The King of Chu gave the two armies ten days to prepare. Fang Yun ordered Wang Li to bring the most elite soldiers from Lianshan Pass back to Zhucheng.
During these days, Fang Yun had already organized the elite of the Lumen Army into the new army, including all the Hanlin and Xiucai. This new army, led by Wang Li, the general of the Zhujiang Army, arrived in Zhucheng.
On the morning of July 12, 210,000 Pearl River troops entered the Zhucheng Academy of Literature and lined up in the Shengmiao Square.
Among the 210,000 Pearl River troops, 110,000 were the most elite old Pearl River troops, 50,000 were selected from the Lumen Army, and 50,000 new recruits were dispersed and distributed among the various armies.
The front army, rear army, center army, left army and right army were lined up in the square in front of the holy temple. Looking from the sky, the 210,000-strong army formed a neat "cross" shape.
Fang Yun and the five generals of the army stood on a temporary platform.
At this moment, Fang Yun was wearing a blue university scholar's robe with some white clouds embroidered on the hem and cuffs of the robe.
The generals of the five armies were originally Hanlin scholars, but behind Fang Yun, there were four Hanlin scholars and one university scholar.
Zhang Qingfeng was promoted to Grand Secretary last month, and politely declined the offer from King Chu. He remained in the Pearl River Army and followed Fang Yun to Liangjie Mountain.
It was a hot summer day. Even at just eight o'clock in the morning, the entire sky was brightly illuminated by the scorching sun. Sweat flowed down the soldiers' faces, and almost everyone's back was wet.
On both sides of the Pearl River Army stood local officials and scholars.
The gate of the Academy of Literature opened, and dense crowds of people from Zhucheng were outside looking in. Many of them were families of those soldiers, and some elderly people were secretly wiping their tears and sobbing softly.
The oath-taking ceremony, which should have been full of vigor and high spirits, was filled with sadness under the scorching sun.
Fang Yun looked at those soldiers. They had blank eyes and no fighting spirit. Some even looked as pale as death.
Going to Liangjie Mountain is not to protect one's hometown, nor to protect Zhucheng, nor to protect something that can be seen and touched, but to protect a place that has only been heard of in legends.
For most people in the literary world, Liangjie Mountain is more ethereal than the clouds in the sky. They don’t even know what it is, just like the mythological stories they heard when they were children.
However, everyone knows that it is an extremely dangerous place, one of the most dangerous places in the universe. Once you enter there, you will face endless attacks from monsters and barbarians.
Going there is tantamount to committing suicide.
Not only the ordinary soldiers, but even those who passed the imperial examinations and even the Jinshi examinations could not hide the anxiety and uneasiness in their eyes.
Fang Yun suddenly sighed heavily and said in a thunderous voice: "I don't understand why so many people were not chosen, but why they chose me, a person who was just promoted to Grand Secretary, to go to a place like Liangjie Mountain. If I go there, I will die."
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, officials and civilians looked at Fang Yun with mixed feelings.
"I know a lot about Liangjie Mountain, more than most people present here. After all... there are rumors that my father Zhang Wankong has also been to Liangjie Mountain. Of course, as you all know, he has always been suspected of being a traitor. I think I need to talk about what I know about Liangjie Mountain."
Fang Yun spoke as if he was chatting, attracting everyone's attention. The confusion in the soldiers' eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by curiosity.
"Liangjie Mountain is actually composed of thirty-six peaks. It is the largest entrance from the demon world to the Shengyuan Continent, and it has been getting bigger and bigger over the years. In the Shang Dynasty, the gap was barely big enough for a semi-saint to pass through, and it cost a lot, so the demon world only sent eight demon barbarian semi-saints to the human world to use King Zhou to control the human race. But now, all the hundred semi-saints in the demon world can enter the Shengyuan Continent through Liangjie Mountain."
"As you all know, more than 20 years ago, the human race and the demon world launched an earth-shaking war in Liangjie Mountain. The human race spent countless manpower and resources, and only with the help of the dragon race did they repel the demons and barbarians, giving our race a chance to catch their breath. Some people would say that Liangjie Mountain leads to Shengyuan Continent, which has nothing to do with the literary world, and has nothing to do with us in the literary world. But you also know that the literary world is connected to Shengyuan Continent. Once the demon world breaks through Shengyuan Continent, it is equivalent to breaking through the literary world."
Some scholars nodded slightly, Fang Yun's statement was very similar to the rumor.
"The battle of Liangjie Mountain was far more brutal than we imagined. During the most intense moments, anyone who could stand up would be pulled to the city wall. When the talent was gone, there were bows and arrows. When the bows and arrows were used up, there were swords. When the swords were broken, there were fists. When the fists were broken, there were teeth! Even if you had no teeth and were lying on the city wall, you had to shout out to cheer for the soldiers! There, no one would know when they would die, nor would they know how to die. In the battle of Liangjie Mountain that year, more than 500 million people participated, but in the end only 20 million survived, and more than 70% of them were severely disabled. In other words, only four out of a hundred people who went could survive."
"According to the calculations from the first battle of the Two Worlds Mountain, we had an army of 200,000, but in the end, only about 8,000 of them were able to return to the Wen World alive."
Under the scorching sun, everyone felt cold all over, and some people even shivered.
Fang Yun paused for a moment and said slowly: "So, I am destined to be a failed general, because I can't bring all of you back, and I may not even be able to bring back 8,000 people."
Fang Yun's words were like hail falling on the crowd, chilling everyone to the bone.
"But I will bring back victory and glory!" Fang Yun's tone remained steady.
The expressions of hundreds of thousands of people became even more indifferent.
In the face of life, the so-called victory and glory are extremely pale.
Fang Yun looked at hundreds of thousands of eyes and continued to speak: "Indeed, victory cannot be eaten, and glory cannot fill the stomach. A soldier who died in Liangjie Mountain may not be considered to have brought honor to his family. That's true. But..."
Fang Yun's voice suddenly rose.
"Victory cannot be eaten, but it can keep our descendants alive! Glory cannot fill our stomachs, but it is more important than our meals today! The reason why we can study in schools, walk through cities, live in houses, and eat at tables is because the 480 million dead souls brought us victory! Their glory is brighter than the sun in the sky!"
"The human world is supported by those 420 million corpses; the light we see is all because of the burning souls of those 420 million heroes!"
Fang Yun's voice was deafening, and everyone's expression changed.
"People are born equal, but the moment we step onto the Two Worlds Mountain, we become more noble than others!"
"I am not a good general. I cannot bring you back, but I will bring back victory and glory!" Fang Yong used all his strength to speak eloquently.
"Victory!" A young soldier shouted with tears in his eyes.
"Victory!" all the soldiers shouted.
"Victory!" all the scholars shouted.
"Victory!" All the people also shouted.
.(To be continued.)