Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The final tally by Ren Baqian was 47 Earth Wheel experts and 11 Man Wheel experts who joined as members of the Rearguard Commandery.
58 Baihu.
The sect chiefs or elders of those 11 Man Wheel experts had died during the reconnaissance mission at the Wang Estuary. Therefore, Ren Baqian gave some privileges to their successors as a reward.
At the same time, Ren Baqian gave each of them 22 people under two Xiaoqi and two Tiqi. As the Zongqi position was vacant, it was left as something to aspire for.
In general, the positions of Xiaoqi and Zongqi needed a person at the Man Wheel level, and the highest position a Man Wheel expert could reach was Zongqi.
Below Xiaoqi was Tiqi, the foundation of the Rearguard Commandery. Below Tiqi was a group of unofficial workers called the Lishi.
After all, the purpose of the Rearguard Commandery wasn’t only to fight, but more to supervise.
“The Rearguard Commandery has just been established, and all unnecessary formalities should be dispensed with. I have given you a quota of people, so choose them properly and don’t just let anyone in. After all, these people will be under your control and work for you. Their abilities will determine the quality of the work you undertake and control your prospects.
In addition, you can recruit a few Lishi to help the Tiqi act as informers or do other chores.
Those above the rank of Tiqi are considered as officials, so the court will pay them a salary.
As for the Lishi, you need to use your own resources to pay them.
Go back now to prepare and come here three days later to receive your official badges from me.” Ren Baqian let them leave after his explanation.
After the crowd left, Gong Zheng scratched his head and asked, “Sir, does the imperial court have money?”
“Didn’t you just plunder a great sum from Great Xia?’
“On the way here, I heard that Great Xia and the Yun Nation have cut off our salt supply. The court officials have used that money to buy salt,” Gong Zheng said.
Ren Baqian nodded as he had also heard about it. After all, the empress would receive news from Gu City every two or three days and would update him from time to time.
“The difficulty is only temporary. Once we have taken over the Yun Nation, you can even have a salt bath if you want.” Ren Baqian laughed.
“I really want to see the sea. I heard that there’s a giant fish in the sea that you can eat for a lifetime and that it looks like a piece of land when it swims on the surface of the sea.” Gong Zheng grinned.
“I want to see it too.” Ren Baqian thought that Gong Zheng was talking about a whale, but it was hard to say.
The creatures in this world were bigger and fiercer than those on Earth. For example, the pandas on Earth ate bamboo due to environmental reasons. Over here, they ate bamboo because they were at the bottom of the food chain, and aside from eating bamboos… they couldn’t even overcome a rabbit.
This was true on land, but the creatures of the sea in this world should be even more spectacular.
That night, Ren Baqian was relaxing in a cool place within the courtyard with the empress when a guard reported that an old friend of his was seeking an audience with him. Immediately, he knew it was the person he was waiting for.
As expected, the person brought into the hall was Su Qing.
Su Qing looked disgruntled when he saw Ren Baqian. Then, he became gloomy and pale. It was as if he had consumed a mouthful of piping hot feces.
When he saw the arrest warrant, he almost vomited blood and felt like killing Ren Baqian. If this news were to spread to Great Xia, he would really become a laughingstock.
He was a famous and handsome man in Great Xia, and many prostitutes were fighting for his favor. Now, he had become a pervert who had sex with a cow in a drunken stupor in Dayao. Even those who didn’t believe this would make fun of him.
It was simply too vicious to destroy a person’s reputation.
After staring at Ren Baqian for a long time and seeing him drinking and acting nonchalantly, he complained like a sorrowful lady, “Sir Ren, why did you do it this way?”
“You forgot to tell me how to contact you previously,” Ren Baqian said in a leisurely way. “Look, you appeared in front of me so quickly. The results show that this is a good method.”
Talking about this matter made Su Qing even gloomier.
After a long while, he sighed and said, “You have found me now. Please take down those arrest warrants.”
Subsequently he asked, “Why are you looking for me?”
“I want you to send some things to the Great Xia palace,” Ren Baqian said calmly.
Su Qing instantly turned serious and replied, “I have some people in the palace, but they can’t do much besides gathering information. The security in the palace of Great Xia is much stronger than you think.”
“It isn’t that serious. Just help me put some small gadgets in the Great Xia palace. Put them anywhere you like—gardens or lawns are also suitable.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Come, take a look at this thing,” said Ren Baqian as he took a cylinder from the table. The thing was green in color, had a camouflage pattern, and there was a safety catch on top. Since it didn’t have to explode, the casing was made of ordinary aluminium.
“Is this the same as the one you used in the north before? I mentioned that it was useless. It’s alright when used against ordinary people, but useless against the experts,” Su Qing said immediately after one look.
“This thing isn’t what you imagine it to be.” Ren Baqian knew that Su Qing had misunderstood and assumed that the item in his hand was a grenade.
“It’s not easy to place people in the palace, and I won’t put them at risk.”
“Let’s go out of town and I will show you.” Ren Baqian called for Shi Hu, who was outside. He went to the courtyard to get Lin Qiaole, who had been sleeping from dawn to dusk, and was bitten in response.
“Take this, pull this part later on, then throw it as far as possible,” Ren Baqian instructed Shi Hu.
“Well, I’m familiar with this thing!” Shi Hu was happy to see the item in Ren Baqian’s hand. He had used it many times although this one was slightly different.
“Withdraw!” Ren Baqian handed it over to Shi Hu and turned back to run.
Su Qing was suspicious. As far as he knew, this thing wasn’t powerful, but he followed Ren Baqian and ran away swiftly.
Lin Qiaole was initially sitting there and yawning, but she looked around and appeared next to Ren Baqian in a flash.
The only one left behind was Shi Hu, who was still standing in his original place. He had a silly grin on his face as he turned to look at Ren Baqian. He rubbed his head, pulled out the safety ring, and weighed it. Based on his experience, this thing would only explode after a few seconds, so he couldn’t understand why Ren Baqian ran away so quickly.
The next second, his face started to turn green as a pungent smell entered his nostrils and left him breathless! His chest and forehead seemed to be struck by a sledgehammer, his two eyes saw stars, and he couldn’t even breathe because his lungs seemed to be tightly gripped by someone.
He didn’t care where he threw the skunk bomb. He simply threw it on the ground and ran in the same direction as Ren Baqian. If he were to run too slowly, he feared that the smoke would choke him to death.
