“Commander Li is indeed Li Jun,” Yu Sheng dared not refer to Li Jun as “cold little brother.” “Miss and Commander Li are old friends who have gone through thick and thin together, so they are not outsiders of the Peace Army. Please introduce these two guests.”
Realizing she had been impolite, Mo Rong stuck out her tongue and pulled Zi Yu over, saying, "This is Sister Chen Ying, and that is Brother Song Yun. They are friends I met on the road."
Seeing Mo Rong calling "Chen Ying," who was a head and a half taller than him, "little sister," Yu Sheng couldn't help but smile slightly. He'd been dealing with heavy, even tragic, matters for the past two days, and Mo Rong's arrival had somewhat eased his mood. Thinking of Jiang Tang, the financial officer Li Jun had tricked into marrying on the street, Yu Sheng couldn't help but marvel: "The friends who slay dragons with the Commander all seem to be...not ordinary people at all."
Of course, he wouldn't be lacking in etiquette. After bowing to Chen Ying and Song Yunshen, Yu Sheng said, "It is a great honor to welcome you both to Tonghai City."
Song Yun simply returned the greeting perfunctorily, while Chen Ying gracefully curtsied, performing a gesture usually reserved for women in the imperial court or aristocratic families. This surprised Yu Sheng once again. Song Yun's behavior proved that he was a country bumpkin, while Chen Ying's actions proved that she came from a strictly educated family. The two of them together presented a stark contrast.
Immediately, Yu Sheng deduced that the two women were likely from a prominent family who had eloped after having an affair with a family member. He shook his head inwardly. In Shenzhou, such behavior by a woman was considered extremely immoral and would even earn her the reputation of being "licentious." Although Yu Sheng had joined the Peace Army, the influence of this concept was not something he could shake off in a short time.
"My name is Yu Sheng. I am currently serving under Commander Li. Commander Li has been away on business these past few days. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed me to treat Miss Mo well. Please let me know if Miss Mo has any requests."
Mo Rong sighed in disappointment: "Ah, Li Jun isn't here. Where's the syrup?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Yu Sheng realized that Mo Rong was referring to Jiang Tang, the finance officer of the Peace Army. He smiled again and said, "Jiang Tang also went with Commander Li on business and will probably be back in the next few days."
Mo Rong pouted slightly and said, "Li Jun wrote to me asking me to help him. Do you know what kind of help he wants me to do?"
Although he knew that most of the Yue people were skilled craftsmen, Yu Sheng was still quite uneasy about the girl in front of him. Of course, he didn't dare to tell her immediately that he had invited her to design weapons and supervise the construction of the city for the Peace Army, so he said, "That is not something I know."
"Has your army just been engaged in a major battle?" Ziyu, using the alias Chen Ying, asked.
"As you three probably heard on your way here, our Peace Army just had a major battle with the Tong family, and the siege of the Tong family was only lifted yesterday." Yu Sheng knew he couldn't hide this from them, so he spoke frankly.
"You ordinary people just love killing each other," Mo Rong said, pursing her lips. "Can't you just focus on making a living?"
"We, the Peace Army, fight against others precisely so that the people we protect can make a living." Yu Sheng was somewhat annoyed. The bravery of the Peace Army soldiers in the city defense battle was considered worthless in the mouth of this Yue girl, which made him extremely unhappy.
"Is Li Jun your commander? When I see him, I'll try to persuade him to kill fewer people." Mo Rong didn't notice Yu Sheng's displeasure and suddenly laughed. "This Tonghai City is too small and poorly built. It must have been designed by ordinary craftsmen. The moat is too narrow and not enough to stop the enemy. The city walls are too thin, less than three feet thick, and can't withstand the impact of battering rams. The city walls are also low, only six zhang high. If I were the attacker, I would definitely build some towers ten zhang high outside the city. If I could shoot arrows down into the city from above, there would be no soldiers left to defend the city walls."
These were problems that Yu Sheng and his companions had personally experienced while defending Tonghai City. Yet this Yue girl, with just a glance on the way into the city, had thoroughly identified its weaknesses and even devised a method to attack it. Yu Sheng began to understand why Li Jun called her the most skilled craftswoman among the Yue people.
"In your opinion, Miss Yi Mo, how should we build Tonghai City to strengthen its defenses and boost its economy?" Yu Sheng asked.
“Building a city isn’t difficult as long as you have enough manpower and funds, but your requirements are too general. It would be better if you were more specific.” Mo Rong’s eyes flashed a few times. Architectural design was something she was most interested in.
"This city originally belonged to the Hua family, but was later occupied by the Tong family. No wonder the Tong family wants to take it back." Chen Ying, who had been silent until now, interjected, "I wonder how many troops the Tong family has dispatched to attack the city, and how your side is defending it?"
Upon hearing this question from the unfamiliar woman, Yu Sheng immediately became alert. Could these two be spies sent by the Tong family to investigate the true situation of the city?
“You seem to know quite a bit about the situation in Yuzhou,” Yu Sheng tentatively asked.
Chen Ying smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I am from Luoying City."
“I see,” Yu Sheng’s doubts grew stronger. “The Tong family mobilized 13,000 troops to attack our city. We first planned to ambush the Tong family’s light cavalry outside to dampen their morale, then we relied on the city’s defenses to wear down their forces, and finally we launched a surprise attack on the enemy camp to force them to retreat.”
Because he had some doubts, Yu Sheng only gave a brief account of the battle, and kept the details of the losses on both sides strictly confidential.
"What a pity, what a pity!" Song Yun, who had been chuckling silently, suddenly said.
"What's there to regret?" Chen Ying rolled her eyes at him and said reproachfully.
"It's a pity we didn't come sooner, otherwise I could have joined this great battle. This is a real war!" Song Yun's eyes were full of longing. "I haven't fought such a big battle since I came down the mountain. Thirteen thousand men, how long can I fight them?"
Yu Sheng's suspicions about the two immediately vanished. This Song Yun didn't seem like the type to be a spy at all. A spy must operate in secrecy, but he was a warlike man. It was more likely he was a brave general; his physique and movements certainly gave the impression of a skilled fighter. If that were the case, Mo Rong, whom Li Jun had invited, might very well have "picked up" a great general for the Peace Army along the way.
"Give me a break, you always get like this when war is mentioned." Chen Ying rolled her eyes at him again. Just then, the sentry rushed in excitedly, shouting, "The commander is back! The commander is back!"
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Note 1: In the Shenzhou army, the civil official in charge of documents is called the Chief Clerk. There is no Chief Clerk position in the Peace Army, but for the convenience of writing documents, Yu Sheng here appointed himself as the Chief Clerk.
Note 2: In order to appease the powerful clans of Yuzhou, the State of Chen lavishly bestowed titles and rewards upon several major forces in Yuzhou. These forces were not subject to any one another, so that they could fight amongst themselves. Therefore, Yuzhou had both a governor-general, a commander-in-chief, and a governor.
Section 2
For the people who needed to be revitalized and appeased after the great war, the return of Li Junchu, the commander of the Peace Army, was the best news imaginable.
The jiao spirit's incursions into the waters outside Tonghai Port were not a recent phenomenon. Even during the Hua family's rule of Tonghai, merchant ships and fishing boats were frequently attacked by it. During the decades of Tong family rule, its appearances became even more frequent, and in the last ten years or so, not a single ship has been able to pass safely. Although for some reason the jiao spirit dares not come ashore, the people of Tonghai still harbor deep hatred for it.
The Hua and Tong families had both offered rewards to recruit brave warriors to slay the dragon, but they all ended up as snacks for the dragon spirit. After that, no one dared to mention slaying the dragon again. Now, Li Jun not only slayed the dragon but also brought a piece of its corpse as evidence. The people of Tonghai City were overjoyed. Many barbarians, thinking of their newfound freedom to sail the seas, even sang and danced. In an instant, the streets were deserted as people flocked to the square in front of the city lord's mansion, eager to witness the dragon spirit firsthand.
"If we had known this would happen, we should have captured the dragon spirit alive and taken it to various parts of the Divine Continent for exhibition. We could have made a lot of money from ticket sales." Jiang Tang said with some regret as he looked at the crowds.
Everyone except Li Jun couldn't help but feel down. Only Li Jun couldn't feel happy no matter what, thinking of the life-and-death struggle with the dragon spirit and Meng Yuan, who was seriously injured in the struggle to save him.
"What a huge snake! We've never seen such a big snake underground!" Mo Rong's attention was completely drawn to the dragon spirit. Because it was so long, Li Jun only brought a section of the dragon spirit's corpse, which was now strung on a thick rope and hung in front of the city lord's mansion.
Chen Ying found it disgusting. "What's so interesting about this? It's disgusting, let's go!"
"I wonder if it tastes good?" Song Yun looked the half-dead dragon up and down, his eyes pleading. "I cooked snake soup in the mountains, and it smelled so good..."
This remark amused everyone again. Mo Rong noticed that Li Jun still wasn't laughing, so she nudged him and said, "You cold little brother, are you still the same?"
Yu Sheng was surprised that she dared to address Li Jun in such a way to his face, and he was quite curious about how Li Jun would react. Li Jun merely twitched the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and said, "I can't be happy."
"Is it because of your friend? Don't worry, he'll be fine. Even the immortal said he'll be alright, he just needs to rest more. If you're unhappy, he won't recover quickly."
These words were exactly what adults say to coax children, but when Mo Rong said them to Li Jun, it sounded so natural. People who knew Li Jun would turn to look at him, wondering if his face would darken and he would stare at Mo Rong with murderous intent.
But they were wrong. Li Jun was no longer the cold-blooded young mercenary he was during the dragon-slaying on Jiaolong Island; he had recently almost lost his best friend and now deeply appreciated the value of friendship; and he was somewhat disheartened by the double blows he suffered from the Jiaolong demon and Ling Qi during the dragon-slaying expedition. Therefore, he didn't find Hei Rong's words rude. On the contrary, he found it refreshing that someone spoke to him like a child. Having lost his family at a young age and grown up in a sea of blood, he yearned even more for the care and concern of his relatives and elders. However, this yearning was only truly important in his moments of vulnerability.
Therefore, Li Jun did something that puzzled everyone, including himself: he reached out and took Mo Rong's hand!
Mo Rong didn't think much of it. In her eyes, this so-called mercenary leader was still the same immature boy she had met three or four years ago. In front of Li Jun, Mo Rong felt like an older sister, so she also held Li Jun's hand in return. She chuckled and said, "Actually, little brother, don't be upset. Look, so many people are laughing because of you. What you did has brought so much joy and laughter, so you should be happy too. You should even make your friends in the hospital bed laugh as well."
Li Jun took a deep breath, letting out all the worries and anxieties that had been building up in his chest, and then smiled slightly at Mo Rong.