Chapter 1021

"That's gotta be a fight!" Shixu Camp Colonel Geng Jiang pondered for a moment, then suddenly said.

"What fight?" Qin Yu asked.

Geng Jiang suddenly stretched out his arms, clenched his fists tightly, "Use both fists to strike, strike out, strike so that those we oppose are utterly subdued; then everyone under heaven will naturally know our reputation, and naturally, upon hearing our name, they will bow their heads and call for surrender."

Guo Songbai shook his head, "Saying it is pointless."

Geng Jiang glared, "What else could we say? There's no other shortcut!"

Qin Yu nodded, "Old Geng's words aren't just empty talk; we really need to fight, and that's the only way. Not only must we fight, we must fight fiercely and decisively—just as the lord treats the Qiang People: those who don't listen get their wheels laid flat and are knocked down one by one. Look, the Qiang Land is now obedient."

"But the precondition for fighting is that we have sufficient strength; I think that's the key the lord meant! We must train the troops, drill them to death, and forge their abilities."

"Let me give an example: if every soldier in the army were a grand master, wouldn't everyone under heaven just have to tremble at hearing our name?"

"That's certain, but we probably couldn't restrain ourselves." Guo Songbai said gloomily.

Qin Yu said, "I'm just giving an example; if becoming a grand master were that easy, the world wouldn't be so rare. But we can train the soldiers in that direction—not only must we train their strength, but more importantly we must train battle formations and study the art of killing the enemy."

Guo Songbai nodded heavily, "I agree, the lord certainly means that."

Chen Bang looked at the people beside him with a startled expression, "Isn't the lord always meant that? I thought you were going to discuss something else; turns out it's just this. No, is this hard to understand?"

"To make everyone under heaven tremble at hearing our name, the only way is to fight; and to make our opponents cry out in pain, we certainly need sufficient skill."

"The lord pointed at the Assault Camp us, isn't that the meaning inside and out? Speaking of Brigade Commander Cui—no, now we should call him Marquis Cui—Brigade Commander Cui selflessly produced his family's fist technique, personally boosting each soldier's strength, and that's why the Assault Camp has such combat power."

"The lord obviously wants us to learn, then figure out our own way to train and strengthen the army. Just now the lord also had the Assault Camp soldiers stay to teach us fist techniques—this almost explicitly says it."

Everyone: ……

Guo Songbai scratched his thick beard under his jaw, said without blushing or panting: "So we now need to ponder, how to train the troops! This kind of thing can't be thought up by one person alone; we'll ponder together and work out a program."

"Good!"

……

Since the Assault Camp obtained the army's first official Military Number, the central army suddenly fell into a frenzy of Training Craze, each camp using its own means, falling into frenzied Internal Competition.

They jointly worked out a Training Method, but each secretly added some ingredients to it, and quietly increased the training volume—changing the one hundred jin stone lock to three hundred jin, and quietly changing the fifty jin load to eighty, one hundred.

On the surface everyone seems to be doing the same thing, but each camp is actually different.

However, this result is something Chen Wuji is very pleased to see.

Only with competition can there be greater strength.

Strangely enough, Chen Wuji's Temporary Station at Luoying Camp, while busy fortifying Luoying Camp and the military camp and training troops, the Uyghur People seemed to have vanished completely, leaving no trace at all.

Such silence not only fails to put people at ease, but also makes Chen Wuji's mood somewhat heavy.

Silence means there is only one possibility.

The enemy forces are brewing a bigger move!

They are not just making a tentative attempt; they are sharpening knives, preparing to give Chen Wuji a heavy blow.

That day, after several days of silence, Kong Fang again sought an audience with Chen Wuji.

"Lord, this is the plan I've written these past days for probing the Uyghur People; please review it!"

Kong Fang placed a thick stack of documents before Chen Wuji.

"You even compiled it into a Strategy Discussion? Let me see!" Chen Wuji almost thought Kong Fang had given up, but didn't expect this kid to have secretly cooked up something big.

Kong Fang rubbed his hands, "It's not that I'm worried the oral account isn't detailed enough; some things are easily overlooked, so writing it as a Strategy is more straightforward and also easier for the lord to review."

Chen Wuji nodded, "You really put in the effort."

"Wenjun, actually according to my original intention I didn't want you to take this risk, but seeing you like this, if I don't let you go, you'll resent me instead."

"In that case, I agree; do as you've written in these proposals. Burn these documents—no need to keep them, just in case."

Chen Wuji didn't finish reading it; he only looked at the front part.

Kong Fang grinned, "Lord, a strategist who just sits indoors writing documents won't be a good strategist; a strategist should know heaven above and earth below, but in my view it's even more important to clearly know self and enemy, so as to reasonably utilize heaven, earth, and people's hearts, seeking victory in war."

"Go, be careful; I've already instructed Shi Yi Shu to arrange manpower and warhorses for you!" Chen Wuji gave Kong Fang a deep look, "Be careful, don't be reckless."

"Yes!"

That night, Kong Fang led a newly formed thousand-strong unit lugging a large amount of Luggage and Supplies, silently departing the camp; to avoid the Uyghur Scouts and eyes, they needed to first detour south, then turn north to the Uyghur.

At the same time, Yang Pojun's troops, having received Chen Wuji's orders, were marching north; the vanguard had already bypassed Shenxian Ling and reached the Holy Maiden Pass in the remnant veins of Qiang Land.

……

Several days later, two urgent military reports arrived at Chen Wuji's desk simultaneously.

The first: Cao Lin allied with Li Yu and launched a surprise attack on Lü Ji's unit.

Lü Ji feigned defeat, fled south for dozens of miles, promptly joined forces with Feng Linchuan's unit, then at dawn launched a counterattack, routed the enemy, killing over three thousand, before fleeing again.

The enemy forces fell into chaos, abandoning pursuit; they gathered the routed troops and set up camp on the spot to prepare for defense. Lü Ji and Feng Linchuan combined forces and marched north, then two days later at dawn attacked the enemy reinforcements, killing nearly five thousand.

Li Yu and Cao Lin's alliance collapsed; each withdrew their troops and held the strategic passes.

This letter is very uplifting.

Seeing this, Chen Wuji's heart surged, and he repeatedly exclaimed that Lü Ji had given him a great surprise.

A general skilled at defense isn't just about defending; this maneuver was also beautifully executed, almost fooling Li Yu and Cao Lin's allied forces into idiocy.

This set of smooth little combos is almost exactly the same as when he pursued Li Qichen's unit that day.

Except he worried the Uyghur army had an ambush, so he promptly withdrew his troops.

When Li Yu and Cao Lin's allied forces saw Lü Ji's retreat, they gritted their teeth and went on a frenzied chase, completely ignoring whether there might be an ambush in the rear.