Chapter 10: Burning the Boats

  The morning sunlight and air always make people feel very comfortable. Yang Tian finished his breakfast and went to the school field outside the city, preparing to pick people.

  When they arrived at the training ground, the soldiers were already practicing under Luo Yang's leadership - forward thrusts, simple and practical moves. Maybe in two days, they would practice blocking, after all, military men always put killing the enemy first, then protecting themselves. Martial artists, on the other hand, prioritize their own safety, not wanting to suffer even a slight injury. So, people with high martial arts skills are also afraid of those who don't care about their lives, especially a large group of soldiers who don't care about their lives.

  Luoyang Tian saw Yang Tian coming and laughed: "Hey, General Yang is here? What kind of soldiers do you want to choose? Go ahead and choose, I'll let them all go!"

  "Hmm~" Yang Tian swaggered up to Luoyang Tian, two meters in front of him, and said, "Then I won't be polite with you."

  After a moment of hesitation, Yang Tian loudly said: "Sun Ming, Zhang Shan, Song Yi, Liu Yi, the four leaders, please come over!"

  Four people heard the sound and quickly ran over from all directions, standing in front of Luo Yang Tian and Yang Tian. Although Yang Tian did not have any overly formal appointment or position, his extraordinary abilities had already won over these leaders, subtly elevating his status.

  As soon as Sun Ming arrived, he thought of the rumor he had just heard that Yang Tian was going to train a batch of soldiers. Wouldn't it be them? Thinking of this, Sun Ming looked around and saw Zhang Shan being very serious, but lacking coordination. Sun Ming still frowned and said sourly: "Yang... Yang Tian, I don't know what you called us here for. We are in the middle of training..."

  He had intended to mock Yang Tian a few times, after all the two were still quite familiar. But Luoyang Tian was not having it, he shouted: "How dare you, I haven't even spoken yet, what are you mumbling about!"

  Sun Ming was so scared that he quickly shut his mouth and stood up straight, looking like a well-behaved good boy.

  Yang Tian chuckled and said: "Hehe, you few are the ones I've chosen. General Luo, no problem, right?"

  Luoyang Tian saw some sinister intentions hidden behind Yang Tian's smile, and without hesitation, he sold these few people out - after all, one can only become a talent through tempering, who dares to say this is not a good opportunity?

  He readily said: "No problem. Why don't I also pick a few to take over?"

  "Uh... never mind." Yang Tian didn't expect Luo Yangtian to be so straightforward, he was thinking of calling a few more people over, getting four of them to haggle the price down, and then they could still keep at least two people; but now that the other party is offering to bring the stones over themselves, he naturally had to decline.

  Luoyang Tian let out a disappointed sigh and said to the four of them, "Now I'm ordering you four to fully cooperate with Yang Tian's training, not a single bit of slack is allowed! Did you hear that?"

  "Understood!" The four of them shouted loudly, but as soon as they finished shouting, several people's hearts simultaneously rose with a bad premonition.

  "Hmm, very good, loud voice, full of energy." Yang Tian put on a military officer's demeanor, walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, looked at the four people left and right, and then said, "Now follow me to select people."

  Later, Yang Tian, a young boy, led four adults to select people from the entire army. After nearly an hour, they finally finished selecting 3,000 people, among whom were 700-800 who had followed Yang Tian in the ambush before.

  After selecting the people, Yang Tian led the three thousand men away with a flourish. Before long, Lei Ming also walked over and called Zhang Shan and Liao Yun to go with him.

  Luoyang Tian watched these people coming and going, his mind was active for a while, but in the end he still endured and didn't speak again, because he still had to command the army and coordinate some commands.

  "Alas, this young master is really something. He came to Huanyue City and just holed up there without coming out. Although his martial arts skills are somewhat lacking, he can't just give up like that. Alas..." Luoyang Tian sighed to himself for a while, then continued to supervise the training and corrected any movements that didn't meet his standards.

  Yang Tian led the three thousand soldiers with doubts in his heart to a quiet river bay, and after ordering them to line up, he said excitedly: "Maybe you've all heard that I'm going to select some people for special training, and you're the ones I've chosen. You should feel honored."

  Many soldiers were still in doubt after hearing this, because they didn't have such smooth information.

  "If there's something to be done, just get on with it and don't waste any more time." Sun Ming was annoyed at Yang Tian's nagging. But Zhang Shan, who had been in contact with Yang Tian for a while, didn't dare to make any rash moves.

  Yang Tian glared at Sun Ming and said, "Does General Sun want to try first?" After finishing, he gave a meaningful "heh heh" smile.

  Sun Ming shivered and said, "Forget it, I'll just stand."

  Yang Tian no longer paid attention to Sun Ming, and loudly said: "In the next dozen or so days, I will arrange training for everyone. If the training goes well, it will play a role in breaking the enemy and destroying the army on the battlefield in the future. At the very least, you can have more chances of survival. You must practice well!"

  "Yes!" Hearing that they could live a better life, the soldiers responded in unison with great enthusiasm.

  "Everyone below, keep a distance of two meters between each person."

  "Everyone follow me to practice this set of boxing!" Yang Tian somehow came up with a set of military boxing. The soldiers were initially unfamiliar, but after just five or six rounds, they began to get familiar - it seems that none of them were stupid.

  In the following days, Yang Tian also explained some human vital parts, where to hit can easily defeat the enemy, how to block and counterattack in close combat...

  The training is also quite impressive, the soldiers have learned a lot, and I feel pretty good about myself too. My heart has involuntarily developed respect for this young kid.

  ……

  Lei Ming led Liao Yun and Lin Chong to a secluded grove, where Yang Tian held his sword in his left hand and asked with his back turned: "Liao Yun, do you still remember the words I said when you surrendered to me?"

  "Remember, I will remember!" Liao Yun's heart moved, and he knelt down on one knee with his hands clasped together, "Please teach me martial arts, General Lei!"

  Lin Chong, who was standing beside him, also felt a stir in his heart and hastily imitated Liao Yun's manner, kneeling on one knee and clasping his hands together, saying directly: "Please accept Lin Chong as your disciple!"

  "Please accept Liao Yun as a disciple!" Liao Yun also hastened to change his words when he heard Lin Chong's remark.

  "Haha! Alright!" Leiming laughed heartily and turned around, saying, "Since you don't mind my young age and are willing to acknowledge me as your master, then I won't be modest and accept you both as my disciples." After finishing speaking, Leiming slightly furrowed his brow and said, "However, it's not easy to decide who will be the senior brother and who will be the junior brother between the two of you. You can decide that among yourselves."

  Liao Yun was a bit more reserved, and with a humble attitude, he turned to Lin Chong and said: "Liao Yun is willing to be your junior brother, please accept my bow." After finishing speaking, he bowed slightly towards Lin Chong.

  Lin Chong was stunned for a moment, completely not thinking that Liao Yun would make such a decision. After thinking about it, he felt relieved, probably because of his own identity as a surrendered soldier. Thinking of this, Lin Chong laughed and patted Liao Yun on the shoulder, saying: "Then I won't be polite either, let's just be brothers."

  "Alright, you two get up quickly. Although I'm a bit shorter, you two don't have to lift your master so high, in two years I'll grow taller." Lei Meng teased.

  The two of them smiled awkwardly and quickly scrambled to their feet.

  Then, Lei Meng inquired about the two people's martial arts skills. It turned out that neither of them had practiced profound internal strength, but they had been practicing sword and knife techniques since childhood, polishing their moves, and unintentionally stretching and smoothing out many meridians. Therefore, Lei Meng first corrected some of the biased places in their movements, or the postures that were not quite right, which couldn't bring out their full strength. In the following days, he also taught them Taiji's moves and guided them to feel the internal energy, guiding them to practice...

  Luoyang Tian trained the army with military formations and melee combat, Yang Tian trained elite troops with modern methods of assassination, while Lei Ming used the strategy of elite among elites to improve personal martial arts.

  If there is enough time to continue like this, putting aside the strategy, it's actually possible to cultivate a super strong team. However, time doesn't wait for me...

  After fifteen days of training, the situation is very good. The sky was floating with dark clouds, and the afternoon sun seemed to be not so fierce, although it was a bit sultry, but there were occasional breezes, and people felt that it was not too unbearable. Luoyang Tian's team was conducting routine training outside the city, only the amount of training had decreased a lot.

  Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes came from the west, "got it ~ got it ~", and a horse rushed over from afar. Seeing that it was a familiar military uniform, the soldiers did not stop their training movements, thinking that it was just another routine report like before. Before long, the horse ran to the edge of the high platform in front of the army formation, and the sentry on horseback rolled off the horse, cupped his hands and shouted at Luoyang Tian standing on the high platform: "General, urgent report!"

  Luoyang Tian's eyebrows furrowed as he jumped down from the high platform and stood in front of the sentry, gesturing for him to report quietly. The sentry lowered his voice and said, "The Haotian army has surrounded us ten kilometers away, and many sentries have been eliminated."

  "Uh-huh, you go and get some rest." Luoyang Tian said calmly.

  After the sentinel led the horse away, Luoyang Tianyang shouted to Qin Hao: "Qin Hao, you stay here and train the soldiers. I'll go find Commander Tong to discuss something."

  "General Luo, rest assured that the matter here will be handled properly." Qin Hao was inspecting the training situation when he saw Luo Yang Tian finish listening to the sentry's report and prepare to leave to see Commander Tong. His heart skipped a beat as he suspected that the Huan Tian Army had arrived, but his mouth responded very calmly, pretending to be nonchalant.

  Luoyang Tian hastily entered the city master's mansion, and as soon as he entered, he saw General Tong leisurely sitting in the main hall with Mr. Wen and Huang Chu, chatting and laughing together. He suppressed his anger and said sourly: "Old brother, you're so carefree, but it's hard on me, your younger brother."

  Three people, including Tong Da Shuai, saw Luo Yang Tian rushing in and stopped to look at him. Calculating the time, the Great Heavenly Army should be arriving soon. Tong Da Shuai avoided Luo Yang Tian's questioning and asked instead: "Younger brother, has the Great Heavenly Army arrived? From where?"

  "Alas, let's get straight to the point. Just now, scouts reported that the Haotian army is approaching from the west and is currently 10 kilometers away. Many scouts have already been eliminated. It seems that Haotian has come with great momentum." Luoyang Tian walked into the hall, sat down in a chair near Tong Da Shuai with a loud thud, and then let out a sigh.

  "How many scouts have returned with news?" General Tong asked again, while Mr. Wen and Huang Chu remained silent on the side.

  Luoyang furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice, "There's only one for now, but there might be more later." He also felt that something was off.

  "Not good! The Hwangcheon Army might be closing in!" General Tong jumped up in surprise, then shouted to the outside of the door: "Guards! Pass on the order for Lei Meng and Yang Tian to return immediately!"

  "Yes!" The guard outside the door ran away.

  Tong Dashuai and the other three people in the hall discussed for more than ten minutes, when Lei Ming and Yang Tian rushed in. Yang Tian's voice came from outside the door all the way to inside: "General Tong, I don't know where Huatian is now?"

  Tong Dashuai didn't have time to respond, as Lei Meng and another person were already standing in front of him. Their speed was truly fast, and they had appeared before him in the blink of an eye, making it seem like killing someone would be easier than drinking water. Tong Dashuai thought about these scattered thoughts, then said: "The scouts have reported that the Haotian army has arrived ten kilometers away. However, all the scouts were equipped with horses, so there should be even more scouts returning to report within this distance."

  "That is to say, Haotian may have eliminated quite a few masters of the scouts?" Yang Tian immediately woke up, because those scouts were all sensitive people, otherwise it would be difficult to detect enemy intelligence.

  Tong Dashuai nodded heavily and said, "We several people think so. However, we still need to wait a little longer to confirm."

  Yang Tian felt relieved, because if the scout who reported was at the front line, then other scouts should also be able to return and report soon; if the scout who reported was in the last position, then the estimates of those at the front line were gone.

  Lei Meng asked: "I don't know how General Tong and General Luo plan to do?"

  Luoyang Tian and Tong Dashuai exchanged a glance, Luoyang Tian said: "Just now we discussed the plan to meet the enemy, want to strictly defend within Huayue City! Fight him to the death!"

  Tong Da Shuai sighed and continued, "If there's a connection with the Black Chicken side, it would be better to retreat from the Black Chicken earlier, so as not to have today's disaster." He paused for a moment before adding, "Lei Meng, why don't you take some elite men and quietly leave?" Luoyang Tian, Mr. Wen, and Huang Chu looked gloomy because they couldn't follow Lei Meng in leaving; they had to share the fate of the army!

  Lei Meng's eyebrows furrowed, and he felt a surge of emotions in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, Yang Tian chuckled and said, "General Tong, do you think we're the kind of people who are afraid of death? We've taken a look at these few individuals, and even if we wanted to take them with us, they might not be willing to go. So, we won't be leaving!" By the end of his words, he seemed to have gained some confidence, but it was hard to tell what he was really thinking.

  Lei Meng had a strong urge to beat him up, but thinking that he and Yang Tian still had confidence in escaping, he endured it.

  Tong Dashuai and several others were also silent, feeling guilty in their hearts towards the two children - although they didn't know why they had joined the army, but since joining the army till now, not one of them wasn't thinking for the army. Now that the army was about to disband, should they still let these two promising children be buried with it? Should they still let the excellent youth of Jin Yuan's elite troops die?

  No, it won't work, we need to think of a way. Tong Da Shuai's heart was shaken, not as determined as half a month ago, thinking only of how to defeat Hao Tian.

  Tong Dashuai's forehead sweated again, and he wiped it lightly with his right hand. "General Luo, since that's the case, let's stop training for now and gather all the commanders to discuss this."

  Luoyang was about to turn around and leave, when Huang Chuzhi stopped him saying: "General Luo, wait a moment!" Then he said to Tong Dashuai: "If we were to tell the entire army our current situation, I'm afraid morale would plummet and the army would collapse on its own!"

  "Yes, General Tong, this is very likely." Mr. Wen also worried about it.

  "Alas..." General Tong let out a long sigh, then remembered that Lei Meng had not yet expressed his opinion. He looked at Lei Meng for help and said: "Lei Meng, I know you're always full of ideas, do you have any good strategies?"

  Lei Meng furrowed his brow, hearing Tong Da Shuai's question. He quickly pressed the sun spot with his right hand and said: "General Tong, I think that to win with fewer troops is nothing more than a surprise attack, taking advantage of the terrain, or using a strong army to defeat a weak one. Of course, if we can set fire like last time, we can also win." Lei Meng paused for a moment, letting everyone consider his idea. Seeing everyone nodding in agreement, he continued: "But now we still don't know the specific situation of the Huan Tian Army. To our east is the White River. If there are grain warehouses and armories on the other side of the river, then we can hold out against Huan Tian by defending the riverbank. But if not, going over to the other side would be equivalent to waiting for death. Of course, if we can defeat Feng Fei Fan's army, we can also go over."

  The thunder stopped again, and he cleared his throat: "Our key problem after leaving Huanyue City is the food issue. If it were only a dozen or twenty people, we could still find something to eat in the wilderness, but with so many people now, this is not practical. So when we left Huanyue, our first destination was a place with grain. For example, the grain and fodder of the Huatian army, or the granary of a big city. The grain and fodder of a large army are not easy to rob, and there are many guards in the border cities, so our target can only be the central location of Huatian."

  Everyone listened to Leiming's words and bowed their heads in contemplation for a long time. Mr. Wen was the first to raise his head and ask, "I wonder what clever strategy Leiming used to break through Huatian's encirclement?"

  Lei Meng shrugged and glanced at Yang Tian, who was already idle beside him, saying: "Look at his vanguard."

  Yang Tian heard the rumble of thunder finally mention himself, puffed out his chest and grinned: "Heh heh, as long as it's not the Iron Army, coming back two or three times is still doable."

  "And besides, we have to run up the mountain for a while, roads that are too easy to walk on can easily get us surrounded." Lei Meng reminded again.

  Tong Da Shuai nodded and said, "Then let's execute according to Lei Hong's strategy. What do you think?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Luo Yang Tian, who replied in a loud voice, "Younger brother thinks this plan is feasible."

  Mr. Wen and Huang Chu looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

  "Well then, Luo younger brother, go take stock of the troops and prepare provisions for departure." Commander Tong seemed to have aged a bit more, his energy weakened.

  "Good!" Luoyang Tian responded and walked out immediately.