Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Outside Chang'an City, at the recruitment office of the Wei River Camp, an extremely absurd scene was unfolding.

"Bang!"

A rough porcelain bucket, a full size larger than an ordinary washbasin, was slammed heavily onto the table where rations were distributed.

The quartermaster behind the desk shuddered in fright, nearly stabbing his brush into his nostril. He stared wide-eyed at the enormous creature that blocked out most of the light, and swallowed hard.

"Another bucket, please."

A deep, muffled voice came from the mountain of flesh.

This was a man dressed in an extremely worn-out white robe, even covered in patches.

He was so muscular he was almost inhuman, with shoulders broader than those of an ordinary warhorse. Beneath his messy short hair was a square face with sharp features and a simple, honest look.

The quartermaster looked down at the empty bucket, which was now completely devoid of rice, and then at the new recruits standing in line, holding small bowls and staring expectantly. He was instantly furious.

"Another bucket? Do you think this is some kind of banquet in Chang'an's East Market?"

The quartermaster slammed his hand on the table and started cursing at the man.

"You bastard, you've eaten the entire day's rations for a whole squad by yourself! That's rice made with top-quality millet and minced meat!"

"Are you here to join the army and fight, or to beg for food?"

The man in the white robe didn't get angry even after being scolded.

He simply stretched out his extremely rough, fan-like hand, wiped the rice grains from the corner of his mouth with a simple and honest manner, and then pushed the wooden bucket toward the quartermaster with utmost seriousness.

"I'm still not full. When I was at home, I could eat a whole cow in one meal."

The man blinked, his tone revealing an extremely simple longing for food.

"I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince provides a full meal here, so I came to apply for the job."

"You...you good-for-nothing!"

The quartermaster was furious. In all his years in logistics, he had never seen such a gluttonous and self-righteous oddball.

"Get out! Get out! The Tang Dynasty's military rations are for brave warriors who can fight on the battlefield, not for feeding pigs!"

The quartermaster beckoned to the armored soldiers maintaining order nearby.

"Get him out of here! Keeping this good-for-nothing around will bankrupt our logistics before we even reach Liaodong!"

Several armored soldiers immediately drew their swords from their waists and surrounded them menacingly.

Upon seeing this, the man in white robes frowned slightly.

He did not touch the long, heavy-looking knife wrapped in rags hanging at his waist.

Instead, he slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the edge of the training ground, on the enormous blue stone lock weighing eight hundred pounds, which was used to test the soldiers' arm strength.

Amidst the utter astonishment of everyone, the man strode up to the stone lock.

He didn't even do the preparatory movements for a horse stance.

He simply stretched out one hand and grasped the thick handle of the stone lock with extreme ease.

"rise!"

A very low, furious shout.

The 800-pound stone lock, which required four strong men to move even a fraction of an inch with crowbars, was lifted above the head of the white-robed man with one hand as easily as an ordinary brick!

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Those armored soldiers who were about to charge forward froze in place as if they had been struck by a spell, and even the swords in their hands were trembling slightly.

The quartermaster was so frightened that his legs went weak and he slid under the table, his mouth agape wide enough to fit a fist.

Is this guy even human?

Lifting an 800-pound stone lock with one hand? Even if Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, were alive today, he would only possess such terrifying strength!

However, what happened next was even more outrageous.

The man in white robes seemed to think that just holding it up wasn't enough, so he flipped his wrist and casually tossed the huge blue stone lock into the air!

"Whoosh—"

The heavy stone lock traced an extremely dangerous arc in mid-air, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, before crashing heavily to the ground.

Just when everyone thought the ground was about to be smashed into a huge crater, and some were even scared into closing their eyes.

The man casually reached out and steadily caught the handle of the stone lock.

"Bang!"

A very faint gust of air spread outwards, but the man's feet did not even take a single step back; he remained as steady as Mount Tai.

He tossed the 800-pound stone lock between his two hands with remarkable ease, like tossing a sandbag.

"My name is Xue Li, and my courtesy name is Rengui."

As Xue Rengui tossed the stone weights around, he turned his head and looked at the quartermaster under the table, who was already terrified.

On that honest face, a smile appeared that was extremely bright, but to others it was extremely terrifying.

"Sir, look at my strength, could I serve as His Highness the Crown Prince's vanguard?"

"If I could be a vanguard, would I be guaranteed a full stomach?"

"Clang!"

Just then, a crisp metallic sound broke the deathly silence of the training ground.

Li Chengqian, who was inspecting the camp, dropped the exquisite Western pocket watch he was holding.

He was just bored and wanted to see if there were any promising recruits in the recruit camp.

As soon as I got here, I saw this extremely shocking, inhuman, and incredibly exaggerated scene.

Li Chengqian's eyes lit up like two 1,000-watt searchlights the moment he saw the man in the tattered white robe playing with an 800-pound stone lock.

Xue Li?

Xue Rengui?!

That legendary war god who, in the original historical trajectory, "settled the Tianshan Mountains with three arrows," "repelled ten thousand enemies by removing his hat," and moved through the Liaodong battlefield as if it were empty?!

Li Chengqian took a deep breath, suppressing his extremely fervent excitement.

I searched high and low without finding it, but then it came to me without any effort!

To fight a tough battle like Goguryeo, having Bai Qi, that killing machine, is not enough. We also need an unparalleled general who can be extremely dazzling on the battlefield and crush the enemy's morale!

"Old Xu."

With great difficulty, Li Chengqian looked away and patted Xu Xiao, who was also stunned, on the shoulder.

"Go and tell that quartermaster."

"That good-for-nothing Xue Rengui... ugh, I mean, that brave Xue!"

Li Chengqian's lips curled up in an extremely unrestrained smile, and his eyes burned with an intense thirst for talent.

"From now on, the Crown Prince will cover all his meals!"

"Whether he eats meat or canned seafood, even if he eats a whole cow in one meal, I'll make sure he has enough!"

"However, in exchange..."

Li Chengqian walked up to Xue Rengui and extended his hand with great magnanimity.

"You must go to Liaodong and break down the gates of several extremely fortified mountain cities!"