Chapter 81

As the battle ended, one of the private soldiers couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

A private soldier beside him heard this, his brows slightly raised, and he teased: "Could it be that we are just too formidable?"

After all, they had endured a year of hardship, training as if their lives depended on it, and everything they ate and used was the best;

it was only right to live up to their efforts and the Lord's investment, wasn't it?

"Perhaps!"

That man shrugged, then chuckled: "Perhaps, it is a bit of both."

"Oh!!!"

"Young Master Su Xuan is ever-victorious!!!"

When Su Xuan led his army to a triumphant return, a large number of county soldiers and townspeople lined the streets to welcome them, offering cheers.

Su Xuan nodded and gestured humbly throughout the entire procession.

Soon, he reunited with Su Lie, Cai Xin, and the others.

"Congratulations, Boyuan! I never expected that, quietly and without fanfare, you would train such a powerful army. You have given me a huge surprise! Truly impressive!"

Cai Xin praised with a look of amazement.

"Not at all! Not at all!"

Su Xuan heard this and waved his hands repeatedly in humble denial: "These are actually just caravan guards I gathered temporarily!"

"Uncle Cai, you know as well as I do that running a business these days is not easy; there are mountain bandits and roving marauders everywhere;"

"Especially in Bingzhou, where there are also Hu Ren raiding cavalry;"

"How could one feel at ease running a business without training the caravan guards to be a bit stronger?"

Don't ask; if you ask, they are just caravan guards.

Upon hearing this, even though Cai Xin had been mentally prepared, he was still broken by Su Xuan's shamelessness and thick skin.

He thought to himself: "Private soldiers are private soldiers. These days, everyone is secretly raising them; who doesn't know about whom? Is there any need to spout such nonsense?"

"Whose caravan guards can not only form military formations but are also fully armed, wearing iron armor, carrying iron spears, with iron sabers at their waists, and strong bows and crossbows on their backs?"

Even the Son of Heaven's Imperial Guards might not be as elite as your "caravan guards," right?

But on the surface, he still nodded with a smile to show his agreement: "Indeed! What you say makes perfect sense; it is very necessary!"

"It is fortunate that you, my nephew, brought the caravan guards to support us in time; otherwise, Dengxian would likely have suffered devastating losses."

One must know that there were no fewer than ten thousand Huang Jin rebels outside the city earlier.

Crucially, many of them were local Dengxian people who had been coerced.

Quite a few were relatives of the townspeople, so killing them outright was inappropriate.

Soon, the group arrived at the County Magistrate's residence.

"What are your plans for the next steps?"

Su Lie spoke up to ask Su Xuan.

Cai Xin and the others also looked over.

Su Xuan, however, shook his head and said: "For now, I will help you and Father defend Dengxian and ensure the safety within Dengxian's borders!"

"After all, the imperial court has not yet issued orders, and it is not appropriate for my force, composed of caravan guards, to go out and fight, is it?"

He was waiting.

On one hand, he was waiting for the imperial court to issue a decree allowing righteous men to form local militias to participate in suppressing the rebellion.

Only then could he legitimately raise the banner of private soldiers to participate in the suppression and earn merit.

Additionally, news from his mole within the Huang Jin rebels indicated that Zhang Mancheng had become a General of the Taiping Dao here in Nanyang.

At this moment, he had already gathered an army of at least one hundred thousand and was marching toward the Nanyang capital, Wancheng.

According to the trajectory of history from his past life, if nothing unexpected happened, Zhang Mancheng would soon break through Wancheng and kill the current Nanyang Administrator, Chu Gong.

This would draw the attention of the imperial court.

Afterward, the court would send a new Administrator, Qin Jie, to recover the lost territory and suppress the rebellion.

That would be the time for Su Xuan to make his move.

"That is true!"

Su Lie nodded affirmatively and then looked at the others: "What do you all think?"

In fact, they had already speculated and discussed this issue and had a response plan in place.

Now, these words were merely for the benefit of Cai Xin and the other Dengxian officials.

This was to prevent them from spreading rumors later that they had stood by and watched other counties suffer without helping.

Although, given Cai Xin's relationship with the Su family, that was unlikely to happen.

But being careful was never a mistake.

"Young Master Xuan's words are reasonable!"

The others also nodded in agreement.

Five days later,

News arrived from Wancheng that the city had been breached and the Nanyang Administrator, Chu Gong, had been killed.

After Wancheng fell, Zhang Mancheng began sending troops to gradually conquer other cities and commanderies in Nanyang while continuing to expand his army.

Meanwhile, he also received news that the Huang Jin uprising in Dengxian had been swiftly extinguished without even causing a ripple.

He was instantly enraged and immediately dispatched a force of 20,000 to march on Dengxian.

Su Xuan, who had been watching all of this, set an ambush halfway.

In a single battle, he routed this mob of 20,000.

The terrifying combat power displayed by his iron cavalry frightened Zhang Mancheng.

It made Zhang Mancheng extremely wary, and for a time, he dared not pay any more attention to Dengxian.

"Hmph! Just wait for me! Once this General takes the other cities of Nanyang, I will gather hundreds of thousands of troops to wipe out this pack of government dogs in one fell swoop!"

Zhang Mancheng said to his subordinates with a fierce and harsh expression.

"The General is wise!"

Upon hearing this, the leaders began to flatter Zhang Mancheng.

They felt this decision was very wise.

That group of government troops was clearly not simple.

They did not want to end up like the 20,000 who had been sent previously, easily wiped out by others.

They had rebelled to enjoy fine food and wine and to live in luxury, not to be cannon fodder.

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