Chapter 381: The Twenty-fourth Day in the Struggle for Supremacy World

Chapter 381: Day 24 of Being Thrust into a Conquest Novel

Once inside the residence.

Bai Ji stepped forward, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt formally before An Yi, his forehead touching the ground.

"Lord... Ji... is guilty." His voice was low and strained: "In this scheme, although I lured Ke Quan out of the ravine, he grew wary, so the plan wasn't fully carried out. Instead, I made you work hard to readjust the deployment, and nearly allowed him to flee into the mountains, leaving endless problems in his wake. Ji... was careless in his thinking, relied too heavily on daring gambits, and nearly jeopardized the overall situation. Please punish me, Lord."

His back was stiff, and his mind was anything but calm.

This victory was partly thanks to him luring Ke Quan out, but the truth was, his original plan hadn't gone off perfectly—and it had even left hidden dangers behind. That was an indisputable fact.

It was more the result of An Yi's calm command and careful planning.

His lord's earlier warnings still echoed in his ears, yet he hadn't listened. This filled him with a frustration he'd never felt before, and... a flicker of fear.

He wasn't afraid of being punished—he was afraid of letting An Yi down.

An Yi looked down at Bai Ji, who was kneeling before him.

The young man's pale face was lowered, with dark circles under his eyes, and his lips, pressed tight, had gone pale.

He meant it.

An Yi stood, walked over to Bai Ji, bent down slightly, and reached out to take his arm.

"Ruzhi." An Yi's voice was gentle: "You did slip up."

Bai Ji's body gave the faintest tremble, and he hung his head even lower.

"But..." An Yi's tone turned: "Your strategy successfully drew Ke Quan's main force away from Shanwei Ravine, creating a perfect opportunity for our army to win the battle in one decisive move. That's your greatest achievement!"

"As for what followed—on the battlefield, things change in an instant, and no one can predict everything. Your ability to read Ke Quan's greedy, suspicious nature, and to devise such a carefully chained scheme, is already commendable."

"Rise." An Yi's voice was right there, his warm breath brushing Bai Ji's ear: "You're not at fault. In fact, for this battle to go this smoothly, you deserve credit."

An Yi was still holding Bai Ji's arm, his grip warm and firm.

He rose with An Yi's assistance, and at the tips of his ears, a faint flush spread uncontrollably.

"Thank you for your mercy, Lord." Bai Ji's voice was somewhat hoarse: "But my thinking, as you said the other day, leaned too heavily on unconventional tactics, seeking victory through risk, while neglecting that a commander must put stability first and crush the enemy with overwhelming force."

"Had it not been for your foresight, filling in the gaps and cutting off his retreat, even a victory in this battle would not have been complete, and might have left problems festering in the mountains. Ji... will remember your teachings from now on, and in all things, put stability first, balancing the conventional and the unconventional."

An Yi watched him, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He didn't let go of Bai Ji's arm, and instead, in that same position, gently patted the back of his hand.

"To recognize your mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue." An Yi's voice softened further: "But this isn't my doing. The victory in this battle is first owed to the soldiers who bled on the front lines and fought to be at the forefront. They faced the enemy's blades with their own bodies, followed orders to the letter, and that's how we broke through their lines and crushed their edge."

"Secondly, it's owed to the generals who made the right calls at the right time and kept their cool. General Mao Hua struck like a blade's edge, and General An Shu held steady as a mountain. All the camp commanders led from the front and handled their men well. Without the generals putting on their armor, taking up their weapons, and spotting the right moment to strike, the army would be like a headless dragon—all that strength, wasted. This credit belongs to the generals."

"Thirdly, it's owed to the advisors who racked their brains, planning strategy in the command tent. Mr. Dou handled the heavy administrative work and made sure everything was fully supported. Ruzhi and the others gave advice on key matters and kept coming up with plans. Grain supplies, intelligence, and winning over hearts and minds—all of it relied on your efforts. Without your planning and foresight, even the bravest soldiers would have wasted their strength. This credit belongs to the gentlemen!"

"Furthermore, the common people back home supported us with their hard work, artisans worked day and night, and clerks rushed around moving supplies... These are the foundations of victory. I just built on the foundation you all created, carried forward the lives the soldiers risked, followed the tide, and made the final call. The credit goes to all of you; the honor belongs to everyone. I just feel grateful, and I want to keep striving with all of you, so we don't let today's blood and sweat go to waste, and don't let the people down."

He turned and picked up a teacup from the table: "Today, I'll toast with tea instead of wine. The road ahead is long, and I still need all of you to stand together. I toast to your achievements, thank you for your hard work, and hope that from now on, we share the victories and face the hardships together. Cheers!!"

Everyone was moved, raising their teacups and drinking like they were knocking back a big swig of wine!

"I'd die for our Lord!"

A lot of people had tears in their eyes. With their lord trusting them this much, how could they not repay him with their lives?!

An Yi's eyes crinkled into a smile: "With this matter settled, Zhaozhou is a mess and needs to be rebuilt. Puzhou and Zhaozhou are newly taken, and they need to be carefully organized and integrated."

"For the next while, I'm afraid it'll fall to Ruzhi and Mr. Dou to handle a lot of the administrative work." An Yi quickly shifted the topic.

Bai Ji felt the warmth in front of him suddenly pull away, and a strange emptiness rose in his chest.

He quickly pulled himself together and bowed: "Yes, Ji will give his all to help you, Lord, settle the region."

Dou Chuang stroked his beard with satisfaction. He knew he'd come to the right place.

He pondered for a moment. In earlier letters, his friends had said the lord only knew poetry and classics, not war or ruling, and they were sitting at home waiting for a better offer.

Now they must be eating their words!

If he wrote again, he should be able to recruit them. Those old geezers, even if they're not the best people, do have talent. Now was the perfect time to drag them over to Puzhou and Zhaozhou.

That's settled—he'd write again as soon as he got back!

He couldn't afford to lose to Bai Ruzhi on this. That guy had already brought the lord several civil officials and military minds.

After all, he'd lived over twenty years longer than Bai Ruzhi; he still had connections.

By the time they finished discussing how to settle Puzhou and Zhaozhou, it was almost dusk. An Yi kept everyone for dinner before letting them go.

As Bai Ji was leaving, he looked up and stole a quick glance at An Yi.

An Yi had already turned back to his seat. The lines of his profile looked soft in the light coming through the window lattice, his long lashes lowered as he read the documents on his desk.

As if he felt Bai Ji's gaze, An Yi looked up and met his eyes.

Bai Ji froze. That brief, tender moment of eye contact passed so fast it felt like it might've been his imagination.

Comments:

"I'd die for our Lord!"

"I'd die for our Lord!"

"Honestly, I always feel like An Yi's methods are super modern. Many things are already arranged before the male lead even suggests them—like this open trial of Ke Quan. He's so ahead of the curve. Especially with iron, salt, education, women going to school and joining the army, all that stuff. All kinds of inventions, weapons, everyday stuff... @Author! Don't you think so? The knowledge the male lead brought from transmigrating is supposed to be his golden finger, but now it seems like that golden finger isn't being used much!"

"I agree. Is the lord really not a transmigrator too?"

"...Who knows?"

"Isn't the male lead supposed to be the lord's love interest? Why is there so little romance? I've read almost four hundred chapters now, and the romance plotlines add up to less than ten chapters!"

"??? What's wrong with you, person above? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Ew ew ew~ They're gay! Isn't less romance a good thing?"

"No! No! We want to see the lord and the male lead being all sweet together! (kissy face.jpg)"

"?... Are you also gay?"

"Exactly! Bai Ji, why are you so passive? Go for it—seduce him, charm him! Confess! Your husband is still waiting for you!"

"The male lead's the husband here!! What's wrong with you guys? Oh my god! Are you really straight men, just automatically picturing yourselves as the bottom?"

"Of course! You know, guys are totally shameless perverts!"

"......"

An Yi: "......"

Yeah, totally shameless—he'd seen plenty of that before.