First Army

After a night of pleasure, Chen Cheng summoned Prince Pingbei, Doyle, and Jamir the next day and told them his plans.

What he said was much the same as what he had told Jamir the night before.

Seeing that Jamir had not swayed Chen Cheng—and that Chen Cheng intended to make use of Jamir and his people instead—Prince Pingbei and the others finally set their worries aside.

Once the discussion of Jamir's role was over, Jamir tactfully took his leave.

After he had gone, Prince Pingbei sighed.

"I never expected the Church to have someone with such political talent. What a pity those hidebound holy men don't appreciate him."

"Well, that's fortunate for us. But I need to stress one thing: his pitch is just a pitch. Don't let him sway you into treating me like some god and worshipping me.

Make that clear when you get back. Doyle, you also need to step up political education. We can't let our newly recruited soldiers turn into believers in gods and ghosts."

Religious faith could give soldiers the courage to charge into battle without fear of death. But that same courage made it difficult for them to develop the discipline of a regular army.

In army warfare, what mattered was not individual bravery but the strength of teamwork.

A real army was not a disposable resource, either. He did not want soldiers shouting praise to the gods before mindlessly throwing their lives away alongside the enemy.

That was why, as soon as Jamir left, Chen Cheng raised this point first: they had to keep a firm hand on the army's thinking and keep religious faith out of its ranks.

"Your Majesty is right. Devout soldiers fight without fear of death because religion has filled their heads with the belief that they'll