Ji Su turned around and said, "Mr. Wei is no outsider. I'm not afraid, so why are you?" With that, she slipped into the inner room.
"Commander, there are three urgent military reports to report." Seeing that Ji Su was no longer in the room, Wei Zhan felt relieved, his expression as if nothing had happened yesterday.
"Oh, tell me quickly." Upon hearing that there was urgent military information, Li Jun temporarily put aside his worries and leaned forward.
"First, the good news: Tu Long Ziyun and Ren Qian have cornered the tyrant at Lujiabao. The imperial guards who accompanied him have scattered like birds and beasts. The treacherous minister is brilliant; he has bound the tyrant and demanded his surrender. The messenger says that Tu Long Ziyun has sent five thousand men to escort them to Liuning."
Upon hearing the name Liu Ning, Li Jun was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that he had already changed the name of Liuzhou when he first entered the city. He stood up and said, "Good, good. Tu Long Ziyun has indeed not disappointed us. He may be a bit rough on small matters, but he has never made a mistake on important matters."
"The second piece of military intelligence was within the commander's expectations. Wu Wei of Lan Kingdom personally led an army of 300,000, which was said to be a million. Before marching south, he had already passed Wu Yin City. His vanguard cavalry appeared near Lu Jiabao when Tu Long Ziyun captured the tyrannical emperor and treacherous officials. They only retreated after seeing that the Lu Jiabao army had captured it. It seems that Wu Wei understood our army's plan as soon as he heard about Wu Peng's defeat. This vanguard cavalry must have come to welcome the tyrannical emperor."
“Wu Wei was able to drive Marshal Lu into a desperate situation, which is naturally incomparable to the likes of Wu Peng.” Li Jun’s spirits lifted. By luring Wu Wei’s Lan here, his plan could be fully implemented, and a large-scale battle rarely seen in the history of Shenzhou would begin.
But after waiting a while, Wei Zhan still didn't reveal the third piece of military intelligence. He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Wei, what is this? The military situation is urgent now. If it's not some important news, we should go and muster our troops to prepare for battle and fight Wu Wei to the death!"
"Oh, this third matter is related to this." Wei Zhan closed his eyes briefly, silently considering his words. To defeat Wu Wei, our army must be united, but now some of our soldiers are plotting a rebellion!
"What!" Li Jun suddenly stood up.
Chapter Twelve: Red Snow
one,
Wu Wei lounged lazily on his horse, a fox fur coat covering his tall frame and a sable hat protecting his ears. Even in the frigid north of Lan Kingdom, where a breath of air could send ice crystals falling, this gear was enough to ward off the biting north wind. But once he arrived in the relatively warmer Su Kingdom, he found himself feeling colder.
"The air is too humid, which makes it feel cold." He thought slowly. The beautiful landscape of Su Kingdom only feels charming in the spring when flowers are in bloom. But now it is winter, and light snow is falling from the sky. The snow does not accumulate on the ground, and the fields are covered with black and gray patches. Compared with the boundless snow and ice of the northern country, this snow is nothing.
“Winter is not the time for military operations!” Xie Kun, the military advisor beside him, said. “The climate of this Su Kingdom is very different from that of our Da Lan. I am worried about the health of our soldiers.”
“I’ve also considered this. There are indeed many inconveniences to fighting at this time.” Wu Wei stretched his body, paused for a moment, and then said, “The best time to attack would be when the autumn air is crisp and clear, but time waits for no one. If we wait for half a year until next autumn, the State of Su will have long become Li Jun’s prey. Moreover, diseases are less likely to occur in winter. If we were to attack during a warmer season, it would be difficult to guarantee that hundreds of thousands of troops would not fall ill. At present, the people’s hearts are still unsettled in the territory of the State of Su that Li Jun has acquired. Our country can still gain the support of the people by invoking the righteousness of the King of Su. After thinking it over, we have no choice but to launch an attack now.”
Xie Kun nodded repeatedly, and after a while said, "What the Grand Marshal said is very true. I hope that the Su Kingdom's ruler and his ministers are not too incompetent and must hold out until our army arrives."
"I'm afraid it won't be easy." Wu Wei smiled slightly. "After Lu Xiang, the famous generals of Su have all fallen. Only Dong Cheng is still capable of fighting, but he has few soldiers and little strength, and he surrendered to Li Jun. In less than ten years, Li Jun, with a mere thousand or so defeated soldiers, has swept across several countries, spanning provinces and counties. He has seized territory and cities, and now has more than 200,000 soldiers. He has fought against the Japanese pirates in the east, repelled the Chen army in the west, made peace with the Rong people in the north, and annexed southern Jiangsu. His ambition to conquer the world is commensurate with his talent. The rulers and ministers of Su only know themselves and not others. If it weren't for the support of the people, they would have been destroyed by my Lan Kingdom long ago. It will be difficult to stop Li Jun. I only hope that the vanguard cavalry can take Lujiabao first and leave a way out for the rulers and ministers of Su."
"The Grand Marshal's high praise of Li Jun is not only encouraging to the enemy," General Gao Wanjin said dismissively. "Even Li Jun's teacher, Lu Xiang, perished under the Grand Marshal's brilliant strategy. As for Li Jun, there is no need for the Grand Marshal to take action; I can capture him myself."
"Oh?" Wu Wei looked at him and couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you and Wu Peng underestimate Li Jun too much."
Seeing that he was being ridiculed by his commander-in-chief, Gao Wanjin was still unconvinced and said, "Grand Marshal, Wu Peng was defeated because he did not know that Li Jun was cunning. Now that I am prepared, what can Li Jun do to me?"
Wu Wei shook his head, remaining silent for a long time. Over the years, he had lived a life of fine wine and beautiful women in Lan Kingdom, but he had never forgotten the general trend of the world. Lan Kingdom was vast and sparsely populated, and its current dominance over the Northern Divine Continent was nearing its limit. Therefore, he had once thought of going south to annex the Hong and Su Kingdoms in his early years. However, he later realized that although these two countries were weak, they were still enough to fight Lan Kingdom if they joined forces. Lu Xiang of Su Kingdom was a major enemy in his advance. After finally getting rid of Lu Xiang, the entanglements within Lan Kingdom prevented him from acting freely. Therefore, he could only put away his lofty ambitions and slowly sow discord between Hong Kingdom and Su Kingdom. However, fine wine and beautiful women could not diminish his ambition. After three or five years of peace, although he had not given up his martial arts, he had no heart for conquest.
More importantly, Wu Wei clearly saw that the Kingdom of Lan was also fraught with internal crises. Years of warfare had brought vast lands and endless wealth, and the mining of gold had made Lan's currency a universally accepted treasure throughout the entire continent. However, this wealth had also brought complex conflicts and hatred. Moreover, this wealth was concentrated in the hands of the royal family and nobles, leaving the poor with nowhere to stand and the starving without even a day's food. While Lan was annexing the Kingdoms of Su and Hong, it was also destined to face its own demise. Although he clearly saw this, he had tried to change the situation politically, but no matter what measures he took, the results were far from ideal. In the end, he gave up, hoping only to maintain the country for as long as possible with his own strength.
"Reporting to the Grand Marshal!"
A messenger galloped through the snow and knelt down from afar, loudly reporting, "General Lü Jianzhong of the vanguard has an urgent military report!"
"Bring it here quickly!" Wu Wei's lazy expression vanished without a trace. He sat up straight, his eyes gleaming. The messenger presented a letter, which Wu Wei unwrapped, glanced at, chuckled, and handed to Xie Kun: "See, I told you so."
Upon reading the military intelligence report, Xie Kun's eyes widened in disbelief. "They're so utterly incompetent! Li Jun actually used his navy to cut off Lujiabao's retreat! How could the Su Kingdom's rulers and ministers be so utterly incompetent!"
“It’s not that they’re incompetent, it’s just that they can’t withstand Li Jun’s pincer attack strategy,” Wu Wei sighed. “He himself formed a pincer attack with Dong Cheng, taking advantage of the Su Kingdom’s rulers and ministers’ weakness of being afraid of death, forcing them out of the impregnable city of Liuzhou. This not only protected the people of Liuzhou from major war disasters, but also forced the enemy to abandon their fortified city. But his real killer move was the use of his navy… I’ve always thought that Li Jun’s eastern expedition against the Japanese was somewhat exaggerated, but now it seems that Li Jun does indeed have an extremely strong navy. We must be wary of him repeating his old tricks. Men!”
"exist!"
"Issue my urgent order to transfer troops from Andong and Yangcheng counties to Yungang. Tell Yungang to be on high alert and not let Li Jun's navy launch a surprise attack."
After the messenger rushed off, Xie Kun stroked his beard and laughed, "Fortunately, there aren't many ports in my Great Lan Kingdom that are still navigable in winter, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to defend against Li Jun's navy. It seems that my Great Lan Kingdom also needs to build an invincible navy."
“We’ll talk about it later. Li Jun should have received news of our army’s southward advance by now. Li Jun, oh Li Jun…” Wu Wei muttered to himself, repeating Li Jun’s name twice. General Gao Wanjin, his face full of dissatisfaction, said, “The Grand Marshal is taking Li Jun too seriously. I reckon he’s no match for the Grand Marshal!”
Seeing his subordinates blindly trusting him, Wu Wei smiled bitterly. These subordinates might have forgotten, but Wu Wei clearly remembered that during the Battle of the Snowfield, he had trapped Li Jun in an earthen city, only to have Li Jun build an ice fortress overnight to block him. At that time, he was helpless against Li Jun, and a feeling crept into his heart that a general comparable to, or even surpassing, Lu Xiang was about to be born…
"Is there a plot to rebel in the army?" Li Jun suddenly stood up. Although he was usually calm in the face of major events, the news brought by Wei Zhan at this moment still surprised him greatly.
“Exactly.” Wei Zhan stared intently at Li Jun. “The soldiers in the army all believe that those who have made merit are not rewarded, while those who are innocent are executed. Such actions are extremely unfair, so they all have the intention to rebel.”
Hearing this, Li Jun relaxed and sat back down in his chair, saying, "So it's about this again. I promise you, I won't cause trouble for Zhong Biao."
Wei Zhan shook his head and said, “Commander, when you first raised the banner of righteousness, most of your brothers only followed you to ensure their survival. After arriving in Yuzhou, you gave the soldiers and civilians a goal with the oath of Kuanglan City. But over the years, more and more people have joined our army. Among them, besides those who fight for your goal, there is another goal: to gain wealth and honor under your command. Now, Liuning City has fallen into our hands, and the king and ministers of Su have all become prisoners. All the soldiers hope that you will ascend the throne, so that they can also be promoted, ennobled, and have their wives and children granted titles. But after the great victory, you did not reward your merits. Is this only to prevent the soldiers from becoming disheartened?”
Li Jun looked up at Wei Zhan and said with a wry smile, "I have no intention of ascending the throne anytime soon. Does the master mean that I should not only spare Zhong Biao, my father's killer, but also personally reward him?"
"Not only should he personally bestow the reward, but he should also bestow it generously to show the commander's magnanimity. If Zhong Biao is richly rewarded, then the soldiers will feel at ease seeing that even the commander's enemy has been rewarded for his merits, and their ambition to make merits will be aroused. In this way, even if the commander does not immediately become a king or a marquis, he can still inspire the soldiers to be brave enough to sacrifice themselves."
Li Jun gently patted the hilt of his sword a few times. He was in a dilemma. He knew that Wei Zhan was right, but he was already unwilling to let Zhong Biao go, let alone reward him handsomely.
"Please convey my military order, sir, to summon all the soldiers." After a long silence, Li Jun sighed softly, "I will be there shortly."
The Peace Army's temporary training ground is located north of Liuning City. This was originally the training ground of the Su Kingdom's Imperial Guard, which could accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers for training.
"The reason for summoning the entire army is to reward the soldiers who contributed to the capture of Liuning," Li Jun said, channeling his spiritual power. "Thanks to your valiant efforts, our army captured the fortified city in a single day. Merit should be rewarded, and wrongdoing should be punished. I hope you will continue your efforts and enhance the prestige of our Peace Army!"
The prepared rewards were distributed to the meritorious soldiers. Unlike other troops, the Peace Army usually awarded rewards in public. Feng Jiutian believed that this would make the meritorious feel honored and the non-meritorious feel envious. As the commanders of each unit awarded their respective units' rewards to the meritorious soldiers, shouts of "Long live!" and thunderous applause could be heard from the army from time to time.
After the soldiers' rewards were distributed, the army fell silent again. Li Jun said, "During the siege, Zhong Biao, the vanguard under Qinggui Commander Dong Cheng, made the greatest contribution and deserves the highest reward. Therefore, Zhong Biao is hereby awarded 100,000 taels of gold and 600 bolts of silk, and promoted to commander of ten thousand men!"
The soldiers already knew the news and that Zhong Biao was Li Jun's enemy. Hearing that he had rewarded him as promised, they couldn't help but discuss it. Then Li Jun added, "In addition, because Zhong Biao took the lead and was the first to scale the city wall, he is also granted the title of 'Marquis of the City-Breaking Army'!"
Upon hearing this news, the entire army fell silent for a moment, then erupted in earth-shattering cheers. Li Jun's bestowal of the title of Marquis of the City-Breaking Army upon Zhong Biao not only signified that Li Jun was impartial and fair in rewarding and punishing, but also meant that Li Jun would establish himself as king, and the soldiers of the Peace Army would become founding heroes!
Wei Zhan hadn't expected Li Jun's arrangement either. Seeing the soldiers cheering, he smiled slightly. Zhong Biao, on the other hand, had never imagined that he would be the first among the generals of the Peace Army to be ennobled. His face showed a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. Only when the soldiers around him congratulated him did he realize that he should express his gratitude. Therefore, he quickly stepped out from the ranks, knelt down before Li Jun, and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's forgiveness of past grievances and am willing to serve Your Majesty to the death!"
Li Jun frowned and avoided Zhong Biao's bow, saying calmly, "Get up. I am not some king, and you are not some subject. In the Peace Army, only deceased soldiers are allowed to kneel and kowtow. Don't you know that?"
Zhong Biao was filled with joy, so he didn't take Li Jun's indifference to heart at all. He also knew that it was already a stroke of luck that Li Jun was willing to spare him. He stood up, gave a military salute, and then retreated.