Three rolls of the drum, the whole army assembles

Boom!

Like a bolt from the blue, the shocking news crashed down upon the crowd's heads like rolling thunder.

These guerrilla generals were all shocked still, standing frozen in place.

Rebellion!

The Great Yu Dynasty had been established for eight hundred years. They had only heard of peasant uprisings, but when had they ever heard of soldiers rebelling?

Just the word "rebellion" alone was like a heavy mountain, pressing down hard on everyone's hearts, making them unable to breathe.

But...

If they didn't rebel, what else could they do?

Seventy thousand elite soldiers of the Chifeng Army had been slaughtered. The Empress's gleaming broadsword hung over their heads, ready to fall on them at any moment.

The paths they had discussed were all about making compromises to survive, and even then, survival wasn't guaranteed.

It was death either way. If they didn't rebel...

What else was there?

Damn it, let's rebel!

Sun Xiang was the first to declare his stance, his face fierce and resolute. The Empress won't let us live anyway. Being massacred by her is death, and rebelling is death. The result is the same, so we might as well risk it all!

With someone taking the lead, the atmosphere was easily ignited.

Several other guerrilla generals also spoke up one after another.

Tianye is right. The best outcome of compromising is just living a cowardly life. We might as well rebel. My life must end on the battlefield. The battlefield against the barbarians is fine, and the battlefield of rebellion is not unacceptable either!

Fuck it, seventy thousand Chifeng Army soldiers killed just like that. The elites of Great Yu are so worthless in the Empress's eyes. There is nothing worth being loyal to in such a Great Yu. Let's fucking rebel and establish a brand new dynasty!

Exactly! Ever since the late Emperor married that whore to be his Empress, this Great Yu hasn't been the Great Yu it used to be. The current Empress is even more out of her mind. Following such a Great Yu will get us killed sooner or later. We might as well rebel.

...

Filled with righteous indignation, everyone voiced their agreement.

Even those who didn't explicitly agree didn't step forward to stop it.

That was enough.

When the time came and they were all on the pirate ship together, the general trend would be set, and it would be too late to jump ship and run.

Immediately, Ren Tianye shouted, Alright, brothers, since we've decided to rebel, let's plan this carefully...

What's there to plan... Sun Xiang said directly. We all hold similar ranks, so no one's orders carry much weight. But everyone trusts you. You should be our leader. Whatever you say, we will do.

This was directly deciding the leader.

Although a successful rebellion meant becoming the new monarch in the future, if the rebellion failed, others might have a glimmer of hope to survive, but Ren Tianye would definitely have to die.

Such a simple truth was clear to everyone; they weren't naive fools blinded by emotion, so naturally, they all understood.

Thus, many people chimed in with their agreement.

Sun Xiang is right. Tianye, you will be our leader. We'll do whatever you tell us to.

Tianye, everyone trusts you. From now on, our lives are in your hands.

Ren Tianye was also emotionally stirred.

Being the rebel leader left no way out?

So be it!

Even if he died on the path of rebellion, his transmigration to this world wouldn't be in vain. The hot blood he shed would not disgrace his identity as a transmigrator!

He proclaimed loudly, Good! Since everyone trusts me so much, today, I will take up the mantle of leader. I will lead you all to conquer this vast empire, and we will share in its glory and wealth together!

It was Sun Xiang again.

Thud! He dropped to one knee.

Your subordinate, Sun Xiang, greets the Great General!

The several guerrilla generals beside him immediately followed suit.

Greetings, Great General!

Greetings, Great General!

Greetings, Great General!

...

Their voices shook the roof tiles. In an instant, six men had knelt down, all calling out Great General, directly elevating Ren Tianye's status from a guerrilla general to the Great General commanding the nation's military forces!

However, there were exceptions.

Three guerrilla generals still had not knelt.

Obviously, they hadn't made up their minds about who should be the leader and weren't entirely convinced by Ren Tianye.

Ren Tianye didn't say much. Instead, he took out the military tally from his chest, held it high above his head, and said loudly, I have already slain General Zhang and obtained the military tally here.

Generals, follow me to beat the war drums and summon the entire army!

The black iron military tally emitted a faint glow inside the tent. The eight gilded characters on it pierced their eyes with a stinging pain.

The expressions of the three guerrilla generals who had not yet paid their respects instantly changed.

The military tally!

General Zhang's military tally!

The military tally that could legitimately command these eight hundred men was already in Ren Tianye's hands.

While they were still chattering away, Ren Tianye had decisively slain General Zhang and taken this military tally that could determine the life and death of eight hundred soldiers!

If such a person didn't become the leader, who would? Them?

Thud! Thud! They fell to their knees one after another.

Greetings, Great General!

Greetings, Great General!

Greetings, Great General!

Seeing this, Ren Tianye breathed a sigh of relief.

With the military tally in hand and the guerrilla generals' loyalty secured, these eight hundred soldiers were completely under his control. The great undertaking was set, so he took a deep breath.

He shouted again, Beat the drums!

...

The rumbling sound of drums echoed like muffled thunder. Boom, boom, boom... The rhythm was vigorous and urgent, piercing through the entire military camp.

After the first round of drums, all low-ranking officers rushed to the central command to assemble.

After the second round of drums, all soldiers lined up on the drill ground.

After the third round of drums, everyone was present!

Even the two soldiers guarding Su Jin and her maid escorted them to the drill ground, lining up neatly, waiting for the commanding general.

Ren Tianye strode onto the general's platform.

Clad in silver armor and holding a Heaven-Piercing Halberd, his face was stern. Under the flickering firelight, he appeared majestic and cold.

For a moment, it made those soldiers who were curious as to why it wasn't General Zhang keep their mouths shut, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Brothers, I believe you already know.

Seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army were set on fire by the Imperial Guards outside Shanhe City. Most were burned alive, and the rest were hunted down and slaughtered by the Imperial Guards. Out of an army of seventy thousand, almost no one survived!

That was seventy thousand people!

Seventy thousand of our brothers and compatriots, just... died in vain like that!

Ren Tianye's speech was quite skillful.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he brought up the seventy thousand Chifeng Army soldiers. Originally, these eight hundred men belonged to the Chifeng Army and had lived in Shanhe City with them for a long time. The bond between them was extremely deep.

Hearing the sudden news of the Chifeng Army's annihilation was already heartbreaking.

With Ren Tianye saying this, their already uncontrollable emotions instantly surged.

Out of the eight hundred people present, after Ren Tianye's words, at least more than half showed sorrowful expressions, feeling a deep sense of empathy for their fallen comrades.

Ren Tianye pointed at a young soldier standing in the front row and said, Gouwazi, I remember that Uncle Wang, who was a squad leader in the Chifeng Army, treated you very well. He always taught you skills, gave you weapons, and backed you up when you were bullied.

He even said he would recommend you to join the Chifeng Army in the future. But now... he either died in that fire or died at the hands of the Imperial Guards. Can you...

...bear this?

Gouwazi was young to begin with, and at an age where emotions were hardest to suppress. Stirred by Ren Tianye's words, he instantly burst into loud sobs.

Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, he... he died so tragically...

"And you..." Ren Tianye pointed at them one by one, calling out, "Back then, when we were besieged by the barbarians, it was the men of the Chifeng Army who disregarded their own lives, riding day and night to save us."

"We are an auxiliary force, constantly short of weapons and rations, but the Chifeng Army would rather freeze and starve themselves than fail to help supply us."

"The Chifeng Army treated us with true sincerity. For so many of us, the dream was to join their ranks. We have always taken pride in being their auxiliary..."

"But now, the Empress has decreed the execution of the Chifeng Army. Seventy thousand loyal souls are buried outside Shanhe City. Can we just sit back and watch?"

"Can we accept this?"

A single roar brought ten thousand responses.

Countless tear-stained soldiers shouted in unison, "No!"

"No!"

"No!"

The sound was like rolling thunder.

"That's right, we cannot!"

"But it is precisely because we cannot accept this that the Empress will come for us next!"

"If she could ruthlessly slaughter seventy thousand loyal souls of the Chifeng Army, why would she spare the lives of our mere eight hundred?"

"We are going to die."

"And our families will surely suffer."

"The wives you married will be pinned beneath other men."

"Your children will call other men father."

"Your elderly parents will have no one to care for them, left only to suffer and wait for death."

"I ask you, are you willing to accept this?"

A voice even more earth-shattering than before erupted.

"We are not willing!"

"We are not willing!"

"We are not willing!"

Ren Tianye raised his arms and shouted, "If we are not willing, what should we do?"

Several guerrilla generals immediately took the lead and shouted.

"To hell with it, let's rebel!"

The atmosphere had reached a boiling point. With their chests heaving with excitement, the soldiers immediately followed suit and shouted.

"To hell with it, let's rebel!"

"Rebel!"

"We rebel!"

Ren Tianye also held up his military tally and shouted loudly, "Treacherous officials dominate the imperial court, offering slanderous advice that killed seventy thousand loyal souls. How can we sit by and do nothing?"

"We must purge the evil advisors from the sovereign's side!"

"To vindicate the seventy thousand loyal souls, and to vindicate ourselves!"

Ren Tianye did not immediately label the matter as a rebellion. It was enough to understand this privately; there was no need to proclaim it publicly.

Five thousand years of history had taught him that rebellion didn't necessarily end badly, but the first one to jump out and declare it would absolutely die.

Therefore...

They publicly declared that they were not rebelling, but purging the sovereign's side!

As long as it wasn't a rebellion, they wouldn't face opposition from the entire world. They would have a chance to survive and grow stronger against the behemoth that was the Great Yu Dynasty, and the possibility of ascending to rule the world and controlling the four directions!

Thinking of this, Ren Tianye couldn't help but admire the wisdom of the ancients.

He didn't know which genius came up with it.

Purge the sovereign's side!

This excuse was damn irrefutable!

Although anyone with a discerning eye could see at a glance that it was nonsense, as long as you casually pointed to a few key ministers around the Empress and called them treacherous, there would still be plenty of people willing to believe you! To follow you!

After setting the tone, Ren Tianye immediately gave his deputy general, Wang Ming, a look. Wang Ming quickly brought an object. Ren Tianye grabbed it and held it high above his head along with the military tally.

He shouted, "The seventy thousand deceased souls of Chifeng have yet to rest in peace, and a butcher's knife hangs high above our heads. At this critical moment of life and death, our General Zhang, because his wife was angry, disregarded vital military matters."

"He used this commanding tally for his boudoir pleasures."

"Our lives are on the line, yet he only cared about his beautiful wife. Are our lives so cheap?"

"Are we worse than ants?"

"I could truly no longer endure it. Just now... I have severed Zhang Wei's head!"

Ren Tianye threw Zhang Wei's head down.

With a bang, it smashed onto the wooden boards of the commander's platform, causing them to shake.

The men below the platform froze in shock.

Zhang Wei's personal guards, in particular, instantly rioted.

General Zhang is dead?

Yes, if General Zhang wasn't dead, how could Ren Tianye have obtained the military tally?

They were about to make a move right then and there.

But upon taking a look, they saw that those standing all around them were the trusted aides of the guerrilla generals, surrounding them tightly.

Even worse, the surrounding soldiers surged like a tide, glaring at them like tigers eyeing their prey.

They knew this was because General Zhang had always doled out arbitrary punishments because of his wife, and thus had lost the hearts of the people.

In normal times, suppressed by his official authority, the men dared not do anything. But right now, with the Chifeng Army annihilated and Ren Tianye rallying the crowd, the situation was completely different.

One by one, they stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to move or stay still.

Ren Tianye, however, had never thought of slaughtering these personal guards to the last man. There were nearly two hundred of them, all elites. How many men did he have in his hands now?

What difference would killing these two hundred men be from cutting off his own arm?

Thus, he continued to hold the military tally high and shouted, "Zhang Wei is dead, and I am the chief commander. As long as you brothers are willing to follow me to seek justice from the imperial court, I will treat you as brothers."

"Are you willing to follow me?"

The crowd immediately shouted in unison.

Amidst these waves of shouts, the personal guards, whether forced by helplessness or acting involuntarily, also began to shout along.

"We are willing to follow the General!"

"We are willing to follow the General, even if it means dying ten thousand deaths!"

Ren Tianye shouted loudly, "Good."

"Then now, I order everyone to return to your camps immediately, pack your bags, and eat a full meal. In a few days, I will lead you all to..."

"Purge the sovereign's side!"

The crowd shouted in unison again, "Purge the sovereign's side!"

"Purge the sovereign's side!"

"Purge the sovereign's side!"

Their momentum was unstoppable!

Their voices pierced the clouds!

Only then did Ren Tianye nod in satisfaction.

The grand scheme was set!

He turned around and returned to his tent!

...