"Generals and soldiers, you must not forget your manners!"
Li Guanyi commanded immense respect within the military.
The Qilin Army, looking at the distracted young strategist, took a synchronized half step forward.
With solemn expressions, their palms gripped firm, they struck their chest armors in unison.
A severe and piercing silence followed.
With a voice deep and solemn, they exclaimed, "We greet the Master!!!"
Their greeting was as grand as a tidal wave.
Thus, it came in three calls!
Ten thousand voices roared, prestigious generals knelt and bowed, wearing the strategist’s Commander’s Seal at their waists, swords in hand.
The fame that Confucian scholars yearn for seemed to crash upon the youth’s head all at once. The opportunity to display his talents was right before his eyes. Yuan Zhi opened his mouth, ever since he had left his hometown to study, though it was less of a scholarly pursuit and more of an escape after killing a local tyrant. His mother’s tear-stained eyes from that day were still vivid in his memory.
Yuan Zhi felt dazed, gazing into the calm eyes of the general before him.
"You, you trust me just like that?"
Li Guanyi said heartily, "I employ those I trust; I don’t trust those I don’t employ."
"I believe in the Master’s strategy."
Over the ink-colored armor, the crimson Qilin battle banner fluttered and rolled. Yuan Zhi, holding the item in his hand, opened his mouth and slowly exhaled a breath. He bowed with clasped hands and said earnestly, "Entrusted to me... I shall not fail the General."
He paused before adding firmly, "And I shall not betray the trust of our Lord."
Li Guanyi laughed heartily.
That day, the Qilin Army’s military strategist, Yuan Zhi took charge of the planning.
After resupplying at East Crossing City and leaving most of the supplies behind, they carried only ten days’ rations, floated downstream, and launched sudden attacks. By the second day the Chen Army received the news, the Qilin Army had appeared in full force at two key river crossings: Hengdangkou and another location.
Ling Pingyang led one army, with Fan Qing as his Deputy General.
Yuwen Tianxian commanded another, with Yuwen Hua as his Deputy General.
Yuan Zhi established his place at the central axis.
Not even needing to use his most treasured military formation, with the basic cultivation of a great talent from all over the world, in coordination with the Qilin Army, and the most crucial and fatal moment of combat—
[For over a decade, the Murong Family has been mostly on the defensive]
[These troops haven’t had any experience defending a city for more than ten years, thus they have grown ignorant of warfare]
Therefore, the crossings had never anticipated a major army assault. When Chen Country built these crossings, they never imagined that a mere Martial World aristocratic family, the Murong Family, could pose any threat. Consequently, within just a few days, they were conquered by the Qilin Army.
Following this, Yuan Zhi shared his strategies.
While Chen Country became vigilant, Ying Country let down its guard, and it was time to cross the river.
Shifting the battle upstream, Ying Country’s three crossings were seized.
In just over a month, the Qilin Army had taken control of all the river crossings in the Jiangnan Eighteen States. Concerning the water routes, it was only at this point that the news of the Qilin Army reaching the Jiangnan Eighteen States began to spread far and wide. However, the news that emerged alongside it was already outdated.
They had broken the control of the river and had established a stronghold in Jiangdong. Chen Country and Ying Country’s reinforcements had just reached their own territories but found they could no longer sail downstream freely.
On that day, after the Qilin Army secured the last crossing-like city and completely sealed off upstream and downstream passages, Yuan Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Smiling, he told the general that only now could the Qilin Army truly consider itself firmly established.
From then on, even if the reinforcements from Chen Country and Ying Country arrived, they would be helpless against the blockade at the crossings.
As he spoke, he saw the sixteen-year-old young general, soon to be renowned across the world, standing atop the city wall, his hand resting on the battlements as he watched the distant sunset. His eyes were gentle and calm. When he turned around, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, a lock of his black hair lifted by the wind, a tear mole at the corner of his eye, he smiled and said:
"Master, with this, have we established a strong stance under heaven?"
Yuan Zhi wanted to say that even though they had made a stand, they had only drawn the situation of Jiangnan Eighteen States into a stable state and barely managed to block the waterways, allowing the Qilin Army to survive. To envelop this place within their realm of control, there was still a long road ahead.
They needed to train a large force of elite Navy personnel.
That would take a long time; hence, a rapid victory was impossible to maintain, and they could not uphold the air of dominance like that of a tiger. This was indeed Yuan Zhi’s concern, for the region was ultimately narrow, and they couldn’t swallow up these thousand miles of land in one breath. It would become a dangerous place once the two countries recovered.
But he couldn’t produce ships and sailors capable of navigating the river freely; thus, he had to abandon the plan for a quick battle. This was not good news.
Yet at that moment, he said gently, "Lord, of course it is so."
Li Guanyi laughed heartily.
Turning around, he walked majestically down from the city wall under the sunset light, gradually disappearing into the distance.
"Tales of Jiangnan": The Qilin Army crossed rivers and battled, breaking through everything in their way, no one daring to face their sharp edge. With orders strict and disciplined, they gained the affection of the common people. Li Guanyi, with his handsome appearance, fondness for laughter, broad-mindedness, and skill at employing people, inspired complete dedication and willingness to die from all those who saw him.
Meanwhile, within the Seventy-two Linked Villages on the great river.
Five naval warships were arrayed in place.
Outside, someone rushed in shouting at the top of their lungs as if to burst the heavens, and others cursed. Yet, in the next moment, they too started to scream, tumbling into the room in a chaotic scramble.
And the Angry Scale Dragon King finally received the battle reports of the Qilin.