Chapter 28: The Beginning of Military Training

Xue Chengqian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This crisis had finally come to an end. Lu Xiaoyuan’s promise was merely the icing on the cake; even without it, Xue Chengqian would have found a way to leverage the captured warhorses to scout the situation in the Northern Territory and act according to the circumstances.

What truly filled him with anticipation was the reward from the Destiny System.

After reviewing the system’s explanation panel, he immediately clicked confirm to check the contents of his reward:

Xue Chengqian:
Physique: 4 points
Intellect: 7 points
Agility: 6 points
Destiny Index: 50
[The Destiny Mall has unlocked primary-level redemptions.]
[Authorization: Highly restricted. Please continue to complete high-difficulty Destiny Quests to continue unlocking.]

Although he had been mentally prepared, Xue Chengqian could not help but grin upon seeing these notifications.

"Well, primary-level redemption will suffice, and my personal stats seem to have increased quite a bit."

Following the system reward, Xue Chengqian felt his body become lighter and more agile, and his mind much clearer.

Currently, there were only about ten items available for redemption in the mall. After careful consideration, he felt two were the most valuable at this stage.

The first was the ability to receive system prompts five times when facing a new "Destiny Crisis," helping him turn the tide.

The second was the ability to sense the psychological fluctuations of a target individual in a very short time, which had no limit on usage.

However, the latter had significant limitations: this psychological sensing was extremely vague, allowing him to perceive little more than the person’s goodwill or malice. Furthermore, this ability required Xue Chengqian to "actively activate" it to take effect. Goodwill or malice in the short term could also be misleading—for instance, someone might be harboring a secret conspiracy against you but project goodwill simply because you are temporarily of great use to them.

Even so, after some hesitation, Xue Chengqian chose the ability to sense psychological fluctuations.

At times, this ability could provide immense help, perhaps even alerting him to a target's murderous intent. As for the system prompts for Destiny Crises, Xue Chengqian trusted his own intellect more; he had confidence in his ability to resolve crises through his own efforts. Besides, doing so was more in line with the spirit of "defying destiny and controlling one's own fate."

When Xue Chengqian returned to rejoin the group, he saw Luo Fang and Kang Yu expressing their dissatisfaction to Bearded Wang. Upon asking, he learned that Bearded Wang, resentful of the Matchmaker and Liu Shang for their treachery, had gathered his men to ambush them and eliminate the two troublemakers once and for all. However, the Matchmaker and Liu Shang were slippery; knowing they had become thorns in the side of Luo Fang’s faction, they had used their subordinates as cover to slip away unnoticed.

"Bearded Wang! Can you ever do anything right?"

Bearded Wang complained aggrievedly, "Boss, this is actually a good thing. They ran away on their own, saving us from another fight. Now we can properly control these refugees without anyone causing trouble, right?"

Xue Chengqian darkened his expression and warned, "It's not that simple!"

"Even though we have the war spoils from the Northern Barbarians and our prestige is high, if it truly comes down to strength, the Matchmaker and Liu Shang combined might not fear us. If you had taken only a few men to seek revenge, you would have just handed them an opportunity to surround and kill you! The fact that they just ran away..." He paused, knowing that neither sharp sabers nor sturdy horses could kill enemies on their own. Until Luo Fang trained new soldiers, their actual strength was insufficient.

Bearded Wang was startled. "Don't be such a fearmonger, kid!"

Luo Fang’s expression, however, grew even graver. "No, the boy is right. If the Matchmaker and Liu Shang had intended to deal with you, you and those men would never have returned alive!"

Kang Yu asked in confusion, "Then why didn't they strike? What are they planning?"

Xue Chengqian shook his head, too tired to guess. "We already know the Matchmaker’s group is backed by someone else. They are just knives in someone else’s hands; perhaps someone didn't want them clashing with us just yet."

"Regardless, our top priority must be to use those warhorses and weapons to train an army. Once we have our own strength, we need not fear any conspiracy."

Through this battle, Luo Fang had come to rely heavily on Xue Chengqian. If Xue said it made sense, then it was worth following!

"Right! Starting tomorrow, gather all the refugees, screen them strictly, and let's get a real army going!"

...

Luo Fang might be clumsy when it came to the political maneuvering between him and Lu Xiaoyuan, but he was no slacker when it came to training troops.

Even though Lu Xiaoyuan was publicly at odds with him, the tens of thousands of refugees outside Wangjiang City were still willing to follow Luo Fang’s orders, thanks to his official status and current prestige. He selected two hundred strong men, combined them with his own veteran brothers, and distributed the Northern Barbarians' weapons and the improvised ones they had made.

As for the warhorses, they were assigned only to Luo Fang’s veteran brothers. This was not just because of their loyalty, but because they came from military households and had spent years in the borderlands, giving them at least some horsemanship that ordinary refugees could not match.

They then began formal training according to border army standards.

Xue Chengqian could not help much with the training itself, but he did remind Luo Fang to pay attention to the personnel composition. Their next most important task was not a head-on confrontation with the Northern Barbarians, but scouting the military situation in the North and clearing up the chaotic state of affairs. Therefore, they needed to pick young men from different counties so that the troop would have access to local connections and guides wherever they went.

Of course, there was another hidden motive: with a complex origin for the "outer" soldiers, it would be harder for them to shake the status of Luo Fang’s original military brothers, ensuring that no one could "establish their own power base" within this modest camp of a few hundred men.

As for the refugees who were not selected, there was no need for them to be disheartened; at the very least, Luo Fang could intercept food supplies sent to Wangjiang City from other counties, ensuring everyone had food to eat and shelter from the cold.

Luo Fang’s efficiency in training helped them avoid a major headache. As time passed, the expected retaliation from the Northern Barbarians did not come, and Lu Xiaoyuan’s attitude began to change slowly.

Lu Xiaoyuan seemed to have followed Xue Chengqian’s strategy, reporting the great victory to the imperial court while emphasizing Wangjiang City’s role in the defense of the North. As a result, a steady stream of grain convoys and even reinforcements began to concentrate on Wangjiang City.

However, Wangjiang City began sending out official soldiers to intercept the grain convoys ahead of time. While they did not completely cut off Luo Fang’s supplies, the intent to "seize the grain" was very clear.

No one could guarantee what would happen in the coming days, so they had to take the initiative.