Hearing the system’s prompt, the corners of Mu Zian’s mouth lifted slightly.
If these rebels could breach a prefectural city, it meant their combat strength had already formed a scale. Moreover, even if 3,000 men advanced without a single loss and swept through the entire Luzhou, they would still be unable to split their forces to garrison the city. Such a situation would place them in an impossible dilemma of advancing or retreating. Thus, Mu Zian was certain—Pei Jianzhi would be utterly defeated!
With that thought, Mu Zian swept his gaze around and said loudly, “Since General Pei is so capable, I choose to withdraw!”
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for making your choice! Reward has been issued!]
The crowd was stunned.
Although Mu Zian had regained the title of State-Stabilizing Duke, without military achievements to back it up, he wouldn’t be able to sit securely in that position.
The Emperor frowned and said coldly, “You are my Great Li Empire’s State-Stabilizing Duke. How can you withdraw without a fight? If word of this spreads, how will the world view you?”
Seeing Mu Zian being rebuked, Pei Jianzhi sneered, “The State-Stabilizing Duke has never been on a battlefield. It’s natural for him to fear a band of rebels.”
“Unlike us generals, who have battled in countless campaigns and faced all kinds of enemies—mere rebels are nothing worth mentioning.”
Lu Yunxue hadn’t expected Mu Zian to give up so easily either. But thinking again, it seemed normal; Mu Zian was, after all, a capital playboy. Leading troops to war was out of his league.
Mu Zian looked at the enraged Emperor and calmly said, “Reporting to the Emperor, Luzhou is a region full of mountains and ravines, crisscrossed with paths. The rebels have entrenched themselves there long-term and are extremely familiar with the terrain, gaining the advantage of geography.”
“Now it is midsummer; a long march will exhaust the troops and horses, while the rebels will rest and await them, gaining the advantage of timing.”
“Luzhou suffers from corruption and lawlessness. The people live in misery. With horse bandits rebelling and drawing tens of thousands into their ranks, the populace has lost faith in the officials and sides with the rebels—this is the advantage of unity.”
“With neither timing, geography, nor unity on our side, I firmly state that 3,000 soldiers are absolutely insufficient to suppress the rebellion.”
Pei Jianzhi snorted coldly, “Mu Zian, just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t! Don’t shake the army’s morale here.”
Mu Zian ignored Pei Jianzhi completely and cupped his hands to the Emperor, “Precisely because of this, I have no confidence in pacifying Luzhou with 3,000 troops. Since General Pei is so capable, why not let him handle it?”
Hearing this, Pei Jianzhi’s face turned dark, as if Mu Zian had simply discarded the commander’s role and handed it to him.
The Emperor fell into thought. Luzhou was impoverished; the taxes it paid were the lowest among all the prefectures in the Great Li Empire. Deploying 30,000 troops would consume a tremendous amount of grain and supplies—perhaps more loss than gain. Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
Besides, they were only a band of rebels and refugees. How strong could they be? Mu Zian’s words seemed overly alarmist.
Though 3,000 troops might seem few, it wasn’t necessarily impossible to quell the rebellion.
Mu Zian had never been to the battlefield. Naturally, he preferred caution.
Lu Yunxue and Pei Jianzhi, however, had fought against the barbarians on the grasslands and won great victories. Compared to them, Pei Jianzhi seemed more reliable.
With that, the Emperor turned to Pei Jianzhi and asked, “Can you truly suppress the rebellion in Luzhou with 3,000 elite troops?”
Hearing this, Pei Jianzhi’s heart leapt with joy. He knew the victory was in his hands. He stepped forward and pounded his chest confidently, “This minister will not fail Your Majesty!”
Seeing Pei Jianzhi so confident, the Emperor gave the order immediately.
“Pei Jianzhi, heed my decree!”
“This minister listens!”
“I hereby appoint you as Commander to suppress the bandits, leading 3,000 elite soldiers to quell the rebellion in Luzhou. If you have any additional requests, speak now.”
Pei Jianzhi was overjoyed and said at once, “This minister requests that the Heroine Marquis serve as my Deputy General.”
“Granted. You shall depart in three days.”
Pei Jianzhi and Lu Yunxue knelt simultaneously and said, “This minister obeys!”
“Time is tight. Go and make preparations.”
“This minister takes his leave!”
As they walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Pei Jianzhi cast a taunting glance at Mu Zian, “It’s rare for a State-Stabilizing Duke to have such self-awareness. Commendable indeed.”
Mu Zian didn’t even glance at him. He turned and left immediately. Staying even a second longer with such a fool felt like it lowered his intelligence.
“Why didn’t you discuss this troop reduction with me? From 10,000 elite soldiers to just 3,000?”
Pei Jianzhi didn’t care at all and replied with a smile, “What’s the problem with 3,000? They’re just refugees and bandits. Once the imperial army arrives, they’ll flee in terror. Whether 10,000 or 3,000, the outcome will be the same.”
Pei Jianzhi took Lu Yunxue’s hand and said, “Don’t forget, we once rode alone on the grasslands and shattered the barbarian cavalry. Why show fear before mere horse bandits now?”
“As long as we win this battle, our influence in the army will soar. Now that Mu Zian has withdrawn, we should press our advantage and erase our shame.”
Hearing this, Lu Yunxue’s resentment toward Pei Jianzhi instantly vanished.
“Yes! As long as we join forces, no enemy is invincible!”
“Still, I think there is some merit in what Mu Zian said. We must remain cautious.”
Pei Jianzhi nodded in agreement, though in his heart he dismissed Mu Zian’s warning. A man who had never seen battle could not possibly match his insight.
…
The next morning, Mu Zian summoned the servants and specifically cleared two mu of land in the back courtyard of the State-Stabilizing Duke’s residence. He carefully sowed the chili seeds he had received from the system.
Whether or not he would be able to enjoy hotpot in the future depended entirely on these two mu of land.
After planting the chilis, Mu Zian didn’t idle. He rode to the most renowned blacksmith shop in the capital and handed over the blueprint for the distillation apparatus the system had rewarded him.
The so-called distillation apparatus was merely a few pipes and large vats assembled together, relying on evaporation and condensation to purify alcohol—a rather simple principle.
Currently, in the Great Li Empire, the most common wine was rice wine with around 10 to 15% alcohol content. Even the favored peach blossom wine of Li Jiuxuan was only about 20%.
For Mu Zian, accustomed to high-proof liquor from his past life, it was bland and tasteless.
But brewing liquor wasn’t solely to satisfy his taste. The greatest benefit of high-proof liquor was its disinfectant property. In an era without antibiotics, any infection could be fatal.
For someone like Mu Zian, who lived by the sword, high-proof liquor could disinfect wounds and prevent infections, significantly increasing survival rates.
Within a day, the blacksmith shop delivered the completed apparatus—an impressive display of efficiency.
Mu Zian immediately had someone purchase low-proof liquor from the market and set up a large cauldron in the courtyard, preparing for the first distillation of high-proof liquor in the Great Li Empire.