Death… and me

Diwu Qing Rou would deduce all possible scenarios before he’d go to war. This was a habit of the Prime Minister’s — he would deduce how the war would unfold… how to attack… how to advance… how to use the battle of wits and bravery to his advantage …what’s to be done if the enemy does this? …how should we deal with it if the enemy does that?

It was a proven-fact that Diwu Qing Rou’s simulations were based on the projections and calculation. And these simulations went in accordance with the dispositions and habits of the enemy generals. He would deduce everything prior to a war. And after the war would end — one would find that whether it was the beginning, the course of war, or the final outcome of it — things usually went in accordance to his simulation; baring minor differences.

This was Diwu Qing Rou’s unique and unmatched ability.

The sentences coming out of his mouth might seem messy and incoherent prior to the war. They might seem out of order, or even illogical. But this was because he would speak-out his thoughts in an unorganized manner. A slight reorganization and a little ‘finishing touch’ would be required once the recording would be completed. But, this messy record would then turn into a comprehensive war textbook.

Then, Diwu Qing Rou would carry the finished record and personally visit the battlefield. There’s often a lack-of-time to choose the best of course of action on-the-spot when a critical moment arrives unexpectedly. The mind tends to get chaotic in such situations… However, he would just refer to this textbook. That would help him in reorganizing his ideas; which in-turn would allow him to find a solution. Then, he would rearrange his train of thoughts, and lead his troops on the right path.

This was another one of Diwu Qing Rou’s unique abilities.

Diwu Qing Rou’s wonderful yet clever ideas had gradually reached the end. Han Bu Chu was also done with recording then; in fact, his wrist had turned sore.

Minister Chu was in an even worse state atop the roof.

He felt that the skin on his body had turned numb after the constant beat-up he had received from the raindrops. Moreover, he was constantly racking his brains in an attempt to remember every word coming out of Diwu Qing Rou’s mouth. He was making as many mental notes as possible. However, he felt as if his brain had been fried after hearing so many diplomatic talks on domestic and foreign affairs. His mind had reached its limit…

"Jing Meng Hun, how much military strength can your Golden Horse Riders Department dispatch?" Diwu Qing Rou asked. The layout for the military forces was complete. His focus was now on the dispatch of this secret force since it was his hidden trump.

Chu Yang erected his ears to listen closely.

Jing Meng Hun pondered for a moment. Then, he said, "Golden Horse Riders Department has been repeatedly attacked these past days. Thus, the high-level military strength has dropped to some extent. However, the overall framework is intact. All troops can be dispatched at once if the Prime Minister desires so…"

He paused for a second. He then added, "The main military force of Golden Horse Riders Department can dispatch 15000 people. However, 10,000 Golden Horse Riders among these there are under the leadership of 20 ‘Command Horse Riders’. And a total of 1900 ‘Killer Black Horse’ Riders can also be dispatched. And then there are 1000 Iron Horse Riders. They can be included as well. If Mysterious Horse Riders (1) were allowed to set-off… a total of 300 of them can be available."

The Golden Horse Riders comprised the main battle force, whereas the Command Horse Riders were the high-level commanders. The Killer Black Horse Riders were the assassins, whereas the Iron Horse Riders were the scouts and were tasked with obtaining intelligence. The Mysterious Horse Riders advocated punishment. The Silver Horse Riders weren’t necessarily a part of the military force. They governed wealth and were responsible for making money. This division comprised of extremely shrewd business minds.

Jing Meng Hun paused for another moment. Then, he continued, "As for the power of Silver Horse Riders… They can provide up to 1 billion silvers to Prime Minister for military expenditure in the upcoming war!"

Diwu Qing Rou nodded in satisfaction and said, “Its wartime; dispatch all troops. No need to retain any. Yin Wu Tian will stay behind with 100 people under his command. They shall look after Yin Wu Fa. His most important task would be the suppression of the Continent Center. We cannot have anyone causing trouble in our absence. If there’s any mishap — get rid of the cause immediately. You may kill the innocent, but you can’t let the guilty off!"

"Understood," Jing Meng Hun replied.

"In other words… the Golden Horse Riders Department can dispatch… about 18,000 soldiers, correct?

"Yes."

"Hm… King Level Expert Jing, you shall personally lead the troops into the battle. Break up the 20 Command Horse Riders in this manner…" Diwu Qing Rou spoke slowly while he paced back and forth, "There will probably be three major battlefields. You branch out three brigades from the 18,000. Each brigade will consist of 2500 elite soldiers. These three brigades will be led by 6 Command Horse Riders; 2 Commands shall be assigned to each brigade. These brigades will move into action in the critical moments during the battle. They will use the power of Heaven and Earth to chisel through the enemy’s battle formation in one fell swoop!

"Yes." Jing Meng Hun’s eyes issued a crazy battle intention.

"The remaining 10,000 people shall be personally led by you and the remaining 14 Command Horse Riders. This will be our final military force. It shall be used as our trump card to decide the outcome of the war in the most decisive moment!" Diwu Qing Rou slowly said. A glorious look flashed in his eyes.

"Yes," Jing Meng Hun quickly agreed. He repeated the instructions in his heart to remember it firmly.

"Prime Minister, why are you dividing the force like that?" Han Bu Chu was puzzled. [If there are 18000 people… wouldn’t the battle efficiency be higher if they’re divided into three brigades of 6000 people each? Each brigade will have abundant prowess. But the military strength of merely 2500 people is far too less in an army expedition of millions of soldiers…]

"The existence of the Golden Horse Riders Department is not a secret. Iron Cloud knows a lot of things about Golden Horse Riders Department. They are scared of Golden Horse Riders Department. Therefore, they keep trying to get their hands on any ‘intel’ on the Golden Horse Riders Department… However, no one knows how many people are working under Golden Horse Riders Department; this is a top secret! No one except for King Level Expert Jing knows the specific number of people working in the Golden Horse Riders Department. To be honest, even I didn’t. This is the outcome that I’ve intentionally created…"

Diwu Qing Rou softly smiled and said, "This in accordance with Tie Long Cheng’s nature. He’s bound to have trained a group of elites who shall specifically deal with our Golden Horse Riders Department. The combined military strength of our three brigades is about 8000. Tie Long Cheng will find out as soon as they make an appearance. Not to mention that the horrifying battle prowess of the Golden Horse Riders Department will leave him dumbfounded…

"Since it’s like that… then why not…

"Tie Long Cheng will be startled; scared too. However, he will feel relieved because the Golden Horse Rider’s Department will no longer be a secret once it has revealed its prowess. Therefore, the vigilance in Tie Long Cheng’s heart towards Golden Horse Riders Department will be weakened. It might even disappear altogether. Therefore, they will use their elite forces to destroy those three brigades; they won’t spare any costs! Those three brigades will attract the attention of almost every elite personnel in their ranks! However, they won’t be able to swallow-down these three brigades easily; no matter how much they try. They will erode the three brigades of Golden Horse Riders Department slowly and gradually… and will be very much at ease after they’ve succeeded…"

Diwu Qing Rou slowly said.

"Then he may find the courage to fight the imminent decisive battle," Diwu Qing Rou said in a somewhat mocking tone.

"However, he won’t be aware of the fact that I’ve saved the actual elite force of the Golden Horse Riders Department. And it will comprise of 10,000 elites. They shall then deal with him. I wonder what he would do then…" Diwu Qing Rou chuckled.

"So that’s how it is! These 10,000 are the ‘real’ secret weapon of the Prime Minster’s!" Han Bu Chu suddenly realized.

"Yes, this is the force that will decide the outcome of the whole war. Moreover, it will be the most striking force, and will simply catch them off-guard!" A cold light flashed in Diwu Qing Rou’s eyes, "These 10,000 people will be the ones who will seize their flag and crush Tie Long Cheng’ main army! And if my estimation is correct… the task to capture Tie Long Cheng and Tie Bu Tian alive will also lay upon the shoulders of these people."

"The Prime Minister is brilliant!" Han Bu Chu was full of admiration.

Intentionally or unintentionally… this secret of Golden Horse Riders Department… was no longer a secret. The top ranking person on both the sides was well aware of it now.

Diwu Qing Rou was playing the ‘numbers’ game. He was going to conceal his most mighty force in the dark. It would then come out from the dark to eradicate the enemy forces once its decoy had received a heavy blow from the enemy. The very idea of hiding one’s strongest force… and then bringing-it-out from the hiding so suddenly… had made it the most profound killer move.

A concealed checkmate has a higher chance of landing the final blow.

Chu Yang’s entire body was covered in cold sweat.

[Had I suddenly encountered those three brigades on the battlefield… I would never have been suspicious of it if I hadn’t overheard this conversation.]

[And I would’ve fallen into Diwu Qing Rou’s trap!]

[I would’ve been caught off-guard by the sudden attack of the enemy’s ‘real’ force of 10,000 elites. That situation would’ve been beyond redemption…]

[This Diwu Qing Rou is too insidious. He is willing to sacrifice a total of 8,000 top elites to achieve the final victory!]

"Well, I forgot to mention." Jing Meng Hun said, "Prime Minister… I’ve nearly collected the amount of poison you had asked me to collect the last time."

"How much is it now?" Diwu Qing Rou asked.

"A total of 650kg of water-soluble poison has been refined. And we have about 2000kg of Enchanting Tobacco and Chaotic Soul Grass as well." Jing Meng Hun emphatically said in a heavy tone, "It’s very effective!"

Diwu Qing Rou nodded slowly and said, "The water-soluble poison is too less. Hurry up and extract more. The quantity of Enchanting Tobacco is more or less enough… but you must continue to collect more and more of these items; the more the better!"

"Yes," Jing Meng Hun respectfully replied.

"Those poisonous pharmacists… investigate them again. If there is even a small but questionable point… kill them without amnesty!" Diwu Qing Rou slowly walked two steps.

"Yes."

"The most important thing is… to check the direction of the wind to see which way the water will flow. Moreover… make sure that you inform the troops in advance before you throw the poison into the water. And ensure that the necessary preparations are made ahead of time!" Diwu Qing Rou alerted him again.

"Well, I’ve already brought these matters to your attentions and explained properly.

"And I’ve explained it once again!" Diwu Qing Rou’s tone was very strict, "This matter is of great importance. It is a very serious matter and even the least bit of negligence will not be tolerated!"

"Understood!"

Chu Yang’s heart thumped once again. This shock was too big to bear. His entire body was covered in cold sweat; so much so that he could no longer feel the impact of rainwater on his body…

Poison!

650kg of water-soluble poison was too less?! Chu Yang clearly knew the role of this water-soluble poison. If the water source of the army were to be poisoned… how big would the losses be?

As for the Enchanting Tobacco and Chaotic Soul Grass… they were even more deadly. If a decisive battle was going on between the two armies and Diwu Qing Rou ignited Enchanting Tobacco in the tailwind…

That would be an effortless victory for Diwu Qing Rou. He would win the war without sending a single soldier into the battlefield…

Chu Yang was even willing to make a bet — Diwu Qing Rou would lead the troops into the war, but wouldn’t allow them to stand against the wind. He would be giving-up on a golden opportunity to win this war effortlessly if he did that…

His heart thumped again. He knew that this was bad news.

Two people in the room below were at a higher cultivation level than his. Thanks to the Sword Spirit who had restrained his entire vitality — he had been able to hide here for so long. However, the sudden thumping of his heart would’ve alerted them.

Suddenly, there was complete silence in the room below him!

The enemy had discovered his presence!

Mysterious Horse Riders: Its alternate translation can be ‘Black Horse Riders’. But it will get confusing because the same term already exists for the assassins. So, we have decided to use ‘mysterious’ instead of ‘black’.