[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-91":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364360,4623,"Chapter 91: Fairness","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-91",91,"\u003Cp>The arrival of the Beijing garrison cavalry accelerated the course of the war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only were the rebel troops desperate to flee slaughtered mercilessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebel reinforcements arriving to aid them were also shattered en route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cavalry firmly controlled the battlefield’s rhythm; the rebel forces, already crippled in open combat, could only huddle inside Taizhou City, clinging to life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outstanding performance of their allies left the Five City Military Command units trailing behind, merely playing spectator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasionally killing a few scattered stragglers was their only achievement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rampaging across the battlefield was pure fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it came to collecting enemy heads, infantry simply couldn’t match the cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The task of cleaning house was snatched away by the Beijing garrison cavalry, leaving Marquis Wu’s face dark with fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the officers in the camp had to tread carefully, fearing they’d be blamed by association.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Zhao, the Battalion Commander leading the main assault—he bore the hardest labor and the harshest scolding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this miserable task was one he himself had begged for; he could only grit his teeth and carry on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cavalry encampment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nephew pays his respects to Uncle!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Marquis Zhenyuan, Li Mu hurried forward to bow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His success in Yangzhou, reaping immense profits, owed much to the Marquis House’s name being used to deceive others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the capital, the Marquis Zhenyuan’s reputation carried far more weight in the provinces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Due to slow information flow, local gentry only knew him as Marquis Zhenyuan’s nephew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How distant the familial connection was, they had no way of knowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through bluff and pretense, among the Yangzhou gentry, he was seen as Marquis Zhenyuan’s own blood nephew—the favored one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need for formalities in camp!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard of your conduct in the army—you’ve done exceptionally well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to your peers, you’ve already pulled ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquis Wu holds you in high regard; in every victory report, he lists you as the primary contributor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuan said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to making money in Yangzhou, his focus clearly lay on military merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu’s emergence from the group of southern noble youths had earned him considerable face among his colleagues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had it not been for Uncle’s patronage, Marquis Wu would never have given me so many opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the way Uncle leads the army to sweep all before it, my achievements are truly insignificant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu replied, slightly apprehensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having witnessed the cavalry’s power, he understood clearly the rebels’ true weight in court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defeating a band of insignificant riffraff—no one would truly credit it as great merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the merit wasn’t great, better to stay low-key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t flatter me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leading three thousand cavalry against a rabble of rebels is inherently an uneven fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you couldn’t win, that would be the real problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know my own capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When my father was alive, he judged me: rigid, incapable of adaptability, only fit to build solid fortresses and fight dull battles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I fully agree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since entering service, every campaign I’ve joined was only launched when we held absolute superiority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I ever faced a true enemy, I’d likely end up with a disastrous record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your situation is different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While countless others guarded Yangzhou City, you alone spotted the rebels’ weakness and seized the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, when you shattered the Xinghua rebels, you struck precisely when they were most exhausted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catching one opportunity may be luck; catching them repeatedly is ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a commander, timely recognition of battlefield opportunity is the key to victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquis Wu gave you opportunities because you’re the most outstanding officer in the Five City Military Command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these achievements as your foundation, once this matter concludes, you’ll at least secure the rank of Mobile Corps Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If fortune favors you, you might even be appointed Garrison Commander in one of the major prefectures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If assigned to a poorer prefecture, you might even leap straight to Assistant Regional Commander.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuan spoke with complex expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a military officer, he too once dreamed of proving himself—but ultimately abandoned the thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heirs of founding marquises didn’t need glorious martial achievements; preserving the family estate only required steadiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From then on, he learned to conceal his talents, always presenting himself as: lacking ambition, but solid in defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When given the chance to lead troops, he deliberately picked weak opponents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mediocre performance carried him smoothly upward, making him a core figure in the noble faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, those once brightest stars among his peers kept falling along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Mu’s excellence, he was instantly reminded of his own peers who had fallen mid-journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew full well that standing out carried great risk, yet he couldn’t ask Li Mu to hide his brilliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their statuses differed: as one of the Twelve Founding Marquises, he only needed to avoid mistakes and wait out time to enter the power center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Mu didn’t fight, his career would end at Commander of Hanzhong Garrison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After taking the risk, everything changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether as a substantive Mobile Corps Commander, Garrison Commander of a major prefecture, or Assistant Regional Commander of a remote prefecture, real authority far surpassed that of a Garrison Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reward and risk were proportional; having gambled once on his career, he could never retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now branded as the noble faction’s chosen prospect, even if Li Mu wished to withdraw, the faction would never allow it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle, Mobile Corps Commander ranges from fourth-rank junior to fourth-rank senior; Garrison Commander spans fifth-rank junior to third-rank senior; Assistant Regional Commander is third-rank senior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap between these positions is too vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With my modest merit, if I’m granted third-rank senior, won’t they send me to the Nine Frontiers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu asked timidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Yu’s official structure was extremely complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same post carried different ranks depending on location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For ordinary officers, waiting for the result was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a connection, he didn’t believe his uncle had listed these posts randomly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listing them clearly implied he could choose from among them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, other suitable promotions existed for him—Deputy Commander, Commandant, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at how timid you are!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nine Frontiers have a whole cadre of officers waiting for promotion; mid- and high-level vacancies are precious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great military clans have long claimed them as their own—how could they fall to an outsider like you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re merely poorer regions, but any place capable of raising private troops can’t be that bad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuan replied irritably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His own cultivated potential seed couldn’t be sent to the Nine Frontiers as cannon fodder without trial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In recent years, the trend of military officers maintaining private retainers had grown rampant, accelerating the warlordization of the Nine Frontiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emperor Tianyuan was deeply dissatisfied with this situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earlier military reforms were partly intended to counterbalance the Nine Frontiers’ clans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noble faction, under pressure, sought self-preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They lacked the courage to change the system, but cultivating a few capable officers was feasible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your guidance, Uncle. I feel I still need more training—I’m not ready for such a high post!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu answered, forcing back temptation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep inside, his heart bled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third-rank senior Assistant Regional Commander—this was a position many officers spent their entire lives chasing without ever touching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Great Yu, third-rank was a watershed: though seemingly only half a rank apart, the difference between junior third-rank and senior third-rank was night and day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crossing that threshold placed one among the high-ranking generals, granting public recognition, requiring the Emperor’s direct appointment—no longer a negligible nobody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Power and prestige meant nothing next to the power of money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Private troops required not only imperial funding but also local government subsidies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If posted to a remote, impoverished region, the local bureaucracy was barely able to feed itself—subsidies were a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theoretically, one could raise funds independently, but since no one else managed it, Li Mu didn’t believe he’d be an exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a general, having troops was paramount; without financial strength, forced to accept ghost soldiers, even the highest rank was merely an empty title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just know your own mind, and be sure not to be deceived by others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the upcoming defense of Taizhou, the Capital Troops will not intervene; the entire responsibility falls to your Five City Military Command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your merits are sufficient for now—don’t go grabbing more this time; leave the glory to your comrades!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing his uncle’s advice, Li Mu felt utterly helpless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he was deliberately seizing credit; his earlier solo success was purely due to his teammates’ bad luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the Battle of Xinghua, the rebels literally ran into his path—he couldn’t have refused even if he wanted to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the purge of traitors, he willingly gave up the main assault role and followed Lord Wuyang, watching from the sidelines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his teammates proved useless—even when battlefield merits were handed to them, they managed to push them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they had been a bit more cautious, sent scouts ahead to monitor the enemy camp, and launched an immediate attack upon spotting trouble, the rebels would never have slipped away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taizhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Lord Zhenyuan decided to make a gesture of goodwill, he led the Capital Troops’ cavalry straight toward Nantongzhou, once again placing the burden of retaking Taizhou on the Five City Military Command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The rebels’ morale is broken; I do not wish for any further mishaps in the upcoming siege.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aren’t you always complaining that I never give you opportunities?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now the chance has come—let’s see how you four perform.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t say I’m unfair—I have four bamboo tally sticks here, marked East, South, West, and North.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides Li Battalion Commander, all four of you come forward and draw a stick. Whichever direction your stick bears, that’s the gate you’ll attack from.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How you fight is still none of my concern. Whoever breaches the wall first gets the primary merit for this siege!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lord Wuyang spoke with a grim expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1657,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","cfae1f2cb7f60112adefcf8452358f6119454d5704a4fe7430896598ece843a9","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-92","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-90",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]