"My Lord!"
"At this late hour, what has happened?"
Chu Chen, awakened from his sleep, sat up with a hint of displeasure.
"My Lord, a cavalry unit fell into an ambush and suffered heavy losses, but fortunately, they were not annihilated and have retreated."
"Fell into an ambush? What happened?"
Chu Chen frowned, got out of bed, and sat in a chair to listen to the report from the intelligence department.
Soon, he understood the situation.
It turned out that a cavalry unit of a thousand men was ambushed by a disguised convoy. The convoy included guards and laborers, and more than half of the fifteen hundred people were capable of combat, either as household retainers or martial arts experts.
Over four hundred disciples below the Body Refining realm, over a hundred in the Body Refining realm, one expert in the Foundation Establishment realm, and over five hundred household guards in the Martial Apprentice realm almost annihilated a thousand cavalry whose average strength was in the Martial Apprentice realm.
"It seems these martial arts sects have not been deterred by the incident in Lianshan County last time!"
Chu Chen's eyes turned cold and he said, "Have Nangong Ning's Embroidered Uniform Guard cooperate with Zhao Min's Six Doors to investigate which martial arts sects were involved in this matter, and then eradicate their parent sects completely! Leave no one alive!"
"Also, have Zhao Min find some pretexts to cause trouble for the local martial arts sects in Shizhou, stir up some martial world affairs, and keep them busy."
"Understood!"
The intelligence department received the order and left.
Chu Chen, now without sleep, was contemplating future matters.
"These noble families and powerful officials must have been pushed too far by me, to the point of being willing to spend a fortune to hire these martial arts sects. They used to look down on these crude individuals."
"Moreover, with the resurgence of spiritual energy, the overall strength of the martial arts sects has also increased considerably. This time, there are over a hundred in the Body Refining realm. They are truly as annoying as flies."
Chu Chen had been mentally prepared for the light cavalry not to have a smooth journey, but hearing that hundreds of men were lost still made him angry.
Cavalry were not easy to train, even light cavalry. The cost of raising one cavalryman could support at least five infantrymen, not to mention the supporting industries.
In Hidden Soldier Valley, there were ten thousand laborers, five thousand light infantry, and six thousand cavalry. These people, in Hidden Soldier Valley, had defeated several groups of bandits hiding there and incorporated some of the surrendered populace and mountain bandits.
The number had swelled from twenty-one thousand to fifty thousand. Among them, the ten thousand laborers led the way in crafting simple horse tack and weapons, serving as the basic industrial chain supplement for the cavalry. The required high-quality food was entirely purchased at great cost from various scattered sources.
Maintaining a cavalry force of ten thousand cost over one hundred thousand taels of silver per month. If they hadn't looted over two million taels worth of goods from the convoy, it would have been difficult to sustain.
Although the Royal Chamber of Commerce's dividends were substantial, they could not openly support them.
"Hmph, my cavalry were all summoned from the void through the system. I'll see whether you martial artists have more manpower or I have more points!"
Chu Chen sneered inwardly and soon stopped worrying about the matter.
Instead, he opened the Life Simulator system and prepared to begin a life simulation.
[Life simulation function loaded, protagonist: Chu Chen! Current points: 2400 points.]
[Winter of year 3242 on the Qingzhou Continent, at the age of 23, you have begun the journey of reforming the new three laws. However, these reforms have touched the interests of the gentry, clans, noble families, and powerful officials. But due to the assistance of your achievements as a reform pioneer and rule of law, coupled with the effect of your Royal Chamber of Commerce's exchange of land for factory qualifications, the opposition from the gentry and clans has not been too great, only the noble families and powerful officials still oppose fiercely.]
[Li Mengdie, the King of Liu in Mengdie County, Shizhou, is actively preparing for rebellion. Although the imperial court is aware of the news, due to the severe cold and the long distance, they cannot directly dispatch large armies from the capital or the border to suppress it in advance. They can only order surrounding counties and prefectures to jointly encircle and suppress or contain it.]
[The affairs of King Liu Li Mengdie are exposed, and he brazenly raises the banner of rebellion, shouting slogans of 'clearing the emperor's side' and 'killing the thief Chu'. He gathers an army of thirty thousand and officially rebels.]
[The armies of the surrounding counties and prefectures are unable to suppress King Liu, and instead, King Liu's army kills them and defeats them. King Liu's army seems to be extraordinary, not a hastily trained new army.]
[King Liu Li Mengdie, who counterattacked several surrounding prefectures and counties, has expanded his influence and actively increased the number of his troops. He implements martial law everywhere, oppressing the people of all classes, causing them immense suffering.]
[All the farms you established in these areas were destroyed, but Li Mengdie did not abolish the farm system. Instead, he vigorously promoted it under his rule, shocking the noble families and powerful officials, who felt a sense of unease but were helpless.]
[Li Mengdie, who entered a dormant period throughout the winter, continuously expanded his potential. In the spring of the following year, he captured more counties and prefectures, already possessing half of Shizhou's territory.]
[In the spring of year 43, the imperial court dispatched a large army, with Chu Chen as commander and Li Xinyue as supervisor, sending out fifty thousand troops. All counties and prefectures along the way were ordered to obey his command to suppress the rebellion.]
[In the autumn of year 43, before the autumn harvest, you quelled the rebellion of King Liu Li Mengdie. King Liu Li Mengdie was defeated and committed suicide.]
[In the spring of year 44, King Lin Li Yunting raised the banner of rebellion. In the summer of the same year, you and Li Xinyue quelled King Lin Li Yunting's rebellion, escorted Li Yunting back to the capital, where she was demoted to a commoner by the Empress and exiled to Liaonan Prefecture.]
[In the summer of year 45, a master from the State of Chu deciphered the effect of your 'Peaceful World' achievement, causing the effect of not being invaded by foreign enemies to become invalid. Chu launched a war of invasion, leading an army of 150,000 to attack the Yunyue Kingdom.]
[Your wedding with Princess Li Xinyue has been postponed until now. Amidst the clamor of court officials, the Empress granted permission for you to marry Princess Xinyue before proceeding to resist the invasion by the State of Chu.]
[However, on the eve of your wedding, you suddenly died of illness. You were 26 years old!]
[Congratulations to the host for completing the life simulation and obtaining 2600 points, with a current total of 5000 points.]
[Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the life simulation. You can choose one of the following three rewards:]
[...]
"What the heck, this life simulation only lasted three years before I died of illness? And it happened when the State of Chu's 150,000-strong army invaded? Could it be that the Empress was behind it?"
Chu Chen looked at the life simulation process, dumbfounded.
But he couldn't figure it out, wondering, "This Empress, isn't she afraid that after I die, the State of Chu will directly break through and conquer the Yunyue Kingdom? Or does she have so much wealth that she gained confidence from battles with veteran soldiers during the war?"
"But even so, after my death, my subordinate troops will certainly not be incorporated by her. She should know that I was secretly controlling the bandit issue. Isn't she afraid of internal chaos and external attack, leading to immediate destruction?"
"What confidence does she have to dare to cause my death?"