Zhou Fu, following the teachings of Yang Ge, first promoted those Dongying renegades in the servant army who had military achievements to the rank of ninth-class samurai and then selected some not-so-bright but obedient samurai from among them for promotion to eighth-class samurai, gradually establishing the subordinate officer system of the servant army...
He then vigorously propagated the military orders and discipline once again, continuously encouraging the samurai at all levels to lead drills.
The servant army, having experienced the battle in the valley, had shed much of its impetuousness and naivety, becoming much steadier and gradually understanding the concept of "military orders are as unyielding as mountains; to disobey is to face execution". Coupled with the generous delivery of large supplies of weapons, armor, and provisions from the benevolent Tao Qingxian, the servant army began to exude the aura of a military force...
Two days later, the Seventy-Two Braves led the servant army to the administrative center of Chikuzen Province, Dazaifu, where some of Tao Qingxian’s loyal retainers, after hearing of Tao Qingxian’s death in battle, had rallied over three thousand Tao soldiers and arrayed them outside Dazaifu under the banner of avenging Tao Qingxian.
Yang Ge had Zhou Fu command the servant army to line up in battle formation and truly engage with those three thousand Tao soldiers.
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The servant army was a new force, but Zhou Fu was no novice general. Supported by Yang Ge and others, the servant army managed to withstand the onslaught of Tao soldiers, and under the pressure, slowly adapted to the pace of the battlefield...
Yang Ge gave Zhou Fu three days.
Within those three days, Zhou Fu, adhering to the principle of "enemy soldiers on both sides, no regrets over how many die," displayed all he had learned, commanding the servant army in more than twenty battles, including formation battles, night raids, and camp attacks… no, he demonstrated them all to the servant army.
Zhou Fu himself fought more and more unrestrainedly and joyfully, not sleeping a wink for three days and nights as his eyes still gleamed with a green light.
Meanwhile, the servant army was as if driven to ecstasy and despair by the drills, experiencing continuous highs. Had it not been for Yang Ge and others to keep the camp in order, the troops would have scattered long ago.
Three days later, Yang Ge led the Seventy-Two Braves into the fray, wielding absolute military power to directly break through the enemy lines, slay commanders, and capture flags; Zhou Fu then took the opportunity to press all forces at once, resolving the battle decisively.
After the battle, Zhou Fu, as usual, gathered the surviving and defeated soldiers of Tao for reorganization. The strength of the servant army grew from the peak of about one thousand six hundred to more than three thousand five hundred, and as a large number of brave fighters were promoted to ninth- or eighth-class samurai, these subordinate officers were integrated into the servant army system. This army, seeming like a disarrayed mess that could be scattered with a simple push, became internally more tenacious and stronger.
Because all the vested interests instinctively protect their own interests, and the interests of these subordinate officers were entirely derived from the ninth-class samurai system. Once outside this system, they would revert to their original state — from a respected officer overseeing dozens, with someone to wipe even their buttocks, back to a lowly, destitute beggar unable to satisfy hunger or cover his body.
Thus, whenever newcomers joined this system, they would proactively teach them the meaning of discipline.
Thus, whenever higher orders reached their hands, they intensified efforts to implement them to protect their hard-won status and the possibility of rising even higher.
Yang Ge, deeply understanding the essence of wolf-pack culture, timely fed a rich meal to the transforming servant army — Dazaifu!
Dazaifu, a town constructed by Dongying to welcome the culture of the grand Wei empire, was for a long period one of the most prosperous and thriving towns in Dongying. Scholars deeply influenced by Wei culture, such as Jianzhen, Konghai, and Saichō, had lingered here, infatuated... It had even once boasted the reputation of "the metropolis under Heaven."
Even though Dongying no longer regarded Wei as the supreme dynasty or admired Wei culture, Dazaifu remained the absolute economic, cultural, and administrative center of the entire Western Sea Road.
That day, Yang Ge stood under the blood-red setting sun, blew open the gates of Dazaifu with a single slash, and pointing to the bustling streets made up of numerous ancient Tang-style buildings inside the city, said to the servant army, "It is yours now!"
The over three thousand five hundred samurai, their armor yet stained with fresh blood, rushed into Dazaifu, like a pack of wolves tormented by fierce snow and bitter cold, storming into an endless henhouse.
That day, numerous thick plumes of smoke rose in Dazaifu.
That day, the cries of despair from Dazaifu resonated to the heavens...
This city, born from Dongying’s admiration for Wei culture, ultimately perished because Dongying turned its blades towards the land of Wei.
Yang Ge, leaning on his sword, stood at the highest point within Dazaifu, gazing at the magnificent Tang buildings rarely seen even in Wei, crumbling gradually in the fierce flames, as if seeing on those swirling dark dragons the figures of countless Wei sages...
They, some with black head coverings and dressed in moon-white round-collared robes, others with tiger helmets, draped in dark iron armor... stood atop the black dragon, joyously raising their glasses to the sky in laughter, as if they had been waiting for this day for a very long time.
A sense of destiny, thick as history circling back on itself, echoed in his heart, making him feel as insignificant as a mantis trying to stop a chariot, yet as majestic as the Qinling Mountains that stretch across the north and south of China.
It was as if he had just realized that he was no longer just a reader of history nor merely a bystander, but a participant in history...
Future generations, when reading his story, might feel the same stirrings of intense emotion as they do when reading about the Champion Marquis settling in Xuzhou or the Marquis of Distant Peace reclaiming the Western Regions.
This realization sprouted like a towering tree within his wavering inner world; his stagnant spiritual energy began to grow again, as if climbing up the vines of the great tree.
"Vast lands, who decides the rise and fall?"
"No one can decide the rise and fall."
"Yet everyone can decide the rise and fall."
"I, too, can decide the rise and fall..."
He muttered to himself, his True Qi surging around him like a fierce breath, his formidable spiritual power radiating outward, pulling the vast energies of heaven and earth around him like a tornado, causing his long hair to dance wildly as if he were a god, almost demonic!
This spectacular scene, deeply engraved like a devil’s obstacle in the souls of the rampaging servant soldiers and Dongying invaders, pressed upon their malicious spirits like an insurmountable mountain, causing them to still wake in sweat from their nightmares years later, remembering those brutal years under Yang Ge’s control.
The seventy-two brave warriors scattered around the Dazaifu also witnessed this scene and could only feel its unfathomable depth and overwhelming respect—they had no thoughts of replacing him or even of mustering the will to chase after him.
Especially those who understood how Yang Ge had, in merely over ten days, in a foreign land, created from scratch an army that was both eager for battle and dutifully obedient; their admiration for him... was terrifyingly profound!
That ineffable feeling was approximately: ’I knew he was impressive, but I never imagined he was this impressive!’
All thoughts and words ultimately condensed into a single phrase: ’I must tell those above when I return: in the future, provoke anyone you like, just not Yang Ge!’
No one would believe if told that people from so many different organizations—court officials, rebels, cults, gangs, noble families—all shared this uniform realization.
"Damn it, this guy not being struck by lightning really defies all reason!"
Yang Tiansheng withdrew his gaze, murmuring in a tone so complex it was indescribable.
Xiang Wudi also withdrew his gaze. His martial arts skills were superior to those of Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng, which is why he could see more. Yet, it was precisely because he saw clearly that he felt secretly terrified... He didn’t dare to tell Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng that Yang Erlang might achieve the rank of Grandmaster at any moment.
The focus of Li Jincheng’s attention, however, slightly differed from theirs. After a few glances, he shifted his gaze back to the grim vistas around him that resembled a human purgatory... Having endured the double blows from Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng, he had grown somewhat numb—a flattering way to put it would be ’invincible as the mountain breeze’; a less flattering description would be a touch of resignation and defeatism.
"I say, shouldn’t we go and have a chat with Yang Ge?"
He voiced his anxiety in a low tone: "His actions always make me feel a bit uneasy..."
Yang Tiansheng spread his hands helplessly: "How can we chat? The ones killed were Dongying invaders, and the ones doing the killing were also Dongying invaders. Our own hands are clean—untouched by a single leaf. What grounds do we have for a chat with him? We manage heaven and earth, but can we manage Dongying killing Dongying?"
Xiang Wudi also nodded and replied: "He has handled things to this extent; if we still go and nitpick, that would truly be meddling too much and failing to recognize the boundaries of closeness!"