Chapter 195 Recruiting troops
Sister Zi Nu was captured, and this was known to the entire Yang family, but no one knew what happened to Nong Yu.

After seeing things she shouldn't have seen, Nanyue became a bad person. She hid in her room all day long and no one knew what she was busy with during her retreat. She needed to practice Fuxi Shentian Xiang more so that she could calm her mind completely.

This day, Zi Nu was truly mature as she calculated the remaining property and various expenses. She wrote furiously, and it was unknown how long she had been busy before she sorted out the accounts. Then she stretched her wrists, and her eyes inadvertently stopped on the brush in her hand. She didn't know what she was thinking of, but her face, which was a little sweaty because of the heater in the room, blushed again.

At this moment, Zi Nu only felt that the pen in her hand was a little hot, but she did not throw it away. Instead, she clenched it instinctively. As her thoughts drifted, she didn't know what she thought of. She suddenly threw the brush away, feeling dry mouth and tongue, which was so embarrassing.

"Oh, what did you think of? Is it..." Just when Zi Nu was feeling restless, Yan Lingji wrapped in a black cloak walked in from outside. There were still some snowflakes left on Yan Lingji's head. As for why this woman with the fire element did not melt the snowflakes on her head immediately, it was naturally because someone said that Yan Lingji looked more beautiful like this.

In order to show her best side, Yan Lingji accepted the man's advice.

"What is it?" Zi Nu asked, calming herself down, but the increasingly intense blush on her face betrayed her thoughts completely.

"It's installed already? Who hasn't held it yet?" Yan Lingji rolled her eyes at Zi Nu. She had obviously done everything, but now it was installed. She would want to see if she would install it the same way on the bed when the time comes.

"Didn't you go with him to recruit people? Why are you back?" Zi Nu, whose mind had calmed down, changed the subject.

Through Guo Kai, Yang Chong got the short list. In order to better implement his plan, Yang Chong has been busy recruiting people during this period. Yan Lingji is a restless person, so she naturally follows Yang Chong out every day in the past few days. But today she only went out for half a day and returned, which is far worse than yesterday.

"It's so boring. I thought he was recruiting some talented people, but I never expected that they were just a group of old guys who were already half buried in the ground. Well, in his words, they are veterans, but what's the use of veterans? Zhao State itself doesn't use those old guys, but he treats those people as treasures." Yan Lingji said with disdain.

What's the point of recruiting a group of people who can't even go to the battlefield? It's just a complete waste of money. In Yan Lingji's understanding, Yang Chong's behavior is unreasonable, at least she can't understand it.

"Veteran?" Zi Nu's heart moved when she heard this, and she couldn't help but think of something.

"Yes, they are in their forties or fifties, and some are even over fifty. They can't even lift a sword. Are these people really useful to us? Hey, you should persuade him too. He will listen to you in this kind of thing." Yan Lingji looked at Zi Nu with anticipation in her eyes.

She didn't understand many things, and couldn't convince Yang Chong, but Zi Nu was different. She knew a lot, and maybe she could convince Yang Chong.

"He is very smart, how could he do business that would lose money?" Zi Nu already understood the reason why Yang Chong did this. It was absolutely impossible for her to stop Yang Chong from doing this.

"It seems like I'm the only idiot?" Seeing Zi Nu's reaction, Yan Lingji realized that she was overthinking.

"People who know themselves are not stupid." Zi Nu said comforting words, but the nodding action showed her true thoughts.

When Yan Lingji saw Zi Nu's reaction, she gritted her teeth in hatred, but competing with others in a field that she was not good at was not a very smart behavior. Yan Lingji did not have much experience but she was still smart and would not be fooled.

Even if she really wanted to get back at Zi Nu, she would only do it in her own way instead of being led by Zi Nu. Yan Lingji had plenty of experience in fighting and quarreling.

"I'm just afraid that some people don't have self-awareness." Yan Lingji counterattacked. She had already decided that when Yang Chong stayed overnight in Zi Nu's room, she would definitely attack him at night. She would also suppress Zi Nu once and then see how Zi Nu would be tough in front of her in the future.

Zi Nu didn't know that she was in danger. She still thought that she had made Yan Lingji give up. It must be said that the women in Zi Lan Xuan were still too naive compared to Yan Lingji. Zi Nu had no idea how unrestrained and shameless Yan Lingji was in doing things.

The two women in the family were fighting openly and secretly, while Yang Chong was busy recruiting people.

In this era, although the military systems of various countries were similar, there were still differences. The Wei Wuzu of Wei was considered the first regular army in the Warring States Period. Unfortunately, with the decline of Wei's national strength, it was difficult to maintain the system of Wei Wuzu. Although the current Wei still has Wuzu, it is far inferior to the former Wei Wuzu.

The Qin State combined soldiers and farmers, and used the system of military merit to maximize the combat effectiveness of the army at the lowest cost. This is why, although the Qin army was not as elite as the Zhao and Wei armies in terms of top-level soldiers, its overall combat effectiveness was stronger than that of the Zhao and Wei armies.

As for the State of Chu? Forget it. It has no reference value.

As for Yang Chong? Even though he had Jibei County, he was still weak in the face of the huge Qi State. All he could do was to use the most time to build a strong army and use the victory of the war to pursue more things.

As for developing production and so on, it can only be considered after actually occupying Qi.

Yang Chong understood the reason why I repaired guns while my neighbors stockpiled food.

However, it is not so easy to form an army. It would take too long for Yang Chong to learn the Qin's farming and warfare system, and what he lacks most is time. So the best thing for him to do now is to build an army similar to the Wei Wuzu. He does not seek quantity, but quality. Then, with the elite as the core, he would build a large army by imitating the Fubing system.

As a military system of later generations, the Fubing System may not be the best, but it has one advantage, that is, the organization is systematic, simpler and more efficient, which is exactly what Yang Chong needs.

However, before that, some experienced veterans need to be recruited as instructors. Yang Chong is well aware of the importance of lower-level officers in an army.

But real elites are treasures in any country. It may not be easy for Yang Chong to recruit enough talents in Zhao State, so he can only find another way and recruit from the veteran group of Zhao State.

Veterans are worthless and are no longer capable of fighting, but their experience is very useful.

These are the people Yang Chong wants to recruit right now. As for how he finds them, with Guo Kai's help, it will be an easy task. Yang Chong's money is not wasted in vain.

With the help of Guo Kai's retainers in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Yang Chong recruited three hundred veterans between the ages of 45 and 55 in ten days. This was the only number he could recruit.

Although the population of Zhao State was in the millions, there were very few veterans in their forties and fifties. The reason? Of course, it was because of the Battle of Changping.

The Battle of Changping took place more than 20 years ago, when almost all the young and middle-aged people of Zhao were killed by the Qin army. Later, Zhao experienced the Battle of Handan, which almost wiped out a generation of people. "I was able to recruit these people so smoothly today, all thanks to the help of the prime minister." In the prime minister's mansion, Yang Chong thanked Guo Kai.

"Mr. Yang will understand. I am a very good partner. Although I like money, I am the most trustworthy." Guo Kai responded.

Helping Yang Chong recruit people was just a matter of convenience for him, he didn't even need to show up, he just needed to send a few officials. Now he was busy with another thing, busy helping the Qin envoy Dun Ruo persuade King Zhao Yan to form an alliance with Qin. However, although the Qin envoy was very generous to him, he was very harsh to Zhao.

King Yan of Zhao might not have figured out the price of the five cities, because it was not just about the five cities, it was also a matter of face. Coincidentally, King Yan of Zhao cared most about face.

"If I didn't trust the Prime Minister's character, I wouldn't have gone to see him as soon as I arrived in Handan." Yang Chong said this sincerely.

A gentleman has his uses, and a villain has his uses. Guo Kai is a useful villain to Yang Chong. In Yang Chong's eyes, Guo Kai, a useful villain, is more popular with him than a useless gentleman.

"After County Magistrate Yang arrives in Jibei County, we will have more opportunities to cooperate. I am very interested in participating in such a big event as planning for a country." Guo Kai said. He knew how big Qi's fortune was. If he could get a piece of it, he would definitely become rich. After all, Qi was really too rich.

Not to mention anything else, Linzi alone has a population of 500,000. Even Xianyang of Qin cannot compare to such a capital.

"I will have to rely on the Prime Minister in the future." Yang Chong replied sincerely.

Yang Chong needed the war horses and leather in the northern border of Zhao State. These were indispensable materials for forming an army. If Yang Chong wanted to obtain these things smoothly, he could not do without Guo Kai's help.

There are also military equipment, but Yang Chong already has a suitable partner in this area.

South Korea's military equipment is world-class.

"Easy to say, easy to say."

……

After Yang Chong stayed in Handan for another half a month, in addition to recruiting people, he also recruited a lot of craftsmen. Together with those brought from Korea, when he left Handan, the caravan around him had nearly two thousand people, and they were heading towards Raoan City in a mighty manner. There, Yang Chong would reintegrate the power of Jibei County and use the land of one county to seek to seize Qi State.

It was snowing when Yang Chong entered Handan, and it was snowing even harder when he left Handan. The journey was tiring in the wind and snow, but fortunately the future was bright.

Raoan City is a large city with a population of tens of thousands. Moreover, because it is located on a plain, the city is well maintained. However, because Qi State did not maintain its military equipment for many years, the city walls were damaged by wind and sun. After Zhao State captured this place, the damage became even worse, and Zhao State did not repair it. After all, Zhao State was very poor. To some extent, Zhao State was the poorest among the seven countries, even worse than Yan State.

At this time in Raoan City, the sign of a tavern was fluttering in the cold wind, and the shouting of drinkers could be heard from the tavern from time to time.

A young girl was lying on the counter, pretending not to hear the noise that filled her ears.

She has a soft face and a slender figure. Although she does not give people a stunning feeling, she has the temperament of a beautiful girl next door, which makes the customers in the store miss her from time to time.

If the girl's mother, the proprietress of the tavern, had not been so fierce, they might have said something teasing.

However, even though they dare not say it, it does not mean that they dare not peek.

"Ms. Jiang, what are you thinking about?" While the girl was distracted, a big hand slapped in front of her. It was the girl's mother, the proprietress of this tavern.

"I wasn't thinking anything." Jiang Nu suddenly came back to her senses and met her mother's gaze, but she felt a little guilty. She had not been working well recently and often made mistakes in calculations. She just hoped that she didn't make any mistakes today.

I should, probably, maybe, have calculated correctly today, right?

"You have already received the letter. There are only a few days left. Can't you wait?" Jiang Meng looked at her daughter in front of her. She had no idea what she was thinking.

Jiang Meng was quite helpless about this. Her daughter had grown up and understood a lot of things. As a mother, she couldn't say much, even to the person Jiang Nu was thinking of.

Because he is the young master of their family!

Thinking of this, Jiang Meng also felt a little pressured, because she knew the true identity of her young master and was always worried that she would be suspected of being silenced, but the entanglement between them had long been unclear, so there was no possibility for them to stay out of it.

He shouldn't be that kind of person. Jiang Meng could only say this to herself in her heart.

"I haven't seen him for almost three years. I don't know how he is doing. Does he still remember me?" Jiang Nu said resentfully.

Three years is indeed not a long time. In this era, it is only one twentieth of a person's life. But three years is too long for a girl who is not even twenty years old. It is one sixth of her life.

This tavern was opened by Jiangnu's family. On that day, they parted ways with Yang Chong in Xiliu Village. Yang Chong continued to stay in Han State, while they came to Raoan and secretly gathered people from the six tribes of Yan Emperor to gather here, waiting for Yang Chong to come from Han State.

In the past nearly three years, they have contacted many people, but some of them have disappeared, some are terrified by their appearance, and they have even been betrayed. They have not had an easy life in these three years.

However, they still gathered a lot of people.

(End of this chapter)