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墨書 Inktalez
To be honest, training the army was something that Lian Yun initially found quite challenging. However, with Yang Zai Xing by his side to provide guidance, they encountered no significant difficulties.
Especially since Yang Zai Xing had a background as a bandit, he was well-acquainted with the Desperados of Evil Spirit City. With a mix of kindness and authority, the New Army's training progressed vigorously.
The hundred thousand soldiers of the New Army, upon learning about Yang Zai Xing's past, came to respect him and viewed him as a role model. They believed that if it weren't for dire circumstances, no one would willingly choose to become a bandit. Given the opportunity, they sought to turn their lives around.
As a result, Yang Zai Xing naturally became the commander of this New Army, holding the title of Grand General of the Nation. The New Army was designated as the Cloud Nation military.
After discussions between Lian Yun and Zhou Tong, they decided that the position of Marshal would not be established for Cloud Nation at this time; it would be reserved for General Yue Fei.
Zhou Tong's intention was to pacify the four to five thousand officers and soldiers from the former Yue Family Army. Lian Yun simply aimed to preserve Mu Shuai's position.
Under the sentiment of Huaxia Ethnicity, Cloud Nation accepted this decision without any dissent, even among the ten thousand unruly new recruits.
Moreover, Zhou Tong had another reason for not allowing Lian Yun to leave Cloud City: to guard the borders.
Because in this era of Huaxia and the establishment of various Countries, in the third month, there was a nation expanding its territory beyond Cloud City. Upon realizing that it was Lian Yun's newly established nation, they immediately retreated a hundred miles, creating a buffer zone of that width between the two nations.
Once part of the Alliance High Command, the Li Family claimed descent from the Tang Dynasty.
In truth, Zhou Tong had long set a strategy for neighboring countries: to prioritize forming alliances in this chaotic era. Once Cloud Nation grew stronger in the future, they could consider other options such as making them a vassal state or outright annexation.
Thus, when he saw that Tang had proactively retreated a hundred miles as a gesture of goodwill, Zhou Tong planned to personally act as an envoy and prepare to negotiate an alliance.
However, he soon discovered that their envoy arrived even faster. The attitude of Tang Nation was somewhat unexpected; while they did not explicitly state it, there was an implicit inclination towards aligning with Cloud Nation.
It seemed they wanted to observe for a while longer to confirm whether Cloud Nation could indeed become powerful before committing themselves.
This might seem reasonable at first glance, but one must remember that we are at the beginning of chaotic times. Any force aspiring to establish itself typically harbors ambitions of unification.
If they were so weak-willed, why not have aligned themselves with a strong family from the start?
Why did they immediately soften upon encountering Cloud Nation? There were many underlying factors at play here.
For instance, their strategy appeared to be one of playing both sides—showing submission not only to Cloud Nation but also to other neighboring countries. When one side eventually loses power or is defeated in battle, they could then rise up and seize territory from their neighbors.
Alternatively, it could be that its national strength is temporarily low and requires more time for development, thus adopting a strategy of patience and resilience as its current national policy.
Moreover, the geographical position of Tang Nation is quite clever.
Tang Nation is almost at the center of the entire Huaxia Land. As a result, it faces enemies on all sides, yet simultaneously enjoys protection from four neighboring countries.
For instance, if one country intends to attack Tang Nation, Tang Nation can request reinforcements from the other Three Kingdoms.
In the future, if Tang Nation becomes too weak, then the four countries will likely provide them with certain resources for assistance; otherwise, they would have to station troops in Tang Nation, which would unnecessarily drain their national strength.
However, sending troops to occupy Tang Nation does not equate to being able to control it.
No matter which country occupies Tang Nation, it would still be surrounded by the other Three Kingdoms. The territory of Tang Nation is precarious at any moment, so none of the four countries are willing to take on this troublesome burden.
Yet, none of the four countries would allow another of the Three Kingdoms to occupy Tang Nation because there is a Base City within its borders.
Thus, the four countries cannot excessively exploit Tang Nation.
In establishing itself, Tang Nation has placed itself in a predicament while simultaneously achieving an invulnerable position.
It can seek wealth and fortune amidst danger; the ruler of Tang Kingdom can indeed be considered a Heroic Leader.
Overall, Tang Nation presents an unwillingness to become an enemy of Cloud Nation and even expresses a willingness to offer some resources in pursuit of peace.
In response, Zhou Tong, Master Pang, and Jiang Ao deliberated for a while and concluded that their primary focus should be on developing national strength. Regardless of any schemes from the other side, as long as their national strength was formidable, they had nothing to fear. Thus, they agreed to Tang Nation's request for peace.
Subsequently, Tang Nation sent a batch of grain and a small amount of Realm Power to Cloud Nation. The two nations exchanged some intelligence and established embassies in each other's territories, sending ambassadors as a gesture of goodwill.
The ambassador from Cloud Nation stationed in Tang Nation was Silver Prosperity, who had previously met with them in Fengdu.
In times when he was neither friend nor foe, his overly kind demeanor seemed questionable or perhaps had ulterior motives. However, now that he was one of their own, they naturally would not doubt his considerable intelligence.
To be honest, Lian Yun was truly fortunate. His position as ruler was marked by solitude without kin from his own family. Before establishing Cloud Nation, Zhou Tong and his companions had already consciously gathered various talents. Following that, many individuals from Evil Spirit City joined them. Although most had some psychological issues, there were still many exceptionally intelligent individuals among them.
Zhou Tong and his companions hailed from Evil Spirit City and naturally did not reject those with talent among them.
In fact, Zhou Tong had subtly chosen around twenty individuals as candidates for the thirty-six lord positions.
Before the establishment of the nation, there was already a wealth of talent, and with the support of the Yue Family Army at its inception, it could be said that everything was in place.
It is important to note that some Major Powers, at the beginning of their nation-building, may have had numerous combat personnel, but during the alliance period, they essentially only had combat teams and no real army.
At the start of its nationhood, Lian Yun already possessed a regular army, while other forces, despite having more combat personnel than Cloud Nation, were merely makeshift troops.
The speed of domestic development and construction was far behind that of Cloud Nation.
However, countries like Tang Nation that could navigate both sides were few and far between. It should be understood that the forces involved in nation-building were generally ambitious individuals. In this relatively equitable environment of personal power, former strongmen were no longer formidable. Even Lian Yun was not much different from some generals of other Countries, leading to a natural lack of fear towards Lian Yun and its Cloud Nation.
Thus, shortly after its establishment, Cloud Nation's northern and southern borders faced attacks. However, these borders were guarded by Yue Yun and Wang Gui.
Yue Yun was known as the Winning Official, symbolizing not only his bravery but also the reality that he won every battle. Wang Gui was one of Yue Fei's most trusted aides. Both borders inflicted light losses on their opponents while causing heavy injuries and capturing prisoners.
In this way, the two neighboring countries recognized the reality that warriors were establishing defenses along Cloud Nation's borders to prevent attacks from Cloud Nation.
However, Wang Gui remains a controversial figure in history.
(End of Chapter)
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