Chapter 125: Guarding a Region

…

Seeing his face covered in travel dust and looking very anxious, he did not put on an arrogant or proud posture. Instead, as the leader of a regiment, he kept apologizing and thanking him. Lei Qing’s anger immediately dissipated by more than half.

What Lei Qing hated most were those who held positions but failed to do their jobs. If this Jiang Kongsheng had fallen for the enemy’s trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, it would be understandable.

For even a military god could occasionally be tricked when caught off guard by someone with careful calculations. Throughout history, there had never been a famous general who never made a mistake in his life.

Immediately, Lei Qing’s expression improved slightly. He cupped his hands and said: “General Jiang, there is no need to be polite. I, Lei, was just recruiting soldiers and passing by. Wula Village is the territory of my Iron Cavalry Regiment. I naturally could not sit back and watch it be ravaged by Horse Bandits.” As for whether he really fell for the trick, the Iron Cavalry Regiment would naturally investigate, and they presumably would not lie.

“Alas, I am truly ashamed. For the past year, it has been our Iron Cavalry Seventh Regiment stationed here at Yehe Town.” Jiang Kongsheng sighed repeatedly with a black face, saying ashamedly: “Although I have not achieved much, I have always been diligent. I did not expect such a disaster to happen at the end. Brother Lei, please rest assured. I will certainly apologize to Regiment Commander Xiahou and accept my punishment. Brother Lei, I really must thank you this time. Otherwise, my reputation would be ruined, and I would have no face to see the elders of the Northwest again. Come, since it is still early, let us go to Yehe Town together. I can just tell you about the situation near Yehe Town.”

Lei Qing was naturally eager for such a good thing. He had been worried that the former commander of Yehe Town might have some issues with him, but now it seemed he was judging a gentleman’s heart with his own petty mind.

“Black Face, you really lost face big time this time.” Xianyu Bao led some Personal Guards over, laughing loudly: “If my boss hadn’t helped you save face this time, you’d better prepare to face Vice Commander Qin’s sour face when you get back.”

“Earth Leopard?” The Black-Faced Killing God, Jiang Kongsheng, looked at him with some uncertainty: “You, why are you in the Black Flag Regiment? You call Brother Lei boss? Are you joking?”

“Why? Is acknowledging my boss something to be ashamed of?” Xianyu Bao had gradually accepted this matter, especially since Lei Qing had truly convinced him. He did not take offense, but rather felt proud, saying: “We’ll talk about this slowly later. In a few years, you will realize how wise my decision was.”

Jiang Kongsheng looked at Lei Qing with amazement, not expecting Xianyu Bao to have such a high opinion of Lei Qing. To acknowledge someone as his boss as a powerhouse of the same rank, and with such a happy and matter-of-fact demeanor. Was this Young General Lei Qing really that outstanding?

After breaking camp, the two groups merged and headed towards Yehe Town. Xianyu Bao could not help but start bragging loudly, saying how amazing his boss was, tricking the Vulture Helian Bo into walking into a trap, and finally defeating Helian Bo in a one-on-one duel with his own bravery. But unexpectedly, that guy Helian Bo was too cunning; seeing the situation was bad, he immediately fled.

The generals of the Seventh Regiment looked at each other in dismay. More than a year ago, they had all participated in the battle to encircle and suppress Helian Bo, and his power was obvious to all. After lying low for a year, his cultivation had surely improved, and he was eager for revenge.

Yet this Young General Lei Qing could actually defeat Helian Bo in a duel; it was simply a miracle. Even the Black-Faced Killing God Jiang Kongsheng believed that if he faced Helian Bo alone, his chances of winning were small while his chances of losing were high.

For a moment, the way everyone looked at Lei Qing changed again.

“Hehe, General Jiang, please don’t listen to Brother Xianyu’s nonsense.” Lei Qing said with a modest smile: “Although Helian Bo did flee in the end, between him and me, we were merely evenly matched. If we fought to the death in a fair environment, the outcome would be at best fifty-fifty.” Lei Qing never liked to belittle others to elevate his own strength. Even though he detested Helian Bo’s character, he respected his strength.

Jiang Kongsheng took a deep breath: “I didn’t expect your Martial Arts and Fighting Secret Art to be so powerful, Brother Lei. Once your injuries heal a little, I must ask you for some pointers.”

Men who survive in the military mostly love martial arts. They do not like hearsay; they only submit after testing it with their own hands.

“Haha, since General Jiang has such interest, let us meet in three days.” Lei Qing was also becoming more battle-hungry. Through combat, he could constantly hone his Martial Arts and Fighting Secret Art and grow. He added: “General Jiang, please do not refuse. I have many insights from the battle with Helian Bo and need to verify my thoughts with a powerhouse of the same rank. My injuries are not deep; three days is enough time to recover.”

“Since the Young General has such heroic spirit, how could I dare not accompany you?” Jiang Kongsheng also readily agreed.

On the way to Yehe Town, Jiang Kongsheng took the opportunity to introduce the situation of the entire Yehe Town to Lei Qing, including nearby villages, scope, forces, and local customs, leaving nothing out, which Lei Qing found fascinating.

Lei Qing naturally cared about his first territory. In the future, this would be the place where he would spread his wings and take flight, and it would be part of his credentials.

Only with such experience of guarding a region could his reputation continue to climb.

In the Pan-Continent, reputation was very important. Only those with strong subordinates and a loud, powerful reputation could command a hundred responses and gradually build their own power.

Lei Qing was determined to develop well in the Free Alliance this time, also because the environment here was indeed suitable for ambitious young people like himself.

Unlike the Tianlan Empire, where climbing the ranks involved many complications, let alone establishing independence. If Lei Qing dared to try establishing independence within Tianlan, Imperial troops would come knocking the next day to wipe out the bandits.

Therefore, although Jiang Kongsheng spoke at length, Lei Qing listened with relish, constantly asking questions to resolve his doubts and confirm his thoughts.

Even after arriving at Yehe Town, Lei Qing was not satisfied and continued to pester Jiang Kongsheng for explanations.

Jiang Kongsheng had no choice but to say: “It just so happens we need to hold a welcome banquet for you. After the banquet, you and I can talk through the night.”

After Lei Qing settled his army, he took a group of trusted brothers to attend the welcome banquet. At such a banquet, there was naturally good food and drink. In the bold Northwest, drinking was like drinking water, and there were rules against using Fighting Qi to force the alcohol out.

Fortunately, Lei Qing could hold his liquor, and with his Personal Guard brothers helping to block drinks and support him, he did not end up collapsing drunk. That night, he talked with Jiang Kongsheng until dawn, discussing many things about Yehe Town.

Over the next few days, under Jiang Kongsheng’s handover, Lei Qing began to gradually take control of the government and military affairs of Yehe Town. He stationed his troops in the military camp of Yehe Town, and Cheng Xiao and others started drilling them first. Every day, he also began arranging personnel to patrol the entire scope of his territory.

Matters like recruiting soldiers and buying horses also began to get on track. Because of Lei Qing’s battle with Helian Bo, his reputation had spread almost throughout Yehe Town. As a result, the people within Yehe Town did not reject the new commander; instead, they were quite supportive. People kept coming from various places, asking to join the Black Flag Army.

With daily selection of the best, the Black Flag Army grew stronger, and the number of troops soon exceeded four hundred.

After Jiang Kongsheng finished handing over all matters, he took his men and returned to Tieling City to report on his duties. As for the spar between him and Lei Qing, it was held privately at Lei Qing’s suggestion. No one knew the result, only that Jiang Kongsheng became even more polite towards Lei Qing.

And Lei Qing also began to truly become a small warlord guarding a region.

He posted notices to reassure the people, recruited troops, and trained the army. Of course, he also had to handle government affairs. Every day, Lei Qing was extremely busy. But these were all things he had to learn.

Military matters were temporarily managed by Xianyu Bao for training and reorganization, naturally following Lei Qing’s training requirements and outline. Lei Qing only needed to inspect them daily and make surprise checks.

What gave him the most headache was government affairs. Although Yehe Town was small, it had all the necessary organs. In the past, Lei Qing had mostly learned military affairs in his clan. Government affairs were also taught, but he had never been interested in them.

Being a hands-off manager was not an option. If he could not thoroughly grasp government affairs, how could he truly control a region? If he did not understand government affairs, wouldn’t he be fooled by those officials forming cliques?

Lei Qing also believed that Uncle Xiahou placing him here had a reason. This was to give him a chance to train and become a truly comprehensive talent. Knowing only how to fight made one just a martial general. To truly become a hegemon-level figure, one had to be proficient in everything.

Lei Qing did not touch the administrative staff of Yehe Town for now, but posted notices to hire two advisors. They accompanied him every day, teaching him about finance, political affairs, and reading files.

Once Lei Qing started studying seriously, his progress was terrifying. In just half a month, studying day and night, he had basically completely mastered the administrative processes and handling methods of Yehe Town, and the financial situation was also clear to him.

According to current data, the entire Yehe Town area governed sixteen villages, with a total population of over 36,000. Among them, there were more than 13,000 strong men and women between the ages of fifteen and forty.

However, the land area was large. Yehe Town was vast, almost the size of a county town in the Central Prefecture. This was a typical place with a small population but vast territory.

Moreover, Yehe Town was very poor. Taxes were collected twice a year, totaling about 3,000 gold coins annually. It sounded like a lot, but in reality, it was pitifully small. Previously, it was only enough for administrative and military expenses; there was no surplus for investment and development.

Besides, Lei Qing needed to hand over 30% of the tax revenue to the Iron Cavalry Regiment. And his Black Flag Regiment had high expenses. Calculating this, Lei Qing would have to subsidize a large sum of gold coins every year to maintain operations. This did not even include the settlement allowances Lei Qing gave to newly recruited soldiers.

Seeing this result, Lei Qing was speechless. He finally got a territory, and he still had to pay out of his own pocket?

…