The God of Heavens

Chapter 232 Lianshan Army

Half a month later.

As Lin Yu and his retainers led their group away from Yujing City, the commotion caused by the Fourth Prince's hunt subsided.

It's still very early in the story. The future Yi Zi Hong Yi is just a four or five-year-old kid. Even his mother, Meng Bingyun, is still in Hong Xuanji's mansion, playing the role of a palace intrigue with his first wife.

It will take another two or three years before she is no longer of any use and is abandoned by Hong Xuanji.

Lin Yu was just an underage prince, and he had to ask Emperor Qian for permission to enter and leave the Forbidden City, because he could only read books, practice martial arts, and occasionally discipline his younger brothers and sisters.

This day.

Outside the Lianshan Army camp.

A magnificent barracks stretched for dozens, even hundreds of miles, imposing and majestic. Within the camp, countless banners fluttered in the wind. Countless soldiers drilled and shouted, their commands shaking the heavens and even scattering the clouds.

Even before reaching the camp, Lin Yu could feel an overwhelming, masculine, and chilling aura emanating from it from afar.

"Indeed, it is a strategically important military location, with formidable military might."

Back in the ancient Big Dipper Star era, the struggles all took place at the cultivator level. Large and small nations were all vassals of cultivator holy lands. There were very few purely military forces like this, except for the Central Continent Divine Dynasty, which used cultivators as soldiers, but that was a completely different story.

Although the Great Qian Dynasty was a superior nation, it was surrounded by enemies on all sides: the Yunmeng Empire of the grasslands to the east, the Huoluo Dynasty of the desert to the west, numerous island empires in the southern seas, and the Yuan Tu Dynasty to the north.

A few years ago, the iron cavalry of the Yunmeng Empire even reached the outskirts of Yujing City. Although they were repelled, it was a close call!
Recently, the ruler of the Yuan Tu Kingdom has been working diligently to strengthen the country and has become increasingly powerful. However, he has also begun to become restless. Therefore, the imperial court has deployed heavy troops to guard the northern prefectures to prevent the Yuan Tu Kingdom from invading.

Yunzhou, located in the north of Daqian, borders the Yuan Tu Kingdom. The Lianshan Army has 100,000 troops, which are awe-inspiring in the north and are among the top ten military camps in the entire Daqian.

The one currently guarding this place is Marquis Shi Xiao, the commander of the Lianshan Army, who commands 100,000 troops of the imperial court.

Marquis Wuwei was a true confidant of Emperor Qian, Yang Pan. He guarded the border for many years. Even when Emperor Qian was still a prince, he joined Yang Pan's army after gaining experience on the Yunmeng border. He fought for many years and accumulated military merits.

The roads outside the Lianshan Army camp are crisscrossed, with key routes for transporting grain, dispatching troops, defending the army, and sending officials. All of these routes are heavily guarded, with numerous sentry posts and checkpoints.

Looking into the distance, Lin Yu saw convoys loaded with grain, meat, and vegetables stretching for dozens of miles along the grain transport route, marching in a mighty procession toward the military camp.

All the convoys made way for them. Lin Yu's group was carrying the banner of the Great Qian royal family, so no one dared to be negligent.

As Lin Yu's convoy approached the main camp, preparations were already underway. Generals of all ranks were arranged in two rows. The leader, a man in armor, wearing a red cloak and a helmet, with a chiseled face and broad shoulders, was none other than the army's commander, Shi Xiao.

"Welcome, Fourth Prince!"

Upon seeing Lin Yu dismount, everyone bowed respectfully.

It seems that the news from Yujing City has spread here as well. Shi Xiao knows that this fourth prince has a bright future and is different from those princes who just want to eat and wait for death, so he tries to curry favor with him in advance.

"No need for formalities. I am not an imperial envoy or high-ranking official; I am merely here for training. There is no need to be too reserved in my conduct."

Lin Yu waved his hand with a smile, looked around at everyone, and said in a gentle tone.

Shi Xiao invited Lin Yu into the camp.

After entering the camp gate and traveling several miles, passing through layers of visible and hidden sentries, they finally arrived at the core of the Lianshan Army camp—the commander's camp.

In front of the commander's camp was a huge drill ground, with the commander's flag towering in the center, fluttering in the wind. On it was written a powerful and elegant "stone" character, exuding a murderous aura that soared straight to the sky.

At the edge of the training ground, an armored guard stood every three steps, his hand on his sword, motionless as an iron nail, exuding a chilling aura.

After passing through the drill ground, we entered the commander's camp. Inside the council hall, dozens of generals clad in heavy black steel armor sat on both sides, each with a calm demeanor and piercing gaze, resembling iron statues.

Directly in front of the hall stood a massive iron table, upon which lay a gold medal, command arrow, commander's seal, tiger tally, and cinnabar brush. On the wall behind the table hung a powerfully written character for "majesty," its imposing aura even stronger than the one outside!
"Fourth Prince, please take a seat." Shi Xiao raised his hand in greeting.

Lin Yu nodded slightly and sat down next to the main seat.

Shi Xiao said in a deep voice, "Your Highness possesses exceptional talent, and you gained fame in the Battle of Yujing City, which I have long heard of. However—"

He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the generals in the hall: "In the military, the strong are respected. If Your Highness wishes to command troops, you must first pass the 'Military Academy' examination before you can command respect."

"That's natural." Lin Yu smiled calmly, not surprised at all.

Every army of the Great Qian Dynasty had a "Martial Arts Academy," serving three purposes: first, to assess the martial skills of generals and soldiers; second, to gather experts to study various martial arts, military strategies, and weaponry; and third, to act as a school where some meritorious generals and soldiers were qualified to study.

This "Military Academy" was equivalent to the Imperial College in the military, except that it was for learning martial arts. Of course, it also had teachers who taught literature, characters, and military strategy.

Lin Yu wasn't surprised when Yan Zhen asked him to go to the "Martial Arts Hall" for assessment first; it was only to be expected.

To lead troops into battle, one must first be impartial and incorruptible in order to establish authority and subdue the troops.

If Lin Yu wants to take command of troops, he must first prove his strength here.

"Excellent! Your Highness is so generous!" Shi Xiao clapped his hands and laughed, then shouted, "Guards!"

Two armored guards mechanically approached Lin Yu, clasped their hands in a salute, and said, "Your Highness, please follow us to the Martial Arts Hall."

Lin Yu nodded slightly and followed the two through layers of tents to a group of buildings with a completely different style. Unlike the solemn atmosphere of a military camp, this place was decorated with various human figures and had powerful characters such as "martial arts," "strength," "fist," and "intention" carved on the walls, exuding an atmosphere of martial arts scholarship.

"Military training!"
A black plaque with gold lettering hangs high above the door.

Upon entering the hall, Lin Yu glanced around and immediately sensed several powerful auras—the instructors were all at the Innate Martial Master level!

A master of innate martial arts possesses stamina comparable to a galloping horse, with a body of bronze and iron, capable of taking on dozens, even hundreds, of opponents. Such a figure, placed in the martial world, would be a master capable of founding their own sect. "The first test: Archery."

The archery instructor glanced at the two Lianshan guards, as if asking about Lin Yu's background, but the two remained unmoved.

The archery instructor in charge of the assessment sized up Lin Yu, his eyes scrutinizing him: "How many pounds of bow do you want to test?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Sixty-pound, eighty-pound, and one hundred and twenty-pound white ox bows, and two hundred-pound iron-framed bows."

He looked Lin Yu up and down, noting his well-proportioned physique, and nodded, saying, "Your stance is solid; use the 120-jin white ox bow."

"Too light." Lin Yu chuckled, then turned to Xiao Dezi and said, "Bring me my bow."

The young eunuch hurriedly presented the black iron bow bestowed by Emperor Qian. The bow was entirely black, with cloud patterns faintly visible on its surface, and it immediately drew the attention of everyone in the hall as soon as it was drawn from its sheath.

"This is..." The archer's pupils contracted.

Lin Yu remained silent, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..."

The bowstrings twanged like thunder as twenty arrows pierced the air in succession, each arrow penetrating the water-soaked bullseye a hundred paces away! The specially made target was three inches thick, and ordinary arrows could hardly penetrate it, yet it was now riddled with holes!

"Excellent!" The archer slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face full of shock: "The Xuan Tie Bow requires five stones of strength to draw, and he can fire twenty arrows in a row without panting or trembling. This is clearly the physique of a Xiantian Martial Master!"

"What? The Innate Realm?"

"How old is he?"

The hall erupted in commotion. The officers and soldiers who were practicing archery all turned to look, and several young generals were so shocked that they stood up.

"That's it."

Lin Yu put away his bow and stood there, his expression unchanged.

Don't ask if he has broken through to the Innate Realm. The answer is that Lin Yu can easily beat two Innate Realm martial artists to death to test his skills.

In fact, he hadn't even used half his strength. If he had used his full power, he could have pierced through not only a leather target but also iron armor with a single arrow!
"The younger generation these days is truly formidable!"

The archer sighed repeatedly and wrote a few lines on Lin Yu's resume. Then he pressed his handprint firmly on it.

"What will the second test be like?" he asked casually.

The archer took a deep breath and pointed to the west: "Please proceed to the 'Knife Hall'."

Inside the sword hall, the atmosphere was even more tense. Various types of swords hung on the walls, and the central open space was covered with fine sand, clearly indicating it was frequently used for combat drills. Several sword masters stood with their arms crossed, their eyes sharp as knives.

"This test assesses your ability to 'remain untouched by splashed water'," the leading swordsman said in a deep voice. He then demonstrated it himself. He drew his long sword, his body spun like the wind, and the light of his sword transformed into a silver barrier, deflecting all the splashed water. When he sheathed his sword, his clothes were as dry as ever.

"With arrows raining down on the battlefield, how can we block them if we can't even break through a water curtain?"

Lin Yu chuckled and casually took a standard military knife from the shelf. The blade was three feet two inches long and weighed seven pounds four ounces; it was the "battle-breaking knife" commonly used by the border troops.

"let's start."

Before he finished speaking, the four swordsmen simultaneously picked up buckets of water and splashed it!
"Wow—"

The water curtain is like a waterfall!
Lin Yu moved suddenly, and a flash of sword light appeared—

"Night battle on all sides!"

The blade's movements were like a silver dragon surging and twisting, instantly transforming into a dazzling sphere of light. The splashing water, striking the blade's attack, exploded into a fine mist, refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight!

"clang!"

The crisp sound of the sword being sheathed startled everyone. Looking closely, they saw that the ground within three zhang of Lin Yu was completely wet, except for the spot where he stood, which remained completely dry, not even the soles of his boots were wet!

"What an impenetrable swordsmanship!" the swordsmiths couldn't help but cheer. With such swordsmanship, not to mention a rain of arrows, even a volley of powerful bows and crossbows would hardly cause a scratch!

Lin Yu casually tossed the knife, which traced a graceful arc before landing precisely on the knife rack three zhang away with a "click".

As the sun set, Lin Yu returned to the barracks that Shi Xiao had arranged for him.

This was a secluded courtyard, not luxurious, but clean and tidy. A training ground was set up in the courtyard, and various military weapons were displayed on weapon racks, clearly prepared specifically for him, the prince.

Shortly after he sat down, a messenger brought him military orders—

"The fourth prince, Yang Qian, was appointed as the commander of the new recruits of the First Army, under the command of five hundred new recruits."

Lin Yu accepted the military order, a slight smile playing on his lips. Although the commander was only a mid-level officer, leading five hundred soldiers was a respectable starting point. According to the Great Qian military system:
Five men formed a "wu" (伍), and the military officer was called the "wu zhang" (伍长). One hundred men formed a "du" (都), and the military officer was called the "du tou" (都头). Five hundred men formed a "ying" (营), and the military officer was called the "zhihuishi" (指挥使). One thousand men formed an "jun" (军), and the military officer was called the "jiangjun" (将军). Ten thousand men formed a "tong" (统), and the military officer was called the "tongling" (统领).

A battalion of five hundred soldiers was led by a commander, who was a mid-level officer in the army. The next rank up would be a general commanding a thousand men.

Leading troops in the military is a complex art, requiring mastery of everything from training and setting up camp to managing supplies and morale.

The training process is also a way to build a core team. Without enough grassroots cadres, who will care about you on the battlefield? They only recognize their superiors.

As the son of Emperor Qian, even if he cannot inherit the throne in the future, he will still lead troops to guard a region, just like the Divine Might King Yang Tuo. Therefore, Shi Yao should naturally be treated well.

(End of this chapter)