Li Jun remembered that he was Fang Li, the commander of the "Qiankun Mercenary Group" with three thousand men, and replied, "I have the same purpose as Commander Fang in coming here."
Unexpectedly, Li Jun's words were quite sharp. Fang Li was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "When Marshal Lu was alive, the Invincible Army was invincible throughout the world. Who would have thought that after Marshal Lu's death, the Invincible Army would have to compete with us for food? It's true that fortune changes with people, hahahaha..."
The others, sensing his sarcasm, also laughed. Li Jun smiled coldly, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes, and a chilling killing intent instantly seeped from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of Fang Li's head.
“Lu Shuai is naturally not as good as me, Li Jun, but Commander Fang, rest assured, as long as your ‘Qiankun Mercenary Group’ does not stand against the Peace Army, we will still leave you a place to eat.”
When Li Jun's domineering words reached everyone's ears, they all understood that he was actually warning them: if they opposed the Peace Army, they could forget about eating. The others chuckled dismissively, thinking the commander of this small mercenary group of 1,500 was bluffing. But Fang Li, enveloped by Li Jun's overwhelming killing intent, felt completely different. He too had been through countless battles, but Li Jun gave him the feeling that he was already dead.
Hua Feng smiled slightly, knowing that besides the food and drinks he had arranged, there would be other events at the banquet, which might involve verbal sparring or even real combat.
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Note 1: Mercenary groups wandering in various countries must obey local laws and must not engage in any acts of violence against the people. In order to demonstrate their harmlessness and goodwill, they must register in each city along the way, stating where they come from and where they are going, so that the state can control them.
Note 2: Generally, in the Divine Continent, the official who rules over a city is called the City Lord, and the person who governs the surrounding villages and small towns is called the General Manager. Local officials in the Divine Continent often hold great power over the local military, political, financial, and judicial affairs. Only in the Su Kingdom, in order to limit the power of local officials and prevent separatism, is financial and judicial power divided between the Transport Commissioner and the Inspection Commissioner, while the army is directly under the command and deployment of the central government.
Section 2
Of course, a veteran mercenary leader like Fang Li, who has been thirsting for human blood for many years, would not be easily intimidated by Li Jun.
"Is that so? If the Peace Army is even half as good at talking as Commander Li, we should really consider whether we'll still have food to eat in Yuzhou." Without making a sound, Fang Li pulled the other mercenary commanders here onto his side.
"Everyone has witnessed the strength of the Peace Army through their long march of ten thousand li over the past six months," Yu Sheng changed the subject. His ability to interject in this setting proved that he held a high position within the Thunder City General's Office. He also expanded the six or seven thousand li journey to ten thousand li, making him the first person in history to refer to the Peace Army's north-to-south Long March as the "Ten Thousand Li Long March."
The other commanders' snickers gradually subsided; such a record was indeed undeniable, though they were somewhat resentful. Li Jun seized the opportunity to ask, "How long has Commander Fang's Qiankun Group been in Thunder City?"
Fang Li's face lit up, and he said with great enthusiasm, "My Qiankun Group has been in Leiming City for fifteen years, and we have done a lot for Chief Steward Hua in these fifteen years."
"How much territory has Commander Fang's Qiankun Group expanded for General Manager Hua?" Li Jun's aggressive question proved that he had known for a long time that the Qiankun Group had been here. In fact, three or four years ago, when Li Jun followed Xiao Lin's small mercenary group, he had come to Leiming City, but the mercenary commanders present had no idea about this young mercenary from back then.
Li Jun's question silenced Fang Li, whose face flushed red. Li Jun, as if on a battlefield, gave him no chance to retaliate: "How much has Commander Fang received from General Manager Hua over the past fifteen years?"
"What does this have to do with you?" Fang Li said.
"If you take someone's money, you have to solve their problems. That's the rule of our mercenaries. If I take Manager Hua's money but fail to share his burdens, I will feel guilty." Li Jun's calm words almost made Fang Li vomit blood. He suppressed his anger, knowing that he couldn't gain the upper hand over Li Jun verbally, so he remained silent.
"How much trouble are Commander Li and the Peace Army going to relieve for General Hua?" The speaker was Qi Guang, commander of the Flying Tiger Regiment. He was a robust middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and beard, bright eyes, and deeply etched wrinkles that made him appear several years older than his actual age. Li Jun carefully observed him, and noticing his relatively simple attire, said, "The Peace Army is new here and doesn't yet fully understand the situation in Thunder City. We dare not say how much trouble we can relieve for General Hua. But eliminating a few troublemakers, or pacifying these eleven cities of Yu Prefecture, shouldn't be too difficult."
"What arrogance!" Qi Guang chuckled and fell silent, mentally judging Li Jun as impatient and arrogant. However, He Yuan, the commander of the Qingfeng Mercenary Group beside him, couldn't help but mock him.
“Eleven cities in Yuzhou are not a remarkable goal. If you want to boast, why not say you’ve wiped out the entire Chen Kingdom?” Another person chimed in, and then they all burst into laughter with He Yuan.
"Does Commander He find this funny?" Li Jun said calmly. "The eleven cities of Yuzhou are each governed by their own government. To pacify these eleven cities, eight words are enough."
Hua Feng immediately perked up and asked, "Which eight characters? Commander Li, please tell me."
"Make friends with distant enemies while attacking nearby ones, and combine kindness with force." Li Jun proposed a strategy he had come up with after analyzing the situation of Yu Sheng borrowing Shao. Although this strategy was just a plan and lacked practical operability, it was enough to leave these mercenary commanders, who only knew how to fight on the battlefield, speechless.
Hua Feng stroked his long beard and nodded, and Qi Guang's evaluation of Li Jun immediately changed. Xiao Lang, the commander of the Blazing Fire Gang, felt it necessary to undermine the rising image of Li Jun in everyone's minds, saying, "Commander Li's strategy is good, but he lacks capable subordinates. Even the best strategy is nothing more than empty promises."
"Hehe, Commander Xiao has a good eye." Li Jun smiled slightly. Over the past six months, he had indeed felt that his subordinates were short-handed. Not in terms of soldiers, but in terms of capable individuals who could lead independently. "How did Commander Xiao know that I was short-handed?"
"If there wasn't a shortage of people, why would Commander Li use such trashy Qiang people as generals?" Xiao Lang sneered, glancing disdainfully at Shu Na standing behind Li Jun.
Shuna himself didn't react much, partly because the Qiang people were less sensitive to such things, and partly because they were used to being looked down upon by ordinary people. But Li Jun's reaction surprised everyone present.
He stood up from the banquet, strode over to Xiao Lang, and fixed Xiao Lang with his cold, electric gaze.
"What do you want to do?" Xiao Lang asked with a disdainful look, and the guards behind him gripped their weapons at their waists.
“Take back what you said earlier and apologize to my brothers!” Li Jun said something that shocked everyone. “Otherwise, once you leave the Hua General’s residence, the Peace Army will declare war on you.”
"Kid, get your facts straight! You're not worthy to say such things to me!" Xiao Lang also stood up. Although he also felt that Li Jun was a master, he had no room to back down in this situation.
"Remember this, as long as you don't apologize, you're dead." Li Jun ignored his taunts and turned his gaze to Shu Na: "Brother Shu, I apologize to you. There are such scoundrels among ordinary people. When did Brother Shu ever want this scoundrel's head?"
Shuna was almost kneeling with excitement. As a Qiang person, although he had a huge advantage in physical strength and a natural talent for magic, he was usually looked down upon by ordinary people, and even faced some racial discrimination. Li Jun's act of protecting him in front of everyone made him wholeheartedly entrust everything to Li Jun. Hua Feng watched as Li Jun used another person's head to win people's hearts, and couldn't help but look at Li Jun with new respect.
"Commander, forget it." Shuna managed to squeeze out these words. The Qiang people were not warlike by nature, and they would stay away from war unless forced to.
"Commander Li, please return to your seat. Let's not let drunken words ruin the harmony." As the host, Hua Feng couldn't stand by and watch bloodshed occur at the table, so everyone spoke up to persuade Li Jun, who then returned to his seat.
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone dispersed. Li Jun also wanted to take his leave, but Hua Feng stopped him with a wink. When only Li Jun and the others remained, Hua Feng led him to a living room and then instructed his family, "Go and invite the three young masters here."
A moment later, Hua Feng's three grandsons, Hua Xuan, Hua Kuan, and Hua Gong, entered the living room. Li Jun greeted them one by one, and then Hua Feng said solemnly, "Commander Li, I have a request to make."
Li Jun bowed slightly and said, "Please give your orders, Steward."
Hua Feng stroked his long beard, a hint of sadness and helplessness in his eyes, and said, "I'm afraid Commander Li will have to take good care of my three grandsons in the future."
Li Jun was taken aback. Although he was mentally prepared for Hua Feng to hire the Peace Army, he did not expect Hua Feng to make such a request. The three Hua brothers were slightly older than him, and given their current situation, they should be the ones taking care of Li Jun.
Seeing Li Jun's confusion, Hua Feng smiled bitterly: "Commander Li, you see, the crisis in Thunder City is beyond my ability to handle. If I were to pass away, those mercenary commanders would surely rise up, and at that time, these three grandsons would definitely be the first to suffer."
Li Jun remained silent, finding it somewhat comical. Hua Feng smiled slightly: "That's a matter for the future, Commander Li doesn't need to take it too seriously. If Commander Li is willing, you might as well station yourself in Thunder City. I am willing to pay the Peace Army two thousand gold coins per month to protect Thunder City."
Li Jun's heart stirred. Two thousand gold coins a month, which is equivalent to thirty-two thousand silver coins, was a considerable fortune for the Peace Army, whose monthly salary was only ten silver coins per person. Moreover, he was in need of the money. So he nodded and said, "Since Steward Hua has such a kind offer, we will naturally not refuse. I wonder if Steward Hua could advance a portion of it? To be honest, we are in dire need of money."
Hua Feng chuckled and said, "Of course. After the formalities are completed, I will send someone to deliver a month's salary to the camp."
As they exited the Hua Mansion, Yu Sheng saw them off once again. Li Jun noticed that he seemed hesitant to speak and asked, "Mr. Yu, please speak if you have something to say."
Walking down the long street, Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, Commander Li, don't take what the Chinese steward said in the living room too seriously."
Li Jun smiled slightly, knowing that Yu Sheng was actually reminding him not to trust Hua Feng too much. He still had that much political acumen; how could Hua Feng, who had been navigating the officialdom and battlefield for so many years, easily open his heart to a complete stranger like him? This was just a play, and everyone was playing a role in it.
From Yu Sheng's perspective, that was all he could say. He saw him off for a while, then said goodbye and went back.