"Send someone to the city lord's mansion later, ordering him to hand over all political and military affairs of Twin Flag City. At the same time, notify all the nobles that each of them must contribute 500 private soldiers within half a day, providing their own weapons and provisions, to form a squadron to help us defend the city." Sun Fei analyzed the city's troop strength and felt increasingly that the military force was weak. He couldn't help but recall some suggestions from his strategist, Old Arjen, before he came.
"What if the nobles disagree?" Shevchenko hesitated, after all, private soldiers were the private property of the nobles, and such an order was tantamount to forced plunder and requisition.
"If you disagree, then die." Sun Fei grinned.
Shevchenko sensed something terrible in that smile.
He had a hunch that King Majesty the King seemed quite pleased to see the nobles rebel, as this would provide ample justification for their execution. Thinking of the fate of the so-called lord's envoy on the city walls earlier that day, Shevchenko now understood the legion commander's style of doing things. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the poor nobles; it seemed their previous indifference to the lives of commoners had truly angered this powerful vassal King.
"Of course, the civilians in the city also need to be mobilized. Although they won't be required to fight for the time being, some able-bodied men should be selected for military training. If the situation deteriorates further, even civilians will have to go to the city walls to fight the enemy."
At this point, Sun Fei couldn't help but think of the idiom "the whole nation is a soldier" from his previous life.
Comparing the military strength, Ajax is attacking Zenit with its entire national strength, and its vanguard alone has reached an astonishing 60,000. If the follow-up army is included, it is unknown what the final number of troops will be. Meanwhile, the Zenit Empire is simultaneously fighting against three major empires: Spartak, Eindhoven, and Ajax. Despite the aid of the Saint-Germain Empire, its shortage of troops was almost inevitable from the beginning. Moreover, judging from the plans of the Imperial Military Department, the Ajax war zone only has a hastily assembled [ Wolf Fang Legion ] of less than 50,000 men, and the follow-up troops are even less likely. To stabilize the war, relying solely on the strength of the army is not enough; the 100,000 civilians of Twin Flag City must also be involved.
After much deliberation and drawing on the advice of his strategist Arjen, Sun Fei quickly realized that to stabilize the current predicament and prevent the situation from deteriorating further, he could only learn from the 'great party' of his previous life—it was essential to seize land from the wealthy and distribute it to the people to mobilize their enthusiasm; it was also essential to establish a people's united front and unite all forces that could be united. In simple terms, it meant fighting the nobility, distributing their property, and for the poor, giving them power and status, using a people's war to seek victory and survival.
Shevchenko agreed, and soon a series of orders were passed down.
"Hmm? Andrei, is there anything else you want to say?" Seeing that Shevchenko didn't leave immediately after arranging everything, and seemed hesitant and reluctant to speak, Sun Fei felt curious and couldn't help but ask.
"My lord, your injuries..."
Sun Fei was stunned for a moment, then understood what Shevchenko meant and suddenly realized.
Today, while charging single-handedly through Ajax's army of 60,000, Sun Fei was unexpectedly ambushed by the local commander and shot through the left shoulder with an arrow. The injury was not minor, and the people in the reinforcements were naturally worried about his injury. Moreover, he was the only one with the strength to keep the arrogant prince commander in check. If he was seriously injured, Twin Flag City's next strategic arrangements would probably have to be changed.
"Haha, don't worry, I'm fully recovered." Sun Fei even pretended to move his left shoulder a few times.
At this point, Sun Fei suddenly remembered that he had also seized a seemingly decent longbow at the foot of the hill, which was said to be a treasure of the Ajax Empire's royal family. With a thought, he took the longbow, which resembled a giant eagle with outstretched wings, out of his storage ring.
It is indeed a fine bow.
The bow shimmered with a faint light, and a terrifying, barely perceptible magical Magic Power surged within it. Sun Fei gently pulled the pale red bowstring, only to find the bow incredibly hard. It took him five-tenths of his strength to draw the bow to its Full Moon. The bowstring emitted a suction force, pulling the strength from his arm into it. Then, a glass-colored arrow gradually materialized from the ethereal form and appeared on the bowstring.
Sun Fei remembered that when Ajax Fairenton used this bow, he shot red arrows, while the arrows he condensed were azure. It seemed that this bow could create arrows with different attributes depending on the user's power attribute.
call out!
Sun Fei released the bowstring and shot an arrow into the sky. Almost instantly, the arrow disappeared into the distant horizon.
"It is indeed a fine bow. The arrows are incredibly fast, making it an unparalleled weapon for murder, robbery, ambush, and assassination. No wonder I couldn't dodge that arrow back then. Although its power is a bit weak, as long as the archery skills are excellent and it hits a vital spot, even a Moon Class expert would perish."
Sun Fei was a little surprised.
Unexpectedly, my impulsive act of stealing a bow turned out to be a good deal, even slightly better than some of the magical bows produced in the Diablo World.
Shevchenko was clearly taken aback by the bow's power. Within a hundred meters, even someone two levels lower in strength could potentially kill their opponent. He stepped back a couple of paces, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Sir, I have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask it?"
"Huh? Ask away."
"You had the chance to kill Ajax's commander today, why didn't you just kill him?"
Sun Fei put the bow back into his storage ring and shook his head slightly, saying, "That Ajax prince has reached the Eight-Star Class Initial Stage. To have such strength at such a young age clearly indicates that he holds an important position in Ajax, far beyond that of an ordinary prince. Killing such a high-ranking prince will inevitably provoke a fierce counterattack from the Ajax army. If they attack the city at any cost, Twin Flag City will be in danger."
At this point, Sun Fei stepped out of the central tent, looked at the incredibly busy soldiers in the camp, then at the Sun high in the sky, sighed, and continued, "What we need to do now is to hold back the Ajax Empire's army, pinning them firmly to this border region and the desert like a nail, buying time for the other two major war zones... Therefore, we cannot completely provoke the Ajax people, otherwise, if some Emperor Chivu were to launch a full-scale attack, even ten Twin Flag City wouldn't be able to hold out."
"I understand." Shevchenko's eyes gradually brightened, and he nodded thoughtfully. "The current situation of Twin Flag City and the [ Wolf Fang Legion ] is like walking a tightrope. We must grasp the right balance to avoid a complete collapse and to buy as much time as possible."
Sun Fei nodded. "That's right, exactly."
At this point, His Majesty the King suddenly changed his tone and smiled, "Besides, a mere Eight-Star Class prince is just a matter of a thought for me to kill. Whether I kill him today or not is the same. Moreover, I think this person is extremely arrogant and conceited, overly obsessed with his own martial arts cultivation. Leaving such an easily angered and arrogant commander for the Ajax people, hehe, may not be a bad thing for us."
"Your Excellency is truly wise." Shevchenko's words were not flattery, but genuinely from the bottom of his heart.
Sun Fei smiled and waved for the vanguard commander to get back to work.
At this time, most of the work of the vanguard corps was decided by Shevchenko and Čech. Sun Fei had become accustomed to being a hands-off manager, and the generals and staff around him were far busier than His Majesty the King.
However, Shevchenko's words just now made Sun Fei quietly ask himself a question.
"Yeah, how come I've become so cunning since I transmigrated to the Azeroth Continent? Some things seem obvious without me even having to think about them. Could it be that the [Learning] skill, one of the three divine abilities, is subtly changing some of my abilities? Or is this pseudo-otaku rapidly growing after experiencing the back-and-forth battles and adventures between the dark and real worlds?"
Just as His King took a deep breath, preparing to delve deeper into this philosophically profound question, a commotion arose from the distant gates of the camp—
"Get out of my way! Tell your commander to come out and see me!"
"Who am I? Hmph! You lowly scum, you don't deserve to know. Tell your idiot commander that if he wants to live, he'd better come out and see me right now. I've brought orders from a second-class hereditary nobleman of the Empire and the highest commander of Twin Flag City. If he's even a fraction late, he'll be court-martialed on the spot!"
"Haha, a bunch of pathetic pigs! To tell you the truth, your so-called commander dared to kill the city lord's special envoy, angering the city lord himself. He'll be killed sooner or later, haha..."
Sun Fei frowned and arrived at the entrance of the Barracks.
"What's going on?" Sun Fei asked. Actually, looking at the group of soldiers guarding the camp who were suppressing their anger and daring not to speak out, and the several young men dressed in noble clothes on the other side, surrounded by twenty or thirty guards, who were pointing and gesturing arrogantly, Sun Fei already understood the ins and outs of the matter.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, these men claim to be upper-class nobles in the city. They are acting on the orders of the city lord, Soroyev, and request an audience with the legion commander..." Upon seeing Sun Fei, the soldiers were overjoyed. Although they had not followed this legion commander for long, they were already very familiar with his protective nature. They immediately felt as if they had found a powerful patron and recounted the events that had just occurred to them.
Sun Fei nodded.
He had clearly heard that the soldiers had not added fuel to the fire of their anger, and had remained composed and dignified, which pleased His Majesty the King. Looking at the several richly dressed young nobles opposite him, all around twenty years old, they were all pale and unsteady on their feet, clearly showing that their decadent and dissolute lifestyle had ravaged their young bodies. However, their arrogance was unmistakable, and their sense of superiority was undisguised.
Second update, please give me some red tickets.