Chapter 410: The Foundation of His Team Takes Shape

Ji Kongliu had someone bring over thirteen sets of Eighth-Rank official uniforms, complete with ironclad armor, official sabers, and official boots.

Before long, the thirteen suspects from earlier had transformed into Eighth-Rank Ironclad agents.

Only at this moment did a genuine smile finally appear on their faces.

Once they put on these uniforms, they no longer had to live the kind of life where death could come at any moment.

"Everyone, from now on, you are all Eighth-Rank Ironclad agents of the First Division, Public Security Department, Capital Ironclad Department."

Ji Kongliu performed a cupped fist salute.

Li Ming, Zheng Chunhong, and the others also returned the salute in kind:

"We pay our respects to Director Ji."

"Because of your previous missions, you have never been able to practice martial arts, but the rewards earned from all the merit you've accumulated over these years have been kept in storage by the Department Head."

"The Department Head has already handed them over to me, and I will distribute them to you shortly. You can familiarize yourselves with the work of the Capital Ironclad Department while also cultivating."

Ji Kongliu said with a faint smile.

Chief Constable Wei and the others' expressions shifted slightly. No wonder these people showed no traces of martial arts training.

Clearly, it was to better conceal their identities while operating among the Rong tribe.

With all the merit accumulated over these years, the rewards they would receive were certainly substantial.

Among them would surely be rare exotic herbs and flowers, Foundation Consolidation Pills, Spirit Nurturing Pills, and even internal techniques and martial arts skills.

Within three to five years, these people would have a baseline cultivation of at least Eighth-Rank, with the potential to advance to Seventh-Rank!

By then, combined with their masterful deception skills, they would inevitably become core members of the First Division!

Seeing this, Chief Constable Wei immediately cupped his fists and said:

"Director Ji, I happen to be short on manpower under my command. If I might ask..."

"Your division has enough people as it is."

Ji Kongliu rejected him outright, then gave his orders:

"Li Ming, Zheng Chunhong, He Xianwei, Yu Jiaxing."

"Subordinates reporting!"

The four saluted with cupped fists.

"From now on, you will temporarily be assigned to work under Chief Constable Yang."

Ji Kongliu said.

A flash of delight flickered in the four's eyes as they immediately acknowledged the order.

Yang Ling had no objections either. These four were truly the cream of the crop.

Their masterful deception skills could fool even Fourth-Rank Grandmasters.

Even if it was only a fortunate success once or twice, they would be more than sufficient under his command.

They were far more valuable than assigning him a few Seventh-Rank experts.

"Ordinary tasks can be handled by them, and I can continue idling and leveling up in the background."

Yang Ling nodded inwardly with satisfaction.

Chief Constable Wei and the others, however, felt a twinge of jealousy.

"Director Ji, our Third Division is also short on manpower..."

Yun Buchuan spoke up slowly.

Ji Kongliu grinned and said, "Director Yun, they all belong to my First Division. This is the Department Head's decision."

Yun Buchuan couldn't help but grumble inwardly, then said helplessly:

"Then since you've only assigned four to Yang Ling, can the remaining nine be seconded over to us?"

"Of course that's fine, but remember, they are being seconded from my First Division."

Ji Kongliu agreed readily.

Yang Ling suddenly understood. This man had clearly planned this all along. By spreading the wealth around, he could indeed silence some critics.

Yun Buchuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked a few people. Then he reminded Yang Ling to work hard before hurrying away with those Eighth-Rank Ironclad agents, afraid that Ji Kongliu might change his mind.

"Chief Constable Yang, since you're a Sixth-Rank Ironclad, you're entitled to have several Seventh-Rank agents under your command."

"However, our number of Seventh-Rank agents isn't large. Normally, a Sixth-Rank Chief Constable should have at least eight Seventh-Rank agents under them."

"As you can see, we only have sixteen Seventh-Rank Ironclad agents in the First Division, and a few of them were just promoted from below not long ago."

"How about this: you pick four to work under you first, which will also help you get accustomed to the work here in the Capital."

Ji Kongliu said with a faint smile.

The Seventh-Rank Ironclad agents present brightened slightly at this.

Chief Constable Wei and another person exchanged a glance, both seeing the displeasure in each other's eyes.

This meant that the Seventh-Rank agents under their command could also be poached by the other party's priority picks.

Li Huaiyi's heart was filled with anxiety at this moment. He instinctively shrank backward, using Chief Constable Wei's body to hide himself.

"What are you shrinking for? Come here."

Yang Ling pointed at Li Huaiyi.

Li Huaiyi groaned inwardly, but he didn't dare defy the order. With a somewhat unwilling expression, he walked over and stood behind Yang Ling.

Yang Ling then picked three more Seventh-Rank Ironclad agents and four Eighth-Rank Ironclad agents.

He also casually selected a hundred Ninth-Rank Ironclad agents.

With that, his foundation as Chief Constable Yang in the Capital Ironclad Department was officially established.

Under his command, he now had four Seventh-Rank Ironclad agents, eight Eighth-Rank Ironclad agents, and one hundred Ninth-Rank Ironclad agents.

And this wasn't even counting the ordinary constables he could mobilize.

On the surface, his overt authority might not seem as great as it was in the Changhe Prefectural Capital.

But the strength of his team had improved by a massive margin!

"Oh, right. A Sixth-Rank Chief Constable on my side gets 3 Foundation Consolidation Pills and ten Spirit Nurturing Pills every month."

"They're distributed on the fifteenth of every month without fail."

Ji Kongliu stated Yang Ling's compensation package.

Yang Ling quickly did some mental calculations.

Three Foundation Consolidation Pills a month meant thirty-six a year, which translated to 18,000 points of internal technique experience.

In just over fifty years, he could accumulate a million points of internal technique experience.

Assuming someone joined the Ironclad Department at eighteen as a Sixth-Rank Ironclad and never advanced again, relying solely on the department's salary, they could push one internal technique to Transcendent by their early seventies.

Notably, Mountain and River Sect Master Liang Yue was around that same age, yet his internal technique cultivation had only reached Skilled, with no hope of Transcendent.

This compensation was actually not bad at all. In fact, it was exceptionally good.

There were also one hundred and twenty Spirit Nurturing Pills a year, equivalent to 60,000 martial arts proficiency points.

One Spirit Nurturing Pill was worth five hundred taels.

That alone came to sixty thousand taels.

The thirty-six Foundation Consolidation Pills could also be valued at 180,000 taels.

An annual salary of 240,000 taels!

Converted to real-world purchasing power, that was nearly five hundred million in annual income!

After arriving at this conclusion, Yang Ling couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.

But upon further reflection, a Sixth-Rank Ironclad was already considered a major figure in Zhao State.

Take the Capital Ironclad Department here, for instance. Adding up the Strategy Division, Command Division, Decapitation Division, Bandit Apprehension Division, and Public Security Division, there were only about two to three hundred Sixth-Rank Ironclad agents in total.

Among them, some Sixth-Rank Ironclad agents probably had considerably lower salaries than his.

After all, he was the Chief Constable of the First Division, Public Security Department, which naturally placed him in a different league.

"Recently, our Public Security Department doesn't have much work. Just have your men do occasional patrols outside."

"You also need to participate in the Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle, so focus your energy on cultivation and prepare well."

Ji Kongliu gave his parting instructions, then dismissed the Ironclad agents present.

Yang Ling was assigned an office in a courtyard, which was quite spacious and even had a private training ground.

Yang Ling looked at his subordinates before him, pondered for a moment, then said:

"You all go about your usual business. Come find me when you encounter problems you can't solve. For routine matters, let the four Seventh-Rank agents make the decisions."

The four Seventh-Rank agents exchanged glances and immediately acknowledged the order with cupped fists.

"Dismissed."

Yang Ling waved his hand and turned to enter the building.

One Seventh-Rank agent's expression shifted slightly as he quickly followed:

"Sir, this subordinate is Lu Qian."

"Is there something?"

"Sir has just arrived in the Capital, so you probably don't have a place to stay. Perhaps..."

"There's a bedroom here. I plan to stay at the First Division."

Yang Ling said with a smile.

The moment he arrived at the Ironclad Department, he had already decided to live only here.

Only here could he peacefully cultivate his internal technique without fearing outside disturbances.

Lu Qian was taken aback, then said with a strange expression:

"My third uncle said that you would be staying at our Lu family residence..."

Yang Ling paused mid-step, somewhat surprised:

"Director Lu is your third uncle?"

Lu Qian immediately nodded with a smile:

"That's right."

"Then we're family. No need for pleasantries. It's more convenient for me to stay here, but I'll visit your Lu family residence when I have time."

Yang Ling patted Lu Qian on the shoulder before entering the building.

Lu Qian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Huaiyi hadn't gone far either. Seeing this, he sidled over:

"Brother Lu Qian, it's already noon. How about we grab a meal at Gathering Spring Tower? My treat."

Lu Qian was a bit surprised. This guy had been quite arrogant when he first arrived, and now he wanted to treat him to a meal?

"Sure, it's not like we have anything else to do."

Lu Qian agreed with a smile.