When Lin Hai saw Wang Liang again, the Qinghe County troops sent to fight against the bandits in Xichuan had just gathered in the training ground outside the city.
In fact, according to the agreement, Wang Liang should have returned to Qinghe County three days ago. Not only did he have to attend the final military meeting, but as a former centurion and now a county lieutenant, Wang Liang was also the commander-in-chief of the army after the division. However, everyone waited and waited but no one showed up. But the day of the expedition had already been set. If all the soldiers were told that the expedition had to be postponed because the commander-in-chief had not returned, the negative impact might be greater than just going out and suffering a defeat.
Fortunately, the scouts found Wang Liang, still trudging along the dilapidated official road. It must be said that Wang Liang's past experience of marching thousands of miles was still alive; relying on only a bag of dry food and a knife, he had almost made it back from Jinguan City. The major strongholds along the way showed no interest in this middle-aged man who had no money but looked like someone he was not to be trifled with.
This is wrong.
So when the army had assembled, Lin Hai gave the command, "Turn left," and everyone's attention turned to the parade grounds. Outside, everyone saw County Lieutenant Wang Liang, who had been absent for a long time, claiming he was going to Jinguan City to see the world and enjoy a few days of peace and quiet. He looked exhausted, dusty, and ragged. His face was covered in bruises and a large shoe print stretched from his left forehead to his right jaw, as if he had taken a 45-degree kick. Then, he stumbled in.
Lin Hai motioned for Wang Liang to come on stage, then shouted to everyone, "Everyone recognizes him, the county lieutenant is back!"
"From the moment we announced the plan to send troops, some people were worried. They thought we could easily defeat one or two villages, but when we talked about wiping out all the villages in Xichuan, many people became afraid. They felt that the enemy had more people, and even if they had steel swords and iron armor, they would still be no match for them."
Lin Hai raised his chin, squinted his eyes and glanced at the whole place out of the corner of his eye, appearing to look down upon the thousands of people in front of him.
"But you should know that the county lieutenant just returned from Jinguan City. He walked alone, with only a knife, for ten days and ten nights on a road that was filled with bandits after passing Qiongdu!"
(Wang Liang: I didn’t walk that slowly.)
"Do you know how many bandits think the county lieutenant is easy to bully?"
(Wang Liang: No one has ever felt that way.)
"Do you know how many times the county lieutenant encountered robberies by mountain bandits along the way?"
(Wang Liang: I haven’t encountered that before.)
"Do you know how many bandits the county lieutenant has killed along the way with just a straight knife like the one you have?"
(Wang Liang: They don’t know because I didn’t kill anyone. I did kill two rabbits, otherwise we wouldn’t have enough food.)
"You know nothing!"
(Wang Liang: Yes, they just don’t know anything, otherwise they wouldn’t be deceived by you.)
"You should know that we are the government troops, and it's the bandits who are afraid of us."
(Wang Liang: The bandits who are closer are all our own people. We can’t reach those who are farther away. In fact, few of them are afraid of us.)
"You should know that we have the sharpest swords, the toughest armor, the longest-range crossbows, and the most elite soldiers through training."
(Wang Liang: The first three are easy to deal with. Let’s talk about the last one after we win.)
"You should know that the so-called bandits are a group of desperate men who are carrying a large number of refugees. They can't get a full meal for ten days. You must know this because many of you were the refugees who were carried away."
(Wang Liang: There is no problem with this one.)
"So, there's nothing to be afraid of. I say it again, it's not us who are afraid, but them. The county lieutenant can fight one hundred people alone, so you can fight ten people alone without any problem."
(Wang Liang: If this was enough to defeat ten enemies with one, then the Liang Dynasty would have defeated the Chen Dynasty.)
"Now, tell me, do you have confidence?"
Regardless, Lin Hai's pre-war mobilization was complete, though its effectiveness would only be seen on the battlefield. However, both Lin Hai and Wang Liang knew that this was the first large-scale battle without their sworn brothers as the main force. It was also the first battle for these refugees, who had barely had enough to eat and had been struggling under the whips of bandits for half a year, after a change of roles. Regardless of how well they fought, as long as they could lead the team out to confront the bandits, they would already be victorious.
Moreover, Lin Hai was right in at least one thing he said, "If you follow the bandits, you will only have one meal every ten days." Lin Hai did not believe at all that a group of bandits who were starving and had no cohesion could have much combat effectiveness. The only way they could resist the Qinghe County militia was to abandon the village and flee in the woods, eventually dispersing and dragging down Lin Hai's army.
Ten Thousand Mountains, Tiger and Wolf Village.
"Have you considered it carefully? If you don't make a decision, the swords of Qinghe County will be on your necks." Zhang Jinnan stood in the middle of the lobby of the so-called Juyi Hall, which was actually just a wooden house.
Sitting in a circle around them were the leaders of seventeen bandit groups south of Qinghe in Xichuan. They were invited by the most powerful leader of Qitian Village, Zhentian Wang, to discuss how to resist the encirclement and suppression of Qinghe County.
"Hmph, King Zhentian is wishful thinking. Our Seventeenth Family doesn't have any deep grudge against Qinghe County. To put it bluntly, this whole thing was caused by your Qitian Village robbing their iron mine. Now they're coming to attack us, and King Zhentian wants our Seventeenth Family to join him in the fight? How can that be possible?"
The one who was speaking was called "Flying on the Grass". Zhang Jinnan actually found it difficult to understand why a big and strong bandit leader with a face full of flesh and even a big belly in this world would give himself the nickname "Flying on the Grass". Is it true that the more you lack something, the more you want it?
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