Chapter 23: Lin Shize's Fury

This was clearly a provocation, and Lin Shize was not about to swallow his pride.

"Commander Wu, how many enemy heads have you claimed during your many years of service?"

Wu Tian’s expression stiffened. "Military strategy is about cooperation and coordination; one does not simply charge into the fray like a reckless brute."

"Oh, so Commander Wu has claimed nothing? If someone with no achievements can serve as a commander, why can’t I?"

"Or are you suggesting that military promotion is not based on merit, but on the length of one's service?"

Lin Shize’s words were razor-sharp, clearly implying that Wu Tian was incompetent and had only obtained his rank by clinging to the Brigadier General for years.

Wu Tian’s face changed as he pointed at Lin Shize, shouting, "Utter nonsense! As a newly appointed commander, how can you be so reckless and arrogant?"

"If we follow your logic, Commander Wu, then since my position was granted by the Brigadier General, does that mean he is a poor judge of character? Does that confirm your own saying: 'An incompetent general tires out the whole army'?"

"Furthermore, when I entered, I paid my respects to the Brigadier General first. Yet here you are, yapping like a rabid dog. Where does that leave the Brigadier General's authority?"

Lin Shize’s words were dripping with venom, striking at the heart of the matter with every sentence.

"I... I... you..." Wu Tian trembled, unable to utter a single word.

Zhang Jiawen stared intensely at Lin Shize. "Such an arrogant young man. To be so insolent the moment you arrive at the main camp?"

The others, seeing the Brigadier General’s fury, dared not breathe, their gazes fixed on this reckless upstart.

Lin Shize remained calm. "War itself is unreasonable. Only the victors have the right to claim reason; the dead have no way to argue their case."

Sun Zheng felt his heart skip a beat. This boy was truly a newborn calf that feared no tiger. No one in the entire camp dared speak to the Brigadier General like that, yet this newcomer was confronting him openly in front of everyone.

Zhang Jiawen let out a cold snort. "So, you intend to continue being 'unreasonable'?"

"Exactly!"

"A soldier’s duty is to protect the nation and its people. That is our responsibility."

"Since we draw the imperial salary, we should fulfill our duties. Right now, the border is ablaze with war. The Mongla are ravaging villages, dragging women off into slavery. Have you ever considered the suffering of the people?"

"With hundreds of thousands of troops holed up in empty cities, a small band of Mongla can burn, kill, and pillage villages at will."

"Once the Mongla create a vast no-man's-land behind us, we will lose our foundation, and the Longdong region will collapse without a fight!"

"Do you truly believe that guarding these few fortresses allows you to sleep soundly? Once we lose the support of the people, where will we go?"

"'Keep the land and lose the people, both are lost; keep the people and lose the land, both are regained.' This is a lesson our ancestors summarized thousands of years ago. Why do you choose to ignore it?"

The anger Lin Shize had suppressed for days erupted like a volcano. These men did not see the villagers in the rear as human beings; they only wanted to cling to their cities to protect themselves. Lin Shize had meticulously documented everything he had done in his military reports, hoping they would understand one truth: if everyone united, the Mongla would be nothing to fear. But they didn't care. Upon arriving at the main camp, the first thing he encountered was senseless harassment.

Everyone in the tent stared at Lin Shize, stunned. Even Liu Wu, standing behind him, had not expected such fury. They had served for years without ever considering their relationship with the common people.

"Why didn't you just say that directly?" Sun Zheng asked, his lips twitching.

"Directly? Commander Sun, you visited the beacon tower before. Why didn't you ask me today how I managed to build a new camp from scratch with just a few soldiers?"

"If the method of building a camp from a single beacon tower were promoted across the border, the Mongla? They would be nothing more than a minor skin rash."

"If a general treats his soldiers like his own limbs, they will treat him as their heart and soul. If a general treats his soldiers like dirt, they will treat him as an enemy."

"The reason my forty men could kill two hundred is not because we are exceptionally strong, but because we are united and move as one."

"There has been no military pay for a year. How can soldiers fight on empty stomachs? Brigadier General, why do you turn a blind eye to such corruption and embezzlement?"

Lin Shize looked at them with a sense of sorrow. They had been stuck in this quagmire at the border for so long that they had forgotten the feeling of sunlight on their skin. A soldier who survives life-and-death crises and gains rank immediately begins to siphon off the soldiers' pay and pocket the wages of ghost troops. Then the lower-ranking soldiers suffer again. In this cycle, the situation at the border only rots further.

"Warriors face life and death on the front lines, while beauties dance in the commander's tent." Lin Shize sighed and walked out of the tent, leaving without looking back.

Zhang Jiawen pondered the line. Soldiers risking their lives at the front while the commanders indulged in pleasure in the rear—this young man had quite the literary talent. His saying about keeping people and losing land captured the essence of centuries of military strategy. He was a talented general indeed.

***

After speaking his mind, Lin Shize felt a sense of clarity. He and Liu Wu walked a few paces before ducking behind another tent.

"Did they send anyone to hunt us down?" Lin Shize asked sneakily.

Liu Wu peeked cautiously around the tent. "No, sir."

"Phew, that’s good," Lin Shize said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

Liu Wu sat down on the ground. "Sir, you scared me to death! Why did you say those things that could get us beheaded? If the Brigadier General had gotten angry and executed us, it would have been so unjust."

Lin Shize replied, "Do you think I said those things for the fun of it? It was for our own sake and for the people of Yingling Village."

"The border army is too corrupt. If our hard-earned foundation gets targeted by these bloodsuckers, we’re finished."

Liu Wu scratched his head. "But the Brigadier General doesn't seem like that kind of person; he is very considerate of his troops."

Lin Shize sighed. "I know, but such men are too rare. Do you really think that just because he is a Brigadier General, he can decide everything on his own?"

"Many things are beyond his control."

Liu Wu didn't understand. A Brigadier General was the highest authority in the region; how could his words not hold weight?

Lin Shize patted his shoulder. "You don't understand, so stop thinking about it. Just focus on leading our men. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame for the brothers."

Lin Shize knew that Zhang Jiawen was a good Brigadier General, which was exactly why he had spoken so bluntly. In reality, the situation was not as dire as he had described, or the border would have collapsed long ago. Military pay was a massive pie, and his current actions had inadvertently offended many people.

When evil becomes the norm, justice becomes an anomaly. He would have to fight this battle alone. In Zhang Jiawen’s eyes, he was now surely a brute who could fight but lacked social graces. Such a man would inevitably become a sharp blade in the Brigadier General's hand—as long as that blade remained sharp, he would receive support.

For Lin Shize, being a "lone official" was beneficial. It kept him away from the messy internal politics while allowing him to demand resources from Zhang Jiawen.