Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 484 - 454: Standard-Bearer Wang Junwu on the Battlefield!

Chapter 484: Chapter 454: Standard-Bearer Wang Junwu on the Battlefield!

Wang Junwu laughed and, in a low voice, said, "Following you will allow me to establish military exploits?"

Changsun Wudiao was displeased at that, putting his hands on his hips as he retorted, "Who do you look down on? Despite my young age, I’m currently in the Late Period of the Primordial Qi Realm, and I’m about to undergo Core Creation, alright? Moreover, I’m here to offer assistance. By rights, General Du would definitely want me to garner some achievements to take back."

Toward the end, Changsun Wudiao even appeared somewhat proud of himself.

Wang Junwu glanced around and noticed that the guards around this young officer did not look about distractedly, and the soldiers behind him were disciplined and formidable indeed, signifying that the identity of this young officer must be extraordinary.

"Since you think so highly of me," he said, "then I’ll tell you something—you won’t be able to achieve much merit in this Baizhou City."

"Why?" Changsun Wudiao felt that with his own skills and the combat strength of the thousand elite troops under his command, it was impossible that he had come in vain.

Wang Junwu took a half step forward and whispered in a hushed voice, "Haven’t you realized? The troops previously sent out by General Du were not from his own close ranks. When the siege begins, he uses others to be the cannon fodder first. Only when the enemies on the city walls are worn out does his own close ranks take action. Why don’t the troops rotate in the attack, but instead one group withdraws before another surges forward? It’s because he’s worried that during such rotations, someone might seize the opportunity to take the city walls first."

"There are four great military exploits in the army: capturing the flag in the heat of battle, slaying generals, and being the first to ascend. In our siege, there’s only waiting first and slaying generals. Slaying generals requires real skill, but there’s much room to maneuver for the merit of ascension. Young general, you seem like an honest man, so I’ll give you a heads up—General Du’s character isn’t that great. Watch your back a bit."

"As for me, whether I follow you or stay with the current troop, the outcome will be the same."

Hearing these words, Changsun Wudiao, recalling the previous attacks and retreats and the expressions on the faces of the other three officers as they led their troops back for rest, suddenly realized that what this tall, dark man said was actually true.

"Join my forces, start as a Colonel! If you distinguish yourself in the future, or demonstrate greater skills, promotions await! How about it?"

Wang Junwu shook his head; after all, he was familiar with everyone in his current team. If he switched to a new team, who knew whether those by his side would be friends or foes—it was wiser to be cautious.

Besides, he didn’t know the background of this young officer, so there was no need to align with him just yet.

"I’m grateful for the young General’s good intentions, yet if I truly possess ability, even as a Pawn, I can still achieve great merits."

Changsun Wudiao smiled as he looked at Wang Junwu and said, "You’ve got spirit. In that regard, you remind me of my Brother San. Speaking of him, he is also a Pawn in the military right now, but he’s got great skills. I’ll introduce you if there’s a chance."

Wang Junwu laughed, "That sounds great! I have a Brother San too, a person who... hmm... I’ll introduce you two someday."

Just then, the war drums began to beat, signalling Wang Junwu’s troop to regather and prepare for another siege attempt. Wang Junwu bowed to Changsun Wudiao and said, "I am Wang Junwu, thank you for esteeming me so highly, young general. If we survive this war, let us drink and revel in our words!"

"I am Changsun Wudiao, and after this battle, we surely will drink and revel in our words," he replied.

Wang Junwu immediately went back to his own troop, took over the flag, and began to prepare for another siege with everyone else.

General Du, seeing that the previous three siege attempts had failed to capture Baizhou City, but also noticing that the soldiers on the city wall still had the strength for one more fight, berated the officers of the first wave bitterly.

"Now, I’ll give you another chance, and it’s your last chance! This time, you must ascend the city wall!"

"Great rewards for the first to stand atop the city wall!"

"Great rewards for the first to cut down the Northern Qi’s flag!"

"Great rewards for the first to plant the Great Sui’s banner atop the city wall!"

The officers, who had just been sweet-talked, now heard General Du’s words and instantly became invigorated. After giving a pep talk to their own troops, they led the large force to attack the city once again.

Upon hearing there would be generous rewards this time, although no one knew exactly what those rewards were, everyone believed they must be substantial since General Du, the commander of the Vanguard Army, had personally mentioned them.

Thus, when the whole army charged, everyone put forth their full effort, everyone except Wang Junwu.

Wang Junwu said to the captain and deputy team leader beside him, "Don’t get ahead of yourselves, stay cautious!"

The reason Wang Junwu could become the flag bearer was that, amongst the fifty-man squad, no one could defeat him. Everyone wanted him to be the captain, but Wang Junwu declined, saying his tall stature made him a perfect flag bearer.

After all, the flag bearer needed to lead everyone forward or backward according to the commander’s orders, which not only allowed him to quickly ascertain how the army maneuvered on the battlefield but also helped him to understand the situation on the battlefield better.

During the first assault, Wang Junwu already sensed something was amiss and reminded everyone to be cautious.

Sure enough, during the first siege, of the twenty assault teams that attacked, two were completely wiped out upon retreat.

Even more, between seven and eight teams lost their captains.

But when Wang Junwu had everyone take cover, slow their pace, hold up shields, and so on, his team became one of the few that suffered no casualties.

At this moment, everyone took Wang Junwu’s words to heart.

"Are we still being used as cannon fodder this time?" the captain asked Wang Junwu.

The flag bearer curiously said, "Shouldn’t be, right? Since there’s a big reward this time, surely they want us to succeed in our attack!"

Wang Junwu sneered, "Three assaults and our army has returned without any achievements. General Du’s personal troops haven’t made a move yet. And the young general who just called me over was sent by the Longyun Path. Since they haven’t let that young general take action, it seems his identity is no ordinary matter, but this also implicitly indicates that it would be very difficult to take the city this time. Otherwise, why not leave such credit to that young general, or General Du’s own personal troops?"

After hearing this, the blood boiling within everyone instantly cooled by about eighty percent.

"I guess General Du is coaxing us to go up and severely wear down the enemy, and then when we’re exhausted and the enemy is almost done for, his personal troops will move in and take the grand credit. The young general from Longyun Path gets a little soup, and us, huh..."

With Wang Junwu’s words finished, the remaining two-tenths of the soldiers’ fervor also cooled.

The captain asked, "What should we do then?"

"Just play it safe. After all, with other teams seizing the opportunity to attack fiercely, the enemy won’t pay much attention to us. Then, we’ll make our move when the time comes!"

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[Note 109]Historical Science Pop-up

In ancient armies, there were four major types of military merit: penetrating enemy formations, capturing flags, beheading generals, and being the first to mount the walls.

The acts of capturing flags and beheading generals both aimed at striking at the enemy’s command system. By killing the generals, the enemy loses command; capturing flags does not mean taking the flags away, but destroying the enemy’s flags, causing soldiers to be unable to follow their unit’s standard and thus unable to receive orders from the commander, as well as preventing command from determining the exact position of their forces.

Penetrating formations and being the first to mount the walls are related; both effectively strike at the enemy’s formation or defenses. Being the first to mount means taking the lead in scaling the city walls, thereby breaking down the enemy’s defensive system. Penetrating formations does not mean entering into the midst of the enemy’s ranks, but effectively disrupting their formation.