Book 4: Chapter 10: Gao Xianzhi Winning the Soldiers’ Hearts

Yuan Imperial Dynasty’s capital:

Mo Yike left in a hurry to meet the Yuan Imperial Emperor. However, midway, the blessings in the sky churned. Then, a small portion flowed towards the northeast.

“Eh? That is not the Qian Heavenly Dynasty’s direction?” the official following behind Mo Yike said in shock.

“He already captured them? That was fast. We lost twelve cities just like that?” Mo Yike said with a bitter smile.

“Mister Mo, can it really be Gu Hai? That’s impossible, right? He is only a Golden Core Realm cultivator, isn’t he? Furthermore, the Han Royal Dynasty has pitifully meager accumulations,” the official at the side said in shock.

“He might be in the Golden Core Realm while you are in the Nascent Soul Realm, but do you believe that he can deal with a hundred of you?” Mo Yike said indifferently.

“Huh?” That official showed a bitter expression.

——

The location of Gao Xianzhi’s battalion:

“Release the arrows!” Gao Xianzhi shouted.

Rumble…!

A torrential rain of arrows shot towards a valley encased in a ritual array in the distance. The valley blazed with intense flames, and miserable cries rang out incessantly.

“Ah! Save me!”

“Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!” 

A large number of Yuan Nation soldiers and bats were trapped in the valley amid the intense flames. Arrows continued to rain down.

Outside the valley, Baili Zhan and a company of soldiers fought a group of Yuan Nation soldiers. However, most of the Yuan Nation soldiers were trapped in the valley; only a small portion engaged Baili Zhan’s company.

Bats filled the sky, but Baili Zhan’s soldiers were extremely ferocious.

“Kill their commander! Kill their commander!” the Yuan Nation commander roared in the distance.

However, Gao Xianzhi had powerful experts protecting him, continuously killing the Yuan Nation soldiers.

“Let me go! Spare me!” countless Yuan Nation soldiers roared in despair from within the intense flames.

“The Northern Expedition Army’s sixth battalion commander? Ha! You tried to trap me, but I reversed the trap. Now, take your remaining soldiers away. Otherwise, I will continue fueling the fire. You have already lost. Are you going to watch as your subordinates die in front of you?” Gao Xianzhi said coldly.

Far in the distance, the expression of the Yuan Nation’s sixth battalion commander fighting with Baili Zhan changed. “Let’s go!”

Whoosh!

A flying ship immediately appeared. Then, the remaining Yuan Nation soldiers, which Gao Xianzhi’s battalion chased after, sped into the distance.

Whoosh!

The battle came to a sudden end.

“Hahahaha! General is formidable!”

“General, we took another big victory!”

The soldiers cheered. Then, Gao Xianzhi waved his hand, making the fire from the ritual array in the valley below vanish. The arrow rain had also stopped by now.

Baili Zhan took a quick look before reporting excitedly, “General Gao, less than one hundred of our men died in this battle. However, we captured five hundred thousand Yuan Nation soldiers and killed at least three hundred thousand Yuan Nation soldiers. Only one hundred thousand soldiers of that so-called Northern Expedition Army’s sixth battalion managed to flee. Hahaha! After the supreme commander hears about this, he will be sending another large reward!”

“Indeed. General, our battalion is lucky to have you. You brought us the various victories we enjoyed. The rewards that the supreme commander gives you are also more than what the other battalion commanders receive. Following General equals victory!”

“General, you are good at predicting the enemy’s movements and grabbing decisive opportunities. Those enemies are like wooden dummies to you, moving however you want them to. Fighting wars with General is delightful.”

The soldiers cried out excitedly.

However, after seeing the cultivations of the captured enemy soldiers in the ritual array sealed, Gao Xianzhi immediately went to check on the injured.

“Where are my medicinal pills?! Quickly bring them over!” Gao Xianzhi called out.

“Huh? General, you are using yours again? Although the medicinal pills that our military supplies are inferior, they still heal the injuries eventually. Your medicinal pills are rewards from the supreme commander, all top-grade pills. Just one of them would be as precious as one hundred of the military-supplied pills. How can we…,” one of the military doctors protested worriedly.

“What nonsense? They got injured because of my commands. The military-supplied medicinal pills are slow. What if they leave some sequelae? Hurry!” Gao Xianzhi frowned.

The military doctor reluctantly took out the medicinal pills that Gao Xianzhi left with him. Then, he carefully applied medication to the injured soldiers and fed them pills.

Although less than one hundred people died, there were many injured.

As the military doctor applied the medicine, he frowned. “General, although the supreme commander rewarded you with many medicinal pills, you can’t just waste them like this. They are almost all gone already.”

“I’ll repeat myself. This is not a waste. The lives of all my soldiers are the most precious. We have to use the best medicinal pills to save them. They handed their lives to me. Why should I care about this little bit of medicine?” Gao Xianzhi scolded.

“Yes!” The military doctor lowered his head as he applied the medicine.

“Many thanks, General!” the injured soldiers said gratefully.

Although the uninjured soldiers did not say anything, their acknowledgment of Gao Xianzhi increased as they looked at him. It was worth risking their lives for such a general.

“As for the other treasures and weapons that the supreme commander rewarded me, sell them for spirit stones when we reach the next city. Then, send the spirit stones to the families of the brothers who died,” Gao Xianzhi sighed.

“Huh? All of them?” one of the young officers said in shock.

“That’s right!”

“But…but…but…they already have death benefits! The supreme commander has set a standard for death benefits!” That young officer frowned.

“No amount of compensation would be enough for my soldiers!”

“But…”

Gao Xianzhi let out a powerful and resonant shout, “Cut the crap! My words are military orders!”

“Yes!” the soldiers answered.

That was immense wealth. Compensation for the deceased’s family? Now, the many soldiers looked at Gao Xianzhi differently.

The military doctor suddenly frowned. “This bat venom is not easy to deal with, huh? Can anyone help me?” 

Everyone looked over and saw a large, extremely disgusting-looking pustule on the leg of a young officer.

“What’s wrong?”

“Commander, we have forced most of the bat venom into this pustule. However, if it is shaken, the venom will return to the body and head straight for the dantian. By then, there will be no saving him!”

“How do we deal with it?”

“We have to use our mouth to suck it out carefully. However…” 

The surrounding people all saw that disgusting pustule and fell silent. Even the military doctor was not willing to suck. It was too disgusting.

That poisoned person was extremely weak, only able to grunt.

Gao Xianzhi immediately bent over and started sucking on that pustule.

“General, no!”

“General, you can’t! Let me do it!”

“General!”

The surrounding soldiers protested.

“Ptooey!”

Gao Xianzhi had already sucked out the poisonous pus and spat it out.

“Quickly take care of the wound!” Gao Xianzhi instructed.

“Yes!” the military doctor said, lowering his head in embarrassment.

Ignoring everyone, Gao Xianzhi returned to his residence.

In the study, Gao Xianzhi rinsed his mouth. Now, Baili Zhan no longer advised Gao Xianzhi to join Prince Shenwu. As he looked at Gao Xianzhi from the side, he felt incredibly respectful.

——

Prince Shenwu’s study, Southern Suppression City:

The reports from the various battlefields were quickly sent to this place, including news of Gao Xianzhi personally sucking the pustule of a young officer.

“Gao Xianzhi sucked a pustule? He is a battalion commander, yet he personally sucked out the pus from a young officer’s leg?” Prince Shenwu said with slightly narrowed eyes.

“Ha! What Gao Xianzhi sucked was not pus but that young officer’s life!” Sima Changkong said bitterly.

“Huh?” The advisers in the study all looked at Sima Changkong.

“Haha, after Gao Xianzhi sucked on that pustule, that young officer will fight to the death for him. It is not just that young officer; the other soldiers will fully submit to him as well,” Sima Changkong said bitterly.

“He is winning the hearts of his soldiers?” one of the advisers said with a frown.

“Indeed, he is winning the hearts of the soldiers. However, what can we do? When Gao Xianzhi first went to the sixth battalion, the soldiers were reluctant to obey Gao Xianzhi, aside from Baili Zhan, who was complying with the supreme commander’s command. Those soldiers simply did not acknowledge an inexperienced Innate Realm cultivator. However, what about now? Does everyone still think that the sixth battalion rejects Gao Xianzhi? Not to mention the rewards, the act of sucking the pustule already convinced the sixth battalion to hand their lives to him,” Sima Changkong said with a bitter smile.

“That’s impossible. The sixth battalion is the supreme commander’s battalion. How could it become Gao Xianzhi’s private army?” The advisers shook their heads.

“Just wait and see!” Sima Changkong smiled bitterly.

“Gao Xianzhi? Haha! It is unfortunate that he stays with Gu Hai,” Prince Shenwu sighed.

An adviser at the side nodded. “Indeed. This subordinate feels the same way. Regarding war, I think that Gu Hai might not even be Gao Xianzhi’s match.”

“Oh? Why do you think that?” Sima Changkong suddenly smiled.

“Isn’t it clear? In just a mere four to five months, Gao Xianzhi enjoys high morale and momentum, capturing eight cities. He even dealt a great defeat to the Northern Expedition Army’s sixth battalion—one million soldiers. Even within my Qian Nation, such accomplishments in battle are rarely heard of. As for Gu Hai, he is only capable of playing small tricks. How could he be that capable?” that advisor said skeptically.

“Coincidentally, Gu Hai recently used less than one month to snatch twelve cities from the Yuan Imperial Dynasty,” Sima Changkong said with a bitter smile.

“That’s impossible! Mister Sima, don’t speak such nonsense. How did Gu Hai do that? Why do I not know about it? He does not have anything; how could he snatch cities? The cities that Gao Xianzhi captured did not have many Yuan Nation soldiers. However, there are many Yuan Nation soldiers around the Han Royal Dynasty’s cities. How could he capture twelve cities within one month?” that adviser rebutted while glaring, still skeptical.

“Everyone, take a look for yourself. This just arrived. This is a fact.” Sima Changkong took out a report and brandished it.

All the advisers goggled. However, Prince Shenwu seemed to know about this already. Now, he appeared sullen.

“Gao Xianzhi’s plan is clear now. He crossed the borders to reinforce the Han Royal Dynasty,” Prince Shenwu said.

“Indeed. Now, the sixth battalion fully obeys Gao Xianzhi. No matter what Gao Xianzhi orders, they will follow it to the death. Perhaps Gu Hai already anticipated this when he recommended Gao Xianzhi be the sixth battalion commander back then. He is bringing the sixth battalion to help Gu Hai take revenge on the Yuan Nation?” Sima Changkong said while frowning and feeling shocked.

——

The main palace hall in Northern Expedition City:

The Northern Expedition Supreme Commander and his subordinates all looked at the reporting guard.

“What did you say? Say it again!” the supreme commander demanded with a sullen expression.

“We lost Azure Foundation City and eleven other cities to the Han Royal Dynasty. The twelve city lords are currently kneeling outside and waiting for Supreme Commander’s punishment,” that guard said bitterly.

Bang!

The supreme commander shattered a small table at the side.

“Those bastards! Only how long has passed?! The scouts that this commander sent to the twelve cities have yet to return, and they already lost twelve cities? They lost twelve cities in one go? Those bastards!” That supreme commander was incensed.

All the advisers in the hall found this incredible as well.

Gu Hai has nothing. How could this be possible with so little accumulations?

Previously, everyone thought that the Han Royal Dynasty would turtle up, waiting for them to come and attack before getting destroyed. How could the Han Nation capture twelve cities in one go? Something was not right.

However, twelve city lords were kneeling outside. There was no other choice but to believe this.

“Those twelve city lords…”

“They can go and die!” A towering rage filled the supreme commander.

“Supreme Commander, we have investigated and found that the Qian Nation’s sixth battalion commander is called Gao Xianzhi, one of Gu Hai’s officials,” that guard reported softly.

“Gu Hai’s official? Gao Xianzhi? Gao Xianzhi crossed the border? Is he coming to protect Gu Hai? Did Gu Hai already scheme for these twelve cities long ago?” The supreme commander’s expression changed.

The advisers in the palace hall started discussing this, all of them looking horrified.

If Gu Hai had anticipated this day, then he was too terrifying.

“Mister Mo exhorted us to be wary of Gu Hai, but…,” the advisers said with unsightly expressions.

“No! Those twelve cities belong to my Yuan Nation. No one can take them away, not even the Qian Nation, much less Gu Hai. Inform the sixth battalion to destroy Gao Xianzhi’s army!” the supreme commander said with a ferocious expression.

Another guard rushed into the palace hall.

“I have a report!”

“What?” The supreme commander looked over coldly.

“Reporting to Supreme Commander, the sixth battalion got ambushed by Gao Xianzhi’s battalion and suffered a great defeat. Three hundred fifty thousand died, and five hundred thousand got captured. The sixth battalion commander and the remaining one hundred thousand injured soldiers are currently kneeling outside the city, begging for forgiveness from Supreme Commander!” that guard reported.

“What?”

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