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Storm is coming
Imperial Calendar, winter of February, the war in the Far East had reached another turning point. While Di Lin’s army formed the encirclement around the City Gamara and Yun Qian Xue’s two hundred thousand Demons, new enemies appeared deep within the Demon territory. Leading two hundred thousand imperial guards, second Demon Prince, Ka Lan had come to Yun Qian Xue’s aid. After a few short skirmishes, Di Lin had realized that the adversary he now faced was not one he had faced before. Both the morale and combat prowess of the Demon Imperial Forces greatly surpassed that of the regular regiments, and they were loyal to a fault. Fearing the possibility of being pincered from both end, having to fight a winter war which the Humans are not accustomed to, and the increasing difficulties with gathering supplies, Di Lin immediately made the decision and gave the order to retreat.
Due to Di Lin’s orderly retreat and his superior numbers, very little opportunities were left for Ka Lan and Yun Qian Xue. Neither of them dared to give chase recklessly. Instead of calling it a chase, it was more accurate to describe it as an armed escort. The chase continued all the way back to the contested border of Heng Chuan, restoring the original frontier and put an end to what would be known as “The First Great Invasion” that lasted over six months.
During this campaign, House of ZiChuan suffered total fifty one thousand and three hundred deaths, and eleven hundred and six thousand wounded. (Of all the casualties, thirty thousand deaths and over eighty thousand wounded belonged to the non-human warriors forcibly conscripted into Di Lin’s Army).
Demons on the other hand, had suffered two hundred and seventy three thousand deaths, and two hundred and eighty eight thousand wounded. (Out of all the deaths, over hundred and fifty six thousand were captured prisoners). Those were merely the military casualties.
According to House ZiChuan’s Military Historian, Tang Chuan’s research: during the First Great Invasion orchestrated by Red Banner Master Di Lin, total five major Demon Cities, seventy two towns and over two hundred villages were massacred and razed. The final count of non-human civilian casualties suffered at the hand of Di Lin’s Army (Mass massacred or died indirectly from starvation and cold caused by Di Lin’s brutal gathering methods) reached over 1.8 million. (Later many Historians argued that Tang Chuan’s statistics were overly conservative, believing that his research was not conducted objectively. Clearly Tang Chuan was under House ZiChuan’s payroll at the time, and thus had the motives to be biased towards Di Lin.)
The entire western border region of Demons was mercilessly purified by Di Lin’s blade; even a hundred years would not be enough to restore what was lost. As result, their hatred for Human-kind had also reached an unprecedented height. Despite House ZiChuan’s effort to improve the livelihood in the region in the days after their successful conquest of the entire Far Eastern Regions many years later, the animosity between the races could not be quelled. Only till much later, when the King of Light, ZiChuan Xiu made his return to the Far East, did the many non-human races start to re-establish their connections with humans again…
As of right now, Di Lin was praised as the new War of God of House ZiChuan, the first general since the days of Ya Li Mei. Though at the same time, many called him a cold blooded monster, butcher, or king of murderer…
Meanwhile, he himself returned to the Headquarters of the Far Eastern Army in Fort Warren without a care in the world, and was awarded with a medal for his efforts and a new commission as the Deputy Commander.
……
Imperial Calendar, Year 779, Eleventh of March. Supreme Commander Yang Ming Hua, as the representative of the High Command, advised Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing the following: “Deputy Commander Di Lin and his men fought long and bravely, their efforts and merits should be rewarded. We propose to transfer Deputy Commander Di Lin and the fifty thousand men under his command who had distinguished themselves during war back to the Capital for their awards.”
Twelfth of March, Headmaster ZiChuan Shen Xing gave a short reply: “Approved.”
Nineteenth of March, Di Lin received his new orders. Taking fifty thousand soldiers who had “distinguished themselves” with him, he left Fort Warren and began his glorious march to the Capital.
Inside the secret room of the High Command, with a smug look on his face, Yang Ming Hua slowly enjoyed a glass of wine and spoke to Luo Ming Hai: “The moment Di Lin returns… You will be the new Supreme Commander.”
Noticing the slight hint of jealousy coming from the Central Army Commander – Lei Xun, Yang Ming Hua spoke calmly: “Don’t worry. You are the next one in line for the seat of Headmaster.”
Luo Ming Hai’s reaction was merely a dispassionate nod, as he said: “Thank you for your generosity, Sir!”
Lei Xun on the other hand, responded excitedly: “I can never repay the kindness you have bestowed upon me, Sir! However, it is my humble opinion that we are more than capable of finishing the job. We don’t have to wait for Di Lin! That brat is too arrogant and unpredictable…”
Yang Ming Hua laughed cheerfully: “Lei Xun, are you jealous? There is a reason I requested for Di Lin’s transfer. You don’t have to worry about it. He will yet prove to be useful… Hahaha.”
……
Inside the House of Headmaster, ZiChuan Shen Xing spoke bitterly to Stirling: “Yang Ming Hua has ordered for Di Lin’s transfer, he is about to make a move.”
Stirling questioned back: “There is one thing I don’t understand, if Your Excellency wishes to share your wisdom. Given their current military strength in the Capital, Yang Ming Hua has full control of Lei Xun’s Central Army; he vastly outnumbers us and has the absolute advantage. Why is he wasting time waiting for Di Lin’s forces to return to the Capital? What is the point?”
ZiChuan Shen Xing smiled: “Stirling, what day is it today?”
Stirling couldn’t quite figure out the meaning of ZiChuan Shen Xing’s question, thus he gave him a straightforward answer: “Twentieth of March, Tuesday.”
“Next Monday, is the annual Military Assembly of House ZiChuan, almost all army officers with the rank of Banner Master or above will have to attend, including Ge Ying Xing. He will have to return to Di Du as well.”
“Sir, are you saying that, the reason Yang Ming Hua requested for Di Lin’s transfer is to deal with Ge Ying Xing?”
“Exactly! Ge Ying Xing will bring his six thousand personal guards, but Di Lin will have fifty thousand men with him. Almost ten to one, he wants Ge Ying Xing dead.”
“Such bold move, isn’t he afraid that it would cause the Far Eastern Army to rebel?”
“He won’t have to worry about that because by then, Ge Ying Xing would already be dead. Even if his subordinates, like Luo Bo or Lin Bing complained, the ones involved are all soldiers from the Far Eastern Army. Yang Ming Hua could easily cover it up saying it was an internal conflict inside the Far Eastern Army, and no one will be able to connect it to him. In the worst scenario, he could always sacrifise Di Lin to quell the anger from Ge Ying Xing’s subordinates. How is that for a perfect plan?”
Stirling smiled: “He is too clever for his own good!”
……
Inside the House of ZiChuan Ning, she spoke to ZiChuan Xiu: “Brother, I heard Di Lin is coming back with an army of fifty thousand strong! …What are you looking for?”
“Oh, I’m looking for the bill for the stuff we broke during our last duel. Clearly he should be the one paying for them; why the hell do I have to pay?! It’s a huge sum, over seven thousand, and another six months of interest…”
“Ning, do you think I should give him the official interest rate or the black market interest rates? I mean we are friends for many years after all, I guess I shouldn’t use compound interest…”
“It is not like he can’t afford the extra interest. I heard he robbed the Far Eastern Regions clean… leaving the poor Demon villages with nothing but tears…”
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