With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

The Jianxi River flows from north to south, branching off at Jianning Prefecture to form a Y-shaped confluence.

The river that branches off and flows eastward is called Songxi, which runs through the entire Jianning Prefecture.

Behind the south gate of Jianning Prefecture lies the entire Yunji Mountain, and Li Tian's army is located on the south side of Yunji Mountain.

If Li Tian wanted, he could launch an attack from the south at any time, catching the Ming army off guard.

He desperately wanted a city as his base.

Therefore, Yan Ying's proposal to jointly defend Jianning Prefecture greatly appealed to Li Tian.

However, the other party's terms were clearly not sincere.

Letting him bring a thousand men into the city—isn't that a clear attempt to control him?

Seeing that Li Tian's expression was off, Yan Ying quickly added, "General Li, that's all we ask for."

"But there are many benefits."

"General Li, it must be tough for your 100,000 troops to camp in the open. I observe that your soldiers have few tools and equipment, making it difficult for them to build fortifications."

"The soldiers had no weapons other than muskets, so they would certainly not gain an advantage in open battle against the Qing army."

"The army also lacks warhorses, making communication difficult, but none of these can compare to the last fatal problem."

Yan Ying paused and looked at Li Tian. When asked the last question, he became much more confident and puffed out his chest.

"The fatal problem is the lack of food supplies."

"One hundred thousand mouths, each day upon waking, need at least fifteen hundred bushels of grain. Your army's provisions can last for a few days. If we run out of food for a day or two, the one hundred thousand righteous men that General Li has painstakingly gathered will probably scatter in all directions."

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Yan Ying's lips.

"An army marches on its stomach"—this saying will always be a truth of war.

Without provisions, even a commander of 100,000 men like Xiang Yu would become a sick cat after two days of hunger.

Li Tian's expression was somewhat grim. The truth always comes out quickly; he was genuinely short of supplies.

Judging from the situation of the Fifth and Sixth Armies searching for food and supplies, they could only last for two more days in the field at most.

He also considered that it was the rainy season and rain could come at any time. Without the protection of a city, his 100,000-strong army might suffer heavy casualties due to the weather.

Li Tian's most formidable enemies at this moment are not the Ming army, nor the Qing army, but hunger, plague, and even floods.

"Should we just launch a direct assault on Jianning Prefecture?"

For a fleeting moment, a thought flashed through Li Tian's mind, but it quickly faded away.

"I don't know much about the internal situation of Jianning Prefecture, but judging from the Ming army's repeated attempts to form an alliance with us, their internal situation must be quite weak as well."

However, the Ming army's weakness doesn't necessarily mean the enemy is powerless. The fact that the Qing army has been attacking for months without success shows that the Ming troops inside the city are no pushovers either.

"Although our army is large in number and every soldier is a able-bodied young man, we are only equipped with Hanyang rifles. If we want to take Jianning Prefecture, we can only do so by sacrificing lives, and we will pay a heavy price if we do so."

"Among the 100,000 elite warriors, there are many talented individuals. I don't want to die before their abilities are fully discovered."

"I need a lot of time, at least six months, and I need a territory. Otherwise, 100,000 people under my command won't be able to fulfill their purpose."

Li Tian remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"I agree to the request to defend Jianning Prefecture together with the Imperial Preceptor, but my condition is that an army must be stationed in the city."

Yan Ying: "Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know how many men are in 'one army' as General Li mentioned?"

"Ten thousand people."

"General Li, I'm afraid I can't make that decision."

Li Tian smiled calmly; "It's alright, we can discuss this slowly."

"Our army is currently dealing with these three thousand prisoners. I wonder if General Yan could offer me some advice?"

Yan Ying chuckled; "I am an outsider, how can I interfere in your army's affairs? General, you only need to bring these three thousand men under your command, why bother asking me?"

"General Yan, as you just said, our army is short of food and supplies. I'm afraid we can't take in these three thousand men. If there's no other way, we'll have to kill them all, since we don't have enough food to feed them."

A chilling smile appeared on Li Tian's face.

These three thousand-plus people were treated as if they were not human, but as three thousand-plus livestock, to be killed at will.

Yan Ying was startled upon hearing this. It seemed that Li Tian was quite bloodthirsty. He forced a smile and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, I have not yet congratulated the general on his resounding victory in annihilating a detachment of the Qing army, setting an example for us anti-Qing righteous men."

The Qing army detachment I saw from the city wall yesterday should have numbered over 6,000. Now that over 3,000 have been captured, it seems that the original 6,000 Qing soldiers have been completely wiped out.

Li Tian is quite capable, but the price he must have paid to wipe out these six thousand people must have been considerable.

Li Tian sighed, his voice filled with sorrow. "Yes, it came at a great cost to wipe out those six thousand Qing soldiers; we suffered about a hundred casualties."

Sixty-nine people were injured or killed, and nine died. What if those nine were all talented individuals?

Li Tian's sadness is genuine.

He didn't want to lose any of his loyal talents, since he would need them to govern the country in the future.

Yan Ying's smile froze, and she stared blankly for a moment, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

What did that person just say?

A devastating price, with one hundred casualties?

To the uninformed, it would seem like a small-scale battle involving a hundred or so people.

Those who knew the situation thought Li Tian was simply talking in his sleep.

With your equipment, you'd be lucky to defeat 6,000 Qing troops in the open field. How could your casualties be only 100?

You've blown your own horn to the heavens. Why don't you just say that no one dies?

So, all the soldiers you command are like Xiang Yu, huh?

"Hehe, General, you're quite the joker."

"I'm not joking."

Looking at Li Tian's serious expression, Yan Ying felt for a moment that what he had just said was true.

Wasn't he bragging?

Unable to reach an agreement on jointly guarding Jianning Prefecture, Yan Ying did not linger and immediately returned to Jianning Prefecture.

"Imperial Advisor! Your Excellency, you must do us justice!"

"That Li Tian is cruel and tyrannical. He killed all forty-odd men in my Li family. Now only my second brother and I are left. Imperial Preceptor, you must do justice for our Li family."

Li Xiangshui knelt on the ground, hugging Wang Qi's leg, and bitterly recounted the various atrocities Li Tian had committed against the Li family.

Li Xiangqing, who was standing next to him, was also kneeling on the ground and crying.

The two brothers went out and found that their whole family had been killed and Li Family Village had been occupied. After making some inquiries, they discovered that Li Tian had sent troops to take down Li Family Village and kill their whole family. The two brothers hated Li Tian to the bone and immediately went to Wang Qi to complain.

Li Xiangqing: "Grand Preceptor, you must do justice for us and for the people! I've heard that Li Tian has killed more than just members of my Li family."

"He also sent troops to other villages to plunder grain, killing many innocent local people. Now the entire Jianning Prefecture is like a living hell!"

Wang Qi's brows furrowed, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and the anger in his eyes seemed about to burst forth.

"That traitor Li Tian dares to harm the people! How are you any different from those Jurchen barbarians!"

"Gentlemen, I, Wang, will definitely seek justice for you and for the people!"