The Storm Approaches

In the harsh winter of February in the Imperial Year 779, the war in the Far East took a new turn. Just as Di Lin's army was heavily besieging Gemara and Yun Qianxue's two hundred thousand Demon Race troops in the ice and snow, new enemies appeared deep within the Demon Race Kingdom. Kalan, the second prince of the Demon Race, led two hundred thousand personal guards and elite troops to reinforce Yun Qianxue. After several probing engagements, Di Lin realized that his current opponent was different from any he had faced before. The Demon Race's elite guard troops far surpassed ordinary soldiers in morale, combat effectiveness, and loyalty. Fearing a pincer attack from Yun Qianxue and Kalan, and also due to the human army's disadvantage in winter warfare and the increasing difficulty of gathering supplies, Di Lin made a decisive move and ordered a retreat.

Because Di Lin's army retreated in an orderly fashion, with impressive military bearing, "the vanguard undisturbed, the rearguard fearless," and their formation unassailable, Kalan and Yun Qianxue dared not launch a rash attack. Rather than a "pursuit," it was more of a "courteous escort" to the Hengchuan line. Both sides restored their original positions, ending this military operation, which lasted half a year and would later be known as the "First Great Expedition."

In this campaign, the Zichuan Family suffered over 51,300 casualties, with 116,000 wounded (more than 30,000 of the fallen were non-human soldiers forcibly conscripted by Di Lin, and over 80,000 of the wounded also belonged to non-human races).

The Demon Race army, on the other hand, paid the price of 273,000 killed and 288,000 wounded (156,000 of the fallen were massacred after surrendering). But this was only the loss of the military.

According to Tang Chuan, a scholar of Zichuan Family war history in later years, "During Di Lin's First Great Expedition as the Red Guard Captain, five major cities, seventy-two towns, and over two hundred villages of the Demon Race were bloodied and burned. The number of civilian casualties, directly (through collective massacres) or indirectly (starved or frozen to death due to the confiscation of winter food and warm clothing), who died at the hands of Di Lin's legions reached 1.8 million." (Later scholars often criticized Tang Chuan's statement as too conservative, believing his stance was too subjective – Tang Chuan himself was on the Zichuan Family payroll, and there was suspicion of him beautifying the family elder Di Lin.)

The entire western border of the Demon Race was severely "purged" by Di Lin with sword and fire, making it difficult to recover for a hundred years. The hatred of the Demon Race and other non-human races towards humans reached an unprecedented level – this deep-seated hatred could not be eliminated even after the Zichuan Family later unified the entire Far East and implemented benevolent policies. It was only when Zichuan Xiu, known as the "King of Light," returned to the Far East that interactions between various races and humans began anew...

At this time, Di Lin was praised by some as the family's "new God of War," the foremost general of the family after Yalimei, with unparalleled achievements. Others cursed him as a "cold-blooded madman," "executioner," and "king of killers"...

He himself, however, remained unmoved and returned to the Valen Far East Army Headquarters to receive his promotion to Vice Commander and a medal of military merit.

***

On March 11th, Imperial Year 779, President Commander Yang Minghua, representing the Commanders' Office, proposed to Commander-in-Chief Zichuan Canxing: "Given that Vice Commander Di Lin and his subordinates have been fighting for a long time, their merits are great, and they are weary in body and mind. The family should reward those who have contributed. It is proposed that Vice Commander Di Lin be recalled to the Imperial Capital to receive commendations and recuperate, along with fifty thousand meritorious soldiers from his command."

On March 12th, Commander-in-Chief Zichuan Canxing briefly replied: "Agreed."

On March 19th, having received the instructions, Di Lin departed from Valen Fortress with fifty thousand "meritorious soldiers" from the Far East, heading towards the Imperial Capital.

In a secret chamber of the Commanders' Office, Yang Minghua slowly drank a glass of wine and said confidently to Luobo Minghai, "Once Di Lin returns... you will be the new President Commander."

Glancing at Lei Xun, the commander of the Central Army, who was standing nearby with a hint of jealousy, Yang Minghua appeased him, "Don't rush – after me, the position of Commander-in-Chief will be yours."

Luobo Minghai simply nodded coldly, "Thank you for your cultivation, sir!"

Lei Xun gratefully said to Yang Minghua, "How can I repay such great kindness, sir? However, I believe it is sufficient for us to carry out the action, and there is no need to wait for Di Lin to return! This fellow is too arrogant and difficult to manage..."

Yang Minghua laughed heartily, "Lei Xun, you're jealous – I have my reasons for recalling Di Lin, so you don't need to overthink it. He is still very useful... Hahaha..."

***

In the Commander-in-Chief's Mansion, Zichuan Canxing said dryly to Sterling, "Yang Minghua has recalled Di Lin. He is about to make his move."

Sterling asked with confusion, "I have one matter I do not understand and would like to ask for your guidance – within the Imperial Capital, Yang Minghua controls Lei Xun's Central Army, giving him a significant advantage and absolute superiority. Why would he go to the trouble of recalling Di Lin's army? It's completely unnecessary."

Zichuan Canxing smiled, "Sterling, what day is it today?"

Sterling, not understanding Zichuan Canxing's meaning, replied honestly, "March 20th, Tuesday."

"Next Monday is the family's annual assembly of officers at the Flag Bearer level and above. Almost all high-ranking officers will attend – including Ge Yingxing, he will also have to return to the Imperial Capital."

"My lord, you mean Yang Minghua recalled Di Lin to deal with Ge Yingxing?"

"Yes! Ge Yingxing will return with his six thousand guards, but Di Lin has fifty thousand men. A ten-to-one ratio is absolutely enough to kill Ge Yingxing."

"Is Yang Minghua not afraid that the Far East Army will rebel with such audacity?"

"By then, Ge Yingxing will already be dead, and he will have no scruples – even if Ge Yingxing's subordinates, Luo Bo and Lin Bing, have objections – since the murderer, Di Lin, is a general of the Far East Army, and all the perpetrators are soldiers of the Far East Army – Yang Minghua can use the excuse that this is an internal conflict within the Far East Army, and it has nothing to do with him. At most, he can hand over Di Lin to appease the anger of Ge Yingxing's subordinates. What a meticulously planned scheme!"

Sterling smiled, "He's too clever for his own good!"

***

At Zichuan Ning's home, Zichuan Ning said to Zichuan Xiu, "Brother, I heard Di Lin is bringing fifty thousand troops back! – What are you looking for?"

"Oh, the bill for the furniture damaged in the last duel – Di Lin should have paid for it, why is it on my head! It's a lot of money, over seven thousand, plus half a year's interest...

"Ah Ning, do you think we should calculate the interest at the official rate or the black market rate?... For the sake of our long friendship, I won't calculate compound interest by rolling interest..."

"But even with compound interest, he won't be poor, right? I heard he's been a corrupt official in the Far East, squeezing the land dry – making the poor demons cry tears of blood..."