Chapter 9: Seize the City and Expand the Army

  In the governor's mansion of Ezhou, a major city in the southern part of the Holy Dragon Empire, a young nobleman was intently writing a battle report. Standing beside him with hands clasped behind their backs were none other than Fu Zhongshu, known as the number one wise general in the empire, and Chu Tiandai, the principal of the Holy Dragon Imperial University.

  "What kind of man is this wind and rain, how can he seize the world's number one pass in just a few months and build an army of tens of thousands?"

  Chu Tian Ci replied in a respectful tone, "This person is an orphan, but strangely, he knows the Five Elements technique and has at least seventh-grade or higher cultivation. He usually likes to study history, so he was once supported by my father; this person has some of his own views on the overall situation of the world, and before that, he had predicted with me the war between Hulan and Sheng Long, which was very accurate."

  Fu Zhongshu continued: "This person is deep and profound, when I saw him swallow his anger at Lin Yuhans' son of the Jinzhou governor Lin Renshan's hatred for taking his wife, it can be seen that he has a rich mind."

  This time, he first attacked the escort team of Hulan, expanding his army; Later, he found the original defender of Lengyu Pass, Bai Qi, and used the tactic of "luring the tiger away from the mountain" to open up the defending troops of Hulan. Then, disguised as a Hulan person, he deceived the city gate and responded with the slaves inside and outside to take down Lengyu Pass. Every time, it was a victory of the few over the many, which shows his exceptional military talent.

  "After capturing the city, he quickly organized his troops and restored order, showing that he had some ability to govern."

  "Hmm, looks like a talented person, do you think we can recruit him?" The young master asked after hearing that.

  "This man is just a commoner, and he's also very aware of the situation, it won't be hard to make him surrender; but making him loyal would be difficult." Chu Tian Ci thought for a moment before responding carefully.

  "It doesn't matter what it is, as long as he knows the times. In this world, the strong are respected. If I don't have a certain amount of power, then I naturally won't have the standing to demand loyalty from my subordinates."

  The young prince didn't seem to mind, thought for a moment and continued: "At present, the Lianyu Pass has been recovered, the Hulan route has been cut off, and it has become a situation where it is difficult to get off the tiger's back. The various righteous armies in the Central Plains have been inspired and are more active; the four major families should also take action soon, come to the Central Plains to share a cup of soup, and Feng Yu will definitely become the focus of the actual strength of all parties. It's better to trouble Tianxi brother once, go to Lianyu Pass once, bring the imperial edict, grant him the title of Zhenbei Hou, Xilu Jiedushi, and Lianyu Guan Du Yuanshuai, govern Liang, Xia and other states, allow him to open a government office, and appoint officials below the third rank."

  "Give him such a generous reward!" Chu Tianci exclaimed in surprise.

  The young master smiled and said, "Nowadays the strong in Central Plains are kings. Since he has strength, we should win him over. If someone else snatches him away, it will be too late for regrets!"

  In fact, we didn't give him anything. The Lianyu Pass is already in his hands, and the provinces of Liang and Xia can only be taken by snatching them from Hulan. Moreover, even if he gets them, he will inevitably clash with the Huangfu family and the Yanzi family, who have been eyeing these two places covetously for a long time. However, to show our sincerity, you might as well agree to his terms. If he joins us, I am willing to provide him with grain and equipment from Jiangnan. Although he has taken many things from Hulan's people, the Central Plains have been devastated by this chaos, and their vitality is severely injured. He will not be unmoved by these things, and we can let him take the lead in attacking, thereby restraining my elder brother's power!

  "Third Prince, you're brilliant!" Fu Zhongshu laughed and said, "Now, whether it's the eldest prince or the four major families, no one expected that such a figure would emerge, defeating Hulan, expanding his army, earning the name of chivalrous hero and military strength, and accelerating the progress of the war, leaving everyone caught off guard. So now, whoever wins him over will be equivalent to gaining control of the Central Plains! Your Highness's decisiveness has greatly increased our chances of winning! However, to be honest, this kid is really lucky, the four major families spent so much effort setting up the entire battle situation, and yet he became the biggest winner."

  "This is probably a case of man proposes, God disposes." The Third Prince also said with a bitter smile.

  "I swear in the name of the Holy Dragon, that for all my life I will follow my lord through thick and thin, never betraying him. If I break this oath, may the Holy Dragon punish me for generations to come, and may I never know peace!"

  Bai Qi kept his promise and, in front of everyone, made the most solemn Dragon Blood Oath to Feng Yu, from then on becoming the most important military general under Feng Yu's command.

  However, the battle at Lunyu Pass was not as easy for Feng Yu and his men as Fu Zhongshu had imagined. Although the main force of Hulan had been transferred away, Lunyu Pass, with its five layers of city walls, still took Feng Yu's men nine days to capture, with the last inner city taking a full ten days; in contrast, repelling Hariketi's counterattack was relatively simple, thanks to the thick city walls. Feng Yu directed the siege warfare inside the city while having Bai Qi take charge of dealing with Hariketi. After several days of fierce attacks, seeing that it would be difficult to retake the city, Hariketi could only leave behind tens of thousands of corpses and retreat in defeat.

  Then Feng Yu buried himself in the trivial daily chores. The city was much larger than what Feng Yu had imagined, and the livelihood of millions of people made him almost want to drop everything and run away. Fortunately, Ou Jing's arrival helped him solve this problem, and the lazy man shamelessly handed over the large pile of work to the capable beauty, and responded to Zhuo Jingyan with a smile: "Everyone has their own expertise!"

  Then came the task of organizing the army. Feng Yu had not expected that there would be so many able-bodied men in the city, who had been left homeless and subjected to all sorts of suffering by the Hulan people. Out of hatred for the Hulan people, gratitude towards Feng Yu for rescuing them, and admiration for his exceptional military talent, they clamored to join the army.

  Thus, Feng Yu established four legions:

  Qiu Li commanded an army of 30,000 light cavalry and 10,000 heavy cavalry known as the Autumn Wind Troops.

  Bai Qi commanded the 50,000-strong Qinglong Army;

  Luoxin commanded the forty thousand strong Red Lion Corps;

  Chen Liang commanded an army of 40,000 White Tiger Troops.

  The three armies mainly consisted of infantry and archers, but also allocated a portion of cavalry.

  At the same time, Zhuo Jingwen and Ou Rong led a vanguard of 3,000 cavalrymen.

  Wei Liao formed the notorious Blood Clothes Guard, which later led to Feng Yu being accused of ruling through terror.

  In fact, Feng Yu's intention in establishing the Blood Clothes Guard was only to gather intelligence on the enemy; as an excellent military commander, Feng Yu was well aware of the importance of intelligence in war. However, he drew lessons from the initial establishment of the Autumn Wind Army and, at that time, the army was newly established and morale was unstable, so he granted the Blood Clothes Guard the power to monitor the army. As for the fact that the Blood Clothes Guard later played a crucial role in the intense political struggle, it was beyond Feng Yu's expectations.

  In the sixth month of 753 in the Sheng Long calendar, amidst the wind and rain, what he was more concerned about was the change in the entire political situation. He had a feeling that this time Hulan's invasion formed such a situation, or more or less intentionally created by the four major families. It is clear that the entire battlefield was controlled within the Central Plains region, while the four major families who owned 75% of the territory and resources of the Sheng Long Empire were not damaged at all, but instead the imperial family was weakened by the four major families using Hulan as a knife to greatly weaken it. The emperor's death made the struggle for the throne a focus of future struggles.

  At this moment, I, a nameless small soldier, seized the Lianyu Pass and suddenly became famous. With my control of heavy troops and no connection to any major forces, I have become the most powerful and influential figure in the entire Central Plains region.

  What one does in this situation is extremely crucial, and also has a profound impact on the world. If the choice is correct, one can possess the capital to contend for dominance over the world, and realize one's ambition of governing the world with justice; if it is incorrect, one will become like a rabbit that dies after running out of energy or a bird that gets shot down by an arrow, becoming just a fleeting passerby on the stage of history.

  The sky outside the window darkened, distant summer thunder rumbled, lightning flashed frequently. In this chaotic era, how to choose has become the focus of attention for all under heaven.