The golden sword instantly beheaded 1,366 criminals. Yang An and Jia Pu flew away.
The Inspection Bureau immediately fell silent.
Long Xiao continued to follow Zhao Xing, and Chen Shijie said nothing more. He just nodded at Zhao Xing and then left.
The first task was completed. Zhao Xing rested for a night at the Inspection Bureau, and set off the next day.
He reviewed the first task on the Arrowfish Flying Boat using the Dream Storage Technique and quickly woke up.
Severe punishment for the criminals within the Divine Might Army was not an issue. If given another chance, Zhao Xing would still sentence them all to death.
As for offending people? That was of little consequence.
Firstly, Zhao Xing was not yet a soldier of the Divine Might Army. Those dead criminals only blamed Qiu Mingyi.
As for the living ones, they fell into two categories: those below the seventh rank and those above.
Soldiers below the seventh rank generally lacked a strong personal grudge. The court’s decision was sufficient at this level.
Moreover, those who died deserved it; there was no great resentment towards Zhao Xing.
To be blunt, they did not even qualify to resent Zhao Xing, as the highest rank among those executed was only the seventh rank.
Once Zhao Xing completed his task, he would become a seventh-rank military officer and would be much stronger than corrupt individuals like Hong Tai!
Those above the seventh rank would have a clear understanding of the situation, knowing that Zhao Xing had little choice.
Even if he didn’t sentence them, Qiu Mingyi would have. When Chen Shijie and Long Xiao heard Zhao Xing mention it, they knew to avoid suspicion. They also knew he was on a "patrol mission."
They would generally understand Zhao Xing’s identity, including his performance during training at Ten Suns Cave Heaven.
Would they want a genius Military Minister of Agriculture Officer to join the army, or those so-called rotten brothers?
Anyone would know the right choice!
Before Yang An appeared, some might have thought Zhao Xing was too harsh.
Given the Inspection Bureau’s mandate to execute without question, they should have consulted Marquis Boping Yang An first.
However, with Yang An’s timely appearance,
he addressed this potential issue for Zhao Xing.
This greatly reduced the impact on Zhao Xing.
After Yang An arrived, he spoke with Qiu Mingyi of the Inspection Bureau, not with Zhao Xing, who held the Great Inspection Order.
He intended to remove Zhao Xing from the situation.
By killing in person, he also intended to remove Zhao Xing from the situation.
Qiu Mingyi responded actively, because he knew the court was testing a genius, not trying to destroy one. If he had pushed Zhao Xing to confront Yang An, it would have shown his ignorance.
Zhao Xing understood this well. When Yang An appeared, he didn’t say a word, saluted, and stepped back. In the eyes of others, Zhao Xing was simply following procedures, which was a more reasonable impression.
"If you were a hothead and truly believed you held the power over life and death, that you could disdain princes, and confronted the big boss insisting on execution, that would be sheer stupidity." Zhao Xing thought to himself.
No matter how righteous, that was not the time for him to speak.
If the Military Realm required a new soldier to confront a marquis to earn the highest evaluation, it would be unreasonable.
Seeing the attitude from these judgments was enough. Anything more would be excessive.
"My biggest concern was that Yang An would use his privilege to pardon the criminals, conflicting greatly with the court’s reform efforts. If he were narrow-minded, my executions without consulting him would not be tolerated."
"He came, but did not pardon anyone, proving Yang An was wise. At least he could see the court’s intentions to reform the border army were significant. Additionally, he only questioned Qiu Mingyi, not even glancing at me, which was to diminish my influence for ease in future tasks."
"Yang An’s attitude also indicated his support for me," Zhao Xing thought. "With support from the main commander, no one else would have anything to say."
"Moreover, it was Yang An who personally executed them!"
"Strict military governance, strict with others, also strict with oneself."
"He understood how to defuse internal conflicts, stating that killing barbarians avenged the wronged souls. This main commander was qualified." Zhao Xing thus assessed.
Yang An could cut off his own arm, even punish himself. With such a leader, there was no worry of unfairness.
Those with talent could display it freely!
His decisive killing showed strict military discipline.
Self-punishment and demotion could win hearts. It was said he had previously shouldered considerable pressure for the Divine Might Army. Clear rewards and penalties, even for himself—he could indeed achieve great things!
"A powerful figure who could shake the world was never simple."
The main challenge of this task was actually Yang An’s attitude.
Mercy does not govern soldiers; righteousness does not govern finances. Now, Yang An’s behavior was very satisfactory to Mr. Zhao.
"Regardless, I won’t stay on this ride for long. Completing the nine tasks will make me a seventh-rank officer. Seizing opportunities in the war against the barbarians could get me to the fifth rank. Then I will leave the Divine Might Army."
In truth, Yang An’s nature was irrelevant to Mr. Zhao. At worst, he’d change locations.
For now, it seemed possible to follow Yang An. Although the Divine Might Army was currently unremarkable, it was bound to rise.
Following them for a wave of merits was like investing early.
Just waiting for the potential of the Divine Might Army to increase.
Zhao Xing stopped thinking about the matter and began looking at the second task.
As soon as he opened the Earth Mirror,
he saw the evaluation for the first task had been posted.
[First Task "Inspection of the Divine Might Army" has ended.]
[Military Realm Evaluation: A+]