It was just as Chu Yu expected.

Hu Chengen quickly persuaded Yuan Sanlang to take over the affairs outside the city again.

When Lieutenant General Zhong came back after transporting the food, he was dumbfounded.

Hu Chengen took over the brought back food and grass and distributed them to the two camps outside the city. He reorganized the troops and prepared to go to the western border to clear out the moving zombie army.

He stood outside the gate of the stable and saw carts of grain being brought back and then transported out of the city again.

Deputy General Zhong was furious. He was just an errand boy?!

Hu Chengen didn't take him seriously at all. Zhong Zhen was an extremely mediocre person, and his only strength was that he was obedient and easy to fool.

If I hadn't spoken well of him to His Highness, how could such a person have become the deputy general of the garrison army?

However, he didn't show it on his face, and thanked him amiably, "I'd also like to thank Lieutenant General Zhong for his help."

To be honest, Hu Chengen's thanks were quite sincere.

But to Lieutenant General Zhong, it sounded particularly harsh.

Hu Cheng'en still had things to do and was too lazy to flatter, so he said "goodbye" and left with the food and supplies.

Deputy General Zhong stared at his departing back, feeling depressed and no longer in the mood to do his duty.

It was a sunny day and the soldiers were lazy during the day. Except for a few soldiers on duty outside the gates, the rest of the people had no idea where to hide to cool off.

Seeing that there was nothing to do, he took off the helmet on his head impatiently and prepared to go home.

In the past, he would take some time off and often sneak back home to enjoy the cool air while on duty. Commander Chiang, out of consideration for his feelings, always turned a blind eye to it.

Mr. Hu has no official position and his background is unknown.

The people of Zhongshan have always been xenophobic, and most generals, including Commander Chiang, disliked him.

But it is undeniable that this person is indeed talented. When Zhongren County was cleaned up, it was Hu Chengen who came up with the advice and strategies that stabilized the situation shortly after the civil unrest and cleared out the monsters in the jurisdiction.

However, it was they who did the hard work, and it was their soldiers who were killed or injured.

All the commanders know very well that only those who have soldiers under their command have the right to speak. Otherwise, look at the two generals outside the city, they are almost unmovable. Isn't it because they have so many soldiers under their command that no one dares to move?

Therefore, every time there were casualties among soldiers in their respective camps, these commanders were heartbroken. Now that they were unable to recruit soldiers, some stubborn ones directly blamed Hu Chengen.

Why are you sending my people out and not other camps?

The seven major camps controlled the military forces and acted independently. In the early days of his reign, Yuan Sanlang also thought about unifying the military power, but was persuaded by Hu Chengen because it was obviously unrealistic. Who would be willing to give up the power in their hands?

This has also led to the current chaotic management of Zhongshan State, which has become a mess.

On his way home, Lieutenant General Zhong met the garrison soldiers in the city with whom he had a pleasant chat yesterday. A group of soldiers were sitting in a circle in the corner of an alley not far from his home. When they saw him passing by, they greeted him.

"Where are you going, Master Zhong?"

There are three military camps in the city, including the garrison stationed at the horse farm.

Of course, the garrison’s headquarters was outside the South City, and there were only a hundred or so people left in the city to guard the horse farm.

The other two battalions are small in number and are responsible for security patrols in the gatehouse, arrow tower, and city.

Ever since Zhongren County was cleared out, the city has been very safe in recent days. The few thousand remaining civilians dare not cause trouble and stay in their houses honestly and rarely come out.

The soldiers had nothing to do, so most of the time they would find a shady place to sit, chat about family matters, or gamble a little.

Compared with the two busy vanguard camps outside the city, there is a world of difference.

Lieutenant General Zhong heard the call and walked towards them.

His wife, children and mother have all passed away, and he longs to marry a new wife and continue the family line.

There were some women among the refugees in the city, but the good ones had all been picked up. By the time he reacted, only some ugly ones were left.

Deputy General Zhong felt that he was now deeply trusted by His Highness. Things were different now and those women were not worthy of him at all.

While chatting yesterday, this sergeant surnamed Lu mentioned that he had a half-sister who was still alive and quite pretty. He was planning to find a colleague to arrange a marriage for her.

After hearing this, Deputy General Zhong became interested and took the initiative to establish a relationship with Commander Lu Shi.

In the past, the garrison rarely interacted with other camps, mainly to avoid suspicion, but now there are very few surviving women. If he doesn't act quickly, and someone gets there first, then when will he be able to get married?

We had a very pleasant conversation yesterday and yesterday, and Lu Shichang seemed to have the same idea.

When he saw him again, Lieutenant General Zhong immediately put aside the unpleasantness he had just experienced.

"Lord Zhong, would you like to play a game?" Lu Shichang greeted him with a smile.

Deputy General Zhong walked closer and saw that they were sitting together playing mahjong.

These cards are made of scraps of wood and are hand-carved by soldiers. They are a popular pastime in the military today.

Since we are playing cards, there must be stakes.

The soldiers below only had one meal of rations every day. If they felt like going hungry, they would grit their teeth and go hungry for a day, using the food as a bet.

Anyway, they have nothing to do in the city and don't need to exercise, so it doesn't matter if they go hungry for a day.

Lieutenant General Zhong was wealthier than them. He had an official position, and there was an endless supply of grass and grain in the horse farm. He could take some out for gambling occasionally, as long as he didn't get discovered by Commander Jiang.

The soldier gave up his seat upon hearing this.

Deputy General Zhong sat down, wanting to show off in front of Lü Shichang, "Great, it just so happens that the horse farm brought back a batch of fresh fodder yesterday. If everyone has the ability, it doesn't matter if we lose to you."

The soldiers smiled and thanked him when they heard this.

Soon a new round begins.

Deputy General Zhong was absent-minded and tried to mention marriage to Lu Shichang several times, but was interrupted every time.

Several people hid in the corner of the wall at the entrance of the alley, playing cards and chatting.

When I came to my senses, I had already lost three games in a row.

Deputy General Zhong acted as if he didn't care. He had secretly hidden a bag of grain when he went out to transport it today, and had ordered his men to take it back home. It was just some hay for the horses, so if he lost, he lost.

The soldiers all praised him, "They say a person's character is reflected in his character. We are really enlightened. Lord Zhong is very generous."

Lü Shichang also smiled and said, "I heard that Lord Zhong was highly valued by His Highness today and even assigned tasks to the two vanguard battalions outside. If His Highness becomes successful, don't forget to support us..."

Vice Admiral Zhong forced a smile, "No, no, I'm just trying to help His Highness."

You are really bringing up something that is not related to the topic!

If it weren't for the thought of marrying this person, Lieutenant General Zhong would probably have turned against him.

Lü Shichang suppressed his smile and said, "If you ask me, Your Highness should have made use of me long ago. Mr. Hu is so ignorant of my background that he cannot compare to the loyalty of Mr. Zhong."

These words touched the heart of Lieutenant General Zhong.

I thought that the boy was quite perceptive. If we could really become relatives, I could promote him more in the future and have someone to look after me in the other camps.

As he spoke, Lü Shichang suddenly lowered his voice, "Your Excellency may not know this, but a few days ago, someone from our camp saw Mr. Hu go out late at night, and out of curiosity, they followed him. Guess what they saw?"