Little did he know, in just three short months, in order to scramble for a bite to eat, Fang Zhiyi had been leading these few thousand men all over the place, averaging a skirmish every three days. The grassland tribes were completely bewildered—what kind of tactic was this? Had the Jin Kingdom recently suffered a famine?
These Jin soldiers charged in just to steal food?
And what drove them even more insane was that when their allied forces assembled to strike a crushing blow against the invading Jin troops, those Jin soldiers seemed to have gotten word long in advance, turning tail and vanishing into the vast grasslands.
The Great Chieftain was losing his mind. Whose grassland was this, anyway?
It felt like a giant cockroach had flown into your house. You wanted to swat it dead, but it knew your home better than you did. You went to the bedroom, it went to the kitchen. You went to the living room, it went to the balcony.
Even worse, when the allied forces failed to corner the Jin soldiers, they turned around to find their own backyard on fire. Those Jin troops had somehow popped out from behind, going through their usual routine of burning and looting, torching whatever they couldn't carry away.
After a month of this harassment, the grassland tribes experienced for the first time just how infuriating it was to have their own tactics used against them.
And through the constant fighting, those motley recruits gradually shed their initial rawness. Their grip on their blades grew steadier, their eyes sharper. Though their numbers kept dwindling, they had clearly become a disciplined elite force in the making.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi sent another letter home. Though he knew full well it would be scrutinized and read over and over again, a letter home still had to be sent—that transmigrator was, after all, his nominal subordinate.
The return of the Vanguard Battalion left the Guards Battalion and the Forward Battalion feeling more than a little envious, not for any other reason than that the Vanguard Battalion's rations were far better than theirs. Some even learned that the Vanguard Battalion soldiers were paid more silver.
"What gives? They're just a bunch of ragtag conscripts..."
"Shut it. The Grand General already decreed that the Vanguard Battalion keeps half the spoils for themselves. Didn't you see how much loot they dragged back?"
"Yeah, if you've got the guts, go join the Vanguard Battalion yourself and grab some booty."
The old soldier who said this didn't notice the younger soldiers behind him exchanging glances, a spark of fervor flickering in their eyes.
As for Fang Zhiyi's victory this time, the other generals dismissed it as mere luck, though their tones were notably sour.
But among the common soldiers, word spread from mouth to mouth: the Grand General had led the charge himself, a master strategist! And that guy so-and-so, used to be nothing more than a firewood splitter around here, now he's an officer! And they say the Vanguard Battalion is made up entirely of Han civilians! Those wild harriers have been scared shitless!
These rumors circulated among the rank and file.
"Get lost! Who said you could eat first?" A soldier who was busy bragging got kicked in the back. He jumped up in anger, only to see a few arrogant Jin soldiers sneering at him.
The indignation on his face flashed away, and he silently lowered his head, shuffling off. The other soldiers, seeing the Jin soldiers approach, wisely picked up their bowls and cleared out of the way.
"Vanguard Battalion, huh? More like a pig leading a pack of pigs, getting lucky by accident, hahaha." They laughed with insolence, then swept their gaze over the remaining soldiers.
A young soldier, unable to contain his frustration, wanted to argue, but the man who had been kicked earlier grabbed his arm and shook his head.
They were used to it. Whether at home or in the army, they always had to be one step below these Jin men.
"Damn it all, if I get the chance, I'm joining the Vanguard Battalion!" the restrained young soldier cursed under his breath. Some had already secretly reached out to old acquaintances in the Vanguard Battalion.
Fang Zhiyi's reputation was steadily rising, which unsettled the other garrison commanders. Though they still refused to admit it, Fang Zhiyi had indeed come back victorious.
But the next bit of news they received made them sneer again.
"General!" Wang Hui strode into the main tent, holding an imperial decree, breathless with urgency. "A decree has arrived!" Behind him followed two imperial guards.
"Oh?" Fang Zhiyi showed no surprise. He merely rose to his feet, but did not kneel.
The two imperial guards frowned. "Please kneel to receive the decree, General!"
Fang Zhiyi clasped his fists in salute. "Forgive me, I am in full armor and cannot perform the full ritual."
Only then did the three men notice that Fang Zhiyi was indeed wearing his battle armor.
"General, you..." Wang Hui looked baffled, but one of the guards cut him off. "Then hear it standing! Fang Zhiyi, for striking the grassland tribes and upholding the might of the Jin Kingdom, His Majesty is greatly pleased. We summon you to return to the capital at once, so that His Majesty may personally honor your achievements!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Fang Zhiyi reached out and took the decree.
The two guards looked at him. "Pack up and set out, General. We'll wait for you."
But Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "I can't leave."
"What?"
One of the guards snapped, "Fang Zhiyi, are you defying the imperial order?"
Fang Zhiyi replied calmly, "The border conflict has just reignited. As the Grand General Guarding the Frontier, I simply cannot step away."
"Nonsense, what conflict—" The guard's words died in his throat.
A messenger burst into the tent in a flurry. "Bad news, Grand General! The grassland barbarians have formed a united alliance, at least a hundred thousand strong, and they're closing in on our defensive line!"
Fang Zhiyi spread his hands. "There you go."
The two guards exchanged glances, shock plain on their faces.
"You two are welcome to wait here, if you don't mind the fighting," Fang Zhiyi said as he strode out. Wang Hui glanced around and hurried after him.
The two guards hesitated for a moment, then finally mounted their horses and rode off. They needed to report back to the capital right away!
"Grand General! Why—why have those bastards joined forces?" Wang Hui had already spotted the smoke signals rising from Yongning, Yilibu's position. These grassland savages had always fought independently—it had been decades since they'd united to invade the border!
"No particular reason." Fang Zhiyi grinned, then clapped Wang Hui on the shoulder. "Normally, they wouldn't take the initiative to fight us. But what if I slaughtered all their families, old and young alike?"
Wang Hui's eyebrow twitched violently. "Grand General, you..."
"I'm the bad guy here, aren't I? Bad guys do bad things... You didn't think I just had the Vanguard Battalion raiding food supplies all this time, did you?"
Looking at Fang Zhiyi's smile, cold sweat ran down Wang Hui's back.
Brutal.
"Sound the orders!" Fang Zhiyi turned around, and Fatty Liu appeared instantly at his side.
"Forward Battalion, Guards Battalion, and Cavalry Battalion, prepare immediately!"
"Yes!" Fatty Liu was practically beaming with excitement, clearly having transformed from a camp cook into a battle-hungry veteran.
"Pack up everything and retreat thirty li!"
Fatty Liu paused for a second, then nodded. "Yes!"
"Any who disobey, execution!" In wartime, Fang Zhiyi's position granted him absolute authority.
"General, no! Executing officers in the middle of battle—and besides, shouldn't we be reinforcing Yongning? Why retreat instead..."
Fang Zhiyi turned to look at him. "Because I don't need anyone under my command who doesn't follow my orders, Vice General Wang."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
