Chapter 155: Last a Little Longer!

"Is it Li... Li Zhao?" Xue Yun'er asked.

In recent days, the number of refugees arriving from Qingyang had been steadily increasing. Naturally, she had heard that it was Li Yun who had led the people to Qingyang, and that most of these refugees had been saved by Li Yun.

Deducing from this, it was not hard to guess who had saved this Miss Liu.

"Mm." Miss Liu spoke softly. "That day, we were almost overtaken by the rebel forces, but fortunately General Li arrived. Single-handedly, he killed several rebels and frightened all those who were pursuing us into retreat."

Hearing Miss Liu address him thus, Miss Xue gave a soft hum and said, "Junior Sister Su, that man is no general, nor is he any hero."

"He... he is merely fond of brawling and violence."

Miss Liu looked somewhat curious and asked, "Does Sister Xue know him?"

"I know him," Xue Yun'er said softly. "In the past, this man was no good sort. Because he possessed some martial prowess, my father engaged him as the head constable of the county yamen. Later, when the imperial court quelled the rebellions, the prefecture conscripted him for military service."

Miss Liu nodded gently, then said, "After he rescued me and we reached Linshui, he now has several hundred men under his command. He is well worthy of the title of general."

"During the few days I spent in Linshui, I made inquiries about some of his deeds. Grand General Su originally dispatched him to scout the vicinity of Linshui. With just a hundred-odd men, he captured the county town of Linshui and slew hundreds of rebels."

Hearing this, Miss Xue could not help letting out a gasp of surprise.

That bandit leader...

Why is he so reckless with his life?

Her heart beat rapidly, partly out of concern for Li Yun's safety, and partly because she suspected that Li Yun was striving for a good standing and a prestigious status so that one day... one day he could come to the Xue family to propose marriage, which was why he fought with such desperate ferocity.

At this thought, Miss Xue could not help clenching her hands tightly.

"Is... is he well?"

Miss Liu nodded gently. "General Li is exceedingly formidable. With my own eyes, I saw him slay several mountain bandits in one go without suffering a scratch himself."

Only then did Xue Yun'er let out a breath of relief, relaxing slightly.

"That man simply possesses a reckless daring," Xue Yun'er shook her head and said, "Forget it, why should we two sisters waste our breath talking about such a foul man?"

She looked toward Miss Liu and asked, "Does Junior Sister Su have any place to go?"

"I have an elder sister and an aunt, both of whom are married. I do not know their current dwellings, nor whether I can depend upon them for shelter."

Xue Yun'er took her hand and said, "Come, let us go to my chambers. We shall write a letter to each of them and send people to deliver them to their locations to make inquiries; surely we will find some news."

"During this time, Junior Sister Su may stay in my courtyard. The two of us sisters can have a proper chat, and once your sister or aunt sends a definite reply, we can make further plans."

Miss Liu lowered her head and said, "I only fear that I might be a burden to Master Xue and Sister Xue."

Xue Yun'er hastily shook her head and added, "My father holds Administrator Liu in high esteem and instructed me to take good care of Junior Sister Su. Just stay here; it does not matter how long you remain."

Miss Liu nodded gently and expressed her thanks. Then, thinking of her parents in Qiantang, tears welled up in her eyes once more. After weeping for a while, she sobbed, "Sister Xue, tomorrow I wish to buy some ritual paper money to burn for my parents. I do not know if anyone has collected and buried their remains."

"Assuredly, someone has," Xue Yun'er comforted her. "Administrator Liu was a man of lofty integrity and won the hearts of the people; surely someone gave their remains a proper burial. My father says the rebel forces cannot run rampant for much longer. Once Qiantang is restored, I will accompany you there to take a look."

Miss Liu rose to express her gratitude, and the two peers conversed for a long while. After they had dined together, Miss Liu looked at Xue Yun'er and asked, "Sister Xue, is General Li from Qingyang?"

"He is," Xue Yun'er replied. "He grew up in the mountains; he is thoroughly savage."

Miss Liu uttered an "oh," lowered her head, and remained silent for a long while. After a moment, she whispered softly, "The next time I see him, I must thank him properly..."

Xue Yun'er glanced at Miss Liu, sensing vaguely that something was amiss, but she still nodded and said, "When he returns, I will take you to see him."

"Mm, very well."

Miss Liu lowered her head again, lost in thought once more.

Nearby, Xue Yun'er found the image of Li Yun involuntarily rising in her mind. She clenched her fists tightly and cursed inwardly.

Odious bandit leader!

Meanwhile, Li Yun, who was far away in Shanyuan County, naturally had no idea what was transpiring within the city of Qingyang. He had long since cast the matter to the back of his mind and was wholly dedicated to drilling his troops.

The force under his command had now reached a scale of a thousand men.

Although the presence of the bandit-suppression team and Li Yun himself gave his thousand men a starting point in combat effectiveness that surpassed the rebels and the new recruits trained by Grand General Su, aside from the bandit-suppression team and Li Yun himself, the starting point for the rest of the new recruits remained quite low. Fortunately, after a period of bandit suppression, led by the veterans of the bandit-suppression team, a month's time had transformed these recruits. They were beginning to take shape, carrying a faint air of rugged ferocity about them.

Naturally, this was inseparable from the food provisions supplied by Li Yun.

In this era, more than half of the common people could not eat their fill; their daily meals merely served to keep starvation at bay.

Yet this man Li had managed to acquire a substantial amount of grain from Dongyang County—or rather, Wuzhou—and coupled with the spoils of his bandit-suppression campaigns, which were used entirely for military expenditures, every single man under Li Yun's command could eat his fill at every meal, with meat making an appearance from time to time.

To achieve this, Li Yun had spared no effort. He had specifically detached ten percent of his personnel to establish his own supply corps—in modern terms, a cooking squad.

After more than a month, some of the recruits who had still looked gaunt and scrawny upon enlistment had now visibly grown robust. Everyone's admiration and submission toward Li Yun grew ever deeper.

In this age, following a superior officer who could ensure you ate your fill was no small feat, let alone the fact that he actually paid them regular wages!

Regardless of the profession, food and clothing were the absolute basics. Only when men were well-fed and warmly clothed could they possess combat capability.

Thus, by the time Zhou Liang arrived with the other half of the force to rendezvous with Li Yun, this thousand-man force under Li Yun's command had already assumed a neat and capable shape.

At the very least, their spirit and morale were present.

Soon, they encamped twenty li outside the walls of Shanyuan County.

The campsite had been meticulously chosen by Li Yun in accordance with military treatises—putting the knowledge he had acquired from reading books during this period into practical application.

After pitching the tents, Li Yun sat within his grand tent, flipping through the account books sent from Wuzhou while speaking, "Third Uncle, the registers of your bandit suppression during this period must be compiled as soon as possible and handed over to me."

He paused briefly before continuing, "At the end of this month, our army will undergo a personnel adjustment. Those who have rendered meritorious service will be promoted, while those who slacked off will return to being ordinary foot soldiers."

"Also, compare our bandit-suppression numbers with Li Zheng's side. The words I spoke previously remain valid: whichever side loses will have its meat rations halved."

Zhou Liang nodded and said with a smile, "In accordance with the chieftain's orders, after we suppressed the bandits, the scholars from those strongholds were directly retained within the army to serve as scribes. They should have already compiled these records and will deliver them to the chieftain in a day or two."

Saying this, Zhou Liang sat down beside Li Yun and asked, "Chieftain, we are only about twenty li away from Shanyuan County now. How do you plan to fight this battle?"

"We are not planning to fight just yet."

"Let us first familiarize ourselves with the situation in Shanyuan County. I have already sent men to report our position to Grand General Su."

"Shanyuan County is where Qiu Dian launched his rebellion. Just how many men he left behind and whether he regards this place as his old lair remains unclear. We will only take action once Grand General Su initiates his attack on Yuezhou City."

Zhou Liang pondered this and said, "That will take at least another month. What shall we do here during this month?"

"Suppress bandits and drill the troops."

Li Yun yawned and continued, "Besides, Shanyuan County is more than just a single county town; there are rural towns and villages in its jurisdiction. Whatever we can occupy, we must seize. In a few months, it will be harvest time, and by then we at least will not lack grain."

"These thousand men of ours," Li Yun lowered his head to calculate, then tapped the table as he continued, "must become elite troops, and in the future, the elite among the elites."

Li Yun currently possessed no territory and no sufficiently high official rank. Before raising his banner in rebellion or striking out on his own, there was no longer much room for expansion in the organizational structure of his forces.

In other words, on paper, he could only have one thousand men.

Since it was difficult to increase his numbers in the short term, he naturally had to pursue quality.

Of course, this was merely a temporary situation.

After all, what restricted troop numbers was never some damned imperial establishment, but tangible resources—grain, textiles, territory, and weaponry and armor!

Once Li Yun secured his footing and acquired enough resources to sustain a larger following, outwardly he might still maintain just one thousand men, but secretly he would raise as many of the bastards as he possibly could!

Zhou Liang nodded, looking at Li Yun, "This subordinate understands."

"Third Uncle, train them well."

Li Yun stood up, patted Zhou Liang's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Once these thousand men are properly forged, our future prospects, at least within Jiangdong, will be boundless."

Zhou Liang bowed deeply, "This subordinate obeys."

With that, he respectfully withdrew.

Having finished dealing with his affairs, the man picked up his long spear, left the grand tent, and walked over to the open space used for drilling. Brandishing his spear, he thrust it steadily and accurately into the head of a straw dummy.

"Qiu Dian..."

Withdrawing his spear, Li Yun muttered softly under his breath.

"Hold out a little longer."

(End of Chapter)