The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Li Erhu took off his cotton hat, brushed the snowflakes off his head, sat cross-legged on the communal bed, and let out a comfortable sigh.

"It's already the twelfth lunar month, and the commander-in-chief hasn't given any orders yet. Aren't we going to prepare to seize the border of Dali in one fell swoop?"

Chung Wending clicked his tongue twice. "I didn't expect you to be so belligerent."

"Following Yi-ge'er will bring military merits." Li Erhu chuckled. "It's not that I'm warlike, but I feel that even if Dali receives the news, it will be difficult to assemble a large army in just three or four days. It's better to take advantage of the situation."

Zhong Wending's disdain was almost undisguised. "Do you really think Dali is similar to Dayan? Dali is a behemoth comparable to Dazhou. Behind the border is a border prefecture no weaker than Qifeng County. How can you say 'taking advantage of the situation'?"

Even so, Chung Wending clearly had her doubts.

There is no room for maneuver between the Great Zhou and the Great Li now, so there is no reason not to continue fighting.

Do we really have to wait for both sides to slowly amass their armies and engage in an earth-shattering battle?

"Manxing County still needs to be consolidated. Managing a county takes an unknown amount of time," Guan Tian interjected. "Besides, we lowly soldiers should refrain from empty talk; it's of no use."

Liu Zhi poured hot tea for his three brothers and finally found an opportunity to interject, so he sighed softly.

"This morning, Da Zhuang, one of Xu Rong's men, complained to me that he had to give away half of his military merits as tribute. I'm wondering if I should report this to Yi Ge'er?"

"What's wrong with that? I've disliked Xu Rong for a long time!" Li Erhu sneered. "The army strictly forbids superiors from withholding military merits from their subordinates. How dare he do that?"

Many questions suddenly popped into Chung Wending's mind.

Military merits are non-transferable, so how can they be deducted?

Xu Rong seems to have exploited a loophole in what is explicitly prohibited?

He voiced his doubts, and Liu Zhi, having considered them as well, answered fluently:

"It wasn't a direct demand, but rather Xu Rong 'inadvertently' revealed some random happy news, waiting for someone sensible to send a congratulatory gift. As for what kind of gift to send, for a cultivator who has entered the Dao, naturally, a variety of pills would be best."

"It is not a violation of military discipline for subordinates to take the initiative to show goodwill—I have thought about this matter, and with Zhao Xiaoqi under Sun Xiaoqi as a witness, the two of them should not dare to play me."

"This incident occurred shortly after the army set out and the war was just over..."

Chung Wending was at a loss for words; he was usually indifferent to such matters, but this time he was clearly indignant.

"I'll discuss this with Yi-ge!"

The remaining three watched in astonishment as Zhong Wending strode away, exchanging bewildered glances.

……

Li Yi was practicing Qi cultivation in the temple when he was suddenly pulled away by Zhong Wending, leaving him completely bewildered.

After listening to Lao Zhong's story, he immediately showed displeasure.

"You are Xu Rong's immediate superior. Although you cannot directly strip him of his military post, you do have the right to hold him accountable..."

Li Yi was furious, and was also quite surprised to see Zhong Wending's strange behavior.

After a moment's thought, he said, "If we directly gather the flags of four or five villages, Xu Rong will probably deny it outright."

"We'll first find Dazhuang and Zhao Xiaoqi to confirm this, then have them find a few aggrieved parties from the fourth or fifth village, settle things privately, and then cause trouble for Xu Rong."

"That's how it should be!" Chung Wending turned and walked away. "I'll find Liu Zhi and have him talk to him."

Fortunately, the flag bearers from the fourth and fifth villages were on leave today and did not need to patrol, so Liu Zhi quickly brought them over.

When Dazhuang and Zhao Xiaoqi saw Li Yi, they shrank their shoulders and lowered their heads like two quails, clearly showing some fear.

Li Yi wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the scouts on a regular basis, and he rarely interacted with anyone except He Shouli's small squad from the 72nd Manor. It seems that he still held considerable prestige in the hearts of Da Zhuang and the others.

"What you two said to Liu Zhi this morning, is it still valid?"

Zhao Xiaoqi turned to look at Dazhuang, who looked embarrassed and denied it outright.

"I was rambling on and on early in the morning, disturbing you, sir. I deserve to die!"

Are you giving up already? What a coward.

Li Yi felt rather helpless and spoke kindly:

"This is a disguised way of deducting military merits, and it's no small matter. No matter what roundabout ways Xu Rong has tried to pull, it's useless."

If you two recant your testimonies now, but I personally find out something, not only will you lose all the military merits that were withheld, but you will also be held responsible for covering it up!

On the contrary, if you two can tell the truth, I will have reason to protect you.

Even if Xu Rong is punished, it will absolutely not implicate anyone else.

Da Zhuang mustered his courage, looked up, and gave a very ugly smile. "But we still have to work under Xu Xiaoqi in the end..."

Li Yi chuckled. "Once this matter is exposed, Xu Rong will no longer be a member of the Sentinels—what do you think I meant by 'protecting you all'?"

Da Zhuang fell silent, struggling internally for a while before finally making up his mind. He clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"I'll go find a few colleagues right away. They've also been troubled for a long time. With the Commander-in-Chief in charge, they can definitely serve as witnesses!"

After the two left, Li Yi looked at Zhong Wending and sighed:

"Xu Rong dares to steal other people's military achievements; he's really tired of living."

"Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant." Zhong Wending shook his head and sighed, "In future battles, similar incidents will likely occur frequently."

A day passed in the blink of an eye, and the light snow continued to fall. The staff organized people to clean up the snow early in the morning.

Although Xu Rong was not valued by his superiors, he was quite shrewd. Every day, he would find the exact time when Li Yi was practicing and go out to practice with him on time, always greeting him warmly and never missing any of the proper "etiquette".

Whenever he had free time, he would rush to the government office to curry favor with Meng Yunjie.

Unexpectedly, Meng Yunjie didn't take his filial piety seriously at all. His initial arrogance turned into obsequiousness, which was utterly ineffective.

Meng Yunjie's thoughts and concerns were all focused on his own cultivation and spiritual attainment. Xu Rong was willing but powerless to do anything about it, and he was also frustrated and felt that the future was bleak.

"I tried everything I could, and finally managed to use the Qi-boosting pill to reach the bottleneck of my cultivation."

If I can accumulate a single Acupoint Opening Pill, which will help me reach the mid-stage of cultivation, I might be able to break free from Li Yi and take command of a separate force.

Xu Rong has stopped going to the government office recently, focusing solely on his spiritual practice, which gives people a sense of diligence and seems to have added a touch of sincerity.

Li Yi saw this and sighed inwardly.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm, and currying favor with the powerful, are all human nature.

Even if I, Li Yi, don't like someone, I know how to respect their way of life. At most, I'll show them some respect, but I won't deliberately target them.

Putting aside other matters, Li Yi never interfered in the affairs of Xu Rong, Sun Xueming, and Chang Heng within the scouts, so he didn't become a stumbling block for them, but rather provided some assistance.

He shouldn't have done that, of all things, he shouldn't have exploited the merits of his subordinates.

Li Yi did not absorb the Qi; when the time was almost up, he shouted loudly:

"The squad leader, except for those who have duties to perform, all the others should assemble in the barracks."

Li Yi did not set a time limit, but as soon as the order was given, the entire brigade started moving with a clatter. Even many who had patrol duties delayed their arrival and appeared in the queue.

He Shouli, Xu Rong, and other junior officers stood at the front, each with a different expression.

Li Yi immediately looked at Xu Rong.

"Is it true that someone has accused you of withholding military merits from your subordinates?"