I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1344: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (21)

Tiger Head, who was determined to grow a gorgeous beard like Guan Yu1, could not protect his stubble in the end when he was pressed to the ground by Little Lion.

The now-clean-shaven Tiger Head was so furious that he chased Little Lion around the barracks.

As Zhou Zhou stood on the small hill and watched them play, he stroked his beard in satisfaction and said to Lin Chengxiu, “I’ll leave the matters in Nanyang to you. The promotion document from the Imperial Court will be here soon. Since you’ve gotten used to the two young masters in the past few months, you should know how to deal with them, right?”

Lin Chengxiu said with a bitter expression, “Sir, are the two young masters really going to stay in Nanyang? Here, there’s a lack of clothes and food, and there isn’t even a decent town…”

“You’re underestimating the two brothers. Joining the army and fighting in the war is arduous to begin with. If they were greedy for wealth, they wouldn’t have left the capital,” Zhou Zhou said. “Although they occasionally have the temper of young masters, they still respect the higher-ups. Furthermore, with them around, the Imperial Court doesn’t dare to neglect the soldiers stationed in Nanyang. You’ll have to interact with them for a long time going forward, so do try your best to manage your relationship with them.”

Lin Chengxiu could only agree unwillingly.

Zhou Zhou frowned when he saw this. Although Lin Chengxiu was outstanding, she was too arrogant.

But in terms of outstandingness, who could compare to the few young masters from King Rong’s Residence? At such a young age, not only were they brave and resourceful, but they also excelled at martial arts and military strategy. They also had connections. Because they disdained to use their privileges, they were even willing to submit to others. Otherwise, why would they come here to be a lowly section commander and accumulate military merits with their own efforts?

They could have directly been conferred the title of assistant commander. Even if not, they could steal the military merits of others and easily get promoted to an assistant commander.

Zhou Zhou had joined the army in the previous dynasty. He knew about the darkness in the army, so he was very respectful to the two young masters. However, Lin Chengxiu had only been in the army for a few years. After being transferred from Jiangzhe to Guangdong, he had served in the disciplined army that Qi Haoran had once managed. Although there was some scheming and plotting there, no one dared to snatch military merits from others. He also prided himself on his talent, so he was extremely arrogant.

Zhou Zhou was worried that he would not be able to handle his relationship with Tiger Head and Little Lion well. However, not only did the people guarding Nanyang have to be brave and resourceful, but they also had to be mentally prepared and unyielding. Among the entire army, only Lin Chengxiu was suitable for the job in all aspects.

Zhou Zhou patted his shoulder and couldn’t help but exhort him again. “King Rong is strict in governing the army, and the two young masters have tempers similar to their father’s. It’s only beneficial for you to treat them well.”

Lin Chengxiu agreed with a dark expression, but he was quite dismissive of it.

If King Rong was really strict in governing the army, why would he let his sons start from a section commander the moment they arrived and directly put them into the Vanguard Battalion?

As for the matter of disposing of the spoils of war that Qi Wenzheng was in charge of, the two young masters had greater authority than Lin Chengxiu. It could be seen that although King Rong was a peerless hero, he had his own selfish motives.

Zhou Zhou did not discover his subordinate’s mentality in time. Hence, two months later, Lin Chengxiu, who had just been promoted to a fourth-grade assistant commander in Nanyang’s garrison, was promoted to a third-grade assistant commander because of her meritorious service in killing the enemy. The Imperial Court then assigned another deputy assistant commander to Nanyang, mainly in charge of everyone’s logistics.

Nanyang’s guardhouse had just been built, and there were not many soldiers left behind. Other than Luzon, which had 2,000 people because it served as the main guardhouse, there were only dozens of people on the other islands.

Hence, the rules were not comprehensive yet. Why would the Imperial Court suddenly send them a deputy assistant commander at this time?

Zhou Zhou seriously suspected that it was because of Qi Wenzheng and Qi Wennuo, who had just been promoted from platoon commander to lieutenant.

Zhou Zhou waved his hand and called over a bodyguard. “Go and deliver the rations to Luzon personally. Find out what happened on the island recently.”

Great Qi had built many guardhouses on the various islands and land in Nanyang, and the main guardhouse was in Luzon. Since Lin Chengxiu, Tiger Head, and Little Lion were all there, they only needed to go to Luzon if they wanted to find out more.

The bodyguard agreed and immediately left.

On the island, Tiger Head and Little Lion had just finished a day of training and were lying on the beach gazing at the blue sky and white clouds. A huge wave rushed up, and a red lobster flipped over from the impact, waving its claws in panic.

Tiger Head quickly got up and grabbed it. He said with a smile, “Second Brother, let’s go beachcombing later.”

Little Lion placed the back of his hand on his forehead and said calmly, “Be careful that Assistant Commander Lin will berate you if he finds out.”

Tiger Head immediately pursed his lips and rubbed his stomach. “We clearly have access to a treasure trove, yet we can only settle for plain foods every day. Do you think there’s something wrong with his brain?”

Actually, the two youths did not have much conflict with Lin Chengxiu. When they went out to fight wars, the two youths would listen to instructions, and Lin Chengxiu would be more tolerant of them.

However, when they returned to the camp, Lin Chengxiu would become very stubborn over some trivial matters. For example, he forbade the soldiers from fishing or beachcombing to find their own food. He also did not allow the soldiers to bring goods from Great Qi to trade with the natives of Luzon in private. He was incredibly strict about this.

The two youths could not help but complain to their families when they wrote home.

Qi Haoran said to the Emperor, “Big Brother, not only do the generals stationed in Nanyang have to be brave, resourceful, and unyielding, but they also have to be flexible. The environment in Nanyang is harsh to begin with, and the quality of food served to the soldiers leaves much to be desired. In Great Qi, the soldiers can still go out every month for a snack, but they have nowhere to spend their money there in Luzon. With Lin Chengxiu’s unbending strictness, as time passes, I’m afraid the soldiers will grow resentful. It won’t be beneficial to the stability of the various islands in Nanyang.”

Qi Xiuyuan was a general, so he naturally knew that managing the army required both kindness and power. It was necessary to be disciplined, but he also had to let the soldiers have hope and relax from time to time.

In the past, what he usually did in the northern lands was to give the soldiers more food and hold various martial arts competitions. However, since they were in Nanyang, the methods had to be different.

He knocked on the table and asked, “So?”

“Send them someone in charge of logistics. Lin Chengxiu will be in charge of fighting the wars. Promote him by another level. With him suppressing them, the soldiers’ discipline won’t be too bad.” Qi Haoran said, “Although this person is arrogant, he’s talented. After some polishing, he’ll definitely become a good general.”

Although his sons had only written a few words, Qi Haoran gained a basic understanding of Lin Chengxiu. The fact that he was willing to tolerate Tiger Head and Little Lion when they went out to battle meant that he was not bad at dealing major matters. Qi Haoran only needed to confirm this.

Qi Xiuyuan nodded and waved his hand in agreement.

Hence, Lin Chengxiu had a deputy assistant commander who was only one level lower in rank than him. Actually, he was also of the same hierarchy as an assistant commander, but the word ‘deputy’ was added to show the difference in rank.

Deputy Assistant Commander Bai, who had been transferred to Nanyang, was a good-tempered person. When he went ashore and saw the desolate scenery, his vision darkened. Then, he rolled up his sleeves passionately and planned to go all out.

Already in his forties, Deputy Assistant Commander Bai had an excellent temper. He said to Lin Chengxiu, “General, if you don’t plan to fight a war in the near future, why don’t you split the soldiers into three groups? One group will patrol, one group will train, and one group will follow me to build houses and camps.”

Seeing Lin Chengxiu frown slightly, Deputy Assistant Commander Bai said gently, “The Imperial Court intends to station troops in Nanyang for a long time. I heard that there will be strong winds in summer and winter here. When the time comes, we can’t still live in tents lest they get blown down. Therefore, we ought to build some houses. Of course, Nanyang is still surrounded by powerful enemies, so we can’t ease up on training and patrolling.”

Only then did Lin Chengxiu’s brows slowly relax. He nodded slowly and said, “Alright, I’ll make the arrangements tomorrow. Leave the training and patrolling to me. I’ll leave the construction of the camps to you.”

“Understood!” Deputy Assistant Commander Bai stood up and cupped his hands solemnly.

Lin Chengxiu was even more satisfied.

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