Chapter 71: Qianshi Official Seal! Power Panel!

After the battle in the northern frontier!

Zhu Ying led his thousands of cavalry to achieve great merit.

Not only was Zhu Ying promoted and ennobled, but many of his officers and soldiers were likewise rewarded according to their deeds.

As the gathering drumbeats sounded.

Beneath the night sky.

The Qianshi Cavalry Camp troops rapidly assembled.

Soon.

“Reporting to the General.”

“All ten thousand troops of the Qianshi Cavalry Camp are now assembled.”

“Your orders, General.”

Wei Quan and Zhang Wu reported loudly.

“Hmm.”

Zhu Ying nodded, then walked straight toward the command platform at the center of the drill field, where the raised dais stood.

“Where are all my officers and soldiers?” Zhu Ying called out loudly.

“Hail the General!”

All ten thousand troops bowed toward the platform in unison, shouting in chorus.

“At ease.”

Zhu Ying declared loudly.

“Thank you, General!” the troops replied in unison.

Beneath the faint moonlight of night, they gazed respectfully at the figure upon the platform.

“Today, we gather the entire army for one purpose.”

“With General Fu’s trust, I have been entrusted with a critical mission: to strike Jincheng and breach Chengguan.”

“This mission is arduous; I won’t waste time with empty words.”

“My old comrades who have followed me know my rules.”

“On the battlefield, courage comes first.”

“I, Zhu Ying, will never hide behind my brothers-in-arms—I will always lead from the front.”

“My command philosophy remains the same old saying.”

“A general does not seek to survive; a soldier does not fear death—that is an invincible army.”

“Will you all follow me and break open Jincheng? Will you help me achieve an unparalleled feat?” Zhu Ying roared.

Beneath the night sky.

Zhu Ying’s voice rang like thunder, echoing through the darkness.

“We swear to follow the General to our deaths!”

“We swear to follow the General to our deaths...”

Ten thousand troops shouted in unison, their morale soaring.

Among these ten thousand troops,

nearly three thousand were comrades who had fought alongside Zhu Ying in life-or-death battles on the northern frontier; the rest were soldiers from the Da Ning frontier army who had lost their original formations.

Now, reorganized, they knew their General was Zhu Ying—and they deeply trusted him.

To the entire Da Ning frontier army, Zhu Ying was a god of war, the standard-bearer of their forces—they naturally revered him.

“Issue orders: we will launch our assault on Jincheng in two hours. We are the vanguard.”

“Let the men rest well—this will be a brutal battle.”

Zhu Ying said to the officers behind him.

“General.”

“Our cavalry—attack the city?”

Zhang Wu stared at Zhu Ying in disbelief.

Wei Quan and other commanders also looked at Zhu Ying in surprise.

Cavalry—storm a city?

Has that ever been done before?

Cavalry excels in open-field combat; attacking a city would be suicide!

“You need not worry about breaching the city.”

“Just follow me and charge,” Zhu Ying said firmly.

“Your orders are received.”

Zhang Wu and the other officers bowed respectfully, no longer questioning.

After all, they had absolute trust in Zhu Ying.

Though cavalry assaulting a city felt like a tactical error, they had followed Zhu Ying long enough not to doubt him.

“Enough.”

“Go rest.”

Zhu Ying waved his hand.

“Your servant takes leave.”

Zhang Wu and the other officers withdrew.

“General.”

“The several personal guards you assigned have all been posted—they now serve as Platoon Leaders in the ranks,” Liu Lei approached Zhu Ying and whispered.

“Hmm.”

“Keep the two hundred personal guards as they are.”

“No changes for now,” Zhu Ying said.

“Understood,” Liu Lei replied respectfully.

But then,

Liu Lei still asked, puzzled: “General, though I hate to speak out of turn, what happened to those few brothers? Why were they suddenly reassigned without warning?”

“Because of human hearts. Because of loyalty.”

“You need only know this: my personal guards must be truly loyal to me,” Zhu Ying said softly, his words carrying deeper meaning.

Seeing this,

Liu Lei nodded slightly, understanding, and stood silently to the side, saying no more.

“Human hearts are hard to fathom.”

“But the panel has granted me the ability to see through them.”

“They were already brothers in life and death—yet several of these personal guards had loyalty values below fifty, even lacking any loyalty to me at all.”

“Were they planted in my personal guard by someone else?”

“Could they be from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

Zhu Ying pondered inwardly.

Before becoming Qianshi,

Zhu Ying had still held the rank of Battalion Commander, acting as Garrison Commander on the northern frontier, with fifty personal guards.

More than ten died in the northern frontier battles; thirty-some remained.

After successfully rising to the rank of Qianshi,

his personal guard expanded to two hundred.

Zhu Ying had also unlocked a sub-panel: the [Power Panel].

Through this panel,

Zhu Ying could see the loyalty values of his direct subordinates.

Personal Guards!

The first direct subordinates under a commander are their personal guards; after unlocking the Power Panel, Zhu Ying could now see the loyalty of his personal guards. After enduring life-and-death battles, all who became his personal guards had loyalty above ninety—true fanatics—or at least above eighty.

Yet several had loyalty values below fifty. With sixty as the threshold for loyalty, they were not loyal to Zhu Ying at all.

Therefore,

Zhu Ying would not let these disloyal men remain as his personal guards—he had Liu Lei reassign them to the ranks.

As Qianshi, he had the authority to do so.

“Whoever you are—Embroidered Uniform Guard or someone else—planting spies elsewhere is fine, but planting them in my personal guard? That’s a dagger aimed at my heart. I won’t let you succeed.”

After removing these disloyal men, Zhu Ying felt no concern.

He had already done what needed doing.

Coming back to himself,

“Qianshi Official Seal.”

Zhu Ying silently called out in his mind.

Before his eyes,

[Qianshi Official Seal]: Commands ten thousand troops; increases troop combat power by eighty percent, morale by eighty percent, endurance by eighty percent.

This was Zhu Ying’s foundation for commanding and waging war.

No one can replace his reliance.

……

Jincheng!

The General’s Mansion.

A group of Northern Yuan officers gathered, the grand hall filled with song and dance, brimming with revelry.

At the main seat sat a massive man clad in a fur-lined coat, his physique imposing—he was the commanding general guarding Jincheng, holding high rank within the Northern Yuan and bearing the title of Prince, named Wang Man.

“Your Highness.”

“From this, the Ming army doesn’t seem so formidable.”

“They’ve besieged our city for half a month, suffering tens of thousands of casualties, yet still failed to breach our walls.”

“Given the Ming army’s current strength, the Grand Tutor’s concerns are unnecessary.”

“With the Grand Tutor’s years of preparation, the Ming army will never seize Liaodong.”

“Indeed.”

“Let the Ming army come—kill one, and we’ll kill another.”

“Jincheng is impregnable, and with over seventy thousand troops of our Great Yuan, we can hold it without fall.”

“Once the Ming army exhausts its grain and supplies, that will be the moment for our Great Yuan to launch a counteroffensive against Ming.”

……

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(End of Chapter)