Dispatch Troops to Yunjing

In fact, it really was!

To say nothing of the fact that ever since he started following Ren Tianye to raise troops, Zhang Shi had been on the same level as him. Both were guerilla generals. Later, Ren Tianye became a grand general without an imperial edict from the imperial court. This was not a problem, and Zhang Shi was convinced.

But Wang Ming...

He was merely a deputy general by the grand general's side. Whether it was his ability to command troops or capture cities and seize territory, he was inferior to Zhang Shi.

But why was it that every time there was a big shot, it was Wang Ming?

He had followed the grand general on a trip to the northern frontier, but he hadn't gotten a single hair.

Everyone else had their contributions recorded, waiting for the world to settle down before they were promoted and ennobled.

Was he still a guerilla general?

In the future, when he saw his former colleagues, would he have to half-kneel and salute?

This resentment almost tortured Zhang Shi to death.

Fortunately, now... it was different!

He led five thousand light cavalry, carrying fifteen days of dry rations, deep into the barbarian grasslands. Without follow-up supplies or support, he completed a devastating blow to the barbarian royal court and major tribes!

What was this called?

This was called sweeping the courtyard and clearing the caves!

It could even be called expanding the territory!

According to the grand general's generosity, he would at least be granted the title of a marquis in the future, and it was highly likely that the title would be hereditary!

When he saw Wang Ming again, Zhang Shi...

Could finally feel proud and elated!

"Get up." Ren Tianye helped him up, guessed what he was thinking, and said, "In this southern expedition, you must show off more. What is a mere marquis?"

"A person who can sweep the courtyard and clear the caves cannot be trapped by a mere marquis."

"The most important thing is... if you can't compare to Wang Ming, hehe!"

Zhang Shi immediately patted his chest and shouted loudly, "Grand General, don't worry. He's just a little Wang Ming. In the future, I must make him see me and half-kneel to salute me."

Ren Tianye didn't stop these small emotional outbursts in the army. Instead, he found it amusing. However, Wei Shuo, who was beside him, came over with burning eyes and praised Zhang Shi.

Or rather, he was sincere.

After all, Wei Shuo really wasn't as fierce as Zhang Shi back then.

And facing Wei Shuo, an old senior, Zhang Shi was also quite respectful, stating bluntly that he had taken advantage of the situation. After all, the barbarians had almost come out in full force, and their main force was all trapped in the Central Plains. Their interior was already very empty, so he had picked up a bargain.

But Wei Shuo still praised him, and Zhang Shi continued to respect him. The two quickly started blowing each other's horns.

Ren Tianye ignored them and continued to coordinate the things that needed to be done before the army set off. When things were almost done, Sun Xiang also arrived on time.

Having not seen him for a long time, Sun Xiang had become increasingly resolute and steady.

The immature general who had followed him back then, leading only eight hundred men and clamoring to clear the emperor's side, had now completely grown into a pillar of the state.

With the blessing of these two people, as well as the ten thousand firearms "gifted" by the Tongxin Alliance, Ren Tianye's confidence also soared.

When everything was ready, he immediately wrote an imperial edict, took the jade seal placed on the desk, and stamped it with a clang.

Then...

He reorganized the army and prepared for the oath-taking rally!

On the martial arts arena outside Kyoto, banners covered the sun, and spears and halberds were like a forest.

Two hundred thousand soldiers were arrayed according to their camps, densely covering the wilderness, silent and murderous.

The commanding platform stood tall, with a three-zhang flagpole erected in front of it, flying the black "Ren" commander's flag and the red dragon flag representing the imperial court.

Ren Tianye, fully armored, strode up.

His gaze swept over the crowd, his heart surging with emotion.

He then read aloud the imperial edict written on behalf of Xiao Mingzhao.

"I have received the mandate of heaven to manage the state affairs. How can I tolerate the arrogance of the vassal towns?"

"The Prince of Yunjing and his son relied on the old grace of the late emperor and forgot the righteousness of ruler and minister."

"When Old Wang died, they hid it and did not report it; the heir was unseemly and usurped the throne. Furthermore, they held troops to intercept taxes, and their decrees were arbitrary. They were equivalent to a separatist regime, and their crimes were equivalent to rebellion."

"Such disloyal subjects are a great disaster to the country!"

"Today, I specially appoint the Grand Marshal and Grand General, Duke of Ren, Ren Tianye, to supervise all the armies, march south to Yunjing, rectify the laws of the country, and pacify the state!"

Closing the imperial edict, Ren Tianye announced the appointments one by one.

"Zhang Shi is granted the tally of the commander-in-chief of the vanguard army, commanding eighty thousand vanguards, opening roads in the mountains and building bridges over water."

"Shi Hu is granted the tiger tally of the cavalry commander-in-chief, commanding all the cavalry of the entire army."

"Wang Ming is granted the tally of the governor of the Divine Machine Camp, commanding the Divine Machine Camp."

...

After announcing the appointments one by one, Ren Tianye's cold eyes swept over the crowd.

He then shouted, "The land of Yunjing takes absurd love as its heaven!"

"Husbands are not like husbands, and ministers are not like ministers. The universe is turned upside down, and moral principles are lost! Such an evil trend is incompatible with the way of 'establishing merits and building careers, and passing down loyalty and righteousness' that our men from the northern frontier have exchanged for with blood and sweat!"

"Today, our king's army marches south, not only to recover its land, but also to rectify its customs and clear its source! Let the people of the world know what is right and wrong, what are moral principles, and what is the principle of being an upright person and establishing merits and building careers!"

"This battle conforms to the will of heaven and the people, and we will definitely win!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers shouted in unison.

"We will win!"

"We will win!"

"We will win!"

Ren Tianye added, "Follow me, clear out Yunjing, and recreate peace!"

The two hundred thousand-strong army immediately shouted in unison, the sound waves rolling across the earth like thunder, shaking the robes of the officials watching the ceremony and frightening away the birds.

Only then did Ren Tianye step down from the main platform and mount the Night-Illuminating Jade Lion.

He led the army and set off!

...

"Wang Ming..."

Halfway through the march, Ren Tianye saw that Wang Ming seemed to have something on his mind, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Are you worried that we won't be able to win because Yunjing's firearms are strong?"

"No, no!" Wang Ming quickly said, "Duke, let him be strong, it's just a clear breeze blowing over the hills. With your miraculous use of troops, Duke, your subordinate doesn't believe that we can't pacify Yunjing."

"Your subordinate just..."

"Sigh, Duke, to tell you the truth, your subordinate seems to have done something wrong."

"Does the Duke remember the woman your subordinate reported? The woman who smashed Lin Zixiao hard with a stone."

Ren Tianye had a deep impression of this. After all, getting rid of Lin Zixiao had helped him eliminate a major disaster. He nodded and said, "I remember. What happened to her?"

"This woman is called Lu Shuang. She is a hunter in the village and lives alone. Saving Lin Zixiao was an accident, and smashing Lin Zixiao was because Lin Zixiao was sick. This general thought that he wouldn't reward her openly, but reward her secretly."

"But I didn't expect to ruin things."

"She received a large amount of rewards for no reason, which was coveted by the villagers and reported to the government. She was worried that Lin Zixiao's matter would be leaked, so she abandoned her home and ran away."

Ren Tianye asked, "Can't you find her now?"

Wang Ming said, "Judging from the traces, she should have run in the direction of Yunjing, but I don't know how she is now."

Ren Tianye patted Wang Ming on the shoulder.

Even though Wang Ming had followed him through all the killing and had long tempered a calm and murderous style, the chivalrous heart in his bones had not changed at all. He said, "Since she went in the direction of Yunjing, let Su Jin pay more attention to it. With Su Jin's ability, she will definitely be able to find her and take good care of her."

"I also have a good impression of this Lu Shuang."

"I won't let anything happen to her."

Wang Ming nodded and said, "Yes, thank you, Duke."

...