My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

And taking advantage of this opportunity, he led his troops out of the encirclement, forced the opponent to hastily merge, and then quickly caught up.

With Wei Qing nearly escaping, the enemy must have been panicked and disoriented, no longer interested in scouting their surroundings, only wanting to annihilate Wei Qing's last remaining troops and end the exercise as soon as possible.

This led to the completely unthinkable situation where Wei Qing, in dire straits, had actually divided his forces to ambush in this area from the very beginning. Furthermore, the army's morale, weakened by the hasty regrouping, was somewhat fragile, giving the cavalry an opportunity to strike.

Xiahou Dun subconsciously retorted, "Then if... Kong Youde's army hadn't hastily merged, but instead merged steadily to ensure a strong military spirit, wouldn't the ambushing cavalry have been unable to even break through the enemy's armor? Wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?"

Upon hearing Xiahou Dun's question, Cao Ying couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes and remarked, "If the enemy hadn't caught up in time, Wei Qing would have successfully retreated."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "The clan chief is right. If you rush to catch up, you will fall into my ambush. Conversely, if you don't rush to catch up, I can retreat smoothly."

From the moment Wei Qing seized the opportunity presented by the merger of Kong Youde's army and decisively broke through, Kong Youde's army was destined to fail.

Wei Qing was only betting on whether the opponent would lose badly, or just exceptionally badly.

Lu Xiang was also in the crowd, and happened to hear Cao Cao's analysis. Suddenly, he recalled the bet that Wei Qing wanted to make with him yesterday.

Damn, no wonder this guy said he's never lost a bet.

It turns out that when this guy makes bets, I always win a little when I lose and a lot when I win!

......

In the mysterious dungeon beneath the Imperial Academy, a young woman who looked like a woman witnessed Wei Qing's comeback and finally understood the key to the so-called "back-to-the-river" strategy.

He looked at the disheveled, pale-faced old man inside the prison and said, "The 'back-to-the-river' strategy is not a desperate gamble; the world has been deceived."

The old man smiled and said, "Zifang is right. People know that the 'back-to-the-river' tactic enhances explosive power by severely damaging the army's spirit, so they subconsciously think that the 'back-to-the-river' tactic is similar to Xiang Yu's 'breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats,' but they don't know that Xiang Yu's 'breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats' emphasizes courage, while the 'back-to-the-river' tactic emphasizes wisdom!"

When outnumbered, the enemy's fighting spirit will inevitably be stronger. At this time, using the "backwater battle" tactic to enhance burst damage is simply to ensure that one's own fighting spirit is not at a disadvantage in the battle.

The goal is to delay the opponent until they reveal a weakness, while the real killing move is a knife hidden in the darkness.

Gaining the upper hand but failing to defeat the opponent inevitably leads to impatience, and impatience easily exposes weaknesses. However, because of the constant advantage, attention is inevitably focused on offense, thus neglecting the defense...

In just a few words, the two men revealed the essence of the "back-to-the-river" tactic.

Zifang was the courtesy name of Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu.

People only know that Marquis Liu Zhang Liang retired after achieving his goals and sought immortality, but they do not know that he guarded this prison even before the Imperial Academy was built.

Zhang Liang sighed, "It's not difficult to come up with the prototype of such a battle tactic, but to perfect and thoroughly master it is something only a peerless genius like Han Xin could do. However, Wei Qing was able to comprehend its mysteries based solely on a single volume of military strategy left by Han Xin, which shows that his talent is beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Such a genius, even if Han Xin were to return to the human realm one day, upon hearing of him, would probably be very willing to meet him.

Upon hearing Zhang Liang's exclamation, the old man revealed a smug smile: "Han Xin? Aren't I Han Xin? The Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin, who has been imprisoned here for four hundred years."

The attic of the Imperial Academy's command department was eerily quiet at this moment, and everyone's face was deathly pale.

They lost... Despite having three times the resources, a lecturer and three supervisors working together, and in a plains skirmish where they were best positioned to perform, they were still defeated by a slave who slashed the soul of the army.

The entire management of the command department felt as if Wei Qing had slapped them in the face and then stomped on them hard.

The crucial point is that this kick landed directly on his groin.

"How to do?"

"What else can we do? Let's hire them first."

"Then confess..."

The conversation was brief, and the previous domineering attitude was gone.

How can you be domineering when your face is swollen from being slapped?

Lu Kuang seemed to have been drained of his strength, but he still had to muster his spirits. He said to the crowd in the admissions square, "Wei Qing's martial arts command has been approved! Based on the academy's motto and assessment results, the Imperial Academy's Command Department grants him admission."

If any of you have such talented individuals around you, regardless of their background, you are welcome to recommend them to the Imperial Academy. Anyone who passes the examination will be permitted to enter the academy.

The nobles had very strange expressions after hearing Lü Kuang's shameless speech. Passed? Isn't that a great victory? I don't know whether to say you're too shameless or completely shameless.

Even some of the Xiongnu barbarians couldn't help but mutter to themselves: "What the hell? Even if Wei Qing's talent and ability today were ranked among the Xiongnu Holy Clan's peers, he would absolutely be considered a prodigy. If a few more of these monsters appeared, would the Xiongnu Holy Clan even survive?"

Just when everyone thought it was finally over, Wei Qing, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the square, suddenly opened his eyes. He stood up, slowly took off his mask, and looked in the direction of the Imperial Academy, saying, "Lu Kuang, when did I say that I wanted to enter the Command Department?"

Chapter 40: Joining the Martial Arts Academy (End of Volume)

Wei Qing released his grip, and the mask fell to the ground. He then raised his foot and stomped on it without hesitation.

"Gaba"

The seemingly solid mask was crushed by Wei Qing's foot: "The lecturers of the Command Department, with two useless people who can summon military spirits, and three times the resources, were defeated by me, a slave who has never even entered the Imperial Academy, who defeated them with the weak and shattered their military spirits. Who can stand up and tell me, is there any point in entering such a department? Or, when I enter the Command Department, will the lecturers teach me, or will I be the one teaching the lecturers?"

Unable to answer, at least for now, faced with Wei Qing's assertive attitude, the geniuses who commanded the top-ranked legions of the various departments all remained silent.

These people weren't lacking in confidence to fight Wei Qing, but there was a major prerequisite: it had to be a large-scale battle!

In other words, they led their entire legion to challenge Wei Qing alone.

The problem is, if someone were to challenge Wei Qing at this point, and Wei Qing said he wouldn't accept the legion commander position but would be willing to accept a one-on-one challenge, would they fight or not?

If we don't fight, we'll lose face and our morale will be weakened.

Even if you fight, you might not be able to win. After being defeated, you'll be labeled as overconfident.

There will be many more opportunities to defeat Wei Qing in the future, but clearly not now.

Finally, Lü Kuang spoke up: "Wei Qing, you are just a mere freshman, don't be so arrogant. Or do you think that I have no one to command the department, and that you, a mere illegitimate son, can bully me at will!"

Wei Qing laughed, kicked the shattered mask away, and arrogantly pointed at the Imperial Academy, shouting, "So what if I insult your command department?"

Lü Kuang, as the dean of the command department, your ability to command military exercises must be outstanding. I think there's no better time than today, in front of all of you, to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.

Do you have the ability? Do you have the guts?

I'm afraid you'll talk a good game, but once you're on the battlefield, you won't even be able to withstand three of my charges!

Don't think I don't know anything. Those two good-for-nothings who can summon the military spirit must have retired from the border army, right? The command department has only about a hundred people, from lecturers to deans. It shouldn't be difficult to find soldiers who can summon the military spirit and are also retired from the border.

If I really wanted to check, would those two be students, lecturers, or supervisors?

You've even lost your fig leaf! I don't know where you, Lü Kuang, got the audacity to dare warn me!

Just because you're the dean of the command department?

If you get slapped in the face, you should just quietly cover it up and find a secluded place to rub it. Why do you have to keep jumping out and making a fool of yourself?

What you, Lü Kuang, can do to me is nothing but power.

But don't think that I, Wei Qing, can't have someone behind me!

Even without relying on Uncle Cao's influence, based solely on my performance here today, I think if I were to consider marriage, there would be more than just one or two noble families in Chang'an willing to accept me as their son-in-law.

After Wei Qing finished speaking, a chorus of coughs erupted in the recruitment square, clearly indicating that many nobles had been told what they were thinking.

Vice President Liu Shao bluntly stated, "Wei Qing, I do have a daughter at home. Although she is not a beauty that could topple kingdoms, she is virtuous and skillful. If you are interested, you can send one of her to my residence this afternoon to propose marriage."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yangxin, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but secretly glare at Liu Shao. *I'm not dead yet!*

Lu Xiang strode out from the crowd and said to Wei Qing in front of everyone, "Young Master Wei, what I said yesterday still stands. If you are willing, I have several younger sisters who are all very beautiful. You can choose any one of them. If you are willing, you can even marry them all. It will just be a matter of having more dowry."

Both Lü Xiang and Lü Kuang were surnamed Lü and were descendants of Lü Gong. However, the Lü family was large and powerful, with Lü Gong alone having several sons and even more grandsons. Four hundred years later, the family was deeply intertwined and far from the harmonious relationship that outsiders might imagine.

Lü Xiang's appearance now is not simply to win over Wei Qing, but also to tell others that Lü Kuang cannot fully represent the Lü clan.

We also hope that Wei Qing will not choose to stand on the opposite side of the Lü clan simply because of Lü Kuang.

Ultimately, the Imperial Academy was perhaps very important to the nobles, serving as a good path to advancement.

However, for the entire Han Dynasty, it was merely a training ground for talent.

For the Lü family, all they needed was for the dean of the command department to be surnamed Lü; whether that person was Lü Kuang or Lü Jia, Yi, Bing, or Ding was irrelevant.

If Lü Kuang is overthrown, just replace him with someone else surnamed Lü.

There's no need to push Wei Qing into the Prince of Dai's faction just because of Lü Kuang.

Furthermore, Lü Xiang's great-uncle and several uncles were also in charge of the department, so if Lü Kuang fell, they might still have a chance.

The Lü family had countless纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy and powerful families who indulged in pleasure), but there were also shrewd individuals like Lü Xiang.

With Liu Shao and Lü Xiang intervening, Lü Kuang had no choice but to keep quiet.

He now regrets it somewhat, not because he regrets the conflict with Wei Qing, but because he shouldn't have given Wei Qing so many opportunities to showcase his talent in front of everyone.

Without these battles, no matter how talented Wei Qing is, no one would pay attention to him, and without anyone paying attention, it would be easier to make moves in secret.

Unlike now...

Seeing that Lü Kuang remained silent, Wei Qing turned to Fan Zhang, the dean of the Martial Arts Department: "Dean Fan Zhang, what did you just say? That you would recruit me into the Martial Arts Department if I wanted to? I wonder if you meant it or were you joking?"

"Of course it's true."

If Fan Zhang dared to deny it at this point, Cao Ying would go to Fan Kuai to complain that afternoon.

Furthermore, Wei Qing's martial arts talent is not bad either, it's just not as dazzling as his command skills. At least he is fully qualified to enter the Imperial Academy.

Wei Qing nodded, took the paper that Liu Bei had just written for him, walked up to the instructor in charge of registration, and said, "I, Wei Qing, am applying to join the Martial Arts Academy."

"Ah...okay...no problem."

The instructor in charge of registration took the application letter and quickly helped Wei Qing complete the enrollment procedures.

This gentleman is not someone we can afford to offend.

Looking at the admission certificate, Wei Qing continued to say to Fan Zhang, "Supervisor Fan, please take good care of me in the future."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Fan Zhang was cursing inwardly. You're a hot potato; you might as well be in charge of a department.

Wei Qingcai didn't bother to consider Fan Zhang's thoughts. He knew that very few members of the Imperial Academy's leadership actually liked him.

Whether in the Martial Arts Department or the Command Department, those who are meant to be targeted will still be targeted in the future.

The reason for this choice is simply to completely crush and trample the command department underfoot.

Since the command department is completely corrupt, let's destroy it first and then rebuild it from the ruins.

As for the burden of destroying it, since everyone is afraid of offending people and no one is willing to step forward, then let me do it myself.

The summary and acknowledgments for Volume Two are shared here.