Li Yan listened to this, glanced at Li Yu and Li Shan, and said, "It's nothing. If it's as Uncle Guoxin said, and they've repelled the enemy several times, then even if there are battles in the future, there probably won't be any major ones for a while. After suffering such heavy casualties in several failed sieges, the enemy must be wary of Marshal Hong. They must know that they might only have a chance to break in if the defending general is replaced, or if there's a natural disaster, or if the city is breached from within. But Marshal Hong and his strategists must have already considered these things. They are veterans of countless battles, so they probably won't launch another major invasion so easily."
Hearing this, Li Guoxin looked at Li Yan in surprise. It was true that for the past year or so, the State of Meng had not sent a large army against Green Mountain Pass again, only occasionally sending small cavalry units for raids and harassment. The fact that Li Yan could deduce this showed that the boy was mature and thoughtful, unlike other youths his age.
"This young brother speaks the truth. Our Marshal Hong and Strategist Ji are a fierce general and a great talent of our time. The scoundrels from the State of Meng failed to break through even after five major invasions, and even had their Vice Marshal's head taken by Strategist Ji. Their courage has long been broken. Now, our army often goes on the offensive, striking them so hard they cry out in misery."
Just then, a voice came from ahead. Unknowingly, they had arrived at the city gate. A dozen or so soldiers in armor were lined up on either side of the gate. Standing in front of them was a man with a saber at his waist, also in armor, but with a red tassel on his helmet. He was of medium build, with a tanned, clean-shaven face and a slightly hooked nose. His gaze was as sharp as lightning as he watched them. He stood in front of the two rows of soldiers, blocking the entrance to the city, clearly the leader.
It was this man who had just spoken. He was looking at Li Yan, a hint of surprise in his eyes. After all, Li Yan looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, dressed in coarse cloth, clearly not the son of a wealthy family. If he were one of those young masters, the captain wouldn't have been surprised, as their elders would often discuss such events, and it wouldn't be strange for them to repeat what they'd heard. The north gate, where they were on duty today, was usually frequented by villagers from the surrounding areas or merchants from within the dynasty. The young masters from the capital wouldn't be coming here for leisure in recent years; after all, one could never be too careful. Looking at Li Yan's attire, he certainly didn't think this was some young master from the capital playing at being a commoner. For a village boy to have such insight piqued his interest, so he had spoken up.
Seeing the man looking at him, Li Yan immediately jumped down from the cart and bowed. "I was just spouting nonsense, please forgive me, Sir." The old village scholar had taught them these matters of etiquette well, reminding them to never become uncultured barbarians and to practice diligently. In the village, where everyone knew each other and they were all farmers, coarse language was common. But the old scholar had been very strict with the younger generation. This was likely a source of pride for him in his life.
The squad leader was only slightly curious. After hearing Li Yan's words, he didn't say any more. He then turned to Li Guoxin and asked, "What business do you have in the city at this time?"
Li Guoxin had already stopped the cart and walked up to the squad leader. He replied respectfully, "Reporting to the officer, I am the village chief of Li Family Village in the Great Green Mountains. This is our travel permit." As he spoke, he took out the prepared permit and handed it over with both hands, continuing, "I'm bringing a few youngsters to the city for apprenticeships and to enlist in the army."
The squad leader took the travel permit, looked at it, and nodded. "It is indeed in order."
When he heard the words "enlist in the army," he smiled. "Are you here to join the Aegis Guard?"
Li Guoxin quickly replied, "That's right."
The man continued, "Among these boys, which one is enlisting?"
Li Guoxin pointed at Li Yan and said, "Sir, only he is enlisting. The other two are here for apprenticeships."
The man looked in the direction Li Guoxin was pointing and saw it was Li Yan. He then said to him, "Oh, so it's you. What you said earlier showed some insight. Enlisting is a suitable path for you. Our Marshal Hong currently values resourceful individuals highly. After all, there are plenty of soldiers with brute strength."
Hearing this, Li Yan bowed again. "Thank you for your guidance, Sir."
The squad leader waved his hand. "Then you'd better hurry. The Aegis Guard is only recruiting one hundred and fifty men this time, and this is already the second day. Recruitment for this unit is quite fast; it will probably be full by today. After all, the Aegis Guard is considered a logistics department. They rarely see blood, and their pay is only a little less than ours on the front lines."
After a pause, he added, "My name is Liu Chengyong, captain of the third squad of the Third War Battalion. We might have dealings with each other in the future."
Li Yan was puzzled by this. Were all the soldiers in the barracks so easy to talk to? But he didn't dare to ask, only saying, "Captain Liu, if I am fortunate enough to enter the barracks, please feel free to command me if you have any orders."
Liu Chengyong laughed. "Very good, very good." He then returned the travel permit to Li Guoxin, stepped aside to clear the path, and waved them into the city.
Li Guoxin took the permit, put it in his robes, said his thanks, and after telling Li Yan to get back on the cart, he drove slowly towards the gate tunnel. He was still wondering about Captain Liu's words. He knew these soldiers were hardened men who had waded through blood countless times. Apart from when they saw officials, he had never seen them be so polite to people like him. The best he could usually hope for was a grunt and being waved through, for which he would be thankful. At worst, they would find an excuse to give him a beating. In truly unfortunate encounters, he could be locked up for a few days, unable to get out without bribing someone. But with pressing matters on his mind, he didn't dwell on it and hurried the cart into the city.
Watching them enter the city, a young soldier next to Liu Chengyong asked curiously, "Chief Liu, why were you so polite to a country boy?"
Liu Chengyong glanced at him and said lightly, "In this army, when it comes to fighting, Marshal Hong has the final say. But ever since Strategist Ji rescued the Marshal from being surrounded by the enemy, and then, like a god, took the head of their vice marshal from within an army of ten thousand, Marshal Hong now lets Strategist Ji have the final say on many matters. And for the past two years, during every recruitment, Strategist Ji personally goes to the drill grounds to test each applicant, especially those who can read." As he said this, a look of confusion crossed his face. After all, although the number of applicants for each recruitment was limited, ever since the advance family stipend was introduced, there were always dozens, sometimes hundreds, of applicants. Even so, Strategist Ji tested the constitution of every single applicant himself. Although everyone later found out the reason, the thought of him testing each person's constitution one by one was still strange, as the workload was immense.
Another soldier chimed in, "Yes, yes, I heard that Lord Ji wants to select a suitable candidate to be his legacy disciple. Speaking of which, it's enough to make anyone envious. Lord Ji's martial arts are at a divine level; he must be at least a peerless master in the martial world. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to take the head of an enemy general from within an army of ten thousand and bring Marshal Hong and a squad of men back. If anyone could learn such skills, they could roam the world freely for a lifetime. It's a pity that Lord Ji has already tested everyone within our own barracks, but so far, no one has caught his eye. However, I heard that early last year, Lord Ji selected a suitable disciple from a small squad in the central army barracks. But not many people know about him. A small soldier like him in an army of hundreds of thousands, with nothing remarkable about him, was only known by a few people around him and his direct squad leader. Later, he was taken back to Strategist Ji's residence to cultivate. But I heard that because he couldn't read and probably couldn't understand the flow of the meridians, he made a mistake while practicing his internal energy and suffered a cultivation deviation, dying from it. Someone said they saw his body, all swollen and black, a terrifying sight. But this also shows how incredibly powerful and domineering Lord Ji's martial arts are." Hearing this, some of the other soldiers who had heard the story began to whisper among themselves.
Liu Chengyong cast a displeased glance at the group. "Shut up. We're not allowed to discuss Strategist Ji's affairs outside."
The soldiers immediately shut their mouths and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes," they said, dropping the subject.
Then, another soldier asked curiously, "Chief Liu, why were you so interested in that boy just now? Could it be that he has a chance of becoming Lord Ji's disciple?"
A faint smile appeared on Liu Chengyong's dark face. "That's not certain. I just felt that the boy had some insight, which shows he's not stupid. And from the way he spoke, he has likely studied before. I just gave him a few words of advice on a whim. As for his chances? Maybe it's really possible. If I meet someone like him again in the future, and I get a good feeling about them, I might say something again. Alright, back to your posts."
After hearing this, the soldiers quickly stood at attention, all thinking the same thing: 'So he's just casting a wide net.'