Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 7 (Chapter 157-Chapter 207)

Kou Rui nodded as he received the orders, leaving to execute them.

Currently, in the main hall that they were using as an administrative assembly room, besides Zhou Weiqing, Shangguan Xue’er, Tian’er, Lin TianAo, Lei Zi, Crow and Ma Qun were all there, as well as Yan Zhexi and the other elite classmates of Zhou Weiqing’s class. At this moment, Yan Zhexi had assumed temporary leadership of the class of military students.

Zhou Weiqing’s gaze turned to Yan Zhexi and he said: “Zhexi, what do you think about the current situation?”

Yan Zhexi said: “From the current situation, I believe that the Kalise Empire has only sent that single Regiment. After all, the Bai Da Empire aside, the Kalise Empire only has a total army strength of ten Regiments. Furthermore, they would be separated to the various parts of the Empire, as well as their own homeland. This time, our attack must have come as a great surprise to them, and we have managed to seal any news of the attack. They should not know our current numbers or strength. I believe that we currently do not need to worry about any of their reinforcements for now. What we need to do now is to entrench ourselves and fortify our position, to defend it until the Fei Li Empire can send their logistic troops with supplies.”

Pausing for a moment, he continued: “However, this is only a short term solution. Commander, should we begin recruiting troops? Although our army is extremely powerful, we only number seven hundred in total. If more enemies come, and that is an eventual outcome, they can attack us from all directions. Once our forces are split up, it will be extremely difficult for us to withstand a sustained attack. I propose that we begin recruiting soldiers, and with the core of the Peerless Regiment soldiers leading some new recruits on each wall, we will be able to put up a proper full defense.”

Hearing Yan Zhexi’s analysis which was reasonable, clear and logical, Zhou Weiqing nodded in satisfaction as he said: “Your suggestion is not bad. However, the current hearts and minds of the people are still not stabilized, and it is not a suitable time to begin recruitment yet. In terms of military command, I am no match for you all, but do keep in mind that in the long run, the hearts and minds of the citizens is the most important. To put it simply, if you are currently just a normal citizen, and your city has just been invaded by a group of soldiers. Even if these soldiers were once belonging to the city, before you can ascertain their strength, whether or not they have a future, whether or not they can provide you with safety, to protect your city… would you actually be willing to join up with them? When the enemy comes to attack, that will be the time for us to prove ourselves and start building the Crescent City citizen’s confidence in us.”

Hearing Zhou Weiqing’s words, Yan Zhexi nodded slowly, as if deep in thought. At last, he asked: “In that case, Commander, what should we do?” In terms of military studies, even ten Zhou Weiqing’s could not compare with him. However, he had never been on an actual battlefield, and he definitely needed actual combat experience, to marry his theoretical knowledge along with experience to have a truly comprehensive understanding and mastery of military matters.

Zhou Weiqing said confidently, as if he had already thought everything through: “Lei Zi, get some men to invite two hundred citizens as representatives. If you are not able to get enough volunteers, grab and ‘persuade’ them to do so. However, I do not want you to injure anyone. I want these two hundred citizens to be able to watch our incoming battle from a good vantage point of the city walls, so try to make sure that there are representatives from all walks of life, hopefully every trade and industry as well. Crow, Ma Qun, this is time for you to shine. If I were to get you two to lead your two hundred Tribesmen to charge and defeat an entire enemy Regiment, do you all dare to do so? Would you have confidence in victory?”

Ma Qun laughed heartily and said: “Boss, in that case, does that mean that if we achieve victory, we will be able to gain a larger percentage of loot?”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily as well, saying: “of course, you all will get forty percent of it all, with the rest split amongst the other five hundred brothers. I want you to achieve a resounding and beautiful victory, to charge and show the might of our Peerless Regiment. More importantly, I want the morale of our people! As for how you two wish to conduct the battle, I’ll leave it to you two to command. However, do remember not to charge into their camp, in case of any traps or unforeseen ambushes. At the same time, make sure you all do not overextend and leave energy to return safely.”

“For the retreat, I will have our top archers to cover you. This fight, I want to build our reputation and prestige, not only to boost our morale, reputation amongst the citizens, but also to crush the enemy’s morale.”

Ma Qun thumped his chest confidently. “Boss, leave it to us. Ever since our Peerless Heavy Cavalry has been set up, we have never met a fight too tough for us. Isn’t it just a Regiment? We might not be able to slaughter them all, but to charge in and out seven times[1. An idiom that references the famous scene in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel where General Zhao Yun charges seven times through the ranks of Cao Cao’s armies] is not a big deal.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: “Very good, you two go and prepare then.”

Ma Qun and Crow strode out in large steps, and Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly as he looked at the others, saying: “Come on then, brothers, follow me to the top of the city walls.”

Yan Zhexi could not hold back, saying: “Commander, are you really asking Ma Qun and Crow to lead two hundred out of the city to attack the enemies? They have an entire Regiment!”

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: “No matter how many ants there are, they can never kill an elephant with their bites[2. This is actually an idiom, but I was curious and went to research about army ants, though it looks like the horror stories I heard about them were greatly exagerrated :D]. Although the current strength of our Peerless Regiment is not actually a full formation of a normal Regiment, these trash from the Kalise Empire I do not really take into account. Just wait and see, this time, you will truly witness the real strength of the Peerless Heavy Cavalry. I want the Kalise Empire to truly fear our Peerless Regiment, to tremble from just the sound of our names.”

The last sentence, Zhou Weiqing said grimly with great resolution. He truly hated the Kalise Empire men for invading his homeland, forcing his father to use such a desperate skill that would harm himself. As his own cultivation level grew, Zhou Weiqing began to understand the price his father would have to pay to use such a Sealing Skill. Perhaps, in the future, Zhou Weiqing might be able to remove the Seal, but as the user of the Darkness Consolidated Fate Denying Seal… even Long Shiya did not have the confidence to keep Admiral Zhou alive.

This was also an important reason why Zhou Weiqing wanted to keep close ties with the Heavenly Demon Sect. All other reasons aside, he knew that the core of the Heavenly Demon Sect had the Life Attribute. Tian’er’s Divine Attribute and Long Shiya’s power could perhaps have a chance to keep his father alive, but if he truly wanted to help him recover, he would definitely need the support and aid of the Life Attribute. Even if it were just this reason alone, Zhou Weiqing would definitely keep good terms with the Heavenly Demon Sect. Of course, for negotiation’s sake, he would not reveal this fact to them too early.