Dong Cheng shook his head. “If the soldiers refuse to obey orders, sending commanders there will be useless.”
As the saying went, a new emperor appointed new officials. What more could be said of Daqing Commandery, which had been under the same person’s sole control for two or three years? To go there and seize power outright would be nothing short of wishful thinking.
Qi Pingwei understood this as well. “Perhaps we should send more troops there?”
Hua Yuanyi frowned. “How many troops would we have to send? And what about the Daqing Army? Should we disband them or send them back to farming?”
“If we send them home, shouldn’t we pay them all the military wages they’re owed? Otherwise, why would they agree?”
Wen Zixin suggested, “Then disband the Daqing Army and gradually divide them.”
Hua Yuanyi shook his head. “Daqing Commandery has a hundred thousand troops. How many soldiers can we send there? In the end, will we be infiltrating them, or will they assimilate our men?”
Wen Zixin furrowed his brows. “Then what do you suggest?”
Hua Yuanyi thought for a moment. “I think we can send a commander there with money and see what Daqing has to say. As long as our commander can secure a position in the military administration, we can proceed gradually.”
“From then on, we’ll guarantee their military supplies. They don’t have to be particularly good—just a little better than what the Daqing Army had before. That will surely win the hearts of Daqing’s soldiers.”
Dong Cheng frowned. “What if Daqing refuses to accept our commander?”
Hua Yuanyi smiled. “That’s simple. He can just bring the money back. I refuse to believe Daqing would dare seize anything belonging to Sizhou.”
Qi Pingwei nodded. “Exactly. Daqing has only three counties left. It’s no match for Sizhou at all.”
Jiang Chun’s eyes flickered. “Then, who do you suggest we send?”
While they were discussing the matter, the Ji Army’s encampment outside Wenxia City was likewise holding a meeting. Their discussion, however, concerned a contest between generals.
Bao Yi shouted angrily, “Fight, of course! It’s only a generals’ duel. Are we really afraid of her?”
Bi Tu’s lips curled into a sneer. “Exactly. Let’s fight. Hah! She actually dares to covet Punan Commandery. What a fool’s dream.”
Qiu Lin snorted. “Giving her Shangjing Commandery was already our greatest concession. And now she wants to push her luck?”
Hu Zuo nodded. “Letting each side rely on its own strength can also reduce casualties. It’s a good idea.”
Bian Huai grunted. “Since everyone agrees, then we’ll hold a generals’ contest. Now, should victory be decided after a fixed number of rounds, or would it be more advantageous for us to hold one match for each county?”
Both methods had their own advantages and disadvantages.
If victory were decided after a fixed number of rounds, losing one or two matches occasionally would not matter. As long as they won more than they lost, everything would be fine. But if they lost more matches than they won, they would lose everything.
If there were one match for each county, then even if they lost several matches, winning just one would still earn them a county. They would not be wiped out entirely.
Bi Tu furrowed his brows. “Naturally, we should settle it through a fixed number of rounds. I refuse to believe our generals are inferior to theirs.”
Shi Ju offered a different opinion. “Wu Ke, Ji Yong, and Ji Bo are all dead, as is Xia Bao, who served at the Grand Chanyu’s side. Clearly, Jinyang’s army has some formidable warriors, and they’re extremely capable. I’m worried that, in the event…”
Bi Tu shot him a sidelong glance. “Jinyang’s army is only good with repeating crossbows. They were probably killed by those weapons, weren’t they?”
Shi Ju shook his head. “I examined their wounds. Most of them were caused by blades, not repeating crossbows.”
Bi Tu’s brows drew tightly together. “Are you certain?”
Anyone who had risen to the rank of general possessed extraordinary martial strength.
Shi Ju nodded, his expression grave. “I’m certain.”
Everyone fell silent. Punan Commandery was of immense importance. If they made the wrong decision, the consequences would be disastrous.
After a moment, Qiu Lin spoke. “But if we hold one match per county, we’ll have to guarantee eight victories out of eight. Otherwise, the cities will fall into Jinyang’s hands.”
Punan Commandery had eight counties in total.
Bao Yi frowned. “What are we afraid of? Even if one or two cities fall to Jinyang’s army, they’ll be surrounded by us. We can take them back whenever we want.”
Shi Ju pondered. “That won’t do. Jinyang’s repeating crossbows are extraordinarily powerful. Even if the city is isolated, we’d still have to pay a tremendous price to capture it.”
Bian Huai nodded. “Exactly. On the night Jinyang’s army captured Wenxia City, we already tried to take it back. We failed every time.”
Hu Qiude frowned. “You mean we should settle it through a fixed number of rounds, General?”
Bian Huai nodded. “We can set it at seven rounds. As long as we win four, we won’t have to surrender Punan Commandery, and Wenxia City can be returned to us.”
In the end, everyone unanimously approved his plan. They had confidence in their own strength. Winning four out of seven rounds would surely be no problem.
Bian Huai nodded. “Very well. Send someone to deliver the message to Jinyang’s army.”
A soldier acknowledged the order and rode toward Wenxia City.
Shi Ju sighed. “It’s almost evening. The generals’ contest will have to wait until tomorrow.”
Everyone fell silent.
After leaving the command tent, Bi Tu gazed at the densely packed camp. Some soldiers were even resting out in the open because there were not enough tents.
He let out a quiet breath. His heart was filled with extreme unwillingness, and even more with indignation. Yet there was nothing he could do.
In the fields of a village on the border between Nanwu and Jianzhou, a thin old man was bent over, harvesting wheat.
Two Nanwu soldiers stood nearby, watching him work. Whenever he slowed down, they would jeer and shout angrily.
“A county magistrate of Wenlong County, reduced to this level of endurance? No wonder your Yan Kingdom was destroyed.”
“Back then, weren’t you supposed to be brave and fierce? Did the dogs eat your courage? You’re so slow even at simple labor. Do you still want your payment?”
“What bravery? Wenlong County has been beaten down until only an empty city remains, hasn’t it? And it’s all because you, the county magistrate, were incompetent.”
“You—you two are going too far!” The young man harvesting beside the old man flushed with anger. He straightened up and glared at the soldiers.
He was Shangguan Mao’s personal guard, Ye Wenbao.
The soldier with the pointed chin sneered coldly. “Too far? We’re only telling the truth. If you don’t want to work, you can leave!”
Another soldier, with narrow, upturned eyes, wore a look of scorn. “Hah. Do you think they’ll leave? They shamelessly clung to us just to get this chance to work for us.”
“Without us, the more than one thousand soldiers of Wenlong County would starve to death. Let alone insulting him a few times—even if we whipped him with a big lash, he still wouldn’t leave.”
He turned toward the old man and jeered, “Shangguan Mao, I’m right, aren’t I?”
Ye Wenbao was about to step forward and argue, but the old man—Shangguan Mao—hurriedly grabbed him. “Enough. We did beg for this work.”
He then looked at the Nanwu soldiers and spoke calmly. “You may humiliate us, but I hope you’ll honor your promise and give us our payment. Otherwise, we are not people to be trifled with.”
The two hundred soldiers of Wenlong County had been working here for several days. Once they finished harvesting this field, they would receive fifteen hundred jin of grain.
It was not much, but it would allow the soldiers defending Wenlong County to hold out for another ten days or half a month.
The narrow-eyed soldier snorted. “And what can you possibly do to us?”
Shangguan Mao straightened his back. “You can ask your general why he agreed to let us come here to work.”
With that, he said nothing more and lowered his head to continue working. Sweat and grime covered his deeply furrowed face.
He acted as though he felt nothing, ignoring the weakness and exhaustion weighing down his body as he focused solely on his labor.
They were almost done. The field would soon be completely harvested, and then they could return.
