vstars Chapter 59: The core team gathers to discuss the future.
Chapter 59: The core team gathers to discuss the future.
Upon hearing the report from his personal guard, Zhang Kui's eyes lit up with joy.
Zheng Lun and Chen Qi have finally arrived. This not only means the return of his two most capable generals, but also signifies that he can finally begin to formally plan for the future war.
"Open the gate and welcome Generals Zheng Lun and Chen Qi to the command tent." Zhang Kui's voice was loud and clear, with a hint of barely perceptible pleasure. He then instructed the personal guard beside him, "Quickly inform Vice General Wu Wenhua, as well as Colonels Zhang Boyuan, Li Zhongqian, Sun Shubao, and Zhao Jiyu, to come to the command tent immediately for a meeting."
"Yes, sir!" The guard acknowledged the order and quickly left.
Soon, steady, powerful footsteps approached. The curtain of the command tent was lifted, and two burly, imposing generals strode in. One had a sharp, wielding face, with two golden demon-subduing pestles hanging from his waist—it was General Heng, Zheng Lun; the other was solid and robust, carrying two chilling demon-slaying pestles on his back—it was General Ha, Chen Qi. Both were travel-worn, but their eyes shone with divine light, and their auras emanated a powerful, profound magical energy. Zhang Kui, after observing them, realized that Zheng Lun and Chen Qi had already reached the Celestial Immortal realm; clearly, their cultivation had improved considerably during their years in the North Sea.
Upon seeing Zhang Kui, who sat upright in the main seat with an increasingly profound and unfathomable aura, Zheng Lun and Chen Qi's faces instantly lit up with excitement. They quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, clasped their hands in salute, and said in a firm voice, "This humble general Zheng Lun (Chen Qi) pays his respects to our lord."
Zhang Kui stood up, stepped forward and personally helped the two of them up. His gaze swept over their faces, and he smiled, "Please rise quickly! It's been a long time; you two are as charming as ever, even more so than before!"
Zheng Lun stood up, sensing Zhang Kui's unfathomable aura, as deep as the vast starry sky, and sincerely praised, "My lord, you flatter me. It is you, my lord, whose aura is harmonious and whose divine light is restrained, that are even more unfathomable than when you were in the North Sea. It seems that your cultivation has made a great breakthrough, which is truly gratifying."
Chen Qi chimed in from the side, his tone carrying a familiar mix of "complaint" and pride: "My lord, this snotty monster and I have also broken through, and we're both now at the Celestial Immortal Realm. Of course, this guy cheated, secretly undergoing his tribulation three months early, getting ahead of me." He glared at Zheng Lun, clearly still "resentful" about the matter.
Zheng Lun's forehead creased with a few black lines, and he retorted irritably, "Yawning monster (Zheng Lun's counterattack, not to be outdone), the sooner you transcend the tribulation, the sooner you transcend the tribulation. When the opportunity comes, things will naturally fall into place. What do you mean by cheating? Do you expect me to wait for you to join me?" He deliberately emphasized the words "yawning monster".
Watching the two generals start their daily bickering as soon as they met, Zhang Kui couldn't help but smile. It was as if he had returned to the days when they fought side by side in the rear army of Beihai. The familiar and interesting atmosphere diluted the solemnity of the military tent.
Just then, Wu Wenhua's signature loud voice boomed from outside the tent, like a bell: "Old Zheng, Old Chen, you two are finally here! I've missed you so much! Hahaha..." Before the voice had even finished, the tent flap was flung open again, and the towering Wu Wenhua rushed in with a gust of wind. His large, fan-like hands slapped Zheng Lun and Chen Qi's shoulders with heavy force and no mercy.
Zheng Lun and Chen Qi were clearly used to it, easily dissipating the force with a slight sway. Zheng Lun laughed and scolded, "Wu Laoyao, you little brat, you've grown tall but never learned your lesson. I told you we're not much older than you, so why are you calling us 'Old Zheng' and 'Old Chen'? Call us 'brother,' you know? No respect for elders." Chen Qi chimed in, "That's right, Wu Wenhua, you need to know your manners."
Wu Wenhua scratched the back of his head, chuckled foolishly, and didn't refute, clearly indicating that he had a very good relationship with the two of them.
Immediately afterward, four captains, Zhang Boyuan, Li Zhongqian, Sun Shubao, and Zhao Jiyu, filed in. They were in neat military uniforms. After bowing to Zhang Kui, they stood aside and looked curiously at the two "Hum and Ha Generals" that Zhang Kui and Wu Wenhua often talked about.
Seeing this, Wu Wenhua quickly introduced the two sides: "Old Zheng, Old Chen, these four are the newly promoted captains of our lord: Zhang Boyuan, Li Zhongqian, Sun Shubao, and Zhao Jiyu. They are all outstanding soldiers and excellent commanders. And these four brothers, these two are General Zheng Lun and General Chen Qi, our lord's right-hand men, they are very capable."
Zheng Lun and Chen Qi put away their joking expressions with Wu Wenhua and solemnly clasped their hands in greeting to the four captains: "Greetings, gentlemen! It's a pleasure to meet you today!" They could sense the condensed aura and fierce, iron-blooded energy emanating from these four men, and knew that they must be Zhang Kui's carefully cultivated core members, so they dared not be negligent.
The four captains quickly returned the salute: "General Zheng and General Chen's reputations are renowned and we admire them greatly." The atmosphere in the tent became quite harmonious for a moment.
Looking at his core team gathered together, Zhang Kui felt a surge of pride. This was his team, the strength that allowed him to stand firm in this chaotic world.
He cleared his throat, his voice not loud, but it instantly silenced the tent, and everyone's eyes were focused on him.
Zhang Kui's gaze slowly swept over the crowd, gesturing for them to sit down. Once everyone was seated, he spoke calmly, his voice, amplified by the power of a true immortal, clearly reaching everyone's ears:
"I have summoned you all here today for two reasons. First, to welcome Generals Zheng Lun and Chen Qi. My key personnel are all gathered here today." He paused, his tone turning serious. "Second, there are important matters to discuss, concerning the foundation upon which we will stand in the future, and also the changing landscape of the world."
He first looked at Zheng Lun and Chen Qi: "Zheng Lun, Chen Qi, you two should first give a detailed account of the recent situation of the Beihai battle and the Grand Tutor's subsequent arrangements. Especially regarding the garrison at Mianchi."
Zheng Lun stood up first, cupped his hands, and said, "My lord, the war in Beihai has reached a critical point. The seventy-two allied forces led by Yuan Futong are stubbornly resisting by relying on unorthodox methods and the terrain, but the Grand Tutor is strategizing and has gradually turned the tide, successively recapturing several key locations. The Grand Tutor predicts that the Beihai rebellion can be quelled within two years."
Chen Qi added, "It is precisely because the situation at the front has stabilized that the Grand Tutor has been able to free up his hands to plan for the rear. This transfer order was personally written by the Grand Tutor. General Zhang Shan, the lord's younger brother, has been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Mianchi. The two of us, along with three thousand of our newly trained 'Crow Soldiers' and 'Flying Tiger Soldiers,' and four thousand elite troops from Beihai, are all placed under the command of General Zhang Shan to garrison Mianchi, guard the Yellow River crossing, and protect the northwest gateway to Chaoge. The Grand Tutor said that this place is of paramount importance and hopes that the lord and General Zhang Shan can develop it into an impregnable fortress."
Zhang Kui nodded slightly; Wen Zhong's arrangement was exactly as he had predicted. Although Mianchi was small, it was a strategic stronghold and would undoubtedly become a battleground for military strategists in the future.
"Very good." Zhang Kui turned his gaze to Wu Wenhua and the four captains. "Our Youli camp has 30,000 elite troops, who have been trained for many years and have become a fierce and powerful force. However, an army is only raised for a thousand days to be used for one. The future situation is turbulent, and we need to prepare early."
After a moment's thought, he issued the order: "Wu Wenhua, you shall immediately begin recruiting soldiers and expanding the army. The Longxiang Army shall be expanded to 30,000, the Yingyang Army to 20,000, and the Huben Army to 50,000. They must be put into combat force as soon as possible and be ready to be deployed at any time to support all sides."
"Zhang Boyuan and Li Zhongqian, you two are in charge of the daily defense and training of Youli. You must not slack off, and in particular, you must strengthen the vigilance in the area where the wanted criminal Ji Chang is located. There must be no mistakes."
"Sun Shubao and Zhao Jiyu, you two will assist Generals Zheng Lun and Chen Qi in quickly familiarizing yourselves with the military system of Youli. At the same time, you should also familiarize yourselves with the methods of training soldiers under Zheng and Chen, select the basics, integrate them into our daily training, and improve the overall combat effectiveness of the entire army."
"Your subordinate obeys!" The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing throughout the camp.
After arranging military affairs, Zhang Kui steered the conversation back to his own cultivation, a key aspect of his efforts to unite the people. He looked at Zheng Lun and Chen Qi, asking, "Now that you two have advanced to Celestial Immortals, do you know the current situation of various forces in the outside world? Especially those Qi Refiners, are there any noteworthy figures or developments?"
His move was both to gather intelligence and to use this opportunity to provide himself with a broader perspective and basis for judgment when choosing the Daoist supernatural power of the fifth stage of the Golden Core.
Zheng Lun and Chen Qi exchanged a glance, and Zheng Lun spoke first: "My lord, the outside world is indeed not peaceful right now. Jiang Wenhuan and E Shun have rebelled in the southeast, tying down a large number of the court's troops. Grand Tutor Wen is far away in the North Sea and cannot attend to both Chaoge and the surrounding barbarians. As for the alchemists... the disciples of the Jie Sect are still active, but there seem to be internal divisions; the disciples of the Chan Sect are mostly living in seclusion and rarely move around; recently, however, it seems that some disciples of the Western Sect have begun to operate in the Nine Provinces. Because their methods are very different from those of the Xuanmen, their motives are still unclear."
Chen Qi added, "There are also some powerful rogue cultivators, such as Ma Yuan from Skull Mountain, Qiu Yin from the Intercepting Sect, and Lü Yue from Nine Dragons Island, who also need to be watched closely. Especially Ma Yuan, who is notorious for his ferocity and has profound magical power. He once devoured more than 50,000 living beings a day in order to cultivate magical treasures. My lord needs to be more vigilant." They were unaware that Ma Yuan had already suffered a great loss at Zhang Kui's hands.
Zhang Kui listened silently, weighing the situation in his mind. The southeast was in turmoil, the court was corrupt, the Chan and Jie schools were at odds, and the West was spreading eastward… the world was already on the verge of a major upheaval.
"Flying and carrying traces, mastering the five thunders, standing upright without a shadow, transforming into a new form..." These four options flashed through Zhang Kui's mind again. The chaotic situation in the outside world gave him a more concrete understanding of the value of these four supernatural powers.
He temporarily suppressed his decision and said to everyone, "The situation is clear. We are in the midst of a whirlpool, and only by increasing our strength can we cope with all changes. Everyone should perform their duties diligently, train hard, and prepare the army for battle. After General Zhang Shan arrives in Mianchi and stabilizes the defenses, we will discuss the next steps."
"We will obey our lord's command!" the generals roared in response, their morale soaring.
Looking at his fierce and powerful generals, Zhang Kui felt a surge of pride. The road ahead was long and fraught with formidable enemies, but he was confident that, with his own cultivation and the ever-growing strength of his army, he could carve out his own path to the heavens amidst this calamity of the gods.