Chapter 2: The Imperial Envoy Delivers the Edict

  Early in the morning, He Zhengshan took Lu Fei and two attendants to ride horses directly to the front line. Yesterday afternoon, Grand Minister Wang Jiecheng signed an order to deploy 1.5 million troops from various places to rush to Wujijin in five routes; Prime Minister Zhang Jinxi also ordered people to transport a large amount of grain from all sides.

  After running for two days, He Zhengshan finally arrived at Wujitown. It was late in the evening, and Wujitown was dark and deserted, without a single light on, and there was no sign of life anywhere, but instead, due to the large number of deaths, this place gave people a sense of eeriness.

  He Zhengshan looked at the black chicken and sighed, "The Black Chicken has been guarding the southern line of the Sky for hundreds of years, never losing it. I didn't expect it to be occupied by Tong Wen Zheng, yet he abandoned it without a care..." --- In fact, Tong Wen Zheng was able to occupy this city due to luck, and he abandoned it because of lack of food and had no choice.

  Lu Fei and Qiu Sheng couldn't help but gasp in unison as they witnessed this scene, exchanging a glance and nodding to each other.

  He Zhengshan sighed and said, "Let's go into the city to find a place to settle down. When other troops arrive tomorrow, we can reinforce this city. What a great city it is!"

  Having said that, He Zhengshan led the way and rushed towards the city gate.

  The next day, a team of 30,000 people arrived on time, and Wujitown became lively again. He Zhengshan ordered someone to find the spare city gate and install it, clean up the old weapons, and replace them with new ones. After an afternoon and a morning's cleaning, Wujitown restored its former glory, still emitting a strong killing aura. He Zhengshan took Lu Fei and Qiu Sheng to inspect the city defense under the sun, making corrections where necessary. Lu Fei often came up with some ingenious ideas for defending the city, which made He Zhengshan feel enlightened and even more admiring of Lu Fei.

  Two days later, the remaining 120,000 troops also arrived at Wujitun, and Wujitun was overcrowded for a time. There were 30,000 troops to be stationed outside the city.

  He Zhengshan, accompanied by Lu Fei and Qiu Sheng, inspected the city wall filled with Jin soldiers, looking at the standing guards and the neatly stationed troops outside the city. He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. Lu Fei looked at the stationed army outside the city and spoke to He Zhengshan: "General, no, Great General, it's time to implement the plan."

  "Hmm, General Lu is being polite." He Zhengshan was overjoyed, "It's time." Because just this morning, Emperor Jin Yuan unexpectedly issued a decree, appointing He Zhengshan as the Southwest Commander-in-Chief, responsible for commanding the southwest war front against Huangtian, and requiring him to expand the territory; he also appointed Lu Fei as his military advisor.

  He Zhengshan walked a few more steps forward, stopped and shouted loudly: "Orderly, come here!"

  "General has an order, the orderly comes over..." He Zhengshan shouted, and then the guard passed on the general's order and left.

  Before long, a sturdy orderly ran up and stood in front of He Zhengshan, saying: "General, what are your orders?"

  He Zhengshan nodded and said, "Yes, you will rush to Hexi tomorrow to pass on the commander's order. Appoint Tong Wen Zheng as the vanguard of the southwest army, and then add 30,000 troops to him. Order him to take the first step in conquering, and he must conquer another city within half a month! The commander will guard the three cities he has conquered, let him advance with peace of mind." After finishing speaking, He Zhengshan took out a token from his chest and threw it over.

  "Yes!" The orderly took over the token and bowed his head slightly, turned around and quickly walked away, and soon disappeared from the city wall.

  Lu Fei cupped his hands and asked He Zhengshan: "I don't know who the commander is preparing to send and how many troops?"

  Hehe, look at those troops stationed outside the city.

  "Oh, I see. No wonder they were in the first batch stationed outside the city." Rufe nodded knowingly.

  He Zhengshan's mood was relaxed and he smiled: "It might be the last batch."

  "Great General is brilliant!" Lu Fei slapped his thigh heavily.

  "Haha......" He Zhengshan burst out laughing. Qiu Sheng curled his lips and sneered in his heart.

  Originally stationed outside the city was Tong Wen Zheng's old brother, Luo Yang Tian. He and Tong Wen Zheng were very close, and they appreciated each other. When Tong Wen Zheng was demoted, he repeatedly cried out in injustice, which led to He Zheng Shan, who was seeking an opportunity to rise to power, becoming dissatisfied and also being pulled down. This time, Luo Yang Tian happened to be among those summoned, and it would have been perfect for them to charge into the front lines and gain merit for He Zheng Shan, but instead they were directly annihilated by Huang Tian.

  He Zhengshan couldn't help but laugh again as he thought about it.

  "Pass on the order, let Luoyang Tian come here to see me, I have something to entrust him with!" He Zhengshan gave orders again.

  Before long, a soldier ran out of the city gate and rushed to the camp outside the city; soon after, two people ran out of the camp.

  Arriving at the city wall, Luoyang Tian looked at the majestic military formation and couldn't help but nod in approval. He had once dreamed of leading tens of thousands of soldiers to conquer the battlefield; unexpectedly, he was demoted due to a minor mistake, from commanding 50,000 troops to just 30,000...

  Luoyang Tian was a majestic and generous man, with a height of 1.8 meters, paired with a resolute face, making everyone who saw him feel admiration. With a strong and steady gait, he arrived in front of the three people at He Zhengshan, cupped his hands and said: "General, I don't know what you called me for?" After finishing, he also slightly cupped his hands to Lu Fei and Qiu Sheng.

  He Zhengshan's eyes narrowed slightly, saying: "General Luo, the commander gives you an opportunity to establish a great achievement." After a brief pause, seeing Luo Yangtian looking at him with doubt, He Zhengshan smiled and said: "The commander orders you to go to Hexi and join forces with Tong Wen. The commander has appointed Tong Wen as the vanguard leader of our army, and now appoints you as his deputy. You two must work hard to fight bravely, occupy more cities, and expand the territory for Jin Yuan! The emperor will surely reward you heavily!"

  It's really not a good thing! Luo Yang Tian Xin thought, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. A higher official can crush people with just one level of authority, let alone on the front lines, where disobeying military orders can lead to beheading!

  He Zhengshan saw Luoyang Tian hesitating and asked loudly: "Is there any doubt? Tong Wen Zheng was appointed as the commander because he had already captured three cities!"

  Lu Fei smiled and said: "General Luo still doesn't hurry up to thank General Commander? This is a good opportunity to establish merit."

  Luoyang sighed and said, "Old brother, I'm here to join forces with you to kill the enemy!" He gritted his teeth, puffed out his chest, and loudly shouted: "General Xie!"

  He Zhengshan saw Luo Yang's soft and humble attitude, smiled and said: "Go, tomorrow afternoon arrive at the west of the river. Our general is also waiting quietly for General Luo's good news in Wujixi."

  "Yes!" Luoyang Tian turned around and left quickly, he wanted to go back and gather his troops to leave. Many of his generals had followed him in his downfall and demotion, if they could gain some merit in this battle, they should be able to regain their ranks.

  Back at the camp outside the city, Luoyang Tian immediately gathered six generals with more than 5,000 troops and Military Advisor Huang Chu in the main tent to discuss. Luoyang Tian said loudly: "Brothers, just now General He summoned me over and ordered my troops to arrive at Hexi City tomorrow afternoon, and together with General Tong Wen Zheng as vanguard to attack and capture the city!" He saw that each general had a different expression, some surprised, some understanding, some puzzled, and stopped for a moment. After scanning everyone's faces, he asked: "What do you think?"

  On the right, a lean and clever general named Li Pu, who often spoke out, stood up and bowed his hands to Luoyang, saying: "General Luo, are we going to charge at the front line? Isn't that sending us to our deaths?"

  "Ah, charging at the front line is fraught with danger, but opportunities for merit are also plentiful!" Luoyang Tian glared at Lei Pu and said a rousing phrase that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

  Military advisor Huang Chu furrowed his brow and said, "General, this matter may have a hidden meaning. Commander He has always had opinions about General Tong Wen Zheng, and it led to..." Luoyang Tian waved his hand to stop Huang Chu's words and said, "Don't mention this! In the military, one must only follow orders!"

  The crowd was shocked and several leaders clenched their fists, secretly resentful in their hearts.

  In the afternoon, after lunch, Luoyang Tianming led the whole army to break camp and set off.

  He Zhengshan stood on the city wall and saw the tents falling down in large numbers, raising a sky full of dust, revealing soldiers standing all over the place collecting goods, feeling relieved and smiling uncontrollably on his face. He could hardly wait for his clever plan to succeed.

  At night, in the imperial palace's council chamber, under the candlelight, Emperor Wang Ding of Jin held the paper slip in his hand, on which were listed the deeds done by He Zhengshan. He muttered to himself: "What a He Zhengshan! He actually remained inactive and waited for others to seize the military achievements! It seems that Tong Wenrong was wronged last time."

  "Isn't this more interesting?" Wei Ming quietly emerged from the corner of the wall.

  "I knew you'd be nearby." Wang Ding rolled his eyes and muttered to himself. Then he turned around and asked Wei Ming, "What do you think? Can they take more cities or hold onto those few?"

  "I only understand martial arts, don't ask me those things." Wei Ming said calmly, turning around to walk towards the windowsill, gazing at the refreshing half-moon.

  "Heh heh~" Wang Ding found his balance point and continued, "Come on, let's exchange blows and see if I've made any progress..."

  "Whoa!" Wang Ding suddenly flew into the bookshelf, making a loud noise. It turned out that Wei Ming had heard this sentence and came over with excitement, instantly flashing in front of Wang Ding, and before he could react in surprise, he lightly pushed a palm on his chest, causing him to fly up in a daze.

  "Hehe... I like this..."

  "Hmm... how can the gap still be so big..." Wang Ding sighed.

  The next day at noon, Tong Dashuai was discussing the next move with Qin Hao and Mr. Wen in the main hall of the city master's mansion when a messenger reported that Jin Yuan had arrived. Tong Dashuai called out: "Quickly pass on!" After stabilizing the situation, Tong Dashuai still held onto hope for Jin Yuan.

  The robust messenger came into the hall, bowed to General Tong with his hands clasped together, pulled out a token from his bosom and held it up: "By order of General He Zhengshan, I have come to deliver this message! General Tong Wen, listen to the command!" After finishing speaking, he swept his eyes around.

  Tong Dashuai saw the token and took a closer look. He hastily stood up and said, "Tong Wen is here!" Then he bowed his head to listen for orders.

  The orderly officer took a close look at General Tong, then said seriously: "General He Zhengshan has an order, appointing General Tong Wen as the vanguard commander of the Southwest Army, and General Luoyang Tian as the deputy commander. The troops under General Luoyang Tian's command have 30,000 men and will arrive in Hesi within today. The vanguard army will choose a good opportunity to attack, and must capture another city within half a month. This is the order!"

  Tong Dashuai heard this order, stunned for a moment, then bowed and said: "Yes sir!"

  The orderly handed over the token, Tong Wen Zheng received it with both hands, took a closer look, and then returned it.

  The orderly tucked the token into his chest and bowed: "Congratulations, General Tong. The appointment documents will be completed after the battle. I wish you a great victory over Huan Tian!"

  "Thank you! Please sit down and rest!" Tong Dashuai stepped aside.

  "Thank you, General! However, military orders are urgent, and I still need to hurry back to report."

  "In that case, I won't stay any longer either. Qin Hao, see the messenger off!" General Tong didn't try to retain him either, and instead had Qin Hao send the guest off, as he wanted to keep some time to discuss with everyone.

  Tong Dashuai frowned and stood silently for a while, then ordered the messenger to pass on his command: "Summon Lei Meng and Yang Tian to come over, I have important matters to discuss with them!"

  "Yes!" The guard outside the gate obeyed and left.

  Mr. Wen frowned and walked to Tong Dashuai's side, sighing: "Dashuai, your old brother has also arrived, it seems that this time is likely to be more disastrous than auspicious."

  "Perhaps..." Tong Da Shuai pinched his chin whiskers and said, "Perhaps it's really hopeless..."

  "Let's not... " Mr. Wen was about to propose, but was interrupted by General Tong, who said: "Everything will wait until my older brother and Lei Meng arrive." After finishing speaking, he relaxed his eyebrows and showed a determined face.