Thief Emperor

Chapter 694 Li Yun learns a foreign language!
Military morale has always been a very important factor on the battlefield, and it can even be said to be a decisive factor.

When the army's morale is high and the soldiers are fighting bravely, the combat effectiveness that erupts is often increased exponentially, or even more.

Li Yun himself is absolutely like a stimulant to the Jiangdong army. Even if he no longer personally fights in the battlefield, as long as he supervises the battle from behind, most of the old brothers who once followed him will want to perform in front of him.

And these old brothers of Mr. Li are now at the lowest level, at the rank of captain.

In the near future, Li Yun also plans to set up deputy positions in the army. By then, most of those who followed him in the early days and are still in the army will be at the level of deputy captain.

The immediate superiors had all been present on the battlefield, so of course the captains, brigade commanders and lower-ranking captains would also grit their teeth and charge forward, which resulted in the battle in Ruyang going exceptionally smoothly.

After only one day of fierce attack, Ruyang City was already on the verge of collapse.

Li Yun put on armor and rode his horse towards the battlefield.

Su Zhan had no choice but to go find Yang Xi. Yang Xi immediately brought a group of personal guards and followed Li Yun to the battlefield together.

At this time, the gate of Ruyang City had been knocked loose and shaking by the battering ram. The Jiangdong Army on the tower had also gained a firm foothold and was gradually occupying the tower. Li Yun came to the city gate smoothly. He held the battering ram in his big hand and shouted loudly: "Brothers, listen to my command!"

"Three, two, one!"

"Collide!"

On the battlefield, those who used battering rams to attack the city were all strong men in the army. When they saw Li Yun nearby, they were so excited that they could not control themselves. After hearing Li Yun's command, they almost used all their strength. The battering ram suddenly hit the city gate with a loud bang, making a loud noise.

The city gate was shaking violently!

"Come again!"

Li Yun took a deep breath, bent his legs slightly, and shouted in a low voice: "Hit!"

"boom!"

There was another loud noise.

"Come again!"

The third time, as Li Yun exerted force, the city gate was finally knocked open. The door panel fell weakly to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

All the strong men holding battering rams collapsed to the ground due to exhaustion, unable to move.

Li Yun took a deep breath and shouted, "Enter the city!"

He put on his face armor and strode into the city with his gun in hand.

Yang Xi and others were startled and hurried forward, entering Ruyang City before Li Yun and facing the enemies in the city.

Li Yun, who had not been on the battlefield for a long time, was once again excited. He laughed loudly, rushed forward, thrust his spear straight, killed a Zhongwu Army soldier to the ground, then swept the spear across, hitting another Zhongwu Army soldier on the chest, causing the man to spit blood from his mouth.

"happy!"

Li Yun laughed loudly and rushed into the formation.

It has been more than a year since Li Yun last saw action on the battlefield after the last battle in Jiangbei. During this time, he has spent far more time holding a pen than holding a gun, causing his body, which can be called a war machine, to become a little rusty!
Now, I can finally move around.

Li Yun fought vigorously and killed four or five enemies in a row. He stopped only when he was exhausted and found a place to sit down and rest.

For someone of his level, facing the battlefield at this moment is more of a pastime than a morale booster.

Because he has so many guards around him, he can choose to stop at any time, and his guards are enough to protect him.

Li Yun sat down on a big rock, looked back at Yang Xi, and said with a smile: "Go, call the brothers who climbed the mountain first, so I can see them."

"Yes!"

Yang Xi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Yun no longer charged into the battle line. He immediately bowed his head and clasped his fists, then turned around to look for Captain Zhang Ai in the army.

Not long after, Yang Xi found Zhang Ai. He patted Zhang Ai's shoulder heavily and said with a smile: "Zhang is handsome!"

He and Zhang Ai are old acquaintances in the anti-theft team. Although they have not worked together much in recent years, their old friendship still exists.

Moreover, both of them are from Ningguo County, Xuanzhou, and are fellow townsmen.

Zhang Ai turned around and saw Yang Xi. He smiled bitterly and said, "Brother, please stop joking. How can I be worthy of your address?"

Yang Xi smiled and said, "I am still a lieutenant, and you are a captain. Isn't it appropriate for me to call you a commander?"

Zhang Ai shook his head and said, "When my elder brother was the brigade commander, I wasn't even a captain. Besides, you are in this position now, following the superior every day, I don't know how many brothers are jealous of you."

Zhang Ai looked around, pulled Yang Xi aside, and whispered, "The old brothers in our anti-theft team all said that in the future, you will guard the palace, or even the entire capital."

"Stop talking about this useless stuff."

Yang Xi cursed with a smile, and then said, "The superior said that he wants to see the brother who climbed the first. Do you know which captain's camp he is from? I will go find him."

Zhang Ai was overjoyed when he heard this, and patted his chest and said, "That's right, brother, he's in my camp. I'll take him to see the superior right away!"

"Tsk." Yang Xi patted Zhang Ai on the shoulder and said with a smile: "You are really lucky, kid. This time you will also be credited with a merit."

Zhang Ai laughed and said a few more words to Yang Xi. Not long after, he brought a young man who was only eighteen or nineteen years old to Li Yun. He bowed his head and said to Li Yun: "Sir, today he will be the first to reach Ruyang City and lead the brothers to break through the Ruyang City Tower."

Zhang Ai introduced: "His surname is Lu, his name is Rui, and he is from Haozhou."

After Zhang Ai finished his introduction, Lu Rui knelt on the ground and bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

Li Yun looked at him, stood up and helped him up, and asked with a smile: "Are you injured?"

"They're all minor injuries."

Lu Rui lowered his head and said, "It's okay."

Li Yun patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "It is said that Jianghuai produces brave warriors. It is true. You are the first to reach Ruyang today. I will give you a great achievement. Zhang Ai, please remember it."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Give him the rank of military lieutenant."

Military lieutenant is the seventh rank among Li Yun’s nine ranks of nobility, and is currently rare in the entire Jiangdong Army.

With this title, no matter whether you can become an officer in the future, the welfare benefits are quite good. You can get more than two hectares of land, and you will never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life.

Moreover, military merit titles and military positions are separate, so even if an ordinary soldier has made merit, there is no need to worry that he will not have the corresponding command ability after being given an important position.

Of course, as long as they are awarded military merit titles, they are generally the focus of training. As long as they are not particularly unsuitable to be an officer, they will generally be promoted as appropriate.

Lu Rui knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Ai stood aside, with a dark and complex expression.

He... is currently only a sergeant of the eighth rank, one level away from the rank of lieutenant.

However, his subordinate had been promoted ahead of him. Although this had nothing to do with his official position, it still made him feel complicated.

Li Yun saw his expression and scolded him with a smile: "Look at your lack of ability. The people in your camp climbed the mountain first, and you also made a contribution. I will promote you to a military lieutenant."

Mr. Li paused and continued, "I'll have someone register it later."

He looked at the two men and said with a smile: "From now on, if the army is the first to capture a city and the number of defenders exceeds 3,000, they will be rewarded in the same way."

"The county garrison has more than a thousand soldiers, so we will be the first to be awarded the rank of sergeant."

"A bigger city..."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Then we will make specific arrangements based on the specific situation."

Both of them bowed their heads in thanks. Li Yun waved his hand and said, "Okay, the city has been breached. I'll give you two days to clean up the city. The Zhongwu Army in the city..."

Li narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Those who are willing to surrender will be taken to the prisoner camp, and those who are unwilling to surrender will be killed on the spot."

Zhang Ai bowed his head deeply: "Yes!"

After saying that, Zhang Ai turned around and left. Together with other captains' battalions, they entered Ruyang City and began to clear out the Zhongwu Army in Ruyang City.

Although the city gates were broken at this time, there were still at least three to four thousand Zhongwu troops in the city, so this street battle would not be particularly easy.

After Li Yun made some simple military arrangements, he asked Yang Xi to find a place for him to rest. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.

He had just gotten up and had a simple meal. In the afternoon, Su Zhan came running over, panting heavily: "Go ahead, we caught a big fish!"

Su Zhan looked excited and whispered, "Zheng Can, the military governor of Zhongwu, is in Ruyang City. He failed to break out several times and just surrendered to us!"

"The remaining 2,000 Zhongwu troops in the army will also surrender."

Hearing this, Li Yun narrowed his eyes and said softly, "I thought he left with Wei Yao, but he's still in the city. What a pleasant surprise."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and said with a smile: "Let's go and take a look."

Su Zhan nodded quickly and led the way for Li Yun. Not long after, they arrived at the Yuzhou Governor's Mansion. In the Governor's Mansion, they saw Zheng Can, the Zhongwu Jiedushi, who had been tied up.

Behind Zheng Can, kneeling were his servants and a dozen chestnut-haired, blond, and white-skinned Hu girls.

Li Yun sat down in the main seat and saw these Hu Ji at a glance. He was stunned for a moment, then smiled playfully: "Marshal Zheng Jie is in a good mood."

Zheng Can looked up at Li Yun, took a deep breath, and forced a smile on his face: "Li...Prince Li."

"These Hu Ji are still available, and there are still more than a dozen virgins."

He looked sad.

"Dedicated to His Majesty..."

(End of this chapter)