Warhammer Fantasy: I Have Total War System

Li Lin led Hou Rong and Xin Qi to the outside of the carriage.

As agreed, Hou Rong first led his troops to accompany Xin Qi to formally inform the commanders of the division of troops to the vanguard and central guard armies.

Key figures, such as Hou Rong and Jin Tian, ​​the commander of the Central Guard Army, already knew about the division of troops.

The significance of the notification lies in using the unexpected bad news to identify the troublemakers and establish authority over the new Qi.

The best and brightest fighters are all in the vanguard and central defense forces, so it's only natural to stabilize those two forces first. The matter of the rearguard can be dealt with later.

After the two left, Li Lin had his guards call Chen Guizhou and the others into the Sinan carriage.

Before the old strategist and his staff entered, Li Lin had his bed and personal belongings transported from the cramped copper-walled carriage to his bedroom in the inner palace of the Dragon Palace, so he would no longer live there.

"From now on, this compass cart will be your workplace," Li Lin said to Chen Guizhou and the others, patting the dust off his hands.

Chen Guizhou nodded: "This subordinate obeys."

His staff skillfully operated the Five Elements Compass and various magical artifacts.

A sandbox with lighting and shadows, a complete battlefield map, and a list displaying the names and status of each army unit—

Those large magical artifacts that Yi Ge could hardly control alone were also activated.

Without Li Lin making any special arrangements, the staff members had already taken out desks and cushions from their storage artifacts and continued to handle the military affairs at hand.

"This humble servant hopes to meet with Young Master Li's adjutant and the Qi-cultivating sorcerer."

Li Lin then called Xing Ganqi in, and then went to the workshop to find Yi Ge.

Tat-tat.

He knocked twice politely on the door with his knuckles.

"Wait a minute." Yi Ge's deep voice came through, seemingly wearing a mask.

Li Lin waited outside for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he couldn't wait any longer.

Bang bang bang! !

[Alchemist Yi Ge, Loyalty -5]

No? So arrogant?

Are you my lord, or am I your lord?

A crack appeared in the locked door, and Li Lin pushed it open and entered. He saw the alchemist and the three rats wearing strange equipment similar to hazmat suits, fiddling with an alchemy furnace engulfed in dark green dimensional stone flames.

Holy crap!

"Yi Ge, Sister Yi, Ancestor, please stop! I'm begging you, please don't blow up my Dragon Palace!" Li Lin pleaded painfully, pressing against the door and not daring to take a step forward.

Yi Ge rolled his eyes from inside his black mask, told the three rats to continue repairing the alchemy furnace with some kind of electric drill, and then took off his hazmat suit and walked toward Li Lin. His bewitching face looked particularly cold in the cold green light.

"What?" she said coldly, seemingly very displeased that the experiment had been interrupted.

"Have you bought what I asked you to buy?"

"Uh, I'll go buy it right away."

I will endure!

Once I recruit other metal mages, you'll see if I kick you or not!

"My staff will be stationed at the Sinan Grand Cart from now on. They also know some magic. Go and say hello to them." Li Lin coughed twice, striking a pose like a lord, but when he glanced at the alchemy furnace in the distance that looked like a nuclear reactor, his legs still couldn't help but tremble.

"Hmm." Yi Ge nodded, without any further reaction.

The two teleported back into the Sinan carriage. Chen Guizhou had just finished handing over with Xing Ganqi when he turned around and bowed to Yi Ge:

"You must be Young Master Li's chief mage?"

Yi Ge's gaze shifted to Li Lin, who answered for her: "Yes, she is a high-ranking priest who came with me from the Shangyang Esoteric Sect. She saved me from danger several times and has made great contributions."

[Alchemist Yi Ge, Loyalty +10]

what?

So, my sis, you're actually a bit of a tsundere?

Chen Guizhou nodded and followed up with a compliment: "Judging from your demeanor, you are a remarkable grand mage."

Yi Ge remained expressionless, but according to the system prompts, he was probably quite pleased inside.

Chen Guizhou discussed some matters with her regarding the control of magical artifacts and wartime command. The two agreed to find another time to rehearse the wartime scenario, and Yi Ge then went back into her workshop.

"Hey, watch out for your three pets! There are people outside now, don't let them run out again!"

Li Lin knocked on the door and called out.

"Don't think I'll bail you out when you're accused of being a follower of Qingbao Tianzun!"

[Alchemist Yi Ge, Loyalty -5]

Well, it's all for nothing.

Li Lin reluctantly shut his mouth and returned to the Sinan cart.

He summoned Chen Guizhou and others, and asked them to retrieve the regional map from Nanli to Nangao.

Seven or eight staff members immediately began adjusting the lighting and shadows on the sand table.

Soon, blue fluorescent light spread out in mid-air, and the miniature terrain of the entire area, including Sulfur Road, the Mourning Mountains, South City, and Bone Pass, was displayed in detail on the sand table.

A narrow green dot of light slowly moves at the starting point of the sand table, which is the symbol of the Allied Forces.

"The marching speed is set at eighteen li per day," Li Lin said bluntly, pointing to the winding route on the sand table. "From here to Nangao, you need to come up with a plan on how to proceed, where to stop, and for how long."

Chen Guizhou and the others nodded and began to discuss in hushed tones, constantly manipulating the images on the light and shadow sand table.

They were not from the northern provinces, but they had extensive experience in marching.

First calculate the mileage, then the water sources, and finally the areas where enemy troops might appear.

"Young master is from Nanli, so he must know the surrounding situation better than we do. Please correct any oversights in time."

Li Lin took the briefing, said nothing, and nodded pretentiously.

He doesn't actually remember anything.

When I recall Nanli, I only feel an extremely oppressive pain enveloping my heart.

Sigh, every family has its own troubles.

Although the original owner of this body had no memories left, Li Lin knew the battle terrain of Nanli in the game like the back of his hand.

Dude, I don't have any other hobbies, I just love playing Total War.

Nanli is located in the hilly area on the northern foothills of the Sorrowful Mountains. Once you leave the desert and enter Nanli, the surrounding environment will change into continuous bamboo forests and terraced fields built along the mountains.

This is very disadvantageous for ranged units and cavalry.

Moreover, on the official road leading directly north of Nanli to Nangao, the first pass, "White Bone Pass," is occupied year-round by treacherous and eccentric believers of unknown origin.

He pointed south from the southern end and drew an arc westward to the White Bone Pass.

"This section of the road is the most dangerous, as we may be ambushed by the rebels from the south at any time. We must march through the night without stopping for a moment."

"You must slow down when you get near the White Bone Pass."

"There are Qingbao Tianzun followers entrenched in the dense forests and mountain streams. There's no way to escape; we must proceed cautiously and steadily."

He paused, then gestured to the staff around him to quickly write down what he had said.

"You guys take notes, highlight the key points of what I just said, and make a brief report. Once you've dealt with things with General Xinqi, send it to her."

After about two incense sticks' worth of time, the group finalized the marching plan.

Starting from the current location, at a speed of 18 li per day, it will take approximately 14 days to reach the outskirts of Nangao.

They may have to wait outside the city for a few more days until the Dragon and the Lords of Nangao allow them to pass.

With Li Lin holding the position of the Southern Pacification Commissioner, it shouldn't be long before he's in power.

After instructing his staff to put away the briefing, Li Lin inquired of Chen Guizhou about the issue of ration deductions.

Chen Guizhou took out a stack of documents from his sleeve and handed them to him: "The relevant official documents have been drafted. However, I would like to ask, does the steward intend to launch a surprise attack, or will he make it public first before taking action?"

"Make it public first." Li Lin flipped through the documents without looking up.

Chen Guizhou nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the choice, but calmly stated: "This humble servant must remind you of one thing—when you commanders divided the army into three forces, you deliberately concentrated all those unreliable officers in the rear guard."

"These people have complicated backgrounds and are not only useless themselves, but they will also affect others. Once you take action, they will definitely not sit idly by. In the worst case, they may even interfere with General Xinqi's command of the other two armies."

"If you want to take them down, you'll have to rely on yourself, on the army under your own command."

Li Lin put down the document, sighed inwardly, and nodded, saying, "I understand."

His troops were almost completely wiped out after the Battle of Stone Fortress.

It's truly a pipe dream to think that just two stone lions can kill off a whole bunch of spoiled brats in the rear guard.

While looking for a pretext to take action, we must also quickly expand our military.

Suppressing his frustration, Li Lin summoned his personal guards to gather all the remaining soldiers who were still capable of fighting.

He didn't look for any open field; he simply summoned these people to the compacted sand in front of the Sinan wagon.

There were about a hundred people, all covered in dust and dirt, many with vacant eyes, clearly still recovering from the previous battle.

Li Lin didn't give a long speech.

"Soldiers, I now give you two choices. First, continue to serve as soldiers, with the highest pay and benefits. After we retake Nanli, you will also be granted official titles and ranks."

"Those who feel they can no longer fight can retire now, settle their salary, take back their military contract, and go directly to the supply unit as quartermasters."

The wind rustled through the tent.

At first, perhaps out of shame, no one dared to stand up.

After a long while, someone finally made a move.

First, a few conscripted peasants in the back row came out with their heads down, and then more people followed.

Li Lin stood still and instructed the clerk beside him to retrieve the military contracts and the boxes containing the gold.

One by one, the crowd approached Li Lin, took the heavy box containing five taels of Nangao gold ingots, and none of them dared to look him in the eye.

"Take care, young master."

Some people didn't say anything, they just kept wiping away their tears.

In the end, only thirty-three people remained on the sand.

There were eight brave men, including Xing Ganqi who stood at the very front.

There were twenty-four peasant soldiers, a pitifully small number, but they stood in extremely neat rows, like thirty-three iron nails driven into the sand.

"From this day forward, you will be my personal guard, known as... um, the Southern Garrison."

"Xing Ganqi, you will be the captain of these people. You will be responsible for their daily training and shift rotations."

"yes!"

Li Lin glanced at his system's troop section, but the troop ID for the Southern Li Garrison did not appear.

Is it due to poor staff quality?

Is it still a problem with the equipment?

Regardless of whether the system recognizes this force, these people are Li Lin's only armed force and must be properly armed.

He ordered Xing Ganqi to lead a team, along with the logistics officer, to find the artisans who had previously accompanied the team, donated by Qingluan Tower, to repair all the replaced and damaged weapons and equipment.

Li Lin also remembered the signboard obstacle that Jian Ping had mentioned.

He retrieved the steel for cannon carriages that had been collected from the battlefield from the Dragon Palace and handed it to the blacksmiths, instructing them to make folding chevaux-de-frise and square shields with iron bases.

A 32-man elite force.

This reminded Li Lin of the only commendable unit in the Prison Fear family—the Berserker.

Since they are a small elite force, they should have stronger combat capabilities and better equipment.

Having just accumulated a large fortune, it's time to turn that gold into fighting power!

"Call the driver over and drive the compass cart to the rear of the caravan."