Upon receiving the information, Shang Yang pondered whether to assign the task to Bai Qi or Sun Wu.
After some thought, he recalled that Bai Qi had already earned considerable merit within the territory.
Sun Wu, like himself, had been promoted later and needed to accomplish something significant to prove his capabilities.
Thus, Shang Yang sent for Sun Wu.
Sun Wu was somewhat surprised upon hearing the summons, realizing that being called at this time surely meant something was afoot.
Upon hearing this, Guo Jia addressed Sun Wu, "Congratulations, Marshal Sun Wu, your opportunity to achieve merit has arrived."
"I cannot guess who the target of this expedition will be," Sun Wu replied.
"You'll know once you see," Guo Jia said.
Nodding, Sun Wu continued, "Then there is no time to delay. Military Advisor, please assist in gathering the troops."
Having spent these days together, Sun Wu greatly admired Guo Jia's abilities. They conversed amiably, sharing unique insights and feeling an immediate connection, as if they had known each other for a long time.
"Alright," Guo Jia nodded.
Sun Wu immediately rode a flying dragon to the [Heavenly Emperor's Imperial Palace] and met with Shang Yang.
"Minister Shang, what is the matter?" Sun Wu inquired promptly.
Seeing Sun Wu arrive so quickly, Shang Yang smiled and said, "Marshal Sun Wu, you must have already guessed the objective of this mission."
Sun Wu smiled and then asked, "Please, Minister, specify the exact enemy."
Shang Yang produced a document bearing his official seal. The territory's regulations were becoming increasingly formal, and missions like this required a seal before execution.
Handing the document to Sun Wu, Shang Yang said, "I will send you the precise coordinates of the enemy later. This is the information I had compiled. Take a look."
Sun Wu accepted the documents. One was an appointment letter for the expedition, bearing the seal of Minister Shang Yang, and the other detailed the specific combat objective.
"The Long family, the Long Fang territory, its territory name is 'Playing with All the Women in the World'..." Sun Wu nodded after reading the information and then said, "Thank you, Minister."
"Marshal Sun Wu, why do you offer thanks?" Shang Yang asked, feigning ignorance.
"Minister, there's no need to be so explicit. You already understand the meaning behind my words," Sun Wu replied.
With his intelligence, Sun Wu naturally knew that this mission was assigned by Shang Yang for him to prove his worth.
"Hahaha, then I shall await Marshal Sun Wu's victorious report," Shang Yang chuckled.
"Farewell." Sun Wu departed the [Heavenly Emperor's Imperial Palace] and headed towards the military camp.
"Marshal, the army has been assembled. Please give your orders," Guo Jia said to Sun Wu.
"This is the information Minister Shang provided. However, we will need to wait a bit longer for the specific location, as the territory's reconnaissance aircraft are still searching for the enemy's territory."
Sun Wu handed the documents to Guo Jia and continued, "Although the lord of the target territory has died, the situation is still uncertain. If the enemy soldiers within the territory do not show significant changes, we might face over five hundred thousand adversaries."
After reviewing the documents, Guo Jia also nodded and stated, "Half of the soldiers in this Long Fang territory were dispatched from the family's powerful members."
"Even after Long Fang's death, those hundreds of thousands of soldiers will not change significantly. They will surely await the arrival of the Long family's powerful members to take control of the territory. This will be a siege for us, which is disadvantageous."
"Furthermore, if reinforcements from the Long family arrive, we could find ourselves caught between a pincer attack. Therefore, we must resolve this battle as quickly as possible. The longer we delay, the more unfavorable it will become for us."
"I believe it is unlikely the enemy will march out of their city to engage us, so we can only resort to a direct assault. We need to carefully strategize the specific plan," Sun Wu said.
"Indeed, that is the case," Guo Jia nodded in agreement.
The Second Army Group comprised seven legions: the [Northern Army], [Ten Thousand Demon Soldiers], [Tiger and Leopard Cavalry], [Heavenly Strategy Black Armored Army], [Netherworld Ghost Soldiers], [Guan Ning Iron Army], and [Elf Archers].
Once the generals of the seven legions arrived, Sun Wu and Guo Jia immediately began to make arrangements.
They both decided to launch the offensive at night.
They planned to utilize the characteristics of the [Netherworld Ghost Soldiers] to create an opening in the enemy's territory, allowing other legions to storm in and annihilate the enemy.
They first roughly determined the attack targets and directions. The specific combat plan would require further adjustments based on the enemy's territory conditions.
After a considerable period, Sun Wu's communicator received the precise coordinates from the reconnaissance department.
Sun Wu immediately sent the location to the generals of the seven legions and instructed, "The location has been acquired. Everyone, depart. Be vigilant against attacks from other territories as well."
"Yes!"
Numerous generals departed, returning to command their troops and march out of their territories.
Outside An Yang City lay countless territories. Sun Wu needed to traverse many of them to reach the enemy's territory.
No one could guarantee that these lords would not send out attackers, and Sun Wu remained exceptionally cautious.
This mission was far from easy, and all aspects had to be meticulously considered.
Guo Jia and Sun Wu continuously discussed potential issues that might arise during the expedition, offering their insights.
Once their deliberations were concluded, they would issue orders, all aimed at ensuring the successful completion of their mission.
The mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops was no small undertaking.
Countless territories immediately activated their defenses but breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing the soldiers' target was not them.
"Where are these soldiers going?"
"So many cavalry, and not ordinary mounts either. My goodness, are those dragon riders? Such powerful mounts!"
"These soldiers are well-trained, and their armor and equipment are of high quality. I wonder which territory they will strike."
"It must be a conflict between two territories. We often see such things."
......
The vast majority of lords were not within their own territories, and these soldiers would not attack indiscriminately.
Even those lords who coveted the soldiers' equipment, upon seeing their sheer numbers, especially the significant cavalry contingent, abandoned any such thoughts.
Hundreds of thousands of troops were not a negligible force, and no one would willingly court death.
Many individuals attempted to dispatch their flying spirit beasts to scout the army's numbers. However, after a dozen flying dragons roared, all these reconnaissance spirit beasts were frightened away.
Seeing that the other party had merely issued a warning and not attacked, those individuals dared not engage in further reconnaissance.
Sun Wu and his forces marched at a rapid pace, moving along the route pre-selected by the reconnaissance department.
There were no unexpected incidents along the way. After several hours, Sun Wu had arrived at the target territory.