However, this practice of sending offspring was, in reality, a form of soft imprisonment, intended to force the minor states into unwavering loyalty.
But when the great humiliation occurred—the Lang King's brazen attack on the capital—it irrevocably severed a portion of the minor states' respect for the Chau Ngoc Clan. During that event, many children of the minor state rulers escaped and returned to their families; others were killed or captured and taken to the West Lang Kingdom. This greatly accelerated the reduction of the minor states' reliance on the Chau Ngoc Emperor.
The lack of respect only escalated with the appearance of the young emperor. His decrees were routinely ignored, or implementation was delayed indefinitely. Any favorable outcome, they claimed as their own doing; any failure, they blamed on the Chau Ngoc Emperor, causing the common populace to hold the young ruler in low regard. Consequently, the young emperor's operations were constantly hampered by a lack of funds and manpower. He was forced to utilize the assets previously hidden by the Shadow Guard Corps just to keep the government running.
In this difficult context, Doanh Thuong Quan, with the title of General of the Western Campaign, was commissioned to lead 7,000 troops westward to take charge of 5 major cities, 10 medium-sized cities, and over 20 smaller towns. This was an extremely difficult assignment. Most of the city lords had been in power for generations, and they were not about to easily surrender authority to a complete stranger, especially since the Emperor was distant, and his reputation and power had waned.
On the surface, they might comply, but they were ready to revolt at any time if pushed too far. Some city lords had even set up traps, intending to assassinate Doanh Thuong Quan the moment he arrived. They had already prepared plausible explanations to rationalize the death of the General of the Western Campaign: assassination by a West Lang Kingdom spy, being killed by a monster while hunting, poisoning, succumbing to illness, and various other excuses.
Doanh Thuong Quan’s force of 7,000 men was utterly inadequate, considering a major city garrisoned over 30,000 troops, a medium city over 10,000, and even a small city had more than 5,000.
Upon the suggestion of Master Noe, Doanh Thuong Quan, after receiving his mandate and troops, did not immediately depart. Instead, he led his forces to an area and set up camp. Day and night, they underwent intense training: forced marches, transporting supplies from the new capital to the camp, digging lakes and moats, building the camp, practicing night assaults, and much more. Nearly a year of training transformed the 7,000 initially weak soldiers into 7,000 elite troops—courageous and highly skilled in combat.
Doanh Thuong Quan and Master Noe often sat by the riverside, playing chess and talking.
The student asked, “I have followed your instruction and trained here for nearly a year, Master. Is it time to depart?”
Master Noe replied, “It is time, but you must choose. I have three solutions for you.
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Return and seek help from your father, Doanh Thuong Nhan (the elder). From him, the two envoys, Green Dragon and Golden Dragon, will assist you.
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Go to your two elder brothers to borrow troops. They are both lords of two major cities.
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Use your 7,000 troops to conquer all five major cities yourself.
Which path do you choose?”
The student inquired, “Before I choose, please teach me the strategy for complete victory—to strike and always win.”
Master Noe replied, “War is always paid for with immense losses of people and property. To fight is to inevitably lose. There is no strategy for complete victory. Do you understand what you are truly asking for?
In ancient times, there was a great Military General who won 70 battles without a single defeat. At one point, he fought a hundred men alone and still won, but in the end, he perished because his soldiers and generals were exhausted, and his strength depleted.”
The student bowed his head and said, “Please instruct me, Master, on the way to achieve victory without fighting a battle.”
Master Noe smiled and said, “You truly are my best student. My method is to force the opponent to submit without fighting, to conquer and gain hundreds of thousands of new troops and generals without losing a single soldier. That is true complete victory. First, preserve your army, train your army, and make them strong. Only then can we talk about contention and winning the hearts of the people, bringing them under one banner.”
The student asked, “How does one win the hearts of the people?”
Master Noe answered, “To win hearts, you must strike at people’s immediate benefit and their long-term interests, their aspirations and their dreams. Just one or two moves, and you grasp the entire situation.
Conventional war is about seizing land and people. The war for complete victory is about seizing the hearts of the people. Once you have the hearts of the people, high walls will open themselves, deep moats will fill themselves, and traps will be disabled.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Every step forward adds tens of thousands of lives, instead of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.”
The student asked, “Please explain clearly, Master, how do I capture the hearts of the people?”
Master Noe replied, “First, through legitimacy, which you already possess from the Emperor's appointment as the General of the Western Campaign. Staying here for the past year without mobilizing has created a bad reputation: that you are a cowardly general. But the benefit is that everyone knows your name. The moment you march out, people will support you. This is a political victory.”
The student responded, “What is the second point, Master?”
Master Noe continued, “The second is your diligence in training alongside your soldiers, taking no rest, and the Emperor's frequent visits, showing his affection for you. This will earn the respect of all generals, as they know you chose to accept a difficult responsibility rather than seeking safety and comfort next to the Emperor. This is a moral victory.”
Master Noe continued, “And the third, and most crucial point: those who genuinely wanted to kill you are already dead, for one reason or another. The time for your departure is drawing near.”
The student asked, “And what about a strategic victory, Master?” The teacher and student continued their conversation in this manner for many days.
Having fully grasped his Master’s strategy, Doanh Thuong Quan chose to act on his own, without seeking outside assistance. He, along with the three Long Hand brothers (A Nhat, carrying the super-durable Sword-Shield; A Nhi, carrying the super-heavy Bow; and A Tam, carrying the super-hard Spear), and a few trusted subordinates, secretly went ahead.
These items were all superb artifacts gifted to them by Phong Tran upon their entry into the Imperial Palace, each with its own name: A Nhat’s Sword-Shield was called the Golden Turtle Sword and Golden Turtle Shield; A Nhi’s Bow was the Great Strength Divine Bow; and A Tam’s spear was the Overlord God-Piercing Spear.
They arrived at Tan Tay City, the largest of the five cities granted to Doanh Thuong Quan by the Emperor. A large funeral had just taken place here, as the city lord had passed away. His four sons were fiercely vying and fighting amongst themselves, even to the point of risking life and death. However, because a Great General named Kieu Anh Phong had intervened to mediate, the situation had temporarily calmed down.
This Great General had a passion for martial arts competitions. He was a Core Formation cultivator of the Fire Element.
Doanh Thuong Quan entered the city, feigning ignorance, and organized an archery competition using the Great Strength Divine Bow, which was both extremely heavy and stiff. The loser had to pay money. If people doubted that anyone could draw the bow, or suspected it was fake, Doanh Thuong Quan had A Nhi draw it, shooting an iron arrow a thousand meters, piercing a wall. Many failed to try the Bow, causing the rumor to spread quickly and attract the attention of Great General Kieu Anh Phong.
At first, the Great General used all his strength but could not draw the bow. He failed because, besides the incredible weight and draw force, its size was too large, exceeding the length of an ordinary person's arm. The Great General closed his eyes and concentrated his spirit, activating a skill called Great Strength Divine General. Although this skill gradually reduced his armor (skin thinning, armor and clothes ripping), caused blood loss (thinner skin made him prone to bleeding), and reduced his mental energy (the brain and spirit worked harder to control the enlarged body), it granted him super strength (+100 Str) and transformed him into a massive, giant-like figure. He held the bow with one hand, the Overlord God-Piercing Spear with the other, and shot. The arrow sliced through the air like the wind, continuously collapsing several walls behind.
The surrounding people praised him incessantly, filling Great General Kieu Anh Phong with immense high spirits. He laughed heartily, full of confidence.
Seizing the opportunity, Doanh Thuong Quan immediately knelt before the crowd, instructing the three Long Hand brothers (A Nhat, A Nhi, A Tam) to kneel with him, and said:
“It is often said: Beautiful women belong with heroes, Fine weapons belong with brave generals, Good horses belong with warriors. Now that this weapon has passed into your hands, we humbly present you with this Great Strength Divine Bow. Please, Great General, accept it.”
This statement greatly displeased A Nhi, who was simple-minded and attempted to stand up in protest, but A Nhat held him back.
Great General Kieu Anh Phong gazed at the Great Strength Divine Bow, rubbing his hand over it, muttering, “Good bow, good bow.” In his mind, he thought: “Even those fairy-like shorties, though incredibly fast, cannot be caught. With this Bow, they won't escape.”
After a moment, he sighed regretfully and returned the Bow to A Nhi. But A Nhat refused to let A Nhi take it back, and A Nhi stammered incoherently in response. Doanh Thuong Quan, in his role as the manager of the martial arts performance group, immediately spoke up while still kneeling:
“No, no, I beg you to accept this precious Bow. We are but common folk; how can we be worthy of such a treasure? Keeping it for long will only bring disaster, as many will covet and try to steal it.”
The surrounding people, incited by Doanh Thuong Quan’s soldiers and commanders, also chimed in: “Take it, General! Only you are worthy of this Divine Bow! Take it, take it, take it!”
After some time, the Great General finally accepted the Divine Bow. He said, “I have always been an upright person, owing nothing to anyone. Now you gift me a precious item. Is there anything you wish to ask for? As long as it does not violate righteousness, I will agree immediately.”
Doanh Thuong Quan had been waiting for this very sentence. According to the Shadow Guard Corps’ files, the Great General was a man who deeply valued loyalty and righteousness. Once he made a promise, he would keep it even at the cost of his life, and he never accepted anything for free, always seeking to return something of equal value.
Doanh Thuong Quan said, “These three Long Hand brothers have not followed me for long, but I cherish them dearly. Besides their immense strength, they know nothing else. I humbly ask that you accept them as your students and teach them the ability to transform into giants. What could be better?”
Great General Kieu Anh Phong was utterly delighted upon hearing this and agreed immediately. What could be better than gaining both a fine weapon and talented students in a single day? He immediately organized an apprenticeship ceremony for the three brothers, A Nhat, A Nhi, and A Tam, to become his students. All three were not intelligent and spoke incoherently, only suitable for the path of Body Cultivation, turning their bodies into weapons.
After six months, Doanh Thuong Quan went to the other major cities. He requested that the Emperor, his students with a number of precious items so that he could travel everywhere and present gifts to talented people to gain their goodwill. The Emperor did not begrudge these items and immediately agreed, tasking the Shadow Guard Corps to deliver them.