“That’s right. I heard that when the Invincible Army was around, the night shifts were taken turns by the generals, so we couldn’t do it.” The second sentry lowered his voice and shook his head.
"Your 300,000 troops couldn't even hold Wuyin City. Wasn't Wuyin City supposed to be impregnable?"
"What do you mean 'unbreakable'? Didn't Lu Xiang just take Wuyin by surprise? After he died, the morale of the Wuyin army collapsed, and there were mutinies almost every day. Let alone defending the city, they should be thanking their lucky stars if they could just retreat alive."
"Alright, let's not talk about this. If word gets out, we'll both be hanging from the flagpole on guard duty. On nights like this, let's not make things difficult for ourselves. I don't believe any official will come out to check the sentry posts."
“That makes sense. In this kind of weather, no spies or thieves will pass through Xiling Pass. The remnants of the Invincible Army are far away from us. Let’s take shelter under the trees.”
Two sentries dragged their weapons to the shade of a large, canopy tree. Although rain was dripping down from time to time, it was much better than being exposed to the rain.
As they murmured, a shadowy figure moved stealthily toward them, using the trees as cover. The sound of rain masked his light footsteps, and just as the two sentries were discussing how long it had been since they'd heard a woman's voice, "bang!" their heads collided, and both passed out.
A long line of darkness crept in, with men and horses carrying branches in their mouths and even cloth wrapped around their hooves, as they quietly slipped out through the wide-open gate.
"Thanks to your information." As Xiling Pass was left far behind, Li Jun said with a smile to Zhao Xian and Wang Erlei.
"This is the only pass on the border between the Soviet Union and the Hong Kingdom that is not closed at night. It was originally intended to facilitate border generals from both countries smuggling goods, but unexpectedly, it became our escape route." Zhao Xian began to ramble on. "Now that we've broken free of the encirclement, what's the next step?"
“We can’t be careless,” Meng Yuan interjected. “In less than half a day, the sentries who were knocked unconscious will raise the alarm, and the allied forces of the Soviet Union and the Hong Kingdom will catch up soon.”
"No, it won't..."
Wang Erlei said somewhat timidly.
How did you know?
"If I were a sentry, I would pretend nothing happened, otherwise I would be punished if my superiors found out."
Li Jun nodded slightly. Zhao Xian was very dissatisfied when he saw that Wang Erlei's words made sense. He retorted, "Nonsense! More than a thousand people passed by and left so many traces. Everyone would know about it as soon as it got light the next day."
“It’s raining tonight…” Li Jun said. “The rain will wash everything away, and even if it doesn’t, the sentries will find a way to cover it up.”
Just as Li Jun had predicted, the sentries dared not report the matter, and the rain helped them conceal the truth. The 100,000-strong allied army of Su and Hong was still foolishly waiting for the Peace Army to walk into their trap, unaware that the Peace Army had already turned back and taken the route through Hong, escaping their trap and flying far away.
With the support of Zhao Xian and Wang Erlei's intelligence network of homeless children (Li Jun named this organization "Orphan Camp"), the Peace Army bypassed this most dangerous obstacle and then lay low, secretly entering the territory of Chen under the cover of the mountains and forests.
Among the dozens of countries in Shenzhou, Chen was of medium size. Its rulers throughout history had been ambitious, using marriage alliances and intrigue to develop what was originally a minor, insignificant state into a medium-sized power. It subsequently waged constant wars against neighboring countries, and was particularly sworn enemies with Hong, but both were evenly matched, neither able to decisively defeat the other. Larger powers, for various reasons, manipulated the situation, plunging both nations into a protracted stalemate. Therefore, for recruitment purposes, Chen was quite open to all mercenary groups, unlike Su and Lan, which treated all wandering mercenary groups as thieves, allowing them to pass peacefully. Li Jun, not wanting to cause any more trouble here, registered in a Chen city (Note 1) and then headed straight for Yuzhou.
Yu Prefecture, nominally belonging to the Chen Kingdom, was in reality a lawless territory, its power base a microcosm of the entire Divine Continent. Yu Prefecture comprised eleven cities and a population of 1.5 million households, situated by the sea. These eleven cities were divided among eight powerful factions—three large and five small—who were constantly at war with each other. As long as they paid a certain amount of money to the Chen Kingdom, the Chen Kingdom tacitly accepted their rule. Therefore, mercenaries from all over were extremely popular here. Li Jun had spent some time here with Xiao Lin and his companions, and now, revisiting the place, he couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia. Xiao Lin, who had introduced him to the mercenary profession, and Luger, who had cared for him, were now nowhere to be found; perhaps they had already perished on the battlefield. He himself, however, had become the leader of a new mercenary group.
They first arrived at Leiming City, known as the "capital of Yuzhou." This was the largest city in Yuzhou, with a population of 300,000 households. This city had always been controlled by the Hua family, who in history had almost controlled the entire territory of Yuzhou through this city. However, the current head of the Hua family could only barely hold onto the city and the surrounding villages.
Hua Feng, the current head of the Hua family and the Thunder City steward "appointed" by Chen Guo (Note 2), was quite welcoming of the new mercenary group "Peace Army" that had recently made quite a name for itself in Shenzhou. Li Jun had his troops stationed at the drill ground outside the city, where there was a special supply depot for passing troops. Soon after, he received an invitation from Hua Feng.
"We cordially invite General Li Jun, Commander of the Peace Army, to grace our humble abode with your presence. We have prepared a simple feast and await your kind words."
The invitation was simple, but still polite. Li Jun also felt it necessary to pay a visit to the city lord to see if he could obtain some financial support. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. If others knew that the Peace Army only had one month's salary left, they would surely laugh at him, the commander, for being incompetent. Raising money became his top priority.
"Zhao Xian, Wang Erlei, could you two contact the homeless children in Thunder City and try to gain their support? Zhou Jie will stay here and allow the soldiers to go into the city for leisure, but they must not violate military discipline or initiate conflicts with other mercenary forces nearby. Meng Yuan, Su Xiang, and Shu Na, you will come with me to this banquet."
Shuna was one of the few Qiang people in the Peace Army. Li Jun promoted him to general, partly because of his bravery in battle and partly to demonstrate to the entire army that all races were equal. He thus became the first Qiang general in the history of the entire continent, a fact he himself was unaware of. Like other Qiang people, this tall man showed a kind of adult concern for those much shorter than himself, which saddened Li Jun, but he couldn't refuse his kindness.
Led by the messenger, Li Jun and his companions walked through the streets of Leiming City. Although the population was large and most of the people did not appear to be hungry or cold, Li Jun keenly noticed that most of these people were wandering aimlessly through the streets. Commerce was not as prosperous as he had imagined; in fact, it could be said that the economy here was somewhat depressed.
The common people paid little attention to Li Jun and his entourage; even the enormous Qiang man, Shuna, failed to capture their attention.
"It seems the people in this city are used to outsiders," Li Jun said deliberately to the messenger.
"What the commander said is true. There are more than ten mercenary groups of all sizes in Thunder City. Yuzhou is a place where ordinary people, Qiang people, and Yi people live together. In the grasslands on the border with Su State to the north, there are also three Rong people tribes. Apart from the Yue people who are not common, people in Thunder City are already used to strangers."
Seemingly understanding Li Jun's purpose in asking these questions, the messenger smiled and introduced some of the situation in Leiming City. Due to the constant small-scale wars in Yuzhou, the domestic commerce could not be stabilized. Furthermore, due to the presence of dragons in Yuzhou Bay, maritime trade had been interrupted for decades. This had severely impacted the economy of Leiming City, which was mainly based on commerce. If it weren't for the silver mines in the city that could still provide for the people, the city would have collapsed long ago.
However, surrounding forces were eyeing the Hua family's dominance in Thunder City. The Zhu family of Yujiang City to the south and the Tong family of Yinhu City to the west both had troops stationed outside. The Hua family's own soldiers had been almost entirely wiped out in the war, forcing Hua Feng to hire a large number of mercenaries to protect himself. Larger groups included the "Blazing Fire" group with 8,000 members, the "Flying Tiger" group with 7,000 members, and the "Cold Moon" group with 5,000 members, while smaller mercenary groups ranged from several hundred to three thousand members. This drained the silver mine's revenue, and these mercenary groups, easy to hire but difficult to get rid of, posed a significant threat, potentially turning the tables and taking control of Thunder City. Hua Feng was merely using the conflicts among these dozen or so mercenary groups to keep them in check.
"May I ask your name, sir? And why are you asking me this?"
After listening to the messenger's thorough introduction, Li Jun turned his head to the side, his piercing gaze fixed on the other person, making him unable to look directly at him.
“My name is Yu Sheng. My family has lived here for generations. I do not wish for Yuzhou to remain in chaos, nor can I bear to see the Hua family, who have been kind to me, wiped out.” The messenger lowered his brows and said, “To stabilize Leiming City, we must rely on powerful people. Therefore, I have repeatedly advised Chief Steward Hua to request cooperation from the Commander.”
“Mr. Yu’s words have puzzled me even more,” Li Jun said, frowning. “First, you see that our Peace Army has only a little over a thousand men, which is hardly a force to speak of. Second, even if we eliminate the threat to Thunder City, how can you believe that we won’t take its place?”
"Because of Marshal Lu," Yu Sheng said urgently. "The people of Shenzhou are all familiar with Marshal Lu's character. Commander Li and the Peace Army were originally Marshal Lu's subordinates, so in terms of strength and character, they are naturally much more reliable."
Li Jun felt both amused and saddened upon hearing this. Lu Xiang's name was so deeply ingrained in people's hearts that even people from other countries trusted him implicitly, even blindly trusting him and the Peace Army out of affection for him; this amused him somewhat. However, Lu Xiang was suspected by his own monarch and murdered in a highly dishonorable manner on the grounds of "possible" treason, which saddened him.
"I hope we won't disappoint you." Of course, Li Jun didn't tell Yu Sheng that his purpose in coming here was to seize Yuzhou.
Inside the Hua Mansion, Li Jun was not alone, waiting for Hua Feng. It was said that Hua Feng had sent someone to invite the new mercenary group leaders, and the leaders of the "Blazing Fire Group" Xiao Lang, the "Flying Tiger Group" Qi Guang, and the "Cold Moon Group" Mo Yunlong, among others, all rushed over, clearly intending to give this newcomer a hard time.
Hua Feng was also quite interested in understanding Li Jun's strength, so he had actually invited these people. While eating snacks and joking with each other, everyone appeared to be on good terms, as if they were all family, but secretly they each harbored their own ulterior motives.
"General Li Jun, Commander of the Peace Army, please arrive—" The waiter outside the door drew out his voice, silencing the buzzing in the hall. Hua Feng stood up to greet him, while the others remained seated, dozens of eyes fixed on the doorway.
A series of rhythmic footsteps sounded at the entrance, and then Li Jun appeared before the group, accompanied by Yu Sheng. Everyone's attention was first drawn to his dragon-head helmet, and then they saw his face.
Li Jun was a handsome man, with a cold and stern look in his large eyes, a straight nose, and a short scar on his face that made his lips purse slightly, but which gave him a more weathered and masculine air.
Then everyone's attention fell on the Qiang man Shuna behind Li Jun. Seeing the officer's insignia on his body, two leaders of small mercenary groups smiled contemptuously.
"Welcome, Commander Li Jun. I am Hua Feng." Hua Feng was somewhat surprised by such a young general. He himself was nearly seventy years old, and all three of his sons had died in battle. He only had a few grandsons, who were probably all older than Li Jun. To be so young and lead an army of over a thousand men all the way from the far north of Lan Kingdom to Yu Prefecture was indeed astonishing. He couldn't help but think, "If only my grandson were this capable."
"Thank you for the invitation, Chief Steward Hua." Li Jun gave a crisp military salute. Although he had changed out of his heavy armor, he was still in full military uniform, making the salute appear particularly sharp. In contrast, many of the other mercenary leaders in the hall were dressed in civilian clothes.
Hua Feng introduced everyone to Li Jun, and then led Li Jun to the seat of honor. Food and wine were served in a continuous stream, and amidst the toasts, the other mercenary leaders began to make their move.
"I wonder what brings Commander Li to Thunder City this time?" someone asked.