"Could there be some unknown origin to the Zhao family?"
"From the way this official acts, his attitude changed after he looked at a register."
"Could it be that the Zhao family’s boy has had some great fortune? Became a high-ranking official?"
"That’s impossible. The Zhao lad has been enlisted for less than a year. At most, he’d be a Shizhang. Yet, the official before us is a Commander of Five Hundred, with five Centurions under him."
"A Commander of Five Hundred... that’s a big official."
"But why is he being so respectful to the Zhao family’s girl?"
Witnessing Chen Fen’s behavior, the surrounding villagers couldn’t help but whisper among themselves, utterly surprised and confused. For them, the curiosity they felt was just as strong as their astonishment.
"Could it really be that the Zhao boy has made a name for himself?" Wu Lizheng wondered, also surprised as he watched Chen Fen. After all, the official’s respectful demeanor made it difficult not to speculate.
"Sir," Zhao Ying asked anxiously, her heart still racing, "what happened to my brother? Please, tell me. Is he... is he still alive?"
Right now, her only concern was whether her brother lived or died.
"Miss," Chen Fen said with reverence, "your brother is doing very well. Moreover, he has made a tremendous contribution to our Great Qin." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ noᴠelfire.net
Hearing this, the weight on Zhao Ying’s heart finally lifted, and a relieved smile appeared on her face. "As long as he’s alive. As long as my brother is alive, that’s wonderful." She seemed to completely miss the latter part of Chen Fen’s words. In her eyes, as long as her brother was alive, that was the greatest blessing of all. She couldn’t care less about achievements or promotions.
"Sir," Wu Lizheng stepped forward and asked curiously, "why isn’t the Zhao boy on the list? And why hasn’t his annual salary been distributed?"
At this moment, hundreds of gazes were fixed on Chen Fen.
"It’s not that it isn’t being distributed, but rather that I am not qualified to dispense General Zhao’s annual salary," Chen Fen said, his face filled with a reverence that came from the bottom of his heart.
Under the Qin military system, the Imperial Guard Army was of the highest rank, charged with protecting the sovereign. The Sharp Warriors were responsible for expanding the nation’s territories, and the Imperial Guard Army was selected from their ranks. Only the most elite were granted the privilege of protecting the Great King and guarding the Royal Capital. The Prefecture Soldiers were next, tasked with defending Qin’s borders. Last were the soldiers of the Logistics Army, in charge of cleaning up the battlefield, burying the dead, and so on. In the true hierarchy, a Wanjiang from the Logistics Army couldn’t compare to a Capital Commandant from the Prefecture Soldiers, and a Capital Commandant from the Prefecture Soldiers was beneath a Junhou from the Sharp Warriors. This was the difference in official authority. As for himself, Chen Fen, a mere Commander of Five Hundred, there was no need to say more. A Deputy General commanding fifty thousand soldiers was a true general.
"General Zhao?" Wu Lizheng exclaimed, his voice growing louder.
The surrounding villagers stared at Chen Fen with unconcealed shock.
"The Zhao boy became a general?"
"The Zhao boy has been in the army for less than a year. Even for nobles, becoming a general is difficult, right? How did he do it?"
"A general... that’s an incredibly high-ranking official."
"The Zhao boy, a general? That can’t be right, can it?"
All the villagers looked from Chen Fen to Zhao Ying, their faces filled with disbelief. Zhao Feng had lived in Sha Village for fifteen years, so naturally, there wasn’t a single villager who didn’t know the Zhao siblings. The reputation of their filial piety had long spread through the village. Everyone envied the atmosphere in the Zhao family: a benevolent mother and dutiful children. And now, it seemed the Zhao boy had truly made a name for himself.
My brother became a general? That’s impossible.
Hearing Chen Fen’s title for her brother, even Zhao Ying, his own sister, wore an expression of disbelief. Although her brother was handsome and had a few clever ideas, the thought of him becoming a general through battlefield merit with his less-than-robust physique completely overturned her perception of reality. It was something she simply couldn’t believe.
"Miss," Chen Fen said with a serious face, "your brother’s name is known throughout the entire army.
"Although this subordinate is not qualified to personally dispense General Zhao’s annual salary, the Prefectural Governor gave special instructions. If I were to encounter General Zhao’s family, I was to immediately announce his official rank and title, his annual salary, and the battle honors he has won for the state!"
Then, with a solemnity he hadn’t shown before, he held up the separate bamboo slip containing the record. Facing all the villagers, he announced loudly, "Zhao Feng, aged sixteen, a native of Shaoqiu County’s Sha Village.
"After enlisting, he underwent three months of new recruit training and was then assigned to the Logistics Army.
"By Royal Edict, our Great Qin raised an army to attack Han. The Logistics Army to which Zhao Feng was assigned was dispatched to the battlefield in Han territory to clear away corpses. During the cleanup, Bao Qiu, the son of Han Senior General Bao Yuan, feigned death and ambushed and killed several of our soldiers. To save his Pao Ze, Zhao Feng took action and killed Bao Qiu, earning military merit.
"When our Great Qin breached Yang City, just as our main army was pursuing the routed forces, Han Senior General Bao Yuan set an ambush from within the city. Under the cover of darkness, he launched a surprise attack on our army. At that critical moment, Zhao Feng led the soldiers of the Logistics Army in a desperate battle against the enemy, preventing the supply lines of our Great Qin from being cut.
"When the main army closed the encirclement, Zhao Feng successfully slew Han Senior General Bao Yuan, achieving a great merit.
"After this battle, General Wang Jian transferred Zhao Feng to a main combat battalion to fight for the nation.
"Our Great Qin advanced steadily on the battlefields of Han, and our army surrounded the Han Capital, Xinzheng. After a fierce assault by a ten-thousand-man camp failed to breach the capital’s gates, Zhao Feng was ordered to attack at the critical moment. He ultimately broke through the gates, securing the merit for the capture of the Han Capital."