Chapter 1052: Arsonist Maniac

Play is play, noise is noise, but the name still needs to be thought of.

But it's a pity that Chen Wuji doesn't think much of the names they came up with.

Even a capable person like Xu Zengyi has come to grief in this naming task.

He had come up with a few names, but before Chen Wuji could voice an opinion, he rejected them himself.

People who hold themselves to high standards are usually like that—they define good or bad for themselves first, leaving others no chance to speak.

As the banquet entered its latter half, everyone visibly grew worried and glum.

Racking their brains for a name, they exhausted their mental energy, even the taste of the wine in their mouths grew faint.

"My lord, why not just use Zhangye? I feel the meaning "the state's arm" fits this place perfectly!" Xu Zengyi said.

Chen Wuji smiled and said, "Let's think some more; I'm sure you can come up with something better."

"With the lord's few names as pearls before us, any others we think up just don't measure up to the suitability of the name Zhangye!" Xu Zengyi said, "The Drinking Horse River has wandered for decades and finally returned home; from now on the lord's great army will set out from here, step onto Uyghur land, and completely eradicate the border threat that has troubled the Central Plains people for hundreds of years—isn't that exactly what "the state's arm" means?"

"From this place the lord will stretch out his arm and wipe out the centuries-old scourge!"

Others chimed in, taking turns to emphasize from every angle how beautiful and fitting the name Zhangye is.

They've lost track of how many hours have passed; they now urgently need to settle this matter.

If they keep thinking, their heads are liable to catch fire.

Chen Wuji gave a slight nod, made the final decision, and said, "Then let's go with Zhangye."

After being persuaded by Xu Zengyi, he also now feels that the name Zhangye is indeed quite fitting.

To him, Zhangye is not only the meaning of "the state's arm," but also a projection of his homeland into this world.

Using the name of a city he knew from his past life, he builds a city in this world; although it isn't the exact city he once knew, it retains some similarity, allowing a sense of familiar comfort to emerge in a haze.

Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief, each person's expression visibly relaxing.

Naming a city is nothing short of more agonizing than going into battle.

……

Several days later, the battle reports of Yang Pojun and Kong Fang from within Uyghur territory, after many twists and turns, finally reached Chen Wuji.

That little bastard Kong Fang, after entering Uyghur territory, still unilaterally insisted on changing the tactics he had originally reported to Chen Wuji.

He employed a tactic that could be called exceptionally classic special-operations warfare.

First he used the large number of camp tents he brought to deceive the Uyghur tens-of-thousands-strong army's encirclement; after mobilizing the southern border troops, he split his forces into small units, slipped through the gaps in the Uyghur army's encirclement, infiltrated various parts of Uyghur territory in ten‑man squads, and specifically targeted granaries and government offices.

In that month, his men penetrated as far as nearly a thousand li deep into the Uyghur heartland; going any deeper would have brought them close to the Uyghur capital.

Nearly a hundred squads threw southern Uyghur into utter chaos, everywhere firefighting and arrests!

Chen Wuji doesn't know how the Uyghur are reacting or what they're thinking, but they must be furious.

Meanwhile Kong Fang, in this memorial, told Chen Wuji that the defenses of southern Uyghur cities are now unprecedentedly strict, making it hard for him to find openings; he decided to lead his troops north to look for weaknesses among the northern Uyghur cities and stir up some trouble.

This kid has really figured out how to play the 'orders from the sovereign don't apply to the general in the field' trick.

His memorial is completely a case of 'strike first, report later'.

After reading it, Chen Wuji's forehead veins throbbed with anger, yet he could do nothing about it.

Kong Fang sent this memorial ten days ago via the Spy Battalion's route; according to what he wrote, at this point his ghost squad should already have reached northern Uyghur territory, possibly ready to move.

Not wanting to interfere with Kong Fang's upcoming actions, Chen Wuji could only suppress his urge to reprimand him, replying with encouragement to stay humble and cautious, while also lavishly praising his achievements in southern Uyghur territory.

Although he presumptuously changed the tactics, his achievements this month are so outstanding they can be described as irresistibly sharp, extremely high.

Although they didn't directly kill many enemies, merely assassinating a dozen Uyghur ministers and burning countless supplies and offices, the strategic significance of these results is profoundly far‑reaching.

That fire alone could burn away years of Uyghur national strength.

He directly altered Yang Pojun's strategic situation, and also laid the best groundwork for Chen Wuji's future advance into Uyghur; with southern Uyghur supplies now scarce, the war will naturally be greatly affected.

Although arbitrarily changing tactics deserves criticism, his achievements are such that no one can fault them—his performance in this battle is enough to rank him alongside Chen Baojia and Qian Fugui.

Even a scholar wielding a blade can be terrifyingly lethal.

Compared to Kong Fang, Yang Pojun's side is rather by‑the‑book.

He led his troops from the Ancestral Spirit Mountain Pass in northern Lofty Righteousness Prefecture into Uyghur territory, each step taken with remarkable steadiness.

After taking a city he digested it; at strategically important sites he locally conscripted prisoners to build towns, mobilized the border troops of Lofty Righteousness Prefecture to garrison them, and slowly pushed the frontier line of Nan Jun northward.

Since the main army marched north, Yang Pojun has captured two major Uyghur cities, built one town, killed nearly ten thousand enemies, and taken over three hundred thousand Uyghur soldiers and civilians as prisoners. Of these, he left more than ten able‑bodied youths to build towns and roads, widening the route from Lofty Righteousness Prefecture to Uyghur, while the rest—women, children, the elderly and infirm—were all relocated to the Qiang Land colonization posts, where the colonization officers arranged everything uniformly.

"Old Yang is getting on in years, but this time he's fought quite steadily." Xu Zengyi joked, "If I hadn't seen his battle report, I wouldn't have guessed it was him doing the fighting."

Chen Wuji has heard Xu Zengyi talk plenty about how Yang Pojun fought when he was young.

"Perhaps Old Yang is adapting to time and place, choosing a different way of war." Chen Wuji said.

"With Kong Fang causing havoc in the Uyghur heartland's Five Organs Temple, his side should just fight steady and solid, eat a bite, digest a bite—no need for speed, just need stability."

Xu Zengyi snorted, shook his head, and said, "My lord, you still don't understand this old fogey. Back when he fought, he never bothered with such considerations—he's just like the current General Qian: no matter how many foes or how strong they are, I'm confident I can beat them, kill them, and then lead the charge head‑on."

"These years he's been forging iron in Yunan, and it seems he's settled down, dulling his own sharpness. That's fine, but the lord's staff now actually lacks such steady, veteran commanders; the young generals are all too fiery in battle, which is good but also has its downsides."

Chen Wuji nodded, "That's also why I've kept Old Yang and San Shu in the rear—they keep complaining to me, but I can't help it. A little extra vigor on the front lines isn't a big problem, but too much vigor in the rear guard causes trouble."

Now with Kong Fang being this stimulating, I suspect these people will get even more crazy!