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

……

After Li Xiangqing and Li Xiangshui left, Wang Qi's angry voice came from inside the room.

"What a bandit army! They dare to plunder the people in the chaos!"

"I was truly blind to even consider cooperating with Li Tian to defend Jianning Prefecture!"

"At this critical time for the nation, these thieves are truly worse than the actresses in brothels!"

"Even actors know to donate money to resist the Qing, but these people dare to take advantage of the situation to burn, kill, and loot in the rear. They're simply a bunch of inhuman bastards!"

"They're utterly beasts, even worse than beasts!"

Yan Ying stood outside the door, not daring to go in. Wang Qi was furious at the moment, and he didn't want to provoke him.

Just then, a jingling sound came from behind.

Looking back, I saw an old monk in a brightly colored, patched robe walking towards me. With each step he took, his staff jingled.

"Hehe, Benefactor Yan, please come in with me."

"Master Fajue." Yan Ying quickly bowed respectfully.

The two entered the house. When Wang Qi saw the old monk, he suppressed his anger and bowed as well.

"Abbot Fajue, you've come at the right time. That bandit Li Tian outside the city, relying on his superior numbers, dares to slaughter the people. I want to eliminate Li Tian and bring the 100,000 young men outside the city onto the right path."

Wang Qi gestured respectfully.

Master Fajue was the abbot of Xianyan Temple. He secretly contacted Shaolin monks, including Zhu Changhu, the Prince of Yunxi, to raise the banner of resistance against the Qing Dynasty. Later, he cooperated with Wang Qi and had a certain say in the rebel army.

Wang Qi, relying on his outstanding military talent, captured several cities in Jianning Prefecture and gradually gained control of the military while also receiving support from the Shaolin monks.

Therefore, he was the de facto leader of this rebel army.

"What does Benefactor Wang wish to do?" Fajue asked.

"The enemy has a large number of troops and is powerful, but they are a rabble. Our troops are few in number, but each one is vigorous and fierce. We will not lose to these bandits in a battle against them." Wang Qi made a reasonable analysis of the situation.

What kind of capable army is one that bullies the common people? If they're so capable, why don't they go fight the Qing army!

"But we cannot engage them in direct combat and needlessly lose our elite troops."

"Therefore, I plan to launch a night raid on the bandit army tonight and behead that traitor Li Tian."

"Once Li Tianyi dies, the remaining militia will surely abandon their evil ways and become part of the army of our Great Ming Dynasty if we reason with them and appeal to their emotions."

Wang Qi thought about it more and more and felt that the plan was feasible. He was eager to get it under Li Tian’s command of 100,000 strong men. If he could bring them under his command, his position in the court would definitely be no less than Zheng Cai’s.

The more he thought about it, the more he longed for those 100,000 people.

"Amitabha," Fajue chanted a Buddhist prayer. "How about you write a letter to Elder Yun to discuss this matter, Mr. Wang?"

The elder Yun mentioned by Abbot Fajue was named Yun Richu. When Wang Qi started his uprising, Yun Richu was quite famous as a member of the Fushe Society. He played a significant role in the early stages of the uprising, raising funds and persuading various celebrities and powerful figures.

"Now that Elder Yun's attack on Pucheng has failed and his fate is unknown, we need to take advantage of the Qing army's retreat, act quickly, regroup our strength, and then reunite with Elder Yun."

Whether Wang Qi will receive a reply from Yun Richu is another matter. The last time Wang Qi received news from Yun Richu was about his defeat in attacking Pucheng, so Wang Qi is eager to strengthen his army.

If he cannot withstand the Qing army's offensive this time, he can foresee that it will be even more difficult to regain power in the future.

Fajue did not speak further, standing aside like an old pine tree, not participating in the decision-making process.

At this moment, Wang Qi noticed Yan Ying standing to the side.

"Yan Ying, you're back just in time. I was just about to ask you about the situation of that bandit army outside the city."

Wang Qi no longer cared about Li Tian's reply. The other party had slaughtered civilians and crossed the line; he could not cooperate with such bandits.

Even their name changed from "righteous army" to "bandit army".

Inquiring about Yan Ying's situation now naturally means asking about the outcome of the battle between the Qing army and Li Tian. Only by understanding the current situation of the rebel army can a better plan be formulated to eliminate Li Tian.

He wouldn't mind if the rebel army stabbed Li Tianyi in the back while they were fighting the Qing army.

They were neither friendly forces nor allied, and moreover, Li Tian was so tyrannical that he was nothing but a bandit army. Wang Qi was ashamed to associate with him, and he felt no guilt whatsoever about stabbing him in the back.

Yan Ying: "Reporting to the Imperial Preceptor, Li Tian said that to jointly defend the city, they need to station 10,000 men, but I did not agree to this."

"Furthermore, the battle between the Qing army and Li Tian has ended."

Wang Qi didn't pay attention to Yan Ying's first sentence, but the second sentence surprised him.

"Is that all?"

"Yesterday, the Qing army dispatched at least six thousand infantry and cavalry, and it's already over on the second day?"

The end meant the Qing army had been defeated.

If Li Tian had been defeated, Yan Ying would never have returned unscathed, and I would have received no news at all.

It's understandable that Li Tian was able to defeat the fully armed Qing army with his hastily assembled troops, given their superior numbers; if he had spared no effort, he could have repelled them.

"How many rebel soldiers are left?"

"This..." Yan Ying hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer.

He saw few wounded soldiers in the New Army camp, and even saw a large number of prisoners, indicating that the New Army had won a great victory.

As for casualties, he wasn't quite sure, or rather, he could only give a different answer.

Li Tian told him about the casualties in person.

"What happened? How many bandits were killed or wounded? How many fled?" Wang Qi pressed. If the bandits outside the city suffered heavy casualties and a large number of people fled, he could take the opportunity to recruit those who had fled.

"Reporting to the Grand Master, the Qing army suffered a great defeat, with all six thousand men wiped out. I personally witnessed more than three thousand prisoners. As for casualties, I did not witness them myself, but Li Tian himself said that there were fewer than a hundred casualties."

Yan Ying didn't think much of it. No matter how outrageous things were, he just told Wang Qi what he knew and let him guess the truth.

"..."

Upon hearing Yan Ying's reply, Wang Qi remained silent for a long time.

There was even a brief blank in my mind.

All the anger and plans from before vanished.

It is simply unbelievable that six thousand Qing soldiers were wiped out in less than a day.

That's not all; the rebel army actually claimed they suffered fewer than a hundred casualties!?

Wang Qi could neither imagine nor understand it.

Finally, his gaze settled on Yan Ying, the bodyguard who had risked his life with him and would never lie to him.

It was impossible for him to be bribed, but his words were too absurd for Wang Qi to believe.

But what if it's true?

Even if Li Tian lied about the casualties, he couldn't verify it, but he could verify the fact that six thousand Qing soldiers were wiped out. Yan Ying had no reason to deceive him, because it would do Yan Ying no good and would only cost him his head.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

"Amitabha." At this moment, Fajue spoke up; "Benefactor Wang, what is true and what is false are intertwined. Why not go and see Li Tian for yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qi's original emotions were compressed into a mixture of doubt and curiosity.

What kind of person is Li Tian?

The person who can rally 100,000 people to revolt is no ordinary person. Why is it that no one knows Li Tian despite inquiring from various sources?

This person appeared as if they had fallen from the sky.

Thinking of all this, Wang Qi, who had just been clamoring to behead Li Tian, ​​suddenly changed his attitude; "Master, perhaps I should go and see Li Tian."