Mo Li

By dawn, the group of overly excited young warriors had indeed been dragged back by Zhang Qilan, covered in dust and looking thoroughly disheveled. Ye Li and Wei Lin, who had arrived later to relieve Qin Feng, waited until the sounds of battle from the front lines ceased in the fourth watch and lingered another half-hour before finally seeing the group return to camp. The once high-spirited young officers now hung their heads low, wilted like frostbitten greens.

As soon as they entered the camp, they spotted Ye Li standing by a carriage, watching them with an amused smile. Their expressions twisted even more awkwardly. These young officers had always believed that their general had inexplicably brought in some young, unknown strategist who did nothing but occasionally spout nonsense—yet the general held him in high regard. Naturally, they were unconvinced, each privately certain they were far more capable than this pretty-faced upstart. Now, having humiliated themselves in front of him, their expressions were far from pleasant.

"Mr. Chu, you're still awake?" Zhang Qilan greeted Ye Li warmly upon seeing her.

Ye Li smiled. "The general hasn't rested either, has he? You've worked hard—is everything alright?"

Zhang Qilan sighed. "Fortunately, nothing serious happened." He turned and glared at the group, bellowing, "Why aren't you all going back to rest?! Waiting for punishment?" At his words, the young officers scattered like startled birds.

Watching them flee as if Zhang Qilan were some wrathful deity, Ye Li chuckled softly. "The general clearly has no intention of punishing them, so why frighten them on purpose?"

Zhang Qilan sighed helplessly. "The ones brought along this time are all young and inexperienced. They’ve never seen real battle, yet they charge ahead recklessly, fueled by nothing but passion. If they were truly on the battlefield, who knows what might happen?"

As it turned out, the first two waves of their night raids had indeed thrown the enemy into disarray. Emboldened by their success, the young officers decided to take turns attacking until dawn, ensuring the enemy got no rest while their own forces could rotate and recuperate. The idea wasn’t bad—except they had failed to scout the surrounding terrain or assess the enemy’s movements. Midway through the third raid, Lyu Jinxian quietly dispatched two units to flank them from both sides.

Had Zhang Qilan not arrived with reinforcements in time, not only would the four to five thousand troops they had led have been lost, but even those few young officers would have perished there. The battlefield is cruel and merciless. Even among millions of soldiers, only a handful rise to the rank of captain, and out of thousands of captains, fewer than a hundred may become deputy generals. Of those, perhaps only two or three will ever attain the rank of general. It’s not that the others lacked potential—it’s that the ruthless battlefield swallowed them before they could reach that point.

"I hope Mr. Chu will take the time to guide these youngsters in the future," Zhang Qilan said earnestly. He was well aware of Wang Fei’s capabilities. The Qilin, renowned for their elusive tactics and invincible record, had been personally trained by her. Even her subordinates, Qin Feng and Zhuo Jing, would undoubtedly stand out as rising stars if placed in the army. Clearly, her methods of instruction were exceptionally skillful.

Ye Li smiled faintly. "General Zhang is an excellent commander." In this era, it was rare to find a leader who cared so deeply for his subordinates.Zhang Qilan laughed heartily and said straightforwardly, "Although these youngsters are a bit impulsive, they are the future of the Mo Family Army. We old folks will eventually grow too old to fight on the battlefield, and we’ll have to rely on them someday." Ye Li smiled and replied, "General, you are still in your prime—far too early to speak of old age. I’ve taken note of what you’ve said." This was an implicit agreement. Zhang Qilan cupped his hands and said, "Then I’ll trouble you with this matter, young master. It’s still early—you should return to your tent and rest for a while."

"Thank you for your concern, General."

The next day, when the Eastern Army troops were astonished to find the Western Army still full of energy while holding their position at the front, a group of young soldiers finally couldn’t hold back their frustration. The command tent buzzed with noisy arguments, while Ye Li sat in a corner, listening with an amused smile.

Zhang Qilan, however, grew irritated by the clamor. Rolling his eyes, he snapped, "What’s all this racket? The enemy’s position at Jiantianya is only twenty li ahead. If the troops stationed there last night were exhausted by your antics, do you think Lü Jinxian wouldn’t just rotate them with the garrison from Jiantianya? If you can’t get past this obstacle, do you expect to fly over to Jiantianya?"

The group fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances. "General, does that mean all our efforts last night were in vain?" Even if they kept up these nightly raids, unless they broke through this defensive line by force, their efforts would be useless—especially since they had nearly suffered a major setback during their very first attempt the previous night.

Zhang Qilan scratched his beard and said, "Not entirely in vain. You youngsters get carried away too easily. A raid or two would’ve been fine, but you got addicted and kept going at all hours. That just gave Lü Jinxian the perfect chance to teach you a lesson."

The young officers looked sheepish, while the older commanders nearby chuckled quietly.

"General, what should we do next?" one young officer stepped forward, eyes full of expectation.

Zhang Qilan frowned slightly and turned to Ye Li, who was sitting to the side. "Mr. Chu, do you have any thoughts?" Ye Li tapped his folding fan idly and said, "The enemy holds the high ground. A direct assault would be time-consuming and exhausting. The nightly raids should continue, but… don’t give General Lü another chance to catch you. Next time, General Zhang might not be around to bail you out."

A few of the young officers glared at Ye Li, unconvinced. "Since you’re our strategist, surely you have a brilliant plan to defeat the enemy. But just raiding them every night won’t win us this battle. If this drags on for ten days or half a month, we might as well surrender without a fight." Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Then what do you propose?"

"Your subordinate requests permission to lead the vanguard and clear the path for our army!" one young officer declared, cupping his hands toward Zhang Qilan. Others quickly followed suit, clearly eager for a head-on confrontation. Ye Li regarded them coolly and said, "I don’t oppose a direct assault. Based on the enemy’s estimated strength, we could likely take this position by committing half our forces. But I must remind you all—even though this is just a drill, if this were a real battlefield, it would mean half of us here, along with the hundred thousand soldiers outside, would perish on this very slope before Jiantianya."

"So what?" someone muttered under their breath.Ye Li smiled, "If losing over half of our troops, including the lives of everyone present here, is considered insignificant, then how do you propose the remaining fifty thousand soldiers pass through the treacherous Jian Tian Cliff? And how many would be left after that? Or do you all believe... even if we manage to send a single soldier through, it would be enough to relieve General Yuan from his besieged city? Let me remind you all—based on my understanding of Prince Ding, at most a third of the Western Route Army remains at Jian Tian Cliff now. The other two-thirds are fresh troops yet to see battle. If all of you here meet a heroic end, what then of General Yuan and the city’s defenders who are waiting for reinforcements?"

Before she could finish, the once-defiant young men flushed red with shame. Though reluctant to admit it, they couldn’t deny the truth in the words of this Chu strategist. At least half of their reckless bravery stemmed from knowing this was merely a drill, not a real battlefield. Would they charge forward so heedlessly in actual combat? And if they did, what consequences would follow?

Zhang Qilan rapped the table and declared, "Enough. Tonight’s operation will be arranged by me. No one moves without my direct orders. Disobey, and you’ll be executed!" Though this wasn’t a real battle, his command carried the weight of military law. Defiance meant death, whether on the battlefield or not. Turning to Ye Li, he added with a smile, "Strategist Chu, I leave these unruly youngsters to you." Ye Li smiled back. "It’s my honor that you trust me, General." Zhang Qilan nodded in satisfaction, then stood and swept a stern gaze over the still-restless youths. "Strategist Chu’s words are my orders. Disobey, and you’ll be executed!"

While Zhang Qilan and his seasoned officers engaged Lyu Jinxian’s forces at the front, the hot-blooded young officers were kept in the rear by Ye Li, unable to move. Hearing the daily comings and goings of troops without being part of the action only fueled their frustration. By the afternoon of the third day, they could no longer contain themselves and confronted Ye Li.

Outside her tent, Ye Li greeted them with a warm, spring-like smile. "What brings you all here?" she asked amiably. The leader of the group stepped forward. "We demand to fight. By what right do you hold us back from the battlefield?"

Ye Li toyed leisurely with her folding fan and replied in a languid tone, "By the right of my position as strategist. By the right of General Zhang placing you under my command. By the right of my refusal—so you cannot go." Such dismissiveness was a direct provocation to the young men, whose expressions darkened as if they longed to rush forward and pummel her. Behind Ye Li, Qin Feng and Wei Lin coolly assessed the group, a glint of frost flashing in their eyes.Ye Li looked at the young men before her and continued, "You want to go to the battlefield? What use would you be there? These past few days, the battles have been fought just fine without the officers under General Zhang’s command. And… there’s never been a situation where General Zhang himself had to rush to reinforce. If your brains aren’t up to par, that’s one thing, but even if you wanted to be fierce warriors who rely on brute force, you probably wouldn’t fare any better than ordinary soldiers. Rather than dragging others down on the battlefield, you’d be better off staying in the rear."

The young men flushed with anger, and one hot-tempered among them stepped forward, pointing at Ye Li and shouting with a red face, "What right does a bookworm like you, who can’t even tie up a chicken, have to say such things about us?!"

Ye Li regarded him with an amused smile and slowly replied, "Because…"

With a sharp whoosh , her folding fan snapped open like a blade, slicing toward the young man’s throat. Startled, he hastily bent backward to dodge, only to have his legs swept out from under him as a swift kick struck his acupoint. Before he could react, he toppled to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Ye Li flicked her fan open and waved it leisurely a couple of times before finishing, "You can’t even defeat a bookworm who can’t tie up a chicken."

The group fell silent, thoroughly humbled this time. In recent years, the Mo Family Army had placed great emphasis on nurturing young officers, so these junior commanders were mostly in their early twenties, yet many had already risen to the ranks of lieutenant or even captain.

However, most of them had never set foot on a battlefield—precisely what worried Ye Li the most. The battlefield was an enormous meat grinder; whether you were utterly ordinary or a once-in-a-generation genius, once caught in its gears, the one who achieved the most was rarely the smartest or the strongest, but the one who survived. Throughout history, countless prodigies had been washed away like sand in a tide, forgotten without a trace. Though Ye Li didn’t expect them to grasp the true nature of war from this alone—that was something they’d only learn on the battlefield—she at least wanted to temper their arrogance.

As if oblivious to their stunned expressions, Ye Li smiled and said, "Don’t say I’m bullying you. These two men were trained by me. If you can defeat them, I won’t stop you from challenging General Lü—heck, if you want to march straight into Western Liang and take down Zhennan Wang right now, go ahead."

The young men exchanged uncertain glances. Seemingly intent on fanning the flames, Ye Li added, "If you’re not confident in one-on-one fights, you can all come at them together."

Qin Feng and Wei Lin understood her intentions perfectly. Wei Lin let out a cold scoff and said disdainfully, "Don’t waste time. Just come at us together."

That unmistakable tone of contempt finally snapped the last thread of restraint in their minds. With a rallying cry, five or six young men lunged at Qin Feng and Wei Lin—with Wei Lin, who had just drawn their ire, receiving the brunt of their assault.

Ye Li stepped aside, leaning back casually as Qin Feng and Wei Lin moved effortlessly among the group. It was less of a brawl and more like two men toying with a pack of furious kittens. While these young men were indeed skilled compared to their peers in the Mo Family Army, they were no match for Qin Feng and Wei Lin—both elite warriors from the Qilin ranks.The young man who had just been kicked to the ground by Ye Li remained seated, not joining the fight. Precisely because he stood outside the conflict, he could see more clearly the gap between himself and Qin Feng or Wei Lin. After glancing at Ye Li, he finally lowered his proud head in resignation.

Ye Li nudged him playfully with her foot and asked, "Why not give it a try?" The young man, still sitting on the ground, shook his head. "I'm not a fool. We're no match for them. Why humiliate ourselves further?" Ye Li nodded with a smile. "Indeed, you're no match for them, but that's not the point. They're not on the same path as you. It's best if your martial skills are strong, but if not, there's no need to force a comparison. Even General Zhang might not be their equal."

The young man grumbled, "Then why did you make them fight us?"

Ye Li arched an eyebrow. "Because compared to you, General Zhang clearly has a sharp mind. You, on the other hand, have nothing yet insist you have everything. I thought your brains needed a tune-up along with your bodies."

The young man's eyes widened as he glared fiercely at Ye Li. "We're not stupid!" They were the rising stars of the Mo Family Army, praised by all as having boundless futures. Ye Li nodded seriously. "You're right, you're not stupid. 'Stupid' wouldn't even begin to describe it. Have you ever seen a fool actively seeking death?" The young man flushed with anger again—this was saying they were worse than fools!

Amused, Ye Li couldn't help but chuckle. It was rare in this era of early maturity to see someone in their early twenties still so emotionally volatile. Noticing her teasing smile, the young man grew even more furious. "What are you laughing at?!" Ye Li coughed lightly, covering her lips with a folding fan. "Nothing. Just felt like laughing."

While they spoke, Qin Feng and Wei Lin had already laid out the group of overconfident youngsters. No matter how much they held back, the gap in skill was simply too vast. The once neatly dressed young officers now lay sprawled on the ground like defeated dogs.

Ye Li looked down at them with a cheerful smile. "Well? Convinced now?"

"We are..." Though still somewhat dejected, the young officers' gazes toward Ye Li and the other two had changed drastically. The military was a place where strength ruled, and these youths, despite their arrogance, respected power. The fight had made their inferiority painfully clear.

"But, Master Chu, we can't just hide behind others forever, can we?" Even knowing their limits, they were on a battlefield now. All other thoughts had to be set aside—the immediate concern was the war.

Ye Li smiled at them. "Do you truly wish to fight?"

Hearing the implication in her words, six or seven pairs of eyes fixed on her with such eager anticipation that Ye Li felt a hint of pressure. Facing their fervor, she replied calmly, "It's not impossible. Go back and each select two hundred elite soldiers from your troops. Stand by for orders."

"Master Chu, what are we going to do?"Ye Li said solemnly, "It's a secret. Remember, everything must be done without drawing any attention, including from General Zhang. Anyone who gets discovered will stay behind to reflect on their mistakes."

Young people always love mysterious and thrilling things, and Ye Li's words only made them more excited. Watching them, Ye Li frowned slightly and spoke gravely, "Also, although this is just an act, danger still exists. This mission can be considered the most perilous of all. I can't guarantee there won't be casualties. Do you understand?"

"We understand!" they replied in unison. To them, what Ye Li said was hardly a concern. On the battlefield, how could there be no injuries or deaths?

Ye Li nodded. "Good, go and prepare. We'll assemble at the second watch."

"Yes!"

"Wang Fei, these youngsters are far too unruly. Why bother with them?" Wei Lin said with some displeasure. These past few days, the disrespect these boys had shown Wang Fei would have warranted execution a hundred times over if they were in the prince's residence.

Ye Li smiled faintly. "They're just a group of young people—quite endearing, actually."

Qin Feng and Wei Lin exchanged a silent glance, both deciding it was best not to spread Wang Fei's comment any further. If Wang Ye found out, these boys would truly deserve execution a hundred times over.