The military force has surged to twenty thousand

Ten miles outside Sifang City, Ren Tianye led his newly integrated army, advancing in an orderly manner.

"Report!"

A messenger rushed over: "Great General, someone has come to seek refuge with us. They claim to be local bandits but were originally border troops. They also said they have corresponded with you, Great General, in the past."

"Oh?" Ren Tianye was surprised. He had indeed exchanged messages with scattered border troops across the northern frontier, inviting them to Yunji City. However, due to various concerns, the other party had never taken action.

And now, they had come to join him?

He wondered which faction of the border army it was.

"Bring them over!"

Soon, a burly, fierce general wearing cloth armor and wielding a tiger-headed spiked mace strode over, accompanied by five or six personal guards.

Upon seeing the man's appearance, even though Ren Tianye had never met him face to face, he immediately knew who this person was.

Shi Hu!

A renowned fierce warrior in the northern border army outside of the Chifeng Army, and someone he had previously very much wanted to recruit.

"Great General, your humble servant Shi Hu has brought his men to join you."

Shi Hu was surprisingly respectful.

He threw his tiger-headed spiked mace to the ground, immediately knelt, and performed the salute of a subordinate, his posture extremely respectful.

Ren Tianye dismounted, kindly helped him up, and smiled, "General Shi Hu, you are too polite."

"Why have you suddenly come to join me?"

"Could it be that you've changed your mind?"

Ren Tianye asked, while pondering in his heart.

The biggest reason he had previously failed to recruit Shi Hu was that his own official rank had been too low. He was just a guerrilla general, while Shi Hu was a participating general.

Psychologically, Shi Hu surely couldn't accept it.

There must be a reason for this sudden arrival.

"Sigh, General Ren, I was blind to your greatness!" Shi Hu, clearly a straightforward man, didn't beat around the bush and directly explained the reason: "Previously, I felt that you, General Ren, were just a minor guerrilla general. How could you command me?"

"But looking at it now, it was entirely the incompetent imperial court burying talent."

"General Ren, you were able to take Yunji City and heavily defeat the imperial guards. How many people could achieve such battle records?"

"I call myself a participating general with extraordinary abilities, but in the end, I was forced to become a bandit. I have no armor, no weapons, and no warhorses. I was even chased and hunted by a mere Sifang City!"

"If I didn't come to join you, General Ren, I would only end up in the underworld."

Ren Tianye immediately understood.

It seemed the days of being a bandit were not easy.

He smiled: "In that case, please join me, General Shi Hu. Let us conquer the lands of Great Yu together. By the way, General Shi Hu, how many men did you bring with you?"

"About ten thousand men!" Shi Hu said. "Among them, six thousand are former border troops whom I gathered at the nearby Taoyuan Mountain. The rest are bandits from nearby hills whom I wiped out and absorbed."

"However, I have given them some basic training. Although their combat power still cannot compare to our border army, if they are equipped with armor and weapons, they can still put up a fight."

Ren Tianye was instantly overjoyed.

He currently had about ten thousand men. With Shi Hu bringing another ten thousand, he would have a force of twenty thousand.

He would have much more confidence in attacking Sifang City.

"Sigh..." Shi Hu sighed again at this moment. "Anyway, I've figured it out. Being a bandit leads to death, and fighting for the world leads to death. I might as well follow General Ren and fight for the world together."

"The brothers below think the same way."

"It's just a pity that it was a bit rushed. Otherwise, I could have recruited tens of thousands more troops for you, General Ren."

Ren Tianye was startled: "Tens of thousands? General Shi Hu, surely you must be joking?"

"General Ren, I've come to join you, so naturally I am sincere. Why would I joke?" Shi Hu immediately said. "As far as I know, there are many scattered border troops in the northern frontier. Many have become bandits, and they have all taken a beating recently!"

"Now that you, General Ren, have become a formidable force, joining you is much better than wandering around in the mountains."

"As long as I go in person, appeal to their emotions, and reason with them, many of them will definitely be willing to serve you, General Ren!"

"After all, only you, General Ren, have money, grain, warhorses, and equipment in your hands!"

Ren Tianye's heart stirred slightly, and he smiled: "If that's the case, then I will entrust this massive merit to you, General Shi Hu."

Shi Hu was stunned for a moment and said: "General Ren, what do you mean? Could it be that you want me to go and recruit these border troops for you?"

"Exactly!" Ren Tianye didn't hide it. Having dealt with the border army a lot, he knew that the atmosphere among them was still very honest and straightforward.

He said: "Take a thousand men with you. If you can bring back another ten thousand, I will appoint you as the Garrison General of the Northern Frontier."

"If you can bring back twenty thousand, I will appoint you as the General of the Four Directions!"

"If you can bring back forty thousand, I will appoint you as the Deputy Commander of the Northern Frontier."

"If you can bring back sixty thousand, I will appoint you as the General Who Pacifies the North!"

Shi Hu was instantly moved.

General Who Pacifies the North!

This was already considered a high-ranking position in the northern border army, part of the decision-making circle. It was a position he hadn't even dared to dream of when he was previously in the border army.

His blood boiled, and he asked: "What if I bring back a hundred thousand men?"

"Then I'll go and pull down the flying cows from the sky."

Shi Hu paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

How many scattered border troops were there in the northern frontier anyway? Even adding the local forces and bandits, it wouldn't be easy to gather a hundred thousand men. He said: "General Ren, is it a deal?"

"It's a deal!" Ren Tianye said. "Not only that, when you go to recruit others, you can announce that for those willing to follow me, ordinary soldiers will receive a monthly salary of 2.5 taels of silver, just like the soldiers of Yunji City!"

"Warhorses, equipment, and logistical support will be the same as the soldiers of Yunji City."

"Really?" Shi Hu's eyes lit up.

Having been in the border army for a long time, he knew all too well the temptation a monthly salary of 2.5 taels held for ordinary soldiers.

"When has this general ever spoken empty words?"

Shi Hu nodded. The fact that Ren Tianye was willing to do such a thing for the families of eight hundred men was enough to prove his character. He no longer hesitated.

He said: "Great General, I only need to take a hundred men. This trip is for recruitment, not for war. There's no need to bring so many people."

"So, the ten thousand men I brought will be handed over to you, Great General."

Soon, Shi Hu called over those ten thousand men and handed them over to Ren Tianye one by one. Ren Tianye also ordered the march to halt and arranged them accordingly.

This instantly expanded his army to twenty thousand men.

With these twenty thousand men in hand, why worry about not being able to take Sifang City?

"Report!"

Before the matters here were fully settled, the messenger ran over quickly again: "Great General, someone has come to defect. He claims to be sent by Li Botian's deputy general from Sifang City."

"Bring him in!"

The person arrived quickly. He was dressed as a commoner, wearing ragged clothes and looking very inconspicuous. But Ren Tianye, having been in the army for a long time, could tell at a glance that this man was a soldier.

"General Ren, I was sent by General Zhang Liang. General Zhang Liang wishes to serve you. He has a letter, please review it, General."

Wang Ming, who had already returned to the camp, immediately took it. After checking it thoroughly, mainly making sure there was no poison or the like, he handed it to Ren Tianye.

Ren Tianye opened it and read it through.

This Zhang Liang was Li Botian's deputy general. The letter he wrote was earnest in its wording, even carrying a hint of subservience. The entire text sincerely expressed his desire to serve Ren Tianye.

When Ren Tianye attacked Sifang City, he was willing to act as an inside man, helping Ren Tianye capture Sifang City in one fell swoop.

They had but one single request, which was to treat their military families well.

As for the reason...

It was because...

"Li Botian is going to pick up Su Xiu, so the attack is suspended?"

...