Chapter 139: Expansion of Power!

Calculating the time, the main force of the Ning State has only been training for about a month or so.

Given the capability of Great General Su, newly recruited soldiers trained for only a month could not be said to be completely useless in battle, but their proficiency was likely on par with those rebel forces, or perhaps even slightly inferior.

Forces like those led by Zhao Cheng from Qiantang, who had been fighting for over half a year, undoubtedly far surpassed the Ning State army in terms of combat experience.

Moreover, if Su Jing hurried to advance, he would inevitably attract the attention of the Qiantang rebels.

Since Great General Su had stated that he intended to make a major issue out of Linshui, it meant he certainly would not rush to arrive there.

Sitting on the city wall, looking at Su Sheng, Li Yun muttered quietly: "Young General, you are the Great General's son. With you remaining in Linshui, even if the Great General uses Linshui as bait, no one can say anything against him."

"And furthermore,"

Li Yun continued, "if... if the enemy also finds out that the Young General is in Linshui, their attacks will probably become even fiercer, and they will dispatch more troops to besiege Linshui. This bait that is Linshui will catch even bigger fish."

Su Sheng stood in place, frowning, and remained silent for a long time.

After quite a while, he looked at Li Yun and said in a deep voice, "Since I have enlisted in the military, I naturally must obey military orders. Right now, I am not only the Great General's son, but also a captain in the army. Since the Great General has made this arrangement, I have no objections."

Li Yun curled his lips: "Young General, your hundred cavalrymen are not new recruits. If you form a battle formation and charge out to break through the encirclement, could the rebels possibly stop you?"

"The one who should object is me."

Li Yun said solemnly, "If I, Li Zhao, feel that Linshui cannot be held, I will abandon it and lead my men to break through the encirclement ahead of time."

Su Sheng flew into a rage: "As long as you, Li Zhao, are in Linshui for a single day, if I, surnamed Su, lead my men and run away, I will take your surname from now on!"

Li Yun waved his hand: "It is useless to talk about this now. The Young General should inform the Great General of my thoughts as soon as possible."

"We people can act as bait, but we cannot be thoroughly devoured before the Great General reveals his hook."

Su Sheng frowned, then let out a long sigh: "Very well, I will relay Captain Li's intentions truthfully to the Great General."

Li Yun cupped his fists in salute and said, "Alright, thank you very much, Young General."

With that, Li Yun looked outside the city and said, "Since the Young General has arrived early, I will hand this city wall over to you. I am going to take my men outside to haul some stones into the city."

Su Sheng nodded and gazed silently into the distance: "Go ahead."

Li Yun turned and walked away.

Su Sheng clenched his fists and gritted his teeth at Li Yun's retreating back: "Captain Li, if the Great General orders us to hold Linshui and you are unwilling to hold it, I will stay behind and defend Linshui to the death!"

Without looking back, Li Yun merely raised a hand and waved it at Su Sheng to show that he understood.

...

The next day, Li Yun went to the routed soldiers' camp once again. Out of more than two hundred defeated soldiers, only about sixty percent were willing to stay, while the remaining forty percent wanted to go to Xuanzhou.

This was not strange at all; after all, they had been fighting the rebels for two months, and Linshui was not the main force right now—it was just a single captain's battalion, which would very likely have to face the main force of the rebels.

They were not very willing to stay.

Li Yun did not waste words; he made them leave their weapons and armor behind and let them out of the city.

As for the rest, he had Zhou Liang integrate them into various squads.

At this time, if Li Yun's command included Su Sheng's hundred cavalrymen and these hundred-odd routed soldiers, he already had over seven hundred men. Even without the hundred cavalrymen, more than six hundred men already exceeded the scale of a single captain's battalion.

However, at a time like this, no one cared about such details, and Su Jing, who was already dissatisfied with the imperial court, probably wouldn't fuss over these minor matters.

Anyway, in Su Jing's eyes—or rather, in everyone's eyes—no matter how many men Li Yun had under his command, they would still have to be disbanded once the war subsided.

How could a mere captain from Qingyang County possibly have the ability to support hundreds or thousands of soldiers?

Naturally, no one paid attention to Li Yun.

And Li Yun acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

After dealing with these defeated soldiers, Li Yun went to see Miss Liu once more. After exchanging bows, Li Yun smiled and said, "The carriage is already prepared. Coincidentally, I am sending two men to Qingyang to report to County Magistrate Xue, and I will have them escort you to Qingyang."

"Qingyang is temporarily safe. Once you arrive in Qingyang, Miss Liu, you can slowly search for your relatives, and you can go look for them after you find them."

Miss Liu looked at Li Yun, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Captain Li, I walked around Linshui City yesterday. Now that this county town lacks a government office, is Captain Li handling all the affairs?"

"Pretty much, I suppose."

Li Yun sighed and offered a bitter smile: "There is nothing else to be done. If I don't step up to do it at a time like this, no one else will."

"Although Linshui City is not large, there are still one or two thousand households in the city now, and various accounts must be numerous..."

Looking at Li Yun, she suddenly said, "When I was in Qiantang, I sometimes helped my father manage accounts. I was wondering if I could stay in Linshui and help Captain Li handle these miscellaneous chores."

"Firstly, to repay Captain Li for saving my life, and secondly..."

She lowered her head and said, "Secondly, to contribute a share of effort to the suppression of the rebellion and comfort my father's spirit in heaven."

Li Yun pondered for a moment.

He indeed desperately needed someone to handle internal affairs and logistics. For instance, if someone like County Magistrate Xue could work under him, he would have a much easier time.

Whether Miss Liu was capable of fulfilling such a role was something Li Yun did not know, but it would undoubtedly be of some help.

After thinking it over, he still shook his head and said, "If this were a stable rear area, I would brazenly ask Miss Liu to lend a hand. But Linshui is different; fighting could break out at any moment, and by then, I'm afraid I won't have the spare energy to look after you."

Miss Liu shook her head and said, "I am not afraid."

Li Yun shook his head again: "Wait a moment, I will have someone send you out of the city."

Seeing that Li Yun refused to agree, Miss Liu sighed and did not press the matter further. Before parting, she bowed deeply to Li Yun.

"Captain Li, see you in Qingyang."

Li Yun waved at her and smiled, saying, "I hope that by that time, the chaos will have ended."

Miss Liu boarded the carriage and looked back at Li Yun. She wanted to tell him her name, but felt it might not be appropriate. After biting her lips, she climbed into the carriage anyway.

Once inside, she lifted the carriage curtain to glance at Li Yun one last time, but still failed to muster the courage.

Chief Li had no inkling of any heroic-saves-the-damsel plots at the moment. As the carriage gradually pulled away, he turned around and went back to tending to the defense of Linshui, leaving Miss Liu in the carriage, lost in a daze.

What Miss Liu did not know was that back in Qingyang, there was another young lady who was also thinking of this great hero in her heart.

...

Five days passed in succession, and the Qiantang side made no moves whatsoever. Li Yun even sent Li Zheng thirty miles out, yet still saw no sign of Qiantang troops leaving the city.

That afternoon, Li Yun, Zhou Liang, and Su Sheng sat together on the city wall, all gazing in the direction of Qiantang. Captain Li spat out a piece of foxtail grass from his mouth, narrowed his eyes, and said, "I heard that General Zhao was quite an impressive figure, but it turns out he is nothing much after all. With no movement for so long, he's probably dazzled by the prosperity of Qiantang."

Su Sheng crossed his arms over his chest, also looking toward Qiantang, and remarked, "It might not necessarily be that Zhao Cheng is dazzled; it's probably those rebel soldiers who are blinded. According to the refugees, they haven't held back on committing atrocities since entering the city."

Zhou Liang stood quietly by the side, saying nothing.

After exchanging a few more words with Su Sheng, Li Yun was just about to head down to eat when, not far away, a few horses galloped back in a rush. Li Zheng dismounted at the city gate, and upon learning that Li Yun and the others were up on the city watchtower, he hurried up in a fluster, cupped his fists toward Li Yun, and reported, "Captain, the enemy is coming!"

Li Yun exchanged a glance with Su Sheng, turning solemn as he asked, "How many men? How far are they from us?"

"They should be only twenty miles away from Linshui. As for the numbers..."

Li Zheng scratched his head.

He had not yet mastered the specialized skills of a scout, such as being able to estimate the exact number of enemies at a single glance.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "A dark, dense mass of them—looks like quite a lot. Must be at least a thousand men or more."

"A thousand-plus men..."

Chief Li narrowed his eyes and smiled at Su Sheng: "Young General, if there are a thousand-odd men, then I am not leaving."

Su Sheng burst out laughing: "If Captain Li isn't leaving, naturally I won't leave either."

Chief Li stood up and walked toward the stairs of the watchtower: "Young General, don't forget to report the contributions of my unit to the Great General."

Su Sheng first nodded, then asked, "Brother Li, where are you going?"

"To eat."

Captain Li strode away.

"Otherwise, I won't have the strength to deal with them."