Congratulating

"From this day forward, Chen Mo is my thirteenth adopted son." General Sun announced this news, patting Chen Mo's shoulder at the banquet rewarding the many Grade A personal guards.

Many veteran soldiers were not surprised by this. They had already guessed it when they saw Chen Mo lift the eight-hundred-jin stone wheel earlier.

They all congratulated General Sun and Chen Mo with smiles, celebrating that one had gained an adopted son and the other had gained an adopted father.

Quite a few people also tried to build connections with Chen Mo. They were from the same clan as General Sun, and since Chen Mo had now taken General Sun as his adopted father, he was considered to have some relation to them.

As for the few new recruits, they were a bit bewildered by this, completely unaware of why Chen Mo was suddenly taken as an adopted son by General Sun.

But they also understood that from this moment on, Chen Mo was different from them.

Being able to take General Sun as an adopted father indicated that he was valued by General Sun, and the path he would take in the future would certainly be different from theirs, the ordinary personal guards.

Chen Mo raised his wine bowl, returning the toasts of everyone congratulating him. His other hand never stopped; he had to drink wine, and of course, he had to eat too.

Although it hadn't been long since the Lantern Festival, he was truly craving meat right now.

The significant consumption of Blood Essence meant he could eat more, and eating more meant he got hungry more easily.

Pork knuckles, roast chicken, tender and juicy lamb ribs, and fist-sized "Four Joy Meatballs" were mixed with rice wine and sent into his stomach.

Chen Mo's stomach and intestines had undergone a transformation nourished by Blood Essence, and these foods would be digested very cleanly by him.

If not for this, his most important task besides eating would probably be going to the latrine.

"Cheers." Chen Mo downed a bowl of rice wine, finishing off the last person in front of him.

This person was also one of General Sun's adopted sons, considered his seventh brother, named Zhao Yuncheng.

General Sun had many adopted sons. Besides himself, there were only Mo Dao, Mo Hu, and Zhao Yuncheng in the military camp.

The others had either earned merit and become military officials in other regions or had died on the battlefield.

Looking at the other personal guards, some sprawled out, some slumped over tables or on the ground, Chen Mo grabbed the half-eaten pork knuckle left on the table and began to devour it with abandon.

He had indeed drunk quite a bit of wine, and his mind was a little hazy, but he still remembered to eat.

The rice wine he had consumed would be digested and absorbed by his powerful internal organs in a short period.

It was indeed difficult to get him thoroughly drunk on this rice wine alone.

With no one else bothering him, Chen Mo finally let loose and continued to feast.

After he had eaten until his belly was round, the effects of the alcohol had also dissipated.

"I say, adopted father, you're not drunk, are you?" Chen Mo asked in a low voice, suddenly thinking of this as he was about to pick up some dishes.

If even he, with his strength, couldn't get drunk on this rice wine, then General Sun, whose strength far surpassed his, how could he possibly get drunk?

"You brat, if I were drunk, you wouldn't help me back to my room, you'd just be thinking about sneaking some food back to eat. I really don't understand why I took you as an adopted son!"

Seeing that he had been found out, Sun Shouren stopped pretending and stood up, laughing and scolding.

His face was flushed, and he reeked of alcohol, but his eyes were still clear.

In fact, Sun Shouren had noticed Chen Mo sneaking food every time before, but he had never paid much attention to it.

It was good that he could eat; eating was a blessing, and people who could eat were simple-minded.

Those who were always scheming and calculating wouldn't have the leisure to happily eat every day.

"Then shall I help you back to rest?" Chen Mo asked, reaching out as he spoke.

"Never mind, I can go back myself." Sun Shouren waved his hand, then added, "Come find me tomorrow at the Mao hour. I have something to tell you."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Farewell, adopted father. Your son understands." Chen Mo bowed and watched General Sun leave.

He also had something he needed General Sun's help with. Going to see him tomorrow would be a good opportunity to ask.

He wanted to ask General Sun to help redeem Zhao Yu, to get her out.

However, he hadn't found an opportunity to ask him privately today. Tomorrow, no matter what, he had to find that opportunity.

Watching him leave, Chen Mo picked up a large bowl and, selecting from several tables, quickly gathered two large bowls full of meat dishes.

Returning to his barracks, Chen Mo picked up some shortbread and osmanthus candy that were by his side and ate a little more to cleanse his palate.

The next day was the same as usual. He woke up very early, practiced his boxing routines twice to loosen up his body, and then went to the mess hall to eat twenty steamed buns, 8 regular buns, and several bowls of congee.

Estimating that it was about time, he then set off to pay his respects to General Sun.

"Adopted father." Chen Mo walked into the study and bowed.

"Get up. We don't need to bow to each other every time." Although he said this, he was clearly quite pleased with Chen Mo's respectful demeanor.

"Since you want to take the martial examination, can you read and write? How much do you know?"

Even to take the martial examination, candidates had to be literate and able to read and write military treatises and strategy. It was impossible to pass with only martial arts skills.

"Replying to adopted father, I know a few characters, but not many." Chen Mo replied.

"Oh!" Sun Shouren was slightly surprised. He truly hadn't expected Chen Mo to be literate. Among a group of cannon fodder soldiers, this was indeed quite rare.

Even among his personal guards, he couldn't say that everyone was literate; only some from better backgrounds knew a few characters.

"Take a look at this book and tell me how many characters you recognize." He pulled a book from the table and handed it over.

Chen Mo took the book with both hands and carefully flipped through it. Based on the text, it seemed to be a simple military manual, not too difficult. He recognized over half of the characters, and could only guess at the rest.

"I recognize all the others; I can only guess at these," Chen Mo said, flipping open a page and pointing out the characters he didn't know.

"Not bad. You should go study with Scholar Zhao for a while. It should be enough to read simple military texts."

General Sun nodded in satisfaction. As the saying goes, if you understand one thing, you understand many. Since Chen Mo already knew quite a few characters, his future studies would naturally be much easier than those of the personal guards who couldn't read.

"Besides reading and writing, you need to study military books and also pass the martial arts examination. You'll also need to learn to ride a horse. Go find your Fifth Brother and have him take you to practice riding. He has the martial xiucai title, so you can also ask him how to prepare for the xiucai exam." General Sun instructed.

"Fifth Brother has a title too?" Chen Mo asked, slightly surprised. He had never heard Mo Hu mention it before.

"Of course. If he hadn't been conscripted under me with his title back then, he probably wouldn't have become my adopted son," General Sun explained.

Once the court declared war, anyone with the martial xiucai title, regardless of their official position, would be conscripted into the army by the court.

"If you can pass the martial xiucai exam, I'll pull some strings and have you assigned to my local garrison. If war breaks out, you'll march with me, and once we reach the border, I'll let you lead an army of your own."

General Sun made this promise. He had too few capable subordinates. He used to have many, but he had suffered heavy losses last time, not just among his personal guards but also many elites.

As a fifth-rank military officer, he could at least command ten thousand men on the border, and usually more.

To effectively control his army, he couldn't rely solely on ordinary personal guards. He needed personal guards who could serve as Colonels, as only they could fully lead their subordinates.

If his Colonels were not on the same page as him, and they lacked sufficient understanding, then in a real battle, he would only be able to control his immediate personal guards, and at most two or three Colonels.

The rest would inevitably fall into disarray, each acting on their own.

Compared to ordinary personal guards, these types of Colonels were the hardest to train.

Colonels already held official ranks. According to the Great Qian system, those who wished to hold such a position must possess a legitimate title, at least a xiucai.

He could indeed find ways to temporarily appoint those without titles to this position.

But that would be useless. He didn't need a Colonel; he needed someone capable of being a Colonel.

If they were capable, then passing the xiucai exam wouldn't be difficult. If they couldn't even pass the xiucai exam, then their supposed abilities were likely just boasts.

He currently had no more than ten people under him who could fill this role. He needed to train at least another eleven or twelve to be barely sufficient.

Moreover, given Chen Mo's aptitude, his martial arts cultivation would definitely not be bad. He needed to invest effort in cultivating him well. Perhaps he could become his right-hand man on the battlefield.

If nothing else, with his strength, equipping him with heavy armor would make him an excellent vanguard.