Start with a red name

While Dong Guan's behavior at this moment certainly had an element of deliberate pretense, it wasn't entirely an act.

At this moment, suddenly falling from the clouds and becoming a prisoner who cannot even control his own life and death, he has no choice but to lie low and endure.

Seeing Dong Guan's behavior, Geng Xuan lost all interest in him.

If Dong Guan adopts the demeanor of a fallen hero, he might be more willing to spend some time talking to him.

Every second of contact he has now is a waste of his time.

So, after glancing at Dong Guan briefly and getting a clear picture of his current situation, he turned and walked away without lingering.

His behavior startled Dong Guan, who was half-heartedly playing the role of a prisoner, and then his eyes filled with panic and despair.

"Wait... wait a minute... I'm willing..."

Dong Guan quickly spoke up, trying to use the few remaining chips in his hand to stop Geng Xuan.

Unfortunately, before he could even utter a word, he had already been deprived of the right to speak, and could only open his mouth in vain, sobbing silently.

Not wanting to haggle with a seasoned veteran, Geng Xuan simply shut Dong Guan up.

Then he looked at Yang Qian beside him and said:

"I'm handing him over to you. I'll give you one day to try and extract as much value as possible from him... Can you do it?"

Yang Qian paused for a moment, noticing Geng Xuan's gaze, and felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He quickly said:

“I…I will do my best, but…is one day too rushed?…Although he has been pampered for many years, he can be ruthless when it matters. It won’t be easy to get him to talk.”

Because Geng Xuan's arrangements were beyond his expectations, Yang Qian's initial response was somewhat hesitant.

However, as my thoughts became clearer, the rest of the conversation flowed more smoothly.

As they were talking, Yang Qian's mind raced.

In a short time, countless thoughts arose and vanished.

Geng Xuan, however, was quite casual. Seeing that Yang Qian was a little too nervous, he even comforted him:
"I'm just saying this casually. It would be good if we could pry it open, as it would save us some trouble."

It doesn't matter if he can't pry it open; besides him, there are others... Besides, the overall situation in Xuanyou and Erzhou is already settled; whether he speaks or not is irrelevant.

Yang Qian remained silent.

I felt relaxed, but also a little lost.

Seeing that Geng Xuan was about to leave after giving his instructions, he suddenly remembered something and quickly asked:
"What should be done next?"

"Just get rid of it directly."

Geng Xuan, who was already walking out, didn't even stop. He just waved his hand and said this in a very casual tone.

It's like dealing with a trivial matter.

"?!?!" Yang Qian stood there stunned for a long time, watching Geng Xuan's dashing figure disappear into the distance.

……

The reason Geng Xuan gave Yang Qian one day was that after successfully taking over the camp, he only planned to stay for one day.

This day of rest is essential.

The achievements of the previous Wilderness Battle need to be further consolidated.

The troop deployment at the two camps and the rear base area needs to be rearranged.

The newly recruited 100,000 people, as well as the tens of thousands recruited in the previous phase, all need to be completely assimilated and thoroughly integrated into the "Black Wind Army" system through a process of breaking down and reorganizing.

...All of these issues need to be addressed one by one, and it will take time.

Only after dealing with all of this can the "Black Wind Army," which has effectively become the ruler of the Xuanyou and You states, begin its final "clean-up."

They swept away the two states with the force of a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Taking advantage of this gap, we arranged this task for Yang Qian as a side job.

He would be happy to gain something, but if he didn't, he wouldn't mind. After dealing with this matter, Geng Xuan devoted all his energy to the comprehensive integration of the "Black Wind Army".

For the first time, Geng Xuan experienced the feeling of being completely exhausted.

The sheer size of the forces that need to be reorganized this time is simply too enormous.

Geng Xuan silently did some calculations in his mind.

After hastily absorbing the spoils of the Wilderness War, the total strength of the "Black Wind Army" had already exceeded 200,000.

Now, after annexing this city, we have gained more than 140,000 additional troops.

From then on, the total size of the "Black Wind Army" had expanded to nearly 350,000.

In terms of scale alone, it can be called "the best in the world".

Even the former Dong Guan, without conscripting men from the local areas, did not maintain a military force of this size on a daily basis.

As for the sources of ingredients, they are even more varied.

Sand bandits, river bandits, caravan guards, able-bodied men forcibly taken from Yuanzhou and Haozhou, followers of "Canglangtian," and the most important piece of the puzzle—

Flesh and blood torn from Dong Guan's body.

If Geng Xuan hadn't mastered the art of troop deployment and cultivated it to perfection, simply gathering over 300,000 people from such diverse backgrounds would have been an almost impossible task.

But now, Geng Xuan is going to spend a day reorganizing this large-scale "Black Wind Army" into a cohesive whole.

After exhausting all his energy, Geng Xuan actually accomplished this incredible feat.

……

Having accomplished all this, the revitalized "Black Wind Army" began making final preparations for the next phase of operations.

According to the established plan, the Black Wind Army will only stop after it has conquered the Xuanyou and You provinces.

Just as the "Black Wind Army" began to operate like a cog in a machine, Geng Xuan, exhausted, was reclining in a deck chair, taking a short rest with his eyes closed.

Yang Qian tiptoed to his side.

"How about it?"

Geng Xuan, who was lying down and taking a nap with his eyes closed, asked a question casually without even opening his eyes.

Yang Qian, who was standing to the side, bent down even lower.

He said softly, "We've made some gains... but none of them are of great value. At most, they've made our operation a little smoother... If we had more time, I feel we could have unearthed more valuable things."

Just then, Liu Mu walked over from a distance, glanced at Yang Qian, and immediately looked away, as if he had been tainted by something dirty.

"Commander, everything is ready," Liu Mu said.

"Then let's proceed according to plan and not delay," Geng Xuan said.

"Yes."

A day or two has passed since the start of the Wilderness Showdown.

With so many people scattering and fleeing, the news must have already spread.

It's inevitable that people will feel anxious and uneasy.

If no new forces intervene in time, the large-scale chaos caused by the power vacuum will quickly spread throughout the Xuanyou and You states.

This is something Geng Xuan doesn't want to see.

What he was most grateful for was that, in order to deal with the "Black Wind Army," Dong Guan had been draining resources from the local areas wave after wave.

This weakened the power of all the sand people's settlements like never before.

In this situation, even if the local authorities want to cause trouble, it will be difficult to create much of a commotion in a short period of time.

For the "Black Wind Army," this was the perfect opportunity to enter the fray. (End of Chapter)