Longzang

Chapter 1182 Why Fight?
The two imperial guards of the Eastern Jin Dynasty received a strange assignment: they were transferred to the command of the newly appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry, Li Weisheng, to await orders.

Upon receiving the order, the two commanders immediately became as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood. They ordered the soldiers to clean the camp inside and out thoroughly, and at the same time, they paid out of their own pockets to reserve a banquet at Baiweilou Restaurant and brought out their privately stored fine wines, all in anticipation of Lord Li entering the camp to review the troops at noon.

Being a member of the Imperial Guard in the Eastern Jin Dynasty was no easy job. Unlike the local garrison soldiers who were supported by wealthy families, they relied entirely on the imperial court for rations. However, the imperial court had been so poor that it could barely afford to eat for hundreds of years, so these Imperial Guards were basically in a state of lack of clothing and were all emaciated and pale.

It was commonplace for the Imperial Guards to delay paying their rations and wages, not to mention their weaponry; in fact, not a single firearm, which had become increasingly popular in recent years, could be found here.

Now, it's rare to see the most favored person in the court, the newly appointed Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Li Weisheng, actually taking charge of two battalions on official business. The two commanders were worried about not having a way to advance, but now they can finally climb a high branch. They can't wait to call their wives and daughters out to serve the minister.

At noon, Li Weisheng entered the camp, walked around the camp, and then handed a map to the two commanders, giving them ten days to lead all the officers and soldiers of the camp to the designated location.

The two commanders gasped when they saw the map. This place was five thousand miles away. If these Imperial Guards, who were usually starving, were to travel there in ten days, they would be in grave danger.

With a wave of his hand, Li Weisheng had a personal attendant bring up a small box. He opened it in front of all the officers and soldiers in the camp, and inside were neatly stacked silver coins!

Li Weisheng then said, "This silver is for food expenses on the road. I want it all to go into the soldiers' stomachs, understand?"

The two commanders hurriedly replied that they would never dare to embezzle Lord Li's money.

Li Weisheng nodded and said he would wait at the designated location in ten days, then led his men away. From their arrival to their departure, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed, yet the wine and dishes meticulously prepared by the two commanders had gone to waste.

The two commanders looked at each other, then suddenly realized what was happening and immediately went to buy grain and meat, so that the whole camp would have enough to eat before they could continue their journey.

Ten days later...

The two battalions of imperial guards stumbled and crawled, finally arriving at the destination. Most of them were so exhausted that they were in a daze.

One of the commanders shouted, “Hang in there! We’re only ten li away! Once we get over this hill, we’ll reach our designated campsite! If we don’t want to sleep in the wilderness tonight, let’s all push harder! Let’s get there and set up camp! Set up… camp…”

He had already reached the top of the mountain and saw a vast, sprawling military camp before him! On the map, this should have been a barren hillside, so how could there be such a well-organized military camp here?

The commander took another look, and his expression changed drastically. Military camps typically used branches and thin wood for their walls, with more elaborate ones using logs. But this camp before him appeared to have stone walls? What military camp had stone walls?
At this moment, an officer dressed as a deputy general flew out of the military camp and flew straight towards them. The two commanders' expressions changed drastically. The newcomer was none other than a Dharma Aspect cultivator, while the two of them were only at the Foundation Establishment stage. At this moment, they were trembling with fear and did not even dare to run away.

"You must be the Imperial Guards from the capital? Lord Li arrived long ago. Follow me and enter the camp first; the deadline is fast approaching."

The two commanders seemed to awaken from a dream, and then several thousand soldiers, led by General Faxiang, entered the camp. A large army was already stationed there; the soldiers were all tall and strong, their armor superior to that of the two commanders, and each wore a murderous aura, their gazes towards the Imperial Guards like wolves scrutinizing sheep they intended to plunder that night.

Upon entering the camp, the lieutenant exchanged formalities with another general. And that general was also a Dharma Aspect cultivator!
Thus, on their way to their own camp, the two commanders saw a total of five or six Dharma Images, which made them somewhat dazed.

The Imperial Guards were assigned to a corner camp, where the tents were already prepared. Calling them tents was a stretch; they were more like cleverly designed simple houses, ten people to a room, fully equipped, and better than the Imperial Guards' main camp. The two commanders only had their own residences, but even those weren't as well-equipped as these.

A commander mustered his courage and asked the deputy general, "Which army and camp does the Grand General belong to?"

The lieutenant laughed and said, "We are merely servants of Lord Li."

Servants? Thousands of ravenous servants? Even the Dharma image has several servants?
The two commanders respectfully escorted the deputy general to the camp gate, where they saw Li Weisheng walking side by side with another military officer. The two seemed to be discussing something, while Li Weisheng simply nodded to the two commanders and walked on.

The military officer exuded a dignified and imposing aura, clearly a seasoned veteran of countless battles. The two commanders dared not look at him for long, but upon returning to camp, one's expression grew increasingly strange. The other asked, "Do you know that general?"

"I... I might know him. He was quite famous back in the day when he fought against the Liao in the northern frontier. Yue Jinshan, haven't you heard of him?"

Another commander was taken aback: "Wasn't he framed by a villain and demoted? How did he end up here?"

"Don't ask! Just do what we're told. Two or three hundred of these guys could easily slaughter all two thousand of us!"

……

For the next few days, they simply rested in the camp and watched as the guards outside were frequently mobilized. Then, surprisingly, even heavy artillery appeared, and not just one!
A day later, they faintly felt the ground shaking, and troops set out under the cover of night. Judging from the magnitude of the tremors, it seemed as if there were several giant beasts lurking within the army.

The two commanders looked at each other in bewilderment. They weren't entirely incompetent; they knew that there was a large city less than a hundred miles away, with over 100,000 people, and several surrounding counties, all of which were part of the Prince of Ning's fiefdom.

The Prince of Ning was a powerful figure, with six private armies totaling over 80,000 men, ranking among the top of all the regional princes. It seemed that only the Prince of Ning could warrant the deployment of that mysterious army from the camp. The next morning, the deputy general reappeared and said to the two commanders, "Gather the soldiers; we will set off in one hour."

"Where to levy the tax?"

"Last night, a band of ruthless bandits roamed our territory, breached the city of Prince Ning, and kidnapped the Prince's entire family, including the elderly and weak. The bandits are so rampant that Lord Li is furious and is preparing to send troops to retake the city!" The adjutant spoke with utmost seriousness.

The two leaders felt that the world was starting to feel less real.

The bandits captured Prince Ning's city overnight? A city guarded by a full 80,000 troops? And now they have to rely on these 2,000 scattered rabble soldiers to take it back?
Is Lord Li overestimating himself? The two commanders felt that they did not think so highly of themselves.

But military orders are hard to disobey, and an hour later they mustered their troops and left the camp. After marching for half a day, they arrived at the capital of Prince Ning in the afternoon. Sure enough, the flags of the bandits were flying on the city walls. That's right, the flags belonged to the horse bandits, not the local thugs.

Li Weisheng waved his hand and ordered an attack on the city. He then personally shot an arrow onto the city wall, where screams filled the air and hundreds of bandits fell!

Both commanders gasped in shock!
The bandits then abandoned the city and fled, and the two thousand imperial guards, as if in a dream, captured the city. However, in the Prince Ning's residence, Li Weisheng found a letter left by the bandits, stating that if the Prince Ning wanted to return alive, he would have to pay one million taels of silver in exchange.

Li Weisheng naturally sent the letter back to the capital intact. Unfortunately, the Prince of Ning's residence had been completely looted, leaving only the ugly maidservants behind.

As for Prince Ning's 80,000-strong army, 75,000 were captured and taken away overnight, their whereabouts unknown. Only a few thousand wounded, both lightly and seriously, remained in the various camps.

The two commanders of the Imperial Guards found the world increasingly incomprehensible.

At this moment, in the Prince Ning's residence, Li Weisheng and Yue Jinshan were enjoying the scenery and chatting.

Li Weisheng's expression was strange as he said, "So, I now have a total of 75,000 servants?"

“Eighty thousand! Don’t forget I still have five thousand here.” Yue Jinshan corrected.

Li Weisheng smiled wryly: "Who would believe that?"

"As long as they don't all appear at once, no one will know that you really have 80,000 retainers. Once the Imperial Guards are fully recruited, this battalion will have at least 500,000 men, and your 80,000 will blend in and be undetectable."

At this point, Yue Jinshan suddenly sighed and said, "Back then, when I was defeated by the Realm Lord, I was somewhat unconvinced. I thought he was just lucky to have found a group of fearless warriors. But now, even if I had several times the number of troops, I still couldn't defeat a single battalion of Qingming. How long has it been? Now I understand that the Realm Lord's talent is truly extraordinary."

But there's something I don't understand. With Qingming's military strength, they could simply sweep through. Why then do they need to train eight million Imperial Guards? And not just to make up the numbers, but to train them seriously. Old Li, you cunning old fox, do you know what the Realm Lord's intention is?"

Li Weisheng was both amused and exasperated, and said, "Lord Yue, you'd better change your ways from now on. What do you mean by 'I'm a cunning old fox'?"

He shook his head and said, "I estimate that so many Imperial Guards are prepared for the Liao people in the northern frontier."

Yue Jinshan's eyes lit up, and he said, "The Lord of the Realm wants to take action against Northern Liao?"

"I'm just guessing. The Liao territory is incredibly vast, which is why they need so many soldiers to guard the places they've conquered. If we train our soldiers well first, it will save us a lot of trouble when the Realm Lord comes to take over."

Yue Jinshan frowned and said, "I'm not trying to be discouraging, but the quality of the soldiers in the Eastern Jin Dynasty is such that even with rigorous training, they can't compare to Qingming Eleven. No matter how well they're trained, their combat strength will only be so-so. Why bother with all this? Wouldn't it be the same if Qingming just sent out the troops directly?"

Li Weisheng laughed and said, "Old Yue, I also wanted to know the answer to your question back then, and I even asked the Realm Lord about it."

"What did the Realm Lord say?"

"The Realm Lord said, 'Let's train them to the death. No matter how much these warriors have been forged or how high their individual combat skills are, they will be easily defeated by the Eastern Jin. But once they come to our side, it won't be long before they become the strongest army in the world.'"

Yue Jinshan frowned and said, "How could such a thing be? A strong army is strong, and a weak army is weak. How could the same army, which was terrible in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, be completely transformed here?"

"I was puzzled at the time. But the Realm Lord said that the secret was only four words: Why fight?"

(End of this chapter)