The Demonic World I designed-Chapter 80 - 77 Conscription

80: Chapter 77: Conscription

80 -77: Conscription

Everyone had never expected…

that the Azure Dragon Technique, having been at the center of all the conspiracy theories and believed to be the origin of the current haze, the prime culprit, would so smoothly end up in the hands of an apprentice from the Yin Yang Academy.

If the upper echelons of the various powers knew that this top-tier technique that sparked unrest was merely a betrothal gift for someone to take a concubine, their eyeballs would probably pop out.

Of course, it was also fortunate that the fog had caused many misunderstandings, otherwise neither Chen Qing nor Chen Ying would likely live to see tomorrow.

Chen Qing, with the perspective of a designer overseeing the world, failed to understand how an advanced technique that would devalue with every version iteration could cause such a commotion in the world.

Chen Ying hadn’t even recovered from her stunned confusion when he had already taken Wei Gongcheng with him to arrange and plan for the next steps.

“Lord Chen…” Wei Gongcheng, looking bewilderedly at Chen Qing, who was still scribbling all over the map, asked, “Is that really the Azure Dragon Heritage?”

“Mm…” Chen Qing continued drawing without looking up.

“Do you know what that represents?” Wei Gongcheng’s voice trembled slightly.

Though he was young, he had heard of the horrific defense battle fought by the Fei Family!

“Mu Hongqing won’t be able to protect Chen Ying’s Azure Dragon Technique!”

At this, Chen Qing looked up with confusion, “She’s already part of the Chen Family, why would Mu Hongqing need to protect her?”

Wei Gongcheng: “……”

“Alright, don’t worry about those little things, come here….” Chen Qing beckoned, signaling Wei Gongcheng to come closer.

Little things….

Wei Gongcheng had a belly full of words ready to burst, but upon seeing Chen Qing’s drawing, his attention was diverted once again.

The drawing was exquisite, not in the sense that Chen Qing’s work was full of artistic atmosphere but rather it was so neat, creating a layered city distribution map with a fine brush.

“Did you study engineering?” Wei Gongcheng curiously inquired.

Engineering mechanics was something the King of Qin started to value a hundred years ago.

At that time, he gathered a large number of top craftsmen, made breakthroughs in many technologies, and built an almost invincible army.

From then on, various powers began to value craftsmen.

Now that the Great Jin Dynasty had begun, although civilian engineering was strictly prohibited, the great families were secretly nurturing engineering talents: the Weichi Clan had them, and naturally, so did the Wei Family.

Looking at it this way, Chen Qing was certainly not a simple commoner.

Just with this excellent ability to design engineering plans, he was, in Wei Gongcheng’s view, already far superior to many of the Wei Family’s members who specialized in this area.

“I know a bit…” replied Chen Qing vaguely, “What do you think?”

“I don’t really understand this…” Wei Gongcheng frowned, but upon closer inspection, his heart skipped a beat, “Lord…is this Lyuzhou City?”

It looked very much like it, but then again, it seemed quite different.

“This is the Lyuzhou Hell City!”

“Ah?”

“Take this back and look it over carefully, memorize it.

You’ll need it soon.”

Wei Gongcheng dumbfoundedly took the drawing.

Hell City, what was that?

Chen Qing saw Wei Gongcheng’s puzzled expression and sighed faintly.

Constructing the Hell Ruler was in his plans, to start at least a year into his term, when the Gate Deity and the Mountain God had gathered enough faith and the people of Lyuzhou had become accustomed to the idea of deities.

After all, establishing the Hell Ruler system consumed a great amount of authorized divine energy and returned slow benefits, so a solid base of public support was required.

But now, with the premature arrival of things from the sea, he was forced to prepare in advance, increasing the risks.

Yet, if successful, the establishment of a minor Reincarnation System would signify the true formation of divine power.

His own strength would receive a substantial boost, and he would be ready to face this peculiar version disorder.

Of course, the most important thing was to firstly survive the initial turmoil.

“The Fatty gave you the household registration book before he left, didn’t he?

Do you understand the general situation?”

Wei Gongcheng was still puzzled about the Hell City diagram when he was caught off guard by the question, feeling somewhat out of step with the other’s train of thought, but he still nodded, “I’ve seen most of it, I generally understand.”

This Magistrate Lord had invested all his money in real estate, without even the funds to hire a bookkeeper, and it was tough on that little fatty surnamed Zhou.

Unable to watch without helping, he had offered a hand but didn’t expect that fatty to be clingy, wearing him down with persistence until he took on a fair share of paperwork and miscellaneous affairs…

“Are there many able-bodied young men?”

“Eh?” Wei Gongcheng was startled, then after thinking, he responded, “Not bad.

Most of the elderly are quite frightened and don’t dare to return.

Those who do are mostly ambitious young people, especially since the dockside is bustling; the most valuable job is as a porter.”

“I see, roughly how many are there?”

“The news is spreading quickly recently.

There should be about a thousand young men who have returned looking for work.”

“Only a thousand or so…” Chen Qing took a deep breath, “General Wei, if you were to recruit these able-bodied young men into soldiers, how long would it take you to train them?”

“What?” Wei Gongcheng was stunned by the question, “Are you planning to train troops?”

“Hmm…” Chen Qing nodded, “The Provincial Governor granted me temporary authority for military recruitment.

You saw the dire state of the barracks yourself; we need to be proactive in self-defense.”

“Self-defense?” Wei Gongcheng’s facial muscles twitched.

Those who perished in the barracks were Weichi Feihong’s personal soldiers.

On the battlefield, didn’t each of them fight like ten men?

Moreover, you yourself said that it was Weichi Feihong who struck them down.

What good would recruiting some temporary militia do?

“Well, anyway, that’s about the gist of it…” Chen Qing replied vaguely, “If General Wei were to train them, how long would it take to make them into elite troops?”

“Does Lord Chen take elite troops lightly?” Wei Gongcheng laughed incredulously, “A few days?

It takes three years of training and battlefield tempering for every ten recruits to possibly yield a single elite soldier.

A few days?

Please, don’t joke, Lord Chen!”

“Alright then, let me rephrase the question.” Chen Qing said seriously, “General Wei, how quickly could you train a batch of troops that dare to kill?”

“What exactly are you planning, Lord Chen?” Wei Gongcheng grew uneasy, as the other party seemed wholly earnest.

If Chen Qing intended to compete with Weichi Feihong for control over the mansion soldiers, there would be no need to train troops with killing intent.

For a civil official to train such private soldiers would be a crime of rebellion!

“General Wei must also have sensed that something’s amiss in Lyuzhou,” Chen Qing sighed in explanation.

“During extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary.

With General Weichi’s whereabouts unknown, I, as the Magistrate of Lyuzhou, have a duty to protect this region.

You understand, don’t you, General Wei?”

“We could request troops from Nanming Prefecture!” Wei Gongcheng frowned.

“We can’t…” Chen Qing pointed outside, “Nanming Prefecture is likely struggling to save itself right now.”

“What?” Wei Gongcheng was so startled he tried to stand, but his sensation-less legs only allowed him to stare wide-eyed and lean on the chair, “Lord Chen, what on earth happened?”

“We’re still unsure,” Chen Qing could only prevaricate for now, “The urgent matter is to ensure Lyuzhou’s safety.

General Wei, please answer my previous question.”

After hesitating and scrutinizing Chen Qing, Wei Gongcheng finally said:

“If it’s just about cultivating fighting spirit…

with a suitable battlefield, it could be very quick, just a matter of days at most.

But the casualty rate would not be small!”

“We won’t be short of battlefields…” Chen Qing sighed deeply.

Hearing this, Wei Gongcheng gave Chen Qing a profound look.

Indeed, major trouble was brewing, and this fellow in front of him seemed to know exactly what was about to unfold, just like when he knew about the Thousand-Faced Fox!

“Nowadays, the people of Lyuzhou have ample food and clothing.

To recruit troops, especially those willing to kill, you’d need to offer a hefty reward.”

Chen Qing: “A flat rate of ten taels per month, three meals a day, each with meat!”

“Are you serious, Lord Chen?” Wei Gongcheng’s eyes twitched at the promise.

Even the wealthy Weichi family only offered such treatment to their personal soldiers.

Wasn’t this offer a bit too generous for recruiting militia?

And can you even afford it?

“In a moment, I will have Gu Bei and the others start recruiting.

Training the troops I will leave to General Wei.”

Wei Gongcheng took a deep breath and eventually nodded, “If Lord Chen intends only to protect himself, I shall undoubted give my utmost effort!”

Chen Qing smiled, looking at Wei Gongcheng.

He understood Wei Gongcheng’s thoughts; despite his current disability, he remained loyal to the Imperial Court.

But there was no rush.

All in good time…

“By the way, where’s Chen Ying?”

“You’re only thinking of her now?” Wei Gongcheng immediately rolled his eyes, “I thought you had forgotten about her.

When I was coming here, I glanced at the courtyard.

Miss Chen wasn’t there anymore.

By now, she’s probably already left the city!”

“Left the city?” Chen Qing frowned, “For what purpose?”

“For what purpose?” Wei Gongcheng chuckled, “After receiving such a generous gift from you, why wouldn’t she seize the chance to escape now if not now?”

“That easy?” Chen Qing laughed too, “She’s bound by a blood oath.

She can’t just change her mind!”

“Change her mind?” Wei Gongcheng looked at Chen Qing strangely.

Would you really be the one to have second thoughts?

“She hasn’t said she won’t fulfill her promise.

To become your concubine?

But…” Wei Gongcheng’s tone shifted to a murmur, “She didn’t say she wouldn’t leak the Technique.

Have you considered that she might give the Technique to Lord Mu Hongqing?

After all, it’s your betrothal gift, and Lord Mu is practically family to Chen Ying.

If she were to give the Technique to Mu, it wouldn’t be considered a betrayal!”

“Let her share it if she wants…” Chen Qing said nonchalantly, “It is a betrothal gift after all, and it’s up to her how she chooses to disseminate it, as long as I can make use of it myself.”

Wei Gongcheng was stunned once more.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the world as magnanimous as the man before him.

That was the Azure Dragon Sorcery!

Couldn’t he take it a little more seriously?

Speaking of which…

his own sister was also of marriageable age, wasn’t she?

“What worries me more is the direction she’s headed towards Nan Ming…”

Hearing this, Wei Gongcheng finally laughed, “In the end, you’re afraid she’s going to see Mu DaRen now, aren’t you?”

“Ah?” Chen Qing gave a wry smile, “If she could find him, I’d be so happy my teeth would be crooked.”

“What do you mean, Lord Chen?”

“She can’t get out…” Chen Qing shook his head, “But she might run into someone from the Shen Family.”

At this thought, Chen Qing’s brow furrowed deeply because he remembered something—the Shen Family had someone who had been bitten!