"That traitor Chen Guan faked his death and fled to the Southern Heavenly Kingdom, causing trouble there. What do you all think we should do about it?" Lei Bin swept his gaze over everyone's face.
Lei Bin felt this might be an opportunity for him.
Previously, it was hard to distinguish which of these people were useful and which still had ties with Ji Nanhong.
Now, using this opportunity, he could see how they positioned themselves. Those willing to offer allegiance and actively go against Chen Guan could be favored in the future.
Those who were passive but responsive could be used temporarily without urgency.
As for those who were neither proactive nor responsive, they would be directly suppressed in the future because Lei Bin's Red Blood Corps had no room for outsiders.
Scanning the room, he noticed no one was speaking up. The commanders under him displayed various expressions, but none stood up to speak.
"Such a traitor should be punished by everyone. My lord, please deploy the troops imdiately," soone stood up and said, while others echoed the sentint.
However, Lei Bin's frown deepened because those speaking up were people he had brought along. None of the veterans from the Red Blood Corps had spoken.
This was sowhat different from what he had expected, leaving Lei Bin feeling uncertain.
It was one thing if Bai Yueguang, Zhu Hongzhi, and other staunch Ji Nanhong loyalists chose not to speak or agree.
But how did it co to pass that even the old hands of the Red Blood Corps, who were usually adept at aligning with the wind, did not agree?
Lei Bin had a realization and called out, "Yujian, what do you think?"
Zhang Yujian was closest to the old commanders. Even though he ca with Ji Nanhong, he vaguely seed like an old-school decision-maker, and most of the old hands followed his lead.
By asking Zhang Yujian for his opinion, Lei Bin was essentially asking about the stance of the old guard.
Zhang Yujian cleared his throat before speaking, "I believe it is not advisable for us to deploy troops to the Southern Heavenly Kingdom yet. We should investigate further."
"Why?" Lei Bin asked with a frown.
A shrewd person like Zhang Yujian openly opposing him suggested sothing was amiss.
"Chen Guan is a person of extraordinary talent, a military genius. If we, the Red Blood Corps, were to attack the Southern Heavenly Kingdom, the disparity in strength would be significant. It would be prudent to be cautious," Zhang Yujian said.
Lei Bin was so exasperated he laughed. A significant strength disparity? Lei Bin had no idea where this conclusion ca from.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, the people of the Southern Heavenly Kingdom had almost entirely fled, leaving behind nearly a ghost town with very few soldiers. The Red Blood Corps possessed an elite force nearly one hundred thousand strong, not counting other units.
With such a vast difference in troop strength, Zhang Yujian claiming that there was a significant gap in power, and that they were at a disadvantage, made Lei Bin so frustrated he didn't even bother to retort.
"It seems Ji Nanhong's loyal followers are nurous. Even an old hand like Zhang Yujian is one of Ji Nanhong's staunch loyalists, and they will need to be thoroughly cleaned out in the future."
Thinking this, Lei Bin smiled and said to the others, "Listening to Commander Zhang, this indeed seems like a daunting task. I wonder which of the commanders here is capable of shouldering such a major responsibility?"
His words were intended as sarcasm, but after he finished speaking, Yun Bihua said, "That Chen Guan indeed is a divine figure. Given our disadvantage, it would be better to remain still and respond to changes."
Seeing Yun Bihua make such comnts made Lei Bin's face darken further.
Yun Bihua, along with Xin Ding and Jiang Tianqing, were from family factions. Many mbers of the Red Blood Corps from the Ten Great Families followed their lead.
Now that Yun Bihua had spoken such words, did it an that the family factions did not want to fight Chen Guan?
"Tianqing, what do you say?" Lei Bin's gaze turned to Jiang Tianqing, who was the leader of the family faction.
"They are not wrong. Given our current disadvantage, we should hold our position and request reinforcents," Jiang Tianqing said impassively.
"Request reinforcents?" Lei Bin was almost breaking down, snapping at them coldly, "We, the Red Blood Corps, with nearly a hundred thousand elite troops, are supposed to request reinforcents to fight a Southern Heavenly Kingdom already half-empty? While you may have no sha, I do. Is this how Ji Nanhong taught you to fight?"
After speaking, Lei Bin turned his gaze directly to Shi Zhin and said, "Commander Shi, you will lead the troops with Yu Zhiyuan as your deputy. Take thirty thousand soldiers and bring the Southern Heavenly Kingdom down for
within a month."
He chose not to say this to anyone else but Shi Zhin, not only because Shi Zhin was good in combat but also because he was easier to manage.
Jiang Tianqing and the others had family backgrounds and could simply walk away, and although Lei Bin was the Corps Commander, he was powerless against them.
Zhang Yujian and the old personal favorites could find ways to be evasive, even if tasked with fighting, ultimately achieving nothing but trouble.
Bai Yueguang and Zhu Hongzhi were clearly entangled romantically, and Bai Yueguang had ties to the Ancestral Court, making it difficult for Lei Bin to act excessively towards them.
While other new commanders and the people he brought could be counted on, they were not as capable as Shi Zhin.
Moreover, Shi Zhin had no particular background, rising purely through Ji Nanhong's promotion, and now with Ji Nanhong gone, Shi Zhin had lost his 'Kao Mountain.' Shi Zhin was the easiest to manage.
"I can lead the troops, but these forces are insufficient. We need reinforcents, or else we are just risking lives and wasting our elite units," Shi Zhin said.
Hearing this, Lei Bin felt a bit relieved, thinking, "Shi Zhin is sensible. As long as he can capture the Southern Heavenly Kingdom, kill Chen Guan or capture him alive, he can be of use. His military skills are decent."
"Fine, I'll give you an additional twenty thousand troops, making it fifty thousand. Take the Southern Heavenly Kingdom within a month," Lei Bin said.
"Still not enough," Shi Zhin shook his head again.
"Fifty thousand isn't enough? How many do you want?" Lei Bin frowned.
Shi Zhin held up a finger, and Lei Bin's expression darkened again. "Our Red Blood Corps only has a hundred thousand elite soldiers in total, and you want to use all of them to attack an almost empty Southern Heavenly Kingdom?"
"Not one hundred thousand, but one million," Shi Zhin said sternly. "Chen Guan is unpredictable, with supernatural abilities. Give
a million, and I have a fifty percent chance to win. If less than this, even a toss-up isn't likely, and we will only end up losing troops. Better not to go."
One million? A toss-up?
"Well, well, well, today my eyes have truly been opened. Commander Shi, renowned for being a skillful warrior, fights like this. No wonder you remain undefeated in the Red Blood Corps. With such an honorable tactic, losing is genuinely difficult. Why didn't I think of such a brilliant strategy before? A million against one—losing would be hard while lying down."
Lei Bin shook with anger, "Fine, you all fear Chen Guan and say you cannot win? Then this Corps Commander will personally lead the troops. I'll show you how to take the Southern Heavenly Kingdom and deal with Chen Guan."
With that, Lei Bin slamd the table, turned abruptly, and stord out.
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