Chapter 97 Extraordinary promotion
"Why, do you think these people are not capable of serving as centurions?" Wang An asked with a smile, "Then choose from the veterans. Look, Xu Huang is also a veteran of the Jizhou Guards. I think he has done a good job."

Xu Huang on the other side heard this and puffed out his chest proudly.

Chen Huaian smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Xu is a very competent centurion, but how many people like Brother Xu are there among the eighty veterans?"

"And if we select from the new soldiers, this... in less than a month, he was promoted directly to a centurion. Not to mention that his talent is not enough, even if it is enough, it is too shocking."

"Since the founding of this dynasty, apart from those who were awarded honorary positions for meritorious service, there has never been such a rapid promotion."

Wang An smiled indifferently and said, "Huai'an, do you think that I don't understand military affairs at all and am just messing around here?"

Chen Huaian immediately revealed an embarrassed look, but he immediately said, "I dare not."

Wang An smiled cheerfully and said, "As a soldier, you must be outspoken and straightforward. Yes means yes, and no means no. What do you mean by not daring?"

"But I can tell you that this is a decision I made after careful consideration. It is definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision as you think."

Upon hearing this, Chen Huaian looked at Wang An curiously.

Wang An said solemnly, "I did this for two reasons. First, although the Jizhou Guards now have about a thousand soldiers, they are almost all new recruits, so there is a serious shortage of small flags, general flags, and even centurions!"

"There are only soldiers but no general!"

Chen Huaian nodded upon hearing this, looking quite agreeable.

Because when Wang An first arrived in Jizhou, he caused almost the entire Jizhou Guard to leave, leaving only about eighty people. Among these people, only Xu Huang was originally a small flag, and the others were just ordinary soldiers.

It is extremely difficult to promote from among the veterans.

Only one, Xu Huang, was promoted reluctantly because of his bravery in battle, but it was only a stopgap measure at the time.

The reason why Xu Huang was able to continue working and even was promoted to the position of deputy captain was because he fought for it with his loyalty and life.

Although the eighty-seven veterans were all brave, there was only one like Xu Huang.

However, if Jizhou Wei wanted to form combat effectiveness, it urgently needed a large number of grassroots officers, otherwise it would even have problems issuing military orders, let alone exerting maximum combat effectiveness on the battlefield.

Wang An continued, "That's why I had no choice but to publicly announce the selection of a large number of officers to encourage everyone to work hard. This way, I can find talents faster. I really don't have more time to slowly discover talents from the army."

Wang An sighed as he spoke.

Chen Huaian and Xu Huang understood what he said. Although the Eastern and Western Tartars would invade Jizhou after the autumn harvest every year, that did not mean they would only invade after the autumn harvest.

The attack by the little prince of Donglu yesterday sounded the alarm for everyone.

Although Wang An defeated this wave of Eastern Tartars and even captured the little prince, this also led to the Eastern Tartars' inevitable revenge.

Therefore, there is not much time left for Wang An and the people of Jizhou. The Jizhou Guards must immediately establish an effective command system!

Chen Huaian immediately felt ashamed. He only thought about shocking the world and breaking the rules, but he didn't think about the most practical problem at the moment. He was an old soldier who had served in the army for many years, but he was not as thoughtful as Wang An, a young man.

After understanding Wang An's intention, Chen Huaian immediately said with shame: "I am short-sighted, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Wang An smiled and said nonchalantly, "If you have any questions, just raise them. That's good! I am not omniscient and omnipotent. Sometimes I will inevitably make mistakes. It is because of loyal ministers like you who often give advice by my side that I can do better!"

Chen Huaian thought that with Wang An's youthful mentality, he should be somewhat proud of showing up in front of an old veteran like him.

I was even prepared to be laughed at, but I didn't expect that Wang An not only did not give in, but even encouraged me to keep advising.

Chen Huaian looked at Wang An with guilt and curiosity, and couldn't help but think of the interesting stories that the old military veterans talked about when they talked about the previous emperor.

It is said that the late emperor was also like this. Not only was he able to get along well with his soldiers, but he was also able to humbly accept the advice of his subordinates as an emperor. This is why he was given the posthumous title of Emperor Wu.

Now it seems that Wang An is worthy of being the only bloodline of the late emperor, and he indeed has the bearing of a true dragon emperor!
It's just a pity...

Thinking about the fact that the Daliang Empire has been deteriorating since the current Emperor Yongchang ascended the throne, not only have the eastern and western Tartars become more rampant, but even the north and south are not peaceful, and even in the country, there have been uprisings...

After returning to the government office, Wang An quickly immersed himself in handling official business like a workaholic.

There was no way out. He thought he could be a leisurely prince and enjoy life, but he didn't expect that he would make things worse and be exiled to Jizhou, a place that is in crisis all the time.

If the crisis could not be resolved, the people of Jizhou might have a chance to survive the invasion of the Tartars, but as the vassal king of Jizhou, Wang An would definitely not have a chance to survive.

They may even be subjected to humiliation and torture, and live a life worse than death.

After all, he is the prince of Daliang. Although he is not favored by the court, he is of noble status after all. If those Tartars captured him, they would definitely humiliate him severely.

Because humiliating him is equivalent to humiliating the Daliang Dynasty, which has always occupied the dominant position.

Time passed by unknowingly, and when Wang An felt hungry, it was already dark.

Wang An raised his head and looked around. Xiao Zhao had promised yesterday that she would cook for him from now on, so why didn't she come the next day?
Maybe he had something to do with Cao Yunmeng and couldn't leave for the time being, Wang An thought, drank some tea to satisfy his hunger, and continued to bury himself in his paperwork.

At this time, Xiao Zhao was walking out of the kitchen with a food box in her arms, which was the food prepared for Wang An.

But as Xiao Zhao walked out of the kitchen, she ran into Cao Yunmeng head-on.

Xiao Zhao immediately called "Miss" guiltily, and quietly put the food box behind her back.

But the food box is so big, how could Cao Yunmeng not see it unless he was blind?

Cao Yunmeng immediately stretched out his hand and said, "Give it to me!"

Xiao Zhao was a little flustered, blushing as she tried to explain, "What do you mean? If the young lady is hungry, Xiao Zhao will ask the cook to prepare dinner for her right away."

(End of this chapter)