If I send you to join the army and marry a woman, will you conquer the Empress?

Grandmaster!

Qin Feng's body trembled, and his heart surged with emotion.

He thought that with his system talent, he could hold the reins of the Nine Seas and defeat Lin Xiao, and had already stood at the pinnacle of the younger generation.

But only now did he realize that there are always people more capable than him, and that there is always something beyond his understanding.

Beyond external strength lies internal strength.

Beyond internal strength, there are even grandmasters!

He had only just glimpsed a corner of the true world of the strong.

"May I ask General Ye, how can one break through the external force barrier and cultivate internal force?"

Qin Feng suppressed the turmoil in his heart and sincerely asked for guidance.

A hint of approval seemed to flash in Ye Cunxin's eyes beneath her bronze mask.

Faced with the words "Grandmaster," an ordinary person would have already lost their composure, but this young man was able to regain his composure in an instant and grasp the core of the problem, which shows his remarkable character.

"To reach the level of internal strength, one must cultivate internal energy techniques."

"This is the foundation of all forces, a closely guarded secret. From the royal family to the martial arts sects, everyone cherishes it and never easily reveals it to outsiders."

"Although your strength is great, it is only the external force that has been honed to its limit. Without the guidance of mental techniques, your qi and blood cannot be condensed into qi, and you will never be able to step into the threshold of internal force in your lifetime."

Qin Feng's heart sank.

It turned out to be the case.

The path of martial arts requires not only talent and hard work, but also inheritance and resources!

His Qin family was descended from a military family, but unfortunately his father and brothers died in battle, and the lineage was broken, leaving behind no profound internal energy cultivation methods.

To put it bluntly, it's a monopoly on resources.

To become stronger, you must squeeze into this circle.

"Then how can I obtain it?" Qin Feng pressed.

"Two paths."

Ye Cunxin extended two fair fingers.

"Firstly, you must make outstanding contributions. In our Great Xia, military merit is paramount. As long as your merit is great enough, you can exchange it with the Ministry of War, or even directly request His Majesty to bestow upon you a divine martial arts manual."

Secondly!

Ye Cunxin paused, a hint of amusement in her sharp eyes: "After the martial arts examination, join my Vermilion Bird Army. I can decide to pass on a Xuan-rank cultivation technique to you."

Profound-level cultivation technique!

This is already an enormous promise!

Qin Feng's heart stirred, and he clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you, General Ye!"

"No need, I simply value talent."

Ye Cunxin waved her hand, turned around and left, leaving only a fiery red silhouette behind.

……

"Time's up! The second round of the competition is over!"

"All candidates, proceed immediately to the Chongwen Hall to prepare for the third stage: the written examination on policy!"

In the distance, the voice of the examiner from the Ministry of War rang out again.

The military examination was not just for selecting a mere soldier, but for a general who could stand alone and command troops in battle.

While bravery is important, strategy and military tactics are of paramount importance.

Chongwen Hall.

This is where the princes and princesses usually study, but it has been temporarily converted into an examination hall.

Hundreds of candidates took their seats in order according to their assigned numbers.

In front of each person was a long table, complete with all the four treasures of the study.

Unlike the exhilarating atmosphere of the previous two challenges, the atmosphere inside the Chongwen Hall was extremely oppressive at this moment.

Many candidates who performed only moderately well in strength and archery were now eager to turn the tide in this round.

Many of the warriors who shone brightly in the first two stages were now frowning and looking miserable.

Making them fight and kill is one thing, but making them pick up a pen is worse than killing them.

"quiet!"

An elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in the official robes of the Minister of War, walked up to the high platform, holding a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict.

He was Li Jing, the Minister of War and the chief examiner for this military examination.

Li Jing surveyed the entire hall, his majestic voice resounding throughout the space.

"The Martial Arts Examination is not only for selecting brave warriors for the country, but also for selecting capable generals for the army!"

"The courage of a common man can only lead to charges into battle. But the talent of a general lies in strategizing and winning battles from afar!"

"Today's third test is a policy essay, with questions personally set by His Majesty! You must all do your utmost to write down everything you have learned!"

What?!

These words immediately caused an uproar in the audience.

The test question was personally set by His Majesty!

The portion sizes are completely different!

All the candidates held their breath, waiting anxiously.

Li Jing unfurled a roll of yellow silk in his hand and read aloud:

"Exam Question: If you are the commander of the Northern Frontier, with 3,000 elite soldiers under your command, you are besieged in a city by an enemy army of tens of thousands. There is no way to advance, and you are being pursued from behind. Your food supplies will run out in three days."

Q: How can we break through this impasse and achieve our goal?

boom!

The moment the question was posed, the entire hall erupted in uproar!

"What kind of question is this? It's a dead end!"

"Three thousand against ten thousand, still besieged in the city, supplies exhausted... how can we fight?"

"Is His Majesty testing us, or is he making things difficult for us?"

……

All the test takers were dumbfounded.

They looked worried and scratched their heads, trying to write a single word even after holding a pen for a long time.

Champion Hou Linxiao picked up his pen, a cold, sharp smile curving his lips.

In his opinion, the question was extremely simple.

On the battlefield, when paths cross, only the brave will prevail!

On the other side, Qin Feng laughed when he heard the question.

Three thousand against ten thousand, besieged city, survival in dire straits?

For someone with a soul from the information explosion era, this kind of question is practically a freebie!

Qin Feng leisurely prepared the ink, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote a piece on the snow-white Xuan paper.

……

An hour passes in the blink of an eye.

The Ministry of War officials collected all the candidates' answer sheets and sent them to the marking area behind the viewing platform.

The examination room was brightly lit.

Minister of War Li Jing, along with several Vice Ministers of War and a number of veteran generals drawn from the army, sat upright and began to review the examination papers.

boom!

Just then, the curtain was gently lifted.

A middle-aged scholar dressed in brocade robes with a dignified face walked in slowly.

Behind him followed a handsome young man.

All the officials present were startled when they saw the newcomer and immediately bowed down, their voices filled with awe.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

The visitor was none other than the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty, Emperor Xia, who was traveling incognito!

Behind him, of course, was Princess Fuyao, Xia Yingtai, disguised as a man.

"All of you, rise."

Emperor Xia waved his hand, indicating that everyone did not need to be so polite.

"I've only come to see if there are any outstanding talents in this military examination."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing, the Minister of War, quickly pulled out one of the papers from a pile and respectfully presented it to the minister.

"Your Majesty, this is the answer sheet of Marquis Lin Xiao."

"We believe that his strategy is exceptionally brave and valiant, deserving of the highest praise!"

Emperor Xia took the answer sheet, unfolded it, and slowly read it aloud.

"The city is easy to defend, but unfortunately we only have three days' worth of food left, so we cannot delay."

"In my humble opinion, we should use three thousand light cavalry as the vanguard, emulating Xiang Yu's desperate act of burning his boats, and putting ourselves in a do-or-die situation."

"Charge straight into the enemy's central command tent, behead their commander, and the enemy will surely fall into chaos. We can win in one battle and display the might of our Great Xia army..."

This strategy is simple and brutal, full of Lin Xiao's personal style of ruthlessness and domineering.

Several old generals nodded in agreement.

"Excellent! You have the air of a champion! In a close contest, the brave will prevail; this strategy is feasible!"

"Lord Lin truly lives up to his reputation as a descendant of a military family; he is deeply versed in the perilous ways of warfare!"

Li Jing smiled and praised, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Champion's strategy, though risky, is the most direct and effective. It deserves to be rated as top-tier!"

However, after reading the answer sheet, Emperor Xia simply placed it gently on the table, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Excessive rigidity leads to breakage."

"This strategy has the courage to charge into battle, but lacks the strategic vision to plan for the overall situation."

"Champion Hou Linxiao may be a fierce general charging into battle, but he cannot become the commander of an army."

"If all three thousand soldiers were willing to die for their cause, this strategy might succeed. But in that case, even if they managed to break through, they would be at their last gasp, no different from total annihilation."

His words left everyone present speechless and drenched in cold sweat.

As expected of His Majesty!

Sharp eye, incisive.

Just as the atmosphere became tense, a clear voice rang out.

"Father!"

Xia Yingtai stepped forward, a hint of pride and anticipation on her face: "Please take another look at Qin Feng's exam paper!"

Father?!

These two words, like a thunderclap, exploded in the ears of several Ministry of War officials.

They stared at Xia Yingtai in astonishment, their minds blank.

Who exactly is this handsome young man, a prince?

Why have I never seen it before?

Ignoring the stares of others, Emperor Xia instructed Li Jing, the Minister of War:

"Go and fetch Qin Feng's exam paper for me!"