Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 650 - 595: Are the Tujue People Really Not Intelligent?

Chapter 650: Chapter 595: Are the Tujue People Really Not Intelligent?

Zhang San, seeing a dozen martial artists suddenly stand up, was momentarily stunned; then, in the next instant, all of them knelt on one knee before him.

Wang Lihui began speaking, "General Zhang San, serving as Mei Fei’s deputy general over these years, I naturally encountered quite a few promising individuals. However, for various reasons, Mei Fei did not value them."

"Now, I will be leaving the army for some time. And although these individuals do not hold much status within the Shuofang Army, their personal skills and command abilities are all top-notch."

With that, Wang Lihui began to introduce them to Zhang San.

Only then did Zhang San realize that these were truly the elite that the Shuofang Army had accumulated over the years.

Among them, some were adept at training war horses; some excelled in charging into the fray; some were skilled in defensive strategies; others were adept in offensive ambushes...

After all, over the years, the Shuofang Army had been the main force of the Longyun Path, and many people who joined the army naturally entered the Shuofang Army.

Unfortunately, in the Shuofang Army, everything was decided by Mei Fei, so there was never a day for these individuals to rise.

But now, with his own arrival, the situation had finally changed.

"Rest assured, gentlemen, I, Zhang San, judge people solely based on their abilities. Moreover, Kaihuang has just agreed to my request; we are now strengthening the Shuofang Army and restructuring it into the Divine Martial Army! From now on, gentlemen, you will be the second batch of generals of my Divine Martial Army."

Hearing this, everyone was extremely excited.

After all, the reputation of the Shuofang Army had been tarnished.

Even if Zhang San were to take over the Shuofang Army, it was not certain that people would want to join.

However, if a new army were reorganized under Zhang San’s name, even though most of its members would still come from the Shuofang Army, everyone still felt that this would be a unit full of hope.

"A military values quality over quantity. There are indeed usable people in the Shuofang Army; I need you all to provide me with a list of such individuals. This... will also serve as the first test that I, the Duzhi Military Envoy of the Divine Martial Army, give to you all. What do you think?"

"We accept the command!"

The crowd joyfully returned to their duties.

Zhang San also expressed his gratitude to Wang Lihui.

After seeing Wang Lihui off, Zhang San immediately went to find Changsun Bubai.

After all, relying solely on the former generals of the Shuofang Army was definitely not safe.

He felt that Wang Lihui had decent abilities and was a good person, but that didn’t mean he would trust all the people Wang Lihui introduced unconditionally.

That’s why he had just told those generals that they would be the second batch of generals of the Divine Martial Army.

Although he hadn’t even figured out who the first batch was.

Upon finding Changsun Bubai, Zhang San immediately began to request personnel.

After all, it was impossible for him to do everything himself in the army, so he still needed a capable deputy general.

Seeing the expression on Zhang San’s face, Changsun Bubai knew that this young man was eyeing the ace up his sleeve, so he handed Bai Dushu over to Zhang San.

Along with Bai Dushu, over two thousand men under his command were also handed over.

Meanwhile, Zhang San also took the opportunity to select from among the martial artists who had actively joined the battlefield since the war began, promoting some of the stronger ones to generals and enlisting the fairly strong ones in the army.

He even specifically selected one hundred and twenty martial artists from the Town Martial Office to serve as his personal guards.

Wang Junwu, hearing that Zhang San was forming the Divine Martial Army, selected from his own subordinate some soldiers originally from the Longyun Path and others with considerable capabilities, to come and help Zhang San.

In less than two days, Zhang San completed the formation of the Divine Martial Army.

The whole army, although only eighteen thousand strong, differed vastly from the former Shuofang Army in both elite status and morale.

Even Zhang San felt that this troop could potentially surpass the forces under Wang Junwu’s command in strength after being tested on the battlefield.

After all, Wang Junwu’s side was still just an ordinary army.

But his own Divine Martial Army included three thousand martial artists from Longyun Path, and another three thousand from the military.

One third of them were in the Primordial Qi Realm or above.

At this moment, Zhang San even felt as if his eighteen thousand men could fight against a hundred and eighty thousand.

Of course, this was just a thought for Zhang San; in front of Kaihuang, he still pretended that all his subordinates were new recruits needing training and were hardly fit for major responsibilities.

After all, the situation on the battlefield changes in an instant, and the Divine Martial Army was just established, so it was better to be cautious.

Meanwhile, as the Tujue people took a large amount of ransom along with cattle, sheep, and even some inferior horses in exchange, the Great Sui also returned fifty thousand people to the Tujue.

Just that...

"What!? Only thirty thousand came back? And these thirty thousand didn’t even have a piece of clothing on their bodies!?"

Sharlobi had seen poverty and stinginess, but he had never seen such a degree of it!

The Great Sui was so stingy that they even stripped off the clothes of the captives they released?

"And why did only thirty thousand come back?"

At this moment, Sharlobi felt his eyes were about to shoot flames.

Next to him, Aikan Shetou, the Khan, gave a wry smile.

"The people who delivered the captives were from the newly formed Divine Martial Army of the Great Sui, commanded by Zhang San. I asked him why the numbers were halved, and he said it was the Tujue people who took the other thirty thousand away,"

Sharlobi frowned and asked, "We took thirty thousand away?"

"I asked further. Zhang San said it was the emissaries of Dashi Bian Khan and Xing Luohou Khan who came. Zhang San thought that since they were all Tujue people, it made no difference to whom they were given, but they picked out thirty thousand to take away, leaving the other thirty thousand for Zhang San to bring over."

"Damn it!"

In that moment, Sharlobi walked to the entrance of his tent, looking out at the high-flying flag of the Divine Martial Army.

"Damn Dashi Bian! Damn Xing Luohou! They not only refuse to fight, but they also snatch my people! Those were thirty thousand elites!"

Sharlobi knew that since both of them had sent emissaries to snatch people, they would have specifically chosen the elites to take away.

Meanwhile, the State Preceptor, watching the Great Khan who was prone to fits of anger, helplessly shook his head.

This Great Khan was far inferior to the previous Muzhen Khan.

In the past, he and Qianjin Kedun were extremely cautious and secretive, but facing Sharlobi Khan, let alone Qianjin Kedun, he had even made attempts with Sharlobi Khan’s other beautiful wives and concubines.

This Great Khan was too easy to deceive.

"Great Khan, we just received news. Kucha Shahhan has finally emerged from seclusion. He has completely refined the power of the Calamity Position, and he is currently leading a large army to come to our aid. With him here, and combined with my ambush strategy, we need not worry about not avenging today’s grudge!"

Sharlobi gritted his teeth and nodded, ordering the troops to retreat.

And Zhang San, leading his Divine Martial Army, stood on the southern side of the Tujue camp, quietly watching them depart.

The generals beside him curiously asked, "Military Envoy, the Tujue just gained thirty thousand fresh troops; by right, they should have the strength for a battle, so why are they immediately starting to retreat?"

Zhang San sneered.

"They have gained thirty thousand men, but they also need to provide thirty thousand coats, thirty thousand war horses, and thirty thousand sets of martial equipment."

"At this point, when even basic supplies are insufficient, how can they fight us?"

It was then that the generals understood that Zhang San’s order to strip those thirty thousand men of their clothes had such an intention behind it.

Previously, everyone had always thought Zhang San was just greedy for money.