"Have you captured Hua Xuan?" Since he had even killed his own brother, there was no need to keep his cousin alive. Hua Kuan asked sternly.
“They were taken away by the Peace Army. If we don’t hand Hua Xuan over to them, they will intervene in our battle.”
Mo Yunlong's words surprised Hua Gong. Although he was incompetent, he was not stupid. He knew that if the Peace Army, with its terrifying combat power, intervened when both sides were evenly matched, the consequences would be terrible.
"Li Jun is going to help Hua Xuan fight me for the throne?" At this moment, his murderous aura had completely disappeared. Thinking of how Li Jun had led only a few hundred men into Yujiang City and beheaded Zhu Mao, Hua Gong couldn't help but gasp. It was as if Li Jun had already appeared in front of him, and the curse of his brother before his death resurfaced in his ears.
The mercenary commanders around looked at each other, their expressions somewhat dejected. Only Qi Guang chuckled coldly and said, "I'm afraid not. If Li Jun wants to help Hua Xuan seize the position of Thunder City's governor, the Peace Army will not leave."
Hua Gong's expression immediately relaxed, and his arrogance returned. He said, "As long as they don't oppose me, there's nothing to worry about. Hua Xuan is gone, so be it. What can that coward do besides cry? Everyone has made great contributions today. In addition to increasing the reward as agreed, I, the steward, will also give you other gifts."
Qi Guang and Mo Yunlong exchanged glances and burst into laughter. But their laughter couldn't mask their worry for Li Jun. What was this cunning young man up to now?
Soldiers held torches to light the way forward as the Peace Army marched along the winding, python-like post road.
"Wait, this deal isn't worth it for us!"
Hurriedly catching up with Li Jun's horse, Jiang Tang asked angrily. It wasn't that the Peace Army didn't have horses for this finance official, but rather that the barbarians, who could navigate boats with ease, had an inexplicable fear of riding horses. What bothered Jiang Tang even more than this fear was that he suffered from horse sickness.
"What's wrong? Is it not worth it?" Li Jun asked with a smile.
“We guarded Thunder City for seventeen days this month, so Thunder City should pay us for those seventeen days. Only a fool would do a job without getting paid!” Since Jiang Tang became the Peace Army’s treasurer, he has calculated every income and every expenditure down to the copper coin. His salary is only the same as Li Jun’s, but he is clearly exceptionally dedicated to his work.
"Oh, don't worry, we're just having Lei Mingcheng hold the money for us. One day he'll pay us back with interest," Li Jun said firmly.
"So where are we going to do business?" Jiang Tang still looked somewhat annoyed. "With two thousand people like this, we can't just eat and not work. I can't support you all for nothing!"
Everyone who heard it burst into laughter. Unless Li Jun strictly ordered a secret march, he did not stop the laughter on the road. On the contrary, he believed that such laughter could alleviate the fatigue of the soldiers to some extent, and sometimes he would arrange for someone to tell a few jokes to boost everyone's morale.
Everyone knew that Jiang Tang's words weren't malicious, although his tone was laced with malice. This barbarian, while never willing to give his soldiers an extra silver coin, never shortchanged them a single copper coin; every monthly salary and reward he distributed was without dispute.
"We're going to do a big deal for you."
Li Jun smiled and pointed to the dark night sky, saying, "Look, which direction is that?"
Jiang Tang said, "The Northeast... has a seaport? Are we going to the port city to open a sea route?"
"Exactly! We're heading to capture Tonghai, the port city!" Li Jun laughed heartily. "Moreover, after capturing Tonghai, it will become our base of operations. We'll become a mercenary group with our own city!"
"Owning their own city!" The warriors whispered among themselves upon hearing this. Most mercenary groups are nomadic, attaching themselves to whoever pays them. Only a few powerful, top-tier mercenary groups own their own cities. Such groups often have more than 50,000 troops. If the Peace Army were to become such a massive force, its military might even surpass the peak of Lu Xiang's Invincible Army.
"What?" Hua Xuan, who was running alongside him, turned ashen-faced and exclaimed, "Commander Li... is going to that port city of Tonghai?"
"That's right, we'll need your help then, young master," Li Jun said with a smile, his words and expression still quite polite.
"That city, although it originally belonged to the Hua family, has been occupied by the Tong family for decades. Moreover, because there are dragon-snake spirits in the sea, merchant ships can no longer sail there. What use is it?"
Hua Xuan asked, but he avoided mentioning that his fear stemmed from the fact that the Tong family had nearly ten thousand soldiers stationed in Tonghai City, and that with only two thousand men from the Peace Army, attacking the city would be tantamount to suicide.
Li Jun laughed heartily. He understood Hua Xuan's thoughts perfectly, and he knew the situation in Tonghai City even better than Hua Xuan did. The Orphan Camp's intelligence network had already infiltrated Tonghai City. As long as the war in this Divine Continent continued, homeless children who had lost their families in the flames of war would appear, and the Orphan Camp's excellent spies would also exist.
"Please rest assured, Young Master," Li Jun explained, "the Tong family withdrew three thousand men from Tonghai Port to attack Leiming City. If my estimation is correct, the Tong family will inevitably withdraw troops from Tonghai Port again to repel the invading Rong people. After learning of the internal strife in Leiming City, the Tong family will mobilize troops from Tonghai Port a third time to fight the Rong people. After these three times, the garrison in Tonghai will not exceed two thousand men." He continued, "As for the serpent demon, hehe, we will have a way to deal with it!"
The journey from Leiming City to Tonghai Port should only take three days, but Li Junling's Peace Army circled around the area, taking a full seven days to arrive. By this time, news of Hua Feng's death and the internal strife in Leiming City had reached the Tong family. The Tong family was facing plunder by Rong cavalry, and due to the heavy losses of soldiers in the Battle of Leiming City, their forces were stretched thin. Upon hearing this news, the Tong family immediately drew troops from the area adjacent to the Hua family. Since Tonghai Port no longer had any value as a harbor, only a little over a thousand men were left to defend it.
Upon hearing the news from the Orphanage, Li Jun was also filled with excitement. However, he repeatedly reminded himself that he could not be careless at such a moment. He had to be extremely cautious in order to have absolute confidence. How many heroes and great men had been ruined because of momentary carelessness?
"Meng Yuan, Su Xiang!" In the temporary camp, Li Jun's eyes shone brightly. "You two will lead two small teams in disguise to Tonghai Port and meet up with Zhao Xian and Wang Erlei, who entered earlier. Have them set fire to the area near the grain depot in the city. Remember, I need to see the city on fire by 9 PM tonight. You two will hide at the south gate of the city. Once you see the fire, seize the gate!"
Meng Yuan and Su Xiang accepted the order and left. Li Jun then said to Yu Sheng, "Mr. Yu, please draft a proclamation to reassure the people, using the tone of Young Master Hua. This proclamation must be posted in the city first thing tomorrow morning!"
"The remaining officers must supervise the soldiers' preparations for battle, and there must be no mistakes!"
"What about me? You said you wanted to borrow... borrow my strength..." Hua Xuan said timidly after everyone had received their mission and left.
"Hahahaha...Young Master Hua has an important mission..." Li Jun couldn't help but laugh when he saw Hua's timid appearance. Although this Young Master Hua was incompetent and cowardly, Li Jun didn't find him repulsive.
Section 3
The shadow of war loomed over the port city of Tonghai like a dark night. This small port, which had no special products and relied entirely on agriculture and fishing, had been in decline for a long time because of the serpent spirit. But for the people of Tonghai, it was hard to say whether this was a blessing or a curse. Because of the economic depression, this port city, which was originally of great significance, also lost its strategic importance in Yuzhou. Neither the Tong family that took it nor the Hua family that lost it valued it much. Therefore, there were fewer wars in Tonghai.
Only the Yi people, who live by the water, still value this land developed by their ancestors. The younger generation left their homes because they could not sail far, but the older generation stubbornly stayed here. The Yi people, ordinary people, and a small number of Qiang people regarded this place as one of the few relatively safe places in the war-torn Yuzhou. They lived and worked here in peace and contentment. Although life was hard, at least they did not have to worry about soldiers burning their homes at any time.
The general defending the city had personally led his soldiers to support the Tong family's battle against the Rong people, leaving less than two thousand defenders in the city. At 9 PM, just as everyone was falling asleep, the city's grain warehouses caught fire.
"How careless!" The deputy general left behind was furious, deeply dissatisfied with this disturbing news. "Pass down the order to prepare for firefighting!"
“Second Brother,” ever since they recognized Li Jun as their leader, the homeless children have only called Zhao Xian “Second Brother,” and Wang Erlei is no exception, “Let’s just burn this too!”
They, along with about a dozen newly recruited orphans, stealthily approached the garrison's camp. The camp was very close to the grain warehouse, and they could see the panic of the people inside upon seeing the fire.
"Alright, let's burn big ones!" The mischievous nature of these homeless children was revealed, and everyone's eyes shone with excitement. After Zhao Xian agreed on a meeting place with them, they went their separate ways.
Because a large number of soldiers had been transferred away, many camps were empty, which made things easier for homeless children. Moreover, the soldiers were busy fighting fires in the warehouses, and the camps were in chaos. In just a short while, more than ten fires broke out in the camps. The autumn wind was strong and the weather was dry, so the fires were hard to contain once they started. When they slipped back to their gathering place from the fire, the flames had illuminated half the sky.
"It's terrible, the mutiny has broken out!" Zhao Xian shouted again with the homeless children. The shouts of more than ten people could still reach the ears of the garrison soldiers amidst the sounds of wind, fire, and commotion.
The defending soldiers erupted into chaos. Those who had initially come to fight the fire dared not attempt to do so, fearing they would be killed by mutineers. Everyone was wary of each other, worried that their comrades might be mutinous. Some even broke into fistfights, and once one started, it quickly escalated, with the defenders turning on each other.
It should be said that Zhao Xian and Wang Erlei's actions, which were not part of Li Jun's plan, actually had a better effect. Meng Yuan and Su Xiang easily took control of the south gate of the city, and the Peace Army entered the city without encountering any resistance.
"Shall we go in now?" Hua Xuan had completely calmed down by this time. In fact, when he learned that the important task Li Jun had given him was to accompany him until the fire broke out in the city and then enter the city together, he was completely relieved. Moreover, he felt a sense of security with Li Jun. So when he saw the signal coming from the city gate, he was the first to suggest it to Li Jun, and he seemed quite impatient.
"Exactly, brothers, charge with me!" Just like Lu Xiang, Li Jun would never say "Charge!" when calling his soldiers to charge. Although it was only a one-word difference, it carried a different weight in the soldiers' ears.
"Kill!" The Peace Army, having mustered all their strength, shouted in unison. The shout seemed to possess a strange magic, even the usually timid Hua Xuan joined in. The soldiers charged out like arrows released from a bow, with Li Jun and his horse leading the charge.
The city of Tonggang was shrouded in darkness. When the residents sensed something was wrong, they all turned off their lights and locked their doors, fearing that the rebel army would burn and loot. The Peace Army encountered almost no trouble in the streets and charged directly into the military camp, which was still ablaze.