Chapter 791: Extra

This chapter's extra is unrelated to the main story—skip it if you're not interested. The southern campaign is being revised, so I'm posting this side story for a little fun~

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The Underworld Realm

After the An'an Sect mocked the Zhou family's marriage alliance, Ning De didn't dare walk with his head held high even in the Underworld Realm.

He feared these ancestors would remember he had sent the Fourth Princess to marry into the Western Regions—still just a small state like Wusun.

Unfortunately, his eldest son was too outstanding; his own father dreaming of hiding in a crowd as an ordinary passerby was nothing but wishful thinking.

Following the king's gaze, the heavenly canopy departed Martial Might and marched westward, smoothly reaching Dun City, where they discovered the Jin people were slaughtering each other—engaged in self-encirclement. Ning De's father then began to feel lucky again.

"I already said the Chen family's ambitions are too great—I exhausted myself reclaiming military command of the Li River garrison from them, and now you, this unfilial son, tell me how the command slipped back into their hands?!"

"... I, I truly have no suitable generals at my disposal—this Chen Feng is nothing like his father..."

But reality quickly slapped him in the face—this Chen Feng had even greater ambitions than his father. Hanshou had rebelled, he ignored imperial orders, and dared to lead the entire Li River garrison on a thousand-mile march to besiege the Southwest Army.

Emperor Emperor Zhang quickly understood, his voice trembling with rage: "The Chen and Cui families are allied by marriage—Chen's betrayal of the court to side with Jingzhou! At this critical moment, you sons still don't care for Jin's interests, fighting among yourselves! Is this to trip us up while we're besieging the Southwest border forces? Don't they fear the Qiang will seize the opportunity to act?!"

Ning De: ……

Listen—'our little three'? The eldest is also your grandson! Too bad he only dares think that to himself.

Even the mild-mannered And Sect couldn't tolerate such vicious conduct: "Even if Dun City is barren and sparsely populated, it's still inhabited—not an empty city. They're doing this… didn't they consider the civilians inside at all?"

Some ancestor sighed, and Ning De, feeling guilty, dared not speak further, remaining as silent as a chicken.

He felt like a thorn in his back, like sitting on needles. After enduring a few days like this, they reached Yumen Pass, and the entire Underworld Realm heard the king's grand declaration—'Lightning Strike Beyond the Three Kingdoms.'

The Bai Li clan's territory erupted in excitement!

Next, he soon witnessed the Xiongnu night raid and saw the Flying Cavalry's massacre performance.

Earlier, they had advanced all the way, fighting many battles. Each siege had its own characteristics, but the visual impact of multiple cavalry assaults paled compared to this one—because this time, the three thousand cavalry launching the surprise attack were Xiongnu elites.

This raiding force was clearly well-equipped at a glance—even the cavalry were tall and strong, clearly elite from the Xiongnu camp. Yet this unit, when charged by the Flying Cavalry, had no power to resist whatsoever.

In the barren land before Yumen Pass, the three thousand Xiongnu elite cavalry were instantly cut down.

Clean and swift—the barbarian troops had no power to resist.

Thus, even the naive Ning De realized: if… if Bai Li Jing wanted to invade southward, the court would have no power to resist.

Unfortunately, only he found this complicated—other ancestors didn't care at all about his eldest son's throne, already wildly celebrating heaven's favor, believing the Jin dynasty's mandate was secure.

"This little three's army is well-trained!"

"He has several capable men in his ranks."

"Little three is right! Looks like we really need to train professional soldiers for war—those who only fight when war comes won't know how to fight! This is what our Jin army should be! Back then, when border conflicts occurred nearby, I'd led troops on several campaigns, but those soldiers needed someone behind them threatening with arrows before they dared kill."

Taizu also nodded: "Little three said before, training cavalry is difficult and costly. Let them treat soldiering as a lifelong career—only after forty, with no health issues, can they apply for retirement. At the time, I thought his idea naive, fearing lack of freedom would hurt morale. Now, I see it may not be so."

The elder ancestors voiced their agreement, and others quickly followed suit.

"Never mind the rest—little three's armor is truly excellent. Especially those spikes on the horse heads—so effective that up to a quarter of enemies are thrown from their mounts!"

The neighboring clans, and even the clans beyond them, seeing the Bai Li clan's military strength, instantly lost interest. Not that this Underworld Realm has been dead silent for thousands of years—just that here there's a bit of sound to pass the time, so they've long since left.

Conversely, the Bai Li clan's side was filled with joy, as over a dozen people organized a makeshift market.

Amid the bustle, Emperor Emperor Zhang glanced at Ning De and snorted: "You just picked a good name. Bai Li Jing—'Jing' is excellent~ Our little three was born for the battlefield, a reincarnated war god! With him, our Jin dynasty will surely know peace and prosperity." Others began to join in, imagining the peace and abundance little three could bring to Jin.

Years of lowly life had taught Ning De to read faces, yet he still dared to argue with his father, saying he once thought the arrival of the third son and Tai Bai together was an ill omen, that it would bring war to Jin, so he deliberately gave this name to suppress that fate?

He yielded gracefully, following with a smile: "Beautiful jade is fragile—when the third son was born, I inexplicably felt he should be given a more stable name. Jing means peace and stability—perfect for our little three."

And Sect: ……?

Emperor Zhang: ……You think I'd believe that?!

Earlier, even Emperor Emperor Xuan Ren turned to glance at Ning De—well done, you've got eyes today!