Chapter 1830: Chapter 1830 Difficulty of Soldier Recruitment
"But she shouldn’t promote me to a rank equal to hers, right?" He was fully aware that Xiao Yunfang possessed a sizable force on the Central Continent.
However, Ye Liuyun was currently clueless about the situation and could only report to the praetorian for now. He figured if it wasn’t Zhang Wencai’s doing, he’d have to consult Xiao Yunfang again.
Prince Liang had issued the promotion order to He Linfeng, the praetorian’s commander. As a result, no matter what, He Linfeng felt that he must treat Ye Liuyun with respect.
Many princes desired to elevate their candidates, allowing them to upgrade themselves by serving in the praetorian, attaining a certain status, and then rising further up. Ye Liuyun’s future height may even exceed his own soon.
As a result, he patiently explained the praetorian’s rules to Ye Liuyun and especially requested Xiao Yunfang’s assistance in selecting troops to build his squad.
"Congratulations on your rapid promotion to my level!"
Upon exiting He Linfeng’s office, Xiao Yunfang congratulated Ye Liuyun.
"I had no idea we would cross paths again in less than two days after our return! Are you connected to my rise to the position of Praetorian?" Ye Liuyun asked Xiao Yunfang curiously.
"What does it have to do with me? Do you think I can promote you to the deputy commander of the praetorian?" Xiao Yunfang retorted.
"So, how did I get promoted?" Ye Liuyun really couldn’t figure it out.
"Do you not know who promoted you?" Xiao Yunfang asked back.
Ye Liuyun shrugged, indicating that he indeed had no idea.
"Judging by He Linfeng’s attitude towards you, the person who promoted you must hold a significant position!" Xiao Yunfang helped to analyze.
"Then, I’m even more clueless! The number of people I know in this Regalty doesn’t exceed five!" While saying this, Ye Liuyun raised his palm, seriously counting them out.
Zhang Wencai, Pei Yong, Xiao Yunfang, Xuan Yuanling, and Liao Zhishi. Indeed, it was not more than five.
"Stop worrying about it for now if you have no idea. Let me take you to get your gear and badge. Then we will proceed to help you pick your troops." Xiao Yunfang tried to console him.
"All right! That seems like the best move for now." Ye Liuyun sighed, contented to accept things as they come.
"You look disappointed as if you are unsatisfied with the promotion!" Xiao Yunfang teased him.
"Am I supposed to be grateful? The promotion was only symbolic, wasn’t it? After you show me the lodging, you can go about with your business. We’ll discuss about recruiting troops afterwards!" Ye Liuyun casually remarked.
"Oh my, you think the promotion is a trivial matter don’t you?" Xiao Yunfang sighed. Her position as the deputy commander took a lot of effort and hardship to achieve.
She had to concede, though, that given Ye Liuyun’s calibre, it might have seemed menial to him.
"True, this might be underwhelming for someone of your talent! However, not having a troop will make assignments challenging in the future." Xiao Yunfang reminded Ye Liuyun.
"Oh! Let’s just have Pei Yong bring over a few men to make up the numbers. After all, it’s only for show." Ye Liuyun casually responded.
Just then, a chuckle echoed from within the Devil Qi in the hall. "I’m curious to see if you have the ability to command troops."
The voice of Prince Liang conveyed again from the hall, "Ye Liuyun is hereby ordered to recruit a troop in seven days and then eliminate all bandits within the Triodge within half a month."
"Yes." A voice responded and ran to the praetorian camp to relay the instructions. Everyone outside who served Prince Liang finally knew who Ye Liuyun was!
Xiao Yunfang had just led Ye Liuyun to his new accommodations when the new order arrived.
After receiving the command, Ye Liuyun looked at Xiao Yunfang helplessly.
"I cannot catch a break!"
Xiao Yunfang smiled and replied, "Let’s go recruit your troops! Seems like the one who promoted you has a good eye and knew of your ability to command a troop!"
"But who could it be?" Ye Liuyun hurriedly got changed and walked out, still asking Xiao Yunfang about who could have known of his competence in the military.
After exhausting themselves trying to come up with an explanation, none of them was able to come up with one, so they started chatting about the bandit extermination mission in Triodge.
"It ought not to be difficult for you. There are somewhat fewer than 5,000 bandits. Much simpler than the battlefield along the border. You are likely to succeed in this mission no matter what. Besides, the Praetorian’s combat strength is pretty impressive!" Xiao Yunfang informed Ye Liuyun.
"That won’t do. If I have to recruit my troop, I’ll choose only the elites! I’ll use these bandits to hone my troops. Commanding a soldier troop is much different than training martial practitioners." Ye Liuyun said.
"I know you’re capable. But you only have seven days to recruit soldiers, you won’t have enough time to select elites! Besides, you need to train them with team formation, set team rules, and everything else?" Xiao Yunfang knew how hard was it to recruit a good troop.
"That’s true!" Ye Liuyun nodded in agreement, he planned to recruit his troops in the least amount of time and train them in formation techniques during the remaining time.
"When you train your team, can our spear team come and watch?" Xiao Yunfang was suddenly spirited.
Following her suggestion, Ye Liuyun’s face turned gloomy. "You think seven days is too long for me? Can’t you wait until I’m back from the bandit mission?"
"Haha, fine. I won’t push you then. But I can at least come and watch, please?" Xiao Yunfang felt her proposal earlier had been rather unreasonable. Thus, she decided to compromise.
"As you wish. I would be much happier if you could join my team!" Ye Liuyun smiled.
"Wishful thinking! We are of equal rank. Why would I join your team? Hurry up and recruit your troops!" Xiao Yunfang snapped at Ye Liuyun and was about to drag him to the barracks by force.
"Hold on, we should go find He Linfeng first!" Ye Liuyun stopped Xiaoyunfang.
"Why? Also, you should address him as Commander, not just use his name!" Xiao Yunfang warned Ye Liuyun.
"That depends on whether he cooperates with me!" Ye Liuyun tilted his head as he walked straight towards the commander tent of Praetorian.
Xiao Yunfang helplessly shook her head as she tailed him.
She knew that Ye Liuyun must have thought of a solution, and was curious to see what it was.
He Linfeng knew that Prince Liang gave Ye Liuyun only seven days. But he guessed that Prince Liang was intentionally testing Ye Liuyun, so he would agree to whatever Ye Liuyun proposed, as long as it was not over the line.
"The Commander is quite reasonable and accommodating!" Ye Liuyun said to Xiao Yunfang.
"That’s only towards you!" Xiao Yunfang replied.
Soon, inside the massive praetorian camp, over a hundred thousand praetorians had gathered.
He Linfeng first introduced Ye Liuyun to the soldiers, then explained that Ye Liuyun was here to recruit his troops among the soldiers.
Even the praetorian’s captives with a history of soldiering were brought out for him to select from.
Due to a variety of crimes, these soldiers were all imprisoned in the dungeon and were awaiting execution. Generally speaking, captives with minor problems would not end up in the dungeon
Ye Liuyun approached He Linfeng and demanded the disposal rights of these prisoner soldiers.
The praetorians who assembled there were not aware of what Ye Liuyun was trying to do.
They watched as Ye Liuyun asked the dungeon’s handler about each of the captive soldiers’ committed crimes.
Any captives that had ever bullied women or ordinary citizens, would be beheaded by Ye Liuyun.
Others who had committed crimes such as murder, arson, and robbery got their chains removed.
