Chapter 1 Chi Li

"Your sister, Chi Li, is impossible to summon after she married. Instead, she's holed up at home reading military strategy books. Don't you think that's a bit…" Tan Weixin pondered for a long while, finally shaking her head without finishing the sentence. Chi Li was two years younger than Chi Yun and six years older than Chi Lei. She was at the prime age of twenty-two. However, her husband had died last year in a landslide during a routine patrol mission in the southern frontier. When her husband was alive, Chi Li often came out to play with everyone, drinking and chatting with great enthusiasm. But after his death, she inexplicably worried about gossip and stayed home, rarely going out.

Tan Weixin said, "I want to form an all-female war team to play that grand strategy game. Chi Lei, you're in charge of getting your sister out here to be my strategist."

Tan Weixin never spoke loudly, but these words seemed like a thunderclap, instantly silencing the room, leaving everyone speechless. Tan Weixin gently sipped her tea and said, "Is that so bad? Are women not allowed to play grand strategy games or military chess?"

No one doubted Tan Weixin's talent. She could handle those complex political affairs, especially the economic aspects, perfectly. Everyone also knew that Tan Weixin had always been an expert in military chess. However, with the rise of the grand strategy gameplay, this game, which was closely related to real military campaigns, had been accepted as a very realistic art of military command, no longer just a simple game. So, could Tan Weixin also play the grand strategy game well? No one knew. But the fact that a woman wanted to enter this extremely masculine domain was truly surprising. Because that wasn't like the ordinary participants or staff members in the Ye Family Alliance team. She wanted to lead a team. And this team, according to the princess's intention, would be entirely composed of women. What would that be like?

Ye Tao frowned as he looked at Tan Weixin, as if to say, "Don't tell me you're already starting to sprout feminism?"

Tan Weixin playfully winked, but said nothing.

The silence on the scene was first broken by Huang Wan, who couldn't stand it anymore. She puffed out her cheeks and said in a cute manner, "Are you looking down on girls? Your Highness, this team must have me. Even if I don't quite understand military affairs, I can help with the calculations and arrangements."

Tan Weixin responded, "That would be great, of course. But it doesn't matter whether you understand military affairs or not. We can treat it as a game. Besides, we're not going to compete right now. I'm waiting for that open competition."

Ye Tao simply shrugged, looking noncommittal. He didn't think there was anything to say about the princess's decision. There was no use saying anything when Tan Weixin wanted to do something, and it would definitely not be a small matter. Since Tan Weixin said that this all-female team would participate in the open competition, the sensation it would cause would definitely be huge. Passing five trials and slaying six generals? That was inevitable. Even if this all-female team eventually achieved a very good ranking, it wouldn't surprise Ye Tao much. What bothered him was that with Tan Weixin making such a fuss, he and those guys in the Ye Family Alliance team who would become staff members and wouldn't be able to participate would probably be dragged by the princess to be sparring partners time and time again.

Tan Weixin certainly wanted to form an all-female war team to have fun, but she deliberately brought up this idea at this juncture and had Chi Lei persuade his sister, Chi Li, also with the intention of deliberately spreading the topic to divert attention. She had an extremely troublesome matter to deal with in her hands.

After the gathering with friends ended, she returned to the princess's manor. After washing up a bit, Tan Weixin, though a little tired, still instructed, "Has Zeng Man arrived? If so, have him come see me."

As an obedient child, and also as a capable child, Tan Weixin was bound to make some arrangements for many of the state lord Tan Xiaopei's ideals or ambitions. Since its founding, the Dongping Kingdom had formed an effective set of methods to prevent the formation of warlords, or at least to prevent warlords from becoming too powerful. The rotation of troops, the constant exchange of the imperial guards and local armies, and even the promotion and retirement system were all very effective methods. However, Tan Xiaopei understood that such a system was a way to maintain national stability. On the other hand, he also understood that in this way, Dongping would find it difficult to support too many troops. After several years of training, the veteran soldiers, after being demobilized and returning to their fields, could not be regarded as hiding soldiers among the people. It was unrealistic to expect them to be able to pick up their weapons and become qualified soldiers again at any time. However, in recent years, Xiling and Beiliao had been coveting the prosperous and rich land of Dongping more and more, coveting Dongping's advanced and systematic military equipment manufacturing technology. The complacent Chunnans hoped that the Dongping Kingdom would shield them from the wind and rain and even went so far as to marry into the Dongping Kingdom, even though the princess who married over could only be a concubine. But the pressure faced by Dongping was increasing.

Was there any way to allow those retired excellent soldiers to continue to maintain their state and become a force that could be mobilized at any time? What methods could be used to ensure that the maintenance costs of these excellent soldiers did not have to be shared from the national treasury or the inner treasury, but instead allowed them to be self-sufficient? Tan Xiaopei gave this question to Tan Weixin, and after Tan Weixin pondered for a long time, this was the only solution.

Zeng Man entered Tan Weixin's study with a thick booklet in his hands, bowing and saying, "Reporting to Your Highness, this is the roster of the highly praised soldiers and officers from the imperial guards, the various levels of palace guards, and the Danyang garrison who are due to be discharged by the end of this year. There are a total of two thousand seven hundred and twenty-three people."

"Thank you for your hard work," Tan Weixin said calmly. After taking the roster, she casually flipped through it and asked, "Most of the garrison troops come from various places. I'm afraid quite a few will want to return to their hometowns. As for the imperial guards, there are so many children from aristocratic families among them. I'm afraid not many will be willing to stay and accept conscription... And among those who are willing to accept conscription, how many can you trust, Zeng?"

Zeng Man took out another piece of paper from his chest, a piece of paper folded extremely neatly, and placed it on the desk in front of Tan Weixin, saying, "Your subject has done some homework and feels that the names of the people you can trust are on this piece of paper."

Tan Weixin didn't look at the paper. She just seemed to want to find something to do, so she casually flipped through it again and said, "Zeng, you handle these matters. Since I chose you to do this, I naturally trust you. You go and chat with them one by one. Naturally, it would be good if they are willing to join. If they are not willing, they can do whatever they want, as long as they don't spread the word. These are things that Zeng is originally an expert in, so there is no need for me to remind you. So, are the arrangements on the surface ready?"

Was there anything in this entire plan that could be put on the table? Zeng Man was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that it referred to some aspects of the operation of the entire organization. What Tan Weixin wanted to establish was a cart and horse transportation business, an organization mainly composed of demobilized veterans, imperial guards, and retired palace guards, an organization that could be used in this era and had the characteristics of a modern logistics enterprise. And in private, such a cart and horse transportation business was also a good system for collecting domestic and foreign intelligence.

If it was simply to resettle those demobilized soldiers and allow them to maintain their training and state, then Tan Weixin would not have to spend too much effort. She could directly establish such a logistics enterprise in the name of the princess's manor and the royal family. However, in order to be able to play a role in intelligence gathering, on the surface, the entire organization must not have any connection with the Dongping royal family. So, from the moment she thought of this idea, Tan Weixin listened to her father's recommendation and let the veteran spy Zeng Man take charge of the overall planning.

If things went smoothly, by the end of this month and the beginning of next month, those veterans on the roster would receive their last month's salary, and some of them would have some doubts. Most of them did not have many other skills besides being soldiers, and their family property was not enough to support them. In previous years, such a group of people would often sell their strength in various commercial firms after being demobilized and do some work. The quick-witted would learn some skills, while those who were more dull would have to sell their strength for a few more years. Although there were many ways to make a living, they were not considered to be well-off.

This year, some resourceful veterans would emerge and pull these veterans together to set up their own cart and horse transportation business. The veterans came from a variety of military branches, but they were all capable of taking care of carts and horses. Those who came from the logistics troops were even more familiar with this industry. The cart and horse transportation business established by the veterans was safer than ordinary folk cart and horse transportation businesses when transporting people or goods, but the fees were definitely cheaper than those institutions established by martial arts sects. In general, it was a logistics enterprise that took the middle road of balanced development.

Such an idea would definitely make many people's hearts flutter. But on the surface, who would make the initial investment for the entrepreneurial plan of these veterans? It had to be more reasonable on the surface. And at this time, an elder brother of one of the veterans appeared. This elder brother had originally served in the Yicheng Navy. After retiring, he had no other way to make a living, so he actually became a pirate for a few years. However, he only robbed merchant ships from other countries and never touched those ships belonging to Dongping merchants. Although he was on the wanted list of the navies of other countries, he did not violate the laws of the Dongping Kingdom. In those days, there were no extradition treaties or anything like that. When he heard about the troubles his brothers from the same military background were encountering in starting a business, he stepped forward and invested his loot from many years of plundering as capital in this fledgling cart and horse transportation business. He also brought a group of brothers who were also from the navy and were skilled in river and sea transportation, expanding the business scope of this enterprise with the nature of a veteran association to the water.

Although it did not violate the law, the source of this money was not very legitimate after all. For a time, it aroused the suspicion of some people in the military and the Ministry of War. While affirming the operating principles of this cart and horse transportation business, they also proposed the requirement that the cart and horse transportation business must "adjust its equity structure." Afterwards, after several twists and turns, some of these veterans took out their savings, some borrowed money from relatives and friends, and some pulled in sponsorship from their former superiors. Finally, they pieced together an enterprise with the most complex equity structure of this era and began to prepare for operation with great fanfare.

Although it was a bunch of seemingly clueless soldiers who had put together this enterprise, they were not sloppy in the operation. The procurement of horses was half Liaoma horses smuggled in and half retired military horses. For vehicles, they directly purchased the four-wheeled carriages with simple shock absorption mechanisms that had just been developed and produced by the Ye Family Workshop, which could be used for both passenger and freight transport. In terms of operation, in addition to the regular passenger and freight transport, they also provided menu-style customized services for customers with special requirements for safety and cargo integrity. For general operations, they also followed the rules of the road, paying homage to the mountain gates and offering tributes to those big bosses who started their own businesses. However, if they were provoked, they would pull out a temporary team and directly destroy the other party's lair. Half of the seized property was handed over to the local government, and the rest, in addition to compensating the dead and wounded brothers, was deposited into a welfare fund pool to be reinvested in the operation of the cart and horse transportation business. The profits were used to help all the veteran brothers of the cart and horse transportation business in times of emergency and difficulty.

Advanced operating concepts, support from powerful mechanical manufacturing technology, strict internal management, a sense of honor and cohesion inherited from the military, and a generous salary and welfare mechanism... Tan Weixin almost laughed to herself. The appearance of such an enterprise in this era was almost the nightmare of all its competitors. It was conceivable that after a few years, this enterprise, which was actually invested by the inner government, would become a behemoth that basically occupied a monopoly position, or at least would definitely be the leader in the industry. And the private collection and aggregation of intelligence would also usher in a bumper harvest. As for raising a group of veterans who could be pulled onto the battlefield at any time for the country, it would probably become a secondary purpose. Although Tan Weixin agreed to her father's request in this regard, it did not mean that she necessarily agreed with her father's strategic idea of emphasizing the number of troops. Now, there was Ye Tao. Although Ye Tao was not enthusiastic about manufacturing a large number of killing machines, but man proposes, God disposes. In a few years, there would be opportunities for everyone to see a completely different army.

Tan Weixin's imagination was joyful, and such emotions faintly rippled on her face. She came up with the ideas for these deployments, and Zeng Man gradually implemented all the details, which were now being carried out in full swing. And Tan Weixin was very satisfied with Zeng Man's work.