In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 441 Harsh

"Yes, I used to be a soldier."

A look of reminiscence flashed in the old man's eyes. In his youth, he had been a member of the Qingzhou Army. Back then, the imperial court was not as corrupt as it is now, and the treatment of soldiers was relatively good. Not only could they eat three meals a day, but they could also receive a few hundred copper coins in military pay every month. For most ordinary people, this was already a very good treatment.

However, this treatment was still far inferior to that of the soldiers in Chen's army. And the combat effectiveness of an army is mostly positively correlated with its treatment, which is why the old man made that remark.

Having served in the army for over a decade, he knew at a glance that the Chen family army was an invincible force.

Soon after, the onlookers left with envious expressions.

On the official road outside the village, Li Qingyun kept looking back at the two huge grey-feathered chickens and couldn't help but ask Chen Dadao beside him, "Brother Chen, what's the deal with these two chickens?"

It's no wonder Li Qingyun was so curious; these two chickens were simply too unique in appearance. They were as tall as an adult's shoulder, with snow-white feathers, and looked just like the legendary celestial birds, firmly attracting Li Qingyun's attention.

"The mission to Ding'an County this time is arduous, so Daoge'er specifically instructed me to bring two gray-feathered chickens."

Chen Da replied, "Magistrate Li, you may not know this, but the Azure Feathered Chicken is a unique beast found only in our village. It is extremely powerful and possesses the combat strength of a fourth-rank martial artist!"

"what?!"

Li Qingyun was shocked, and his gaze towards the two gray-feathered chickens completely changed!

Having practiced martial arts regularly recently, he knew how powerful martial artists were. In Li Qingyun's eyes, eighth and ninth-rank martial artists were already extremely powerful, while fourth-rank martial artists... were like dragons whose heads and tails were rarely seen.

however……

Chen Da, however, told him that these two snow-white chickens possessed strength no less than that of a fourth-rank martial artist…

If it weren't for the unique appearance and enormous size of these two grey-feathered chickens, Li Qingyun would have suspected that Chen Da was fooling him.

After all, even a fourth-rank martial artist like Li Qingyun had never heard of such a thing, let alone a chicken that could be compared to a fourth-rank martial artist.

"Brother Chen, is this chicken really that tough?"

"of course."

Chen Da nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with relief as he looked at the Azure Feathered Chicken.

To be honest, Chen Da was a little unsure about the chances of facing thousands of defeated soldiers with only three hundred or so Chenjia Villages. After all, the defeated soldiers originally belonged to the Imperial Guard of the capital, and their weapons and equipment were excellent, with many of their generals being martial artists.

Therefore, Chen Da felt that even if more than 90% of the three hundred or so Chen family soldiers were ninth-rank martial artists, they would probably only win against several thousand defeated soldiers, albeit with a sliver of strength.

Fortunately, Chen Dao had already realized this, and when leaving the village, he specifically asked Chen Da to take two gray-feathered chickens with him in order to reduce casualties among the Chen family army.

Very good!

A look of surprise flashed across Li Qingyun's face: "With such a strange beast, our army will surely be victorious."

Around noon, the group arrived in Taiping County. After a simple meal of dry rations, Li Qingyun, Liu Yi, and about three hundred members of the Chen family army bid farewell to Xu Zhiwen and set off for Ding'an County.

The next morning, the group arrived at the tightly closed city gate of Ding'an County. After Li Qingyun called for the gate to be opened, they entered the city and headed towards the county government office.

On the streets of the county town, many locals who saw the procession moved aside and looked at them with awe.

"Where did these soldiers come from? They look much tougher than the city guards!"

"Yes! Look at how bulging these soldiers' clothes are; they look very strong."

"Were these soldiers reinforcements sent by the county magistrate?"

"..."

Many people in Ding'an County noticed Li Qingyun in the crowd, which reassured them somewhat.

The people of Xia were terrified of the army, because the Xia army was sometimes no better than thugs and bandits, and they had done plenty of plundering and looting.

However, thanks to the benevolent policies implemented by Li Qingyun in Ding'an County during this period, the people had a very good impression of Li Qingyun. They instinctively believed that the reinforcements Li Qingyun had invited would not harm them.

In fact, Chen's army would not harm them, much less rob them of their money.

Because the military discipline of Chenjia Village is extremely strict. Although it is far inferior to the soldiers of Huaguo, where Chen Dao lived in his previous life, it is much better than the army of Xiaguo.

For things like looting civilians and raping women, the punishment within the Chen family army is extremely severe. At best, it means confiscation of illegal gains and expulsion from the military; at worst, it means beheading!

Such strict military law, to a certain extent, ensured the discipline of the Chen family army, preventing them from doing anything that violated military discipline.

Another reason is that... soldiers of the Chen family army don't really care about the valuables in ordinary people's homes. To put it bluntly, ordinary people's homes don't have anything of value these days. Given the generous treatment of soldiers in the Chen family army, they have no reason to risk being discharged or even beheaded to rob ordinary people.

"These soldiers are really well-behaved!"

An old man looked at the Chen family army members walking orderly down the street and couldn't help but sigh.

The old man, who had lived most of his life, had seen the Xia Kingdom's army more than once. In his impression, the Xia Kingdom's army was often undisciplined, walked crookedly, and was adept at harassing the people and raping women. How could it be like the army in front of him, walking properly and looking straight ahead?

"With an army like this around, wouldn't our city be safer?"

"Definitely, I could tell at a glance that this army is capable of fighting."

"I also think these soldiers are really strong!"

"..."

Many men on the street compared themselves to those soldiers and couldn't help but show a hint of envy in their eyes. Compared to the generally thin men of Xia Kingdom, the soldiers of the Chen family army looked much stronger, and their spirit was something to admire.

Many young girls stared intently at the soldiers, a blush creeping onto their faces.

Women in the Xia Kingdom often prefer strong men, and the soldiers of the Chen family army happen to fit their aesthetic preferences perfectly.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Qingyun led more than three hundred Chenjia villagers to the county government office. After temporarily entrusting the three hundred people to the county clerk for accommodation, Li Qingyun led Liu Yi and Chen Da to the hall of the county government office. After serving them tea, Li Qingyun said, "Brother Chen Da, how about we rest at the county government office for the night, and go out of the city to suppress the bandits tomorrow?"

"Daoge'er has already told me that after arriving in Ding'an County, I should just follow Magistrate Li's instructions."

"Then I thank you in advance, Brother Chen."

Li Qingyun toasted Chen Da with tea instead of wine, and then the two chatted about the details of the bandit suppression.