Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

Li Cunxiao's second company maintained continuous suppressive fire at the crossfire points on the southern high ground.

Through his scope, the greenskin reinforcements pouring out from the southern passage of the rift were struggling to advance amidst a barrage of explosives. Each round of artillery fire created a gap in the orc horde, but the greenskins behind would continue to surge out, stepping over the corpses of those behind.

"Ignore them, just seal the gap."

He spoke briefly into the communication channel, then adjusted his firing angle, concentrating his firepower on the rock walls on either side of the tunnel entrances.

The bomb blasted into pieces of rock on the rock wall, and the collapsing rocks gradually blocked half of the entrance.

The green-skinned creature's roar echoed through the rift valley.

But the situation was also subtly changing. The Greenskins' offensive speed was decreasing, their formation was not as fierce as before, and their mindless charging momentum seemed to be waning. Moreover, even the Greenskins could clearly feel that they seemed to be inexplicably getting weaker.

Especially when they discovered that their waaaaagh force field had suddenly failed, their frenzied charge was accompanied by a hint of panic and fear that shouldn't have been there.

Meng Tian observed this change from his command post in the middle of the rift valley. His Red Guard battalion and the raider squadron had already completed their formation in front of the passage exit. Twenty thousand Red Guard-I type armored vehicles were arranged in seven offensive lines along the bottom of the rift valley, with each line spaced three hundred meters apart.

The Marauder armors were positioned in the gaps between the first and second lines of defense, and the miniature missile launchers on their shoulders had already completed their third reload.

"Fire indiscriminately and push them back."

The order was transmitted to the Red Guard receiver via the communication channel, and all Red Guard battalion armored vehicles opened fire simultaneously.

The bombs formed an impenetrable barrage, completely covering the exit of the passage ahead. Those green-skinned people who tried to rush out were torn to pieces by the dense bombs at the exit.

The fiery dragon formed a double "sky curtain" in front of them, melting the greenskins upon contact and making it impossible for them to even maintain their charge.

The miniature missile launchers on the shoulders of the Marauder armor intermittently released salvos between firing intervals, with each round of nine miniature missiles precisely landing in the densest area of ​​the Greenskins, triggering a chain of explosions inside the passageway.

Collapsing rocks continued to fall from the top of the passage, gradually sealing off the entrances.

SCV and Goliath's mechs continued their charge, keeping the greens completely pinned down and only able to occasionally retaliate with their big guns from inside the caves, which did nothing to solve the problem.

Gangart and the Skull behemoth were no match for the Golia armor; they were destroyed by its fierce firepower in less than a single encounter.

The greens are gradually showing signs of defeat.

Chi You's assault team continued to apply pressure from the front of the Green Skin front. After firing continuously for more than forty minutes, the twin-barreled rapid-fire machine guns of the Golia mech began to overheat slightly, but the coolant circulation system inside the barrel wall intervened in time to keep the temperature within a safe threshold.

The flamethrower's fuel tanks had been depleted by nearly 30% during the continuous combat. Chi You ordered the front-line mechs to temporarily stop firing flames and switch to the backup high-explosive shell mode to further compress the green-skinned tide behind them.

The green-skinned soldiers on the battlefield began to scatter.

Their offensive rhythm has been completely disrupted. The passage exits have been blasted down layer by layer, and the green skins on the ground have been gradually compressed into an increasingly smaller encirclement. Their retreat direction has been blocked by Li Cunxiao's Second Company from the south, and the northern section has been blocked by Xiang Ji's First Company. The east and west sides are steep rock walls of the rift valley.

Moreover, the Red Guards had already begun their ambush from above, and the Greenskins were now trapped, their encirclement and annihilation inevitable.

Those green creatures hidden deeper underground began to try to seep out from the gaps in the encirclement through ventilation ducts and waste channels that had not yet been sealed off.

However, the psionic probes left by Zhao Zheng on the Lishan continued to scan the rock structure within a range of 600 meters below the surface, and any abnormal movement of biological thermal signals was marked in real time and transmitted to the tactical interface of the ground troops.

"Third Fleet, use low-power beams to cover the area at coordinates A-7 of the Green Skin."

Li Jing also noticed this and immediately began issuing orders, the voices being transmitted to the fleet commander's receiver via the communication link.

"Remember not to blow through the surface; just blast down the exit layers of those underground passages."

Zhao Zheng's voice was transmitted to Li Jing's communication channel.

Li Jing nodded, indicating that he understood.

The twenty Great Wall-class battleships immediately adjusted the elevation of their main guns to reduce power and fire accurately at the marked area.

The intensity of the beam was controlled to just be enough to melt through the surface of the rock layer without causing a large-scale collapse. The soil and rock melted and flowed at high temperatures, sealing off the passages and vents located in the shallow underground layers.

The Greenskins' underground activity space was greatly reduced, and the stifling, high-temperature environment also caused many Greenskins and Farting Demons to die in large numbers.

More greenskins began to emerge from the deeper main lair, but at this point they no longer wanted to fight; they wanted to escape through the passage at the southern end of the battlefield that was not yet completely sealed off.

They fled faster than they charged, their burly green forms crawling wildly through cracks in the ground, pushing and crushing each other. Some even slashed at each other with machetes and power claws to fight for a way out, trampling over the green corpses and blood of their kind as they rushed toward the south.

The Greenskins shouldn't have acted this way, but the waaaaaagh force field that had been maintaining their morale had dissipated, and they no longer had that momentum.

Meng Tian noticed this change from his command position and gave precise instructions to Li Cunxiao.

"A large number of green-skinned soldiers are trying to break through at the southern end. Increase the density of firepower to block them back."

Li Cunxiao's second company adjusted its fire distribution on the high ground, switching the frequency of explosive shell firing from precise bursts to area coverage fire. The barrage extended two hundred meters in front of the entrance to the southern passage, knocking down swathes of green-skinned soldiers trying to squeeze out of the cracks.

Some green-skinned soldiers charged through the first line of fire amidst the roar of exploding bombs, but they were overturned to the ground by high-explosive bombs and micro-missiles from behind, their broken limbs and blood leaving large, messy trails on the gravel ground.

Even so, some of the green-skinned creatures managed to slip out through the not-yet-completely-sealed passage and escape along the steep slopes at the edge of the rift valley towards the plains on the surface.

However, the terrain there was a flat, open area, and Li Jing noticed this group of green-skinned ships breaking through from the orbit. He gave instructions to the escort fleet.

Six frigates descended into low orbit, their bow-mounted rapid-fire cannons aimed at the remaining green-skinned soldiers on the plain, and conducted three rounds of precise sweeping fire in low-power mode. The beams etched large patches of "scabies" into the dark red ground, evaporating all the remaining green-skinned soldiers.

The fighting continues inside the rift.

Xiang Ji's First Company stabilized its line amidst the Greenskins' desperate counterattack. Every time the Greenskins tried to break out from the northern exit, they were blocked by their barrage of explosive shells and fire dragon formations. The cutting sounds of chainsaws and power weapons rang out continuously, and debris accumulated on the rock surface into a thick film.

Chi You's main assault force has advanced to the entrance of the main lair at the deepest part of the rift valley.

The massive welded metal doors embedded deep in the rock walls were half shattered by the rail bombardment, and the remaining welded structures gradually deformed and disintegrated under the continuous burning of the Golia mech's flamethrower.

"Use a flamethrower to clean it up first, burn it clean."

Chi You's orders were transmitted through the communication channel.

Hundreds of Golia mechs simultaneously unleashed six orange pillars of fire from their flamethrowers, pouring directly into the entrance to the main lair.

The flames spread and flowed back into those enclosed spaces, the temperature continued to rise, and the entire entrance area of ​​the main lair was illuminated red by the firelight.

The green-skinned creatures that poured out of the entrance burned and struggled in the flames, and soon turned into charcoal, their collapsed bones shattering into powder in the high temperature.

With the waaaagh force field failing and the fighting spirit within them waning, the Greenskins' combat effectiveness plummeted, allowing the Qin Empire's ground forces to advance more smoothly and rapidly.

In less than half a day, the visible green patches on the rift valley floor had been largely cleared away.

The remaining green skins retreated into deeper caves, but the entrances to those caves had all been sealed off by the SCV with welded steel plates and rubble. The space folding sensor showed that the biothermal signal within 200 meters underground was rapidly attenuating.

Li Jing issued another order, and the main guns of the Great Wall-class battleships launched a high-intensity barrage on the rift valley area.

The beam of light completely melted the entire rift valley area, and the rock layers flowed and solidified at high temperatures, forming a vitrified surface layer more than 100 meters thick.

The vitrified surface at the entrance to the rift valley still radiates intense heat, and dark red light shines through the solidified lava patterns, casting a somber crimson glow over the surrounding area for kilometers.

No greenskin could survive in this environment. Once this barrage of fire hits, Zhao Zheng was certain that even wild beasts wouldn't survive.

Xiang Ji stood at the edge of that vitrified ground, the armor plates on the soles of his boots slightly hot from the residual heat.

He lowered the power rifle in his hand; the electric arc on the blade had extinguished, and several dried green bloodstains remained on the metal surface.

Xiang Ji's gaze swept over the entrances to the rift valleys that had been completely melted and sealed off, then he looked up at the large patches of charred remains scattered along the edge of the distant plain—green wreckage left behind after the escort ships had fired upon them.

Reports from various units confirmed casualties and remaining enemy positions over the communication channel, and the figures were much better than expected.

Chi You's front-line assault team lost seven Golia mechs while blocking the entrance to the main lair. Five of them were overturned by the brute force of the last wave of Sgug behemoths that rushed out from the depths of the cave. The remaining two had their cooling systems fail after the flamethrowers were continuously overloaded. The pilots abandoned the mechs and they were towed back for repairs by SCVs.

The raider squadron suffered no casualties, but its ammunition consumption was high.

The Red Guard Battalion lost 137 brothers in battle, and about 400 were wounded, some seriously and some lightly.

Li Cunxiao's first and second companies each suffered minor injuries, but both were still combat-ready.

After listening to the report, Meng Tian didn't say much, only giving a brief reply.

"Received. Prioritize sending the wounded back to the orbital hospital ship. The remaining units shall remain on standby and await further instructions."

He turned and walked along the edge of the rift toward the Stormbirds' landing spot, the scorched earth from the soles of his boots leaving a deep trail of marks behind him.

The crushed green-skinned bones and metal fragments, mixed in with the vitrified surface texture, are embedded there like fossils, serving as a testament to the demise of this green-skinned empire for centuries to come.

"Father has confirmed that all the green-skinned population heat signals in the Yulin star system have disappeared, and the remaining ship debris and space debris in orbit have been cleared. Next, we just need to clean up this planet again before we can begin large-scale mineral mining and planetary terraforming."

Li Jing's words reached the ears of several front-line commanders.

Xiang Ji hummed in agreement, sat down in the Stormbird's seat, and placed his helmet on his lap.

His gaze fell on the dark red plain outside the porthole. His father's engineering fleet had begun landing on the surface, and a large number of engineering SCVs had begun to be deployed.

Under dynamic vision, Xiang Ji also saw a logistics manager who had recently been promoted by his father. This genetically engineered brother named Zhuge Kongming was indeed an expert in this area.

He not only has superb insights into agriculture, mining, and politics, but also an amazing talent for grasping the overall situation and strategy. I believe that my father will promote him to prime minister or chancellor soon.

This planet, too, will soon become the first alien mining world of the Qin Empire.

The future of the Qin Dynasty is bright!

Chapter Fifteen: Improving the System

The morning light of Yuanshuo-1 washed over the eastern coastline, penetrating the observation windows of the bridge of the Lishan ship and spreading a thin layer of pale golden light on the alloy floor.

Zhao Zheng sat in the command chair to the side of the main control position, holding a dossier that had just been presented by Zhuge Kongming. The edges of the parchment were still slightly damp with ink, and the handwriting was very neat, as if it had been engraved.

This is the paper version of the regulations; it will be uploaded to the electronic version after verification.

Zhuge Liang stood about a step away from him, his back slightly bent, his hands folded and hanging down in front of him.

This genetically modified offspring, standing at 2.8 meters tall, had a lean and imposing appearance, with a calmness between his brows that belied his age.

This isn't the sharpness honed on the battlefield, but more like the cautious and meticulous old official who spends all day buried in documents, always thinking a few steps ahead of others.

Anyone who saw his youthful face would never have imagined that he was so exceptionally capable. Even Zhao Zheng hesitated at first about whether to promote this young man.

He became his own son at the age of 14, and at 16 he became a minister in charge of assisting the state, holding the position of prime minister. And if nothing unexpected happens, he will probably be promoted to prime minister in another two years.

Fortunately, Kongming is a capable man, especially in this era where ability is paramount; otherwise, it would have been difficult for me to promote him.

"Your Majesty, this is a draft jointly prepared by me, my three colleagues Xiao He, Han Fei, and Zhang Liang. It has been revised nine times in total."

Kongming's voice was gentle, with a refined yet rigorous attitude.

"The military merit system, military production levels, and land and resource quotas corresponding to the ranks have all been calculated and are well-matched with the current state of the empire. If Your Majesty deems it feasible, I will begin to implement it."

"There's no need for such formality between you and me, father and son. There are no outsiders here."

"Etiquette and law must not be abandoned."

Zhuge Kongming shook his head. Unlike his other sons, he did not directly call Zhao Zheng "father." Etiquette was still very important. As the prime minister, he had to set an example and not set a bad example, lest he break the rules.

Zhao Zheng didn't say anything more; he knew Kongming's temperament.

His gaze swept down the lines of the parchment, the graphite pen occasionally pausing at a certain spot, leaving a very light scratch on the edge of the original manuscript.

Zhao Zheng was quite capable. The bill that Kongming and the other three had spent two months revising and adding to over a long period of time was completely understood by him in less than two minutes.

The draft was more mature than he had anticipated, and the hierarchy of the twentieth rank of military nobility was designed with great depth.

From the lowest rank of "Gongshi" to the highest rank of "First-Class Marquis", each rank has clear promotion conditions and corresponding resource allocations, providing sufficient room for advancement without making promotion too easy and losing its incentive.

Zhao Zheng nodded, affirming the plan and system designed by Kong Ming and others.

"However, those who move to a new colony and complete five years of settled production will be promoted two ranks... You've changed this place many times?"

Zhao Zheng looked up at Kongming.

Kongming nodded slightly and bowed.

"The original draft stated that 'those who move into the new colony will be promoted one rank,' but after discussing it with Xiao He, we made adjustments."

“Simply moving in is not enough to generate real value. Some people move in for the title, but they may become lazy and waste their time in the new land, which will only slow down the development progress.”

"Adding the condition of 'completing five years of settled production' can both ensure the efficiency of the development of new colonies and select people who are truly willing to settle down locally."

Zhao Zheng gave a soft "hmm" and didn't ask any more questions.

The core idea of ​​this draft military rank system is very clear: it is not only a ladder of military merit, but also a key tool for the Qin Empire to transition from a single-planet regime to an intergalactic empire.

As the territory expands, the population increases, and the industrial system grows, Zhao Zheng needs a sufficiently stable framework to motivate everyone, making them willing to contribute to the empire's expansion while also reaping rewards from it.

"Where are you at in the rank of nobility?"

Zhao Zheng flipped to the end of the file, where only a general title was listed, and the specific clauses were still blank.

"Han Fei is still drafting it."

"He insisted on first calculating the resource allocation balance between the rank of Gong and the rank of Jun before filling the gaps, so as to avoid the situation where 'Gong's treatment is more favorable than that of the same rank of Jun,' or vice versa, which could cause a lot of trouble."

"Based on current estimates, it will take about three more days to complete the first draft."

“Tell Han Fei that the rank of Gong (工) does not have to be completely equivalent to that of Jun (军). The core of Gong is output and technological contribution, while the core of Jun is military achievements and sacrifice.”