Yang Ge ultimately couldn't escape the clutches of Shen Fa.
Before they had even finished a pot of sour cabbage fish, he followed Shen Fa out the door.
"Here we are!"
Shen Fa led Yang Ge into a secluded alley and pointed to a residence nearby, saying, "This is our Embroidered Uniform Guard's secret post in Luting County and from now on, it will also be your base!"
Yang Ge surveyed the mansion, which was old but had tall, blue brick walls that still faintly displayed the grandeur of a wealthy family, and he mused to himself that the Embroidered Uniform Guard indeed had extensive reach and resources.
The two approached the side door of the mansion, where Shen Fa stepped forward, grabbed the knocker, and gently tapped.
"Coming ..."
"Creak."
The door opened, and a big, burly face with thick eyebrows and large eyes peered out from behind it. Upon seeing Shen Fa, he hurriedly bowed with his fists together, "Master, you have returned."
Standing behind Shen Fa, Yang Ge glimpsed the man, wasn't this Fang Ke?
"Hmm."
Shen Fa responded indifferently, and the two of them stepped over the threshold one after the other.
Fang Ke closed the door and hurried to catch up with Yang Ge's pace, putting on a full-faced smile, lowering his voice to greet him, "Captain, have you eaten?"
Yang Ge waved his hand dismissively.
The three passed through the flowering gate into the courtyard.
In the courtyard, there were already a group of stout and pompous men waiting; seeing the three come in, they simultaneously bowed to Shen Fa, who was at the forefront, "We greet the Master Thousand Households."
As Yang Ge observed these men's physiques and movements, he could not help but feel that they all seemed to have some military foundation.
"Rise!"
Shen Fa lightly raised his hand and responded softly.
"Thank you, sir!"
The group of soldiers stood up, holding their heads high and chests out, trying to maintain a look of not staring around.
Yet, they all couldn't help but steal glances with the corners of their eyes, gratefully looking towards Yang Ge who followed behind Shen Fa— they all knew that he was their new direct superior, the one who had saved their lives the night before, and the one who had spared their families from being demoted to lowly status and suffering the miserable fate of being exiled to Lingnan.
Yang Ge also examined these soldiers. Aside from that handful who had bashed their heads at his house, there were about twenty others, making a total of about thirty men.
"They are your men from now on!"
After glancing at the men in the courtyard, Shen Fa turned to Yang Ge and said, "Fang Ke has been with me for two years, clever and alert in handling tasks; it's just that he sometimes lacks tact during missions. Let him stay here as a junior flag officer to hone his skills. You can consult him about anything concerning the guard, and anything he doesn't know, just ask me directly!"
"As for these soldiers, they are still under scrutiny for the time being. You can be strict in training them. If there are any who are inept or disobedient, feel free to beat or even kill them if necessary. You've already taken on such a big responsibility, don't let them drag you down!"
"Alright, there are many matters to attend to back at the guard, so I'll leave first. Report any issues directly to me!"
Hardly had he finished speaking, Shen Fa was ready to leave.
Before so many people, Yang Ge couldn't be as casual as he was at home, and hastily bowed with his fists, "Your, your humble servant sees you off, sir!"
Having already walked out a few steps, Shen Fa stopped upon hearing his stammering farewell, turned his head for a look, then waved his hand and strode towards the gate.
Yang Ge saw it clearly; the fellow was definitely sneering…
'Damn you!'
Yang Ge cursed in his heart, yet still put on a full-faced smile and waved to Fang Ke, "Fang Ke, see the master out for me!"
Fang Ke bowed with his fist and quickly followed Shen Fa out.
Yang Ge turned around, his face expressionless as he stared directly at the group of soldiers.
The group of soldiers, touched, met his gaze for a moment, then unconsciously lowered their heads.
Soon, Fang Ke hurried back and stood beside him, bowing and saying, "Captain, these brothers were screened and identified overnight by the guard. They all come from border troops with a clear family background. Once the guard is less busy, another twenty or thirty people will be sent here to fill the numbers."
Under Wei military structure, a guard consists of five thousand six hundred men, a thousand-household office has eleven hundred and twenty men, a hundred-household office has one hundred and twelve men, of which there are two chief flags and ten junior flags.
Following the structure of fifty-one men per chief flag, Yang Ge's troops were still nearly half short.
'Border troops...'
Yang Ge silently repeated this term several times, and his gaze finally softened.
"Alright, everyone, lift up your heads and look at me!"
He stated listlessly.
The group of soldiers hurriedly raised their heads, their eyes sparkling as they looked at him.
"No more nonsense!"
"First, if anyone doesn't want to work under me, step forward now for a good send-off!"
Yang Ge tried to muster some energy as he loudly asked, "Don't worry about having nowhere to go if you're not working under me, I'll ask Fang to help find you another path!"
The soldiers remained motionless, not even blinking an eye!
"Second, anyone who likes wearing uniforms and wielding weapons, step forward, and I'll arrange a good job for you!"
The soldiers stirred for a moment, and finally, two men thought it might be a good opportunity, so they courageously stepped forward.
Seeing this, Fang Ke shook his head speechlessly.
Yang Ge didn't care whether Fang Ke was speechless or not. He turned to him and said, "Send these two gentlemen back, and please have the guard arrange a good job for them where they can wear uniforms and wield swords!"
"Thud!"
The two who had stepped forward immediately knelt down in fright, "Sir, we admit our mistake...
Yang Ge hardened his heart and did not look at the two men but simply waved his hand to Fang Ke.
Fang Ke, understanding, stepped forward, grabbed one with each hand as though lifting dead pigs, and strode out... he knew too well that the master thousand households he'd mentioned was actually waiting just outside the door!