Victory Must Not Be Claimed Alone; Defeat Must Not Be Faced Alone

"I see! The Stagnation Hexagram adversity comes prosperity, but there must be a process of transformation!"

Upon seeing the question, Qiu Yan immediately understood, but he was not in a hurry. Instead, he put down the question, laid out his classical texts and interpretations, and calmly answered the question. Please use this site to access information.

With focused mind, the characters on the brush rose again, and my Qi and Blood surged.

It was still dark, and the entire Examination Hall was filled with a chill, but as Qiu Yan began to write, a warm aura gradually emanated from around his examination room.

At first it wasn't obvious, but after a while, some water vapor even condensed, which naturally attracted the attention of the patrolman. The patrolman came over, but couldn't figure it out, so he had to go find the examiner.

The examiners for the Provincial Examinations were all educational officials from several prefectures. When they were summoned, they were also puzzled and stepped forward.

"What's going on?" the examiner murmured, finally noticing a clue. "The heat seems to be coming from that candidate's cell. Could something be strange?"

Suspicious, the examiner glanced down at Qiu Yan's name on the edge of the scroll.

"Qiu Yan, that name sounds familiar..."

As he pondered, his gaze shifted, sweeping across the exam paper. He noticed the rows of handwriting, paused in surprise, and blurted out, "Beautiful handwriting!"

Upon hearing these two words, the examiner remembered why the name "Qiu Yan" sounded familiar.

"So it's Qiu Yan, who's recently gained fame. I heard his calligraphy skills are extraordinary. I initially thought it was just hearsay, but now I see it's true!"

He stared intently at Qiu Yan as he worked on the questions, his feet seemingly rooted to the spot. After a while, others noticed his unusual behavior, which attracted two more examiners. These two, upon arriving, first inquired about the matter, and then, like the previous man, stopped in their tracks to watch Qiu Yan write.

Three examiners surrounding a candidate would naturally attract the attention of those who were interested. Fang Ziyan, who was writing furiously, looked up and glanced over.

His cell wasn't far from Qiu Yan's; he could see the opposite side just by looking up. When he saw the three examiners standing outside Qiu Yan's cell, watching intently with expressions of admiration on their faces, he was instantly consumed by jealousy.

"That Qiu Yan just loves to show off. He doesn't even know how to restrain himself in the examination hall," Fang Ziyan muttered resentfully, staring intently at the person opposite him with a cold smile. "Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that he's going to be too clever for his own good! Originally, Qi Zhengyuan was supposed to avoid suspicion because of Ma Yang, but now Qiu Yan has stirred up this storm, and they'll use it against him afterwards. They might even strip him of his degree!"

As he felt triumphant, countless schemes raced through Fang Ziyan's mind.

Things are different now. In the past, even if he had some dissatisfaction with Qiu Yan and was unwilling to let Qiu Yan steal his limelight and overshadow his reputation, it was just a personal grudge. But now that he is determined to join the New Party and is portraying Qiu Yan as a member of the Old Party, attacking Qiu Yan is a way of showing his stance and loyalty, which is naturally his inescapable duty.

"If the chief examiner, Qi Zhengyuan, were here too, that would be ideal. With everyone watching, no matter what I say afterwards, no matter how well Qiu Yan's essay is written, it would all be..."

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a majestic voice.

"What are you all doing gathered here?"

Then, a middle-aged official walked over. He had a square face, forehead wrinkles, and was wearing court robes. He walked very steadily with each step.

Upon hearing this voice, the three examiners all moved at once, turned around, bowed, and said, "Sir."

This man was none other than Qi Zhengyuan, the chief examiner for this Provincial Examination.

"May all your wishes come true!"

Upon seeing this person, Fang Ziyan was overjoyed. This emotion erupted, making him restless. His wrist trembled, and a drop of ink fell from the tip of his pen onto the exam paper!

The ink stains spread rapidly across the Xuan paper.

"Not good!"

Upon seeing this, Fang Ziyan's expression changed drastically. He could no longer care about anything else and quickly took out the orpiment to apply.

When the orpiment is rubbed, the pale yellow pigment covers the ink, making it appear the same color as the paper at first glance, hence the saying "talking nonsense".

However, upon closer inspection, traces can still be found, and the paper is no longer neat. It is very likely that it will be downgraded because of this, which would be truly unfair.

Across from him, Qi Zhengyuan exchanged a few words with the three proctors, dismissed them, and then walked to Qiu Yan's cell. He glanced at the handwriting on the exam paper, his eyes showing surprise, then nodded and walked away.

Qiu Yan didn't react much. After a few strokes, the classics, the interpretations of the classics, and the miscellaneous essays were all completed.

Then, he put down his pen, closed his eyes and pondered for a while, before taking out a piece of paper, writing down the question, and then putting pen to paper—

In warfare, the highest level of strategy involves human planning, the middle level involves the advantages of terrain, and the lowest level involves the timing of events.

Human planning follows human nature; the Marshfolk are fond of plundering, and given any opportunity, they will surely launch a full-scale attack. I have heard that recently, garrison troops have been redeployed, leaving the interior vulnerable...

As Qiu Yan wrote, thoughts raced through his mind, and information from his Divine Sense continuously converged, transforming the Marshfolk's motives, movements, and actions into words written on the paper. Each word was full and each stroke was spirited, exuding an atmosphere of overwhelming force, making people feel breathless.

Jiarong County was now engulfed in Sea of Fire, with the Marshfolk running rampant in the streets, burning, killing, and looting.

"A rare opportunity! A rare opportunity! We must grab as many as we can!"

Many of the swamp soldiers were already stuffed full of gold, silver, rice, and grain, but they were still not satisfied and continued to plunder the streets and alleys.

Outside the city, Biaoxin rode his horse, watching the chaos within with a look of utter intoxication.

"The magnificent landscape of the Central Plains is truly captivating."

At this moment, several swamp soldiers rushed over, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that De Ying and his men have withstood the Buddha's light and are showing signs of recovery!"

Biaoxin paused for a moment before saying, "Without the Marsh God, how can they withstand the Buddha's power?"

Beside him, a thin man dressed as a man from the Central Plains stepped forward and reminded him, "Your Majesty, whether those people are awake or unconscious is no longer important. We don't need to command their troops. With such a fine city before us, we have no doubt that they will be tempted!"

"The strategist is right, let those Saluo people plunder here!" Biaoxin laughed, his face beaming with delight. "Didn't that brat Pan Xiang want to scheme against me? Let him scheme. I'll leave these tribes here for him to kill. Once they're exhausted, I'll come and reap the benefits!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled on the reins and waved his arm. "Alright, we should go. Tell the men to put their things down first. It's just a county town, no need to linger. Let's hurry on!"

The gaunt strategist, however, spoke up to remind us, "Your Majesty, do not forget to leave men to look after the artisans."

"The strategist is right, let's all follow orders."

Not long after, a troop of marsh soldiers outside the county town changed course and followed Biaoxin. This troop was made up of strong and capable men, clearly of considerable fighting strength. However, the catastrophe in the city did not end with their departure.

Inside and outside the city walls, public resentment was boiling over and gradually rising into the air;

On the distant mound, the Buddha's light remained, but a phantom image had appeared within it.

Geluolan sat cross-legged, a faint phantom of the Kitchen God appearing around him, muttering to himself, "Sincerity! As long as we pray to the gods with genuine sincerity, the Kitchen God will protect us and keep us safe!"

Beside him, the chieftains of several major tribes, including De Ying, all nodded with difficulty.

As the thoughts converged, the image of the Kitchen God became increasingly clear.

In the examination room, Qiu Yan took a short rest, then gathered her emotions and wrote the second paragraph.

"The southwest is mountainous, inhabited by various ethnic groups. It is a land of constant warfare, with Five Marshes to the south and indigenous tribes to the west. If we were to reduce the number of indigenous tribes due to the marshes..."

Jiannan Circuit, western frontier, a thousand-year-old sheer cliff.

On the precipice, a Tibetan monk, dressed in a robe with one arm bare, gazed silently into the distance.

His eyes shone.

Finally, the Tibetan monk closed his eyes, the veins around his eyes twitching and gradually disappearing. After a long while, he said, "The Yongping Army has already set out, but it is not Zhang Duling's elite direct troops. However, there are quite a few of them, about two thousand men, and they have taken nearly half of their warhorses with them for rapid reinforcement."

A voice came from behind the Tibetan monk. "That's enough. The Imperial Preceptor is here to save all living beings, while I am just a mortal whose goal is warhorses. Zhang Duling has ambitions to achieve great things, but unfortunately he is trapped in Yongping. My main force is in the north, and the Marshfolk are intimidated by Song Yuan. Zhang Duling can only end up in a limbo, and of course he is unwilling to accept it. He wants to take a risky gamble, but he can only be a stepping stone for me."

"Since the Second Prince has made his decision, let's set off." The Tibetan monk said, turning and walking away.

In front of him stood rows of men in monk robes, each with a different appearance; there were at least a hundred of them!

The surging Qi and Blood rose and floated above the crowd, condensing into the image of a Buddha in mid-air.

"That's exactly right." The second prince smiled, a shadow flashing in his eyes.

The thoughts of Heart Demons lurk and circulate in one's mind.

In the examination room, Qiu Yan stopped writing again and began to think.

It was nearly noon when some people got up to hand in their papers.

But Qiu Yan was completely unaffected. Before long, he picked up his pen again and began to analyze the battle situation.

With a plan in mind, Qiu Yan wrote very quickly, listing three possibilities in a row, with the first and third being merely supporting details.

The second scenario describes the various tribes of the Marshfolk uniting to attack the border county, then dividing their forces: one part was left as bait to lure in reinforcements from the Great Rui, while the other part was used as a surprise attack.

Then, he changed the subject and wrote about how the military commander of the border town, who had been eager to achieve great things, had Barbarians sent troops out and fallen into the trap of the barbarians, suffering heavy losses and losing many warhorses, thus losing the ability to rush to their aid. Meanwhile, the military headquarters was hesitant to act, fearing that the enemy might harm them.

He meticulously recorded the movements of the Marshfolk and the Barbarians, using a speculative and conjectured tone. In the end, he described the corresponding countermeasures based on three different battle scenarios, pointed out potential hidden dangers on the enemy's side, and proposed a policy of "giving Balancing Suppression and Pacification."

But as Qiu Yan wrote, he frowned.

"The Military Momentum is easy to predict, but those hundred Tibetan monks are all full of Qi and Blood, even stronger than the special forces in my previous life. I wonder if Great Rui has any troops that can contend with them."

Although he could grasp the movements of the Marshfolk and the Barbarians through his Divine Sense and Heart Demons, he did not know much about the military towns of Great Rui. Therefore, this military strategy could only propose ideas and methods for dealing with them, and could not go into specific details.

"Very well, the way to employ Human Path is to choose the right people for the right positions. Ultimately, it is the duty of generals to lead troops into battle. Song Yuan and Zhang Duling have been guarding the frontier for many years, and their military strategy and knowledge are certainly far superior to mine. This article of mine is merely to offer a starting point for discussion."

With that thought in mind, he no longer hesitated and wrote down the final sentence.

"Victory cannot be won with excessive focus, nor can defeat be lost without it." (To be continued... PS: Thanks to "Man" for the monthly vote!)

Note: "Victory should not be won with excessive focus, nor should defeat be lost with insufficient focus" is from the * Tiger Commander's Manual *.

The meaning will be explained in later chapters.