Substitute Player Online

Bingzhou.

The current stronghold of the largest rebel force in the Xuanwu Kingdom—the Yuzhu Army.

This is the major province closest to the chaos wrought by the demon invasion.

During the turmoil, Bingzhou suffered relatively few attacks, with only sporadic assaults being repelled.

The losses were minimal, but as a result, it absorbed the largest number of refugees fleeing the demon uprising.

Despite the local government's desperate efforts to provide relief and suppress unrest, deliberate incitement and agitation made rebellion inevitable.

The uprising proceeded with alarming ease, encountering almost no resistance.

Or rather, from the very beginning, Yu Zhu ensured that those who might resist were rendered incapable of doing so.

Yu Zhu was the leader of this rebel army.

Rumors spread far and wide that he stood eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and thick-limbed, capable of wielding a hundred-pound blade and devouring half a pig in a single meal.

In Bingzhou City, within the Demon Suppression Bureau,

a frail-looking, slender middle-aged scholar sat at the head of the table, his expression grave as he studied the sand map before him.

To his left sat several armored warriors, while to his right were scholars dressed similarly to him.

This seemingly feeble scholar was none other than the infamous Yu Zhu, the man rumored to feast on half a pig at a time.

"Cough… cough…"

Yu Zhu couldn't suppress a few coughs. He raised his sleeve to cover his mouth, his voice emerging hoarse:

"Has the garrison in Jinshui City still refused to engage?"

The burly general to his left responded gruffly:

"No matter how much we provoke or feign retreat, they refuse to send a single soldier. Moreover, we’ve heard they’ve replaced their commander with some unknown minor officer."

"The Xuanwu Kingdom must be desperate, resorting to such measures. Changing commanders mid-battle is a grave military blunder. If you ask me, we should launch a full assault and take the city by force."

Yu Zhu shook his head slightly. Where there was abnormality, there was deceit.

His spy within the Xuanwu Kingdom had successfully convinced their leadership to prioritize eliminating him, which explained their recent aggressive attacks—and the opportunity he had seized.

Yet now, it seemed their strategy had shifted.

What if the replacement of the commander was a sign that the Xuanwu Kingdom’s leadership simply wanted an obedient general with no independent thinking, tasked solely with holding Jinshui City?

Yu Zhu’s expression darkened.

It wasn’t just the Xuanwu Kingdom that was short on supplies—his rebel army was also running dangerously low.

Feeding and maintaining tens of thousands of soldiers and horses was an enormous daily burden, one that a single province could hardly sustain.

The food and provisions seized from previous conquests had been consumed at an alarming rate.

Yu Zhu had done the math: even with strict rationing, their supplies would last no more than three months.

For some reason, a chilling realization struck him—as if someone had seen through his weakness and was now watching him struggle in his final moments.

Yu Zhu turned to the lead scholar on his right and asked urgently:

"Has our spy sent any word? Has Zhao Xuan proposed any new plans recently?"

The scholar shook his head. "No further messages. Something else must be happening."

Preparing for the worst, Yu Zhu pressed on:

"What about Chizhou? Can they support an uprising there?"

"News from Chizhou should arrive today. Judging by the timing, it shouldn’t be long now."

Yu Zhu nodded faintly, clinging to a sliver of hope as he settled back into his chair.

The general who had spoken earlier watched as Yu Zhu closed his eyes. Though he knew this frail scholar possessed an almost prophetic judgment,

the rebel army, composed largely of desperate refugees, lacked the discipline of a true military force. Without victories to satisfy these bandit-like soldiers, morale would crumble swiftly.

Unable to hold back, he spoke up again:

"Jinshui City is just a small town. A few days of fierce assault would surely bring it down. I volunteer to lead the charge."

Yu Zhu didn’t open his eyes. He merely uttered a single word:

"Wait."

That one word silenced the tent. The general, though frustrated, fell quiet.

For over an hour, the tent remained eerily still—until a messenger rushed in from outside:

"A letter from Chizhou!"

Yu Zhu’s eyes snapped open, his gaze locking onto the entrance.

The scholar, knowing his lord’s frail health, quickly rose and stepped out to retrieve the letter.

Returning swiftly, he handed the sealed envelope to Yu Zhu.

After a long pause, Yu Zhu took it, broke the seal, and began reading.

His breathing grew increasingly ragged as he scanned the pages. By the time he reached the end, he slammed the report onto the table.

His voice was uncharacteristically frantic: "Disaster… disaster… disaster!"

The scholar had never seen Yu Zhu so pale or so visibly shaken, as if he had lost all composure.

He quickly snatched up the report to read it himself.

Most of the contents were routine updates, but one piece of news stood out:

The Xuanwu Kingdom had issued an order forcibly "borrowing" grain from wealthy merchants, promising repayment after the next harvest—without interest.

Those who refused would have their homes raided and their grain confiscated.

This decree had incited fury among the merchants and local magnates. With grain prices at record highs, the profits were immense.

Waiting three years for repayment, when grain would be cheap again, meant massive losses. Many were now secretly offering support to rebel forces near Chizhou.

The scholar frowned slightly. "The Xuanwu Kingdom seems to be acting recklessly, as if they’ve run out of options. With the merchants backing us, the tides of fortune are in our favor—"

Yu Zhu coughed violently, then spat out in anger:

"You fool!"

"Have you ever seen merchants lead a rebellion?!"

"Losing grain won’t kill them, but joining us might! At the first sign of trouble, they’ll turn tail and beg the Xuanwu Kingdom for mercy!"

"They have families and fortunes to protect. Do you think they’ll risk everything just because they’re losing some profit? Mark my words—they’ll be the ones to betray us when it matters!"

"The only ones who’ll truly fight for our cause are those who’ll starve if they don’t!"

"If the Xuanwu Kingdom seizes grain to feed the refugees, why would the starving rise up? Without desperate men, do you expect those fat merchants to pick up swords and fight?!"

Silence fell over the tent.

The scholar, now enlightened, looked at Yu Zhu with a tremor in his voice:

"Then… what do we do?"

Yu Zhu shook his head weakly, forcing himself to stand. He took a deep breath and declared:

"The Xuanwu Kingdom has found a capable strategist. We can no longer afford to wait for them to make mistakes."

He turned to the generals. "Mobilize the army! I want to be in Jinshui City within ten days!"

"Aye!"

"Aye!"

The generals saluted and filed out of the tent.

Yu Zhu, having issued his orders, collapsed back into his chair.

At this moment, Yu Zhu truly understood—a strategist no less capable than himself had taken a seat at the table, now competing against him on the same stage.

For some unknown reason,

it was the first time Yu Zhu had ever felt... nervous.