Ti flew by, and before long, three months had passed. Smoke from the fires of war rose in all four directions within the Long Dynasty.
By now, Gu Shanhai had seen clearly that the imperial court once had the capability to suppress the rebellion, but the noble clans had been dragging their feet. Moreover, the Daoist Soldiers, to a large extent, were tied to the noble clans, which only led to the prolongation of the disease.
Gu Shanhai had good reason to suspect that the rebelling righteous army had already captured a portion of divine mandate, probably already possessing the qualities of a main character. If a formidable figure didn’t erge soon, there really could be a change of rulers.
But when the court beca powerless and the various leaders of the Daoist Soldiers, having collected a swath of resources in the chaos, realized they could no longer let these ragtag peasants cause more trouble, that was when the righteousness of the army would diminish.
And now, they were at the early stages: the leaders began collecting resources, and the court, unable to withstand the pressure, had issued a decree for the localities to muster local militias to confront the rebellion.
In Gu Shanhai’s eyes, this group was currently a righteous army, compelled into rebellion out of desperation. However, in a short while, they would no longer be considered as such, for they would quickly fall from grace and beco the violent oppressors they once loathed. Discovering they couldn’t defeat the noble clans, they found it all too easy to prey on the ordinary people—once their equals as commoners.
If these righteously rebellious forces could stick to their original dreams, Gu Shanhai might not necessarily have chosen Jiang Lu.
"Teacher, you guessed right. The decree has co down, and local militias really are being raised everywhere. But what should we do next?" Jiang Lu was sowhat troubled.
As for manpower, that definitely wasn’t a problem. He could rally a hundred people just with a call to arms from Cansang Village, not to ntion that this was already quite substantial. Besides, he could hardly support the people he had now; he couldn’t possibly ask Gu Shanhai for help.
Jiang Lu felt that Gu Shanhai probably didn’t have much money either.
"What should we do? How should I know? That’s your concern. If you say there’s a problem, I can help solve it, but if you are asking what you should do next, how would I know?" Gu Shanhai also jested in response.
"..." Jiang Lu was sowhat at a loss for words upon hearing this, then he said, "Teacher, I want to achieve great things, but I’ve got no money."
"Can’t you put it a bit more delicately..." Gu Shanhai felt that Jiang Lu had developed a thick skin, but he had to admit, he was quite pleased with it.
"You said yourself you could help if I had a problem." Jiang Lu insisted that this was indeed a problem.
"I have twelve taels, seven qian, and five wen on . I’ll fund you entirely, and for the remainder you can’t cover, go to Li Yu, he’ll surely help you." Gu Shanhai casually took out the money, which was a mix of denominations, and presented it to Jiang Lu, who could barely hold back his reaction.
"This... Is Brother Li really trustworthy?" Jiang Lu hesitated, knowing that if he went to Li Yu, the latter would certainly spare no expense to help him.
"Whether he is trustworthy depends on you, not him. Can you achieve greatness and repay his trust?"
"I believe you can succeed, and so will he, but do you believe in yourself?"
Gu Shanhai uplifted him not with the shallow kind of encouragent that rely said he could do it, but by guiding him to believe in himself.
Jiang Lu fell silent at that mont, reflecting on all he had learned.
"Teacher, I believe it too. I won’t let you down," Jiang Lu said with a resolute look in his eyes.
"Good. Then take my entire fortune and gamble on it. I hope that one day, when my na is ntioned, people will say, ’Look, that’s Jiang Lu’s teacher.’" Gu Shanhai made his appeal with passion.
Jiang Lu nodded and did not refuse Gu Shanhai’s support. He then left with his three sworn brothers.
After they were gone, Gu Shanhai finally let out a sigh of relief. That had been a true test of his acting skills—he wouldn’t normally bother to motivate soone, but at tis like this, a little stimulation was necessary.
’Considering the current disparity in strength, the duration of this uprising won’t last more than a year before it’s suppressed. So if Jiang Lu wants to beco a local warlord, he must earn sufficient military rit and official rank within this year to continue his expansion.’
In this world, legitimacy cos first.
Without legitimacy, one would face opposition from all sides.
Didn’t even the rebels raise the banner of acting on behalf of Heaven?
Gu Shanhai was unclear about the circumstances of his previous life, but in this life, he should be able to succeed.
He did not aspire to be a ruler of a whole prefecture, just a county lord would suffice. Mainly because ascending through military rit, without adequate connections and support, one could easily be suppressed. If there were connections and support, one wouldn’t need to fight desperately and could simply be recomnded for officialdom through the filial piety and integrity examinations.
"Forget it, let the provisional troupe handle it. It’s not for to worry about. I’ve taught all there is to teach. I can’t be expected to join the battlefield at my age—that wouldn’t be right." Gu Shanhai expressed his aversion to the battlefield.
He had also estimated the situation. With Li Yu’s assets, they could support about five hundred Sun and Moon Daoist Soldiers. Given the current state of affairs, Jiang Lu certainly wouldn’t really use them all as Daoist Soldiers. The five hundred slots would be divided amongst him and his three brothers, each taking a hundred, and the remaining hundred slots would not go to Daoist Soldiers, but to ordinary soldiers instead.
This way, not only would the burden on Li Yu be reduced, but there would also be more n available.
Based on the Daoist Soldiers as a foundation, and supplented by many ordinary soldiers, the strength was indeed sufficient. However, to assemble such a force, it would take at least three months. Whether it was the training of the Daoist Soldiers or the ordinary soldiers, or even the gathering of various military supplies, it all required ti. It wasn’t sothing that could be obtained instantly, because they were not Gu Shanhai.
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