Chapter 430: Fractured Military!
Edited by: Ulamog, Dedition
[Book 3: The South]
Yue Zhong had always liked to reorganize the troops that he had absorbed from his enemies. However, things were different for Guilin City. It was a time where he needed to make use of the manpower, and it had to be utilizable. Allowing Chai Zi Cang to control his troops would swiftly draft them into formation. Therefore, Yue Zhong had chosen that option.
Chai Zi Cang came alone to the captive zone, and under his persuasion, 90% of the captives agreed to work with him. There was still that 10% that was unwilling, and hence remained within the captive battalion.
After making preparations, under the orders of Yue Zhong, the Heaven Union group of experts, Larman’s foreign troops, Ying Kai Shan’s two infantry battalions that were armed to the teeth, as well as Chai Zi Cang’s military troops that strengthened the front, all gathered. The 2,000-strong army made their way towards Guilin City.
Yue Zhong also assigned for those scattered troops that weren’t too stable to leave the granary, leaving the place to Zheng Ming He and his 2 battalions. Amongst the 2 battalions, there were numerous experts who had followed Yue Zhong on his conquests along the way, as well as some who had taken part in the battle of the small town, gaining huge benefits against the Mutant Beast horde.
Upon entering Guilin City, and establishing control over a territory, Yue Zhong brought Chai Zi Cang over and asked: “Chai Zi Cang!! I want to settle the side of the military! Which faction do you think I should set my sights on first?”
With regards to the relationships among the military powers, Chai Zi Cang was more familiar, and with him around, Yue Zhong can make a more informed judgement on his next move.
“Boss Yue!! The military has now fractured into 6 main factions. These 6 are separated into the following: The 1st Battalion led by Zhang Xue Wang. The 2nd Battalion led by Wang He. The 3rd Battalion led by Zhu Lei. The 4th Battalion led by Chen Yu. The 5th Battalion led by Ma Fang. The 6th Battalion led by Murong He. These are also the strongest 6 battalions trained up by Regiment Commander Du. Each of them consists of a thousand soldiers, and there are 5 other infantry battalions that are situated near the 6 powers. However, these 5 are just recently conscripted, and the recruits are still in the midst of training, without proper equipment, and lack any combat strength.”
“Of the 6, Zhang Xue Wang’s 1st Battalion is the strongest, and best equipped battalion. They have an entire armed division. They have tanks, cannons and even assault helicopters. Zhang Xue Wang was the first troop that had followed Du Shan Xiong since the beginning. He’s absolutely loyal to Du Shan Xiong, and has a proud temperament. It’s extremely hard to convince him. He had fought with Chen Yu in the past over a woman, and in the end, he lost to Chen Yu, which caused their relationship to be strained, even up till now. They have come to blows before. Because of his ego, his relationships with the other battalions are not that great either.”
“Wang He’s 2nd Battalion consists of the most experts. Truthfully, the 2nd Battalion is the battalion with the most number of experts amongst the whole army. Inside the 2nd Battalion, there are 20 Evolvers. Wang He is also a slippery guy, his relationships with the rest of the 5 battalions are so-so.”
“Zhu Lei is rumored to be the backer of the Heavenly Dragon Triad. He’s a violent man, lustful and perverse, and is alleged to have over 50-over women in the camp waiting on him.”
“Chen Yu is an upright man, and is a bit rigid.”
“Ma Fang is said to be the backer of the Green Bamboo Triad. He’s cunning and insidious, petty as well. He’s domineering in his own ways, and there was one time where he didn’t buy a ticket when he went to the bus-stop. The conductor stopped him and requested for him to get a ticket, he actually slapped the conductor, before barking loudly saying that he was a commander, and that the conductor had best scram! His character is not much, and if not for his family, he could not have gotten to his position.”
Chai Zi Cang finished off: “As for Murong He, I’m not clear about his background, I just know that he’s honest and straightforward, although he’s a man of few words. However, whatever responsibilities Du Shan Xiong handed to him, he would carry it off extremely well!”
Yue Zhong started pondering over the information he got.
The 4 Great Triads of Guilin City all had backers, Yue Zhong knew this very well.
It was almost impossible for a triad to expand the way the 4 Great Triads did without sufficient backing. Yue Zhong had brought in his own experts to launch a sudden move and swallowed up the Hong Triad’s position.
Within Guilin City, Yue Zhong was considered a wildcard, and had broken the balance of the games. That was why Li Hong Zhi and Chang Yu Feng had tried to thrash the newly established Green Stone Triad. However, they had not expected that Yue Zhong did not follow the rules, and instead, finished them off quickly and cleanly, as well as taking over the granary, and causing Du Shan Xiong to become anxious.
Yue Zhong mulled silently: “With the backing of 2 commanders, no wonder they dared to kill government officials, even killing Du Shan Xiong!”
With Zhu Lei and Ma Fang sitting behind the scenes, as well as causing mayhem within Guilin City, the Heavenly Dragon Triad and Green Bamboo Triad could be said to possess some capabilities.
With the aid of 2,000 experienced soldiers, as well as the police force, armed forces and special forces under the control of Li Jiu Ming, by now, the Heavenly Dragon Triad and Green Bamboo Triad had gained the upper hand in this conflict.
Right at this time, a soldier came running towards Yue Zhong: “Leader!! There’s an envoy from ,the Green Bamboo Triad that requests an audience!!”
Yue Zhong’s eyes flashed coldly, as he said: “Let him in!”
A proud and arrogant young man in a suit came sauntering in as he grinned slightly at Yue Zhong: “Hello Boss Yue!! I’m the Green Bamboo Triad’s Peng Biao. I’m very pleased to meet you. This time, I’m here on the orders of Chief Gao, to establish an alliance with you. As long as you’re willing to become allies with us from the Green Bamboo Triad, after this matter is settled, the 3 conditions that you had sent someone to request for, other than the 3rd condition, we can accept the rest. Furthermore, as an expression of our goodwill, the Green Bamboo Triad is willing to offer a hundred virgins to you.”
Yue Zhong eyed Peng Biao coldly and said: “Capture him!”
2 soldiers immediately stepped forward to press Peng Biao harshly to the ground, before tying him up.
The moment Peng Biao felt his face touching the ground, his expression changed as he shouted: “Yue Zhong! Armies do not kill envoys in battle!! You can’t kill me!!”
Yue Zhong eyed Peng Biao coldly and replied: “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you! If you have the abilities to escape, you can go back and notify Gao Ming Hao! If he surrenders now, I can let him off with his dog life. Otherwise, I will definitely wipe the earth clean of you scum from the Green Bamboo Triad and HEavenly Dragon Triad. Throw him into the jail cell!! Without my orders, no one shall go close to him.”
After settling the issue of Peng Biao, Yue Zhong turned to Chai Zi Cang and said: “Go find someone to lead me to Zhang Xue Wang!! I want to talk to him!!”
Chai Zi Cang’s face promptly turned pale, as he tried to persuade Yue Zhong: “Leader!! That’s not prudent!! While Zhang Xue Wang might be obstinate, he’s not an idiot, and he might possibly throw you in captivity!”
Yue Zhong frowned and muttered: “Enough! I’ve made up my mind! I need to make this trip! At this juncture, while we can ensure our survival, it’s hard to attain victory. Conquering any one side might give the others a chance to jump on us. I need to convince Zhang Xue Wang to work together with us, only then is there a hope for victory.”
Yue Zhong led an army size of more than 2,000, and it seemed imposing. However, within them, a thousand plus were still not trained fully, and could be said to be a motley bunch. If it was a casual clash, it would still be ok, but if more than a few die, then the rest would definitely collapse. Of the remaining 1,000-some, the Heaven Union’s experts make up the most of the number, however, the human heart was difficult to conquer, and there were a few who were still not satisfied with Yue Zhong. They could betray at any time. Of the entire 2,000-over, it seemed that only 400-over could truly fight.
Hence if Yue Zhong wanted to deal with the rest of the fractured military factions, he needed another way. If 2 sides engaged him at the same time, it would be worse.
Chai Zi Cang mulled for a few seconds, before his eyes flashed with resolution: “Alright!! I’ll go with you!!”
This was a risk for Chai Zi Cang, and he wanted to gain Yue Zhong’s trust and reliance, hence he decided to follow Yue Zhong to prove his loyalty.
No one would dislike a loyal subordinate. Although some were capable, ambitious people would leave their superiors with no choice but to limit their dependency on them. Whereas there could be less capable but more devoted subjects, these were the preferred aides.
Yue Zhong looked at Chai Zi Cang and smiled slightly: “Good!!”
After granting control of the troops to Hu Yi, and passing the order to keep watch over their current location, Yue Zhong and Chai Zi Cang left for Zhang Xue Wang’s location swiftly.
As they neared the camp of Zhang Xue Wang, they were met with a wary warning. “Who goes there?” 2 soldiers wielding .03 Type rifles raised their weapons and blocked the paths of Yue Zhong and Chai Zi Cang.
Yue Zhong looked at the 2 of them, replying indifferently: “I’m Yue Zhong, the Chief of the Green Stone Triad that occupied the granary! I have something to say to your commander Zhang Xue Wang! Take me to him!”
Hearing that Yue Zhong had taken the initiative to come to their camp, the soldiers sucked in a breath of cold air, as they retreated slightly, gripping their weapons tightly: “You’re Yue Zhong!!”
Yue Zhong’s infamy had spread amongst the entire military. Almost every soldier knew this person in front of them had simply taken a troop to subdue the entire granary that was guarded by a battalion within an hour. He had also mercilessly executed an entire company of soldiers under Chang Yu Feng.
One of the soldiers responded gravely: “Wait a moment! I’ll need to report this!”
After which, the soldier hastily withdrew into the camp.
Not long after, 12 soldiers emitting a strong killing intent following a 1.8m-tall and burly commander came striding towards Yue Zhong.
The burly commander stared at Yue Zhong with a wary gaze and said: “I’m Guo Huai Lian! Please come with me!”
Chai Zi Cang gave Yue Zhong a heads up by whispering: “Guo Huai Lian is the top expert in Zhang Xue Wang’s ranks! He’s an Agility-based Evolver! His skills are truly top-notch!”
Yue Zhong turned to Guo Huai Lian and chuckled as he agreed: “Sure!”