Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 650 Military Strategists
"Name, place of origin, which school of thought?"

The slick-haired, powdered-faced young man sat casually behind the desk, his wolf-hair brush hastily dipped into the inkstone and hung on the sandalwood paper. He looked up at Qin Huai, whose attire was strange even for someone in the Killing Department, and asked with a grin.

"Changshan, Qin Wu, a descendant of Xiang Yu."

Qin Huai had already prepared his answer, so he remained calm and composed when faced with questioning.

"A descendant of Xiang Yu? Eight out of ten military strategists would say so."

The young man with the flower in his hair nodded noncommittally and wrote the words "military strategist" directly below the two characters "Qin Wu".

"But since you claim to be a descendant of Xiang Yu and are willing to join the Killing Tribe, you must have mastered military strategy, and you've come for the divine skill bestowed upon you by Si Chen, right?"

Seeing Qin Huai remain silent, the young man with the flower in his hair knew he was pretty much right. His expression immediately changed, and he licked his lips, saying mysteriously, "Qin Wu, you're such a big guy, you can't be all show and no substance. As a senior colleague, I'm giving you a piece of advice: the Great Western [Asura Technique] isn't so easy to master!"

"What do you mean?"

Qin Huai's heart stirred, and he took the opportunity to ask.

"You don't know, do you? That's right. You're from Changshan. Judging from your attire, you must have killed a lot of evil spirits. You must have just fled from the capital to Daxi not long ago, right? It's normal that you don't know the situation of the Eight Great Camps since you're new here."

The young man with the flower in his hair didn't explain directly, but instead casually started a small talk: "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll just give you a couple of pointers. Qin Wu, are you familiar with the military system of the Great Western Army?"

"When we settled in northern Sichuan, I heard from idlers that the Great Western Army was divided into 120 battalions, each with more than a thousand elite troops. The Emperor himself led 50 battalions, General Sun Kewang supervised 19 battalions, General Li Dingguo supervised 16 battalions, General Liu Wenxiu supervised 15 battalions, and General Ai Nengqi supervised 20 battalions. There were also other battalions such as Bagua, Zhenwu, and Longtao, each led by a valiant general. Together they were called the Eight Great Battalions."

After recounting all the information he had gathered from the Anxi camp, Qin Huai stared intently at the young man with the flower in his hair, quietly waiting for what he would say next.

"That's it? Looks like you really don't know anything. Did you pick up that military body-forging technique you practiced somewhere?"

When he realized that Qin Huai had only said a couple of sentences and then fell silent, the young man with the flower in his hair knew that he had probably guessed the truth pretty accurately.

Although military strategy is now a prominent field of study alongside Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, its situation was quite different a hundred years ago.

Since the Chu-Han Contention, the military strategists have declined, and fragments of their physical training techniques have been widely scattered among the people. Any bandit on any mountain, or even some hunters and farmers, may obtain these incomplete techniques. Among them are many divine skills and secret arts created by generals who have gone down in history.

The young man with the flower in his hair assumed Qin Huai was just another lucky peasant. He smacked his lips and started counting on his fingers, saying, "Although the four generals of the Great Western Army are all military experts, their focuses differ. Sun Kewang focuses on military strategy, Li Dingguo on the Yin and Yang of military affairs, Liu Wenxiu on military techniques, and Ai Nengqi on the situation of military affairs. Among them, apart from the Emperor, the one whose [Asura Technique] has progressed the fastest and most profoundly is General Dingbei Ai Nengqi. Do you know why?"

"Because he's a better fighter and has killed more people?"

Qin Huai seemed to be deep in thought.

"No, no."

The young man with the flower in his hair shook his head and continued, "To master the [Asura Technique] to its highest and deepest level, besides the practitioner needing high talent, ruthless temperament, and heavy-handedness, the most crucial thing is to have a sufficient number of soldiers under your command. Military strategists, military strategists, how can one become a great power without commanding troops? Especially since the [Asura Technique] is a divine skill bestowed by Si Chen, without the combined efforts of many soldiers to share the burden for the general and resist the demonic corruption, no matter how talented you are, you will eventually become a mindless, bloodthirsty battlefield beast."

"Demonic corruption? The price of the Asura Technique is being corrupted by demons?"

Hearing the flower-adorned boy's words, Qin Huai wasn't too surprised. After all, judging from the worldview that this fruit currently exhibits, practicing these techniques closely related to the power of the Divine Star would be even more terrifying if there were no side effects.

"Look at what you're saying. Nowadays, among all sorts of people from all walks of life, anyone who can fight against evil spirits will inevitably be corrupted by them. It's just that each sect has its own methods to suppress the mutations and prolong their existence."

The young man with the flower in his hair glanced at Qin Huai strangely and chuckled, "The method of the Great Western Military School is simple and brutal: it uses the power of the masses to dilute the Asura Bloodlust, just like thick ink dripping into water. The more soldiers you command, the more water there is, from a small pool to a vast ocean. Without changing the color of the ink, it can hold much more of the power of the Divine Star. So, the saying 'soldiers are the courage of generals' is not just empty talk, but has a great deal of wisdom to it."

"You mean I should go to the Ministry of War, instead of coming to this Ministry of Assassination?"

Having said that, Qin Huai understood the unspoken meaning behind the young man's words and immediately frowned and asked.

“The Great Western Army has 120 battalions, each with its own military commander. How could it be a place for someone as new as you with no background? I’ve gone to great lengths to tell you all this because I have a good place to recommend you. If you succeed, I will be your guarantor and receive a reward.”

Thinking about the strange movements of the Blood Bone Greatsword in the courtyard just now, the boy with the hairpin stared at Qin Huai, his narrowed eyes hiding an undisguised burning desire.

He had served in the Great Western Killing Division for so long and had seen at least eighty or a hundred extraordinary people, but none of them could make the Blood Bone Greatsword flash red!

Even the four generals Sun, Li, Liu, and Ai couldn't do it!
Perhaps the Great Western King could, but the young man with the flower in his hair had not seen it with his own eyes and dared not make any wild guesses. He could only assume that Qin Huai's personality was extremely compatible with the [Asura Technique], so he had other ideas and planned to use his position to seek some benefits for himself.

"Oh? What kind of job is it?"

Seeing that Qin Huai was somewhat interested, the young man with the flower in his hair immediately spoke up: "General Li's Anxi camp was attacked by bandits the other day, and most of his close guards were lost. He urgently needs to replenish his forces. These past few days, Anxi has been recruiting soldiers, which is very dangerous for him. If he doesn't have a capable military strategist to help him share the burden of the bloodlust, he risks losing his mind at any time. You have a clean background and a pure foundation. You don't seem to have the air of the military strategists from the Northern Qing, Southern Ming, and Great Shun factions. You also have considerable strength. If he takes a liking to you and you become a close guard commander, wouldn't that be a meteoric rise?"

'So all this kid was trying to do was trick me into being a human jack to help Li Dingguo with the pollution.'

Qin Huai thought to himself, and after a long silence, he said ambiguously, "General Dingguo is too high and too far away now. The position of his confidant is not something I can think about right now. I just want to join the Assassination Division, take on some bounties, and exchange them for what I want."

"Alright, then think this job over carefully. It's a rare opportunity, so don't ruin your future because of a moment of confusion!"

The young man with the flower in his hair changed his expression slightly, realizing that he had been a bit too hasty. He didn't say anything more, stood up and said to Qin Huai, "Then let's get down to business. I'll first show you around the Ministry of Justice, and then you can choose a task to do. Once you complete it, you will be granted the title of Gui Ling and enjoy the salary of a ninth-rank official."

"It's troublesome."

Qin Huai nodded, the forward-protruding cone-shaped mask almost poking the boy's chest.

"Let's go, I'll show you the way."

The young man with the flower in his hair stood up and snapped his fingers. Immediately, a rumbling sound rang out, and the bronze lamp stand in the room rotated half a circle, revealing a dark corridor.

"My name is Wei Xiaolian, a follower of the Rabbit God. I've been with the Killing Department for over ten years. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me." As he spoke, the young man with the flower in his hair stepped into the secret door.

"The Rabbit God?"

Upon hearing these three words, Qin Huai was slightly taken aback, but not too surprised.

The Rabbit God is a wild deity in folk legends who is in charge of men's love affairs. He is often worshipped by male prostitutes. Although he does not know what kind of supernatural powers this fruit has, Qin Huai himself has a judgment in his heart based on the words and deeds of the boy wearing the flower in his hair.

It's highly likely related to interpersonal skills and logistical support; otherwise, Wei Xiaolian wouldn't have served as the head of the assassination department for over a decade.

Thinking about all this, Qin Huai followed the boy with the flower in his hair into the secret door and found that the corridor was not dark.

The oil lamp on the wall illuminated the corridor brightly, and every footstep, whether light or heavy, made a crisp clattering sound on the ground.

"The design and construction of the Ministry of War's office were done by the descendants of the Tiangong family. It is not much different from the Ming Dynasty's Northern Garrison Office. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, with many traps and mechanisms. It is very suitable for keeping secrets and makes it convenient for us to carry out our work."

As Wei Xiaolian was introducing the book, Qin Huai subconsciously asked, "The 'Tiangong Kaiwu' by Song Yingxing?"

"Indeed, when the Emperor decisively defeated Fengyang Prefecture, the first thing he did was send General Wenxiu to invite the then Prefect of Haozhou, the master craftsman Song Yingxing, to the Eight Great Camps. The Emperor and the four generals went to great lengths, pleading and cajoling him until this master craftsman finally agreed to help build Xijing and the imperial government offices. This magnificent and impregnable city we see today was built by him and his disciples over three years, based on the original Chengdu County and Huayang County, and helped the Great Xi survive several life-or-death crises."

The young man with the flower in his hair stopped and looked back at Qin Huai with some surprise, seemingly quite astonished that such a rough fellow would know about Song Yingxing.

"I see. So the current Minister of Works must be this master craftsman?"

Qin Huai, seemingly oblivious to the change in Wei Xiaolian's expression, continued speaking.

"No, that's not it. Lord Song went into seclusion thirty years ago to study the myriad phenomena of the universe and stopped concerning himself with court affairs. The current Minister of Works is his disciple, Lord Tao Yuan."

Wei Xiaolian shook his head and continued walking forward with Qin Huai.

After walking along the corridor for a while, Qin Huai's ears twitched. He heard some unusual sounds coming from inside the smooth, mirror-like walls.

It sounded like metal, wood, iron, and stone clashing together, mixed with the flapping of birds' wings and the hurried footsteps of people.

Qin Huai didn't say anything, but just followed Wei Xiaolian's footsteps without stopping. Just then, a taciturn, lean soldier walked silently past along the wall.

Just as he brushed past the two of them, the wall suddenly opened as he made a swipe at the corner.

In that instant, Qin Huai caught a glimpse of the commotion inside. He saw mechanical birds, seemingly cut from the same mold, constantly flying up and down along the wide windowsill in the distance.

The soldiers waiting nearby removed the long, square iron boxes from the belly of the mechanical bird and, depending on their paint colors, inserted them directly into a strange component that resembled a fusion of a loom and a cash register. At first glance, the thing looked like a missile vehicle loaded with ammunition.

Moreover, these mechanical birds and strange components have a distinct red glow on their surfaces, like flowing flames, driving the bronze gears inside to turn continuously.

With a clicking sound, these secret message boxes, taken from the belly of the mechanical bird, were distributed to the silent soldiers around them through the pipes above the "missile vehicle".

These soldiers were exceptionally skilled at opening the mailboxes, sorting the slips of paper in front of them according to their different markings, and then turning around to put them into the small square boxes behind them, which resembled traditional Chinese medicine cabinets.

The soldiers, the messenger birds, and the spitting machines moved swiftly and efficiently, like a well-organized assembly line.

Just as Qin Huai was pondering what power drove the mechanical bird, Wei Xiaolian suddenly turned left and walked down the series of tightly closed doors.

"Next time you come, remember to look for me, or bring your token so you don't go to the wrong place."

As Wei Xiaolian took out the token from his pocket and pressed it into the indentation in Yazi's mouth, the gate quickly opened, revealing a gloomy yet somewhat hazy hall to Qin Huai.

The lobby is filled with screens that intersect and surround each other, dividing the space into individual cubicles.

There were only a few people in the hall at this time. Their figures were projected onto the screen by the candlelight. They seemed to be talking about something, but their words became muffled and indistinct through the screen, and could not be heard clearly.

"These cubicles offer excellent privacy; your voice and face will be obscured. If you need to discuss business with your colleagues in the future, you can simply find a quiet one to go in."

After saying this, Wei Xiaolian pointed ahead and said, "Since you're planning to join, go to the clerk and get a mission first."

Qin Huai looked over and immediately spotted a middle-aged scholar in the distance, who had stopped writing and was fiddling with an abacus in his left hand.

The man was dressed in a long robe, had an ordinary appearance, and stood behind a tall counter resembling that of a pawnshop, looking no different from most accountants.

"Old fisherman, let's get a newcomer and make arrangements."

Wei Xiaolian draped his arm over the counter, and a strong smell of perfume wafted over him.

The man who was doing the accounting looked up at Qin Huai, and his hand, which was holding a pen, suddenly began to dance, writing a vivid "功" (gong, meaning merit) character in the air.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of gears rubbing together was heard, and a small square box resembling a traditional Chinese medicine cabinet popped out from behind the counter. Letters poured out like snowflakes, stopping one by one in front of Qin Huai.

"Blue, cyan, vermilion, purple, black, the rewards increase in that order, and the danger level also increases accordingly. For any newcomer, the more difficult the task they complete in their first assessment, the higher their rank will be after joining the department."

Wei Xiaolian pointed to the letter with a vermilion mark at the top of the many pieces of paper and chuckled, "If you can complete the Vermilion Reward as soon as you arrive, it will be much easier to get the [Asura Technique]."

(End of this chapter)