While A Minor Soldier from the Daling River Border Army was stirring waves of discussion within the Great Ming…
In the modern world, an entirely different storm was brewing.
On a popular short-form drama platform, a new series had quietly begun its promotional rollout.
Its name was no longer A Minor Soldier from the Daling River Border Army.
That title had been decisively discarded by Queen of a Thousand Faces M and replaced with something far more explosive:
"The Daling River God of War."
After all, modern netizens didn't care for subtlety.
They liked boldness.
They liked arrogance.
They liked titles that slapped them across the face.
This was advertised as an "epic historical hardcore martial arts drama," edited into short episodes of just over one minute each—perfectly tailored for endless scrolling.
Compared to the previous production, Mu Guiying, this new work was on an entirely different level.
Back then, they had relied on bargain-bin effects and creative camera tricks.
This time?
The martial arts choreography was crisp, brutal, and precise.
The special effects were heavy, grounded, and cinematic.
From cheap spectacle, it had leapt straight into top-tier, lavish production quality.
Buoyed by past success, Queen of a Thousand Faces M was no longer cautious.
She had confidence.
And confidence meant money.
A lot of money.
She poured promotional funds into the project without hesitation, blanketing the platform with clips, highlights, and dramatic hooks.
As a result, the promotional shorts for The Daling River God of War spread like wildfire.
After work.
After dinner.
While slumped on sofas.
Users picked up their phones, casually scrolling—only to see The Daling River God of War again and again, until it created the illusion that the entire internet was watching it.
In this era, if a production was genuinely good and backed by money, creating a "phenomenal hit" was frighteningly easy.
Comments flooded in.
"Holy crap, this show is insane!"
"What the hell? This scale is huge!"
"I've never seen movie-level production on a short drama app before!"
"How many extras did they hire for this?"
"Which film studio built this city? It looks too real!"
Then—
"Oh… wait. It's asking me to subscribe."
"One dollar per episode?"
"Who are they looking down on? I can afford a dollar!"
A dollar per episode was practically nothing.
Individually cheap.
But collectively?
Terrifying.
Subscribers poured in by the tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands. Revenue surged so fast it was dizzying.
In one single day, box office revenue broke ten million dollars.
Eight days later—
It crossed one hundred million dollars.
Of course, box office numbers were not the same as net profit.
As the series exploded in popularity, Queen of a Thousand Faces M reinvested aggressively into promotion. Behind that hundred-million figure lay tens of millions in advertising costs, fueling the fire.
In the end, net profit settled at twenty million dollars.
The split was clear.
Li Daoxuan took eighty percent.
Queen of a Thousand Faces M took twenty percent.
Li Daoxuan's final share:
Sixteen million dollars.
Yan'an Prefecture.
Dust billowed along the road.
Shi Jian led his troops forward, escorting five thousand surrendered rebels, their faces exhausted, their steps dragging.
They had arrived in Yan'an Prefecture after days of marching.
Just days earlier, Shi Jian had fought another brutal battle in northern Shaanxi, personally eliminating bandit leaders Jia Zongguan, Bi Shangtian, Si Tianwang, and Du Weilang.
Five thousand rebels had surrendered.
They were sent back to Huanglong Mountain under guard.
Shi Jian himself took the opportunity to rest in Yan'an Prefecture, allowing his soldiers—especially the militia—to recuperate and resupply.
The moment his troops entered the city, logistics teams from Huanglong Mountain began flowing in continuously through the Huangqiu Terrace Tunnel, delivering grain, weapons, ammunition, and equipment without pause.
Alongside them came two thousand raw recruits.
These recruits were to follow Shi Jian into further bandit suppression campaigns—fighting while learning, bleeding while growing, being forged into veterans.
Shi Jian looked at the young faces before him and couldn't help but shake his head.
"How long have you been in the militia?" he asked.
"Five months!"
"Just over four months!"
"Half a year!"
Shi Jian laughed softly.
"How's your training?"
"Reporting, General Shi! I'm ranked first in marksmanship!"
"My obstacle course time is the fastest!"
"My grenade throwing score is fourth-highest on record!"
Shi Jian nodded, smiling.
"Very good. Very good."
Then his expression turned serious.
"But that's not what I asked."
He looked at them sharply.
"How well have you learned the Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention?"
The recruits straightened instantly, voices loud and unified.
"We are the people's soldiers, their children!"
"We take not a single needle or thread from the masses!"
"Good," Shi Jian said firmly. "For the Gao Family Village Militia, combat strength matters—but character matters more."
"The Heavenly Lord once taught me," he continued, "that a powerful army can be a sword that kills—"
"—but also a sword that saves!"
The close guards roared in unison, voices echoing.
"We will be the sword that saves!"
"Good!"
Applause rang out from nearby.
Shi Jian turned his head.
Governor Chen Qiyu was approaching, his face radiant with health and barely contained delight.
"Well met, Governor," Shi Jian greeted.
Chen Qiyu laughed.
"Thanks to your good fortune, General Shi, I'm no longer merely a governor."
"Oh?" Shi Jian raised an eyebrow.
Chen Qiyu laughed again, unable to hide his pride.
"General Shi's military achievements are outstanding. Northern Yan'an has been systematically cleared of bandits—bandits who were, mind you, under my jurisdiction."
"And General Shi never monopolizes merit," he continued. "You always share credit generously. Because of this, my reputation at court has risen sharply."
Shi Jian nodded in understanding.
"So Minister Chen has been promoted."
"Indeed," Chen Qiyu said solemnly.
He explained at length:
"Zuo Liangyu was recently bombarded and hesitated outside Yunyang City, allowing bandits to regroup. Large forces moved south into Jingxiang and advanced into Huguang."
"The court concluded that fragmented authority among regional commanders was ineffective. A single grand minister was needed."
"Hong Chengchou was recommended, but he is tied up overseeing the Three Borders."
"So…" Chen Qiyu straightened proudly, "I was promoted to Vice Minister of War, concurrently Censor-in-Chief of the Right, and Grand Coordinator of Military Affairs for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan."
His joy was impossible to conceal.
"Thanks to General Shi," he said warmly, "this humble official has leapt from provincial governor to Grand Coordinator of Five Provinces!"
"Congratulations!" Shi Jian said sincerely.
Chen Qiyu waved his hand.
"These merits were yours, General Shi. I will also memorialize the emperor to request another promotion for you."
Shi Jian smiled and shook his head.
"No need. Rising too quickly leads to instability. Better to remain in my current post for now."
Chen Qiyu sighed in admiration.
"Knowing when to advance and when to retreat—truly admirable."
"I will soon depart for Junzhou in Hubei," he added. "I will oversee the suppression of Huguang's bandits. Northern Shaanxi will rely on you."
"I'll handle it," Shi Jian replied.
Chen Qiyu lowered his voice.
"When I leave, corrupt officials may obstruct you. I've written a personal letter stating that all bandit suppression matters in northern Shaanxi fall under your sole authority."
"If anyone dares interfere," he smiled thinly, "let them come argue with me."
"That helps immensely," Shi Jian said sincerely.
Chen Qiyu grasped his forearm.
"Fight without restraint. I trust you."
With that, he departed for Hubei, spirits soaring.
The moment he was gone—
A tiny cotton-thread figure on Shi Jian's chest spoke calmly.
"With this move," Tianzhun said, "his official hat will not last long."