank powerhouse, she sneaked into Lei Qing’s room. After furiously having her way with him, she would leave him in a miserable state and, as usual, drop a few harsh words like “don’t tell anyone” before floating away.

Although Lei Qing had resisted, he could not withstand Leng Yuewu’s sharp sword and hard fists; she succeeded time and again. In those three nights, Leng Yuewu seemed to want to vent all the desires she had accumulated over many years. She wanted to make up for all the enjoyment she had missed before. She was simply insatiable.

However, her being Holy Rank made sense. Her learning ability was amazing. On the first night, Lei Qing could still rely on his past experience to assert his dominance, defeating her completely. By the second night, they were evenly matched, giving and taking. On the third night, Lei Qing, in a somewhat exhausted state from consecutive battles, was actually defeated disastrously under Leng Yuewu’s fierce attacks, losing his armor and weapons.

How could Lei Qing, who prided himself as an expert among women, face this? It was a good thing she only stayed three nights. If she had been determined to stay in Tieling for three months, Lei Qing would likely have packed his bags and fled to the ends of the earth again. No joke, the way she ravaged him, he would surely die from exhaustion within three months. This Leng Yuewu was even fiercer than a resentful widow who had been lonely for a long time.

Although over ten days had passed, Lei Qing still had not figured out what exactly his relationship with Leng Yuewu was. Just thinking about it made him confused. However, since he could not figure it out, Lei Qing decided not to think about it.

Returning to the matter of recruitment, although Lei Qing showed great sincerity—once joining the Independent Regiment, one would immediately receive ten gold coins as a settling-in allowance, and a monthly salary of thirty silver coins. For Black Iron-rank, it was higher: thirty gold coins for settling in, and a monthly salary as high as one gold coin.

Ordinary soldiers entering the regiment received two sets of spring and summer uniforms and one thick cotton jacket. After initial training, they would be issued leather armor and weapons. The food was good too, guaranteed to be filling, with a standard of fifteen copper coins, and meat dishes every three days.

For Black Iron-rank, it was even better; the daily food standard reached thirty copper coins, and after training, one would directly receive a set of full-body iron armor and weapons.

But up to now, Lei Qing had only recruited over thirty soldiers, with only one Black Iron-rank small powerhouse.

Originally, when they heard the Iron Cavalry Regiment was recruiting, the people of Tieling City were quite enthusiastic. Many strong men who wanted to join the Iron Cavalry Regiment came to sign up. But upon hearing that Lei Qing’s was an Independent Regiment, which had a subordinate relationship with the Iron Cavalry Regiment and could potentially pull the whole group away at any time, the current situation arose.

This made Lei Qing very depressed. He had prepared to go all out with a chest full of hot blood, but the response was pitiful. Everyone wanted to join the Iron Cavalry Regiment, not a peripheral organization of the Iron Cavalry Regiment that might leave at any time. Most importantly, Lei Qing was new here. Although he had made a bit of a name for himself, it was mostly circulated within the Iron Cavalry Regiment. Few people near Tieling City knew Lei Qing’s great name.

Of course, this was also related to Lei Qing’s strict recruitment conditions. The age requirement was fifteen to twenty-five, though Black Iron-rank and Bronze-rank could be relaxed. Applicants had to be strong, sturdy, and capable. Those who were timid or had bad character were not wanted.

This was why he had only recruited a mere thirty-some soldiers. Combined with his old subordinates, they barely totaled a hundred and fifty men.

But even so, Lei Qing was unwilling to lower his standards or resort to deception. He just sent his Personal Guards to distribute leaflets in Tieling City to spread the word.

Just as the sun was truly fierce, and a few flirtatious young married women were watching Lei Qing from afar, the recruitment station was deserted. Lei Qing was sitting upright with his eyes closed, resting.

Seven or eight horsemen were galloping swiftly along the bluestone avenue.

Lei Qing opened his eyes and looked into the distance, only to see the leader was surprisingly a burly man clad in armor, carrying a long-handled broadsword. Was this not Xianyu Bao, who had competed with Lei Qing for the position of Ninth Regiment commander some time ago?

“Whoa, whoa~”

Xianyu Bao, bringing seven elite subordinates, stopped like a whirlwind not far from Lei Qing’s recruitment stall, dismounted, and strode over with large steps.

“Lei Qing, I heard you’ve been recruiting for over ten days and only have a mere thirty-some people?” Xianyu Bao shouted carelessly.

“So what?” Lei Qing, eyes half-closed, did not stand up and said directly: “Are you here to mock me? Thinking that I, Lei Qing, am overestimating myself?”

“Hahaha, am I, Xianyu Bao, that kind of person?” Xianyu Bao laughed wildly, looking smug. Before Lei Qing could react, he slapped the clerk’s table with a bang and said ferociously: “My name is Xianyu Bao, thirty-eight years old. Although I’m a bit older, I have Early-stage Silver strength.”

The clerk responsible for recording, hired by Lei Qing, was a scholar with no strength to tie a chicken. How could he withstand such intimidation from Xianyu Bao?

Instantly, his face turned pale, and he shivered, almost fleeing in panic.

“What are you staring for? Why don’t you register me?” Xianyu Bao glared and lifted the scholar by his collar: “Damn pretty boy, are you looking down on me? Refusing to register me?” Xianyu Bao said, clearly venting his anger on someone else.

“Xianyu Bao, tell me your intention. Don’t make me draw my sword. Two men from the Iron Cavalry Regiment fighting in the street isn’t a good thing.” Lei Qing stared at him like an eagle: “Let go of the clerk.”

“Tch.” Xianyu Bao pushed the scholar back into his chair and looked at Lei Qing with a smirk: “Lei Qing, I’m here to join your Independent Regiment.”

Lei Qing found this strange. He crossed his arms and looked at him with interest: “What? Did you not watch your step when you went out today? Did your head get caught in a door? Coming here to amuse yourself? Is it fun?”

“Lei Qing, you…” Xianyu Bao was so angry his eyes bulged, but he suppressed his anger and said: “I’m here to apply. What, is your Black Flag Regiment full and not recruiting?”

“Heh, Xianyu Bao, are you here to mock me? Do you really think I, Lei Qing, am a pushover?” Lei Qing drew his Lian Zhan Treasure Sword with a clang and pointed it at him from a distance: “If you’re full and bored, coming here to mock me, I’ll play with you to help digest your food.”

Xianyu Bao’s momentum suddenly weakened, and his voice lowered: “I won’t fight you. You fight like a madman, risking your life at every turn. It’s no fun. I’m really here to join your Black Flag Regiment.”

Seeing this, Lei Qing sheathed his sword and frowned: “Are you serious? Don’t you know the nature of my Black Flag Regiment?”

“Of course I know. The Regiment Commander has already announced internally that our Black Flag Regiment is an Independent Regiment and can leave at any time. The Iron Cavalry Regiment cannot swallow up the soldiers of the Independent Regiment.” Xianyu Bao finally became serious: “But the Boss didn’t say that our Iron Cavalry Regiment people can’t apply to join the Black Flag Regiment, did he?”

Lei Qing looked at him as if he were an idiot: “I say, Xianyu Bao, is your head really caught in a door? Why leave the elite Iron Cavalry Regiment to come to my Black Flag Regiment? You don’t expect me to give up the commander position to you, do you?”

“Of course not. Can I be a Vice Commander?” Xianyu Bao asked eagerly: “I’ve already discussed it with Regiment Commander Xiahou, and Regiment Commander Xiahou agreed to my joining the Black Flag Regiment, provided you are willing.”

“Uh, can’t you get a Vice Commander position anywhere? Giving you Vice Commander is naturally no problem.” Lei Qing asked curiously: “But you have to tell me the reason. If I find it reasonable, I’ll let you join.”

“Damn, I’m an Early-stage Silver powerhouse, and I have to explain why to join your broken regiment?” Xianyu Bao said furiously.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t say. Please go back. Don’t disturb my recruiting for no reason.”

“Fine, I’ll say it.” Xianyu Bao said with an embarrassed face: “Your martial arts and Fighting Qi are powerful, and you are handsome and dashing. Can I say I admire you?”

“Get lost…”

“Okay, okay, here’s the thing. Back then, you let me have three moves, and said if you lost, you’d acknowledge me as the boss.” Xianyu Bao said with some embarrassment: “At that time, although I didn’t say it out loud, I thought to myself, if I still lose to a pretty boy like you, I’ll acknowledge you as my boss. If you say go east, I will absolutely not go west.”

“Heh, that’s what you thought in your heart; you didn’t say it, so it doesn’t count.” Lei Qing laughed, discovering for the first time that this guy Xianyu Bao wasn’t so annoying.

“How can that be? Oh, so you let me have three moves, and if you lost, you’d be my little brother?” Xianyu Bao said, his face red and neck thick: “But I lost, and nothing happened? Where in the world is there such an unfair thing? Anyway, I, Xianyu Bao, don’t want people gossiping. You have to accept me, whether you want to or not. Otherwise, otherwise I’ll bring my brothers here to block you every day, let’s see if you can still recruit soldiers?”

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