"We're independent!" the soldiers echoed. These thousand-odd men were mostly troops Li Jun had personally led, and many were civilians forced to flee their homes due to the war; therefore, their loyalty to the country was limited. For them, their homeland, the Soviet Union, had brought them little benefit; on the contrary, it had deprived them of their only support, Lu Xiang.
"Like me, most of you are homeless and have no country to turn to. Now, wars are frequent in various countries of China, and people with a little power in various places are carving up their own territories. What do you all think about us using our own strength to carve out a way to survive?"
"Good!" the soldiers shouted in agreement. Li Jun continued, "Those who are unwilling, I will not force them. After breaking through the encirclement of the Lan bandits, you will be given double the pay to return home. Those who agree, we will share weal and woe and support each other. In this world, there will always be a way for us to survive!"
"Whatever General Li says goes!" Centurion Su Xiang shouted. "The deputy commander praised General Li highly before his death, saying that General Li was a genius in the world, and following General Li was the same as following the deputy commander!"
"Yes, yes!" the soldiers shouted. One of them asked, "General Li, where should we go?"
"We have no special skills, what else can we do besides being soldiers and fighting?" Li Jun said loudly. "Of course we will still be soldiers, but before we were serving the princes and ministers, from now on we will be serving ourselves!"
With almost no premeditation, Li Jun successfully persuaded the remnants of the invincible army of the Su Kingdom to become mercenaries along with him. He didn't have any specific plans for the future, but his intuition told him what he should do now.
While Meng Yuan was still unconscious, Li Jun had already completed the reorganization of the remnants of the Invincible Army. He broke the regular army's system of dividing soldiers by branch of service and instead divided the 1,024 soldiers into 20 teams, each with a captain. Every 10 teams were further divided into a squad, with a squad leader. The two squad leaders were two centurions he trusted, Su Xiang and Zhou Jie. During battle, each squad had to coordinate the use of long weapons, short weapons, archers, and cavalry. Although there were no mages or skilled trainees, this was the only way for the time being.
With everything arranged, Li Jun had a clearer understanding of his men's situation. Most of the 1,024 soldiers were under 20 years old and had been in the Invincible Army for two or three years. Their training was not a problem, but because he could not afford to buy equipment, they could only participate in the battle as soldiers.
Night had begun to fall. A crescent moon illuminated the city, making it appear beautiful and dreamlike. After checking on Meng Yuan, who had already woken up, Li Jun sat around the fire with Su Xiang and Zhou Jie, discussing their future plans.
"Commander," Zhou Jie addressed Li Jun as a mercenary leader, as Li Jun had instructed, "what should we do next?"
“Yes,” Su Xiang said, “how do we break through the encirclement of the Storm Bandits? I think they have more than 10,000 men, and we ourselves are trapped by the ice wall.”
"That's not what I meant. Breaking the siege of the Lan bandits isn't difficult; the key is what to do after the siege is broken. This Tu City isn't a place to stay for long, and we still need to raise food and supplies for our thousand-plus men. Commander, you're familiar with the customs of mercenaries; do you already have a plan?"
Li Jun had actually been considering this issue for a long time, and he had a vague plan in mind. He said, "The Lan bandits are attacking the Su Kingdom with the whole country. Most of their regular troops are deployed on the front lines of the two countries, leaving their rear vulnerable. After breaking through the siege, we can launch a light attack and enter the Lan Kingdom as quickly as possible. It will not be a problem to sustain the war through war."
"We still have a large amount of grain and fodder supplies, which is enough for the time being," Su Xiang said.
"No, to ensure the marching speed, we must destroy the vast majority of them." Li Jun pondered repeatedly. Although the overall plan of becoming an independent force had been decided, there were still many issues in the specifics. Some matters of daily management were more suitable for civil officials to handle, but at this time, several famous strategists in the Invincible Army, such as Chen Liang, had disappeared without a trace after the Battle of Wolong Valley. Li Jun urgently felt that he needed a large number of talented individuals.
Late the next night, the Invincible Army, having had ample rest, prepared themselves, taking all the supplies they could carry and piling the rest on either side of the city gate and setting them ablaze. Under the scorching flames, the ice frozen on the city gate began to melt. At this moment, Li Jun waved his hand, and the group left the city one by one.
To prevent slipping, the Invincible Army tied thick cloths to the hooves of both men and horses, making their movement silent. The Lan Kingdom soldiers besieging the earthen city had no idea that anyone would emerge, and thus their vigilance was somewhat lax. By the time they realized what was happening, the Invincible Army had already stormed the camp and begun setting it ablaze. Amidst screams and howls, the entire Lan army camp descended into chaos. Li Jun's intention was not to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, so while the Lan army was busy fighting the fires, he had already led his troops away quietly. When dawn broke and everything stabilized, the Lan army commander noticed that the earthen city was now completely empty.
Upon receiving the report, Wu Wei urgently ordered the follow-up troops to be on high alert, but this invincible army that had broken through the encirclement seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, and no news of them could be heard again. Although somewhat surprised by this, Wu Wei's main focus was now on attacking Wuyin City, so he had no choice but to put this small force aside for the time being.
Section 2
Just a few days north of Tucheng lay the heart of Lan Kingdom. The people dared not immediately retreat to Su Kingdom, instead opting for a counter-offensive into Lan Kingdom, intending to find another way out. Through Wu Wei's deliberate propaganda, the cause of Lu Xiang's death was revealed: he had not died a glorious death on the battlefield, but rather, in a highly dishonorable manner, was assassinated by his own people. The people of Su Kingdom were naturally in uproar. Those who had initially rebelled against Lan Kingdom's occupation fell silent and ceased fighting.
"Even someone as loyal to the country as Marshal Lu, who still met a dishonorable and tragic end, what is the point of doing so?"
“Serving one’s country with utmost loyalty is certainly a noble thing, but the premise is that the country is worth sacrificing for. Take the Su Kingdom’s rulers and ministers, for example. On one hand, they relied on Lu Xiang’s bloody battles to preserve half of the country, but on the other hand, they bribed Lu Xiang’s subordinates to assassinate him. Is such a country really worth shedding blood for?”
Wu Wei demonstrated the skill of a brilliant statesman. He did not directly demand the surrender of the Su people, but instead posed questions for them to ponder. This greatly embarrassed King Li Gou and Prime Minister Wu Shu of Su. Wu Shu could only use the excuse that Lu Xiang's plot to rebel had been exposed and he had been killed, but when a minister with a modicum of conscience questioned him about the evidence of the rebellion, he could only reluctantly say that there might be evidence, such as "perhaps" or "I heard it from others."
For Li Jun, everything that was happening in the Soviet Union was far removed from his life. His immediate concern was the survival of these thousand-odd men. The Invincible Army was bound together by Lu Xiang's personal charisma; within the city walls, everyone accepted his advice in order to survive. Once outside the city, with the vastness of the world before them, it was unlikely these soldiers would remain loyal to him. Although he had rendered many merits over the past three years, Lu Xiang was irreplaceable to the Invincible Army, and the same was true for Li Jun himself.
In the north of Su Kingdom, which was occupied by Lan Kingdom, vast forests covered the plains. Using the forests as cover, Li Jun led his small force, operating by night and hiding by day, thus avoiding Lan Kingdom's reconnaissance. Naturally, this was also related to Wu Wei's surprise that they wouldn't retreat to Su Kingdom but instead invade Lan Kingdom.
You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of a household, and you don't know the difficulties of command until you become the commander of an army. The first problem Li Jun encountered was solving the problem of feeding everyone.
"Are there any cities nearby?" Li Jun asked slowly after learning from Zhou Jie, the sergeant who was temporarily acting as the quartermaster, that the remaining rations were not enough to last three days.
“We are already within the territory of the Lan Kingdom. The guide said that even the smallest city nearby has more than 10,000 households and more than 1,000 soldiers. With our limited forces, we cannot conquer it without a clever plan,” Zhou Jie replied.
The guide was brought before Li Jun, who broke off a twig and drew the nearby city on the snow. "The way of a general is to examine the timing of heaven, the advantages of the terrain, and the harmony of the people." Lu Xiang had taught Li Jun more than once, which gave Li Jun a more acute observation of geography than ordinary generals.
"Wait a minute." Li Jun's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What did you say this city is called?"
"Lingjiang City. Lingjiang is a small tributary of the Lan River, the largest river in the Lan Kingdom. It is frozen in winter. Lingjiang City is a city with 60,000 households and more than 10,000 soldiers. However, Marshal Wu Wei has transferred more than half of them to attack Wu Yin."
Li Jun silently studied the map, but the name Lingjiang City kept replaying in his mind. A month ago, Lu Xiang had told him that a remarkable person lived in seclusion here, and that for the sake of this remarkable person, it was necessary for him to abandon the easily conquered small towns and attack Lingjiang City.
"Squad Leader Su," he began after a moment, "you will lead two squads to launch a feint attack on this small town. Carry plenty of flags; make sure the enemy discovers you are preparing an attack." He pointed to the small town with ten thousand households and continued, "At the beginning, you must win a battle to make the defenders think you have several thousand men. How does that sound?"
Su Xiang straightened his chest. He was also a young soldier in his early twenties. He had fought alongside Li Jun for three years, and Li Jun had great trust in his abilities.
“No problem. However, it would be best if the Qiang people came with me, as that would put more pressure on them.” Su Xiang’s eyes gleamed; he understood Li Jun’s meaning.
"Alright, you'll lead two squads of Qiang people. These are our elite troops; we're counting on you." Li Jun mimicked Lu Xiang's tone, encouraging him. Like other regular armies in Shenzhou, the Invincible Army also had dedicated Qiang infantry. Clad in heavy armor, capable of using basic earth magic, and possessing the special skill of berserk mode, the Qiang were a formidable force when provoked. Although Li Jun only had a few Qiang under his command, and he broke with the previous practice of discriminating against the Qiang by forming squads, allowing them to be grouped with ordinary people on an equal footing, this was more conducive to leveraging their strengths and compensating for their weaknesses.
“Squad Leader Zhou Jie,” Li Jun turned his gaze to Zhou Jie again, “You will lead a small squad to infiltrate Lingjiang City and spread rumors that Marshal Lu has not yet perished, has regained military power, has already defeated Wu Wei in Wuyin, and will soon be leading his troops to Lingjiang.”
"This..." Zhou Jie looked at Li Jun with some confusion. If the Lingjiang garrison knew that the Invincible Army was coming to attack the city, they would not dare to leave the city even if they were beaten to death. So, Li Jun's previous mission to send Su Xiang to lure the enemy would have been useless.
"Go ahead with peace of mind. You have another task. Once you see my signal, immediately stop the Lingjiang garrison from closing the city gates." Li Jun said confidently. As the art of war says, "Make the empty appear real, and the real appear empty." He had learned the skill of feigning reality from Lu Xiang.
"What about me?" Meng Yuan couldn't help but call out. His injuries were quite severe, but he was mostly exhausted, so after a period of rest, he had recovered considerably.
“We have something more important to do…” A look of sorrow flashed across Li Jun’s face. What he and Meng Yuan were going to do was actually something that Lu Xiang had arranged before his death.
Aside from a few attendants carrying gifts, Li Jun and Meng Yuan didn't bring many people with them. The two rode side by side along the winding road.
"There's something..." Meng Yuan couldn't help but say, "You shouldn't have used Marshal Lu's name after his passing..."
“I think that if Marshal Lu is watching from heaven, he will surely agree with me.” Li Jun knew that he was ordering Zhou Jie to infiltrate Lingjiang City and spread rumors. He looked up at the sky and after a long while, he continued, “Brother Meng, I suffered a great calamity when I was nine years old. I was the only one who survived in the whole village, and I only survived because others covered my body with their blood.”
Meng Yuan was somewhat surprised that he was willing to talk about what happened back then. Li Jun slowly continued, "From then on, I had to earn my food with a knife. I grew up on the battlefield. Over the years, I have been thinking about what the people in our village did wrong that God had to punish them with such killings. And what did I do wrong that I had to drink blood from the blade since I was nine years old?"
"Do you remember the first thing Marshal Lu said to me when he saw me? 'At your age, you should be at home enjoying the company of your parents, not making contributions on the battlefield.' Marshal Lu is the only person I've ever met who would say that to me. He's also the only person in this chaotic world who genuinely cares about people like me. What did Marshal Lu do wrong that God had to send him back so early, instead of letting him do more for the world?"
“These past few days, I’ve been thinking about this repeatedly. I finally understand that the people in my village did nothing wrong, and Lu Shuai did nothing wrong. The ones who are wrong are Heaven, the gods in the sky, and those adults who ride roughshod over people in the name of Heaven!”
Meng Yuan listened to his words with wide eyes. In the vast Divine Continent, Li Jun's words were absolutely treasonous. If an ordinary person had said them, it would have been enough to execute their entire family. For some reason, although Meng Yuan couldn't fully accept it at first, he felt a faint sense of satisfaction deep down.
"If they are wrong, then I will correct them. For my dream, even if it means any means and no consequences, even if it means being hated by gods and demons and cursed by heaven and earth, I will never back down."