What displeased him was that the Peace Army did not rush back to Yuzhou as he had expected, nor did the Lianfa Army launch a two-pronged attack after cutting off the Peace Army's retreat as he had envisioned. Instead, the two sides engaged in a stalemate at the foot of Huai'en City. This only proved one thing: Li Jun and Cheng Tian had more or less sensed his arrangements.
Thinking of those two people, Liu Guang felt a surge of hatred, a desire to get rid of them as soon as possible. Suddenly, a soft cough interrupted his thoughts. He plucked a string randomly and asked, "Who's outside?"
Gongsun Ming gently lifted the beaded curtain with his folding fan. The weather was far from warm enough to require a fan, but for the sake of elegance, he kept it close at hand. Upon entering the room, he bowed and said, "It is your subordinate."
"Oh, you've arrived. Please sit down." Although he had already recognized who it was from the footsteps, Liu Guang still pretended to know just now, his long eyebrows slightly raised, and gestured for Gongsun Ming to sit down. Gongsun Ming said "excuse me" and sat down to one side.
"I was so captivated by the General's music outside that I almost forgot the purpose of my visit," Gongsun Ming said. "However, the General's music at the beginning had a transcendent quality, but the tone changed drastically at the end, with a hint of killing intent. I wonder which ignorant junior has angered the General?"
Liu Guang raised his eyelids slightly, stared at Gongsun Ming for a moment, and chuckled: "Gongsun, since you know that it was an ignorant junior who aroused my murderous intent, why do you still ask?"
"Reporting to the Commander, I have come here today with news of that ignorant brat." Gongsun Ming stopped beating around the bush and said slowly, "That brat killed Zheng Dingguo, the bravest general under Cheng Tian."
"Oh? This Zheng Dingguo is just a brave man. When we fought, I deliberately avoided his sharpest attacks to let his arrogance fester. I didn't expect Li Jun to get the better of me." Liu Guang smiled slightly. "He killed Cheng Tian's beloved general. Cheng Tian should be furious and attack the city now, right?"
"On the contrary, Cheng Tian has already made peace with Li Jun. Li Jun withdrew from the State of Chen, and Cheng Tian let him go." Although Gongsun Ming's expression remained calm, there was a hint of surprise in his tone, so he no longer paid attention to his wording.
With a sharp "clang," upon hearing the news, Liu Guang couldn't help but pluck a string from his zither. Staring at the broken string for a long time, he slowly said, "This decision is beyond my expectations. So, executing Zheng Dingguo is simply to force Cheng Tian to negotiate and to strike at the warmongers under Cheng Tian's command. Cheng Tian releasing Li Jun is no less than releasing a tiger back into the mountains; sooner or later, he will become a scourge."
When Gongsun Ming saw that Liu Guang had broken the strings of his zither upon hearing the news, he was greatly shocked. Liu Guang, who would remain calm even if a mountain collapsed in front of him, was so worried upon hearing that Li Jun had returned to Yuzhou safely.
His questioning gaze fell on Liu Guang, who smiled slightly and said, "What people fear most is something beyond their understanding. At first, I thought that Li Jun might have received some guidance from Lu Xiang, but he was far from being as powerful as the legends suggested. However, seeing how he could still force Cheng Tian, who was in a superior position, to negotiate even when he was at a severe disadvantage, and how he escaped unscathed almost without bloodshed, I knew that there would be endless troubles afterward, hence my great shock. His actions were completely unexpected, and Peng Yuancheng is no match for him."
“If the commander is worried that Li Jun will escape back to Yuzhou, there is still room for maneuver.” Gongsun Ming’s eyes flashed as he said, “Li Jun and the other troops from Baoshan set off at the same time as the originally planned troops, so they did not immediately return to Yuzhou. Cheng Tian, in order to show his sincerity, has already ceded Ningwang City. It will take Li Jun and the other troops from Baoshan and the originally planned troops three or four days, and it will take another three or four days from Huaien to Ningwang. In such a long period of time, there are many variables.”
Liu Guang narrowed his eyes, a chilling light flashing in his narrowed eyes, and a leisurely smile appeared on his face: "I understand. However, if our army goes into battle personally, I'm afraid it would be against the greater good. It's better to borrow the strength of others if possible."
"How can those who aspire to great things be bound by trivial matters?" Gongsun Ming, who fully understood Liu Guang's thoughts, criticized without reservation: "When will the commander-in-chief be able to let go of such trivial matters?"
"Haha, Gongsun, you flatter me." Liu Guang's smile remained unchanged. In fact, Gongsun Ming's criticism was more of a praise than a rebuke. He said slowly and deliberately, "Since Li Jun entered Chen, he has gained considerable popularity. Although our army has its own territory, the hearts of the people are not yet with us. If we rashly attack Li Jun in the name of our army, everyone from the common people to the court will surely be suspicious. Li Jun's actions are merely a long-term concern, while this is a more immediate worry."
Gongsun Ming glanced at Liu Guang and saw him stroking his beard, his eyes still narrowed, but then he opened them and said, "Go and call Tong Pei here."
After waiting for four days, Li Jun finally reunited with Meng Yuan and Fan Yong. After days of confrontation with the Lianfa Sect, his 50,000 troops had suffered over 10,000 casualties, a devastating blow. However, he believed that bringing these 30,000 soldiers back to Yuzhou and quelling the rebellion of Peng Yuancheng and others would not be difficult. Moreover, if Feng Jiutian could think of borrowing Rong troops, suppressing the rebellion would be even easier.
Li Jun was no god, and naturally he was unaware that Peng Yuancheng had underestimated Feng Jiutian, who was constantly feigning weakness, because Li Jun was not in Yuzhou, resulting in repeated losses at Kuanglan City. Even if he knew of this, Yuzhou, after the great upheaval, urgently needed his return to appease the situation.
"It's better to act quickly than to delay. To be on the safe side, we should march into Ningwang first," Wei Zhan advised. Li Jun frowned and said, "I know about this, but I'm still a little unwilling to leave Chen with nothing."
The two exchanged a smile. Others might not have been able to discern their thoughts, but the two of them knew exactly what was on their minds.
On April 11th of the thirteenth year of the Chen Kingdom, after four months of arduous fighting, the Peace Army finally began its journey home.
It takes three days to travel from Huai'en to Linwang. Along the way, past the treacherous Evil Wind Ridge, lies the plain known locally as "Dongye." Although the land is fertile, most of it has been abandoned due to last year's severe drought and this year's war. Spring is almost over, and yet not a single drop of rain has fallen. It seems this year will be another year of disaster. The helpless people can only watch as their paddy fields turn to dry land, pondering how they will survive these years of continuous natural and man-made calamities.
Li Jun felt a deep sense of melancholy, especially when he saw the naked children of the common people following behind the troops, begging for food. He was reminded of his own childhood when he was a soldier, sometimes going without a meal. Although Xiao Lin had treated him well, in the mercenary world where status was determined by strength, it was already a miracle that he had survived.
Wei Zhan harbored considerable apprehension. Logically, the return of the army should have been a cause for celebration, but he felt no joy. It wasn't the unfamiliar place they were about to reach, but rather Li Jun's delay in launching their attack. If his and Li Jun's predictions were correct, they might encounter an even more formidable adversary on their journey, one they had never faced before. Their hope of escaping this adversary, or even exacting revenge, rested on whether the Lianfa Army would act according to Li Jun's orders. Wei Zhan was deeply worried about this; who knew if the Lianfa Army might devise a plan to eliminate both adversaries simultaneously?
“Sir, there’s no need to worry.” Li Jun was much calmer. The current unfavorable strategic situation must have been created by that famous general. It would be impolite not to retaliate. Since he had given him a difficult problem, he should also make him feel the pain. He thought coldly, “If you know when to stop, then there’s nothing to it. But if you want to push your luck and kill me, then any countermeasure I take is reasonable.”
Seeing the cold, electric light in Li Jun's eyes, and feeling an unsettling, almost electric shock-like aura emanating from his body, Wei Zhan couldn't help but shiver. Yet, a deep respect rose within him. This was the aura of someone with ambitions to rule the world and a spirit that could swallow mountains and rivers. If he were merely an ordinary, incompetent person, would he still be worth risking his life to follow? It seemed that this young lord was the kind of person who could withstand any setback and endure any blow.
The army's advance was far slower than their desire to return home. For some reason, the thought of Yuzhou gave them a feeling of wanting to go home; of these more than 30,000 soldiers, only about half were actually from Yuzhou.
Half a day after the Peace Army left Huai'en, Cheng Tian and Tang Gan entered Huai'en City and inspected the people and supplies in the city one by one. They found that the people were not much frightened by the changes of the occupiers. The Peace Army only took away what they needed and left the vast majority of the supplies intact for them.
"This Li Jun is indeed no ordinary person." Cheng Tian looked at Huai'en City, which remained calm and composed. The ability of a commander to manage a city can be seen from the people in the city.
"If he wasn't such a person, how could Dingguo have died because of his treacherous scheme? And why should we have had to let him live?" Tang Gan felt indignant whenever he thought of this.
"Why did he want us to pile up firewood in Ningwang City?" Gan Ping asked, raising a question that had been puzzling him. After Zheng Dingguo's death, he took over his troops, and Ningwang City was also handed over by him. He found it hard to understand why Li Jun had secretly informed Cheng Tian to make preparations.
Cheng Tian and Tang Gan exchanged a smile and said, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be discussed now. In any case, we have done Li Jun a favor, and whether it succeeds or fails, it has nothing to do with our Shenzong."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Gan Ping's young face. After a moment, he laughed and said, "I understand now! It is true that whether it succeeds or not, it has nothing to do with my Divine Sect. However, I still hope it succeeds, so that Li Jun can vent our anger."
Cheng Tian stroked his beard and nodded slightly, looking at Gan Ping with great approval. Among his subordinates, Gan Ping's martial prowess was second only to Zheng Dingguo. As for intelligence, Gan Ping, who liked to use his brain, was far superior to Zheng Dingguo, who liked to show off his bravery and fighting. Given time, this young man, who was only a libationer at the time, would surely become a great talent for Emperor Shenzong.
Although the sun had quietly set, the western sky remained ablaze with fiery red light, making the city walls of Ningwang appear majestic and solemn. However, the city itself was deserted, as silent as death, devoid of the bustling activity that should have been present at this time.
With his gun in hand and his left hand resting on his brow, Tong Pei carefully gazed at Ningwang City. Under the setting sun, the city resembled a monster lurking in the forest, waiting for the night to fall. Tong Pei smiled slightly. Tonight, he would turn this city into a monster that would devour Li Jun and the Peace Army.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel secretly grateful to Liu Guang. Liu Guang knew he deeply resented Li Jun for seizing Yinhu City through despicable means, so he gave him 30,000 troops to avenge him. He also devised a plan to seize the city before Li Jun arrived, after Lianfazong had ceded Ningwang. In this way, Li Jun would be without Huai'en and unable to obtain Ningwang, leaving him with no way to advance or retreat, and his entire army would collapse. After explaining this plan to him, Liu Guang patted him on the shoulder and said, "General Tong, I know you won't rest until you kill Li Jun. These 30,000 soldiers are your personal guard. Just raise your Tong family's banner, kill Li Jun, and you can use these 30,000 troops to return to Yuzhou with your remaining strength!"
He was completely unaware of Liu Guang's intention in forbidding him from using his own banner. If he used Liu Guang's banner, it would imply that Liu Guang was colluding with the Lianfa Sect to attack Li Jun, inevitably causing trouble in the Chen Kingdom's court and among the people. Conversely, if he used Tong Pei's banner, it would merely be an internal strife among the Yu Prefecture people, having nothing to do with Liu Guang. Although the 30,000 troops allocated to Tong Pei were elite soldiers, they were not Liu Guang's direct subordinates but rather recruited Chen Kingdom soldiers. Therefore, even if there were some losses, Liu Guang would not feel distressed. As for Li Jun, defeating these Chen Kingdom soldiers would create hatred among them. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, it would be a sure-fire profit for Liu Guang.
"Reporting to the general, there is no one in the city." The spy rushed over to report after scouting the city.
"So the Lotus Sect really did coerce the people away. Are they afraid that they will help Li Jun here?" Tong Pei found it strange, but it was even better this way. Without the people, she wouldn't have to worry about the news leaking out when she entered the city.
"The Peace Army is still half a day's journey away!" Another scout rushed over to report. Liu Guang's intention was to take advantage of the time difference between the Lotus Dharma Sect's surrender of Ningwang and the Peace Army's failure to enter Ningwang, to seize Ningwang City first and cut off Li Jun's return route.
"Enter the city, except for those who have climbed the city walls to guard the enemy, all of you must go inside the houses and not make any noise!" Tong Pei said.
"Why didn't the general order the city gates to be closed?" a subordinate asked, puzzled by Tong Pei's decision to leave the four gates wide open instead of preparing for battle.
Tong Pei said smugly, "This is a strategy I learned from Commander Liu. The day Commander Liu attacked Lianfa Sect, he opened the city gates after entering the city and ambushed his troops in the houses inside the city. The Lianfa army was unaware of the trap. When half of them had entered the city, Commander Liu suddenly ordered all the ambushers to come out. At the same time, the soldiers on the city wall also appeared and closed the city gates, cutting off the enemy's internal and external forces, thus achieving a great victory. This time, I will also teach Li Jun to taste Commander Liu's strategy."
The general listened with skepticism. What Tong Pei said was true, but Li Ke was not the same Lianfa Army that Liu Guang had dealt with, and Tong Pei was not as adaptable as Liu Guang. If something unexpected happened, what would happen if Liu Guang copied his plan?
But since the commander-in-chief of this expedition was Tong Pei, seeing the excitement on Tong Pei's face, he swallowed back the words he was about to say. This general was originally a commander among the soldiers of the Chen state, and he knew the official way of keeping to himself that it was none of his business, so he secretly reminded himself to just be careful when the time came.
The army marched into the city, and after a brief commotion, the city fell silent again.