94: Depart for Shangjun

"General! Everything is ready; we can depart at any time!" Lin Yue reported.

Lin Yue returned to the Military Camp last night. Before he even reached his quarters, he was summoned by She Jian.

She Jian had only one order: depart at dawn tomorrow. As the vanguard, they were to set off two hours before the main Army!

Thus, as soon as the sky began to lighten, ten thousand White Horse Righteous Cavalry were ready to go!

"Pass down the order: rest every fifty li, eat every hundred li. Depart!" She Jian said. Then, the Army set off, marching towards Shang Commandery!

The vanguard consisted of sixty thousand cavalry, all new troops assembled by General General Meng Tian after arriving at Liaodong Commandery!

So, there were many familiar faces to Lin Yue: Captain Lu Yun, Xu Guang, and Military Marquis Song Yi from the former Ten Cavalry Troops, among others.

These sixty thousand new troops were temporarily commanded by General She Jian until they reached Shang Commandery.

The group rode at the very front of the Army, with She Jian in the center, and Lin Yue, Lu Yun, and Xu Guang arrayed to his left and right. Since most of the sixty thousand men were new recruits, the marching speed was not fast, allowing them to chat while riding.

"General, just how many troops does the Great Wall Legion have?" Lin Yue asked.

"Since you're curious and we have some time, I'll tell you!" She Jian said with a laugh.

"The exact strength of the Great Wall Legion is probably only known by His Majesty and a select few in the Central Army. I don't know the precise number myself, but I estimate there are at least ten million Soldiers.

The Great Wall Legion has twenty-four Generals, each commanding around 300,000 men, plus logistics and some additional troops that have been added over the years. That should be about right," She Jian said after some thought.

Ten million Soldiers! Although Lin Yue was somewhat prepared, he was still shocked!

While the population in the game was roughly a hundred times that of reality, Lin Yue still couldn't imagine what ten million Soldiers fighting together would look like!

"Xu Guang, you're a bit unlucky. You've been assigned under Commander Pei, so you'll have a tough time. Not like Lu Yun, who serves under Yuan Guang; Yuan Guang is a really good-natured person," She Jian said with a smile.

"Haha, This humble general was indeed a bit nervous when I first received the news. But then I thought, 'More sweat in peacetime means less blood in wartime,' so it's no big deal," Xu Guang said, laughing.

He came from a good family and rose through the ranks step by step, knowing that to achieve glory and wealth, he had to put in more effort than others.

Therefore, he wasn't averse to Pei Jiang's devilish training methods.

"From now on, we will all be in the same Army. You three should look out for each other, as you all came from the Golden Fire Cavalry," She Jian said.

"Understood!" The three exchanged glances, smiled at each other, and responded in unison.

"General, what do you mean by 'all in the same Army'?" Lin Yue asked curiously.

"Although I've been promoted to a General commanding 300,000 men, there's still a layer between me and the Great General," She Jian explained.

"A layer?" Lin Yue asked curiously.

"Yes, General She Jian is under the command of General Wang Li. This includes General Pei Jiang, who Xu Guang serves, General Yuan Guang, whom I serve, and General Chen Feng. All of them are under General Wang Li's command," Lu Yun explained.

"Yes, actually, above us Generals who command an Army, there's another rank: the Titled General. For example, Li Chengliang, whom you met a few days ago, is a Titled General. He was conferred the title of General of Liaodong by His Majesty, commanding four Armies, nearly two million troops.

Whereas I can only command one Army, 300,000 men. Even now, when I meet him, I must greet him with the courtesy of a subordinate," She Jian explained.

What She Jian said was new to Lin Yue. He hadn't known much about it before, as it was still too far removed from him. He had previously thought that She Jian was only one rank below Li Chengliang, but it turned out to be two ranks.

"Under Great General General Meng Tian, there are five Titled Generals, with Wang Li also serving as the Deputy Commander of the Great Wall Legion," She Jian said with a smile, "A family with three Martial Marquises; it truly makes others envious!"

She Jian didn't finish the rest of his sentence, but all three knew that their commanding officer, Wang Li, being a Deputy Commander and having a strong background, was a good thing for them.

Through their conversation, Lin Yue finally understood the general situation of the Great Wall Legion.

Simply put, Great General General Meng Tian was the Commander-in-Chief, Wang Li was the Deputy Commander, with five Titled Generals and twenty-four Generals, commanding ten million troops, guarding Shang Commandery, and deterring the Xiongnu!

Lin Yue felt a bit emotional. He was only a small Captain now, still a long way from those people.

He wondered when he would be able to catch up to their footsteps.

"Don't be disheartened. When we annihilated Yan State, I was just a small Soldier. Even when we marched on Qi State, I was still a small Soldier. Back then, I was just like you, anxious!

I wasn't young then, and I was still a common Soldier.

At that time, I thought, 'If a man's going to die, he might as well go all out. If I die, I die!'

So, I always led the charge, rushing to the very front. I was always one of the first to scale the city walls. When a person isn't afraid of death, they're less likely to die. Gradually, everyone knew there was a fearless man named She Jian.

It wasn't until after the conquest of Qi that I, relying on the military merits earned from my fearlessness, was promoted to the position of Centurion. This was even with my... sigh, never mind." She Jian suddenly seemed a little dejected and quickened his pace alone.

Lin Yue recalled what Old Xu had told him last time, and he seemed to vaguely guess something.

The three didn't know how to comfort She Jian, but She Jian's mood came and went quickly, and he soon adjusted himself.

"Work hard! Those wolf cubs of the Xiongnu won't be arrogant for much longer. If you want promotions, wealth, and glory, go earn them with military achievements, hahaha!" She Jian suddenly laughed, spurring his warhorse and galloping ahead alone!

Lin Yue and the others followed closely, and the sixty thousand cavalry behind them also, by unspoken agreement, picked up their speed.