Chapter 1818: Chapter 424: Su Yunjin: Husband, You’re Back!

Hyah, hyah, hyah...

Galloping down the long street, Chen Jiusi longed to return home.

All along the way, Chen Jie rode tirelessly, stopping for half a day to inspect the current state of the crops in Huangzhou Prefecture.

He also took the opportunity to check on his water conservancy projects, observing how each area’s supervisors were performing.

After Chen Jie’s inspection, he was very pleased; the reservoirs in the villages were well maintained, with no evidence of corner-cutting or embezzlement.

To prevent local officials from engaging in corruption, Chen Jie employed heavy measures, having established an inspection team dedicated to uncovering any wrongdoing.

The results were gratifying; it seemed that the inspection team was quite successful.

Of course, this was also related to the team leader, an old acquaintance, none other than Wu Hong, the person who introduced Chen Jie to Martial Arts and his good brother, Bai Wenjing’s grandson.

Recruiting this Mianshui Thirteen Grand Protectors constable was not easy, given Wu Hong’s loyalist and patriotic mindset. His upright nature made him reluctant to betray the court and side with Chen Jie.

However, Chen Jie wouldn’t let his old brother go so easily, thus he first enlisted Wu Hong’s mentor, Zhang Liye, one of the veteran arrest officers of the Mianshui Thirteen Grand Protectors.

After Zhang Liye was promoted from Mianshui County to Huangzhou Prefecture, he thought he would prosper, but he found that here seniority was highly valued, especially bloodline, and as a Han constable, there wasn’t much he could achieve; moreover, he was of average strength.

Thus, he ended up on the sidelines, never really succeeding.

After Chen Jie took control of Huangzhou Prefecture, he discovered a shortage of talent. When reviewing the list of officials in office, he saw the name Zhang Liye.

Chen Jie took note, thinking since Zhang Liye knew him, he’d come to ask for a favor to secure a good position, but to his surprise, Zhang Liye, like Wu Hong, was stubborn.

He endured for two whole years without coming to see him.

It wasn’t until last time, when Chen Jie returned from Longxing Prefecture and then annexed Xianning Prefecture, that he found himself short of manpower. After some thought, he eventually sought out Master Zhang Liye.

He appointed him as the Camp Patrol Officer, in charge of local security, commanding all the Fishing Guild’s security forces.

But Zhang Liye was unwilling, arguing that as an official, how could he lead Fishing Guild personnel? It would disrupt the Jianghu order.

However, Chen Jie said to him, "The greater the thief, the greater the official; since ancient times, there has been no fixed royal power, merely the survival of the fittest."

Hearing this, Zhang Liye was silent for a long time before finally agreeing to assume the position of local security officer, fulfilling an ambition he never dared to dream of, managing tens of thousands of security personnel across six prefectures.

At that time, Chen Jie also needed someone righteous and honest, with a close relationship, to take on the role of special inspection officer, responsible for identifying corruption, but finding such a person was not easy.

Ultimately, Su Yunjin reminded him.

He still had an older brother he hadn’t approached, yes, Wu Hong.

Chen Jie then had Zhang Liye come over to help persuade Wu Hong, with Bai Wenjing and Uncle Wu from Xiantao Village offering their assistance.

When Wu Hong arrived at Chen Jie’s residence after not seeing him for a year or two, he was truly shocked; by then, Chen Jie’s strength had reached the Dragon Realm, a level of Energy Transformation that Wu Hong couldn’t comprehend. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

He also understood their gap was likely much larger than he imagined.

It made him more restrained, but he soon felt Chen Jie’s enthusiasm, who did not underestimate Wu Hong in the slightest, still calling him Brother Wu with every word.

Even though Chen Jie had not yet formally become sworn brothers with Peng Yingyu and the others back then, their relationship reached Mianshui County, letting Wu Hong know that Peng Yingyu, the actual controller of Hubei Road, was Chen Jie’s elder brother.

Now recognizing him as his elder brother made Wu Hong very grateful, and during the banquet, Chen Jie took the initiative to recount past events, specifically mentioning how he first learned Martial Arts, Grand Ancestor Long Fist, from Wu Hong.

Without Wu Hong’s initial teachings in Grand Ancestor Long Fist, helping him with Martial Arts initiation, he wouldn’t have had today’s opportunities; it was all thanks to Wu Hong.

To this, Wu Hong replied, "It was a simple task."

Chen Jie said, "To Brother Wu, it was a simple task, but to me, it was the kindness of enlightenment. To say you were my mentor isn’t an exaggeration."

Wu Hong was warmly touched by Chen Jie’s words; immediately, Chen Jie seized the moment to share his aspiration, leading the people of Huangzhou Prefecture toward a brighter future, where everyone had food and clothing.

Wu Hong, attracted by Chen Jie’s great vision, agreed to join Chen Jie’s team, which greatly moved Chen Jie, who said, "With brother assisting me, your younger brother can feel at ease; brother needs nothing more than to keep an eye on our internal affairs to prevent corruption."

Wu Hong clasped his fists and said, "Rest assured, my Lord, Wu Hong will not fail the mission."

"My Lord" was what Chen Jie’s subordinates in Huangzhou Prefecture called him; Wu Hong unexpectedly addressed him as such, indicating his clear allegiance, and Chen Jie, not being foolish, naturally reciprocated by offering Wu Hong substantial reassurance.

When leaving, he gave Wu Hong a commendable set of Cultivation Techniques and an Elixir to help him break through to the Wolf Smoke Realm.