Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 1048 - 651: The Morale of the Troops_2

Chapter 1048: Chapter 651: The Morale of the Troops_2

Amid the boisterous laughter of the crowd, a number of previously silent soldiers suddenly spoke up:

"To die for one’s conviction? You vermin are just trying to incite everyone to force the Commandery Princess to step forward and die on our behalf."

"I follow the Marquis, not that spoiled Commandery Princess!"

"If you’re truly loyal to the Marquis, you shouldn’t even entertain the thought of letting the Princess get hurt."

"Zhang Xing was right earlier; the rebellion at the West City Wall this morning was indeed resolved by the Princess."

"Afraid of death and still pretending to be so righteous and honorable—what’s the point?"

"Afraid of death? Do you forget, Zhang Xing, when I shielded you from a blade and got run through?!"

A soldier named Li Wu glared at the man in front of him, cursing loudly:

"While I was risking my life fighting those Tatar Chao wolves, that spoiled Commandery Princess was indulging herself in Di’an City. While I was erecting graves for our fallen brothers, she was whoring around in brothels. And now you want me to die for her? What right does she have?! Huh?!"

"...."

"...."

Li Wu’s voice carried far but was about to be swallowed by the surrounding commotion—when suddenly, the entire drill ground fell silent, like a rolling wave abruptly stilled.

Tens of thousands of soldiers on the field instinctively turned toward the point where the silence emanated.

Against the noonday sun, two figures clad in heavy armor slowly entered through the broad entrance of the drill ground.

Each step echoed heavily, as the faint, crisp sound of armor rubbing against itself reverberated in everyone’s ears.

"Tap... Tap... Tap..."

Fingers tapping rhythmically against folded arms, Xu Yuan, standing in the shadows, unconsciously pressed his lips together as he watched her stride onto the drill ground.

The grating and arrogant words clamoring in the air of the drill ground—Xu Yuan could hear them clearly. As the operator of the City Defense Array, so could Li Junwu...

"Nervous?"

The ghost-like figure of Tian Ye suddenly appeared by his side, leaning against the shadowed corner in the same folded-arm posture. "If you don’t trust her, why not step up yourself?"

"If I didn’t trust her, I wouldn’t be standing here right now." Xu Yuan glanced at her with a smile. "Saying she’s not smart is only in comparison to this young master."

"Arrogant as ever."

Tian Ye’s almond eyes glimmered with faint disdain as she chuckled lightly. "If you’re not worried about her, then why do you look like this?"

Xu Yuan stayed silent for a moment, his expression complex, before replying with a smile:

"I was just suddenly reminded of the importance of controlling public opinion. The Zhenxi Army’s unrest reached this point solely because the sects tore open the channels for rumors. Once we return to the capital, we must pay closer attention to grassroots propaganda efforts. Wouldn’t want those ludicrous tales about my past ’unruly’ days to trickle down to the Black Scale Army."

"Hypocrite."

Tian Ye stared at him leisurely but didn’t press further. Instead, she remarked thoughtfully:

"But your antics back in the day have probably spread to every corner of the world by now, haven’t they?"

"Reputation’s easy to clean up—just claim I was hiding my talents on purpose. Then the Black Scale Army might actually find this young master unfathomable."

"Tch, tch..."

Tian Ye chuckled, her crisp voice laced with amusement, her gaze filtering through ranks of armored warriors to rest on the marching figure of the woman in military attire. With a tinge of curiosity, she murmured:

"Brother Xu Yuan, how do you think your friend will handle this? From my earlier observations, at least a third of these soldiers share the same mindset as that Li Wu."

Xu Yuan lowered his head slightly, his gaze veiled in shadow, and muttered under his breath:

"... Courage is always the rarest quality in humanity, but it is not lacking in the Zhenxi Army."

Tian Ye tilted her head, pondering this for a moment before softly murmuring:

"Even with these soldiers acting like this, you still hold them in such high regard?"

Watching the soldier-clad woman advancing steadily through the ranks, Xu Yuan’s lips curved into a faint smile:

"Because the Zhenxi Army, as the elite of Dayan, has never needed to establish rear-guard enforcers."

Hearing this, Tian Ye’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, her expression tinged with unease.

She found such an army difficult to comprehend.

Ever since Dayan’s military academies opened to the masses, the composition of the empire’s armies had undergone a sweeping transformation.

From the early days when six or seven out of ten soldiers hailed from the sect aristocracy, to the present, where nearly eight or nine in ten came from the common folk.

This change had not only failed to degrade the quality of the army but instead brought about a qualitative leap forward in Dayan’s military strength. It even surpassed what Xu Yuan had known in his past life.

These were citizens who had been meticulously screened and then voluntarily enlisted into the army. Most of them were fearless in the face of death.

This was partly because of the incentives of Dayan’s merit-based military system, but also because of a deep, primal loyalty to those who had given them a new lease on life.

As he spoke, Xu Yuan raised a hand, pointing at the outspoken soldier and the military-attired woman in front of him. He murmured:

"What these people lack now is a leader who can step forward in this critical moment. Whether it’s performative or genuine, they need a leader with the courage to inspire these followers to keep moving forward, to keep resisting."

"And now,

"perhaps that leader has appeared."

...

...

...

Facing the military-clad woman before him, Li Wu’s face twitched momentarily. Then he suddenly broke into laughter, his grin holding a trace of release, mocking the death that the woman represented.

Li Wu chose not to raise his voice for all to hear but instead chuckled quietly:

"If the Commandery Princess is using my sorry life as a flag to establish her authority, then I, Li Wu, can consider my debt to the Marquis repaid."

Li Junwu, staring at the scarred young man before her, lowered her almond-shaped eyes slightly. Her voice was steady and measured:

"You hold no respect for me—I can understand. While the Zhenxi Army fought on the front lines, I did indeed indulge myself in Di’an City. These are truths—where lies the crime? Why would I use you as a flag to establish myself?"

Li Wu’s expression froze at her words, and for a moment, he seemed unsure how to respond.