A Rabble Unfit for Use

A Rabble Unfit for Use

It was late summer, at dusk.

Though the sun had just set, the scorching heat had yet to fade. Instead, it only made everyone feel even more stifled and irritable.

Inside the main hall of Dingbian City's government office, lamps blazed brightly, their flames flickering unsteadily.

Zhang Xianzhong sat in the large wooden chair where the county magistrate had once presided. On the floor lay a plaque bearing the words "Justice Served," pinned beneath one of his feet.

His shirt hung open, exposing his solid muscles. His sallow square face was clouded with gloom.

He raised his eyes and looked around at those before him, then barked in a muffled voice, "Everyone, speak. Where do we go from here?"

"We definitely can't hold Dingbian City."

"Don't forget, the nearest force to us is Yansui Military Town. That's one of the Nine Border Fortifications, guarded by an entire town's worth of troops!"

"Though they've suffered defeat after defeat against the Tatars who often cross the border to raid for plunder, dealing with us won't be a problem."

"Especially since Yansui Town has an elite cavalry force, all mounted on Spirit Beast Flood Dragon Scale Horses. They can cover a thousand li in a day—there's simply no catching them!"

"Look at yourselves now!"

He sprang to his feet in fury, his voice rising sharply as he cursed, "Every last one of you knows only how to scramble for treasure and supplies! You've long since thrown my warnings from the days when we first rose up completely behind your backs!"

"I told you to recruit men, train troops, and spare no effort in forging weapons and armor!"

"And now? All you do from dawn to dusk is snatch women and loot riches! The tasks I ordered you to complete still haven't shown a trace of progress, even though we've occupied this county seat for half a month already!"

"At this rate, how much longer can you enjoy yourselves?"

"Half a year? One year?"

"I'd wager that even if the authorities drag their feet, Yansui Town's elite troops will reach Dingbian City within three months at most!"

By this point, the more Zhang Xianzhong thought about it, the angrier he became.

If he were not short on men right now—especially capable generals—he would have loved nothing more than to chop these complacent fools apart, one blade each!

He had no wish to end up like Li Zicheng, who had risen in Mizhi only last year, only to have the government army wipe out the bulk of his forces in less than a year. In the end, Li Zicheng had been left with barely a hundred men and had slunk away to seek refuge with Wang Ziyong.

Yet when Zhang Xianzhong looked at his own subordinates and saw scarcely anyone worth using, he seemed to glimpse the day when he would follow in Li Zicheng's footsteps.

This was the common failing of rebel armies that rose up in haste. It was also the common failing of common folk like them: once they gained wealth vast enough to drown the heavens, they immediately became so pleased with themselves that they forgot all restraint.

No matter how strong Zhang Xianzhong was now, could he truly be stronger than those famed generals of the imperial court?

Though his extraordinary encounter had been remarkable, he could not reach the sky in a single step. He still needed a great deal of time to grow.

Zhang Xianzhong looked old, and he had deliberately grown a long beard nearly a foot in length, but in truth, he was only twenty-five by nominal age this year.

In this world, the martial path had nine realms, divided into three great tiers: upper, middle, and lower.

The Lower Three Realms: Body Refining, the Middle Three Realms: Qi Cultivation, and the Upper Three Realms: Spirit Refining.

Years ago, after unexpectedly obtaining an extraordinary encounter, Zhang Xianzhong had spent several years cultivating. Even with the many precious resources gained from that encounter, he had only just broken through the Lower Three Realms and reached the Fourth Realm, Early Stage.

For some unknown reason, over the past several hundred years, there had been no news of any Spirit Refining Realm experts in this wondrous great world, as though they had all vanished together.

It was said that Cao Wenzhao, Deputy Commander of the Eastern Yansui Route and the most renowned figure there, along with his nephew Cao Bianjiao, the Guerrilla General, were only at the Fifth Martial Dao Realm.

However, it was said that Cao Bianjiao had surpassed his uncle, the blue emerging from indigo yet bluer than indigo. In a few years at most, he would likely break through to the Sixth Martial Dao Realm and become a peerless expert seen only once in a century.

Of course, the reason those with supreme martial strength could not run wild without restraint in this world was not only because military formations could surround and kill Martial Artists. Civil officials also had means to restrain military commanders.

They relied upon the Imperial Dynasty's Fortune bestowed by official rank.

And when the dynasty was at its height, the emperor could also use the Imperial Dynasty's Fortune to keep the hundred officials in check.

But the present Great Ming Dynasty was already tottering on the brink of collapse, beset by troubles within and enemies without. Both the emperor and the civil officials were like a powerful crossbow at the end of its range. Their ability to restrain military commanders had weakened, and they could no longer easily bind those ambitious generals.

Moreover, countless Demons and Monsters lurked in deep mountains and ancient forests, in desolate wildernesses and vast marshlands, throughout rivers, lakes, and seas.

Their overall strength exceeded that of humanity.

Within the vast Great Ming Dynasty, more than eighty percent of the land lay beyond human control.

Fortunately, humanity possessed City Protection Arrays, centered upon the fortune of each prefecture, city, and town as controlled through official rank. They also had various military formations to counter Demons and Monsters, allowing them to barely defend the territory they still possessed.

Unable to counterattack, yet more than capable of self-defense—such was the current state of the Great Ming Dynasty.

But that depended on no great chaos erupting within the dynasty itself.

Now, however, natural disasters and human calamities only grew fiercer by the day. News of Demons and Monsters slaughtering villages and destroying strongholds came without end. Coupled with years of drought and epidemics running rampant, the world already presented the visage of apocalypse.

That was also why Zhang Xianzhong had dared to raise his banner and launch an uprising.

What troubled him most now was nothing else but the lack of capable people beneath him.

And beyond that, none of his current men could form an elite force capable of arranging military formations to contend against the government's elite troops.

He could now hold back a hundred elite soldiers alone, yet he was utterly no match for a military formation formed by a thousand elite soldiers.

If he encountered one, all he could do now was flee in utter defeat!

And that was assuming the government army did not send powerful generals against him.

The question was, could the Great Ming Dynasty, which had endured for such a vast stretch of time, truly lack powerful generals?

That was impossible.

Though the imperial court was now a chaotic mess, even a rotten ship still had three pounds of nails!

With that thought, Zhang Xianzhong became even more determined to select some promising orphan beggars for his own use!

He had truly had enough of this Rebel Army, which was a complete mess!

"Great King!"

Ma Yuanli, who had been ordered to gather the orphan beggars throughout the city and had returned promptly to report, rose and stepped forward. Bowing with clasped fists, he reported, "Following your instructions, I have gathered all the orphan beggar youths in the city into the Wang Family Courtyard, apart from those missing limbs or suffering from illness."

"There are five hundred and ninety-six in total. I left three Squad Leaders from the newly established Veteran Camp, along with their respective men, to guard them."

The three hundred Veteran Camp soldiers Zhang Xianzhong had just ordered formed were basically made up of hunters from the Eighteen Villages around Dingbian City.

They might not have been skilled at much else, but their archery was decent.

Furthermore, among the heaven-defying gains of Zhang Xianzhong's extraordinary encounter were no shortage of ordinary cultivation techniques. After he passed them on to these Veteran Camp soldiers, all of them had broken through to the First Martial Realm.

Several trusted aides led by Ma Yuanli had followed Zhang Xianzhong for some time and had received higher-grade cultivation techniques. They had now each broken through to somewhere between the Second Martial Realm and the Third Martial Realm.

With the Rebel Army only newly established, more than ninety percent of its fighting strength rested upon the carefully selected Veteran Camp soldiers who had just been formed.

Contrary to Li Dingguo's earlier guess, no matter how many rabble there were in this world, they possessed little fighting strength.

The gap in combat power between ordinary people and Martial Artists was far too great. If they could not break through to become Martial Soldiers after selection and training, they were not even qualified to take the battlefield.

As for those ordinary able-bodied young men who joined the Rebel Army but could not awaken Qi and Blood Power or become Martial Soldiers due to limited aptitude and talent, they could only serve as Auxiliary Soldiers. They would form a Logistics Camp and handle logistical work.

This was a cultivator's world where the strong were revered. To become a Martial Artist, one first had to possess the aptitude and talent necessary to begin cultivation.

If one could not meet the requirements to enter cultivation, no amount of bitter training would help. Without forming Qi and Blood Power, one could not break through and become a Martial Artist.

Only armies composed of Martial Artists could, after training, form various military formations on the battlefield, kill enemies, and contend against the enemy's elite forces.

The various military formations formed by Martial Soldiers could unleash and wield Blood Fiend Qi to kill enemies, even easily suppressing Demons and Monsters of the same level.

Zhang Xianzhong had gathered so much rabble not because he intended to use them as cannon fodder, but because he wanted to cast a wide net and haul in many fish, selecting from among them soldiers for the Combat Soldier Camp who could awaken their own Qi and Blood Power and become Martial Artists.

Of course, it was also necessary to use those ordinary able-bodied young men eliminated in the Martial Artist selection to form a qualified Logistics Camp, handle logistical work, and free the Combat Soldier Camp soldiers from the tangled burden of logistics so they could focus solely on battle.