I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty

Chapter 36 New “Troops”

With the arrival of another morning, the training ground of the Duke of An’s mansion saw the addition of hundreds of people.

These were the soldiers Qin Ji had previously requested from General Bai. Although he now held power, those soldiers were ultimately used on the battlefield. What Qin Ji needed was not just ordinary soldiers, but a unique troop.

Therefore, he had sent a letter to General Bai, hoping that General Bai could select five hundred clever and capable soldiers from the troops for his use. Although General Bai was still in the north, he had already arranged for the selection of personnel in advance.

Qin Ji looked at the sturdy soldiers in front of him with satisfaction and then nodded.

“Young master, what do you want to do with these people?”

“I want to do something very important, which concerns the stability of Daxia.” Qin Ji said with a smile, “Ling Yan, what do you think Daxia lacks now?”

“I think it lacks sufficient resources—although Daxia is now rich in products, it is still not enough to support so many people.”

“Resources or necessities, all these can actually be solved in various ways, not to be feared.” Qin Ji said.

He patted Ling Yan on the shoulder and then pointed to the five hundred people below: “What Daxia lacks now is stability. This stability refers to the stability of the situation. Ling Yan, you have protected me more than once during this period. Why do you think I have been repeatedly attacked?”

“Lack of stability.” Ling Yan replied. After all, Qin Ji had already made it clear, and if she didn’t understand, she would be too stupid.

“So, I need to find a way to stabilize the situation in Daxia. Whether it is the Crown Prince’s party, the various princes’ parties, the civil officials’ party, or the military generals’ party, they can have their own positions, but I cannot allow them to affect the stability of Daxia’s situation.”

As Qin Ji spoke, he scrutinized the soldiers below.

“Daxia does not lack productivity now, but the current Daxia can only release about half of its original productivity. This is not because Daxia’s policies are backward, nor because of any natural disasters. The reason is the chaos that started after the former emperor’s wars. This chaos does not come from the people, but from the upper echelons, that is, us officials.”

At this point, Qin Ji stood in front of the five hundred people and then asked loudly:

“Everyone, do you know why I brought you here?”

The people present looked at each other, not knowing the reason. Most of them were just following orders, which stated that according to the command of Grand Marshal Qin, all those on the list must go to the Grand Marshal’s mansion. So, these five hundred people were mobilized, but no one knew why.

“It’s right that you don’t know! If you knew, my efforts would be in vain!” Qin Ji laughed and then pointed to his feet, “Everyone, tell me, where are you now?”

“Grand Marshal’s mansion!”

Of course, this place was the Grand Marshal’s mansion, everyone knew this fact, and everyone knew that the empire’s military was almost entirely under the responsibility of this Grand Marshal. And not just the military, a large part of the internal affairs was also under the responsibility of the Grand Marshal in front of them.

However, almost no one present had really seen Grand Marshal Qin before. Although they knew that the current Grand Marshal was not very old, no one expected him to be younger than many people present. Some old soldiers even felt that the Grand Marshal was about the same age as their younger brothers.

“That’s right, the Grand Commandant’s residence. This is the place responsible for the empire’s military affairs. The orders you receive daily are issued from here—so, without further ado, I’ll get straight to the point. The reason I’ve gathered you all here today is for one thing: from today onwards, you will receive more pay than ordinary soldiers!”

An uproar ensued.

Five hundred people looked at each other in disbelief, unable to believe that such good fortune had befallen them. Although the empire indeed had no shortage of money and had never delayed military pay, this sudden increase in salary was still too surprising.

“Surprised? But I must tell you, the pay you receive today is not for nothing. You will undergo more rigorous training than ordinary soldiers. This is why I have selected truly capable individuals. Most of you are literate, which is a necessary condition for the talents I need. Here, remember this: once you accept the higher pay, you must understand that from now on, your loyalty is not to the Great Xia, nor to your generals, but to…”

He pointed to himself.

“Me, and our Emperor.”

As he said this, he observed the expressions of those below, confirming that they seemed undeterred, and continued:

“Now, I can tell you what I intend to do. You will soon become a sharp blade of the empire. I need you, the empire needs you—you will follow my orders and complete tasks against hidden enemies. These tasks are much safer than directly confronting foreign enemies, but also much more complex.”

At this point, Qin Ji looked at Ling Yan.

Ling Yan showed no expression, seemingly indifferent to this.

“I will explain the details later. For now, I want to ask you: in the future, you may face the panic of the people and imperial officials, and even the curses of your own comrades. You will wield your blades against your own people. If you can accept such tasks, you may stay. If you are unwilling, I will not force you; you may return to your original units now. However, there is one requirement—everything I have said today must not be disclosed to anyone. Otherwise, it will be treated as treason.”

After saying this, Qin Ji waved his hand: “Alright, make your choice.”

After a brief pause, Qin Ji ordered his servants to spread out the papers with the pay details and post them on the wall. The sight of the pay made everyone present gasp.

Goodness, this pay was much higher than what they received in the army!

Moreover, it seemed that even if they were injured and unable to continue fighting, there were good guarantees. It was clearly stated that if they were injured during a mission and could no longer fight, the empire would provide them with stable rear positions…

However, under Qin Ji’s warning, no one acted rashly—from Grand Commandant Qin’s words, it seemed that this job was not about defending against foreign enemies, but… targeting their own people?

What kind of job was this? Targeting their own people?

Of course, they would not understand this matter. Because their job, in Qin Ji’s view, had another unique name. In Qin Ji’s world, there was an institution and position that could describe their job:

The Eastern Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard.