Chapter 11: Those with Different Paths Cannot Plan Together Section 16: The Soul-Spirit Army

Chapter Eleven: Those Who Follow Different Paths Cannot Work Together
Section Sixteen: The Divine Soul Army

Licheng was only a small town, with a garrison of no more than five hundred men.

Originally, those five hundred soldiers were more than enough to deal with an uprising by a mob of commoners. But the presence of Bu Jingxian and Zhao Ji rapidly destroyed the garrison's strength.

Bu Jingxian first saw to it that everyone was well fed and rested, then prepared weapons for them. When the governor of Licheng heard the news and sent troops to attack, he and Zhao Ji ambushed them on the way and killed most of the soldiers. They seized the opportunity to assault the town. Before the gates could be closed, Zhao Ji had already taken control of them. Bu Jingxian and Zhao Ji pursued the defenders along the walls from opposite directions.

The rebels stormed into the town with farm tools of iron in their hands, shouting slogans:

"Let the Divine Soul awaken! Let the Soul Envoy appear! Those who believe in the Divine Soul shall gain freedom; those who oppose it shall surely be destroyed by Heaven!"

Anyone who resisted was killed. The homes of wealthy families were looted.

The surviving soldiers could think only of fleeing as quickly as possible. Upon seeing the blood-maddened rebels, they ran for their lives. Anyone caught was hacked to death on the spot with hoes, sickles, and other crude implements.

Every resident of the town barred the doors and locked the windows, terrified of being dragged into the chaos. The followers of the Immortal Soul Will who had gathered in Licheng, along with destitute refugees, joined the looting and killing one after another, making the rebels' momentum even more terrifying.

The battle for Licheng lasted little more than an hour.

The force of barely a thousand men swelled to eight thousand in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, Licheng did not possess enough weapons and armor. Even after stripping the equipment from the defeated garrison, there was enough to arm only seven hundred men. More than a thousand used weapons looted from the town's smithies, while the rest wielded butcher knives seized from the homes of local residents.

After studying a map of the terrain within eighty miles of Licheng, Bu Jingxian divided the eight thousand men into ten detachments and ordered them to sweep through every village and town within that radius.

He then instructed Zhao Ji, "Send an eagle with a message to the Princess Consort. Have her dispatch fifty experts skilled in cultivating the Soul Arts to ride here at full speed and reinforce us. Then take my letter and hurry to Zheng's eastern frontier. Deliver it personally to Marquis Ling Luo of Zheng. There must be no mistake."

"Does Your Highness intend to borrow Zheng's army?" Zhao Ji asked in bewilderment.

"Otherwise, if the Wei army from Kailai, a hundred miles away, comes against us, these eight thousand untrained men will never be able to withstand them. Go at once. If my judgment is correct, Marquis Ling Luo has already reached Zheng's eastern frontier. He was preparing to invade Wei in any case. Our uprising in Licheng has merely created the perfect opportunity for them to send out their army."

"Your servant obeys."

Zhao Ji departed with the letter.

Bu Jingxian then ordered the hundred followers of the Immortal Soul Will who had remained behind to pacify the townspeople and spread the doctrine of the Immortal Soul Will. He himself settled calmly in the government office of Licheng, waiting for reports of the campaign.

The Zheng spy learned of the upheaval in Licheng and hurried to report it to Ling Luo at the eastern frontier.

Zheng had originally intended to send an army against Wei a month earlier, but for some reason the expedition had been delayed. Ling Luo, however, had reached the frontier long before. This was his first time commanding a large army, and his trusted officers were all capable men appointed by his father, the Chief Minister. Ling Luo treated the expedition with the utmost seriousness, fearful that any mistake might tarnish his father's reputation. Most of his time was spent in the army's main tent, considering the conduct of the war.

When the spy's report arrived, Ling Luo slapped the table and applauded.

"Excellent! The Immortal Soul uprising has come at precisely the right moment. Deliver my order: have all the generals come to the main tent at once to discuss the situation."

Not long after the messenger left, another man came to report.

"Marquis, General Zhao Ji of Zhou is outside the camp seeking an audience. She bears a letter from the Lord of the North."

Ling Luo was secretly astonished. Few people within Zheng even knew that he had come to the northern frontier. He had done so precisely to keep Wei from making preparations.

"Invite her in."

After meeting Zhao Ji and reading Bu Jingxian's letter, Ling Luo's opinion of the Lord of the North rose even higher.

"King Wei is without benevolence. It is only natural that the world should unite against him. How many troops will Zhou contribute to this campaign?"

"Marquis, His Highness was merely traveling to relieve his boredom. When he passed through this region and learned of King Wei's brutality and lack of virtue, he raised his arm and called upon the people to revolt. Zhou will not dispatch troops for this reason. However, His Highness's forces are present throughout Wei. His Highness seeks only to rescue the people from suffering and has no intention of seizing Wei's territory. That is why he hopes to form an alliance with Zheng, so that we may attack Wei together."

"Very good. I ask that you convey this message to the Lord of the North: from this day onward, our two armies are allies. Neither shall violate the other's territory, and together we shall attack Wei."

After Zhao Ji departed, one of the strategists advised, "If Zhou marches against Wei, our army will have an excellent opportunity to invade Zhou while it is unguarded. Marquis, this decision may be unwise."

Ling Luo laughed.

"Our alliance is with the Immortal Soul rebel army led by the Lord of the North, not with Zhou."

The strategist suddenly understood and said repeatedly, "The Marquis has considered everything with perfect thoroughness. I am deeply impressed."

The upheaval at Licheng prompted Zheng to launch its invasion of Wei ahead of schedule. Wei originally intended to seek aid from Yan, but before its envoy had traveled far, Chu also sent an army against Yan.

The world, which had enjoyed only a brief respite, was plunged into turmoil once more by the campaigns of Zheng and Chu.

News of the Immortal Soul uprising at Licheng added fuel to the flames. Within three months, the Immortal Soul rebel army led by the Lord of the North had grown to more than two hundred thousand men, firmly occupying several hundred square miles of Wei territory around Licheng.

The Lord of the North's revolt became an example for countless others to imitate. Within half a year, Immortal Soul rebel armies of varying sizes had appeared throughout the realm. Their leaders all claimed to be Soul Envoys chosen by the Great Immortal of the Divine Soul.

At first, many people paid little attention to the Immortal Soul rebels. They believed that those impoverished commoners, who owned nothing and had nothing to lose, could never accomplish anything. But soon, when the rebel armies swelled like rolling snowballs to more than one and a half million men, every kingdom was plagued by the troubles they caused.

Before long, war had driven refugees across the entire realm, leaving them with nowhere to go. These refugees joined the rebel armies and caused their strength to grow day by day. Most of the rebel forces lacked money, food, and supplies. After being attacked by the armies sent by the Seven Great Powers to suppress the uprisings, many fled to Zhou. Some remained there, while others went on to join the forces at Licheng.

Everyone knew that the Lord of the North of Zhou was the leader of the Licheng uprising and a devotee of the Immortal Soul Will.

As a result, Zhou's population increased by two million within eight months.

By then, the rebel army led by the Lord of the North at Licheng called itself the Divine Soul Army. Its numbers exceeded five hundred thousand. After several months of training and reorganization, it took advantage of Zheng's assault on Wei and captured the two great cities east and north of Licheng: Kailai and Feng Pass.

More than eighty thousand troops had received formal training, while over fifty thousand fully equipped soldiers formed the regular army.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort has sent an eagle message. Another rebel force, defeated by Chen, is on its way to Licheng to join us. It numbers ten thousand men."

When Zhao Ji delivered the report, she saw that Bu Jingxian's brows were tightly furrowed. She knew he was worried about feeding and supplying the army. The uprising had gained astonishing momentum and its numbers continued to soar, but money, grain, and weapons remained a constant problem. Even with Zhou's full assistance, the kingdom could not support an army of this size.

Moreover, Bu Jingxian had never touched Zhou's reserves of money and grain. He had relied entirely on supplies seized from the two great cities in Wei. But this was not a sustainable arrangement. The troops lacked sufficient training, their equipment was incomplete, and their numbers were immense. Unless they continued attacking Wei, they would inevitably be unable to sustain themselves. Yet Wei had now reinforced its defenses, and with such inadequate equipment, defeating the enemy would be exceedingly difficult.

The endless stream of rebels arriving to join them had unquestionably become a burden, making an already difficult situation even worse.