Warhammer Fantasy: I Have Total War System

The vermilion-lacquered wooden door exuded a faint scent of sandalwood and old books.

The dome is extremely high, and the flowing light of the dragon patterns on the stone walls floats slowly in the darkness, as if a dragon is lurking on it, breathing slowly.

The bed in the very center was excessively large.

Supported by a low stone platform carved from a single piece of black jade, and cushioned with several layers of silk padding, the quilts, pillows, and sheets are all embroidered with dark red coiled dragon patterns.

Opposite the bed, against the wall, was a large desk, next to which were several display shelves, bookshelves, and wardrobes, all crammed full.

Another eye-catching item is a clothes rack encased in colored glass.

Li Lin intended to examine the items inside, but as soon as he sat down on the edge of the bed,

Suddenly everything went black, and with a "thud," I fell asleep.

Before losing consciousness, his mind flashed through the events of the past few days—life-or-death battles, the thunderous sedan chair, resurrection, handling military affairs, bidding farewell to colleagues, taking command of the entire army...

"I'm such a night owl," he muttered to himself before falling into a deep sleep.

-----------------

Li Lin awoke, feeling both hungry and thirsty, after an unknown amount of time.

He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar carved dome, and it took him a while to remember that he was waiting for Xinqi and Hourong to wake up.

He turned his head and looked at the ground.

It's all over.

The two people who were lying down were gone.

Li Lin sprang out of bed with a swift movement, tumbling and crawling, and ran outside to look for someone.

Xin Qi and Hou Rong were sitting cross-legged in the center of the original hall, next to the stone pillar that held the dragon pearl, cultivating with their eyes closed.

Xin Qi was surrounded by layers of blood-red malevolent energy, which flowed into her body with each breath, like countless battlefield ghosts being sucked into the underworld, making Li Lin's heart pound with fear.

On the other side, Hou Rong presented a completely different picture. His cultivation technique was ancient and grand, and his body was shrouded in a layer of pale golden light. A third illusory eye appeared faintly on his forehead, continuously absorbing the surrounding golden light.

Upon noticing the arrival of the person, Xinqi was the first to open her eyes.

She withdrew from her cultivation state, the blood-red light around her receding like a tide, and she stood up decisively, bowing to Li Lin.

"We don't know when Steward Li will wake up. We have taken the liberty of cultivating here, and we hope you will forgive us."

Hou Rong lingered for a few more breaths, reluctant to leave, until the third eye on his forehead disappeared under his skin again, before slowly standing up, his face full of lingering satisfaction.

"Truly worthy of being called the Dragon Palace!" He looked around, marveling. "Even the Earth Marrow Spirit Milk Cultivation Room of the Wei Jing Dragon Court is not as enjoyable as cultivating here."

"Brother Li, are you selling this treasure? Name your price."

Xin Qi frowned and warned Li Lin before he could, "Commander Hou, be careful what you say. The Dragon Palace was bestowed upon the Li family of Nanli by the Dragon Emperor himself. How can it be bought or sold?"

Hou Rong waved his hand dismissively: "It's just a private transaction, nobody knows, what's there to be afraid of?" Although he said that, he also realized the inappropriateness of buying and selling the Dragon Palace, so he didn't mention it again.

Li Lin didn't care about these trivial details and went straight to the point: "Do you two still want to pursue Commander Yu and the others?"

Xinqi fell silent.

Hou Rong scoffed, "Who knows how much time has passed? Chase them? The sandstorm has long since covered their footprints; we can't catch up anyway."

Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the two of them don't run away, it's fine.

"Please come with me, both of you."

He teleported the two of them to a room in the outer hall of the Dragon Palace that had been converted into an office.

The desk was piled high with official documents and reports processed yesterday: marching route maps, troop rosters, military ration accounts, and organizational lists. The various documents were stacked up like several small mountains.

Li Lin pointed to the documents and said, "You two are also people entrusted with important responsibilities by your commanders."

"These are the military matters I handled yesterday. Please take a look, and feel free to offer any opinions."

Upon hearing this, Hou Rong's face immediately showed impatience.

"I'm just a lieutenant commander, you know what a lieutenant commander is? I'm in charge of marching and fighting, don't bother me with these trivial matters, they just annoy me."

"Get me out of here quickly. I'm afraid my adjutants will turn the surrounding camps upside down if I don't go back soon."

We cannot let Hou Rong go at this time.

Li Lin knew that he had no troops or power, and neither did Xin Qi. Both of them were commanders with shallow foundations and no real authority, and they could not command the respect of the people.

Hou Rong came from a distinguished family and had made outstanding military achievements. Everyone respected him, or at least was willing to give him face.

He and Xinqi needed Hou Rong's help to establish themselves.

"General Hou has a great reputation and is more respected than the two of us. We will need to rely on General Hou's help in many matters," Li Lin said respectfully.

"If General Hou is willing to stay and listen a little longer, I am willing to open the Dragon Palace to General Hou, and you may bring one subordinate with you each time you come to the Dragon Palace to cultivate."

Hou Rong stopped in his tracks.

"Two," he held up two fingers, "I'm bringing two people with me."

"make a deal."

Hou Rong readily nodded, lay down on the futon, crossed his legs, and watched the two handle military affairs.

Xinqi didn't say much when Li Lin tried to persuade Hou Rong to stay.

She picked up the briefings and carefully flipped through them one by one at a very fast pace. Occasionally, she would pause on a particular line for a moment before continuing to flip through, clearly demonstrating her extensive experience in military command.

Before an incense stick had burned, she put down the last briefing and said, "Military affairs will be handled according to the instructions of the commanders. I will lead the vanguard and the central guard, while the rear guard and the supply corps will remain under the command of Commander Li. The two armies will not interfere with each other in normal times, but I will provide full support if there is any need for cooperation."

She paused after speaking, then looked up at Li Lin with a sharp gaze: "But there is one thing I don't quite agree with regarding the military strategy."

Li Lin's heart skipped a beat.

What I feared was coming.

"Please feel free to speak."

"The marching speed is too slow. At the current pace of eighteen li per day, it will take at least another half month to reach Nangao."

what?

Isn't it because they think it's too fast and will leave many ordinary people behind?

"With the pursuers following behind, we must increase our speed to thirty li per day. Those who can't keep up will have to stay behind. We don't have extra food or time to take care of burdens."

"The number of troops under Feng Yao and Ye Sheng may not be as large as the cannibal alliance, but their troublesomeness is far beyond that of the mountain barbarians."

Feng Yao, who was in charge of the pursuit, was General Haotian, who had fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His troops included Hongwu Du and Liangyi Suwei, both of whom were high-ranking officials raised by Ye Sheng and were most skilled at infiltration, decapitation, and creating chaos.

Once he gets his tail, we'll be like sheep surrounded by wolves, with no chance of survival other than being dragged to our deaths.

Her tone was low and urgent, as if she had personally witnessed the terror of Feng Yao and Ye Sheng.

Seemingly afraid that Li Lin wouldn't believe her, she continued:

"General Duanmu of the vanguard army, the one I replaced, disappeared on the battlefield without a trace, without blood or a body."

The scouts I sent out to clean up the battlefield afterward still haven't figured out how he broke or where he broke.

"Ogres couldn't possibly have such clandestine methods; only Feng Yao and his Imperial Guard could have accomplished this."

"I suspect, no, I'm sure, they're right now clinging to the backside of the coalition forces."

"So we not only need to speed things up, but also raid the homes of those merchant caravans one by one, allocate all supplies in a unified manner, and march at breakneck speed."

"The Allied forces must be brought back to Nanga intact; the rest will have to fend for themselves."

After Xinqi finished speaking, she remained silent for ten breaths before realizing how cold-blooded and ruthless her words were.

She brushed aside her messy hair, and with a hint of embarrassment as she tried to make amends, added, "All of this is for the sake of China; sacrifice is inevitable."

However, the two people in front of them did not show strong resistance or opposition.

Hou Rong yawned nonchalantly.

Li Lin, on the other hand, had a grin on his face.

Very good, very good. He was afraid that this mysterious female general would not be compatible with his values, but he did not expect her to be an even more cold-blooded and pragmatic living devil than him.

Compared to the decisions she proposed, Li Lin felt like a living saint.

I suddenly understand why Boss Cao kept Jia Xu around.

Li Lin organized his thoughts and spoke calmly, "General Xinqi is absolutely right."

Xinqi stared at the desk, frozen in place.

For the first time in her life, her opinion was not completely rejected.

"The threat of the pursuers cannot be ignored, and I absolutely believe what General Shinki said."

"But we are facing not just a few battles, but a nationwide rebellion."

"We not only want to win, but we also want the world to know who is righteous and who is evil."

He paused, then continued:

"If we become brutal ourselves, plunder caravans, abandon civilians, and turn the allied forces into a rout who only cares about their own escape, what will the world think of us? What will our own soldiers think of us?"

They would say that the rebels and the government troops are all the same, cannibalistic beasts. Even if the rebellion is quelled, the people's hearts will be lost, and won't the next rebellion be far behind?

"The reason why the nine commanders have strong and well-equipped troops and do not march alone, but instead shelter so many people in the fortress, is precisely because they understand this principle."

Even if we are completely wiped out, the people of Zhen Dan will remember that there was an army of the Dragon Emperor who died on the battlefield to bring the people home.

With the people's hearts united, even without us, suppressing the rebellion is only a matter of time.

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent again.

Hou Rong raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

Xinqi's expression was even more complicated. She glanced at Li Lin, her eyes flashing with surprise and deep shame. Her lips moved, but she ultimately did not utter a word of rebuttal.

"Manager Li is right," she said, looking down at the ground again, "I was too impatient."

Li Lin found it a bit strange.

Given his reputation as a good-for-nothing gigolo, it wasn't surprising that this General Xinqi, whom he had never met before, recognized him.

But she seemed to have a vague feeling that she couldn't hold her head up in front of him, which surprised Li Lin.

In particular, the enemy's military achievements were no less than his.

Oh ho?

Will I ever have a good reputation?

"New general, you don't need to underestimate yourself. You're right. We must guard against pursuers and increase our speed. I will do my best to increase the marching speed according to the situation."

"I will also be responsible for the rations of all troops, and I will never shortchange the vanguard and the central guard. As for the supplies of the caravans, I will negotiate with them to obtain them."

Xinqi nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The situation on the rearguard side seems to be..."

He knew what the other person meant.

The rearguard was different from the other two army groups.

When Li Lin came into contact with military affairs yesterday, he carefully checked the roster. He originally wanted to make a "Book of Hatred" to settle scores with the officers who wanted him dead.

But what they discovered was a deeper truth.

The vanguard and central guard armies had almost no generals who deserted in the face of battle, and their officers were significantly fewer than those of the rear guard.

Li Lin was almost certain that the nine commanders were able to distinguish who came from good families and who were unreliable spoiled brats.

They deliberately threw all the unreliable people into the rearguard, including Li Lin himself, who had just broken ties with Long Yi Wu Ta Mei.

Therefore, the rear guard under Li Lin's management was not an army, but a demon-locking tower that gathered all the demons and monsters within the allied forces.

He has to ensure that the people in this Demon-Sealing Tower don't cause trouble.

Xinqi had been ranked among the generals and military commissioners earlier than him, and should have been aware of this as well.

"I can handle it," Li Lin replied confidently.

Xinqi nodded and asked no more questions.

Seeing that the two had almost finished their discussion, Hou Rong stood up and stretched, saying, "Finished? Now it's time to get to work."

"Let's go, let's go and inform the various units about the troop deployment."