His loud shouts demoralized the entire army. Xue Qian's face darkened, and he roared, "Insolence! How dare you disrupt the morale of my army just as it is about to set out? Guards, take him away and behead him as a sacrifice to the flag!"
The strongmen rushed forward and grabbed Wei Zhan. Wei Zhan struggled and shouted, "Xue Qian, you fool! This great undertaking will surely be ruined by you. It's a pity that I thought this righteous uprising could achieve great things. I was blind! Kill me if you want, I don't want to see your end!"
"Wait!" Xue Qian laughed in fury, "If that's the case, then I'll really show you my triumphant return! Throw him in jail, don't let him die. When my army returns victorious, I'll publicly humiliate him! The Almighty God will bless my army, ensuring a resounding victory and swift success!"
The strongman dragged Wei Zhan, who was still cursing incessantly, away and threw him into the cell. Once inside, Wei Zhan quieted down and gave a cold laugh.
"It seems you've gone mad." The jailer, seeing him laugh instead of showing fear, couldn't help but say, "When the master returns victorious, you'll likely suffer a terrible death."
"Do you really think that reckless bastard Xue Qian will come back alive?" Wei Zhan's sneer became even more pronounced. "I predict that no sooner he leaves Huai'en than Li Jun will enter Huai'en. At that time, if Huai'en falls, the Lianfa Sect's military supplies in eastern Dachen will be in dire need, and collapse will not be far off. Xue Qian is stubborn and will kill Jiang Shidao first and then commit suicide. At that time, with the High Master dead, the army's morale will collapse, and even the chance to turn the tide of the war will be lost!"
"Stop talking nonsense." The jailer's sneer was even louder than Wei Zhan's. "If you were truly so prescient, why couldn't you foresee the consequences of offending your master? You can just obediently wait to die in this cell!" "Hahahaha..." Wei Zhan glared at him disdainfully and said, "I'm not the only one waiting to die in this Huai'en prison. I've already seen your fate; it'll be nothing more than being beheaded. Your so-called master will certainly not welcome you with fine wine and beautiful women. What awaits you is the torment of purgatory!"
With a sharp crack, the jailer lashed Wei Zhan with his leather whip, the pain causing him to tremble and bend over. "You fool, you dare to be so arrogant even here! I don't have the magnanimity of a master. Let's see how I deal with you!"
If it weren't for Xue Qian's order to keep Wei Zhan alive, he would likely have died under the brutality of the prison guards. Whether he admitted it or not, Xue Qian's order still saved his life. When he awoke from his day-long coma, he opened his eyes to find himself no longer in prison, but on a soft bed, with a pair of attentive eyes watching him.
"He's awake, he's awake," said the owner of those eyes. "I have fulfilled my mission, Commander. Mr. Wei is awake."
Wei Zhan shifted his gaze to the door. The curtain was lifted, and a young general in full armor, wearing a dragon-head helmet, strode into the room. He first nodded to the person inside and said, "Thank you, Doctor. I have brought a small gift. Please follow the guards to fetch it, Doctor."
"Thank you so much, sir. To be honest, this is my first business deal in the past six months. When Lianfazong was alive, people were not allowed to see a doctor when they were sick. Instead, they were told to drink some kind of talisman water. It's absurd. Without balancing yin and yang and regulating vital energy, how can a patient get better..." The old doctor, beaming with joy, followed the guard out.
“Sir, you can lie down.” Li Jun stopped Wei Zhan from getting up and said, “I have already heard about your matter from the people. Fortunately, that scoundrel Xue Qian did not use your two strategies, otherwise I would not have been able to pay my respects to you here.”
“Li Jun… Commander Li?” Wei Zhan carefully examined the young man before him. He noticed that the young man’s skin was slightly dark, likely due to years of exposure to wind and sun. Beneath his thin eyebrows, his eyes shone brightly, radiating a light that seemed to possess boundless wisdom and penetrating insight. With just one glance at him, Wei Zhan felt as if this young man had seen through everything about him.
"It is I." Li Jun saluted, a smile spreading across his face. The scar on his lip disrupted the harmony of his features, reducing his once seven-tenths handsome face to only five. But beyond his good looks, it also added a touch of other qualities to Li Jun—a sense of fortitude, strength, or ruggedness—in short, the maturity and confidence unique to someone who had faced death on the battlefield.
"Wei...Wei has found his master!" Wei Zhan suddenly felt his heart surging with emotion. Although he didn't say anything, he could tell from Li Jun's attitude, his aura, and his natural smile. This man was the wise master for someone like him who wanted to make a name for himself in this chaotic world. Compared to him, the Lotus Sect was nothing but a bunch of clowns.
"Commander, please retreat to Yuzhou immediately!" He suppressed his emotions and, disregarding that it was their first meeting, directly stated a conclusion that he had been pondering for a long time.
"Oh? What do you mean by that, sir?" Li Jun's face showed curiosity, although he knew that half of this curiosity was feigned. But in Wei Bo's eyes, it was completely different. Li Jun valued opinions that differed from his own strategic and tactical arrangements so much. In comparison, Xue Qian couldn't tolerate anything...
"Commander, your most pressing concern is the internal strife in Yu Prefecture, not the threat from Chen State." Wei Zhan clearly had his own perspective on the situation in both Yu Prefecture and Chen State. "Although Yu Prefecture is somewhat stable, it is far from secure. Commander, you should allow Yu Prefecture to recuperate and rebuild for three to five years. Once the people of Yu Prefecture are united, then you can send troops to relieve the people's suffering and punish the guilty. Then you will surely be invincible. Commander, you have great ambitions; how can you serve the foolish ruler of Chen State? Why not sit back and watch the tigers fight?"
Li Jun's expression suddenly became extremely cheerful. He bowed deeply and said, "Please enlighten me, sir."
“Yuzhou is a land of chaos and war. The commander chose it as his base, which shows his superior vision. Without the commander’s talent and magnanimity, it would be impossible to win in the chaos of Yuzhou.” With Li Jun’s help, Wei Zhan sat up and said, “But instead of stabilizing the base first, the commander has gone to the trouble of sending troops to conquer Chen. He is aiding the tyrannical ruler and making enemies of the common people. This is the work of a fool. I really can’t understand it. If the commander still wants to achieve great things, it would be better to retreat to Yuzhou as soon as possible.”
Li Jun carefully examined Wei Zhan and began to understand why Xue Qian did not listen to Wei Zhan. No one wanted to hear such frank opposition, and Wei Zhan's dark complexion and unremarkable appearance made it difficult for him to win the favor of ordinary people.
“While your words are invaluable, sir, I also have my own plans. Sending troops to Chen will serve five purposes: first, to assess Chen’s strengths and weaknesses; second, to expand the influence of the Peace Army; third, to compete with the Lianfa Sect for popular support; fourth, to allow newly recruited soldiers to hone their skills in actual combat; and fifth, to prevent the Lianfa Sect from entering Yuzhou.” Li Jun presented five reasons for his decision to send troops, then smiled and said, “Sir, you are an extremely intelligent man and naturally understand what I mean.”
Wei Zhan thought about it carefully. If it were just these five reasons, then Li Jun's last sentence would have been unnecessary. But the fact that Li Jun specifically said that last sentence meant that there were other reasons besides these five that Li Jun couldn't or wouldn't say openly. He quickly understood the reason that Li Jun was hiding.
Only when Chen is thrown into chaos, only when it is teetering on the brink of collapse, will it best serve Li Jun's interests. If the Peace Army does not send troops and Liu Guang does not enter Chen, then within half a year, Lian Fazong can unify Chen and bring it under governance. Even if this governance is only partial, it will be enough to make Chen stronger than it is now. At that time, if Li Jun wants to invade Chen again, he will probably have to expend ten times the effort he has now.
With Liu Guang entering the Chen Kingdom, Li Jun was even more determined to do the same. Given Liu Guang's talent and military strength, it was only a matter of time before he could wipe out the Lianfa Sect. At that time, with a renowned general like Liu Guang commanding Chen's hundreds of thousands of troops, it would be incredibly difficult for Li Jun to seize Chen. It would be most advantageous for Li Jun to take a share of Liu Guang's military achievements and honors before Liu Guang gained power in Chen, thus maintaining a balance among Liu Guang, the Chen royal family and nobles, the Lianfa Sect, and the Peace Army.
"Does the intention of the leader be to maintain the balance of power before seeking another opportunity to act?" Wei Zhan asked in surprise.
"You can't get fat in one bite; you have to wait for the right opportunity." Li Jun waved his hand, signaling him not to voice his thoughts. At this moment, Li Jun's joy was genuine and overflowing from the bottom of his heart. He grasped Wei Zhan's hand and said, "What does it matter if I take Huai'en City? Gaining someone like Mr. Wei is my greatest gain this time!"
In fact, besides the five reasons Li Jun proposed for sending troops and the reason Wei Zhan speculated about, there was another more important reason in Li Jun and Feng Jiutian's strategy in Yuzhou. Only Li Jun and Feng Jiutian knew this reason. At the time, Feng Jiutian vehemently opposed Li Jun's decision to send troops to Chen State to help Lan Qiao and Pei Ziyu. Even when Li Jun wanted to send troops on the grounds of maintaining a balance of power, he could not get his approval. Only this one reason convinced him.
In the end, this was precisely the reason that made Li Jun regret his decision.
Section 2
Rain and snow fell, the north wind howled, war drums sounded faintly, and banners fluttered like clouds.
Shortly after passing Evil Wind Ridge, the weather turned harsh. While this increased the difficulty of the march, it also concealed the movements of the Lianfa army. Therefore, Xue Qian was not worried but rather pleased, believing that the main force of the Peace Army attacking Baoshan would certainly not discover that he was rapidly pursuing them. When the Peace Army launched a full-scale attack on the city, his sudden appearance behind their lines would force them to collapse without a fight, caught in a pincer attack. Even if Li Jun did not collapse, by the time the reinforcements from Yuanding City broke through the forces holding them back and arrived, the Lianfa Sect's three armies would be concentrated on one point, leaving the Peace Army with nowhere to go.
In this way, the overall situation in eastern Chen will be completely settled. We can either seize Yuzhou and control it under the Great God's control, or we can protect eastern Chen and then plan to expand to other places. Having rendered great service to the Divine Emperor and the Great God, I suppose my ranking among the Sixteen Masters can be moved up a few places.