Chapter 148

First Volume, Chapter 148: Hell Difficulty

This man seemed utterly unrelated to court politics, yet everyone present knew full well he had been secretly guided by the Ministry of Revenue.

Li Xu rose immediately to agree: "The Xu Mo Army is already clad in heavy armor, granting them overwhelming advantage; and for this final contest to crown the champion, all armor is permitted. If they now add shields, they become impregnable—only heavy cavalry could break through. This isn't a test of vice-general ability at all—it's purely a contest of whose armor is thicker and whose shield is sturdier."

Though Li Xu appeared to be sabotaging the competition, his argument held some merit.

The civil and military officials present erupted into heated discussion.

"Though the Xu Mo Army employs varied tactics, their heavy armor advantage is truly hard to counter. If we're being strict, their victory borders on unfair."

"True. Unsharpened weapons cannot pierce heavy armor. To protect soldiers' safety, breakthrough weapons and blunt weapons are banned, leaving cavalry ineffective. Whoever wears heavy armor gains an infinite advantage."

"If we declare Xu Mo the winner, it will be impossible to satisfy the crowd."

The Liang Emperor was never an autocrat; seeing such strong opposition, he could not ignore it, and turned to Qin Tianhu: "What is your opinion, Lord Qin?"

Qin Tianhu had long known Qin Feng had secretly borrowed the heavy armor.

In battle, victory justifies any means—only the outcome matters, not the process.

Everyone remained silent until the heavy armor proved invincible, then began protesting—this seemed overly petty.

But for the sake of the greater good, Qin Tianhu set aside his personal feelings and bowed slightly: "If all esteemed officials feel Xu Mo's victory is unfair, raising the Finals' difficulty is not unreasonable."

At these words, Li Xu's eyes lit up, and he immediately seized the opportunity to propose to the Liang Emperor how the Finals should be conducted.

Qin Feng, seated atop the City Wall, saw Li Xu stirring up trouble again and sneered: "At your age, still pulling these empty tricks. In battle, win is win, lose is lose—who cares about fairness?"

Meanwhile, news reached the Battlefield Simulation site outside the arena.

In the past several simulations, the Xu Mo Army had crushed opponents with unstoppable momentum, drawing loud cheers from the gathered young nobles and ladies.

Only Gao Yulan and Li Ninghui wore gloomy expressions, still sneering at Qin Feng's Xu Mo Army.

As Xu Mo advanced to the Finals, Gao Yulan's jealousy flared: "The Qin Family's methods are thieving and deceitful—always scheming, never daring to compete openly. Everyone else wears light armor, yet Xu Mo dons heavy armor—what's the point of competing?"

Li Ninghui sneered in agreement: "Sister, you're just now realizing this? The Qin Family has always been like this. Talk of 'victory or defeat'—it's just the conduct of petty men. If we'd known heavy armor was allowed, how could the other Candidate Vice-Generals have lost so badly?"

Their voices were loud enough that the Qin Family women nearby heard every word clearly.

Jing Qianying never bothered with idle chatter; she pretended not to hear, fully focused on recalling the previous matches.

Liu Hongyan's temperament closely matched Qin Tianhu's—cold on the outside, fiercely protective within.

Hearing their sarcastic remarks, Liu Hongyan didn't hold back: "Fairness? Fine. Ask the Northern Di first if they'll treat Liang fairly. Let them ditch their cavalry entirely and fight us in Ji Zhan!"

"This Qingyi Ceremony selects future generals to campaign against the Northern Di! In civil matters, there's no #1; in martial matters, there's no second. Win is win, lose is lose."

Xiao Xiangxiang knew nothing of warfare and whispered to Qin Xiaofu: "It's just different armor—why are they so upset?"

Qin Xiaofu scratched his head and grinned foolishly: "How would I know? I've never been a soldier."

Qin Xiaofu excelled at scheming and flattery, but when it came to military matters, he was completely clueless.

Shen Qingci overheard their conversation and interjected: "The ShiZhen terrain is flat—equivalent to Open Field Battle. When two armies clash head-on, heavy armor's advantage is magnified. On the Battlefield, heavy armor versus light armor is essentially a one-sided massacre."

Hearing this, Xiao Xiangxiang grew even more confused: "Miss Shen, if that's true, why bother distinguishing light and heavy armor at all? Just equip everyone with heavy armor!"

Shen Qingci had read extensively, including numerous military texts, and her understanding of Military Strategy rivaled that of some Professional Soldiers. Seeing Xiao Xiangxiang's bewilderment, she smiled: "Equipping heavy armor requires enormous funds—no nation on earth can arm every soldier with it. Moreover, what about Mountain Warfare? Pursuit Battle? Speed is paramount. Heavy armor is strong, but it's slow. There's no perfect troop type—only perfect Tactics! I wonder whether Qin Feng is clever, or if some people are just too stubborn."

While Liu Hongyan merely defended her own, Shen Qingci countered with logic and evidence.

Gao Yulan and Li Ninghui, though resentful, merely snorted and fell silent.

At that moment, the young Colonel overseeing the Battlefield Simulation suddenly gasped, his face grim: "What?! If this is true, for Young Master Qin and Xu Mo to win, it'll be as hard as climbing to heaven!"

At these words, Gao Yulan's interest surged: "Young Colonel, what's happened? Has the Finals changed?"

The young Colonel nodded gravely: "The heavy armor did provoke official discontent. The final decision: raise the Finals' difficulty. Xu Mo's troop count remains unchanged, but the Little Marquis's side expands to one thousand—drawn entirely from the Imperial Guard's Elite Troops."

Gao Yulan's eyes sparkled: "Hehe, now it's much fairer!"

Fairer?!

Liu Hongyan nearly cursed aloud—three hundred versus one thousand? This was outright bullying! Though she knew nothing of warfare, she understood: on the Battlefield, numbers were the foundation of everything.

Shen Qingci's brows furrowed, her voice growing grave: "This isn't raising the difficulty—it's ensuring Qin Feng and Xu Mo lose."

Xiao Xiangxiang, seeing the ladies' intense reactions, grew anxious too: "Miss Shen, does Master Qin really have no chance?"

Shen Qingci nodded, a trace of helplessness in her expression: "Three hundred versus one thousand—even with heavy armor against light, victory is impossible. On the Battlefield, beyond weapons and armor, two things decide outcomes: Tactical Command and numbers. When numbers differ so drastically, no matter how brilliant the Tactics, they cannot overcome the disadvantage. Examples of Sudden Victory are too rare to serve as reference."

The spectators gathered around the Sand Table were mostly wealthy or noble.

In Jingdu, anyone with status disliked the Qin Family—so the crowd erupted in gleeful schadenfreude.