"A genius, truly a genius..." The Tian Shan swordsmen led by Chen Shaoling marveled inwardly.
This young man, with his noble bearing, was indeed well-suited to continue the lineage with their junior sister...
"Man Jiang Hong" had been sung for so long. A general who understood "Man Jiang Hong" was not necessarily concerned with the nation and its people, but a general who completely ignored it? More often than not, he was not a qualified general!
The generals dared not object. Over half of them began to transcribe on the spot, while the other half held their writing brushes, racking their brains.
"Marquis An Guo, this subordinate is illiterate..." a general said nervously.
Everyone was stunned. Several generals had a flash of inspiration and all claimed they were illiterate.
Liang Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Even if you are illiterate, you must know a few lines, right? General Yang, arrange for the Feathered Forest Guards to drag him aside and have him recite a few lines!"
"This subordinate doesn't know any by heart either..." the man said with a dry laugh.
Liang Xiao's face immediately fell. "Dispatch ten Feathered Forest Guards to keep a close watch on him. Anyone who makes a rash move will be killed without mercy! We'll deal with him after this battle!"
The crowd was speechless and complied.
A moment later, those generals also finished transcribing "Man Jiang Hong" and stood up.
Liang Xiao glanced at them, lost in thought.
Excluding typos, most people could write it all, while some only missed one or two lines.
Liang Xiao ordered the Feathered Forest Guards to monitor the generals who couldn't write or recite, leaving a total of twenty people to be assigned armies and warships on the spot.
A moment later, Liang Xiao finally said, "Rest assured and set out. This Marquis has been ordered to come, and there will be great rewards for merit and strict punishment for wrongdoing. I will surely be thorough."
The generals breathed a sigh of relief and took their orders to leave.
With all arrangements made, Li Mou took out an appointment document, knelt before Liang Xiao, tears streaming down his face. "Marquis An Guo is truly talented, this subordinate admires you and wishes to accompany you on this campaign! I am not a follower of General Dang Kou; I was assigned to the East Sea by General Piao Qi last year!"
Liang Xiao raised Li Mou with satisfaction and smiled. "I can see that you are still inclined to serve the nation. I will trouble you to arrange the best warships, prepare strong bows and crossbows, and accompany this Marquis to command the central army and achieve victory through surprise."
Li Mou solemnly agreed and immediately went to make arrangements.
With no one else around, Yang Huan could no longer hold back and took the lead in bowing to Liang Xiao. "Marquis An Guo, your literary and military prowess is worthy of being a pillar of the nation!"
If it weren't for the fact that he was Liang Feng's father-in-law, Yang Huan would have prostrated himself before Liang Xiao long ago.
The facts proved that Liang Xiao's swift and decisive actions were entirely correct. If he had gotten entangled with Dugu Ling, things would likely not have gone so smoothly. Not only would there have been no time to save Nan Jiyun, but Dugu Ling would have also caused trouble, leaving endless hidden dangers!
Chen Shaoling and the others expressed their intentions, "Marquis An Guo, let us also join the campaign!"
Even Jian Qinwan looked at Liang Xiao with longing eyes.
Liang Xiao shook his head. "Swords are not suitable for naval warfare. Naval warfare uses bows and arrows, followed by spears, then swords and sabers. One must also be familiar with water to prevent accidents. You will stay here to assist General Yang in managing the overall situation and protect Prefect Chen and the others. I must personally oversee the battle."
"I can use a spear! I'll go with you..." Luo Qingxue had not finished speaking before she received a pat on the head from Liang Xiao, blushing and not daring to speak.
Jian Qinwan merely looked resentful. Seeing the bloodstains on Liang Xiao's arm, she felt a sense of loss in her heart. She had always called herself Liang Xiao's personal guard, but in the end, she still had no place to use her skills?
Now Jian Qinwan even regretted learning swordplay instead of spearplay...
After Yang Huan and his men left, Liang Xiao spoke to Jian Qinwan. "Bodhisattva, your mother has only you as her child. When you are out, do not act rashly. There are many ways to protect me, and you don't need to accompany me at all times or worry about my safety."
Chen Shaoling and the others were stunned, their faces full of shame.
That was precisely how they had kidnapped Liang Xiao at the time, and Liang Xiao had truly taken it to heart!
Jian Qinwan's nose tingled, and she turned away. "I know..."
This guy is so annoying, must he make this young lady lose her composure in public before he's satisfied!
Just now, she had nearly burst into tears and even wanted to throw herself into Liang Xiao's arms.
Under everyone's admiring gaze, Liang Xiao put on a white robe and turned to leave.
Luo Qingxue stared blankly at Liang Xiao's retreating figure, her heart filled with shock, her breathing somewhat erratic. "General Tian?"
His white robe, white clothes, and that back truly resembled him!
"Is it because General Tian protected him that I have this illusion?" Luo Qingxue lowered her head sadly.
She had tried hard not to imagine Liang Xiao as General Tian, but Liang Xiao was too much alike. However, Liang Xiao had been injured and ill back then; how could he have slain twelve elite barbarian assassins in General Tian's temple and retreated unharmed?
Just then, Chen Shaoling exclaimed, "Marquis An Guo is truly hidden!"
"What makes you say that?" Luo Qingxue and Jian Qinwan asked in unison.
Chen Shaoling exchanged glances with the other chivalrous figures and they all gave wry smiles.
"The way Marquis An Guo killed Dugu Ling was swift and ruthless. Even we wouldn't dare say we could have done it so cleanly and decisively..."
Luo Qingxue and Jian Qinwan pondered this, especially Jian Qinwan, who was skilled in both sword and zither, and she deeply agreed.
Chen Shaoling added, "I even suspect that Marquis An Guo's technique might be the opening move of a certain sword art..."
The opening move of a sword art?!
Jian Qinwan and Luo Qingxue almost choked.
For the first time in twelve years, the East Sea military camp launched a large-scale expedition. The warship fleet was dispatched in its entirety, leaving only ten thousand men to guard the camp!
At the same time, deep in the southeastern waters of the East Sea, three warships were sailing at sea.
On two of the warships, a third of the bodies of the East Sea soldiers lay, along with a pile of pirate heads.
Nan Jiyun stood at the bow of the ship, his strong bow on his back, holding a ten-foot iron spear, his expression grave.
"Captain Nan, were we driven out by General Dugu? Why hasn't anyone come to meet us yet!" the captain of the warship on the right asked with a mournful face.
Nan Jiyun gripped the long spear in his hand and said angrily, "This Dugu Ling is utterly wicked! We've searched for so long, and besides encountering a bunch of pirates, we haven't seen any foreign merchant ships!"
"Captain Nan, we've killed enough enemies. Shouldn't we be going back?" the captain of another ship finally couldn't stand it any longer and also asked.
Nan Jiyun smiled wryly. "Go back? I fear that if we don't rescue the foreign merchant ships, that Dugu Ling will find another excuse to condemn us, or claim credit for our kills! Why are the soldiers of the East Sea not enthusiastic about eradicating pirates? It's because that fellow falsifies merit, he takes the credit while others bear the blame!"
The crowd slumped dejectedly.
What Nan Jiyun said was absolutely true. These men had a bit of backbone, which was why they had offended Dugu Ling. Now that they had been sent out by Dugu Ling, who knew how they would be harassed upon their return!
"Should we not have offended General Dugu?" some people began to waver.
Nan Jiyun said sternly, "A true man born in this era should live uprightly and without regret! At this point, I respect everyone's opinion. Those who wish to return can take one ship back first!"
The crowd hesitated. "We've lost so many brothers. Returning like this will probably still be considered desertion. No matter what, we can't outplay General Dugu..."
As the crowd hesitated, a few ships finally appeared in the southeast. On the closest large ship, a group of people in foreign attire were waving yellow flags towards them!
"It's a foreign merchant ship!"
Everyone was greatly surprised. From a distance, they saw that the ship had already been caught by Izumo pirates, and the two sides were engaged in a boarding battle. The foreign merchant ship was outnumbered, and defeat was only a matter of time!
Nan Jiyun made a decisive move, leading the men to support them. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, shooting and killing a soldier on the bow of the pirate ship on the left!
Before the fleet could even rendezvous with the foreign merchant ship, a large number of pirate warships emerged from all sides!
Everyone turned pale with shock. "Captain Nan, we've entered the encirclement of the pirate fleet!"