Chapter 158 The General
At this moment, the dozen or so people who had regained consciousness saw the clothes of the people at the door and instantly understood their identities.
A rather clever-looking soldier hurriedly put on his clothes and pulled the man next to him: "Hurry up and get dressed, you are all commanders."
The other man seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly began to put on his clothes.
Seeing that everyone had mostly regained consciousness, Lin Changning stood with his hands behind his back at the door. In less than a minute, the people were dressed and standing side by side in the tent.
Looking at the neatly dressed crowd, Lin Changning said, "Go and wake everyone else up. Anyone who doesn't arrive at the drill ground within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea will receive 50 lashes!"
After saying that, he led Lao Ma and the others out of the tent. The group found chairs on the drill ground and sat down quietly, waiting for the soldiers to assemble.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, nearly five or six hundred people had already run over. By the time Lin Changning had given them, almost all the soldiers had arrived.
Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Old Zhou asked, "Who is the centurion?"
A man with a simple and honest appearance and a strong physique, standing at the side of the group, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said in a loud voice: "Returning to the position of Commander of a Thousand Households, I will be stationed at Mount Lu and become the Right Guard Commander of the King of Chu."
Old Zhou raised his chin: "Call people."
Lu Shan received the order and quickly began to count the men. After he finished, he returned to the group, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the commander, 13 men are missing."
Old Zhou raised an eyebrow at Lin Changning: "From now on, they're all yours. Changning, you make the decision."
Lin Changning glanced at Lu Shan: "How many of you may request leave?"
Lu Shan shook his head and said frankly, "I returned to the commander without asking for leave, but I was not in the garrison either."
Lin Changning sneered, "They're probably just a few people with connections, hanging around in the name and drawing salaries without working."
After figuring things out a little, Lin Changning pointed at Lushan and said, "Take some men and lead me to find them."
With eager anticipation in his eyes, Lu Shan shouted, "Yes, Commander!"
Lin Changning pinched the hem of his clothes and carefully looked at Lu Shan. He was indeed a remarkable person.
Lin Changning glanced at Lao Zhang: "Lao Zhang, stay and watch over the rest of the people for today's big drill. I'll go and bring everyone back."
Old Zhang patted his chest: "Okay, no problem."
After saying that, Lin Changning got up and prepared to walk outside. Lu Shan had already cleverly selected 20 people to follow Lin Changning outside.
As the group approached the gate, Lin Changning immediately mounted his horse and looked at the others: "Lead the way!"
Lu Shan led his horse over, mounted it, and said, "I am a commander."
After speaking, the group spurred their horses and galloped into the city. Lu Shan led Lin Changning to stop in front of a house. Judging from the hanging plaque and the style of the gate, it was the home of an official.
Lin Changning, seated on his horse, nodded slightly to Lu Shan, indicating that they could go and arrest the person.
Lu Shan dismounted and led his men into the mansion. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they dragged out a disheveled young master who was shouting and yelling.
"You reckless fool, are you insane? Why are you arresting me so early in the morning?"
"Are you crazy? At least let me put my clothes on properly."
Lu Shan didn't say anything, he just kept dragging people forward.
After tying the man up, Lu Shan came to Lin Changning's horse and said, "The commander has been brought out!"
Without looking up, Lin Changning ordered, "Let's go, next one."
Lu Shan nodded, leaped onto his horse, grabbed the rope, and dragged the young master forward.
By this time, several passersby on the street were watching this scene in astonishment.
The young master seemed unconvinced and resentful, running and cursing as he panted.
When they arrived at the next place, they did the same thing and soon dragged the person out the door.
Only one family, seemingly quite powerful in the area, sent out their servants and guards to fight Lu Shan and his group. Lin Changning, sitting on his horse, reached out and pulled out his waist token, coldly saying, "The Commander is handling a case. Anyone who dares to obstruct him will be dealt with according to the law."
Seeing this, the family seemed to still want to curry favor. The steward took out a full bag of silver and smiled ingratiatingly at Lin Changning: "Young master, my young master and the young master have a very good relationship. Do you think there is some misunderstanding?"
Lin Changning sneered, drew his sword, knocked the money pouch away, and held the sword to the steward's body: "Still dare to bribe? Men, take him to the government office. Bribing a court official in the street, give him twenty lashes!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than two soldiers came out from behind, grabbed the man, and dragged him toward the government office.
After gathering all the men by the end of the morning, Lin Changning rode with Lu Shan on horseback, followed by a dozen or so young masters, panting heavily. Several of them stumbled and fell several times, getting covered in dust, and were dragged along for a while before continuing to run.
The people in the city watched this amazing scene and gathered together, whispering among themselves.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the morning. When the King of Chu heard it while he was handling official business, he slammed his fist on the table and laughed, "You mean that kid just went to our door and had us arrested, dragged back to the capital? And all the people in the streets were watching and laughing?"
The guard bowed and replied, "Your Highness, yes, Commander Ling broke into more than a dozen houses, arrested the people, and dragged them all the way back to the Commandery. Now everyone on the street is talking about it."
The King of Chu's smile remained unchanged: "Rong'er is right. Although this boy is young, he is quite resourceful and clever. Not bad, not bad."
After having his fun, the King of Chu asked again, "Which families didn't fight with Xiao Lin?"
The guard thought for a moment and shook his head: "There were no conflicts with the other families. The Qian family sent guards and servants, but they didn't dare to really fight and couldn't stop them. Later, the family steward tried to bribe Commander Lin with silver, but he was taken to the government office and was accused of bribing a court official in the street. He was beaten with 20 lashes."
The King of Chu laughed heartily: "Just watch, this matter is going to get interesting. Go tell the Crown Prince to stand up for Xiao Lin at this time. We will not accept any of these families who come to our door recently. We will also inform the government office."
The guards acknowledged the order and withdrew.
King Chu shook his head, thinking to himself, "The kid A Rong brought back is quite good. It was worth his special arrangements. This kid is indeed decisive and efficient. He gave these spoiled brats a great warning as soon as he took office today."
Presumably, the morale of the Right Guard will improve considerably in the future. He doesn't intend to exterminate these people, but once there are corrupt officials in the army, it will affect the morale of the entire army. Most of these people come from powerful families and have sent a lot of money to his Chu Prince's Mansion in Taiyuan, which is why they found some jobs in the army.
It would be good if they could train and get promoted honestly, but most of these young men can't endure hardship. They have a title but don't train properly, which directly affects the atmosphere in his army.
Left with no other option, he had to transfer these people out and list them separately to avoid affecting the morale of his elite troops.
Lin Changning's swift and decisive actions on his first day in office have dealt a heavy blow to these people, ensuring he will be able to manage his Right Guard of the Prince of Chu effectively in the future.
The King of Chu pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote two characters on the Xuan paper.
"The general."
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