You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

I'm also a leader myself, a backend engineer leading a testing project team, busy every day with daily reports, often feeling overwhelmed. I understand that management always involves various troubles. Of course, the commission is high after taking charge of a project, so I'm happy to do it.

She checked the background process monitoring and found that the computing power had just reached a new peak.

"It should be an unprecedented large-scale war."

Few expeditions to the grasslands can compare to this one, and this battle was far-reaching and multifaceted, with every detail meticulously planned.

A dazzling array of wonderful things to do:

The game features a full range of elements, including night raids, city defense, and cavalry warfare, posing a comprehensive test for the Daqian army.

They held on remarkably well.

Even with the support of Xia He's micro-management and Feng Tianyin, they relied on their true abilities to hold on until the turning point. Under normal circumstances, such a depleted defense would have made it impossible to have the confidence to hold on, but of course, they also gained a lot.

The first line of text displayed reads: [Army Experience +2%], [Cavalry Tactics +5%], [City Defense Tactics +5%]

They will receive additional buffs in appropriate battlefield scenarios.

In addition, there are [increased military deterrence] and [expanded diplomatic influence], etc.

It has made a name for itself.

While it may seem like soft power isn't directly manifested, it became clear when the Great Qian Dynasty began its conquest of the south that having deterrence and not having deterrence are two completely different experiences. This great victory opened up new possibilities, thwarting the city-states' behind-the-scenes collusion on one hand, and stabilizing the springboard on the other.

Fishing Lights Bank is, in Xia He's opinion, the gateway to the blessed southern plains.

This battle was fought to protect the strategic foothold.

It was so critical that it was included in the critical event criteria in the log and explained.

Xia He clicked on the details:

The story of "Defending the City by the Fishing Lights" from the Southern Incident is spreading.

Our scouts have learned that the barbarian coalition's attack on the newly built cities of Daqian ended in failure. Even their attempts to bypass the enemy lines and launch a surprise attack failed to threaten the strategic defenses. It is certain that after this battle, Daqian will accelerate its expansion, aiming for the Great Plains, and is destined to exert pressure on the south. Every city-state involved will need to make decisions.

[Or they could resolutely resist, creating new wars, or even causing subspace contamination.]

[A compromise and seeking peace, or even seeking fiefdom, is a good approach.]

How to make a decision

The tone of the incident clearly comes from the position of the southern city-states, after all, they also have the tendency to form a regime and do not welcome the intervention of powerful external forces, which would add variables and a lot of trouble.

However, this may not be the case when considering the specific position of each city-state.

Xia He looked at the various city-states based on the map view that had been unlocked in the game, and found that many of them had the following characteristics: [Main Belief: Heavenly Dao Sect] and [Main Culture: Great Qian National Studies]. In fact, they were already in the shape of Great Qian.

She was certain that once the army arrived, the reaction would be quite different.

In reality, they are all sitting on the fence and watching.

However, Xia He is not concerned about the specifics for now; her current task is not the changes within the game, but the maintenance program.

The system just caused a huge computing load and needs to be checked.

So Xia He, while coding, reminded her subordinates, "Pay attention to the status of the load process and keep monitoring it." Then she turned her attention away from Da Qian and returned to her coding work.

Fishing lights on the shore.

Feng Tianyin led the main force of the Imperial Guard through a large battlefield in front of the city wall, where corpses were piled up.

"Bury it before it starts to smell bad. Don't take any equipment without permission. Don't worry about wasting it. Get rid of it as soon as possible."

A faint sense of subspace will swept by.

So she urged the cleanup efforts to be made, and the officers immediately sprang into action.

With the Heavenly Dao gone, and her attention absent, distracting thoughts drawn by negative emotions like war, death, and hatred began to drift in. As the saying goes, it's easier to send away the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings; while a powerful evil god could sense the need to keep his distance, a minor figure might not be so easily deterred.

It may cause pollution.

In the battle just now, many heroes from the Great Qian Dynasty activated their spiritual energy, which was indeed powerful, but it also caused some fluctuations.

Feng Tianyin naturally had to clean up the mess in every aspect.

She entrusted the matters related to the supernatural to the priests, while other tasks such as collecting the remains were naturally left to the soldiers. Meanwhile, the field hospital was also busy, with a large number of wounded soldiers being rescued and treated…

The Great Qian Dynasty has emphasized reducing non-combat casualties since ancient times, let alone in the classical era.

"How's it going? Do we have enough manpower?"

"High Priest, rest assured, thankfully you arrived in time, the number of wounded did not rise too high in one go, and we can control it for now."

"Let's go into the city; it's time to visit the heroes who are defending it."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Upon entering the city gate, Zhang Zhongsi and a group of officers were already waiting. Seeing familiar faces, he was almost moved to tears and immediately shook hands with his old comrade-in-arms, Deng Kaixuan. Feng Tianyin then announced:

"Blessed by Heaven, we have won. The soldiers and civilians by the fishing lights are all heroes."

Before he finished speaking, the crowd cheered and laughed, easing the tense atmosphere on the battlefield.

Aftermath.

If they hadn't held the fishing spot, the battle would likely have involved repeated back-and-forth fighting around the city walls, with the city changing hands repeatedly and the fighting continuing... which would have made the situation much more agonizing.

Fortunately, the worst outcome was avoided, and they didn't fall into a trap.

The price was that Feng Tianyin was standing on a pile of ruins at this moment, with rubble cutting into her feet and sand and gravel constantly rolling down her slopes.

Most of the outer city wall has collapsed.

A slope that collapses dozens of meters from the top allows for easy ascent and observation of the battlefield.

She stood with one hand on her hip, clad in military uniform, letting the wind whip her blood-stained robes, her gaze fixed on the endless black earth beyond. The officers on either side continued their excited celebration, cheering and releasing pent-up frustration.

"Finally, those barbarians have been driven away."

"That special atmosphere of blessing just now... High Priest, was it the will of Heaven protecting us?"

Yes.

The resolute answer brought a smile to everyone's faces, but then Feng Tianyin smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Not exactly—"

"Because she doesn't like people placing all their hopes on faith. It was your perseverance and courage that brought about this result, protecting the borders of the Great Qian Dynasty. Therefore, everyone who participated in the city defense battle will be promoted one level and richly rewarded."

"The compensation for the victims will be doubled, and they will be remembered."

The praise from the audience was naturally even louder.

The High Priest's rewards were always known for their generosity, and this was indeed a good thing. The gloom gradually lifted, and everyone began discussing how to hold the victory banquet that evening.

There was no need to worry about supplies, as the barbarian army had left behind all the valuables at their temporary camp outside the city.

They fled in panic, not having time to pack their valuables.

This battle not only resulted in a successful counterattack, but also provided enough resources to supply such an army.

"The Glory of the Great Qian Dynasty!!!"

Since the Battle of Yuhuopan.

The Southern Blessed Plain remains bustling to this day, filled with deserters who are constantly on the move.

The numerous barbarian camps scattered throughout the land were all involved, none escaped unscathed, and suffered the bitter consequences, experiencing utter defeat.

It's too awful.

The messages they brought back were always filled with tales of "the Great Qian Dynasty is invincible," "the border troops are tenacious and the Imperial Guards are unstoppable," and "the High Priest is like a demon god"—in short, they exaggerated the horror to the extreme. One deserter would often lead five or six others to their deaths, then a dozen or so, and so on, spreading from one to ten, from ten to a hundred...

The collapse of the entire chain reaction on the vast plain.

After being attacked, the barbarian camp shrank back in fear and panic.

They harbor both hatred and fear of retaliation.

As is well known, the Great Qian Dynasty has been capturing slaves every day for many years, regarding them as a highly effective means of replenishing the population. The entire north and northwest have been ravaged, leaving them with almost no camps.

The Great Qian Dynasty will eventually turn its attention to the south, which is one of the reasons why they can be incited to strike first.

Now that they've made a big splash, they're being remembered.

It’s over.

It's obvious that the Great Qian Dynasty has remembered this sneak attack and will surely sweep through many camps.

Such a sense of panic enveloped dozens of barbarian camps, making these leaders extremely fearful. Lacking effective organizational means, they could only reinforce their defenses as much as possible, much like the forest camps of yesteryear.

Little did they know that Feng Tianyin was not interested in them at the moment.

She immediately spread the message that "a city-state may be behind this" as a signal to test the waters.

While repairing the fishing boats, a war of words has already begun. It can be considered a test for the Great Qian Dynasty. I wonder what the stance of these so-called believers in the Heavenly Dao Sect is.

How did the other party react?

--------

The atmosphere of panic from the barbarian camps spread and genuinely affected the city-state.

The city-states on the Great Plains were equally alarmed, never expecting that the Great Qian would hold out under such circumstances and launch a counterattack that inflicted heavy losses on the barbarian tribes that had finally been united.

"What a bunch of useless trash. I told you long ago that the barbarians are unreliable and we should mobilize the army."

"Are we sending our people to their deaths? Doing so will only lead to resistance, and we have no basis for consensus on this matter."

"Many guys have been flirting with Daqian for a long time."

"What about the supplies and provisions that were sent out as aid? You who are in charge of the war must take responsibility."

"I think we should send an envoy."

The high-ranking officials of each city-state were arguing endlessly, but in reality, they were all under Feng Tianyin's control.

Having cultivated extensive connections and informants, especially in the business world, it wouldn't be difficult for her to subtly influence public opinion. At the very least, she would make those advocating for war take responsibility, which would mean reducing their influence.

The victory of the Great Qian Dynasty required substantial support and impetus.

Using power to intimidate others.

The top leaders of the Great Qian Dynasty, including Feng Tianyin, had long planned this intricate scheme to maximize their influence and win over a certain number of city-states to facilitate their expansion.

In fact, things went very smoothly, as more and more city-states became involved with the interests of the Great Qian Dynasty.

They immediately began to dominate public opinion after the war setbacks: