"I'm not being arrogant, but I believe that no one in the world can rival you, my lord, when it comes to the art of war," Pang Zhen chuckled.
"Hmm." Liu Guang responded softly, seemingly agreeing with this. After looking around for a while, he exclaimed, "Look at the city gate. Even though they know my army is pressing in, people are still coming and going. Just this composure alone shows that Feng Jiutian truly lives up to his reputation."
"My lord's will..."
"There's a trap here. When Peng Yuancheng swept through Yuzhou, Li Jun only had Yinhu City and Kuanglan City left. Yinhu City wasn't Peng Yuancheng's main target. Yet, Peng Yuancheng, with 150,000 troops, suffered a crushing defeat at Kuanglan City, which only had tens of thousands of soldiers. This was because he was caught in Feng Jiutian's delaying tactics. Peng Yuancheng was still too short-sighted. If it were me, I would never attack a fortified city. I only needed to send one general to hold off Li Jun, who was hastily retreating from Chen State, while I ambushed him on the way. Then Yuzhou would be Peng Yuancheng's territory now."
Pang Zhen nodded silently, knowing that Liu Guang was still not satisfied.
“Li Jun has been managing Yuzhou for several years, and his elite army numbers 150,000. In addition, Feng Jiutian has implemented a policy of hiding soldiers among the people, so eight or nine out of ten of Yuzhou’s million able-bodied men are ready to fight and practice martial arts. But Feng Jiutian only brought 50,000 troops. Don’t you think there’s something fishy going on?”
“When Li Jun went to conquer Su, he took 100,000 troops with him, leaving only 50,000 troops in the country. Feng Jiutian brought them all with him. What kind of trickery is this?” Pang Zhen was quite puzzled.
"Why not mobilize the people? This is a matter of life and death. Wouldn't it be unwise for Feng Jiutian not to mobilize the people?" Liu Guang seemed to be talking to himself.
"Someone's coming, Commander!" a guard dressed as a woodcutter warned in a low voice.
A cavalry unit of over a hundred men emerged from the city. One of them was completely encased in armor, making his appearance unrecognizable, while the other was a scholar dressed in Confucian robes, around fifty years old, with some hair and beard covering his face, and an extremely ordinary demeanor. Pang Zhen exclaimed in surprise, "These two are Feng Jiutian and Ji Su."
"Oh?" Liu Guang's eyes were blurry, and he seemed to be just an ordinary old man from the countryside. He awkwardly dismounted from the donkey and moved aside.
Pang Zhen took out a water jug, using the act of drinking to conceal the tension on his face. The guard cautiously approached Liu Guang, but Liu Guang gave him a stern look, so he put the firewood on the ground and sat down to rest. They appeared to be a group of villagers preparing to enter the city, and upon seeing the army, they made way for them.
Why did Mr. Feng come out?
Liu Guang, with his sharp ears, heard the person in full armor speak in a strange voice. A thought struck him: this armor was originally the attire of the War God Breaking Heaven's attendant, and the helmet had a special transformation device. So this person must really be Li Jun's Rong tribe woman.
"I'm just here to check the terrain and estimate where Liu Guang will attack from." The man called Feng Jiutian was calm and his voice was clear, which did not match his appearance.
“Looking from the city wall is just as good.” Ji Su looked around and, finding nothing interesting to see, couldn’t help but ask.
“Miss Ji is mistaken. From the city wall, I can only see how to defend; only from below can I see how to attack.”
"But all we need to do is defend. If we hold out for a while, that old thief Liu Guang will surely collapse without a fight when he learns of the changes in the rear."
They were now getting closer and closer, and even Pang Zhen could hear their voices clearly. Liu Guang found it quite amusing that the Rong woman had so rudely called him an old thief, and he turned to look at her. The Rong woman seemed to notice something amiss and stared intently at Liu Guang as well.
"Oh, firstly, coming here allows me to find out what kind of siege strategy Liu Guang might adopt, and secondly, I also need to make some preparations for pursuing Liu Guang in the future." Feng Jiutian carefully examined the surrounding terrain, and occasionally looked back at Huichang City.
"Hey." Ji Su didn't ask Feng Jiutian anything more. She simply spurred her horse forward and came straight to Liu Guang. Beneath the ferocious helmet that covered her face, her eyes, as cold as lightning, stared at Liu Guang. Liu Guang could clearly feel the spiritual power of a highly skilled warrior flowing through her body.
"It seems too risky to entrust all military affairs of Qinggui to Dong Cheng, who is left to guard Qinggui."
On the large ship bound for Kuanglan City, Wei Zhan, facing the sea breeze and watching the seabirds circling overhead, said to Li Jun, "Didn't we agree that night to have General Meng Yuan stay behind to guard Qinggui?"
"With Brother Mengyuan appointed as the garrison commander of Qinggui, if we leave too many troops when our main force marches south, we fear we won't be able to contend with Liu Guang. If we leave too few troops, the local people might become resentful and cause trouble. With Brother Mengyuan and Lü Wubing assisting him, we are more than capable of capturing Qinggui, but defending it would be prone to unforeseen circumstances. It's not that the two men are less capable, but rather that each has their own strengths," Li Jun said with a slight smile. "Dong Cheng is different. Firstly, he has served as a prefect for a long time and has experience in handling government affairs. Secondly, he is more popular with the people of Su, making him easier for them to accept than Brother Mengyuan. Thirdly, he proposed it himself, so I couldn't refuse."
"He is only a recent defector, I'm afraid..."
Li Jun waved his hand and said leisurely, "I know what kind of person he is. He is not surrendering to me, but to the fate of the people of Su for the next century. Only in the name of the people can one sway his heart. That's how Mr. Huang Xuan persuaded him in Xizhou. Therefore, he will never betray us again and become a laughing stock. Besides, I have kept Mr. Huang Xuan by his side to persuade him from time to time, which is enough to keep him in check. This is a last-minute change, and I did not inform you in advance. Please forgive me."
“Since the commander is confident, I won’t say any more.” Wei Zhan recalled that he had been given important responsibilities as soon as he joined Li Jun’s camp, and he knew for certain that Li Jun was far beyond the reach of ordinary people when it came to using people.
At the military conference that day, Li Jun made a decision that worried some leaders of the Peace Army: to merge the four prefectures of Qinggui into one state, named Qinggui, appointing Dong Cheng as the governor of Qinggui and Huang Xuan as his chief clerk. What surprised some of the Peace Army generals even more was that Li Jun even had Huang Xuan write a memorial in Dong Cheng's name and send it to Liuzhou, the capital of Suzhou. It seemed as if the Qinggui they had painstakingly conquered had been returned to the incompetent ruler of Suzhou.
"This is merely a temporary title to appease the people of Qinggui and prove that the leader has no intention of encroaching on the land of Su. Once the people of Qinggui have tasted the benefits of the leader's new policies, this title will become dispensable," Wei Zhan explained. Although people like Yang Zhenfei still did not understand, they knew that it was not advisable to create any unnecessary complications in this matter.
Then, Li Jun, taking into account everyone's suggestions, ordered Meng Yuan and Lü Wubing to lead 10,000 cavalrymen of the Peace Army to Fenglin Ferry overnight to support Fang Fengyi. He left 10,000 Peace Army soldiers for Dong Cheng to use as a backup, and the rest went to Xizhou to board the large ships that were already waiting there to return to Kuanglan City.
"How confident are you, Commander, in dealing with Liu Guang?" Finally unable to hold back, Wei Zhan asked this question, which he knew had no answer.
But Li Jun replied, "To be honest, I have no chance at all."
Seeing Li Jun utter such unambitious words with such a relaxed expression, Wei Zhan was puzzled. Although he had gradually come to understand Li Jun and could quite guess some of his thoughts, Li Jun at this moment was someone he couldn't see through.
"Hahahaha..." The two men burst into laughter, leaving the guards beside them bewildered. After a while, Li Jun finally asked, "Why are you laughing, sir?"
"Why is the commander laughing?"
"It seems that the master is ultimately unwilling to give in, hahahaha." Li Jun gazed into the distance, where the sea and sky met in a vast expanse. If it weren't for the continuous fleet of ships, but just a single ship drifting on the sea, then he would be all alone between the sky and the sea.
A sense of weariness suddenly arose in his heart, and he had an urge to shut himself off, to leave behind the war, the ambition, and the damned heavens, and to sail on the sea, where there was neither the usual noise and chaos nor the bloodshed and casualties of war.
"Commander, Commander!"
Wei Zhan's call pulled him out of his reverie. He gave a self-deprecating laugh; he ultimately couldn't leave the battlefield, for he was the commander of over 100,000 soldiers and the de facto ruler of millions of people. In the most intense era of the millennium of war, his current power would already be considered formidable. But in these past few centuries, with the increasing annexation between nations, few small states remained, while massive nations like Heng, Su, and Lan had stood strong for centuries.
"Nothing, I was just wondering why I laughed just now," Li Jun said, sounding slightly tired. But Wei Zhan's questioning gaze remained. Li Jun took a long breath and pointed to the eastern horizon, saying, "One day, I want to make this sea an inland lake of the Divine Continent. What do you think, sir?"
“Although the commander is full of heroic spirit, please resolve the matter after dealing with Liu Guang.” Wei Zhan did not go along with Li Jun’s wishes despite his low spirits. In his view, a person’s self-control is most evident when they are agitated, and the importance of self-control for an army commander is self-evident.
"I'm going back to my cabin to rest for a while."
Li Jun's expression was indeed somewhat displeased. He turned and went back to the cabin, and Wei Zhan glanced at him worriedly. Although everyone has their highs and lows, Li Jun had always been like a tireless iron man since they met, and Wei Zhan had never seen him in a low mood before. This time, however, he seemed unusually downcast. Moreover, Li Jun was about to face what was perhaps the most terrifying opponent he had ever encountered, and being in a low mood would be a fatal mistake for him.
"Just as I expected."
Wu Shu spoke calmly in his study, where bookshelves occupied most of the space.
The person respectfully waiting before him was an official dressed in a purple court robe. Judging from his attire, he would be a third-rank official in the court, but in front of Wu Shu, he was as respectful as a servant, not daring to even breathe loudly.
"You've worked hard. You may leave now. I will naturally report this matter to His Majesty, and I will also report your merits to His Majesty." Wu Shu picked up his tea and said calmly.
"Thank you so much, Your Excellency. I have no merit whatsoever; it is all thanks to Your Excellency's patronage." The official's tone revealed a genuine joy.
"Hmm." Wu Shu said no more, only made a soft "hmm". The official bowed and said, "This humble official will take his leave now. Uh, I came in a hurry this time and was unable to look out for the rare items from various places for Your Excellency. I have only prepared some local specialties, which I will have sent over later."
"Won't you stay and have dinner with me?" Perhaps because of the mention of the gift, Wu Shu's attitude became somewhat enthusiastic, but the official knew his place and bowed again, saying, "No need, no need. I have already disturbed Your Excellency for a long time, so I should take my leave."