Chapter Thirty-One: A Trojan Horse Is Still a Horse!

"By the way, be careful of Jiang Changhong."

"He is a sinister, petty man. You held a blade to his throat last time, and he will certainly find a way to settle that score with you."

Fatty Li looked at Su Mu, paused for a moment, and said solemnly.

After spending time together, he was very clear about one thing: the future of the Tiger Might Battalion would surely be placed in Su Mu's hands. As for himself, there was only one thing he could do, and that was to protect Su Mu to the best of his ability.

"Don't worry, he won't be able to stir up any trouble." Su Mu looked at Fatty Li, a faint smile on his lips as he spoke with composure.

"Oh? Why is that?" Fatty Li scratched his head, looking completely puzzled. Su Mu's reaction was just too calm. Something wasn't right!

"It's simple. This Inspector can't afford for me to die." Su Mu crossed his arms, speaking with complete confidence.

...

Inside the Inspector's quarters, Jiang Changhong watched the Inspector practicing calligraphy at his desk, feeling a surge of resentment.

"Chen Jun! By what right did you let Fatty Li go?"

Chen Jun looked up, cast a glance at Jiang Changhong, set aside his brush, and stood up to face him.

"Jiang Changhong, you are nothing but a squad leader. If it weren't for the sake of your father, do you think you would have the opportunity to shout at me like this here?"

Jiang Changhong clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and stared intently at Chen Jun. "What do you mean by that?"

Chen Jun stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent. "Do you think that with an anonymous letter, you can divert the disaster onto someone else? Foolish! How could the Jiang family produce a good-for-nothing like you?"

"I'm telling you, if you're smart, get out of here. Otherwise, I will have you dealt with by military law!"

Jiang Changhong's mouth hung open, and he stared at Chen Jun in shock. This wasn't how he had imagined it. This Chen Jun... something was wrong!

"You... just you wait! When I return to the capital, I will certainly report you to my father!" Jiang Changhong grumbled and turned to leave.

Watching Jiang Changhong's retreating figure, Chen Jun narrowed his eyes and let out a disdainful snort.

"Useless trash! If it weren't for the fact that the anonymous letter allowed the Prime Minister to send me here to take control of Qinghe Town, I would have slaughtered him long ago."

Chen Jun sat down in a nearby chair, his brow furrowed. In his mind, the image of Su Mu couldn't help but surface.

"Strange... why do I feel like he's familiar?"

"Have I seen him before?"

The next morning, Su Mu stood in the courtyard. At this moment, the hundred-man unit looked at him with trepidation. In just this short day, they had experienced what it meant to suffer. Even at night, as soon as they heard the horn, everyone had to scramble to assemble without a moment's delay. This training method kept their nerves constantly on edge. What was most infuriating was that Su Mu would always look at them with righteous indignation and say that if they couldn't endure this hardship, they could voluntarily withdraw. Wasn't that just looking down on them?

"The Great Liang’s army of hundreds of thousands cannot defeat the barbarian army of one hundred thousand!"

"We are forced into a defensive position. Do you know why?"

As soon as Su Mu said this, the men looked at each other and pondered for a moment.

"Is it because they are burly, strong, and powerful?"

"They live in harsh environments, so to survive, they are all fighting for their lives, resulting in the survival of the fittest?"

"Clearly, it's because the barbarians' cavalry is powerful; once their cavalry catches up, there's basically no chance of escape!"

Hearing the chaotic discussion, Su Mu raised his hand. The noisy scene instantly went quiet. Everyone focused their attention on Su Mu.

"Someone got it right."

"Cavalry."

Su Mu looked at the crowd and continued with great seriousness: "The barbarians' cavalry is extraordinary. Their Tiger-Wolf Cavalry, in particular, is known as a legendary force. With just ten thousand men, they can capture cities and conquer strongholds, having slaughtered seven or eight of our Great Liang towns in a row."

"Our Great Liang soldiers are like chopped vegetables before them."

The men opened their mouths, then slowly lowered their heads. Indeed! If they faced ordinary barbarians, they could grit their teeth and fight to the death with a chance of winning. But once surrounded by cavalry, they were nothing but fish on a chopping block, left to be slaughtered.

"Therefore, we must have our own invincible unit!"

"Cavalry—that is my designation for you!"

"You will be the sharpest blade of the Tiger Might Battalion, capable of tearing a hole in the enemy's defense and causing them to collapse into chaos in an instant!"

When Su Mu said this, everyone's expression changed instantly. They stared at him, their emotions stirred to a fever pitch. They had all previously believed that their lives held no hope and were just drifting along waiting for death. And now, Su Mu was telling them they could become cavalry? And the sharpest blade at that?

"Commander... I have a question."

"If we're going to be cavalry... then what about the horses..."

At that moment, a shy voice rang out from the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the speaker. Su Mu chuckled and nodded.

"Good question! What about the horses?"

Su Mu snapped his fingers, and a group of people walked in carrying several wooden horses. Looking at the wooden horses, the entire hundred-man unit was stunned. They wanted warhorses capable of charging into battle, not these wooden toys! Was this a joke?

Su Mu looked at their incredulous expressions, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I know some of you must be asking, 'where are the warhorses?'"

"But I want to say that with your current basic skills, you aren't even ready to mount a horse!"

"If you can't even master a horse, your dream of becoming a cavalry force that can hold its own is nothing more than a fantasy!"

Su Mu's reprimand made everyone blush. It was true! If they couldn't even control their own mount, what kind of cavalrymen were they?

"Commander, but some of us have ridden horses before!"

"I think my riding skills are quite good, there's no need for this kind of torture!"

Someone in the crowd protested. Riding a horse! It wasn't as if anyone didn't know how!

Su Mu glanced at them playfully and snapped his fingers.

"Oh? You can ride, can you?"

"I'll give you a chance. On these wooden horses, as long as you can force me off, it will prove that your riding skills are sufficient!"

"Then the horses you want will be delivered to you today!"

As soon as he said this, the scene erupted. Wooden horses? Wouldn't that be simple?

In the distance, Jiang Hongluan stood holding a long spear, watching the scene and shaking her head.

"These people... they truly don't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!"

"The Captain's skill, even on a wooden horse, is not something they can compare to!"

Xu Qing nodded in firm agreement, her eyes fixed on Su Mu's direction, sparkling with adoration.

"Sister Jiang... the Captain is so handsome..."

"If I could capture the Captain's heart..."

Jiang Hongluan’s mouth twitched, and she rolled her eyes at Xu Qing. What a lovesick girl!