"What's the use of keeping it? Commander Li only lives in military tents, so keeping it is a waste. If we distribute it to the people, they simply can't manage such a huge estate. It would be better to burn it down!"
"Stop arguing. I have an idea," Li Jun interrupted their debate, knowing that continuing the argument might damage their relationship.
All eyes were on him. Li Jun said, "Why not vacate this palace and set up an Imperial Academy, hire people to teach there, and educate the children of the people of Yinhu City, so that the children of ordinary people can also be knowledgeable and courteous?"
The crowd was taken aback at first, but then cheered. Apart from Sima Hui, most of them had not received much formal education, having only attended private schools for a few years in their early years. They deeply understood the disadvantages of not being literate enough, so they wholeheartedly supported Li Jun's suggestion.
Ji Su had been observing the military and political meeting from the sidelines, listening to the discussions and decisions being made one after another. It wasn't entirely up to Li Jun to make the decisions, which was quite similar to the Rong people's general meetings. However, the topics discussed were not like the Rong people's, such as which tribe should receive more spoils of war or which tribe should give up a certain amount of pasture. Instead, they concerned some seemingly very specific issues related to the lives of ordinary soldiers or civilians. Feeling somewhat curious, Ji Su listened even more attentively.
"It turns out that this cunning ordinary man is not a vicious person after all." For some reason, her opinion of Li Jun gradually changed.
Lost in thought, Li Jun and the generals of the Silver Tiger Army continued their discussions. By the time everything was finished, it was getting dark.
After seeing off the generals, Li Jun began to feel impatient. Throughout the long meeting, he had been pondering how to deal with Ji Su. He couldn't kill her, nor could he release her. Locking her up would be too disrespectful, and letting her act on her own risked she would escape back to the grasslands and launch another attack. Bringing her back to Silver Tiger City had already been an arduous task. The two of them had been constantly monitoring each other, even sharing a tent at night. Curious members of the Silver Tiger army had begun to speculate whether Li Jun had actually "touched" this Rong beauty, but the guards who stayed with them through the night swore that the two hadn't exchanged a single unnecessary word. Whenever Ji Su needed to relieve herself, she would glare at Li Jun and the others, driving them out of the tent as if she were the master and they were servants. If it weren't for the eight dancers who had defeated five thousand Rong cavalry, Li Jun would have been driven mad by this defeated adversary, hostage, and prisoner.
"What are you planning to do?" Seeing that only the two of them remained in the tent, Ji Su felt a little scared.
"Sleep, what else can I do?" Li Jun said irritably. After such a long journey with almost no sleep, plus such a tiring meeting, he couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep.
"You dare!" Ji Su misunderstood his meaning, thinking that he had ill intentions, and rushed forward, striking out with more than ten palms.
Li Jun inexplicably retreated one after another. The space inside the tent was small, and after a few steps he would be at the end, so he had to move sideways, parrying Ji Su's attacks while arguing with her.
"Are you sick? Don't you want to sleep? I've had enough. I'm going to teach you a lesson today!" Li Jun's argument made Ji Su even more ashamed and angry, and his attacks became even faster and more ruthless. Li Jun knew that the two were evenly matched, and he was only slightly better. If he kept backing down, he would only lose. So he launched a full-scale counterattack.
The soldiers outside the tent first faintly heard Li Jun say "Sleep" from inside, followed by a great commotion. They looked at each other, feeling both annoyed and amused. Li Jun hadn't even glanced at the Rong woman the entire way, but unexpectedly, he revealed his true colors on his very first night in the city. Judging from the sounds inside, it was still a case of forced sexual intercourse. If Li Jun had actually "touched" that fierce and beautiful Rong woman, it would naturally be a satisfying thing for any ordinary person. But that woman was not to be trifled with; otherwise, Commander Li wouldn't have gotten anything out of her and would have been caught in the crossfire.
Filled with a complex mix of curiosity and apprehension, the soldiers outside the tent held their breath and listened intently. Without a word of discussion, they unanimously agreed that it was absolutely unwise to go in and watch; they wouldn't dare even if they had the guts of a bear or a leopard. But if they could secretly overhear even a few raunchy words, it would be enough for them to boast about to their comrades after their shift ended.
Inside, the fight grew increasingly intense. Ji Su completely forgot any lingering goodwill she had felt towards Li Jun, and every strike was deadly. Fortunately, within the tent, only Li Jun carried a flying chain short sword, while Ji Su was empty-handed; otherwise, someone would surely have already fallen. Even so, their battle was quite astonishing. Although the sounds weren't loud, one wielded the fire attribute of the God of War, while the other's power stemmed from a balanced blend of the five elements—a mixture of mysterious Prajna breathing techniques and dragon power—making their fight incredibly exciting.
The soldiers outside the tent heard the commotion inside growing louder and louder, with occasional muffled groans. They naturally didn't realize these were Li Jun and Ji Su crying out in pain after being struck, and completely misinterpreted the situation. Seeing the tent flap tremble violently as if blown by the wind as the two men's spiritual energy dissipated, the soldiers were horrified. These two, even doing something like this, had such a powerful presence… Were they… even human?
There was bound to be something even more exciting to come. The soldiers standing outside suppressed their laughter, afraid that they might make a sound and disturb the two inside. They heard the sound of furniture breaking inside. They didn't know that Ji Su had grabbed a table in a fit of anger and smashed it at Li Jun, only to have Li Jun shatter it with a single palm strike using his spiritual power. But they were even more surprised and impressed that the bed couldn't withstand their antics.
“However, there doesn’t seem to be a bed in Commander Li’s tent. He always sleeps on the floor…” A soldier with a bit of sense suddenly thought of this. Just then, hurried footsteps came from afar.
"Who is it? State your name!" a soldier in the distance shouted.
"It's me. I have urgent business with Commander Li. This is my identification badge."
A moment later, a young, chubby man came running over. The soldiers in front of Li Jun's tent gave him a stern look, signaling him to be quiet. They pulled him aside and asked, "What is it?"
"I have urgent business to report to Commander Li. Go and inform him that I, Wang Erlei, request an audience!" The visitor seemed to be quite familiar with Li Jun.
“Not now,” the soldier listened intently and realized that the noise inside the tent was not only not going to stop, but was getting even more intense. He knew that things had reached a critical point, and if he went in to report now, he would spoil Li Jun’s “pleasure,” a responsibility he could not bear.
"Why not? Brother Li said we can see him anytime, even if he's sleeping!" Wang Erlei said sullenly. If Zhao Xian were here, he would definitely start cursing this soldier for being blind and daring to stop Li Jun's brother.
"Shh—" The soldier, seeing his loud voice, quickly stopped him, saying, "Commander Li is sleeping..."
“It’s alright, I told you he promised us.” Wang Erlei muttered as he walked away, “But it’s really strange that he makes such a loud noise even when he’s sleeping…”
"No, no!" The soldier hurriedly grabbed him again and whispered in his ear, "Besides Commander Li, there's a woman inside."
"What?" Wang Erlei was taken aback at first, then immediately realized what was going on and exchanged knowing smiles with the soldier. "Oh... I see, brother. Thanks for telling me, hahaha, so Brother Li has this kind of hobby too..."
Just then, with a loud "bang", Li Jun and Ji Su clasped their left hands together and clashed palms with their right hands. The spiritual energy in their palms shot out and stirred up a storm-like vortex in the tent, even overturning the surrounding curtains.
Seeing that although their clothes were somewhat tattered, they were still enough to cover their bodies, and Ji Su was even wearing her hideously ugly mask and helmet, and although their left hands were clasped together, judging from their expressions and the tense stance of their right hands, they didn't seem to be being affectionate at all. The soldiers outside the tent exchanged glances with Wang Erlei, and said with some disappointment, "So it wasn't..."
But everyone's minds immediately raced, concluding that Li Jun must have tried to force himself on the Rong woman, but she resisted, and the two fought. The soldiers later vividly described the scene in the camp, as if they had witnessed it firsthand: how Li Jun reached out to tear Ji Su's clothes, how Ji Su feigned resistance, and the other soldiers listened with rapt attention, only regretting not having seen it themselves. Only one dissenting voice sneered, saying that it wasn't like that at all. Li Jun hadn't been tempted by any ordinary beauty in Silver Tiger City, so why would he have taken a liking to the Rong woman? It was the Rong woman who, seeing Li Jun's heroic spirit and youthful handsomeness, tried to force herself on him, but he resisted, hence the fight. Thus, a completely opposite story immediately spread throughout the Silver Tiger army. Even the captains acted strangely when they saw Li Jun the next day, as if they wanted to ask him if he had "lost his virginity." This shows that people, both men and women, are quite capable of fabricating stories and spreading rumors.
That's a story for later, so let's leave it at that. Li Jun and Ji Su were fiercely fighting each other when they saw that the tent was gone. Their tug-of-war was indeed inappropriate, so they released each other. Li Jun saw Wang Erlei, his face lighting up with joy, and asked, "How did it go?"
Wang Erlei bowed and his face lit up with joy: "Everything is as the commander predicted. Our army won a great victory outside Kuanglan City and pursued the Zhu family's army and the allied forces all the way to Leiming City. Leiming City is ours now!"
Section 3
The news of repelling the allied invasion and capturing Thunder City spread throughout Silver Tiger City overnight. The soldiers and civilians in the city regarded Li Jun as a god. In a battle situation that others could not spare the time to get out, he not only handled it with ease, but also used his almost unpredictable wisdom to manipulate his opponents at will.
Commentators always side with the victors, and the people naturally forget the risks Li Jun took when making these tactical deployments, remembering only that Li Jun solved all the problems with a simple frown.
In reality, it wasn't that simple. The key to resolving the invasion by the Zhu family's army and the allied forces lay with the Tong family's army. When Tong Chang left Leiming City, he left his deputy commander, Tong Pei, to lead the army. On the very night Li Jun captured Yinhu City, he sent someone with the tiger tally for troop deployment to Leiming City. He threatened Tong Pei with the lives of the Tong clan members, young and old, to act according to his plan. He also promised that if the plan succeeded, the Tong family would have made a great contribution to the Peace Army, and the Tong family could choose whether to stay or leave.
Not only Tong Pei, but all the major Tong family generals in Leiming City were sternly warned that their wives, children, and elderly parents were in Li Jun's hands. If they did not act according to Li Jun's orders, they would immediately be offered a piece of their family's body. Thus, even if some individuals wanted to refuse, they would have no choice but to submit under the pressure of the majority's concern for their families. Although this threatening tactic was somewhat despicable and shameless, in chaotic times, even more despicable and shameless schemes had occurred countless times, and besides, Li Jun was prepared to carry out all the conditions he had promised.
Under pressure, Tong Pei surrendered to Zhu Wenhai and Peng Yuancheng as planned, and suggested that the three parties put aside the dispute over Leiming City for the time being and focus all their efforts on dealing with the Peace Army. They also suggested that while the Peace Army was still in Yinhu City, they should take down Kuanglan City to eliminate the great threat and avenge the Tong family.
Upon receiving news from a spy in Silver Tiger City that the Tong family had been wiped out, Zhu Wenhai and Peng Yuancheng were convinced of Tong Pei's surrender and realized that the greatest threat to them now came from Li Jun and the Peace Army. Therefore, the three parties reached a temporary proposal regarding the distribution of spoils in Thunder City and prepared to jointly attack Raging Waves City.
Such is the nature of chaotic times; enemies who have just fought tooth and nail can become friends in the blink of an eye. However, Zhu Wenhai and Peng Yuancheng distrusted each other. The focus of their debate was who should control Leiming City during the attack on Kuanglan City, restore order to Leiming City, and clean up the damage Li Jun caused to the silver mine when he withdrew. Both sides used the General's reasons as an excuse, believing that they should be in charge of controlling Leiming City.
The deadlock resulted in a compromise, and they all agreed to let Tong Pei temporarily manage Leiming City. The Tong family's power was currently weak, and even if they temporarily controlled Leiming City, they could take it back at any time if either side was dissatisfied. Tong Pei deliberately pretended to reluctantly agree to this decision, which was in fact exactly as Li Jun had expected.
Thus, the allied army of 30,000 marched in a grand procession towards Kuanglan City, with Leiming City becoming their main supply depot. However, Li Jun was prepared, ordering Xiao Lin and Song Yun to lead the main force of the Peace Army back overnight to build fortifications outside Kuanglan City and await their arrival. Upon discovering the Peace Army's readiness, the allied forces remained still, discussing their battle strategy. Zhu Wenhai wanted Peng Yuancheng to lead the attack, while Peng Yuancheng wanted Zhu Wenhai to lead the attack; as they were passing the buck, a report suddenly arrived from the rear that Tong Pei had killed their envoys stationed in Leiming City to monitor them and had completely taken control of the city.
This news infuriated both sides. The loss of Thunder City meant that they were now isolated and surrounded by Thunder City, Silver Tiger City, and Raging Waves City. Not to mention anything else, the food supplies for their 30,000-strong army could not be replenished.
After an emergency discussion, the two decided to withdraw their troops and return to attack Leiming City. At this time, Leiming City was only occupied by the remnants of the Tong family's forces, numbering less than 10,000, led by Tong Pei. Their morale was not high, and if they attacked the city with all their might, they could probably take it down in one fell swoop.
Peng Yuancheng also devised a feint, setting up an empty camp to mislead the Peace Army confronting them. However, since both sides intended to retreat, Zhu Wenhai was eager for Peng Yuancheng to cover their retreat and block the Peace Army's pursuit. Therefore, he withdrew his entire army an hour earlier than agreed. Xiao Lin noticed suspicious activity in Zhu's camp, deducing that the enemy had already withdrawn, and led his army in pursuit. At this time, Peng Yuancheng had just set up his feint and was retreating when the Peace Army suddenly attacked, causing his entire army to collapse. His army was originally a coalition of five small forces lacking coordination and trust, and once it collapsed, it was impossible to recover. Zhu's army, which had retreated earlier, saw the defeated soldiers surging towards them like a tide and also fell into disarray without a fight. Zhu Wenhai himself fled five hundred li in a day and a night, returning to Yujiang City trembling with fear. There was no way he could launch a counterattack on Leiming City. Peng Yuancheng could only curse the Zhu family for being incompetent while gathering his remaining troops and retreating westward. Xiao Lin led his mercenaries and the Peace Army to pursue each other for a while, but both sides suffered losses. Xiao Lin did not dare to pursue any further and instead led his troops back into Thunder City.
After Tong Pei handed over Silver Tiger City, Li Jun released the entire Tong clan as promised, allowing them to sail away from Yuzhou. In his view, the Tong clan, having lost Silver Tiger City, was no longer a threat.
The process seemed simple, but within just over ten days, the overall situation in Yuzhou was already determined. Two of the original three major forces in Yuzhou had been swallowed up by the Peace Army, which controlled the port of Kuanglan City, obtained the silver mine of Leiming City, and occupied the horses of Yinhu City. Li Jun's long-cherished wish to unify Yuzhou was close to being realized. The remaining five minor forces and the Zhu family were merely struggling to survive under Li Jun's military might and were exhausted from protecting themselves.
The series of wars had a significant impact on the Peace Army, which, while achieving continuous victories, also expanded its numbers at an astonishing rate. However, behind this favorable situation, the Peace Army also faced many disadvantages. First, the increased troops were not soldiers from the Peace Army headquarters, but rather from the affiliated Silver Tiger Army and Tiger Wing Army. The Peace Army headquarters had lost hundreds of soldiers in the battles, and for the already small Peace Army, fresh blood was urgently needed. Second, with the expansion of its territory came a greater number of administrative tasks. Li Jun could not possibly handle every detail personally. At this moment, he deeply realized the importance of talent. If a large number of capable individuals could share these tedious tasks with him, his workload would be much lighter.