Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 14: The Commander-Type General

Zhang Baohong also knew that this makeshift earthen enclosure couldn’t hold off the bandits for long. In the recent skirmish, although they had killed at least a hundred bandits, nearly 100 members of the caravan had also perished. If it hadn’t been for the formidable might of that fierce general under Young Master Liu’s command, the entire caravan might have been wiped out by Yin Biao’s men by now. Now, the entire caravan—guards, drivers, and laborers combined—numbered only about 280 people, while the bandits outside likely still numbered over a thousand. They wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer by stubbornly defending this village. Zhang Baohong clenched his teeth and said to Liu Ji, “Young Master Liu is quite right. If we stay here, we’ll simply be waiting to die. I’ll have the caravan prepare to break through the encirclement right away. When we charge out shortly, we’ll still need to rely on the martial prowess of the two retainers under your command. Our caravan still has quite a few warhorses—I wonder how many Young Master Liu might need? “Furthermore, if there is anything else you need, Young Master Liu, our caravan will do its best to provide it.” Upon hearing of such a favorable offer, Liu Ji immediately broke into a smile and said, “Manager Zhang, our breakout is imminent, so I won’t stand on ceremony. I need three warhorses, as well as a supply of arrows, some grain, and salt. It would also be best if you could find me a set of lightweight yet sturdy armor and a high-quality steel sword. Would that be possible?” Zhang Baohong replied immediately, “Everything else is no problem, but as for the armor, we can only provide Young Master Liu with a standard set of iron armor and an iron helmet.” Liu Ji’s martial prowess had now reached 11 points, and he felt he should be able to wear a set of iron armor. With an even broader smile, he said, “Then I’ll leave it to you, Manager Zhang! Don’t forget to get a small size for the iron armor!” Liu Ji then immediately activated the Chinese General Summoning System to summon the second-tier general he’d received as a reward earlier. With a breakthrough imminent, having an additional second-tier general with a Martial Power rating over 70 would greatly increase his chances of survival. “Congratulations, User. You have successfully summoned Yue Yi, a second-tier general from the Warring States period, with a Martial Arts rating of 77, an Intelligence rating of 80, and a Command rating of 91. Yue Yi, whose courtesy name was Yongba, was a renowned general of the State of Yan during the Warring States period. In 284 BCE, Yue Yi led a coalition of five states, including Yan, to capture more than 70 cities in the State of Qi, creating a classic example in ancient Chinese history of the weak defeating the strong.” “The identity implanted in Yue Yi is that of a warrior the user once saved in his hometown, who has long since become the user’s disciple.” Upon hearing that the identity implanted in Yue Yi was that of a warrior he had once saved, Liu Ji couldn’t help but smile wryly. His own status in this world was too low; he wondered if all the generals he summoned in the future would be given such far-fetched identities. However, this Yue Yi came as a huge surprise to Liu Ji. Yue Yi’s Command Rating had reached an astonishing 91 points. If we compare this to Combat Rating—where a score above 90 already marks a top-tier general—then Yue Yi, with a Command Rating of 91, was effectively a top-tier commander. Liu Ji couldn’t help but ask the system urgently, “If Zhuge Liang’s martial prowess exceeds 60 points, does that mean I might summon him even if I’m trying to summon a third-rate general?” “User, if Zhuge Liang’s martial prowess exceeds 60 points, he could indeed be summoned by you!” “So has Zhuge Liang’s Combat Rating reached 60 points?” “Data missing; cannot answer!” Although he didn’t know if Zhuge Liang could be summoned, many strategists in history had quite high martial prowess. This meant that Liu Ji might be able to summon formidable strategists in the future to offer him advice. At this thought, even though he was in a perilous situation, Liu Ji’s smile grew much brighter. “9527, where is Yue Yi?” “User, Yue Yi will be joining you shortly!” No sooner had the system’s voice faded than Liu Ji heard someone behind him shout, “My Lord, Yue Yi has finally found you!” Liu Ji turned to look and saw a general clad in iron armor and a steel helmet, carrying a long halberd and a bow and arrows on his back. The style of this general’s armor and helmet was identical to those of Liu Pi and Gong Du. Could it be that the armor and helmets of summoned generals—regardless of which dynasty they’re from—are all identical? At that moment, the system said, “All generals summoned by users are equipped with standardized armor and helmets. This uniform set of general’s armor is crafted from high-grade steel and offers astonishing defensive capabilities.” “What about the generals’ weapons?” “The generals’ weapons vary from person to person, generally following the styles of weapons they used in history, and they are also all made of high-grade steel!” The sudden appearance of Yue Yi put both Liu Pi and Gong Du on high alert, but when Liu Ji said, “He’s one of us—he’s a retainer I recruited in Pingyuan County!” Liu Pi and Gong Du finally let down their guard toward Yue Yi. Le Yi quickly walked up to Liu Ji, knelt on one knee, and said excitedly, “My Lord, after returning home to attend to some personal matters, I went back to Pingyuan County to look for you, only to learn that you had gone to Yongzhou with your family. So I traveled south all the way. When I saw bandits besieging this village, I sneaked in to help the villagers resist them—I never expected to run into you here! This is truly wonderful!” Some members of the caravan in the distance, seeing a fully armed warrior suddenly appear, also grew wary. However, upon realizing the warrior was likely allied with Liu Ji, they refocused their attention on preparing to break through the encirclement. Liu Ji helped Le Yi to his feet as he said, “Le Yi, get up quickly. Let me introduce you. These are Liu Pi and Gong Du; they’ve both sworn allegiance to me as their lord. You should get to know them better! Your timing couldn’t be better, Le Yi. Over a thousand bandits have us surrounded out there, and I’m planning to break out together with the Zheng family’s merchant caravan, which is also trapped here.” Yue Yi stood up and nodded friendly to Liu Pi and Gong Du, who in turn nodded back at him with equal warmth. Le Yi said in a solemn voice, “My lord, there are more than 200 mounted bandits outside. Without horses, it will be very difficult for us to break through the siege!” Liu Ji immediately replied, “We have one warhorse of our own, and Manager Zhang of the merchant caravan has agreed to give us three more. That’s enough for all of us. It’s a pity I don’t know how to ride—otherwise, we’d have one horse per person. Once we’ve broken through the encirclement, I’ll have to learn to ride as soon as possible.” Zhang Baohong, the manager of the Zheng family’s caravan, quickly delivered the warhorses, arrows, grain, salt, a set of iron armor, and a steel sword that Liu Ji had requested. Upon seeing a warrior with an awe-inspiring presence suddenly appear at Liu Ji’s side, he couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Liu, who is this?” Liu Ji smiled and said, “Manager Zhang, this is Yue Yi. He’s also one of my personal guards, and he’s quite skilled in martial arts.” Without giving it a second thought, Zhang Baohong immediately flattered him, saying, “With three such highly skilled personal guards at your side, Young Master Liu, we will surely break through the bandits’ encirclement.” At that moment, Yue Yi suddenly asked Zhang Baohong, “Manager Zhang, who is riding in that carriage?”