"Then you go first, I'll set off later, so as not to get ahead of you," I said.
"No need to rush, it's not too far, about an hour's run. I still have some things to handle. I'll be there before noon, and you can arrive at noon."
That's still faster than other modes of transport, but I wasn't very confident in my own Gale Force technique, and I was worried about problems on the way. It's better to be early than late, so I asked the fox demon to take me to the City God Temple near the base. I would enter the underworld from here. Only after entering did I remember that I hadn't had breakfast yet. How could I run on an empty stomach? I called Meng Po and asked her to order me a breakfast delivery, and I'd eat it there. Conveniently, I could also use Shen Da's route to practice my Gale Force technique.
The last time I traveled this route was in the human world, and Xie Bi'an carried me. This time, I would try it myself.
After getting the address of the City God Temple in Black Mountain Fort from Meng Po here, I crossed the Naihe Bridge and the railway tracks. As I walked, the mist dispersed, and this was considered officially entering the underworld.
It was only in the underworld that I could easily form the hand seals for my Gale Force technique. I had tried it before in the human world, and my hands were almost broken before I could barely "connect" all five fingers.
I recited the incantation and started to fly close to the ground. It was still very useful. In just two or three minutes, I reached the underworld equivalent of Shengjing, which I was already very familiar with. I easily found the Naihe Bridge.
Meng Po was quite surprised to see me come from the underworld: "How did Lord Wu come from here?"
I didn't explain too much. She said the delivery hadn't arrived yet and it would take twenty minutes. I wasn't in a hurry and asked her to make me a cup of coffee to energize myself. When Meng Po makes coffee for me, of course, it shouldn't be instant coffee powder with hot water; it must be freshly brewed coffee to show respect. I chatted with her, casually asking about the recent situation in the underworld. Meng Po said she had been working here all along and didn't know much. She heard from passing underworld officials that the situation on the imperial court's side wasn't very good. Although they had won several small-scale victories at the city gates of Fengdu City last time, overall, the rebels still had the advantage.
"Small-scale victories? Capturing three cities in a row!" I sneered. Meng Po knew that those three battles were commanded by me.
"That's still only three cities," Meng Po chuckled, "Fengdu City alone has eighty-one city gates, and there are forty to fifty large cities like Fengdu City in the underworld."
"Just tell me, how many rebels are there in total?" I asked.
"Eighteen million, give or take," Meng Po said directly.
That was indeed a lot.
"And the imperial court's army?" I asked again.
"About six million."
"...Such a big difference?" I frowned. "Why don't they recruit more soldiers?"
"The soldiers have already rebelled, so only this many are left," Meng Po said helplessly. That made sense. The rebels this time were not the so-called peasant uprisings. I had seen it with my own eyes. The rebels' equipment and military quality were not inferior to, and even slightly better than, the imperial court's army. It was precisely because they were originally the imperial court's regular army that the imperial court, lacking sufficient numbers, had to recruit soldiers temporarily, resulting in a mixed bag of equipment and personnel.
Once this situation arises, the remaining six million are more likely to defect in battle. It's somewhat similar to that "meat battle" decades ago. I apologize for adding the character "person." During that time, once the fundamental balance of power between both sides shifted, the battles actually became simpler. After a fight, they would often surrender directly, turn their clothes inside out, and become part of the opposing army. Therefore, the casualty rate in that war was actually very low, as they were all countrymen.
The current war in the underworld is similar. The casualty rate is not high. The side that falls behind in battle is very likely to surrender completely, and the victor usually does not kill prisoners, but directly incorporates them to supplement their own forces. After I flooded the enemy in Wusan City, most of the enemies in the water returned to the imperial court's army.
As we chatted, the delivery arrived, brought by Judge Cui himself. I invited them to join me, but they were both ghosts and didn't like human food. After I finished eating, I bid farewell to my two old friends and crossed the Naihe Bridge, continuing my southward journey.