I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 525 - 288: Well-War Strategy, Melee Strategy_2

Chapter 525: Chapter 288: Well-War Strategy, Melee Strategy_2

"There is a way to break this situation, and we can continue to adopt the imperial examination system," Gu Shanhai admitted. "However, this is contingent on Luo Chuan implementing reforms. If he dies and passes on his legacy, should any of his offspring be incompetent, they would be overwhelmed by the backlash."

During the Eastern Jin period, the Langya Wang family was evenly matched with the Jin Dynasty, colloquially referred to as "Wang versus Ma, sharing the world."

If Luo Chuan does not act accordingly, he cannot stabilize the situation at his rear. His ranks are filled with nobility, leaving him with no other choice.

Unlike Jiang Lu’s situation, whether it is Zhan Yan, who manages domestic affairs, or Li Yu, who oversees the economy, as well as the commanders of the armed forces Zhang He, Cui Feng, and Wu Yan, all started from humble beginnings. The most prestigious among them belong to the lower strata, and the least, Li Yu, hails from a despised merchant background. Therefore, even if they become part of the nobility, they would keep the power of the nobles in check.

Because they are the first generation, they understand their power stems from Jiang Lu, not just from being nobility.

On Zhou Ding’s side, Gu Shanhai found it peculiar; their cohesion was so strong it was almost unanimous. Any decree issued was completed without fail.

Even on his side, there were various obstacles, but they were all resolved given everyone’s capabilities.

Gu Shanhai couldn’t fathom what charm Zhou Ding possessed, enabling him to attract so much talent. There was talent available to Jiang Lu too, but not in such abundance, mostly being average in capabilities.

However, these matters didn’t occupy Gu Shanhai’s thoughts for too long. What could he do upon knowing this? Whether it be Luo Chuan or Zhou Ding, they each had at least five hundred thousand Daoist Soldiers at their command, boasting formidable strength far beyond those of just a few cats and dogs.

For Gu Shanhai, attempting an assassination would be tantamount to seeking death.

With his strength, he could at most contend with one hundred thousand King-level Daoist Soldiers. Of course, including the one hundred thousand Heart Demon Dao Soldiers from his Spiritual Vein·Longevity Mountain, he could battle two hundred thousand King-level commanders. Alone, he could only withstand one hundred thousand, not four hundred thousand.

When it comes to the sheer number of Daoist Soldiers, Jiang Lu took the lead. He stubbornly aimed for tens of millions of Daoist Soldiers and had already amassed three million. Fortunately, the productivity of the eight provinces had surged enough to sustain this number.

Probably the experience of being surrounded and attacked became his obsession, hence his determination in this aspect. He didn’t cease his efforts even though his Sun and Moon Daoist Soldiers had already reached the King level.

Yet among these three million Daoist Soldiers, only five hundred thousand were of King-level. The remaining two and a half million were merely of the highest average level. Upgrading Daoist Soldiers wasn’t a swift process, similar to leveling up. The Daoist Soldiers under Jiang Lu’s command were not like Gu Shanhai’s Heart Demon Daoist Soldiers, who could simply receive an instant upgrade patch. The process required ample time.

"Who knows if a victor can be determined within thirty years," Gu Shanhai mused, though he, too, wasn’t entirely clear on this. In just a few years, the struggle had already escalated to this magnitude.

In another three to five years, Dalong might even fall, as the next step could likely be the proclamation of an emperor.

Presently, Dalong was but a shell, utterly lacking the capability to turn the tide.

"I shall leave this matter to Jiang Lu to worry about; I cannot be bothered," Gu Shanhai swiftly relegated the issue to the back of his mind. Of course, he hoped that within thirty years, Jiang Lu could restore Dalong’s legitimate rule or even conquer the entire world. Then, he could imprint it as a "Heavenly Scenery" where all the seas are subjects and all directions come to court.

Using that as a breakthrough, how many in the Xuanzhen Realm’s Heavenly Scenery Stage could rival him?

The idea was appealing, yet the difficulty was substantial.

He was confident in his ability to refine the Spirit Vein within thirty years, but he wasn’t sure about Jiang Lu truly unifying the world within that time frame.

Dalong was merely a part of the world, not its entirety, and perhaps the dominant force, just perhaps.

The world is vast, so vast that even Gu Shanhai doesn’t know its boundaries.

As usual, after reviewing the intelligence reports, Gu Shanhai continued to refine his thirty-six stratagems. He had spent a year in Xuanzhou, where he completed the Plump War Strategy of surreptitiously replacing beams and pillars, pointing at a mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree, playing the fool, removing the ladder after the ascent, flowers on a tree, the guest turns master tactics, and the Chaos War Strategy of extracting the firewood from under the pot, muddying the waters, the cicada sheds its shell, shutting the door to catch the thief, distant ties and near attacks, and the fake path leads to an ambush.

If the Plump War Strategy is aimed at backstabbing teammates, then the Chaos War Strategy is employed in situations where alliances and enmities are unclear amidst a confluent clash of warlords.

At this point, Gu Shanhai had perfected the last three sets of strategies in his pirated version of "Thirty-Six Stratagems" for when he was at a disadvantage.

As for his "Thirty-Six Stratagems," except for the name, even the Southern Dynasty Song General Tan Daoji would be bewildered if he were to see it.

For others, these were cunning plans, but Gu Shanhai had turned them into special effects that would puzzle anyone who came across them.

Yet in this world, it was quite normal; after all, this was the intended use for such things.

"Victory strategies, enemy strategies, offensive strategies, should I continue perfecting them in reverse or start from the beginning?" Gu Shanhai pondered his method of improvement.

If he continued perfecting them in reverse, he would be moving from a disadvantaged situation to an advantageous one according to the plan.

If he started with the victory strategies, then it would mean starting directly from an advantageous position.

After some thought, Gu Shanhai sadly realized he lacked the military might to play out an advantageous scenario.

Even if he could engage in battle, it would be with an army of worthless troops. Best to stick to the original plan then.

"Offensive strategies, a set of tactics for an attacking position, belong to the ones most commonly used."

"This set consists of six maneuvers: Disturb the Water and Catch a Fish, Resurrect a Dead Corpse, Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain, To catch something, first let it go, Tossing out a Brick to Attract Jade, Catch the Thief by Catching the King."

"The primary focus is on the word ’attack,’ completely different from the previous three sets of plans."

With these offensive strategies, one transitions from playing a reactive role to an active one, meaning the corresponding effects and capabilities will change. No longer will strategies be about overcoming strength with weakness; instead, gradually it becomes clear that one is the initiator.

At first glance, it may seem useless in this world, but the problem for Gu Shanhai is that should he leave this world, it becomes valuable, especially the victory strategies suitable for advantageous situations. The world he had come to was far beyond the current ’First Epoch’ in terms of world power level. While everyone else was grinding level 10 instances, Gu Shanhai had entered a level 100 instance. The gear and skills he would bring back from this instance would allow him to wreak havoc in the ordinary level 10 instances.

Otherwise, why would he risk his life to come to this world if not to dominate upon his return?

If it weren’t for his relative lack of strength and his value for his life, he might even consider going to a world of classic mythology. Eventually, he wouldn’t need to switch worlds; he could stay in one and become a formidable force.

"Justice served through a group beating, tsk." Gu Shanhai pondered who else could rival him once he returned.

In thirty years, he would at least reach the pinnacle of the Spirit Origin Stage. He merely needed to obtain a Heavenly Scenery to break through to the Heavenly Scenery Stage; thereafter, he could support at least a million Heart Demon Dao Soldiers. By then, with a sea of people, he could drown his enemies.

As for not having suitable Heavenly Sceneries in this world? That was not a big deal. If necessary, a trip back to the Xuanzhen Realm would suffice.

However, if he really thought about returning, perhaps Gu Shanhai would consider visiting the world Shen Heng had traveled from. After all, by that time, his strength would be far beyond the Peeping Dao Stage. Coupled with various Divine Skills, it might be possible to cross over.

He figured he had to stay in this world for at least thirty years and at minimum refine the Spirit Vein before leaving.

"Wait a second, something seems off with this scenario. At this rate, am I becoming a demonic character?"

Gu Shanhai envisioned what his Heart Demon Dao Soldiers would look like, knowing that his current appearance was already scraping the bottom. If he continued to cultivate their growth, it might drag him down into being unmentionably grotesque.

"Is there a way to improve that, at least... the appearance has to improve, right?" Gu Shanhai hesitated, lowering his expectations. He didn’t dare wish for them to become ethereal and heavenly—just passable.

His military tactics were actually incomplete, having only accomplished the Daoist Soldier aspect. At least half of the strategies remained unfinished, and he hadn’t even started on military momentum and formations. Completing all these would influence the Daoist Soldiers directly, and the style was estimated to go so dark it might as well join the Underworld, though it was already quite dark as it was.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.