Continued Development
Ling Yi returned to the camp quietly, without looking for Jiang Yuan and Li Zhishu, but went straight back to his own tent.
The entire camp was devoid of the joy of victory; instead, it was filled with grief and indignation at the loss of three thousand comrades.
Confucius said, "Disorder arises from words. If a ruler is not discreet, he will lose his ministers; if a minister is not discreet, he will lose his life; if important matters are not kept secret, harm will result. Therefore, a wise man is cautious and discreet and does not speak out."
Those days spent in the library with the Chinese literature major were definitely not wasted!
Amidst the somber atmosphere of grief surrounding him, Ling Yi felt his heart become clearer.
It wasn't until the next day, when Ling Yi stepped out of his tent, that everyone in the camp realized that Ling Yi, the military doctor who had been assigned to a secret mission in the rear, had returned.
Unfortunately, the main force's battlefield advance was unstoppable, with almost no casualties. The wounded had already received effective treatment before Ling Yi, the military doctor, returned.
Unfortunately, the three thousand comrades who had been sent out to lure the enemy into splitting up were all killed in battle, their bodies burned to ashes, leaving no chance for rescue.
Inside the general's tent.
"Ah Yi, can this method really fool everyone?"
Jiang Yuan looked at Ling Yi with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation on his face.
He could never forget the question he posed to his eight thousand comrades at Ling Yi's prompting.
"All troops, listen up! Those with parents, wives, and children, step forward!"
Those who are only sons in their families, or those who have wives but no children, should step forward!
If a father and son, or brothers, are both in the army, the son or brother shall step forward!
Those who step forward will remain at headquarters; those who do not will be tasked with a mission with no chance of survival!
As Jiang Yuan spoke each word of "step forward," his heart clenched, for he saw the fearful yet resolute eyes of those who had not yet stepped forward.
Fortunately, under Ling Yi's plan, these people were not really going to their deaths, but rather abandoning their former identities, leaving their hometowns, and going to a completely unfamiliar place to start a new life.
However, Jiang Yuan was still somewhat unsure, worried that some unpredictable consequences might occur.
The battlefield is definitely one of the easiest places to build bonds!
As the commander-in-chief, Jiang Yuan always led from the front in every battle. He treated his soldiers as true brothers, and they wholeheartedly supported him.
They went their separate ways.
Therefore, even though he saw Ling Yi's calm expression and knew that things were going smoothly, he couldn't relax until he heard Ling Yi's affirmative answer.
Under Jiang Yuan's expectant gaze, Ling Yi nodded and said, "Don't worry, they've all been sent over. Senior Brother Lou Gao is there; arranging three thousand ordinary people is a piece of cake."
This is the Douluo Continent, a place where people live in misery. There is no census or a proper household registration system, not even as good as the ancient feudal dynasties in Ling Yi's previous life.
For example:
If a villager from the [Water Wood Duchy] moves to the territory of the [Heaven Dou Empire], as long as they have a place to live and a job that can support themselves, whether it's farming or some other skill, they can integrate into the local community in no time and naturally become a citizen of the [Heaven Dou Empire].
Can you believe that?
The lack of education means that many ordinary people have no intention of leaving their own little world.
People always harbor a sense of fear towards the unknown outside world and dare not easily step out of their comfort zone.
In other words, some powerful Soul Master can roam freely in various places on the Douluo Continent, and eventually stop in a strange place that may be tens of thousands of miles away from their birthplace, and settle down completely.
Therefore, as long as they evade the initial minefield and enter the peaceful rear area, the three thousand soldiers who abandoned their original identities can easily merge into a great river without much effort.
Not to mention, there's also the Blacksmith Association, a local power broker, secretly taking over and supporting them.
The Blacksmith Association is now changing rapidly thanks to Lou Gao's vigorous development. Although it is still only a third-rate force within the entire Star Luo Empire, that is only because it lacks high-level combat power.
In terms of lower and middle-level members, the number of members in the Blacksmith Association, along with its influence throughout the Star Luo Empire, is a level above those first-rate forces!
The Divine Craftsman is the faith in the hearts of blacksmiths!
Within the [Blacksmith Association' Guild], there are two Divine Craftsman, Lou Gao and Tie Futu!
More importantly, under Lou Gao's leadership, all members of the Blacksmith Association have experienced positive changes to varying degrees, with some gaining economic benefits, others acquiring forging skills, and many others achieving both.
"Don't worry," Ling Yi reassured him once again, "You just need to know that we really do have three thousand soldiers missing from this camp, and that you completely annihilated the [North Yue Kingdom] army in the previous main battlefield. That's enough!"
"Neither the people from the North Yue Kingdom nor those behind them care how those three thousand soldiers died..."
Hearing Ling Yi's words, Jiang Yuan nodded with a bitter expression.
Seeing this, Ling Yi continued, "What you need to consider now is whether there will be any new battles to fight, and how to arrange the remaining five thousand men in the army..."
"You should know that many of those three thousand people were these people's brothers, sisters, and close friends. It's not like those who were sent away were fine, but the rest were thrown into the blood-grinding battlefield."
"I understand." Jiang Yuan nodded, his expression solemn and heavy. "Based on my previous experience, after crippling the army of the [North Yue Kingdom], all we need to do now is wait here peacefully. On the main battlefields of Heaven Dou and Star Luo, the higher-ups will hold a few Soul Fighting to determine the winner and decide the priority for exploiting border resources in the coming years. Then we can head home."
"Really!"
After hearing Jiang Yuan's words, Ling Yi shook his head and, seeing Jiang Yuan's somewhat confused expression, whispered:
"This so-called war between the two great empires is actually just a show. Besides the fact that they are indeed fighting for resources and redistributing them, it is also a way to deplete the manpower of the subordinate kingdoms and duchies."
"How could the officials possibly be willing to watch things develop peacefully and steadily below, accumulating power little by little and strengthening themselves?"
"The Douluo Continent is only so big. Every now and then, a batch of resources is consumed. How can those limited resources be enough for the men to eat their fill, and to keep them eating their fill?"
At this point, Ling Yi didn't even glance at Jiang Yuan, whose face had turned ashen once more, but continued to recite in his mind:
"This is true among humans, and it is probably true among both humans and Soul Beast."
After all, if things could develop peacefully and steadily, the population of the Douluo Continent would have exploded long ago, given its abundant spiritual energy over the years, and there's no family planning policy here.
Even if the chance of Soul Master's talent appearing is small, as long as the base number is large enough, how could the total number of Soul Master in the entire Douluo Continent be so small?
With so many Soul Master, the number of Soul Beast, especially high-age Soul Beast, is far from enough to go around!
Thanks to book friends [Blinding Your Eyes, Li Zhishu, Xiaohei9527, Luoyu Nebula, Retired Reincarnation Man, Book Friends 20210301106458035520, Listener Novels, The Foreword Does Not Match Postscript] For the monthly vote, I would like to thank the book friends [May May, Book Friends 20220925185109705, Ada 1994] for the reward, and thank you all for your recommendation votes and follow-up reading, thank you all! (*^▽^*)
The next chapter will be updated tonight~