Chapter 189 - 103: Subduing the County Soldiers of the Three Counties

Chapter 189: Chapter 103: Subduing the County Soldiers of the Three Counties

"..."

After three rounds of drinks, they ate for about half a two-hour period before dispersing. Since they had only been apart for twenty days or so, it wasn’t a long time, so there wasn’t much to catch up on. They spent their regular days in Black Mountain, seeing each other constantly anyway. Plus, Zheng Jun had other important matters to attend to, so the gathering ended just like that.

During the twenty-odd days Zheng Jun was away, nothing major occurred. The only thing that qualified as a major event was Cai Xun’s promotion to County Magistrate while simultaneously serving as County Captain. This made him the only super Seventh Grade official among the eight counties of Pingzhang Commandery to hold both positions.

Zhou Pu was promoted to Historian, which Zheng Jun already knew.

As for the role of County Magistrate, a new Qi Storage County Magistrate surnamed Liu was parachuted in from the State. Over forty years old, he used to be a Junior Official in a certain department of the State office, working under an Outer Gang uncle of the Cai Family. He had always been honest and clever, and his sudden deployment here was to assist Cai Xun in handling government affairs.

Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi saw no changes and remained in his position. However, he now no longer sought promotion, only safety. It was said that over the past dozen days, he had personally overseen the Shen Family’s land redistribution, firmly setting an example for the Gentry.

After drinking with Zhou Pu, the two Protectors of the Tongzhou Association, the Crew Leaders in the army, Vice Captain Yang Jun, the Three Squad Leaders, and even the newly appointed County Magistrate all came to pay their respects to Zheng Jun, but he dismissed them all with a few words.

Cai Xun also hurriedly came to see Zheng Jun, praising his formidable feat of defeating Han Hu six times in the Commandery city. At the same time, he gifted Zheng Jun the Cyan Mane Horse, which possessed Half-demon blood.

Zheng Jun politely declined a few times, but unable to refuse, he finally accepted it. However, the horse wasn’t kept at the Zheng Mansion. Instead, it stayed with Cai Xun, who took care of its daily food and drink, essentially saving Zheng Jun an expense.

With all the social niceties handled, Zheng Jun sat in his chair, tapping his fingers gently on the desk as he looked over the roster delivered by Xu Zhilei. Standing before him were Vice Captain Yang Jun, Crew Leaders Xu Zhilei and Du Ding, and other Black Mountain Guard officers.

This list was the roster of County Soldiers’ officers for the three counties: Zhiyuan, Pingyun, and Rongyuan.

The Captains of the County Soldiers for the three counties were Ge Weize, Yue Kai, and Song Ran, respectively. All of them were Qi Storage Martial Artists. Zheng Jun had also received the list of Crew Leaders and Decurions under them, but he didn’t pay it much mind.

Among these three counties, Captain Yue of Pingyun County and Captain Ge of Zhiyuan County were veterans who had retired from the Yunzhou front lines. Only Song Ran of Rongyuan County was the Patriarch of the Song Family, a prominent local Gentry and landlord.

After receiving the Commandery’s directives, Captain Yue and Captain Ge immediately reached out to the Black Mountain Guard to request an audience with Zheng Jun. Only Captain Song of Rongyuan County hadn’t given any feedback, playing dead.

Upon learning this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but exhale. He now knew exactly who his primary target was if he wanted to seize control of the other three counties.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zheng Jun ordered, "Captain Yang, send cavalry to notify Captain Yue of the Pingyun Guard and Captain Ge of the Zhiyuan Guard. Tell them to gather at the Rongyuan Guard’s drill grounds in three two-hour periods. I, the Main General, will be giving a speech.

"Whether they come alone, or bring their Personal Guards because they fear trouble, it doesn’t matter. In three two-hour periods, if I don’t see them at the Rongyuan Guard’s drill grounds, they never need to appear before me again!"

Zheng Jun’s voice was ice-cold. The chill made Yang Jun tremble involuntarily. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Yes, sir."

Upon receiving Zheng Jun’s orders, Yang Jun hurriedly left to instruct the cavalry to notify Captain Yue and Captain Ge.

After he departed, Zheng Jun turned to Xu Zhilei and Du Ding. "Rally the troops. Mobilize the Personal Soldier Squad and the Second Squad to accompany me to the Rongyuan Guard. Once we arrive, your first priority is to secure their armory and drill grounds. Just make sure Song Ran doesn’t have the time to form an Array Formation!"

Hearing these orders, Xu Zhilei and Du Ding jolted to attention. Naturally understanding what Zheng Jun intended to do, they cupped their hands and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

Immediately, they withdrew to assemble the troops.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jun let out a breath.

To him, a Qi Storage Realm Song Ran posed absolutely no threat. Even without bringing the Personal Soldier Squad and the Third Squad, Zheng Jun could go alone with his saber and slaughter his way through the Rongyuan Guard. Even if Song Ran formed an Array Formation and used three hundred County Soldiers to resist him head-on, he still wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

This was Zheng Jun’s confidence.

However, always taking action personally would eventually cause the soldiers under his command to lose their fighting spirit. They would start to think that as long as he stepped in, victory was guaranteed, and they only needed to go through the motions.

This time, he wanted to show his soldiers that their roles were equally important.

Having studied Military Strategy, Zheng Jun naturally knew that when a Main General formed an Array Formation, it could unleash a considerable amount of power. But at the same time, its restrictions were enormous. It was primarily used for positional warfare and defensive battles, rarely proving effective in an offensive.

To Zheng Jun, his soldiers were a fallback—a reliance to temporarily form an Array Formation and fend off danger should they encounter an invincible threat. What he truly had to rely on was his own personal strength.

After all, an Array Formation was ultimately an external force. Zheng Jun only treated it as a trump card Magical Treasure, not a guarantee of survival.

With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun stood up. He glanced to the side at Qingdai—who was acting a bit silly and adorable after a private chat with her sister—and casually said, "Qingdai, prepare a medicinal meal and a medicinal bath at home."