I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

"Yes!"

Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yi led five thousand infantrymen and slowly arrived at the foot of the mountain.

That's right, they claimed to have an army of 50,000, but they only brought 5,000.

Lin Yi isn't stupid. The enemy has less than 500 soldiers. Wouldn't it be utterly foolish to bring 50,000?

Moreover, the enemy is skilled in mountain warfare, so bringing too many people would be inconvenient.

The more troops there are, the greater the consumption will be. At present, the Shang Dynasty's treasury is full, but it is not meant to be wasted.

If it weren't for the advice of court officials, Lin Yi would have thought that five hundred elite soldiers would have been enough.

The Yuezhi didn't have many people at the beginning, and after several battles, they must have suffered casualties.

Even with 500 men, they still have a numerical advantage.

To make the scene more impressive, Lin Yi announced to the outside world that there were 50,000 troops.

After all, he was the king of the Shang Dynasty, and it would be a loss of face for him to personally lead an expedition with too few people.

In this era, Lin Yi was the first to lie about troop strength, unlike the sixth brother.

Five thousand people arrived at the foot of the mountain, where people were already waiting to meet them.

This is Li Hu's younger brother, Li He. According to the current inheritance system, the son succeeds the father, and the younger brother succeeds the elder brother.

Li Hu and his son both died in the mountains, so Li He has the right to inherit this lineage.

This is why, even though there were troops available here, Lin Yi still led his personal army all the way from the capital to fight.

The troops here are not yet fully under his control.

Li He was very respectful to Lin Yi, which made Lin Yi secretly feel sorry for him.

This little brother is too sensible; Lin Yi couldn't find a suitable opportunity to make things difficult for him.

With Li Hu dead, Lin Yi could now openly interfere in Dongfang's affairs, so naturally he wouldn't let Li He get in the way.

Moreover, Li Hu was someone he secretly controlled, but Li He was not.

Instead of wasting time trying to win him over, it's better to just solve the problem once and for all.

Li He was completely unaware of Lin Yi's malice towards him. He was still telling Lin Yi about Li Hu's situation these days with a sad expression.

It was clear that he was trying very hard to hold back his laughter.

"Your Majesty, the Yuezhi have shown disrespect to the king. My brother raised an army to punish them, but unexpectedly suffered a crushing defeat here. Please, Your Majesty, seek justice for your brother!"

Lin Yi sneered inwardly upon hearing this.

Li Hu was indeed his man, but his campaign against the Yuezhi was entirely for personal gain.

On the surface, it's said to be for the sake of the king, but in reality, it's just to curry favor.

Li He wasn't trying to seek justice for Li Hu; he just wanted to get some benefits from him.

Lin Yi saw through it but didn't say anything. He didn't follow Li He's words, but said regretfully, "It's a pity that Li Qing told me about what happened here earlier. If he had told me earlier, this tragedy might not have happened."

Li He was immediately covered in a cold sweat.

He thought Lin Yi was young and easy to fool.

Unexpectedly, with a single, casual remark, this young king transformed his elder brother from a meritorious official into a criminal.

Unauthorized troop deployment and concealment of military intelligence are both capital offenses punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family.

Li He dared not think of using Li Hu to benefit himself anymore, and quickly distanced himself from the matter: "Your Majesty is wise. My brother was truly confused for a moment and made such a mistake, which has brought disaster to our family and also implicated Your Majesty in personally leading the expedition."

I am truly ashamed.

Lin Yi remained expressionless and said, "The man is gone, and the past is irrelevant. As Li Qing's younger brother, you must inherit his loyalty while inheriting his title, and you must also take this as a warning and not make the same mistake."

"Thank you for your instruction, Your Majesty."

Li He was overjoyed; Lin Yi meant that the matter was over.

Little did Lin Yi know, he felt he was ready to die.

He couldn't trust someone who could even use his own brother and betray him at any time.

Before eliminating someone, you must first lower their guard.

The two then had a very pleasant conversation.

After listening to Li He's report on the battle, Lin Yi gained a better understanding of the Yuezhi people on the mountain.

These people were all fiercely independent, and none of them surrendered.

Li Hu had captured members of the Yuezhi tribe before, using them to guide him, but even though the Yuezhi people suffered greatly, they never betrayed the interests of the Yuezhi until their deaths.

Lin Yi felt uneasy listening to this.

I feel like I've become the villain.

Of course, Lin Yi would not show mercy to his enemies.

His heart is compassionate, but the sword in his hand is not.

After understanding the Yuezhi's fighting style, Lin Yi quickly came up with a countermeasure.

"The enemy is already at their last gasp; five hundred soldiers are enough to defeat them."

Lin Yi made his conclusion, and Li He hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, do not underestimate the enemy. They are skilled at setting traps and using hidden weapons and poisons. It is impossible to defend against them!"

Li He said this for Lin Yi's sake, but also for his own.

If Lin Yi underestimates his enemy and dies in the mountains, then things will get really messed up, and his Li clan will definitely be implicated.

It would be even more embarrassing if Lin Yi really defeated the enemy with 500 men.

It should be noted that the Li clan used 8,000 men and lost all three battles.

Compared to this, doesn't the Li family seem like complete useless people?

Only by portraying the enemy as formidable can their defeat seem less shameful.

But Lin Yi had already made up his mind and wouldn't listen to his advice.

"I have already made up my mind. They are skilled in hidden weapons and traps, so we can send a hundred-man team into the mountains."

With these hundred men clearing the way and leaving a signal, those behind could follow a safe path deeper into the jungle, limiting the lethality of their hidden weapons.

According to Li He, in the battle where Li Hu led 5,000 men, the enemy also dragged their troops into the deep mountains and gradually eroded their strength before finally achieving victory.

Lin Yi couldn't understand how he lost either; wasn't it easy to figure out?

A hundred-man suicide squad is ahead. They'll break through all the enemy's traps first; a few deaths don't matter.

With one team following another, the main force was broken up into many smaller teams. How could they possibly lose?

It's one thing to be inexperienced the first time, but to lose three times in a row is simply unbelievable.

Lin Yi didn't understand, but he was deeply shocked.

Lin Yi insisted on this arrangement, leaving Li He with no choice but to accept it.

Lin Yi even handed over command of the advance force to him.

In other words, Li He became the captain of the 100-man suicide squad.

That's right, Lin Yi wanted him to die.

So much time has passed; by now, the Yuezhi, though living in the mountains, should have already learned of his plan to conquer them.

They will definitely be prepared; the mountain should be full of traps now.

Those who went up in the first wave were all sent to their deaths.

Lin Yi certainly wouldn't choose his own personal guards; instead, he would let Li He choose his men.

Watching Li He lead the team up the mountain with trepidation, Lin Yi felt nothing.

He just felt that he had really changed. Although he used to scheme against others, he rarely schemed to kill them.

His mindset seems to have changed now.

I don't know if this change is good or bad...

Chapter 648 Demon Realm

In the mountains and forests, Jiang Linglong watched from afar as Li He led his men into the ambush, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth inwardly.

The opposing team's commander must have been replaced, and he must have gained a clear understanding of our strengths and weaknesses.

Otherwise, the enemy would not have dared to send only a hundred-man team to explore the trap.

Li Hu had previously considered using a small number of people to test the trap, but Jiang Linglong would lead the team to launch a full-scale attack.

If the team has too few members, those members may not be able to trigger the trap and will be surrounded and killed.

The Yuezhi people's advantage lies in their ability to move freely in the mountains and forests, as well as their excellent scouts, the night owls, who can see very far and hear the slightest sounds, thus determining the location and size of the enemy.

With a large number of people, traps become effective; with a small number of people, a barrage of arrows is unleashed. It all depends on continuous guerrilla warfare and constantly expanding the battlefront.

While Li Hu was in a state of mental collapse and not properly protected, Jiang Linglong, with her exceptional accuracy, shot and killed the enemy commander from 800 meters away.

With the enemy leaderless and trapped in the mountains, Li Hu's remaining troops had completely lost their will to fight when faced with the ghostly Yuezhi people.

Because they went deep into the jungle and lost their bearings while escaping, they were relentlessly pursued until they were killed.

Only a lucky few survived and brought the information back with them.

Logically, the other party should have learned their lesson after suffering a loss and wouldn't use a small team to explore for traps again.

Since the other side dared to do this, they are either reckless or they have seen through that there are not many of them left.

Jiang Linglong felt it should be the latter.

The original plan was no longer viable, so Jiang Linglong made a decisive decision and ordered, "Withdraw. They want to use people to fill the trap. I want to see how many people they have to sacrifice."

Before even meeting the King of Shang, Jiang Linglong felt that he must be a cruel and ruthless person.

A king who doesn't value the lives of his people can become king? This Shang Kingdom is doomed sooner or later!