novelSusiti Chapter 96 Mutual Distrust
Chapter 96 Mutual Distrust
Lu Qianhu stared at the jade pendant in disbelief, completely stunned.
Lu Linglong asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Don't you want this jade pendant?"
"Yes, I want it!" Commander Lu exclaimed excitedly, thanking him repeatedly. "Thank you so much, Sect Master! Thank you so much, Sect Master!"
No wonder he was so happy; the jade pendant that Lu Linglong took out was a recommendation token from the fifth branch of the Lu family.
As long as the jade pendant and the precious book are handed over together, Commander Lu Huan will know that Lu Linglong recommended Commander Lu in the name of the Fifth Sect.
The same contribution can result in vastly different rewards depending on whether or not a recommendation is made.
Within the Ming Dynasty's system, there were many conventional limits.
Once a successful candidate in the imperial examinations enters officialdom, the highest level of promotion is that of a formally appointed county magistrate.
Those who passed the imperial examinations three times and became officials could only reach the level of prefect or chief clerk in one of the eighteen ministries.
Those who passed the imperial examinations twice could only rise to the rank of governor or vice minister of one of the eighteen ministries.
For ordinary people entering the army, the highest promotion they can achieve is the rank of flag officer.
The limits of extraordinary individuals in the military are much higher, but reaching the rank of Commander of a Thousand Households is the maximum.
If you want to get promoted after that, you'll only be able to fill one spot with every other person.
First, there must be a job vacancy.
Then, you have to compete with colleagues who have the same seniority and have accumulated a full set of achievements.
In other words, Li Qianhu's future career depended on his background, faction, and powerful figures, but not on his own abilities.
As a branch of the fifth lineage of the Lu family, his faction was established from birth.
He could only gain favor with Commander Lu Huan and be formally included in the promotion queue through the recommendation of Sect Master Lu Linglong.
The fact that the fifth branch of the Lu family has been reduced to having only one direct descendant shows just how dramatic its decline has been.
The Fifth Sect's recommendation rights are now extremely rare, and they have to be used once and then have a three-year cooldown period. As the sect leader, Lu Linglong has to be very cautious.
Previously, Commander Lu had been ordered to fight on the frontier many times, and had made many merits by risking his life, but he could not be included in the promotion list and did not even have the qualification to wait in line for a vacancy.
Dao tried many methods, but he was always one step short and could not get Lu Linglong's approval.
Now that he has obtained the precious book that Emperor Jinghe specifically requested, the threshold for recommendation has been greatly lowered, which is why Lu Linglong has finally decided to recommend him.
Lu Qianhu was overjoyed at getting what he wanted, and completely lost his composure.
He even held Chang Yuan and Gao Su's hands, excitedly saying many things, before leaving the secret realm with the precious book in his hands to report his achievements to Commander Lu Huan.
This was the first time Chang Yuan had come into such close contact with a thousand-household-level extraordinary individual since breaking through to the extraordinary realm through his cultivation of military strategy.
Unlike before, when he relied entirely on cheat codes to fake his extraordinary abilities, he now possesses true essence flowing through his body. He can clearly feel the opponent's true essence surging like a tsunami, and the mountain-like aura that it generates.
Powerful, terrifyingly powerful!
If they suddenly attack within seven steps, Chang Yuan is not absolutely certain of surviving.
He felt more apprehensive and wary of superhumans at the thousand-household level.
From now on, he must avoid getting within seven steps of these powerful individuals. If possible, he should maintain a distance of 50 meters to have an absolute chance of killing them.
What Chang Yuan didn't know was that the two extraordinary individuals with the title of "Thousand-Household Commander" were also genuinely afraid of him.
Commander Lu handed over the precious book and the jade pendant of the fifth sect leader. He not only received a personal audience with the supervising commander, but also invited Commander Luo of the Southern Garrison to record his name in the promotion sequence on the spot.
Lu Qianhu left the camp with satisfaction, and happened to run into Li Qianhu, who had been dismissed by Lu Linglong.
Although their sect leader looked down on Commander Li, and Commander Lu and Commander Li belonged to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Three Great Camps respectively, the two had a very good personal relationship.
They spent long periods stationed in the capital and also went to remote, uncivilized areas on numerous missions, working together through bloodshed and turmoil, forging a deep bond of camaraderie.
Upon meeting him, Commander Li congratulated him, saying, "You've obtained the treasure designated by His Majesty; your future promotion is now within reach."
Commander Lu humbly replied, "I've only been added to the list of those to be promoted within the Embroidered Uniform Guard; there's still a long queue."
The two smiled at each other.
Commander Li then asked, "Has Lord Lu's opinion of me remained unchanged?"
Lu Qianhu shook his head with a wry smile.
Commander Li sighed to the heavens, "Alas, this damned mouth of mine... why can't I control it?"
Commander Lu also said, "Back then, it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the camp soldiers fighting. You were ordered to duel with my sect leader. Whether you win or lose doesn't matter much. Why do you have to say such nonsense?"
"Sigh, let's wait a little longer. After the sect leader gets married in a few years, he should be able to let it go."
"We can only wait and see."
The two stopped talking about Lu Linglong's past and quickly shifted the topic to Chang Yuan.
"That guy with the pretty face, he's the one who killed the three great protectors, right?"
"Yes, it's him."
The two commanders of the Imperial Guards were not blind; upon entering, they saw the corpses of the White Lotus Sect's founder and the Heavenly Principle Sect's chief protector.
They had all seen the bullet hole between the eyebrows of the Grand Protector of the Sun Moon Holy Sect who had self-destructed.
These three hold extremely high positions in the extraordinary realm, and their strength is likely even slightly greater than theirs.
Even though they were suppressed by the dragon vein in the Ming Dynasty and unable to exert their true strength, let alone effectively communicate with the gods or manipulate the authority and divine power bestowed by the evil gods, they were by no means strong people who could be easily killed.
But they all died.
They were either shot to death with revolvers or severely wounded and forced to self-destruct after being unable to escape.
The two thousand-household level superhumans asked themselves honestly: if they were to fight Chang Yuan, a superhuman who didn't seem that strong, they would most likely, no, absolutely die like the three evil cult protectors.
Faced with a freak who could kill them, both of them felt unconsciously guilty.
Commander Li sighed with emotion: "Ever since the new bullets came out, the combination of revolvers and sharpshooters has truly given rise to the spirit of equality for all beings."
Lu Qianhu exclaimed, "You don't know, do you? This kid invented a new type of bullet, making the revolver several times more powerful."
"I've been shot a lot with revolvers these past few months, and I still feel pain all over my body."
Commander Li was stunned: "So it was him."
"Old Lu, you think a revolver hurts when it hits someone? The new rifles our army is equipped with don't just hurt, they can actually kill!"
Commander Lu laughed: "Haha, that rifle is already outdated. During the parade a couple of days ago, that kid showed off a new rifle that could fire ten shots in a row."
Commander Li closed his eyes in anguish: "I've heard that the soldiers in the army have given the old gun a nickname, something like 'One-on-One,' and they're all hoping to be equipped with the new gun soon."
"Sigh! Once this kind of gun becomes widespread, it's inevitable that it will spread. How will we handle security in the future?"
Commander Lu: "I really want to beat him up, but I don't dare..."
Commander Li: "I wouldn't dare..."
Commander Lu: "Unless we can go to the frontier of the Ming Dynasty and enter the wild lands, allowing the extraordinary to truly demonstrate their extraordinary nature, the bullets and guns he invented are unsolvable."
Commander Li: "The power of muskets is getting greater and greater, so we need to practice more from now on."
At this moment, Chang Yuan, who was being discussed by the two thousand-household level extraordinary beings, had already left the secret realm and was waiting for further orders.
While waiting idly, he recalled the spiritual flowers and herbs he had collected in the secret realm during the chaos, as well as the various colorful minerals and precious stones.
Chang Yuan then focused his attention on the gourd space, taking stock of the treasures that had piled up into several small mountains.
At first, Chang Yuan was shocked by his hamster-like hoarding ability and dazzled by the value of the treasures he collected.
But he soon realized that the gourd's space seemed too large.
The space he used to store weapons, ammunition, gold and silver coins, spiritual flowers and herbs, and minerals and precious stones was larger than the size of a courtyard.
Lu Linglong's storage magic treasure, which contained dozens of spiritual artifacts, had an internal space no larger than a bedroom, yet it was a third-tier Yuan Tracing Magic Treasure.
What grade of treasure is Chang Yuan's porcelain gourd?
It's truly unimaginable.