Chapter 70

Li Xian closed his eyes and roughly estimated: "Form four musket teams, each with two top-tier snipers, to be led by those at the Foundation Establishment stage. The rest will be divided into 10 ordinary snipers, selected based on merit. The remaining will be divided into 25 ordinary gunmen, also selected based on merit."

The remaining 12 top-tier snipers will form a separate team, Mr. Beichen, you will command them personally."

"Understood!" Beichen Yuxing was overjoyed, knowing that having a trump card in the first major battle meant great prospects.

Xu Ren timely added: "Leave 6 top-tier snipers to protect the factory."

Li Xian chuckled, having been too excited and almost forgotten about the base.

With this arrangement, the 160 musketeers were allocated, and all the combat-capable personnel in the factory were armed to protect it.

Another 1000 elite soldiers were dispatched to intercept Cai Guo's forces mid-way.

However, with only 1000 soldiers and 134 musketeers, the strength was still insufficient. Xu Ren's suggestion was simple: borrow troops from the eldest son, Li Liang; not too many, just 5000 would suffice.

Borrowing 5000 soldiers would not affect the defense of Anyang County; even some injured soldiers could be armed to fill the ranks. Cai Guo would not attack Daxia at this moment; although Daxia was in turmoil, it still had some backbone, and a strike would still be painful.

Soon, Li Liang arrived. In just a few days, he had advanced to the Golden Core stage, a pleasant surprise—thanks to Li Xian's two spirit stones.

The content of the letters from Li Yulong to Li Liang and Li Xian was basically the same; only Li Liang's letter had a few more instructions—take care of your younger brother.

Upon arrival, Li Liang naturally joined the intense discussion, with the main theme being that not a single person from Cai Guo's or the Kong family's forces should be allowed to return.

Additionally, Xu Ren explained the plan to seize Kaiping County, and the discussion went smoothly. Everything was going well, except for the issue of borrowing troops.

It wasn't Li Liang who caused the problem, but his strategist, Zou Hui, who proposed a "fair trade"—5000 elite soldiers were fine, but he wanted two of those snipers to play with.

In this exchange, and considering the upcoming battle, Li Xian had to reveal the terrifying nature of the firearms. Li Liang's eyes widened in shock when the firearms were demonstrated, but only ordinary single-shot rifles were shown.

However, Li Liang couldn't ask for the firearms directly; as a strategist, Zou Hui had to consider his lord's interests.

Facing Zou Hui's "greed," Xu Ren smiled slightly, "Li Xian is appointed by the emperor as a Commandant."

One sentence made Zou Hui's face flush. Yes, Li Xian hadn't taken command of the 30,000 soldiers, but according to the "rules," those 30,000 soldiers belonged to Li Xian!

But Xu Ren didn't simply refuse. After a brief pause, he bowed to Li Liang, "Moreover, two rifles aren't enough. Assign 10 men to the eldest son. 10 men, 10 rifles, 2000 bullets.

Liu Lei, select 10 'excellent' snipers for the eldest son."

Li Liang was overjoyed.

Li Xian's expression was odd.

Liu Lei turned and quickly selected 10 "excellent" snipers from the 160 ordinary musketeers.

10 musketeers lined up, all at the 7th level of Qi Cultivation or higher, indeed very excellent. The first one, Zhang Hongtao, reported loudly, "Zhang Hongtao, leading Shen Jianfei, Chen Wei, Liu Yongfu, Fan Zide, Chen Feihong, Zhou Yusheng, Meng Xian, Feng Sihai, Lei Guanzhong, a total of 10 men, reporting to the eldest son."

Li Liang was very satisfied, immediately promising 50 taels of gold to Zhang Hongtao and his team.

Zhang Hongtao and his team thanked him outwardly, but inwardly thought: This eldest son is really stingy, rewarding 50 taels of gold for 10 men; how can it compare to Young Master Li Xian?

With this, Li Liang's attempt to poach talent failed. But Li Liang didn't realize it, still basking in his own satisfaction. After the strategic plan was discussed, everyone dispersed to follow the plan.

As he left, Li Xian gave Li Liang a mysterious large box, instructing him to open it only when alone!

Two hours later, the 5000 elite soldiers Li Liang dispatched arrived, led by one of his three top generals, Wang Jian. Each of the 5000 elite soldiers was clad in stainless steel armor, shining brightly.

Compared to the front lines, Li Xian's area was the main battlefield, so elite soldiers were sent here.

"Commandant, Wang Jian reporting." Wang Jian was quite respectful upon seeing Li Xian.

Li Xian looked at the soldiers, who stood tall and proud, their eyes burning with determination. "Very good."

After a quick inspection, Li Xian cast a small spell and flew into the air, "Soldiers, I won't waste words. A reward of one tael of gold for killing a Qi Cultivation enemy; five taels for a Foundation Establishment enemy. There is no upper limit.

Military merit will still be calculated according to the original standards. Whether you can become a general or command thousands of troops is in your own hands.

Prepare yourselves, we will set out at dawn tomorrow. Now, line up to receive your personal items."

The personal items were simple, mainly an additional 5 long swords for each person; in cold weapon combat, weapons often break, especially for soldiers at the 7th level of Qi Cultivation or higher.

There were also night lights, which could be blinding and, when used well, were as effective as quicklime powder.

Additionally, there was a piece of paper and a simple charcoal pen—write your will! Li Xian was implementing the tradition of writing wills before battle for the first time. A reward of 20 taels of gold for those who died in battle; 5 to 15 taels for those who were injured, depending on the severity. Li Xian's standards were almost ten times the general standards of Daxia!

Li Xian's message was clear—follow me, and you will have food to eat!

Often, a soldier's loyalty is directly proportional to their income, especially in this chaotic and war-torn environment.

The wills were written and placed in their inner pockets. This greatly stimulated the soldiers' will to survive. This method was so effective that even Xu Ren praised it.

The wills contained Li Xian's promised rewards and the soldiers' wishes, which reassured them and made them fight harder. This would inevitably increase their chances of survival—the wills in their pockets would constantly remind them to stay alive.

To prepare for war, there were many things to do; Li Xian was unsure, so after finishing here, he went to the mechanical division, specifically the new area for the locomotives.

A few days ago, the locomotive test was half successful; the basic structure and parts were completed, but there was a problem with the energy source. Li Xian proposed a temporary solution—water suspension.

When Li Xian arrived at the locomotive factory, Liu Bin was excitedly shouting, as several new three-wheeled locomotives were being tested. The top of the locomotives had iron frames supporting several round water buckets, with heavy floating blocks inside; above the floating blocks were arrays.

Seeing Li Xian arrive, Liu Bin still shouted excitedly, "Young Master, it's a success! Using the water suspension device, the array can remain stable. Just wait for the final sealing of the water buckets, and a locomotive will be complete!"

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