Chapter 1391: Chapter 1391 - 1376: Divine Soul Protection of Spirit Sovereign Rank
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A hundred severe lashes of the Punishment Whip came down, and they were not allowed to use Spiritual Power to resist. In such a situation, even a martial artist at the Dark Palace Realm would be half-dead from the beating.
The first army’s Military Commander Che Ben and the third army’s Commander Zheng Dangshi, after receiving eighty lashes each, were not much better off, with white bones faintly visible on their backs, nearly exposing their pink internal organs.
However, despite the severity of their injuries, once their cultivation at the Dark Palace Realm began to circulate, coupled with the help of medicinal salves, they could recover to normal in just four or five days.
Although the execution of the punishment was over, the matter was far from concluded. The half-dead County Captain Tang Biao and the two Military Commanders still had to serve by Ye Zhen’s side, waiting for further orders.
Fortunately, after the punishment was over, they could already use Spiritual Power to stop the bleeding and heal their injuries. Otherwise, if they languished for two hours, the three of them would have been at death’s door.
Taking over the army naturally required a round of speeches, which could be considered Ye Zhen’s declaration of sovereignty as the new lord. However, Ye Zhen, with his experience in commanding armies, understood very well that for ordinary soldiers, his speech now was just like the wind blowing past a donkey’s ears.
These soldiers, at most, would remember Ye Zhen as a person and be careful in their service in the future; other than that, there wouldn’t be any change.
As for loyalty and the like, it was just following whatever orders came from above.
To win the hearts of these soldiers, you must give them real rewards, genuine rewards.
"County Captain Tang, what is the pay for the soldiers in North Sea County?" Ye Zhen suddenly asked.
This question caused County Captain Tang Biao, already sweating from the intense pain, to start sweating profusely with yellow beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
In North Sea County, there were no fictitious soldiers drawing pay, but the deduction of military pay was a common occurrence.
Tang Biao was worried that if Ye Zhen pursued this matter deeply, it would be a big problem.
"Hmm?" Ye Zhen suddenly snorted coldly, his eyes flashing toward Tang Bubiao.
"Reply...reply to Lord, the military pay varies according to merit, position, and rank, so please allow me to organize the details later...."
"Just tell me the pay for the most common soldiers!" Ye Zhen abruptly interrupted Tang Biao’s evasive words. Upon Ye Zhen’s words, the faces of most officers present changed.
Obviously, everyone was involved in the deduction of military pay.
Under Ye Zhen’s gaze, as piercing as a sword, Tang Biao slowly said, "Reply to Lord, according to the Great Zhou system, the county’s soldiers’ pay is the same as ordinary state soldiers. Take our North Sea County soldiers as an example, for an ordinary Soul Sea Realm soldier, the monthly pay is twenty pieces of Low Grade Spirit Stone, and for a Vein Forging Realm ordinary soldier, the monthly pay is one hundred pieces of Low Grade Spirit Stone, with additional pay for those with duties..."
Before Tang Biao’s words could fall, a huge uproar rose from the gathered ordinary soldiers below. Some soldiers even cursed angrily, as their monthly pay was only two Spirit Stones. The mass emotion surged violently, clearly indicating something was amiss.
Roar!
"Silence!"
With a lift of his finger, a thunderclap exploded above the military camp, and the chilling vibrations immediately quieted the army. Ye Zhen’s eyes turned coldly to County Captain Tang Biao.
"Lord, this is the military pay under the Great Zhou system, but our North Sea County has insufficient production, and the County Prefecture’s annual allocation of military pay is insufficient. Thus, the military pay has always been distributed at half...."
Prefectural Governor Qiao Fu’s eyes rounded immediately. Each year, he distributed the military pay as required. While North Sea County was barren, it had unique trade routes and abundant mineral resources; due to the population, Great Zhou’s taxes were minimal, and the treasury was actually quite sufficient.
The shortfall in military pay was clearly due to the deduction by Count Captain Tang Biao and a group of officers. He couldn’t take the blame for that!
Prefectural Governor Qiao Fu immediately glared and furiously pointed at County Captain Tang Biao, "You dare...."
However, before Qiao Fu could finish his rebuke, Liuu Feng, having received Ye Zhen’s signal, stopped him.
Since Ye Zhen had decided to bring Tang Biao into his fold, he couldn’t let Tang Biao be too disgraced. Earlier, executing the punishment in public was to establish authority. Now, if charged with the crime of deducting military pay, Tang Biao would find it impossible to integrate into the army of North Sea County.
"In the past, the North Sea County treasury was insufficient, and the military pay was not fully distributed. I, this Viscount, cannot control it! However, now that North Sea County has become my fiefdom.
All of you will be an important force in protecting my Viscount’s territory. Starting today, not only will military pay be fully disbursed, but the pay for all North Sea County soldiers, from bottom to top, will be doubled!"
The seventy thousand strong army in the field was initially stunned, then erupted into earth-shattering cheers.
"Willing to serve Lord Ye to the death!"
"Willing to serve Lord Ye to the death!"
"Willing to serve Lord Ye to the death!"
The overwhelming cheers lasted for nearly a hundred breaths before they subsided.
"The matter of military salary will be implemented starting this month; the treasury on that end is unable to allocate quickly enough, so this Viscount will disburse it to you first!" As he spoke, Ye Zhen waved his hand, and a burst of blue light shimmered continuously. Below the Commander’s Platform in the training field, a mountain of Low Grade Spirit Stones instantly piled up, seemingly numbering in the tens of millions.
Ye Zhen had raided the treasure vaults and weapon storages of thirty-one prince and noble families in Luoyi, his harvest simply beyond measure. After all, as for Low Grade Spirit Stones, the Mirage Dragon Pearl currently held an uncountable amount, likely more than ten billion pieces.
The eyes of many officers and soldiers instantly locked onto the scene, and thundering cheers erupted once again.
This time, with just a wave of his hand, Ye Zhen brought silence over the entire training field.
This indicated that, in just a short half a quarter-hour, Ye Zhen’s prestige among the common army had rapidly built up.
Now, if Ye Zhen were to stand at the big camp’s gate, there would be no need for him to shout orders; the soldiers would open the gate for him.
"This Viscount knows that there are many bad practices in the army; all past offenses will be overlooked, but from today forward, any who violate rules will be subject to military law.
Especially those who dare to reach for military salaries; this Viscount will chop off their hands if they reach with their hands, chop off their feet if they reach with their feet, and if they dare to stash others’ military salaries into their own pockets, this Viscount will chop off their heads!"
"As for those among you who feel you’re so slick that you won’t leave evidence, you can give it a try. This Viscount, as the Second Route Wind Patrol Envoy of the Heavenly Patrol Department, has countless spies under my command to see if your methods are superior or if your neck is indestructible!"
After leaving these words filled with killing intent, Ye Zhen strode towards the commander’s tent.
Not until Ye Zhen’s figure disappeared from the training field did the soldiers react, once again erupting into earth-shattering shouts of loyalty to Ye Zhen.
This left Tang Biao, the two Military Commanders, and the various officers exchanging glances; this newly arrived Viscount was too formidable! With just a few words, using both soft and hard tactics, he captured the hearts of the soldiers!
If any among them had ulterior motives, it was likely their subordinates would be the first to refuse.
However, looking at it another way, these leaders wouldn’t lose out either.
The ordinary soldiers’ wages doubled, possibly only rising from twenty pieces of Low Grade Spirit Stones to forty pieces, but for these officers, it was a direct doubling of ten thousand pieces of Low Grade Spirit Stones.
Actually counting it, it wasn’t much different from the painstaking deductions they’d previously managed, and sometimes, it even exceeded it.
At once, under Ye Zhen’s orders, Gu Tieqi was appointed as the County Captain of the Soldiers of North Sea County in the Military Law Division, executing surveillance and supervision on-site as seventy thousand soldiers received their military salaries.
As for Ye Zhen, he quickly headed to the commander’s tent, where there was still a big issue that required his attention.
Upon entering the commander’s tent, Ye Zhen immediately saw a middle-aged scholar who had been disarmed and securely bound. Seeing Ye Zhen enter, the scholar’s pupils shrank, and his expression turned somewhat scared; apparently, he recognized Ye Zhen!
Before Ye Zhen could act, Heavenly Patrol Divine General Feng Jiumo rushed up, quickly turning this Junior Director from the West Patrol Office inside out, finding the seal and various clothing identification marks.
"Sir, it doesn’t seem to be a fake!" After an examination, Feng Jiumo said.
Ye Zhen nodded, signaling Feng Jiumo to proceed. After a few moments, under a barrage of iron-like fists, this Junior Supervisor Ma rolled his eyes and fell unconscious.
When dealing with the enemy, Ye Zhen preferred not to use gentle means; employing the most brutal method was sufficient.
Taking advantage of this Junior Supervisor Ma being unconscious, Ye Zhen intended to use the Soul-locking Technique to control his Divine Soul. However, just as the technique invaded the Spirit Palace of ****Jin, Ye Zhen was stunned.
"Achou, come take a look. Can you bypass the Divine Soul Protection in this guy’s Spirit Palace?" Ye Zhen asked.
Then, Heavenly Patrol Divine General Feng Jiumo watched in astonishment as a palm-sized, four-legged snake poked its head from Ye Zhen’s bosom and began speaking.
"Lord Ye, this Divine Soul Protection is several levels higher than the Realm King-level Divine Soul Protection found on Niu Er. I estimate it’s at least at the level of your so-called Grand Sun Priest’s grandchildren’s Spirit Sovereign Rank Divine Soul Protection!
However, a grandson is still a grandson. No matter how powerful his Divine Soul Protection, in the face of Lord Achou’s Soul-locking Technique, it is nothing. Try the seventh one among the twenty seemingly useless techniques last recorded in the Soul-locking Technique!" The four-legged snake Achou said.
The words from the Mirage Dragon Primordial Spirit Achou triggered Ye Zhen’s contemplation. According to Heavenly Patrol Department customs, key personnel typically had Divine Soul Protection granted by Priests from the Ancestor God Temple.
However, about ninety-nine percent of the personnel within the Heavenly Patrol Department had their Divine Soul Protection bestowed by Moon Priests of the Ancestor God Temple. Only elite members like the Five Great Patrols within the Heavenly Patrol Department could possibly invite the Grand Sun Priests from the Ancestor God Temple to bestow Divine Soul Protection.
Under normal circumstances, an assistant Junior Director from the West Patrol Office’s Inner Surveillance Bureau would absolutely not have the capability or qualification to invite a Grand Sun Priest from the Ancestor God Temple to bestow Divine Soul Protection.
The fact that this Junior Supervisor Ma had his Divine Soul Protection bestowed by a Grand Sun Priest from the Ancestor God Temple meant only one thing—he was a confidant of Xi Qiangu from the West Patrol.
It was likely that either Xi Qiangu or the Xio Family had invited a Grand Sun Priest from the Ancestor God Temple to bestow a Spirit Sovereign-level Divine Soul Protection for this Junior Supervisor Ma.
In other words, among the relatively few Grand Sun Priests in the Ancestor God Temple, there is someone from the Xio Family!
This was a significant discovery!
A few moments later, under the guidance of the four-legged snake Achou, Ye Zhen bypassed the Spirit Sovereign-level Divine Soul Protection and successfully detained the Divine Soul of this Junior Supervisor Ma.