Chapter 44 - 43: Future

Chapter 44: Chapter 43: Future

After such an incident, they naturally lost all leisurely mood for drinking and eating meat.

Zheng Jun directly took Wang Lai and walked briskly all the way toward the Black Mountain County Military Department, wanting to report this matter to the County Captain, Cai Xun.

Although it was unlikely to count on "Bian Kuang, the ninth disciple under True Man Yuan Yi of the Vast Sea Sect," to firmly sink the Vast Sea Sect with the charge of rebellion, it could at least leverage the Court to intimidate them a little, making the Vast Sea Sect hesitant to dispatch disciples to seek revenge at will.

This way, he would also gain some time to grow stronger. Once he had fully developed his strength, it would be the time to bring his blade to their door and slaughter the Vast Sea Sect! Zheng Jun was not accustomed to the feeling of someone constantly plotting against him.

"Wang Lai, I have noted down what you just said," Zheng Jun said suddenly as they moved forward.

His words filled Wang Lai’s heart with joy. However, before Wang Lai could even open his mouth to express his loyalty, Zheng Jun continued, "Tell me about the situation of the people in the Strong Shift. Are there any Junior Officials in the Strong Shift who bully men and women, or run rampant in the streets?"

"There are!" Wang Lai jolted to attention and, without hesitation, began spitting out several names. "Wang Qi is exactly like that! He is a distant relative of Wang Wu from back in the day and is usually the most tyrannical. Half a year ago, he tried to forcefully take the daughter of a charcoal-selling Household as his concubine. The family couldn’t afford to provoke him, so they had to move out of the county seat overnight and return to their hometown town, but then he relentlessly pursued them.

"There is also Zhao San. His original name was Zhao Shan. Because Zhao Da and Zhao Er were tyrannical in the Three Squad back then, he changed his name to Zhao San to flatter them. His favorite thing to do is to stir up trouble on the streets for no reason and throw peddlers into prison. If they pay, he lets them go; if they have no money, they have to stay in prison for ten days to half a month. Previously, there was a small chestnut vendor who offended him. He was taken into the prison and beaten to death.

"Besides them, there is also Yang Le, who is already dead. He used to hang around with Zhao Da. As long as it doesn’t involve murder, the wealthy families in the county can always spend money to avert disaster with them."

Hearing Wang Lai’s words, Zheng Jun turned his gaze and nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. However, this was only Wang Lai’s one-sided story. Zheng Jun naturally wouldn’t believe it entirely. He needed to make further inquiries and confirm it was correct before taking action.

He thought, "My command cannot tolerate this kind of trash. What kind of skill is it to swing a blade at the weak?"

The virtue of superiors was like the wind, and the virtue of subordinate Officials was like the grass. When the wind blew over the grass, the grass was bound to bend with it. The style of the people below depended entirely on the people above. Now that Zheng Jun was in charge of the overall situation of the Strong Shift, he naturally had to rectify the administration of officials. He didn’t have the ability to rectify the administration of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, but rectifying the administration under his own command was necessary.

By the time they entered the Military Department, it was already getting late. The two County Soldiers guarding the Military Department saw two figures from afar and immediately adopted an unfriendly expression. They originally wanted to scold the idle personnel to retreat, but when they saw that the person carrying the lantern in front was Wang Lai, who had distributed the silver that afternoon, and then glanced at Zheng Jun behind him, they immediately broke into smiles.

"So it is Squad Leader Zheng! Has Squad Leader Zheng come to the Military Department to visit the County Captain?" With that, they proactively made way for Zheng Jun and reminded him, "The County Captain hasn’t stepped out of the manor all afternoon, and he strictly forbade any idle people from disturbing him. If Squad Leader Zheng doesn’t have any urgent major matters, I advise you not to ask for trouble. Just greet Mr. Cai San, Mr. Cai Liu, or Mr. Cai Qi, the three gentlemen by the County Captain’s side."

Money makes the mare go. All the soldiers and constables in the entire county had taken the silver Zheng Jun confiscated from the raid, so they naturally treated him with extreme friendliness. It was only natural for them to offer a little hint regarding such a trivial matter that required barely any effort.

"Many thanks to you two brothers," Zheng Jun said, cupping his hands and smiling at the two of them before stepping into the Military Department.

Wang Lai did not stay by Zheng Jun’s side. Instead, he stopped in front of the two County Soldiers and exchanged pleasantries with them. Paying respects to the County Captain had nothing to do with a Black Official like him.

Zheng Jun walked briskly through the Military Department. The resting County Soldiers along the way also took the initiative to greet him one after another. Those who didn’t know better would have thought Zheng Jun was a Captain or Squad Commander of this Military Department.

The military had always admired fierce and brave warriors. If Zheng Jun had only distributed silver, everyone would appreciate the favor, but they wouldn’t revere him this much. However, apart from distributing silver, Zheng Jun had punched Zhang Qingyu to death right in front of everyone’s eyes! Having both might and virtue naturally made him convincing.

"Zheng San has arrived." Cai Liu spotted Zheng Jun from afar. Seeing that Zheng Jun had won the reverence of the surrounding County Soldiers as he walked by, Cai Liu couldn’t help but marvel. He then took the initiative to step forward, smiling at Zheng Jun. "Do you have important matters to see the young master about?"

Cai Liu also spoke up to remind him, "The young master is currently studying the Broken Jade Pile Skill. If Zheng San doesn’t have any major business, it’s better not to disturb him."

"Senior, tonight the Junior Officials in the squad invited me for a drink. When I went to the appointment..." Zheng Jun narrated what had just happened in detail, not missing a single word.

After hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Cai Liu fell silent. Following a moment of silence, Cai Liu couldn’t help but ask, "Are you saying that in a one-on-one fight, you Slashed off an arm of the ninth disciple of True Man Yuan Yi of the Vast Sea Sect?"

"Yes, that Bian Kuang’s skills are unrefined, his level is average, and he has long neglected actual combat. He couldn’t withstand a single blow," Zheng Jun said, cupping his fists. "He couldn’t compare to Zhang Ni or Rebel Tian, and he wasn’t even as good as Lou Wei, except that Lou Wei’s Martial Arts Cultivation was half a step lower than his."

Hearing Zheng Jun’s confirmation, Cai Liu fell silent once again. When they first met, Zheng Jun had been at a disadvantage when trading blows with Lou Wei, who had just entered Qi Storage. It took the young master’s intervention for Lou Wei to be Slashed down by a blade. He didn’t expect him to be so ferocious now!

First, he blocked Tian Zhenyuan’s escape route, and after exchanging a move, he managed to land a punch on Tian Zhenyuan. Then he directly faced Zhang Qingyu. Although he had the help of Cai Liu himself and Cai Jiu, he still solidly punched Zhang Qingyu to death. If today’s first two battle records were not accomplished by him alone, then Slasheding a disciple of the Vast Sea Sect with his blade alone tonight couldn’t be faked at all.

It was utterly terrifying! Cai Liu now felt that if he were to exchange blows with this Zheng Jun, he wouldn’t fare well either.

Cai Liu took a deep breath and said to Zheng Jun, "I’ll go inform the young master. Zheng San, you can rest on the side for a moment.

"Sanlang, you can also think about what you want to do next. Do you want to come to the Military Department and take the path of a Military Officer, acting as an Infantry Captain to be the Commander of the three hundred infantrymen of the Black Mountain Command? Or do you want to take the path of a Civil Servant and be promoted to Historian?

"Sanlang’s contributions are great. After the rewards are given based on merit, you’ll definitely get the position of a Captain or a Historian."

Cai Liu added pointedly, "Of course, if Sanlang wants to take the martial arts imperial examination, there’s no problem either. You don’t need to worry about your lowly status registry; it’s a trivial matter that can be erased with a casual stroke."

With that, Cai Liu turned and left to inform Cai Xun.

Zheng Jun stood in place and began to ponder. Should he become an Infantry Captain, a Historian, or go take the martial arts imperial examination? Since it concerned his future, Zheng Jun fell into deep thought.

The Infantry Captain was a position within the military. Aside from special cases, in the ordinary army, ten men made up a squad, setting up a Decurion; five squads made up a crew, setting up a Crew Leader; six crews made up a command, setting up a Captain; six commands made up a troop, setting up a Squad Commander; six troops made up a battalion, setting up a Captain; and six battalions made up an army, setting up a General.

The Military Department of a county generally established a chief and a Vice Captain. One was the Infantry Captain, who commanded three hundred infantrymen and was a proper Captain. The other was the cavalry Captain, but he commanded only a dozen or so cavalrymen; he was merely called a Captain, but his actual status was that of a Vice Captain, serving as an assistant Official to the Infantry Captain.

Becoming this Infantry Captain would mean that Zheng Jun officially became an Eighth Grade Military Officer of the Great Zhou Court. A Historian, on the other hand, was an official position in the County Government Office. Overall, its status was somewhat like a Chief Steward, a Ninth Grade Military Officer. However, because it was connected to the Government Office, the room for promotion was relatively broad.

As for the martial arts imperial examination, there was no need to say much. If one succeeded through the martial arts exam, their future would entirely lie within the State capitals and Commandery cities, where they would serve as a Military Advisor, Food Officer, and the like. Although they would also be Eighth and Ninth Grades Military Officers, the prospects would be vastly different.

Zheng Jun pondered in his heart for a moment and had already made a decision.

Infantry Captain!

Taking the martial arts imperial examination would mean relying entirely on the Cai Family’s network of connections, which would tie him to the Cai Family’s boat from then on! Whether it was the Infantry Captain or the Historian, both were brought about by his own solid achievements. Although he would still owe the Cai Family a favor, receiving total assistance and merely owing a favor were completely different things!

The reason he chose Infantry Captain rather than Historian was naturally because Zheng Jun felt there was something not quite right with the world. At the very least, things in Pingzhang Commandery were not quite right.

For the Qingshui Gang to plot a rebellion, there was absolutely support behind them. Given that, being a Historian in the County Government Office, managing the hundred or so people in the Three Squad, was inferior to directly joining the army as a general, with three hundred trained infantrymen who could form formations under his command! Even if the situation took a turn for the worse in the future, having three hundred infantrymen in hand would give him absolute confidence!