116 Private Military Retinues

Besides the incident from before, Qi Shan's blood pressure rarely soared so high. But ever since he met Shen Xiaolangjun, he felt like he was living in a fiery furnace every day, his years of cultivating good temperament teetering on the brink of collapse. Could it be that his standards were too high?

Qi Shan looked at Shen Xiaolangjun, who was obediently leading the pig over, with no expression on his face, pondering whether he should change — but then again, shouldn't his standards at least be higher than riding pigs? Because he was distracted, he didn't react immediately.

When he came to his senses, he saw two pairs of innocent black eyes. One pair belonged to Shen Xiaolangjun, deliberately widened. The other belonged to Zhai Le, watery and affectionate.

Being looked at by these two pairs of eyes, Qi Shan had a momentary illusion — had he done something terribly wrong? He reluctantly placed his hand on his forehead, blocking the gaze attacks from the two rascals. Forcing himself to toughen up, he said coldly, "It's one thing for Shen Xiaolangjun to do this, after all, his age is a factor, but Zhai Xiaolangjun is already a grown man, why are you still fooling around with him?"

Zhai Le smiled awkwardly, trying to play it off. Shen Tang shrank her chilly neck, slowly retreating to the side, trying to hide herself behind Zhai Le's shadow, silently repeating in her heart, "Yuan Liang can't see me, Yuan Liang can't see me."

The more they acted like this, the more Qi Shan felt his anger rising with nowhere to vent. In the end, he had to give up, skip over this matter, and think about bringing some heart-protecting pills with him when he had the chance, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. He didn't want to die young.

Seeing his softened expression, Shen Tang finally spoke up and asked, "What brings Yuan Liang down here?"

Shouldn't he be staying in the deep mountains discussing the layout with Chu Yao?

Qi Shan said, "I came to find you to buy some people."

"Buy, buy people?" Shen Tang was taken aback. "What for?"

Qi Shan glanced at Zhai Le beside him, his gaze flickering a few times, and said in a low voice, "We don't have enough people in the stronghold, we need to buy some more to expand our military power. Sibao County is also becoming increasingly unsafe. With so few people, how can we compete with other forces? It's better to have some insurance."

He put it delicately, and Shen Tang didn't quite understand. She didn't hear anything wrong at the moment. On the contrary, Zhai Le on the side pierced through the veil of euphemism: "In the current situation, it's right for Brother Shen to expand his retinue, at least to have the power to protect himself."

Shen Tang frowned. "Retinue?"

Originally, a "retinue" referred to a military unit, but with the emergence of bandits, the chaos in the world, it gradually evolved into the personal soldiers of a general, namely private soldiers. And now, it was the private armed forces of wealthy families, tied to their masters, slightly lower than commoners, only to be released by their masters to become civilians. The nature of the retinue was different from the need for the bandit stronghold to increase its military strength and "expand recruitment." 

The former belonged exclusively to one person, obedient to that person. The latter carried a public attribute and belonged to a village.

Qi Shan's expression changed slightly.

Zhai Le felt something, and as soon as he lifted his eyes, he met Qi Shan's cold and deep gaze. In just one glance, he felt a chill spreading from the soles of his feet, as if he were being drawn into a dark abyss. Before he could ponder the source of Qi Shan's malicious intent, he heard Shen Tang say, "But I don't have money..."

Establishing a private army requires money. Not only for daily expenses but also for recruitment.

Although most ordinary people lack the qualifications, let alone refining their literary and martial arts, it's very difficult for them to even sense the qi of heaven and earth, let alone perform pre-steps such as guiding qi into the body and cultivating the elixir field.

Even so, the expenses for a purely ordinary retinue are significant! At least not something she, who is not impoverished, can afford.

You can't feed the retinue big cakes every day, can you? As for the Lin family's property, she didn't want to touch it for now.

Qi Shan's eyes flashed with surprise at her words. He thought Shen Tang would refuse or raise doubts, but he didn't expect her first reaction to be "not enough money" rather than "cannot do." Shen Tang's courage was much greater than he had imagined, and not everyone dared to maintain a private army.

Moreover —

Even Shen Xiaolangjun himself probably didn't notice a detail — Qi Shan was preparing to expand the size of the retinue, but he never mentioned to whom the retinue belonged. When Shen Xiaolangjun spoke, it was "but I don't have money," subconsciously assuming that the power was "his."

Shen Tang seemed to see through the expression on his face.

"Yuan Liang is surprised?"

"A little. I thought Langjun would refuse."

"Why would I refuse?"

A fist is strength, and strength is truth. The greater the force behind a fist, the more weight its words carry. In the current world, if one does not enhance their own strength, are they to wait until disaster strikes and be tossed around by the turbulent times like driftweed?

The only thing that surprised her was Qi Shan's approach, not to recruit more people for the stronghold but to establish a private armed force.

However —

From the results, they should be similar, right?

Shen Tang didn't ask any more questions.

As a native, and having gained fame at a young age, Qi Shan certainly knew better than her what he was doing.

Qi Shan: "Let's go."

Shen Tang followed suit: "Shall I come too?"

"Come!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhai Le realized that he had come to play with Shen Xiaolangjun. How could Shen Xiaolangjun leave him alone? So he followed suit with long strides: "Mr. Qi, Brother Shen, wait for me!"

Qi Shan said, "Is Zhai Xiaolangjun coming too?"

"I also have a private army and can provide advice."

Shen Tang asked, "You also have a private army?"

Zhai Le not only did not answer, but also looked at Shen Tang with a smug smile. Qi Shan once again had a headache and rubbed his temples with his hand — these basic knowledge, he really needed to take some time to educate Shen Xiaolangjun properly.

"A fifth-rank magistrate can meticulously organize their own private retinue, ranging in size from a dozen to over a hundred."

Zhai Le was already a seventh-rank public officer, and with an ignorant cousin by his side, judging from their attire and demeanor, they didn't seem to come from an ordinary family. Establishing a private retinue was nothing out of the ordinary. It looked like the scale was considerable.

Considering his age and strength, this person's talent and aptitude were quite high. If he could hone himself well in the military, have an epiphany in life and death situations, and be fortunate enough not to die young, by the time his body reached its peak, he would be at least a fifteenth-rank or even higher.

According to this standard, the elite private retinue he intended to build should have a size between five hundred to eight hundred. If there were greater expectations and ambitions, gradually increasing it to a thousand was also possible.

Such a private retinue would be formidable.

Hmm, but it would also be quite costly.

Qi Shan did have the intention to create such a private retinue for Shen Tang, but she was a literary scholar, not a martial artist.

Most importantly —

Poor!

Even with many clever ideas, a clever woman couldn't cook without rice.

Shen Tang asked again, "What about their whereabouts?"

Zhai Le chuckled helplessly, "They are still in their hometown."

This question was so foolish that Qi Shan felt like rolling his eyes.

He explained, "Zhai Xiaolangjun is traveling, not seeking trouble with other powers. If he were to flaunt over a thousand elite private troops, it would be fine if he passed through countries with stable politics. However, if various local lords were vying for power, misunderstandings would arise."

Shen Tang didn't understand, "Is it that serious?"

Qi Shan nodded, "Yes."

If Zhai Le were a nineteenth-rank marquis or a twentieth-rank duke, he could bring over a thousand private troops with him. In situations where hostile forces were not strong, they could even conquer a medium-sized city. Martial artists could travel around, but their private retinues couldn't.

Private armies still needed to be established.

Originally, "部曲" referred to the military, but later it evolved into the private forces of the main generals. It should be obedient to the main general rather than the lord of the main general. Isn't it like my boss's boss not being my boss? Later (around the Wei and Jin Dynasties), it developed into farming during leisure time and fighting during wartime. By the Tang Dynasty, there were regulations stating that the "部曲" was similar to family servants and slaves, I remember reading it in a book. The "部曲" was slightly lower than commoners.

The setting of this text is somewhat mixed.