Chapter 88

When County Magistrate Lu saw Liu Jun and the refugees, a sudden idea popped into his head. Why not entrust this matter to Liu Jun? Liu Jun had trained a formidable group of Nine-Headed Birds in a short time, and they had performed admirably in two anti-bandit operations. If Liu Jun could train a group of soldiers as capable as the Nine-Headed Birds, it would certainly pass the higher-ups' inspection.

Moreover, County Magistrate Lu thought of another issue. Recruiting people from various villages and towns was not only troublesome, but those people also had families and livelihoods, making it impossible for them to train every day.

But now there was a group of suitable candidates right in front of him—these refugees. There were quite a few young and strong men among them. Liu Jun's Nine-Headed Birds already numbered over two hundred, and he had recently recruited another hundred, bringing the total to over three hundred.

If Liu Jun's Nine-Headed Birds were transformed into the Macheng County Militia, and then another two hundred refugees were recruited and trained, wouldn't that make five hundred trained soldiers, which would be enough?

It would just mean renaming the Nine-Headed Birds. Liu Jun's team could still be around three hundred, but he could also occasionally train two hundred of the newly recruited refugee craftsmen. Training them once every five days, in about half a year, they would certainly look the part.

When the higher-ups came to inspect, Liu Jun could present his three hundred Nine-Headed Birds and the two hundred trained craftsmen, and there would be no problem.

The more County Magistrate Lu thought about it, the more he believed this plan was feasible. It would be too difficult for him to recruit and train a new group of five hundred soldiers. First, there was no suitable commander, and second, there were no suitable soldiers.

Recruiting a group of farmers and training them for ten to fifteen days would be of no use.

Of course, Lu Jinxin also knew that Liu Jun didn't have to help him. There had to be some benefit, and it had to be beneficial for everyone.

"I want to appoint you as the commander of five hundred trained soldiers," Lu Jinxin began with an enticing offer. "The position of commander is equivalent to a battalion commander in the capital and border armies, which is a seventh-rank military official. However, since we are just a county militia, the higher-ups have decided to abolish the position of deputy magistrate and establish a commander. The original rank of the county commander was ninth-rank. However, the emperor has specially decreed that the rank of county commander will be eighth-rank."

Liu Jun was currently a temporary patrol inspector, a ninth-rank miscellaneous official. If he became the commander, he would be promoted two ranks, jumping directly to eighth-rank, bypassing the seventh-rank.

Liu Jun didn't expect such a good deal, but he knew there must be some conditions behind it.

"What do you need me to do?"

Lu Jinxin was surprised that Liu Jun didn't show any excitement or joy, finding it unexpected that he remained so calm, even with a two-rank promotion.

"I thought about it this way: recruiting five hundred trained soldiers temporarily is difficult, and even if we do recruit them, it would be hard to train them in a short time. In the past, there have been precedents. Therefore, I think that if you take on the role of commander, you can use your three hundred Nine-Headed Birds as the trained soldiers, and then select another two hundred from the newly recruited craftsmen to train occasionally. This way, five hundred trained soldiers would be sufficient."

Seeing that Liu Jun didn't express any opinion, Lu Jinxin quickly added, "Of course, if the Nine-Headed Birds are incorporated into the militia, the county will pay the five hundred soldiers' salaries and provide equipment."

Liu Jun quickly considered the matter in his mind. Lu Jinxin urgently needed a group of five hundred trained soldiers to meet the imperial order and future inspections. By directly entrusting this task to him, making him the commander, and using his Nine-Headed Birds and craftsmen as the five hundred trained soldiers, it was a practical solution.

However, Liu Jun was also considering his own gains and losses.

If he became the commander, he would be promoted two ranks, becoming an eighth-rank military official. Additionally, he would officially command five hundred soldiers, not just twenty archers. Originally, he only had jurisdiction over the Tiger Head Pass in Taiping Township, but now he would have jurisdiction over the entire county's militia.

However, to be the commander, he would need to incorporate his Nine-Headed Birds into the militia. He would also need to train two hundred craftsmen for inspection.

This wasn't a big deal. The Nine-Headed Birds were originally a township militia and later became his personal guards. Now, they would be part of the county militia, but they would still be under his command.

If they were incorporated into the militia, these several hundred people would become official personnel, and they could receive a regular salary from the county. Although the salary for the militia was not high, it was still a sum of money. More importantly, with this official title, their equipment could be partially reimbursed by the county, or he could use the official title to purchase equipment, saving a significant amount of money.

It seemed to be a win-win situation, a great deal.

"What about the Tiger Head Pass?" Liu Jun asked.

Lu Jinxin seemed to have thought about it and replied, "The Tiger Head Pass patrol inspector and Taiping Post will still be under your jurisdiction. The five hundred trained soldiers can be stationed in Taiping Township. After all, the bandits are in the northeast. Your militia headquarters will be in Taiping Township, which will help you monitor the enemy's movements."

Lu Jinxin didn't want to invite the refugees back after just sending them away.

"Why not directly find Hu Gongguo, Lu Yuansun, and others?" Liu Jun asked. Hu Gongguo and Lu Yuansun were leaders in the Baosheng Fort militia and had the titles of scholar and candidate. Their teams had been around much longer than Liu Jun's.

"They are Mei Gong's trusted generals and wouldn't be willing to lead a group of newly recruited farmers," Lu Jinxin smiled. In fact, he had considered this and even tried to recruit them. He had personally met with them, but they showed no interest in becoming an eighth-rank commander, or perhaps they didn't see much potential in the militia.

As for recruiting five hundred people from Baosheng Fort and renaming them the Macheng Militia, he had thought about it, but Mei Zhihuan didn't care. They didn't value the salary and equipment conditions he offered because they knew the county couldn't provide much. In the end, they would still have to pay the salaries themselves. By accepting the county's salary and the militia's title, they would be subject to the county's and higher authorities' control.

Baosheng Fort was essentially a private militia, not under any official command, and only occasionally cooperated with the government.

Mei Zhihuan, Hu Gongguo, and Lu Yuansun didn't care about the eighth-rank commander or the salary and equipment. Liu Jun, however, did. Even a small benefit was still a benefit, especially after losing Li Chunjiang as a partner. If the Nine-Headed Birds had an official title, it would be better for the future.

"Can you decide this matter?"

"As long as you agree, there's no problem." Lu Jinxin had another reason for coming to Liu Jun: he had the support of Mei Zhihuan, Li Changgeng, and other influential figures. Although Mei Zhihuan didn't care about these things, he wouldn't oppose Liu Jun taking this position. Moreover, Zhao Cheng, the military commissioner, also highly regarded Liu Jun.

The key was Liu Jun. If he agreed, everything would be fine.

Liu Jun finally agreed.

After getting Liu Jun's consent, Lu Jinxin returned satisfied and immediately went to visit Li Changgeng and Mei Zhihuan. Mei and Li were somewhat surprised by Lu Jinxin's proposal. They had discussed this matter before and planned to wait until Liu Jun's official appointment as patrol inspector was confirmed before asking him to take on the commander role.

"But now, someone is more urgent than us," Lu Jinxin said.

"I have no objection," Mei Zhihuan finally smiled and nodded, not raising any objections.

Li Changgeng also had no objections.

The matter was basically settled. Lu Jinxin wrote a report and sent it to Huangzhou Prefecture. In the appointment of a county commander, he had significant authority, even though it was an eighth-rank position. Most other counties simply reassigned their abolished deputy magistrates to the commander role, but Macheng County was special, appointing a new commander.

When Lu Jinxin's report reached the prefectural city, Liu Jun's appointment as patrol inspector had just been approved.

The prefectural governor was somewhat surprised and didn't immediately approve it. That evening, Zhao Cheng, the military commissioner, visited the governor's residence. During the dinner, the governor mentioned the matter, saying that Macheng County was acting rashly, first temporarily appointing a twenty-year-old martial student as the patrol inspector of Tiger Head Pass, and now, just after approving his official appointment, another report came in, requesting to appoint him as an eighth-rank commander.

"Tiger Head Pass patrol inspector? Could it be Liu Jun from Macheng County?" Zhao Cheng asked.

The governor recalled and confirmed that the young man was indeed named Liu Jun. He was somewhat surprised, "Brother Zhao, have you heard of him?"

Zhao Cheng laughed, "I've not only heard of him but have also dealt with him several times."

"What's your impression of him?"

"Remarkable and outstanding," Zhao Cheng used eight words to describe Liu Jun.

The governor was very surprised. He and Zhao Cheng were from the same year and the same province, and they had a close relationship in the Huguang and Eastern Hubei official circles, supporting each other. He didn't expect Zhao Cheng to praise a martial student so highly.

"I'd like to hear more about this Liu Jun."

Zhao Cheng then smiled and recounted his encounters with Liu Jun. When he mentioned the massacre at Lin Family Village, where Liu Jun led a group of newly trained militia to launch a surprise attack and completely annihilate over fifty bandits with only a few injuries, the governor was impressed.

When he described how Liu Jun, upon receiving a distress signal while in Taiping Township, led a dozen men and a hundred newly recruited soldiers to rescue the besieged patrol inspector, facing hundreds of bandits head-on and killing dozens, the governor's mouth dropped open in amazement.

From Zhao Cheng's words, an image of a brave, strategic, and passionate young general emerged.

"I didn't expect there to be such an outstanding young man today. It's a pity I haven't had the chance to meet him," the governor sighed.

"Although Macheng County's request to appoint Liu Jun as commander is unconventional, it is a very appropriate suggestion, and the right person for the job," Zhao Cheng said.

"I misunderstood earlier and didn't fully understand the situation. A young talent like Liu Jun shouldn't be bound by convention. I have no objections now, and it's up to you, the military commissioner of Eastern Hubei, to decide," the governor, being a flexible person, decided to agree to the unconventional appointment of Liu Jun as the Macheng County Militia Commander.

According to the imperial system, the trained soldiers and commanders were directly under the command of the military commissioners. Since the county magistrate and the prefectural governor both agreed to Liu Jun's appointment as the Macheng County Militia Commander, Zhao Cheng had no reason to object.

"I will definitely visit this young man when I have the chance."

Zhao Cheng smiled, "You won't be disappointed."

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