Sima Hui stood up without any hesitation, boldly took the teacup from Li Jun's table, took a sip of the chrysanthemum tea that the soldier had just brewed to moisten his throat, and said, "If my lord had listened to my advice, this battle would never have happened. At most, it would have taken three to five years. After Hua Feng's death, Leiming City would have been thrown into chaos, and then we could have taken it without lifting a finger."
"Well, I'm asking about this battle." Li Jun pretended to be uninterested in it.
"If the Second Young Master had suddenly returned to his army after discovering that communications had been cut off during this battle, the head that would have been brought before Thunder City would have been yours, Li Jun. Unfortunately, the Second Young Master didn't listen to me, which benefited you, allowing this greenhorn to become famous!"
To Sima Guang's surprise, his cursing did not provoke Li Jun's subordinates to rush up and beat him. Even Li Jun himself, the one being cursed, simply frowned and neither flew into a rage nor pretended to be indifferent.
“Mr. Sima, our battles are merely fought for our respective masters. I have treated you with courtesy and hope that you will refrain from engaging in verbal sparring. Otherwise, please leave.”
"What?" Sima Hui could hardly believe his ears. This dragon-headed demon king, who loved to kill those who did not cooperate during the Long March, would let him go so easily.
"Then I'm really leaving." Sima Hui strode towards the tent entrance.
"Please wait a moment." Li Jun called out to him. Sima Hui turned around smugly, looking like he had seen through Li Jun, and said, "I knew you were just pretending. How could a cunning person like you let me go back?"
A helpless bitter smile appeared on Li Jun's face. The sneak attack on the Blazing Fire Gang and the assassination of Zhu Mao—these two battles in less than a month seem to have given him the image of a "treacherous person" once again.
"It's late at night, and it might be inconvenient for you to go out alone, sir. Someone, please have Mr. Sima leave with his guards."
Sima Hui's smug smile vanished, and his expression turned serious. As if testing Li Jun's patience, he added, "Since you've released me and my guards, you should also return our horses!"
"Of course, I've released the people, what do I need those horses for?" Li Jun's face showed displeasure again. If he remained unmoved by the prisoners' further aggression, it would prove that he had ulterior motives. Although Li Jun's expression was somewhat restrained, it was still the same as that of an ordinary person in this situation.
After giving the young mercenary commander one last deep look, Sima Hui performed a Confucian salute and left the camp under the guidance of the Peace Army soldiers.
Meng Yuan, who was in the same camp as Li Jun, was already used to Li Jun's decision. In the era of the invincible army, he didn't like to speculate about the purpose of Lu Xiang's every move like Li Jun did, and now he had no interest in figuring out why Li Jun wanted to let Sima Hui go.
"Commander Li." Jiang Tang now addressed Li Jun using the formal military title. When he came to see Li Jun carrying a pile of documents, Li Jun couldn't help but laugh.
"What, are you going to pay me a salary, you treasurer?" Like everyone else in the army, Li Jun's income was also a salary, unlike most mercenary leaders. Moreover, Li Jun's salary was only one gold coin per month, which was considered relatively high in the Peace Army.
"The five thousand gold coins I got from cleaning up the spoils on the battlefield, plus the three thousand gold coins that Steward Hua sent as a reward this evening, plus the savings from before, total 26,595 gold coins. It would be a waste to just leave them here. It would be better to use them for business and trade, to make a few profitable deals and let the money make more money," Jiang Tang said greedily, as if all the money earned from these deals would be his alone.
Li Jun was first taken aback, then greatly shocked. Agriculture had been the foundation of the Chinese nation for countless years, and commerce and other industries had always been looked down upon by those in power. Merchants had no status in the various countries of the Chinese nation. It was only known that some people had become rich through business and then acquired real estate to shed the label of "merchant," but it was rare to hear of anyone willing to actively engage in business, let alone use commerce to support a power. Such emphasis on commerce could only be proposed by the barbarians who were less influenced by this agrarian ideology.
However, Jiang Tang's words just now swayed Li Jun. The reason why the Peace Army had to reside under the walls of Leiming City was due to their insufficient manpower. If they had 50,000 or 60,000 troops, no, even just 30,000, Li Jun was confident that he could sweep through Yuzhou. The reason for their insufficient manpower was also due to insufficient financial resources. Obviously, relying on the income from serving as mercenaries for Leiming City to strengthen their economic power was not very realistic. Therefore, earning the money needed for development through trade was not a bad idea.
It would be a lie to say that Li Jun wasn't struggling with his thoughts. But after much deliberation, the idea of supporting Jiang Tang's proposal ultimately prevailed. "Isn't this precisely what I want to change—all of this is wrong? If so, what's there to worry about?" Li Jun asked himself, then said, "Good idea. Do you have a plan for this?"
“Of course there are.” Jiang Tang smiled, as if a huge pile of gold coins were placed in front of him.
"First, we need a seaport. I've inquired and found that Tonghai Port in Yuzhou has been abandoned for a long time. We can use this port to conduct overseas trade. As long as the conditions are right, I can guarantee that Tonghai Port will be full of our barbarian merchant ships within six months. This is a good business."
“Wait, you said it’s a seaport.” Li Jun said thoughtfully, “The reason why Yuzhou’s seaport is abandoned is because there are dragons and serpents in the sea, making it extremely dangerous to go out to sea. If the dragons and serpents are not eliminated, I’m afraid what you’re talking about is just empty talk.”
"You killed the Dragon King, surely you wouldn't dare do such a small business?" Clearly, Jiang Tang was very eager for his plan, even resorting to a clumsy attempt at provocation. Li Jun smiled slightly; he didn't want to risk his life against the serpent yet, perhaps there was a better way.
The next morning, as the Peace Army was training on the drill ground early in the morning, a sentry reported that Sima Hui requested an audience.
Having anticipated Sima Hui's return, Li Jun said "please" and went to greet him.
Sima Hui strode up to Li Jun, bowed deeply to the ground, and performed a grand Confucian salute, saying, "I have come today with another request."
Li Jun was slightly disappointed. He had originally thought that Sima Hui would offer to serve the Peace Army, but it seemed that he was wrong.
“Mr. Sima, please speak. It depends on whether it is within my capabilities,” Li Jun said.
"Please, Commander Li, return the remains of my lord and the second young master." Sima Hui stared intently into Li Jun's eyes as he made his request.
Li Jun felt a chill run down his spine. This bookworm was still obsessed with the corpse of his former master. Li Jun smiled bitterly and helplessly, "Zhu Mao's head is in our army. I don't know if he's still alive. As for Zhu Wenyuan's body, I'm afraid it was taken away by Chief Steward Hua."
Sima Hui suddenly knelt down. “I beg Commander Li for your help. The remains of my lord and the second young master are of no use to you. If Commander Li speaks well of them to Hua Feng, Hua Feng will surely return them.”
After thinking for a while, Li Jun sighed and said, "It's rare that Zhu Mao and Zhu Wenyuan, though incompetent, have such loyal subordinates as you. I'm willing to help you, simply to make you my friend."
After seeing that Li Jun had managed to obtain Zhu Wenyuan's body from Hua Feng, Sima Hui wept bitterly, then loaded the body and head onto a carriage and left Leiming City. Before leaving, Sima Hui whispered, "I am deeply grateful for Commander Li's kindness. Once my late master's funeral is over, I will come to serve under Commander Li."
Li Jun's mood brightened with those words. He knew that his side would gain another valuable talent. Perhaps he couldn't dominate the battlefield, but he would be enough to fill the gaps in logistics and internal affairs that Li Jun needed most.
Just then, an official from Thunder City rushed over and said, "Chief Steward Hua has fallen ill!"
The external crisis facing Leiming City has been temporarily alleviated, but the internal crisis has emerged as Hua Feng falls ill.
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Note 1: In the world of Shenzhou, where agriculture is the foundation, family names are often highly valued. Some busybodies rank families in various regions according to their historical glory and achievements. Famous families are highly respected and influential in their localities. Yuyang is the region to which Yujiang City belongs.
Chapter Nine: Sunrise over Yuzhou
Section 1
Hua Feng had been feeling unwell before the battle, and on the night of the victory, he drank a few more cups at the celebration banquet. He didn't feel anything when he woke up the next morning, but after Li Jun took Zhu Wenyuan's body, he had a splitting headache and collapsed on the bed.
All that was before him was darkness, utter darkness… He seemed to be floating in the air, his limbs no longer his own, only his head felt strangely heavy. The surrounding air seemed to have solidified, making it difficult for Hua Feng to breathe.
Countless figures flashed before his eyes: his parents, the brothers he had killed, his two sons who had died on the battlefield, the mercenaries who had served him—familiar and unfamiliar—all rushed towards him. Each seemed to be shouting something, but he couldn't hear a word they said. Suddenly, these figures slowly faded, dissolving into a hazy light that coalesced into a blurry shadow.
The shadow stood silently before Hua Feng. Hua Feng tried to open his eyes wide to see who it was, but the light was too dim, and he couldn't see the person's face. He could only see a dragon-head shaped helmet and the shadow's eyes shooting out a cold and sharp light.
“Thunder... Thunder City…” Hua Feng groaned incoherently. Suddenly, the shadow let out a ferocious laugh and reached out its hand to Hua Feng. Hua Feng retreated while shouting, “No! No!” But even he himself could not hear the sound of his shouts.
The shadow's hand stretched out in front of Hua Feng, its five fingers spread wide. Hua Feng stared at those fingers in horror as he saw a radiant light emanating from between the shadow's fingers, which then transformed into a city.
“Thunder... Thunder City…” Hua Feng groaned again. Indeed, the city in the shadow’s palm was exactly like Thunder City. The shadow burst into a piercing laugh, and his five fingers came together. Thunder City made a creaking sound between his fingers. Smoke and fire enveloped everything in the city. In the end, the entire city turned into dust.
"No! No!" Hua Feng screamed, his eyes widening suddenly as the dim light shone into them. He was drenched in sweat, panting heavily as he tried to take in his surroundings.
There was no terrifying shadow. This was his own bedroom, with faint sunlight streaming in through the west-facing window and illuminating the floor in front of his bed. "It was just a dream..." Hua Feng breathed heavily, trying to relax.