Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 301 "The Fierce Soldier"

After a quick wash and tidying up, Liu Yingshou went into the laboratory to begin his work.

On one hand, he was genuinely curious about whether alien creatures were within the influence of his dragon power; on the other hand, this was also a heavy responsibility entrusted to him by the king.

Fifteen hours later, the spores began to grow in the petri dish, but instead of developing into the expected "Ok" shape, they remained in a mushroom-like form and did not develop further. Under the operation of the robotic arm inside the tank, she continuously adjusted the model.

Silver light gleamed in Liu Yingshou's pupils as the photonic chip beside her performed massive calculations, supporting her in altering the protein structure. However, just as she attempted to complete 70% of the core protein's internal circulation, suddenly, a massive influx of quantum information into all the genetic material within the cylinder occurred.

Every strand of her DNA trembled under this powerful force.

Liu Yingshou, who was analyzing the DNA, froze instantly, like a monkey in the 21st century who had run onto a high-voltage power line to work as an electrician.

In the darkness, she was dragged into an unfathomable "conceptual realm," in which her consciousness began to confront two suns that resembled celestial bodies.

This is the God of War lurking within all the Orcish races! One is hot-blooded, ferocious, and cunning (Orc: I don't know what this is, I only know that the Orc is fierce and sly!), the other is adaptable and incredibly resilient (Orc: What are you talking about? The Orc is cunning and fierce!). Like two celestial bodies rotating around each other, anyone facing these two beings feels an immense sense of being torn apart.

As Liu Yingshou passed through this "zone of the mind," she felt herself being torn apart as two celestial bodies streaked across her path. The previously imperceptible conflict within her manifested as a massive mental rift. Then, she discovered that two personalities had emerged within her.

One personality still wants to "prove itself," while the other is a personality that "seeks approval."

Liu Yingshou quickly realized that his personality was being influenced by these two suns, and that it would be extremely dangerous if left unchecked.

She sensed that one of her personalities was gradually leaning towards "the worship of power," while the other was being shattered almost madly by fear. If it were just one tendency, she could barely suppress it; but now that both of her personalities were being influenced by this alien consciousness at the same time, it was difficult to control.

In that critical moment, she sensed a beam of light, which acted like a guiding thread, pulling her back to reality. In reality, she saw the incubation tank, and a sudden inspiration struck her. Looking at the clone, she tried to push her own personality into it.

Liu Yingshou bit his tongue, and that person who extremely admired power looked in the direction of that beam of light! What he saw was a "blazing white celestial body".

This "blazing white celestial body" wasn't large, but its influence was enough to rival the Orks' Waaagh! These were the two "suns" under its force field. This "blazing white sun" saved her, but it also caused her half-personality to completely separate, subjecting her to scorching heat.

Here, after the progress bar finished, Xuan Chong found that after projecting a beam of light, he gained a clearer perspective. In the perspective, bubbles were coming out of his mouth; this was inside a culture tank.

Outside the tank, a woman was slumped over a laboratory table, panting heavily.

In "The Fierce Soldier," Wu Qing has been summoned, but it seems that he has merged with the personality of this world.

…summoned…

At the train station platform in Handan, Xuan Chong, who was on his way back, had already communicated with the people from the Lin Group.

The ruler personally conducted the conversation via a "pseudo-communication satellite" made from a hydrogen balloon in the high-altitude atmosphere, and gave a suggestion: do not get off the vehicle, but take the train all the way to Jindu, where a boat will come to pick you up in Bobin.

The ruler seemed worried that Xuan Chong was still attached to the "military rank" he had already acquired, so he quickly assured him that he would not be short of the corresponding merits.

The ruler seemed to have seen through the young man's passionate desire to make a name for himself: "You have the talent of a general, so why worry about not being able to lead troops?"—This was true, even in the industrial age. The cost of a "general" is still very high.

The reason why there are many talented generals in times of chaos is that these generals have been tested by the blood and bones of those times.

For every general who succeeds, ten thousand are killed. For politicians in modern China, the "cost" of mistakes in war is incalculable.

Choosing the wrong general can lead to military defeat, a consequence even the emperor cannot bear. A readily available, battle-tested general is undoubtedly a far more cost-effective option.

…The Jianye authorities had already decided to bring Liu Haoxing back…

As the highest-ranking official in Jianye, Lin Zhu possessed far more information than Liu Haoxing, a small vassal state in the north.

The Han dynasty has plans to directly intervene in Eastern Shu within the next twenty years. The fact that they negotiated immediately after seizing the Zhudao area is to create a springboard.

The current strategy of the Han Dynasty towards Southeast Asia, in its current stage of implementation, is only equivalent to the initial adjustment of the strategy for the northern deserts after Emperor Wu of Han assumed personal rule. Taking Guinea was equivalent to taking control of the Hexi Corridor. Subsequent strategic investment continued for over a century, until the Eastern Han Dynasty finally destroyed the Xiongnu.

In the previous Battle of Zhudao (Guinea), the Han army employed naval artillery firepower and overwhelming troop strength. The amphibious landings were also guided by inside agents, resulting in a swift and decisive victory.

Xuan Chong reluctantly acknowledged the Han army's victory in the south last year: "Let's just say it was achieved. Although the Han army lost tens of thousands of cannon fodder, they completely trapped the elite Shu troops on the island. At the same time, the will of the people in Eastern Shu collapsed, and the merchant group chose to cede territory and sue for peace. This strategic goal can be considered to have been achieved."

The Battle of Zhudao has been over for almost a year. For those powerful figures in Jianye who are greedy and have their own interests at heart, the next question is whether they can conquer Dianlu, where Dongshu is located.

Because the continent was a landmass, the climate and seasons were completely unfamiliar to them, and they had performed poorly in many previous battles.

There are many uncertainties in the current attack simulation of Dianlu from Jianye's side.

The latest contingency plan for the Battle of Dianlu was handed over to the Ministry of War's specialized war simulation department. It was found that, based on past battle experiences, the Han army would not be able to capture Dianlu.

The current Ministry of War officials kept shaking their heads at the operational plan submitted by Jianye: "A bunch of naval generals, limited by their professional capabilities, are full of naivety about large-scale land battles."

In 2107 of the Han calendar, a retired high-ranking official from the Ministry of War from the north received an invitation and, "by chance," saw military secrets related to the Jianye Navy.

After reviewing the plans for the Eastern Shu campaign, this magnate immediately scoffed at the Jianye naval faction's "wishful thinking."

The retired general said, "You think you can subdue an island with a single proclamation? That's because your artillery can reach most of the inhabited areas. But to deal with a continent, your artillery can't reach it. You completely don't understand the complexities of land warfare."

The words of this retired general from the Ministry of War rendered the previously well-regarded Jianye magnate utterly worthless.

Of course, the old general's tone was clearly filled with the stereotype that "the Southern army is not good at land warfare."

For hundreds of years, Jianye has radiated throughout the South Seas, opened up the sea route to India, and linked with the eastern part of Yanzhou (which is rich in Kunlun slaves). It was almost invincible in the prosperous coastal areas, but once it went 500 kilometers inland, it would basically encounter difficulties in its expeditions. Even if the resistance organizations in the inland areas were only some primitive cannons and guns, they could still create costs for the occupation.

If the Dianlu campaign truly cannot be won, then so be it; the Han navy will gradually give up. They will likely adopt a forced alliance approach, similar to the US forcibly binding Europe, Australia, and Canada as its allies.

However, the Lu Quan group in the Guanzhong region solved the problem of conquering, annexing, and expanding territory.

Through the Silk Road, the Guanlong Group essentially controlled all the countries along the westward route.

Furthermore, over the past three hundred years, six major battles have been fought, seals of office have been issued to more than twenty hereditary clans in the Abbasid Caliphate, and Persia and those forces that have attempted to side with Europe have been suppressed.

It is worth mentioning that, since the history of Xuan Chong's previous life is different, modern Han military experts will not analyze the issue from the perspective of "colonialism and anti-colonialism".

Xuan Chong had that perspective in his previous life because he experienced colonization and went through a process of anti-colonialism.

Xu Xi explained to Xuan Chong: "The period from the sinking of Han territory to colonization was a very rare window of opportunity. The First Red Dynasty can be said to be the time when Eastern civilization had the best chance to communicate with foreign barbarians."

During the process of the East's revival, in an attempt to develop partnerships through "sharing weal and woe," it encountered many weaker ethnic groups that favored the rich and despised the poor.

With the restoration complete, it was determined that foreign powers were merely intimidated by power, not by virtue, while the world's own position of "industrial suppression" became even more comfortable. The global anti-colonial movement then fell into a long period of silence, because no powerful force on the planet could resist the Mediterranean-originating colonialism militarily, economically, or ideologically. Returning to this timeline, modern Han military strategists, when faced with the impasse of expansion, would simply attribute it to "cultural incompatibility."

After all, over the past few centuries, the Han people's ability to expand their territory has been such that as long as they can overcome the "acclimatization problem"—that is, the Han people can farm in the local area—they can completely conquer the region.

What does "colonialism is doomed to fail" mean? Two thousand years ago, during the Yuan and Han dynasties, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing subdued the grasslands, and after several generations of effort, all those who refused to submit were forced to flee to the west.

For hundreds of years, the Lancang River has flowed southward, conquering everything without any "anti-colonial" efforts; all of it has been bathed in royal rule.

The Han dynasty's external expansion was not the kind of brutal massacre and subjugation that the West engaged in. Instead, it was about finding and controlling relevant powerful families through a decisive victory (the Tea Horse Road was an example of economic control).

After successfully controlling the population, the next step is education (ideological output). After education, the people gradually assimilate into the dominant clans and recognize their ancestors (integration through standardization of cart tracks and written language). Then, after the Han people migrate and occupy the production niches, they engage in intermarriage and cohabitation.

For the past few centuries, the Han court has only had two factions: "King" and "Hegemon." This undoubtedly shows that the Han dynasty's external control is feasible, and that if the navy cannot conquer Eastern Shu, it is simply a weakling.

The Jianye forces attributed their defeat in the Eastern Shu campaign to the following reasons: the officers in Jiangnan were accustomed to fighting using water transport systems and lacked an objective understanding of the complex terrain of mountainous and plateau inland areas.

Those in positions of power, like Lin Zhu, believed that the commanders in previous wars were incompetent. The generals sent to attack the continent were unable to determine the strategic priorities in the face of numerous disturbances, and were unable to defeat the military groups in a single decisive battle to gain control over the political groups in the region.

The core problem facing contemporary Han Dynasty naval strategists is that the current fleet faction in the south, after a century of deep inland operations, is like Li Guang who got lost – they can only conduct armed marches, unable to launch decisive battles.

Liu Haoxing, who had just finished racking up battle merits in the west, had entered Jianye's field of vision.

…six days ago…

After studying the battle report, Liu Gehua gave this evaluation: "This man has the demeanor of a great general. There is much discussion about him. He is calm about success or failure, like Mount Tai welcoming the sunset and the ocean embracing the flow."

Lin Zhu was hiding his pride, but deliberately belittled himself: "This child has a bit too much of a gambling habit. He often bets everything on himself."

Liu Kehua countered, "Sometimes you have to gamble on the battlefield, but the wise generals of the past would never let anyone see that they were gambling. You can only know that they were gambling after they revealed their hand. Those who showed their gambling intentions to those around them from the beginning are the real gamblers."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhu understood why those young generals he had initially favored were looked down upon by the northern military families.

Even if one can recite military texts fluently, one will lack the necessary strategy when faced with unforeseen circumstances in actual combat.

Immediately afterwards, the Lin Lord revealed the truth: Xuan Chong had already been retrieved.

Liu Kehua was taken aback, realizing that Lord Lin had deliberately belittled him to get him to tell the truth.

Liu Kehua scoffed, "You're also gambling—after all, he hasn't reached adulthood yet."

Liu Wang laughed heartily. He had already decided to work with this young man from the Dongtu family again.

But! We were still a step too late.

…The green train entered the dark tunnel of the station…

When Xuan Chong's train arrived in Yandu, the locomotive was suddenly changed. Xuan Chong's entire carriage was moved to another locomotive and pulled directly from the new station in Yandu to the old station. Everyone then had to get off and transfer to another train.

Xuan Chong was surprised that the train was suddenly under maintenance. It wasn't until his carriage was suddenly switched to another carriage that he realized someone would actually make such a big fuss to deal with him.

Xuan Chong didn't use his superpowers to resist. Anyone capable of such a method must have already devised a plan to suppress their superpowers. Whether he could suppress them or not was secondary; the main issue was that engaging in a superpower confrontation right under the emperor's nose was highly undignified. Furthermore, the arbiter might not be on his side. After all, he couldn't now rely on the "big picture" and avoid being manipulated like he did in the Western Regions.

Xuan Chong looked at the Dragon Group members who were leading the group and said with a helpless expression, "You guys, well, you coordinated perfectly."

Xuan Chong was then escorted by a car to the Emperor's residence, not to the Dragon Group's territory, but to the Emperor's residence.

Upon seeing the emperor, Xuan Chong felt an inexplicable sense of oppression, and various stationery items, such as set squares, appeared in his field of vision.

Xuan Chong knew this was not his imagination: the emperor's aura, which had been high and mighty on the dragon throne, had changed. He had stepped down like a friendly neighbor, and the stationery in his eyes had all merged into his body.

Emperor: You must be homesick.

Xuan Chong paused for a moment, then replied, "Yes, I didn't go home for the New Year, and I really miss it."

Emperor: Half a month ago, your father was still in Yandu. I talked to him, and he was worried that you wouldn't adapt to the climate and environment in the west. I told him not to worry, you'll be fine out there, you'll survive the wind and the soil.

During the conversation, when the emperor brought up Liu Haoxing's elderly father and said he would take good care of him, Xuan Chong realized that he would not be able to return to the south for the time being.

Xuan Chong's mind started racing. If he couldn't go back and might be placed under house arrest, how could he ensure his future interests?
Then the Emperor said, "Yes, you made great contributions in the battle in the north, and your merits have been recorded. However, you should know the importance of standing out from the crowd; wait here for now. (Don't go back to the south.)"

Upon hearing the emperor speak like this, Xuan Chong asked, "Then what about me and the Lord of Lin?"

The emperor, still wearing a gentle smile, opened a screen, which displayed the image of the unicorn king.

Xuan Chong clearly saw that the Lin Lord's smile was forced. Of course, this was an expression directed at the Emperor. Comparing the Lin Lord's smile with the Emperor's, Xuan Chong suddenly realized that the two smiles were very similar, and couldn't help but wonder, could they be close relatives?

After questioning Xuan Chong, the ruler of Lin asked him a few questions. When Xuan Chong told him that he had been traveling by train and the train had broken down, forcing him to get off, the ruler of Lin twitched his lips and sighed, "Don't come back to the north for now."

…a detailed, heart-to-heart talk…

Next was the final conversation between Xuan Chong and the Emperor.

The Emperor: "What are your plans here?" — He was about to begin making arrangements for Xuan Chong.

However, Xuan Chong then gave him a puzzling answer.

Xuan Chong: "Your Majesty, may I ask if you could recommend a great Confucian scholar? I wish to take the imperial examinations."

The emperor was slightly taken aback, and pondered for a moment: "The scholar's degree I granted you before the war in the South Seas, hmm, that's acceptable. But the degree of the provincial graduate...?"

Upon seeing this, Xuan Chong declared, "Your Majesty, I do wish to take the exam. The honor and rank are mine, and that is what I desire. I have no other ambitions whatsoever."

The emperor slowly said, "Reading is good. Reading can help one understand principles, distinguish right from wrong, and know honor and disgrace."

These words were spoken to the Lin Lord, as if they had instantly pinpointed his fatal flaw. Clearly, there's a historical allusion here that Xuan Chong was unaware of.

Because the Emperor had handed over intelligence on the current situation in Longzhou. It seemed quite convincing.

(End of this chapter)