Tai'a probably hadn't expected Yu Lian to accept so readily. She stared blankly for a moment, then said with exasperation, "Normally, in a situation like this, aren't you supposed to make a few polite excuses?"
Yu Lian smiled. "If we were both civilians, I might have made a show of arguing for a bit. But I'm a field commander, and I bear a tremendous burden. I need to remain at my command post."
"...You weren't at your command post during the Battle of the Blood Gate or the Corridor Campaign, though?" Besides, wasn't Commander Sylvester the actual field commander?
"That was charging into the thick of battle and breaking through the enemy, the bravest of the three armies and unstoppable. 'A thousand troops flee at the sight of the white robes'; 'the courage of the Hegemon King, who burned his boats and smashed his cauldrons'—that's what those sayings mean. A commander-in-chief can certainly put himself in danger when necessary, but the whole army has to see him do it. That's the most important thing." Yu Lian raised his head proudly. Whether anyone else believed it or not, he did.
Tai'a said irritably, "Little Martial Uncle, you don't have to go to all that trouble with me. You could simply order me as commander-in-chief. Do you think I'd refuse? Surely this isn't about putting me under some kind of moral pressure?"
As she spoke, she deliberately gave him a disdainful look, as though to say, I can't believe you're that kind of overly sentimental person.
Yu Lian replied, "Actually, if you hadn't volunteered, I really was planning to go myself. As for the commander-in-chief needing to stay at the command post, there are always ways around that. We could make an illusion, for instance. The real trouble would be convincing the