Chapter 1002

Xu Zengyi once joked that Chen Wuji could rival the greatest beauty of the age, his charm Wushuang, wherever he went soldiers were all subdued, all willing to die in loyalty, with such charm great undertakings will surely succeed.

In modern terms, in Mr. Xu's eyes, Chen Wuji is a succubus.

But Chen Wuji knows this isn't saying he truly has so much personal charisma; rather, he knows what the common people need now, and what the soldiers need.

Where he is, all soldiers are subdued; this is entirely a deliberate prescription tailored to the ailment.

The soldiers have become vested interests in the struggle for the world, naturally willing to die in loyalty.

This is not a great outburst of personal charisma, but a method.

But now, outside this desolate, impoverished small town.

Chen Wuji saw what he had long hoped for, what he wanted.

And this is what the charm of one who achieves great undertakings should be.

Although the common people here are poor, their numbers are only a few thousand.

But at this moment, in Chen Wuji's heart they are as weighty as a mountain.

Chen Wuji summoned Wang Yu to his side, "Lord Wang, I entrust the common people here to you; you must surely protect them, let them take root in Qiang Land and live in peace and work happily."

Wang Yu's gaze was rather complex.

Today's scene made his ears feel hot, he felt ashamed.

Popular sentiment, Loyalty and Righteousness, have always been deeply rooted in his nature.

But today's scene suddenly made him realize that what he had always upheld, though one-sided like a leaf blocking the eye, is not wrong, but far inferior to Chen Wuji's.

"I will not disappoint the Marquis's heavy trust!" Wang Yu bowed deeply.

The words "my lord" almost burst from his tongue, but he lightly swallowed them down.

Now waking up isn't too late; doing what he ought to do, why cling to the two words "my lord"?

"Let's go!"

Chen Wuji patted Wang Yu's clasped hands, smiling like a big neighbor boy as he vigorously waved at the common people on both sides of the road, "Folks, go back, everyone will have good days ahead!"

The crowd stretched long; even if Chen Wuji shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice couldn't be fully heard what he was shouting, but they knew Chen Wuji was greeting them, they all waved their hands and shouted the words "Marquis" and "victorious return".

"We will surely return victorious, that bunch of brats are no match for me!" Chen Wuji laughed heartily, mounted his horse, "March out!"

"March out!"

The great army marched north in mighty array, countless banners fluttered in the wind.

……

After two days of marching, Chen Wuji's army had less than fifty li left to Lingshouzhou.

In the evening, the army set up camp at a place called Luoying Camp.

This is a settlement like the Liu Min Ji refugee gathering, only without walls, accessible in all directions, it is the everyday trading place for common people within a radius of dozens of li, its scale is not small.

But this place has been completely ruined, deserted everywhere, ruins and broken walls, the rafters and tiles on houses have been stripped away, leaving only bare walls standing here.

Seeing the scattered fresh blood on the walls and the occasional sporadic corpses visible, this settlement must have been destroyed by war disaster, likely the work of nearby mountain bandits.

The Ancient Road that goes from Shenxian Ling past Xinglin Zhen and Liu Min Ji all the way to the Capital has long been plagued by rampant banditry, and now this region also has the Snake Staff Old Man as a behind-the-scenes manipulator, making the bandit problem exaggerated to an extremely absurd degree.

The mountain bandits are several times more numerous than the locals in this region, so any kind of destruction occurring is not surprising.

"Wushuang, take people to the town to see if any locals still live here!" Chen Wuji walked out of the just-set-up Yíngzhù, and gave an order to the nearby Wushuang.

Yes!

As soon as Wushuang had just left, Kong Fang hurried over.

"My lord, Mr. Xu sent documents via li Express."

"Give it to me!" Chen Wuji's expression changed slightly, and he quickly reached out.

Few things would make Xu Zengyi send documents via li Express; once he does, it must be a major incident.

The war in An Sai Zhou was progressing like a broken bamboo, and Chen Wuji couldn't fathom what could make that old fox panic enough to send a li Express letter to him.

He kept a calm exterior, but in fact Chen Wuji's inner heart was already panicking, his heartbeat slightly quickening.

Old fox, you must not come to any harm.

Damn it, Laborers had promised you to help you avenge your past grudge!

Chen Wuji's right hand slightly trembled as he quickly tore open the wax-sealed letter, shaking out its contents.

Damn!

Chen Wuji suddenly shouted angrily, "Xu Lao Zamao, are you sick? For this matter, do you deserve to send me a li Express? Damn it, Laborers almost thought you were dead!"

Kong Fang was startled by Chen Wuji's sudden movement, he shrank his neck, and quietly stepped back a step.

Someone retreated while someone advanced; Chen Li saw Chen Wuji's expression not looking good, hurried over and said, "Family Head, has something happened on Mr. Xu's side?"

"Nothing important, this Lao Zamao is deliberately provoking me!" Chen Wuji cursed.

Huh?

"For the designation number matter." Chen Wuji said speechlessly, "Those kids have always been eyeing the designation numbers of Hu Bu Gui and Chen Ruoshui's troops; this time they swiftly pacified the war in An Sai Zhou, and immediately all went to Old Xu, shouting that they should be given merit and designation numbers."

"'They want nothing else but the designation number; Old Xu tried to delay a bit, waiting for the war in Nanyue Jun to end before bringing this up to me. As a result, those kids refused, sending a trusted aide to follow Old Xu and wait for the outcome—now Old Xu is completely helpless, so he had to send this up via li Express.'"

Chen Li also found it both laughable and exasperating, "Just now you scared me too; I was thinking Mr. Xu has countless elite troops and strong generals around him, and he's not even on the front lines—how could he suddenly send military news via li Express unless he encountered an assassination? My soul almost flew away from fright; I never expected it to be because of this."

"'Back when we assigned designation numbers to the Jieyi Army and the Zuirong Army, it wasn't because they were so good, but to distinguish them from our direct-line troops; who would have thought that just a name would make these guys covetous to this extent?'"

"'Even after explaining it to them, they still don't believe.' Chen Li shook his head and laughed, 'Or perhaps they do believe, but they don't care; they just want the designation number.'"

"'Definitely the latter; not one of those guys is a fool!' Chen Wuji laughed and scolded."

"'Mr. Xu has already sent a li Express; this time they definitely have to be given, right?'"

"'Give it, since they want it so much, giving it is fine.' Chen Wuji said, 'Otherwise, they'll harass Old Xu, and Old Xu should just harass me every day with a li Express.'"

After a pause, Chen Wuji's mouth corner slightly curled up, 'However, since they want it so much, I can't just give them the designation number easily; I need to put some pressure on them.'