“Thank you, gentleman!”
The Ninth Princess stood up and bowed to Jin Feng.
“The rise and fall of the realm is every common man’s responsibility. It is what I should do.”
Jin Feng also stood and returned the bow.
“The rise and fall of the realm is every common man’s responsibility. The gentleman puts it so well.”
The Ninth Princess politely praised him, then asked, “Gentleman, how long will it take you to assemble the guard team? I am not rushing you, but the situation in Xichuan is critical. The sooner we set off, the better.”
“I heard that the Tubo people were demanding the lands of Chuan and Shu, so I immediately tried to recall the escort masters as much as possible. Now, apart from the few teams still in the capital and Jiangnan, the old escort masters have basically returned to the village.”
Jin Feng sat down, thought for a moment, and said, “If we hurry, we should be able to select a thousand people today. I will have Brother Liang arrange the handover matters, and we can depart tomorrow morning.
By the way, the guard team will include some female soldiers. Is that alright?”
After several months of rapid development, the total number of male and female escort masters in the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had long exceeded a thousand.
The female escort masters had developed even faster, and their numbers now surpassed the males.
There was no choice. In the countryside of Great Kang, there were simply too few able-bodied men, so they had to recruit and train female escort masters.
“How is the combat strength of the female soldiers?” the Ninth Princess asked.
“Their physical strength is certainly not as good as male soldiers, but in archery and operating heavy crossbows and trebuchets, they are no weaker than men. They can provide supporting attacks and fire suppression.”
Jin Feng said, “If we do not bring female soldiers, I can only recruit six hundred male soldiers at most, half veterans and half new recruits. Otherwise, the village defences would be compromised.”
“Then let us bring the female soldiers. Have them assist the male soldiers,” the Ninth Princess nodded.
“Good!” Jin Feng nodded.
“The Tubo people gave a five-day deadline for Wuyang and my brother to take the culprit to Tubo to atone, or they would send troops to attack the city. Today is already the fourth day. If we set off tomorrow, by the time we return, fighting will probably have started,” Qing Mulian said with a frown.
“You travelled with one person on three horses and still needed a day and night to arrive. An army moves slowly. Even if we depart now, we would not make it in time.”
Jin Feng picked up a bun. “Before Your Highness came, you must have discussed countermeasures with the prefect, right?”
“Yes,” the Ninth Princess did not deny it.
“So what Your Highness is worried about now is not that fighting will start, but that it will not start, correct?” Jin Feng asked.
“You could say that. Currently, Father does not yet know about the situation in Xichuan, so Brother Xinyao and I can still make decisions. If Father sends an envoy, I will be unable to do anything.”
The Ninth Princess said helplessly, “Father has always been indecisive. Only if fighting really breaks out and the matter is settled, can it help him make up his mind.”
“Understood,” Jin Feng nodded.
When a general is abroad, some imperial orders may not be received.
The Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao were precisely exploiting this time difference.
Jin Feng even suspected that if the Tubo people did not attack during this period, they would find an excuse to launch an attack themselves.
“By the way, I have a gift for the gentleman, as a return courtesy for the mirror the gentleman gave me.”
As she spoke, the Ninth Princess took out an envelope from her bosom and handed it to Jin Feng.
“Why give a letter when we can speak face to face…”
Jin Feng opened the envelope curiously.
Inside was an official document.
An official document bearing the prefect’s great seal, ordering armour from Jin Feng.
Suddenly, Jin Feng’s brows furrowed slightly.
The date stamped on the seal was half a year ago.
The Ninth Princess was giving him this document and calling it a gift. What did it mean?
“Gentleman, Brother Xinyao said that this batch of armour has not been paid for anyway, so it can now be used to equip the guard team.”
The Ninth Princess picked up a bun and asked casually, “I wonder how many the gentleman has already made?”
Jin Feng’s mind raced.
Privately manufacturing armour was illegal, so only people Jin Feng completely trusted knew about the batch in the back mountain. Even Qing Mulian was unaware.
The Ninth Princess could not possibly know.
So she must be guessing.
After all, throughout Great Kang, it was not uncommon for powerful clans to secretly produce armour.
Moreover, as a blacksmith himself with such excellent conditions, it would be abnormal if he did not manufacture armour.
Now, by providing this official document, she was legitimising that batch of armour.
This way, the escort masters’ combat effectiveness could be maximised, making resistance against Tubo more effective.
It was also beneficial for Jin Feng and the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.
Though it seemed slow, these thoughts flashed through Jin Feng’s mind in an instant.
After only a second or two of hesitation, Jin Feng smiled and replied, “Time was short, so only three hundred and twenty sets have been made.”
“Though it is somewhat few, it is still better than none.”
The Ninth Princess stood and gave a graceful bow. “From now on, Wuyang’s life and safety are entrusted to the gentleman.”
“This is my honour. Thank you, Your Highness, for your trust,” Jin Feng said, reaching out to support the Ninth Princess.
…
After breakfast, the back mountain camp in Xihe Bay became thoroughly lively.
Male and female escort masters who had hurried back from various places assembled on the drill ground, where Zhang Liang arranged for their allocation.
In the back mountain storehouse, Jin Feng led Da Liu to the furthest stone cave, carried out a wooden chest, and took it to the combat command room.
When the wooden chest was opened, several sets of armour were inside.
Jin Feng took a wooden stand and signalled Da Liu to prop up the armour.
“Gentleman, this armour is far too comprehensive, is it not?”
Qing Mulian walked around the armour, clicking her tongue in admiration.
A flicker of curiosity also passed through the Ninth Princess’s eyes.
She was well-experienced, yet this was the first time she had seen armour like this.
Currently in Great Kang, armour was mainly leather, with an iron heart-protector added to vital areas like the chest.
Wealthy generals might wear chain mail underneath, similar to the golden thread armour Jin Feng had seized from the great leader on Tieguan Mountain.
Some garrison troops still wore leather or bamboo armour.
But the armour Jin Feng had made was predominantly black, including not only a helmet and breastplate, but also leg guards, arm guards, and even iron gloves and boots.
The helmet also had a face guard.
In short, when wearing this set of armour, a person was completely encased in steel.
“This is called plate armour. When wearing it, there is no need to carry a shield,” Jin Feng said.
Plate armour was invented by Western craftsmen in the 15th century in his previous world. Due to its superior protection, it dominated battlefields for centuries until the advent of firearms gradually phased it out.
“Plate armour?” The Ninth Princess stepped forward, touched the armour, and asked, “Is it sturdy?”
“Your Highness may have Miss Qin’er test it,” Jin Feng said confidently.
“Very well,” the Ninth Princess looked at Qin’er. “Test it.”
“Yes!”
Qin’er agreed, took the folding crossbow from Da Liu’s waist.
During her time in Xihe Bay, Qin’er had become highly proficient with the crossbow.
She swiftly loaded it, then pulled the trigger towards the plate armour.
Clang!
The arrow struck the breastplate and bounced off.
At such close range, a hand crossbow could pierce a door plank, yet the arrow only left a small dent on the breastplate.
Qin’er tossed the crossbow back to Da Liu. While Da Liu reached to catch it, she suddenly drew his waist sword and slashed at the plate armour.
