Qin Mu knew very well that this was the result of Li Shimin's efforts. Of course, the result was not unexpected, after all, they used the things that the Tang Dynasty had discarded and were gathering dust in the warehouse to exchange for free combat power and also won over the beastmen. It seemed like a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
Duke Li Ji of Yingguo was the Grand Commander of the expedition. The Tang Dynasty dispatched 5,000 generals and 10,000 warships to conquer Wolf Island. That's right, only that many people were sent! But the quality was extremely high. All 5,000 generals were top-notch experts, and most of them were from the ten major tribes.
Now that they had caught Li Shimin's eye, how could they possibly escape his grasp? Over the years, Li Shimin had provided tremendous support to the ten tribes, sparing no effort in providing weapons, equipment, food, and supplies. This ensured that no one from the ten tribes died while guarding the ferocious beasts, which deeply moved the ten tribes.
A large group of simple and honest people, who had inherited their skills from ancient times, fell into Li Shimin's hands, more than doubling the top-level military force he directly controlled.
With the Sun family around, the sea route was no different from their own. When an army of 500,000 appeared on Wolf Island, the White-Eyed Wolf Clan was still completely unaware.
Qin Mu was the vanguard commander and was among the first to set foot on the road. He only occupied a small area and sealed it off, so no one outside could detect it.
"Greetings, Grand Steward!"
"Haha! Thank you for your hard work, Huai Dao."
"It's what I should do!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Mu entered the main tent and once again clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, all 480,000 troops in the main camp are in position. This humble general has come to report the order!"
"Alright! Issue the order: rest today, and the army will depart tomorrow." Li Ji nodded and gave the instructions.
After everyone else left, Li Ji and Qin Mu exchanged a smile. Li Ji gestured for Qin Mu to sit down and said, "I haven't thanked you for Yan'er's matter yet, I'm so sorry."
"Yan'er is exceptionally intelligent, and as her teacher, I am very happy that she has made such a contribution. There's no need for thanks," Qin Mu said with a smile and a wave of his hand.
Li Yan'er was Li Ji's youngest daughter. Because he had been busy with war for the past few years and did not want to delay his intelligent daughter's studies, he sent her to Qin Mu's school.
Given the relationship between the two families, Li Ji didn't continue with formalities, but simply nodded slightly and changed the subject, asking, "What are your thoughts on the Wolf Island campaign, Huai Dao?"
"Don't try to fool me. You know the White-Eyed Wolf Clan very well," Li Ji said with a smile before Qin Mu could speak.
Qin Mu could only smile and say, "Then I'll share my humble opinion. Since the army has landed on the island, war is inevitable. During the attack, we should split into two fleets to clear the coastline and cut off their retreat."
As for the war on the island, if things go smoothly, we'll divide our forces. We have a fleet that can attack the enemy from any point! If there are unforeseen circumstances, that's another matter!
"Take down this largest island first, then deal with the other smaller islands. There's not much else to worry about; after all, we've been almost completely cut off from the outside world for the past few years, and we don't know if anything else has happened here."
“Yes, my thoughts are similar to yours. Although the army dispatched this time is mainly composed of beastmen, it wouldn’t be good if too many people died,” Li Ji agreed.
"The only thing I can confirm right now is that the White-Eyed Wolf Clan is very poor. The two cities we've found so far are not even as good as county towns. So I need to tell those guys not to kill too many people. Capturing them is also part of our mission," Qin Mu said, taking out a map.
This is what he found out over the past month or so since he arrived. In order not to alert the enemy, he has been very careful in his actions.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Li Ji took the document, looked at it, and said, "Since that's the case, let's split the troops into four groups. Two groups will attack the city, and the other two will be responsible for mopping up the enemy."
Looking at the route Li Ji had drawn on the map, Qin Mu understood his intention. It was basically the same as what he had thought: since they had a large number of people, they would simply surround and sweep them away, leaving no one behind.
"That would be perfect! The sooner we clean up, the sooner we can plan the next step," Qin Mu agreed.
"Does Your Majesty have any other plans or arrangements?" Li Ji asked curiously.
"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just about finding a good place for these White-Eyed Wolves to breed and multiply, so that we can have a continuous supply of slaves in the future. This is just a suggestion I made to His Majesty. The specifics will depend on how the war develops. I guess His Majesty hasn't decided yet whether to implement it. After all, raising the White-Eyed Wolves will cost money, especially since this place is quite far from the Tang Dynasty's mainland," Qin Mu said with a smile.
Li Ji instantly understood. This was the art of rulership; they always considered whether something uncontrollable might happen. Thinking thrice before acting was their standard of conduct. Even knowing something was a good thing, they would consider whether it would affect future generations. This was especially true for emperors like Li Shimin, who harbored great ambitions and always wanted to build a dynasty that would last forever.
Li Ji glanced at the hint of helplessness on Qin Mu's face, smiled understandingly, and changed the subject, saying, "I would like to ask Huai Dao to take charge of the overall situation from the rear. What do you think, Huai Dao?"
"No problem, but please have the Grand Steward bring my apprentice Di Renjie along and give him some tasks," Qin Mu agreed without hesitation.
This time, only the two of them were in charge of leading the troops. The others were all young people of the new generation. They were capable, but none of them had experienced large-scale wars. Therefore, Li Ji could only leave Qin Mu behind to fill in the gaps.
In truth, most of them were not younger than Qin Mu, but no one would consider him a member of the new generation. Strictly speaking, the only recognized military commanders in the Tang Dynasty were Li Ji and Qin Mu, with Su Dingfang and Li Daozong ranking behind them. People like Li Jing, Qin Qiong, Li Shentong, and Li Shenfu were too old, and Li Shimin would no longer send them out on missions unless it was something particularly serious. They would only hold temporary positions in the Ministry of Military Affairs, doing some strategic work.
The Yuchi brothers, the Cheng brothers, and Qin Huaiyu are all now in charge of their respective regions. This is Li Shimin's way of training talent and giving young people opportunities to develop.
"Yes, I understand. I will train him well." Li Ji nodded in agreement. He was, of course, familiar with Qin Mu's disciples. Thinking of his own daughter, Li Ji couldn't help but feel a great interest in Di Renjie, whom he had never met before.
After finishing their business, the two chatted casually, mentioning a significant gain from their hiring of the beastmen. Most of the beastmen had never seen the wonders of the Central Plains and were utterly astonished throughout the journey. Furthermore, the food provided by the Tang Dynasty was of unprecedented quality, leading many to privately remark how wonderful it would be to live in the Central Plains.
When Li Ji brought up this matter, he certainly wasn't just laughing at it. He knew that Qin Mu had many ideas, and with him in charge from the rear, he had a lot of room to maneuver.
Qin Mu understood perfectly. He raised an eyebrow, an idea forming in his mind, and a smile appeared on his lips.
Five hundred thousand beastmen—that was a true mix of wolves and tigers. If it weren't for the fact that the able-bodied white-eyed wolves could be traded for food, those guys would have slaughtered them all. Even so, the bloodshed from killing the greedy beastmen resulted in rivers of blood.
The White-Eyed Wolf Clan couldn't understand why these kin, who looked so much like them, came from nowhere and were killing so frantically. They knew that while they were cruel, they still valued their human population.
The army advanced rapidly, and prisoners were constantly being escorted over and then sent back to the Central Plains by the fleet. These excellent laborers would then work day and night in the mines of the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty today doesn't lack food; what it lacks is manpower. Reclaiming wasteland, planting crops, and then constantly weeding—the work is much easier, allowing them to tend to more fields. With the same amount of land, grain income has increased fivefold.
Li Shimin was a good emperor. He did not increase taxes just because the people's grain production increased, so the people of the Tang Dynasty lived better and better lives.
"Reporting to the Grand Steward, the Grand Steward has sent a secret letter!" A guard entered the tent and bowed to Qin Mu.
"Go and rest!" Qin Mu took the secret letter and waved his hand in acknowledgment.
"Here you go!"
Qin Mu examined the sealing wax, opened the sealed letter, looked at it, frowned, then his eyes narrowed as he began to ponder.
"Someone come here!" After waiting for a while, Qin Mu called out loudly.
"Master!" The guard entered immediately, clasped his hands, and awaited orders.
"Pass on my order: Li Dejiang will lead 10,000 wolf warriors to guard the prisoners, while the rest will follow me into battle."
"Here you go!"
The secret letter from Li Ji was instructing him to lead the rear guard to join the attack. The letter mentioned that the White-Eyed Wolf Clan had all retreated to one place, indicating their intention to fight to the death.
When Qin Mu arrived at the front lines, he found that the two sides were indeed locked in a stalemate.
"What do you think, Huai Dao?" Li Ji asked with a smile, scanning the endless camps ahead.
"I just arrived and I don't know the situation. I really don't know what to do," Qin Mu said with a smile.
“Huai Dao, this isn’t like you! I don’t believe you didn’t make any deductions.” Li Ji pointed at Qin Mu and laughed.
"The Grand Steward is testing his subordinates!" Qin Mu glanced at the distant camp, a smirk playing on his lips, and continued, "As far as I know, the White-Eyed Wolf Clan has dozens of tribes that are not unified. Now they've all gathered together. While it might be due to a decisive battle, I'm more convinced there's something fishy going on."
So what exactly is the problem?
"If I'm not mistaken, a new race has appeared on the island, and they've taken control of Wolf Island in the last few years," Qin Mu said with certainty.
"Huai Dao is indeed formidable! I only learned of this recently. He's a very mysterious fellow who claims to be the representative of the gods on earth, called the Emperor! He leads two strange tribes, secretly supporting the Soga tribe, and has unified several tribes. These are the guys who have united to oppose us this time!" Li Ji exclaimed in admiration as he explained.
"It's not that I'm amazing. The people of the Yanhuang tribe once told me that there was a divine race that fled overseas and was sealed away. They must be them. I wonder what they look like?" Qin Mu replied.
"You only guessed half right this time, Huai Dao."
"Oh! What about the other half?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
“A couple of days ago, an envoy came. They claimed to be descendants of the Qin Dynasty and hoped we would withdraw our troops. They were willing to become our subjects, so I am in a dilemma about this matter! If they are truly descendants of the Qin Dynasty, occupy this place, and are willing to submit to the Tang Dynasty, I suppose His Majesty might agree.” Li Ji said with a slight frown.
"Descendants of the Qin Dynasty? Back then, apart from the lineage of Fusu who guarded the northern border, weren't all the descendants of the Qin Dynasty wiped out?" Qin Mu said, puzzled. Then, his heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Grand Steward, do you know the surname of the leader who claims to be a descendant of the Qin Dynasty? Is it Xu?"
"How did you know?" Li Ji asked, taken aback.
"Heh! What a descendant of the Great Qin! A traitor who betrays his master and ancestors, so he's run off to this place. No wonder there's been no news of him in the Central Plains!" Qin Mu's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he sneered.
"Do you know Huai Dao?" Li Ji asked curiously.
"If I'm not mistaken, the other side must be a traitor from the Guigu lineage, a descendant of Xu Fu! Xu Fu murdered his master and then disappeared without a trace! Xu Fu was a subordinate of the First Emperor, so perhaps he used that as an excuse to escape overseas with his men," Qin Mu explained.
"I see. I was wondering why their troop deployment was so methodical. They must be from a prestigious family. No wonder. But since they are traitors who betray their masters, His Majesty will surely not tolerate them," Li Ji said with sudden realization.
"Grand Steward! I wonder how strong our opponent is?" Qin Mu asked, his voice filled with murderous intent.
Now that he knows he is a descendant of Xu Fu, there's not much to say. Although Xu Fu is dead, he has inherited the legacy of Guiguzi, so he still has to take revenge.
"That's why I asked Huai Dao to bring reinforcements! Everything else is nothing to fear, except that the enemy's crossbows are formidable, probably derived from Qin crossbows. Although they don't have the range of real Qin crossbows, their power should not be underestimated," Li Ji explained.
"Does the Grand Steward know that on Wolf Island, bronze is more valuable than silver?" Qin Mu asked after thinking for a moment.
"Why is that? Could it be that Wolf Island has very few bronze mines?"
“That’s right! Bronze mines are scarce on Wolf Island, but silver mines are plentiful. They don’t have such a rich trade in goods, so bronze is more expensive than silver. As for iron ore, the Qin Dynasty didn’t have the technology to smelt refined iron!” Qin Mu nodded.
He was reminded of another world, a debate about the Japanese islands: why, for a long time, copper coins from the Central Plains were extremely valuable on the Japanese islands, while the Japanese always offered large sums of silver as tribute! Compared to other places, this was remarkably generous. It was believed that this led to the theft of considerable technology; the most plausible theory is that at that time, the Japanese islands only possessed the technology to smelt bronze.
"You mean even if they have crossbows, their numbers are very limited?" Li Ji asked, his eyes lighting up.
“That’s right! If they had a huge number of crossbows, they would have already unified Wolf Island. Why would they need to secretly support the Suwo tribe?” Qin Mu said with certainty.
“You’re absolutely right! I was blinded by my own limited perspective!” Li Ji said, slapping his palm with his fist.
"We'll raise an army tomorrow and watch how I crush the enemy!" Li Ji continued, somewhat angrily. He was indignant that he had been intimidated. After all, he had survived so many battles without any problems, yet he had made a small fool of himself here.
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