Several months passed in a flash.
Within the Qi Kingdom, everything was peaceful and harmonious. Meanwhile, under Grand General Ian Song's orders, another 100,000 new soldiers were recruited, officially pushing Qi's army past the 200,000 mark to a total of 230,000.
But the Shenzhou Continent was far from tranquil.
After years of lying dormant, the Qin Kingdom finally made a major move.
After years of reform, the Qin Kingdom had built up enough strength—its troops were powerful, its horses vigorous, and its granaries overflowing.
So when it struck, it did so with two full armies.
One force of 80,000 was led by the renowned Qin general, General Meng Feng, and in just half a month, they broke through three counties in the Zhao Kingdom.
The other force of 50,000 was commanded by the newly risen young general, General Quinn Ba.
Although his army was only 50,000 strong, General Quinn Ba performed even more brilliantly than Meng Feng—within half a month, he captured five county-cities in the Yan Kingdom, bringing more than half of Yan’s territory into Qin’s domain.
Yan and Zhao, after two wars with Qi, had suffered devastating losses. On top of that, the sky-high war reparations had nearly crushed them, so for the next ten years, neither dared to stir up conflict. Yet none expected the Qin Kingdom to launch a war against them.
Qi Kingdom, Lingshui Prefecture, Grand General’s Residence.
All the officials and generals had gathered in the council hall of the Grand General’s Residence, waiting for the Grand General to arrive.
Anyone with eyes could see that Qi’s rise to this point was thanks to the Grand General; as for the King of Qi—well, that little brat, not many people really took him seriously.
Now, with the Qin Kingdom having captured eight counties from Yan and Zhao, all the officials and generals in Qi felt deeply unsettled.
Why?
Yan and Zhao were both crippled by the Grand General’s campaigns, and now the Qin Kingdom was reaching in to snatch their spoils. Wasn’t this just stealing food from the tiger’s mouth?
But the Grand General hadn’t expressed any opinion on the matter, so no one dared say much.
But now, with Qin already having taken eight counties from Yan and Zhao, if they were allowed to keep going, both kingdoms might be swallowed whole. At that point, Qin would become the largest territorial power on the Shenzhou Continent—a prospect the people of Qi could not accept.
So, after a round of discussion, all the officials came together at the Grand General’s Residence to ask for the Grand General’s view.
"The Grand General has arrived."
When the crime was exposed, his parents were beaten to death with clubs by order of the official while helping him escape.
After enduring countless hardships, Quinn Ba fled to the Qin Kingdom, where a mysterious master recognized his talent and taught him military strategy and martial arts.
After mastering these skills, Quinn Ba joined the Qin army.
In just five short years, he rose from an unknown soldier to a military commander. In this campaign against Yan, he achieved great merit, was promoted nine times by the King of Qin, and became the Front General of Qin—just one step away from the highest command.
Besides that, this guy’s luck with women was also remarkable. Although not striking in appearance, he was quite popular with the ladies. Not only did the beautiful daughters of high Qin officials compete for his attention, but even the King of Qin’s sister, Win Xi-Ruo, favored him, with a rather ambiguous relationship between them.
Even Qin’s female chancellor, Vivian Gee, seemed to look upon him differently, allowing him to enter and leave the chancellor’s residence many times.
If Ian Song’s guess was correct, following the protagonist’s pattern, Quinn Ba would surely achieve great success and have many wives and concubines.
After mastering these skills, Quinn Ba joined the Qin army.
In just five short years, he rose from an unknown soldier to a military commander. In this campaign against Yan, he achieved great merit, was promoted nine times by the King of Qin, and became the Front General of Qin—just one step away from the highest command.
Besides that, this guy’s luck with women was also remarkable. Although not striking in appearance, he was quite popular with the ladies. Not only did the beautiful daughters of high Qin officials compete for his attention, but even the King of Qin’s sister, Win Xi-Ruo, favored him, with a rather ambiguous relationship between them.
Even Qin’s female chancellor, Vivian Gee, seemed to look upon him differently, allowing him to enter and leave the chancellor’s residence many times.
If Ian Song’s guess was correct, following the protagonist’s pattern, Quinn Ba would surely achieve great success and have many wives and concubines.
So, once he confirmed Quinn Ba was the protagonist of this world, Ian Song began to consider whether to kill him.
After all, with his intervention, the world’s trajectory had already been disrupted.
Actually, what he didn’t want to admit was that it was mainly because this kid had a complicated relationship with Vivian Gee.
The Four Great Beauties were his targets, and this kid dared to touch one of them. If he didn’t kill him, who would he kill?
As the saying goes, to destroy someone, you must first drive them mad. That’s why Ian Song hadn’t taken a stand, letting the kid steal the limelight.
But now, all the officials and generals couldn’t sit still, and he had no choice but to take a stand.
General Bruce Meng stepped forward from the generals and said to Ian Song, "Grand General, now that Qin has conquered eight counties of Yan and Zhao, if Qin swallows both kingdoms, they’ll surely turn their attention to us in Qi. Please, Grand General, send troops to stop Qin!"
Then, Sean Song also stepped forward: "Grand General, now both Yan and Zhao have sent envoys, asking for your help. The kings of Yan and Zhao have said that if you help them repel Qin, they’re willing to offer five hundred million coins as the cost for sending troops!"
“What do you all think? Should we send troops?” Ian Song asked.
“Qin is too arrogant. We have to teach them a lesson and show them who’s really the strongest kingdom on the Shenzhou Continent!”
“That’s right, Qin has gone too far this time!”
...
All the officials and generals rushed to express their opinions, and surprisingly, everyone agreed—they all demanded to send troops.
It seems that the previous two wars had already given them a taste of victory.
“Since everyone is willing to send troops, then let Generals Victor Zhao and Gu Min each lead 50,000 soldiers to aid Yan and Zhao!”