The March SouthThree days after the tactical evaluation, the banner of the Two-Headed Lion fluttered at the front of a column of a thousand men. The terrain grew wetter, the vegetation denser, and the climate harsher. The officers rode at the front, with Li Wei leading from Wind Gray, his powerful warhorse.
Captain Wu Min, in charge of logistics, maintained order with relentless efficiency. The rations, construction tools, and even a small medical detachment advanced without loss or delay.
Beside him rode Shen Bao, head of the heavy cavalry, a veteran with a face hardened by dozens of campaigns.—This pass, young general, has seen more betrayal than glory. Many minor clans covet it… and there are rumors of Chu spies infiltrated among the locals.
Li Wei stood taller.—Then we will seal its gates with discipline… and steel.
The Foundation of the Lion FortThe Jieyin Pass was a narrow gorge between two mountains. In its center, an ancient ruined fort from the previous era offered an ideal base. Under Li Wei's orders, work began.
For a week, the hundred logistics soldiers under Wu Min restored walls, dug moats, and erected watchtowers. The infantry took turns on guard duty, the mounted archers patrolled the surroundings, and the heavy cavalry trained in defensive maneuvers.
During that time, Li Wei called a meeting with all his commanders.
—This pass will be our first stronghold. We do not just defend Qin: we forge the name of the Li Clan with every stone we place. There will be no tolerance for incompetence or betrayal.
First Conflict: The Ye Clan of the SouthDuring a routine patrol, Fan Jie's mounted archers intercepted two scout riders near the border with the territory of the Ye Clan, a minor lineage allied to Qin… but suspected of past collaboration with Chu.
Li Wei interrogated them personally.
—Why are you loitering near the pass?
—We were gathering medicine in the mountain, captain… —one lied.
Li Wei stared at him. His intelligence skill (49) was not just a number. It was a tool.—Do you know the poison called Langhun? It only grows on that mountain… and you carry it in your saddlebag.
The men were arrested. That night, a coded message was intercepted by the logistics team: a plan to sabotage the fort's supplies during the new moon. A spy was sleeping within their ranks.With surgical precision, Li Wei summoned Captain Zhou Ping, the strictest of his infantry officers.—Inspect every tent, every chest, every barrel. From the cook to the highest-ranking soldier. If there is betrayal, we will find it.
That night, they found a dagger of Chu style hidden in the sack of a young soldier, a recruit recently promoted from the logistics unit.
—Do you know what you've done? —Li Wei asked him, in front of the gathered officers.
—My family… is in the hands of the Ye Clan. They gave me a choice…
Li Wei looked at him long and hard.—War does not forgive weakness. Nor betrayal.
The soldier was executed that very night, and the banners were reinforced with new oaths.