Chapter 122

Chapter 122

The next day, Tong Sui bid farewell to the women of the household and came to the front courtyard, where she found eight guards already waiting outside the Xiao family’s gate.

Six of them were familiar faces from the city defense, while the other two new faces filled in for the two brothers who had fallen in battle.

The eight imposing men lined up in two rows, escorting Tong Sui from behind and in front. The townsfolk who saw this formation knew that the woman in the middle was the Second Lady of the Xiao family, the heroine of Wei County.

Passersby greeted Tong Sui warmly one after another.

Tong Sui smiled and returned their greetings.

"Second Lady, do you remember me?"

A slender old lady with a basket suddenly pushed her way through the crowd, looking at Tong Sui on horseback with surprise.

Tong Sui was also surprised. She dismounted and said, "Grandmother Pan, what are you doing here?"

The old lady glanced around at the onlookers, then leaned closer to Tong Sui, her joy barely concealed as she whispered, "Thanks to General Xiao, my son and grandson have joined the Acropolis Army. Worried about us living in the village without anyone to take care of us, they rented a house in the city and moved us all here."

Tong Sui replied, "You're too kind. When Wei County recruited soldiers, Uncle Pan and the others were selected based on their own abilities. This time, they all earned third-class merit for defeating the rebel king."

At this, the old lady's face broke into a wide smile. "All thanks to General Xiao's excellent command, which gave them the chance to show their skills."

Tong Sui asked, "Are you here to buy groceries?"

The old lady nodded. "Yes, yes. I got so caught up in my own happiness that I almost delayed your important business. Go ahead quickly!"

Tong Sui smiled, remounted her horse, and rode off with her guards.

The old lady stood there with her basket, watching the slender figure ride away. Her eyes held both joy and envy.

When Tong Sui arrived at the southern camp, she found forty or fifty robust young men gathered in front of the council hall, with soldiers bringing tables and chairs over.

Just as she was wondering about it, Xiao She and Tong Gui ran out from the ranks.

Xiao She said, "Second Sister-in-Law, did Mother scold me last night when you brought back the military pay?"

He had earned seven taels of silver in total. Last month, he had borrowed more than two taels from his fourth brother to treat his troops to a meal at a tavern after rigorous training. After paying back the debt, what remained was just enough for his monthly expenses, leaving him no extra money to offer his mother.

Tong Sui smiled and said, "She didn't scold you verbally, but I can't say if she did in her heart. However, you haven't been home for a long time. Go back tonight and spend some time with Auntie. She'll be happier to see you than to receive the silver."

Xiao She replied, "Alright, if she scolds me, I'll run back immediately."

Tong Sui: "..."

She could already imagine the chaos that would ensue at home tonight.

Tong Gui pointed to the group and said, "Grandfather is selecting thirty battalion commanders from fifty company commanders. He says our martial skills are fine, but we need to pass an intelligence test to become battalion commanders. So, he's going to give us a test."

Tong Sui felt a bit anxious for them. "Do you two have confidence?"

Both of them puffed out their chests proudly.

Tong Sui went inside to find Grandfather.

On Grandfather's desk lay a stack of papers. Just as Tong Sui was about to pick one up, Grandfather's large hand came down, covering most of the text. "There's a set for you too. They'll answer the questions outside, and you'll answer inside. When the time is up, we'll collect the answers together."

Tong Sui: "...If I do well, will you make me a battalion commander?"

Xiao Mu: "Not necessarily. Grandfather just wants to see how you perform."

Being a battalion commander sounds impressive, but it still means following orders. His granddaughter-in-law could learn more by staying by his side, and she would be more useful in the future.

Outside, the tables were set up, and Xiao Mu instructed his granddaughter-in-law to distribute the fifty exam papers.

As Tong Sui handed out the papers, she took note of the faces of these men who were company commanders today and might become battalion commanders tomorrow.

Eighteen-year-old Xiao She was the youngest, while forty-five or forty-six-year-old Pan Yong was the oldest.

Before she finished distributing the papers, one of the company commanders scratched his head and raised his paper. "General, I can't read. How am I supposed to take the exam?"

Some people laughed, while others looked equally embarrassed.

Xiao Mu didn't laugh. He said seriously, "On the battlefield, there are often letters and messages. Soldiers can focus on fighting, but commanders must be able to read, otherwise, they won't understand the reports. Many of you come from rural backgrounds and may not have had the opportunity to study as children, which is normal. Missing this promotion isn't a big deal. Study hard, and you'll have another chance later."

"If you can't read, you can always ask a literate soldier to read the letters for you."

Xiao Mu: "What if that soldier is your enemy and deliberately omits important information to harm you? Or if the soldier is bribed by the enemy to fabricate false reports to deceive you?"

The illiterate company commanders were convinced.

Xiao Mu handed the exam papers to Tong Sui and lit an incense stick. "Begin. There are two questions."

Tong Sui sat at a desk inside and read the questions. One was about grain distribution, requiring arithmetic skills, and the other was about military strategy.

To Tong Sui, neither question seemed particularly difficult.

Arithmetic just required careful calculation, and for military strategy...

Grandfather was testing how to capture a city defended by a large army with a smaller force.

Tong Sui guessed there wasn't just one correct answer.

She wrote down two solutions, each of which needed to be well-reasoned and justified, filling up a square foot of paper for each answer.

Grandfather had only given her two sheets of paper.

Just as Tong Sui was considering whether to continue writing on the back of the paper, Grandfather's voice came from the doorway. "Time's up. Write your names and submit your answers."

Tong Sui had no choice but to give up, blow on the ink after writing the names, and take them out to hand over to the old man.

Just then, two hundred-householders came forward to submit their papers. Seeing the two densely written black sheets of paper from Tong Sui, their eyes widened in surprise!

The old man placed his daughter-in-law's paper aside and began grading the papers publicly in the order they were received. The grain and fodder question was worth a fixed five points, while military strategy questions were scored based on the logic and coherence of the answers: five points for one strategy, fifty points for ten strategies.

One hundred-householder might have only thought of one strategy, but when all the answers from over forty hundred-householders were combined, they managed to come up with seven or eight tactics.

Tong Sui got the arithmetic question right and scored ten points for two military strategies, totaling fifteen points.

Out of fifty hundred-householders, nine submitted blank papers due to illiteracy, eleven scored between five and nine points, twenty-five scored between ten and fifteen points, and five scored more than fifteen points.

After selecting thirty thousand-householders based on their scores, the old man dismissed everyone and asked Tong Sui alone, "Really just two strategies?"

Tong Sui replied awkwardly, "I had more ideas, but I ran out of paper and time."

Xiao Mu looked at his daughter-in-law's neat handwriting and nodded, "I guessed as much. You don't have the pressure to advance, so you answered calmly, hoping each answer could be directly applied by a soldier. They all want to become thousand-householders, and the smarter ones figured out that the more they wrote for the second question, the better it would look, naturally striving for brevity to save time."

Tong Sui didn't aim for the top score; she was actually quite pleased that someone scored higher than her, "If fifteen points count as good, it means we have about ten new thousand-householder candidates in the Acropolis Army who meet your standards."

Xiao Mu smiled, "These questions are nothing. Scoring well only proves you're not stupid. True thousand-householders are forged on the battlefield. Some can't read a word but are smart enough to earn titles through combat prowess. Others can recite military strategies backward but lose every battle they fight. Talent or mediocrity isn't determined by a single exam. We don't have the luxury to select slowly, so we can only choose a batch of people provisionally."

Tong Sui learned from this.

Xiao Mu laid out a new sheet of paper and first wrote down the names of Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Yan, Xiao Ye, Qiao Changshun, Sun Dian, and himself, then added the names of the new thousand-householders under each commander.

Pang Yong had the highest score.

Holding the pen, Xiao Mu asked Tong Sui, "Who do you think should Pang Yong serve under?"

Tong Sui replied, "You or Uncle Second? The other commanders are too young."

Xiao Mu said, "Being young isn't an issue. Second can handle Pang Yong, but the thousand-householders in Ding City are already set, making it difficult to assign our people there."

Saying this, he wrote Pang Yong's name under his own command.

This meant he believed his son Xiao Shouyi couldn't control Pang Yong.

Tong Sui was secretly surprised, "Is Pang Yong that formidable?"

Xiao Mu nodded, "He is as brave and fierce as your Uncle Second, yet also resolute, steady, and shrewd. If he were my son, I wouldn't overlook him in favor of Second."

With this comparison, Tong Sui fully understood Pang Yong's capabilities.

Xiao Mu continued, "However, his taste in wives is about the same as your Uncle Second. Your Aunt Second likes to nitpick, and Lady Wang always thinks she's smarter than others."

Tong Sui: "..."

After arranging Pang Yong, Xiao Mu wrote Pang Dai under Xiao Ye, "Fourth is sharp; no one can fool him."

For each name he wrote, the old man explained his reasoning to Tong Sui.

When it came to Tong Gui, the old man planned to place him under Xiao Yan, "Third is too reckless; I need someone who can stand up to him. Fifth would be ideal if he were smarter, but unfortunately, Fifth is easily swayed by his brother. This challenging task can only be given to Ah Gui. For your and Second's sake, Third will at least show some respect."

Tong Sui suddenly felt a bit sorry for her second brother, considering Xiao Yan's temper...

The old man paused his pen and glanced at his daughter-in-law, "Actually, if Ningfang were willing to move to Cheng County to accompany Third, her intelligence could certainly keep Third from making mistakes. You and Ningfang are close; do you think she would agree?"

Tong Sui knew that if Lin Ningfang had a choice, she would prefer to live in the Acropolis.

Since the task of restraining Xiao Yan could only be done by Lin Ningfang, the old man wouldn't have hinted at it if her second brother weren't capable enough. After all, Cheng County was centrally located among the seven counties, surrounded by Huai, Ying, and Ding Counties as well as Longxing Mountain. Xiao Yan could only focus on training his troops and wouldn't have the chance to provoke the border guards of Da Tong or the southern rebels.

Should she burden Lin Ningfang or inconvenience her second brother?

Looking at the old man's pen, which hadn't yet touched the paper, Tong Sui whispered, "Let's send my second brother. When Second Master is away, Third Sister-in-law can still keep me company and read books to me. I wouldn't bear to ask her to move to Cheng County. Besides, if she really moved there, Second Master might also want me to move out. Who would then assist Grandfather?"

Xiao Mu: "..."

Well, his daughter-in-law has indeed honed her rhetoric!

Clearly, there was still a gap between the third daughter-in-law and Third, and the second daughter-in-law feared displeasing him as an elder. Yet, she didn't say a single word against her sister-in-law, taking all the responsibility upon herself.

The girl appeared as clear as spring water, yet she had her fair share of subtle thoughts.

Xiao Mu naturally wouldn't force either of his daughters-in-law. He smiled and wrote down Tong Gui's name.