116: Chapter 116 Training Soldiers

"If you want to survive, if you want to live with dignity, you must rely on the blades in your own hands to fight! To seize! To kill!"

"Tell me! Do you want to be worthless trash trampled underfoot for the rest of your lives, or do you want to follow me, Su Bai, and carve out a path to survival?!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

It was unclear who had roared first.

Immediately after, all the people from Su Family Village erupted instantly.

They were men, too; once upon a time, they had also dreamed of being men who stood tall and achieved great things.

After all, what man didn't have a Jianghu dream?

"Carve out a path to survival!"

"Kill those sons-of-a-bitch Bandits!"

The angry roars of over a hundred people merged into an astonishing wave of sound, scattering the morning mist and rising straight to the clouds.

The fear in everyone's eyes had faded away.

What replaced it was a monstrous rage.

This was the rage of ordinary people, but when these emotions gathered together, they could also start a prairie fire.

Watching the faces of the crowd below, now stirred to bloodlust, Su Bai's lips curled up slightly.

Very good, the morale is usable.

He nodded at Ma Lie, signaling him to continue the training.

Afterward, Su Bai turned and walked down from the high platform, leaving the barracks alone.

Returning to the Generals Mansion, Su Bai went straight to Zhou Qingying's study.

Zhou Qingying was processing some of the residence's accounts. Seeing him enter, she put down her brush, looked up, and smiled: "How was it? Those boys weren't scared out of their wits, were they?"

Clearly, she had already guessed Su Bai's intentions.

"A bunch of green recruits; if I don't scare them a little, how will they ever become capable?" Su Bai sat opposite her, poured himself a cup of tea, and downed it in one gulp.

"I've decided, we'll take action the day after tomorrow."

Zhou Qingying's expression showed no surprise; she looked at Su Bai calmly and said: "Have you decided who to hit first?"

Su Bai shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I know nothing about the distribution of forces around Yunzhou City, so I came to find you, the 'local authority'."

Zhou Qingying smiled at his words.

She stood up and walked to the wall, where a massive map of Yunzhou was hanging.

As the daughter of the Military Governor of Yunzhou, she had been exposed to this since childhood, and her understanding of this land far exceeded that of ordinary people.

"Come look."

Zhou Qingying's slender fingers traced across the map, finally stopping at a place not far from Yunzhou City. "Around Yunzhou City, there are seventeen named Bandit stockades, big and small. Among them, the most powerful, aside from the Black Wind Stockade you already wiped out, are three others."

"Fierce Tiger Mountain to the northwest, Piled Rocks Ridge directly to the south, and Misty Marsh to the east."

"Among them, the group of Bandits in Misty Marsh is the most troublesome. Because of the geographical conditions of Misty Marsh, even if the imperial court sent troops to attack, it would be extremely difficult to break through."

Su Bai listened quietly without interrupting.

Zhou Qingying continued: "These three are tough nuts to crack. With the three hundred new recruits you have now, if you rashly clash with them, I'm afraid you'll suffer a great loss."

"Training troops requires a gradual approach. The first battle must establish prestige, let the brothers see blood, and keep casualties to a minimum."

Her finger moved across the map and finally stopped at two inconspicuous locations.

"I suggest you target these two places first."

"One is Green Bamboo Mountain, thirty miles east of the city. The stockade leader is named Liu Sanba, and he has seventy or eighty men under him, all composed of refugees and hooligans with little combat capability. They are perfect for giving your troops confidence."

"The other is Wild Wolf Valley, fifty miles south of the city. It is occupied by a group of Bandits called the Hungry Wolf Gang, numbering about one hundred and twenty people. Their leader, One-Eyed Wolf, is a ruthless character. It is said he was once a deserter from the border army and has a few fierce and brave confidants under him, with cultivation around the seventh level of Artifact Refining. But their biggest problem is a lack of food."

Speaking of this, a smile flashed across Zhou Qingying's lips, and she said slyly: "We can spread the word that a shipment of grain and grass will be passing outside their valley to lure them out. Set an ambush in the wild, and by waiting in comfort for the exhausted enemy, our chances of victory are at least eighty percent."

Su Bai looked at the two points on the map, then looked at Zhou Qingying beside him, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

To have such a wife, what more could a man ask for?

This Zhou Qingying was not only a beautiful woman to keep him company, but also a virtuous wife capable of plotting a kingdom for him.

"Good, I'll listen to you."

Su Bai made the final decision and said, "We'll start by squeezing the soft persimmon that is Green Bamboo Mountain."

Jiedushis Residence, study.

Zhou Zheng leaned back in the grand chair, his left arm supported by a white cloth sling across his chest. Although his complexion was still a bit pale, his spirits were exceptionally good.

He looked at Su Bai opposite him, his eyes full of appreciation.

Su Bai laid out his bandit suppression plan and his idea to hit Green Bamboo Mountain first.

Of course, he only said this was to train the local militia and protect the borders and the people.

As for the deeper purpose, he didn't mention a single word.

Zhou Zheng listened quietly, holding a teacup in his hand, occasionally using the lid to gently skim off the foam.

After Su Bai finished speaking, he slowly took a sip of tea, then set down the cup and said approvingly: "Hmm, not bad."

"It's very good for a young person to have such intentions. The bandit problems around Yunzhou City really should be cleared up properly. Go ahead and do it; I will handle the government office."

These words were within Su Bai's expectations.

But Zhou Zheng's next words made Su Bai's heart skip a beat.

"Su Bai, remember, a truly capable army is fed by blood."

"An army that has seen blood will indeed be of great help to your future."

"Future"? What future?

Su Bai's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air for a moment.

He looked up sharply at Zhou Zheng.

What did Zhou Zheng know? Did he know about his rebellious intentions?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Su Bai's mind.

Su Bai's brain worked at high speed. He couldn't admit it, but he couldn't deny it either.

He kept his face impassive, calmly lifted his teacup, toasted Zhou Zheng from afar, and said respectfully: "Father-in-law is right, your son-in-law has learned much."

"Drink tea."

Zhou Zheng looked at Su Bai's watertight reaction, and a trace of a smile flashed in his murky eyes.

This kid is truly not someone who will stay in a small pond. He is steady enough.

Afterward, Zhou Zheng also picked up his teacup and touched it lightly in the air with the cup in Su Bai's hand.

"Hehe."

A meaningful chuckle came from Zhou Zheng's throat.

The two looked at each other, and both saw a flash of brilliance in the other's eyes.

Some things don't need to be said clearly. It was already tacitly understood.

A cup of tea, a tacit transaction.

Su Bai knew that from this moment on, he would have no more constraints in Yunzhou.

And Zhou Zheng, for the future of the Zhou Family, had placed a world-shaking bet. The stake was the entire world.