"'Martial Artist List,' 'War General List,' 'Unrivaled List,' 'Celestial List' — no matter the name, they are ultimately lists ranking the warriors of the world."

Le Yu tapped on the coffee table: "This is the most important and sensational list; other lists in the first issue can be postponed, but this one must be released."

Zhao Yebai seemed prepared. He walked over to the fat orange cat, petted it, and pulled out a scroll — even Qian Chanchen was stunned by this action — then unfolded the scroll on the table and said:

"Youyun District Ta Bai Army Commander, Chen Baiyi; Skyrim District Storm Army Leader, Chen Storm; Dongyang District Heyang Army Governor, Gaishi Wen, oh, he's already dead, scratch that…"

"And then there's Chenfeng District Linhai Army Spinner General, Lan Yan; Canglan District Blood Source Army Head Hunter, Chai Xin…"

Zhao Yebai listed seven names: "These are currently the highest commanders of the Border Army in each district. If we are to rank the world's warriors, these seven cannot be overlooked."

"Ranking is fine, but what is the basis for this ranking? Military strength? Personal strength? Age achievements? Or comprehensive factors?"

"Of course, it's about whom our Ritual Guard wants dead." Qian Chanchen replied mischievously.

Le Yu laughed: "So-called combat power is nearly impossible to assess without facing each other in battle, especially the strongest martial artists at the army's pinnacle. They are thousands of miles apart, may never meet in a lifetime, so how can they know each other's strengths? Soldier Kings like Gaishi Wen who died disgracefully at Lan Yan's hands are exceptions."

"But rankings are still necessary; every martial artist in our sight has a competitive spirit. If rankings can ignite their competitiveness and lead to internal conflicts, that's even better."

"Therefore, I believe the Martial Artist List rankings should follow several principles—"

"First, only list martial artists with actual achievements; if they haven't achieved anything publicly, they don't make the list. This encourages them to cause a stir publicly, forcing both parties into an embarrassment, deciding both victory and life and death;"

"Second, if the martial artists' geographic locations are close, rank them tightly, for instance, you're twenty-fifth, while he's twenty-sixth, which easily incites discontent and conflict;"

"Third…"

Shi Huaifeng and Zhao Yebai were dumbfounded. Even Qian Chanchen felt chills through his scalp. Though they anticipated the ranking would entice people, after Le Yu's technical adjustments, it was beyond mere enticement, it was outright manipulation.

After Le Yu finished speaking, Shi Huaifeng eagerly asked the question he was most curious about: "And for the position of number one in the world, whom do you plan to give it to?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course, it's Lan Yan who took half of our military funds!" Le Yu casually distorted the truth, "I have the introduction ready: Courage unmatched, peerless in the world, the greatest martial artist Lan Yan, and top assassin Hidden Sword!"

The Statistical Department had no objections; no matter who gets the position of number one, it's all the same, and Lan Yan's current achievements indeed warrant the title — he is the first Chenfeng Soldier King to take down other district Soldier Kings, equivalent to everyone being 0-0-0, while he scored the first kill, and Gaishi Wen got eliminated with a head loss.

"Top assassin Hidden Sword?" Qian Chanchen chuckled: "Are you trying to provoke them? Our Statistical Department won't get involved in your mess."

Le Yu asked: "How much does Flame Command know about them? Have the white-haired assassins acted in Yanjing in the past two years?"

"Not much known, they have acted, but only insignificant nobodies died." Qian Chanchen paused: "We also prefer not to deal with them. Even in the brightly lit Yanjing, there are plenty of dark corners they can exploit."

Even Flame Command is fearful of the Assassin Organization, showing the intimidation power of Hidden Sword Technique. Perhaps because Flame Command also deals with dirty work, they better understand the concept of 'invincible in the night' — an overwhelming force against which rebellion is impossible.

Moreover, the Assassin Organization is very 'cunning.' Their whitelist names are numerous, besides their old patrons the Silver Blood Association, even the Royal Academy's faculty and students are untouchable by them, and as for the bigwigs, they don't take requests at all.

Low-profile, cautious, yet unrivaled when ruthless, who would want to offend such an organization? Furthermore, who doesn't need such a cunning and practical tool as an assassin?

"I'm not putting the assassin leader up there, it's just a metaphor, comparing Lan Yan to a Hidden Sword martial artist in the Martial Artist Realm." Le Yu shrugged:

"Besides Lan Yan, the rankings of other martial artists will be up to you to decide. The format should state [Rank][Name][Position][Achievements], ensuring all listed martial artists are high-status powerhouses, so everyone thinks getting on our list means reaching life's pinnacle."

"Besides the Martial Artist List, I also want to make a Legion List, ranking and introducing the Border Army and Skyrim warlords."

Shi Huaifeng asked puzzled: "What's there to introduce about the legions? How many soldiers, how elite?"

"Not only that." Le Yu said: "Your thinking is still limited by assuming equality with the evaluation subjects, but that's incorrect. You need to elevate your mindset to the level of 'judges,' using a transcendent perspective to scrutinize the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation subjects."

Speaking of being above others, Shi Chenchen became interested: "Tell me more."

Le Yu said, "Let's continue using Blue Flame's Linhai Army as an example. I've noticed that Blue Flame's Linhai Army has a characteristic: they often have their King General lead first, followed by the troops. Blue Flame relies on personal ability to create an opening in the situation, and then the army expands the advantage through this opening. We can summarize the characteristics of this corps as 'Unrivaled.' The advantage is minimal troop loss; the disadvantage is that victory depends entirely on the main general. The combat strength rating is 10 points."

"The Ta Bai Army from Youyun District is famous for its Swift Blade tactics. We can summarize the Ta Bai Army's characteristics as 'Divine Speed.' The advantage is strong quick strike capability; the disadvantage is high requirements for logistics, and they are not skilled in siege warfare. The combat strength rating is 8 points."

"Simply put, it's about labeling - though corps are very complex, factors like timing, location, and human resources greatly affect a corps' combat effectiveness. But we can use a label to summarize the entire corps and then rank them."

"This ranking and introduction are meaningless for the Martial Generals; they can immediately tell this 'label' is pure fiction and nonsense. But the common people don't know, the merchants don't know… even the soldiers themselves don't know."

"Compared to complex data, we always have a stronger impression of such labelable matters."

Le Yu shrugged and said, "The public finds it very difficult to judge the strength of friend or foe. After all, in the eyes of ants, elephants are big, and tigers are also big, but they can't distinguish which is bigger. Countless chaotic rumors further cloud the sight."

"And precisely because they 'can't distinguish,' many people hesitate, become like turtles hiding in their shells, and do nothing. The significance of the corps ranking is to give them a chance to 'distinguish.'

"The most likely scenario is -" Le Yu snapped his fingers, "The war breaks out, and the common folk might think, 'The corps in my city has a combat strength of 8 points; the enemy attacking has a strength of 10, but we have city walls. Their characteristic is a strength in field battles, so we don't need to run.'

"If two corps were ambushed, the soldiers being ambushed might think, 'My corps has a strength of 10, the corps ambushing us totals 13, we can't win, let's retreat quickly.'

Shi Huaifeng and Zhao Yebai appeared thoughtful, Shi Chenchen frowned slightly: "But what's the point of this? Decision-makers who understand detailed corps information won't be fooled by this ranking."

"But most people in this world are ordinary and cannot see the whole picture," Le Yu stated, "And the decision-makers disdain letting them understand - so it's up to us to help them understand."

"What's more intuitive than adding and subtracting values? When complex wars turn into easily understandable equations, they can naturally choose to vote with their feet."

"When invading others, soldiers find both sides' strength similar, they tend toward conservative thinking and disdain war; when invaded, the common people find that although they are at a disadvantage, their corps' characteristics aren't bad, they certainly can resist successfully."

"So, you understand now," Le Yu said, "We need to create a 'everyone is strong' corps ranking, excessively praising each district's corps, letting the common people also become strategists who can discuss military affairs, their will no longer swayed by rulers but rather trusting their own judgment more."

"Then, guess what will happen?"

Shi Huaifeng: "The corps that keeps winning will quickly grow stronger?"

Zhao Yebai: "Once they experience defeat, the corps' morale will drop, and they will no longer be trusted by the common people?"

"War initiation will be more cautious, and the frequency of battles will decrease."

Shi Chenchen gently stroked the fat orange cat's butt fur, seriously saying, "If the corps ranking can be published promptly each month, it will be equivalent to a national war report; neither victory nor defeat can be concealed. If victorious, the winner takes all, with unstoppable momentum; if defeated, the corps loses public trust and morale, unable to resist."

"Everyone will make more adequate preparations before starting a war, and a critical battle will directly determine victory or defeat. The loser will find it difficult to organize effective resistance, and the victor can easily assimilate the spoils."

"However, many factors affect it, whether it's the Imperial Court suppressing Outer District rebels, or rebel groups annexing each other, or a righteous army facing invasion by infamous rebels… But generally, it works like this."

"The corps ranking is more complicated than the Martial Artist ranking because it's a simplified version of war report analysis, generally an important secret on the military planner's desk." Shi Chenchen frowned, asking: "Why do you want to release such a ranking?"

"It's obviously to pave the way for my path as a loyal minister!"

Le Yu laughed and said, "Once the corps ranking is released, ambitious individuals in various districts will have more concerns, their war initiation will be restricted by public opinion, unable to readily persuade the public for rapid expansion."

"If an ambitious individual wins, then the defeated naturally will decisively surrender due to inability to organize resistance. But just like the funding for establishing associations, if the army doesn't spill enough blood during victory, it leaves a latent disaster, and the surrendering military will become a new burden. If the victor cannot properly appease these 'spoils,' they should prepare for the backstab of rebellion."

"As long as we can slow down their expansion, then when I, the shining loyal minister, step onto the historical stage, I can easily sweep away these pretentious clowns." Le Yu propped his chin, saying: "At least, make sure they dare not make any rash moves for the next six months."

"Otherwise, am I supposed to want fewer people to die?"