Whale Falls and Becomes a God

Chapter 174 The Aftermath of the Night Raid
Chitai Mountain.

Those who participated in the night raid gathered on the mountaintop, which resembled a giant platform.

For this night raid, the Sui army deployed 5,000 elite vanguard daredevils, 3,000 Jingwu Guards, 5,000 Jingwu Army soldiers, 10,000 Zhongfang Army soldiers, and 10,000 Dongfang Army soldiers, totaling 33,000 troops.
Now only 2,542 Jingwu Guards, 3,953 Jingwu Army soldiers, more than 1,800 Vanguard Army suicide squads, more than 6,800 Chinese Army soldiers, and 7,432 Eastern Army soldiers remain, totaling about 22,500 people, with about 10,500 killed in action.

However, due to Zhao Pojun's betrayal, he brought back more than 62,000 men, which was not the 100,000-strong full-strength army that had been expected.

Considering that Zhao Pojun's army's betrayal was a direct backstabbing and counterattack, the pressure he faced was the greatest among all the armies. Of the 100,000-strong army, only 62,000 remained, which is understandable.

While the troops lined up to rest, tally casualties, and recuperate and treat their wounds, Xiao Ying secretly summoned Zhao Pojun.

Zhao Pojun was a burly and robust young man, looking like he was thirty years old. He had thick eyebrows and fierce eyes, a dark and upright face, and appeared quite honest and simple. He was now a mid-stage third-rank general.

Judging by his appearance alone, who would have thought that he was a disciple of the Demonic Sect's Evil Extreme Sect, who later became a displaced farmer, was placed in the Jianghuai Army, became the adopted son of Du Fuwei, the Jianghuai General Manager, and commanded a large army of 100,000!
"General Zhao! Your contribution to this battle is immense! I am able to elevate the cultivation level, aptitude, talent, and potential of certain individuals. I wonder if you are aware of this?"

Looking at the honest and reliable general in front of him, Xiao Ying sighed inwardly that one cannot judge a book by its cover, but asked directly.

"Greetings, Your Highness! This humble general has heard of you!" Zhao Pojun's eyes gleamed with excitement as he respectfully responded with a military salute.

Xiao Ying nodded, indicating that formalities were unnecessary, and then went straight to the point: "With General Zhao's merits this time, he is more than qualified to lead an army on his own. In addition, I would like to use this secret method to exchange for the elite troops in General Zhao's army to supplement the various legions, which will require about 10,500 men. Is General Zhao willing?"

"Reporting to Your Highness! This humble general has no objection and will obey Your Highness's orders in everything!" Zhao Pojun straightened his burly and imposing body and replied earnestly in a deep and resonant voice, appearing to be a loyal and honest man!
"Ok!"

Xiao Ying nodded and carefully examined the Blood Demon Diagram Star Soul, choosing a suitable one to fuse with.

Given Zhao Pojun's abilities, reaching the mid-stage of the third rank and becoming a major army commander at the age of twenty-nine is clearly a remarkable talent, and we cannot afford to be complacent about him!

The most suitable Star Soul was originally Chu Wang Fu Gongyou, but Xiao Ying was reluctant to part with it, perhaps because of her biased feelings towards the traitorous general and the disciple of the Demonic Sect!
Li Yicheng, Chen Zhengtong!
Li Yicheng was a general of the lineage of Du Fuwei, the Prince of Wu, and a cousin of Li Licheng, the Left Guard General and Duke of Jiang during the Sui Dynasty. He belonged to the Jiangjun branch of the Longxi Li clan, one of the five prominent families and seven noble clans. However, he was not a famous historical general and was currently a mid-stage third-rank general. He was stationed on the west side of the Jianghuai camp with Wang Xiongdan when he was shot and killed by Xie Yingdeng with an arrow. He was one of the high-ranking generals who died in the night raid tonight.

Chen Zhengtong was one of the six generals under the command of Chu King Fu Gongyou. He came from a poor family and was well-versed in literature and military strategy. He was a famous historical general and was currently at the early stage of the third rank. He was killed by Dugu Feng with two spears during a night raid.

"I have chosen two candidates... Li Yicheng and Chen Zhengtong. I believe you are familiar with both of them. Choose for yourself!"

Reluctant to give Fu Gongyou Star Soul, Xiao Ying generously offered him a choice!

Zhao Pojun frowned in thought, then quickly and decisively bowed and replied, "Thank you for your favor, Your Highness! This humble general chooses... Chen Zhengtong!"

"Oh? What's the reason? On the surface, Chen Zhengtong is inferior to Li Yicheng in every way!" Xiao Ying asked with great interest.

Xiao Ying, who learned about the two through the Star Soul, knew that Li Yicheng had a third-grade aptitude, a third-grade talent, and a fifth-grade destiny; Chen Zhengtong had a third-grade aptitude, a first-grade talent, and a second-grade destiny.

The core difference between aptitude and talent is that aptitude leans more towards comprehensive basic potential, including physical condition, learning potential, adaptability, and other comprehensive factors; while talent emphasizes outstanding ability in a specific field, such as innate superior ability, which is often manifested as performance that surpasses ordinary people in a certain field without deliberate practice.

Simply put, aptitude is the speed of learning acquired through experience, while talent is innate superior ability. Comparing the two, Chen Zhengtong is clearly more valuable and has stronger luck; Zhao Pojun really made the right choice!
Zhao Pojun honestly explained, "Your Highness! Chen Zhengtong comes from a poor background, and his strength, status, and talent are no less than Li Yicheng's; while Li Yicheng's current achievements are due to his background. It is said that he is from the Li family of Longxi and has received considerable favors!"

"clever!"

Xiao Ying praised him generously, then smiled and said, "Get ready to accept!"

"Star Soul Fusion!"

An invisible and formless star soul merged into Zhao Pojun's body, undetectable to outsiders!

"Boom! Boom..."

A subtle change in aura and a breakthrough sound rang out. In a short moment, Zhao Pojun broke through to the early stage of the second-grade divine general, which is quite rare. He is indeed a top talent and now has the destiny of a historical general!

"Thank you for your grace, my lord. I will certainly devote myself to the utmost and live up to your expectations!"

Upon waking, Zhao Pojun was overjoyed to see his dramatic growth in various aspects, including his rapidly increasing cultivation level, heightened mental clarity, and smoother cultivation efficiency. He immediately knelt down and acknowledged the master.

Even if Zhao Pojun were to return to the Demonic Sect and obey its orders again, there's a high chance they wouldn't agree.

After a while, Zhao Pojun's mind will change, and he will be even less likely to obey the Demonic Sect!

"Alright! I'll wait and see. Go down and coordinate with the generals to integrate the army!"

"Here!"

……

The so-called integration of the army is actually quite simple!
According to the original rules, elites or meritorious individuals were selected from the Jingwu Army to join the Jingwu Guard, replenishing the force to three thousand; elites were also selected from the isolated forces to join the Jingwu Army, maintaining a total of twenty thousand.

As for the front-line military forces and the central and eastern military forces, soldiers will be selected from Zhao Pojun's army to supplement the ranks and maintain a strength of 50,000. Whether they can select elite troops depends on the luck of Shen Lun, Dugu Feng, and Xie Yingdeng, as well as their communication with Zhao Pojun!

Finally, in terms of sheer numbers, the Sui army not only suffered no losses during this night raid, but also gained over 51,000 soldiers, forming an independent corps, temporarily named the Central Guard Martial Army, with Zhao Pojun as its commander!
Zhongwei Wujun is the head of the five military corps. Whether he can gain recognition and maintain his position depends on Zhao Pojun's next move!

As for the Jianghuai Army, they suffered heavy losses in this night raid.

Among the high-ranking generals, there were direct losses including Prince Fu Gongyou of Chu, General Li Yicheng and Chen Zhengtong, as well as many mid- and low-ranking generals.

More importantly, the mutiny of Zhao Pojun's main army resulted in the direct loss of 100,000 troops, with additional casualties of 70,000 to 80,000. In total, the mutiny alone caused the loss of nearly 200,000 troops, representing a quarter of the Jianghuai Army's total strength!
This is also one of the main reasons why the Jianghuai Army did not pursue them out of the camp. It is estimated that the entire Jianghuai Army is now having sleepless nights, and it is hard to say whether they will dare to continue attacking Hailing City!
(End of this chapter)