With Feng Tao's formidable skills, Zhao Rong felt immense pressure.

He thought to himself, "I can understand Qi Xiuwu; he received a good education from a prestigious family. How can someone from an unheard-of martial arts sect be so powerful!"

Therefore, Zhao Rong studied even harder, putting his heart into both literature and martial arts.

But who knew that one wrong step would result in him being beaten with forty strokes of the military rod by his superior, which was far more severe than ordinary caning.

Those who carried out the orders were all strong and experienced soldiers; these people only knew how to give orders, not how to be compassionate.

When they said they hit someone, they really hit them hard.

Forty strokes of the military rod nearly cost him his life.

Zhao Rong was being taken care of by Feng Tao, and miraculously, she did not develop a fever or develop any ulcers.

It hurt so much; it bruised my skin and flesh.

Fang Chenyan immediately said, "The commander instructed that you must be given the best medicine to prevent it from festering. You still need to train after you recover."

Although Zhao Rong was beaten, he still accepted the punishment, after all, he was at fault for causing such a sordid incident in the army, and if this matter was not handled properly, the consequences would be too great.

We can't let him ruin the leader's career.

Zhao Rong said, "Thank you for your concern, Chief. I'm tough and will be fine. Please take good care of yourself and don't let me upset you."

Everyone knows how high the leader's expectations are for Zhao Rong; Zhao Rong is the leader's most trusted person.

Fang Chenyan laughed in exasperation: "Take good care of yourself. No matter how tough you are, you won't be able to get out of bed for at least half a month this time. It will be at least two months before you can train again."

It is said that it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Military batons are accurate. Unless the superiors say to beat someone to death, they will only hurt the skin and flesh and will not break the bones. They will even avoid major tendons.

This is also so that he can still train for battle in the future. If his tendons and bones are seriously damaged, he will be useless.

Therefore, Zhao Rong's injury did not require a hundred days to heal.

Zhao Rong winced in pain, but still smiled and said, "It's nothing. My butt hurts, but my head isn't. I can still study military strategy without any problems."

Feng Tao greatly admired Zhao Rong, such a tough and resolute man, who could endure such pain.

Even when Fang Chenyan applied the medicine, she could grit her teeth and endure the pain.

Feng Tao has not yet joined the military and can only follow Zhao Rong for the time being. After Zhao Rong was injured, he stayed by Zhao Rong's side to take care of him. He also saw Shen Xi come to visit Zhao Rong's injuries once.

Shen Xi glanced at him, nodded, and didn't say anything. Instead, she asked Zhao Rong with great concern, "Do you feel feverish?"

To Feng Tao's surprise, Zhao Rong was lying weakly on the bed, his voice low and somber: "Commander, I feel a fever."

Shen Xi immediately asked Fang Chenyan to take another look. Fang Chenyan touched his head and took his pulse. He relaxed and smiled, "Chief, it's alright. He doesn't have a fever. It's probably just internal heat. I'll prescribe some medicine and he'll be fine."

Shen Xi let out a long breath. There was no other way to beat Zhao Rong. He had done something wrong and misjudged people, so he deserved to be beaten. But he couldn't afford to hurt him.

Before leaving, Shenxi said to Zhao Rong, "Let Xiuwu take care of Feng Tao. He'll be enlisted in the military first, and then we'll hand him over to you once he's recovered."

Zhao Rong nodded in agreement; he couldn't always let Feng Tao do the work of serving him.

Shenxi looked at Feng Tao and said, "Do a good job. Song Zhen is already the county magistrate, so you don't need to worry about him."

Feng Tao bowed and said, "Magistrate Song is a good man."

Chen Xi nodded: "I know, he is also very capable, he won't let you down."

Shen Xi knew that Feng Tao was able to obediently submit to and follow her mainly because of Zhong Ti, the former magistrate of Bian'ai County, and Song Zhen.

Then he said, "I have avenged you for the former magistrate Zhong Ti, and I have also given his family a proper burial so that they may rest in peace. You can now train here in peace."

Upon hearing this, Feng Tao immediately knelt down and performed a grand salute: "Feng Tao hereby swears to serve the commander to the death!"

Zhong Ti had been kind to him, and Shen Xi had avenged Zhong Ti and given him a proper burial. Moreover, he had heard that Shen Xi was very kind to the common people. Naturally, he would serve such a lord.

Shenxi was surprised that Qi Xiuwu had brought Feng Tao with him this time.

Logically speaking, newly enlisted soldiers are not immediately entrusted with important tasks.

No matter how capable someone is, they still need to undergo a period of evaluation.

For example, the people who came with Qi Xiuwu this time were basically the group of people who had followed Chen Xi through thick and thin the earliest time, including Qi Xiuwu's original guards.

Those who followed Chenxi from the very beginning were absolutely loyal, and their identities and backgrounds were thoroughly investigated.

They don't have to be incredibly capable, but they must be loyal.

Among them, Feng Tao is the only newcomer.

Chenxi asked, "Aren't you afraid people will say you're showing favoritism?"

Qi Xiuwu chuckled and said, "Because of this, Zhao Rong and I already had a fight."

If Zhao Rong weren't currently unable to move, they would have already started fighting.

Shen Xi remained silent. Zhao Rong obeyed her orders most thoroughly.

Even the formidable Feng Tao wouldn't have come with Zhao Rong if Zhao Rong had been leading a team to protect her.

Qi Xiuwen glared angrily at Qi Xiuwu and said sternly, "Apologize to the commander now!"

Qi Xiuwu pouted, clearly unwilling: "Big brother, Feng Tao is really amazing, he can hold his own against me!"

Qi Xiuwen was so angry he wanted to kick him, but in front of his superior, he could only shout, "You fool! The superior's guards can't be judged solely on their martial arts skills; the procedures must be followed perfectly."

"Bringing a newly enlisted soldier to the commander's side is a grave mistake!"

Unless the leader approves and personally appoints someone as a personal guard, they can only be brought along. Even then, the subordinates will thoroughly investigate the person.

If there is even the slightest impropriety, even if the leader agrees, the subordinates will not.

Qi Xiuwu then realized he had done something wrong and nervously bowed to Chen Xi: "Xiuwu was wrong, please punish me, Commander!"

"Ten strokes of the rod seem too lenient."

Shen Xi wasn't angry. Qi Xiuwu had previously valued status and background, but he had just changed his ways and started valuing ability now.

A person's growth is not something that happens overnight, and constantly hitting someone is not a good thing.

When Qi Xiuwu heard Chen Xi mention military flogging, he shuddered. Although the ten strokes of the military flogging hadn't actually caused him any harm, it really hurt!

My butt isn't hurting much anymore, so if I hit it again, wouldn't that just make things worse?

Seeing that Qi Xiuwu looked frightened, Shenxi changed the subject: "Fortunately, nothing bad happened. You reported it directly. How about this, call Feng Tao over, and I'll ask him myself."

"yes."

Qi Xiuwu breathed a sigh of relief; the commander had let him off the hook.

Qi Xiuwu went out to call Feng Tao himself, and Qi Xiuwen bowed to Shen Xi before following him out.

"Xiuwu, you're lucky this time. We let you bring people here, and we'll just say to the outside world that the leader has made personnel adjustments, instead of directly saying that we're increasing the number of guards. If we had really said that these people were the leader's guards, you would have been in for a beating no matter what."