Meng Chuan's expression darkened at this. He could not understand why Meng Zhao wanted to seize so many soldiers, but after spending this period training in the army, he also knew that obedience was valued above all else in the military. As a soldier, all he had to do was obey Meng Zhao's orders.
"This subordinate accepts the command."
With that, he rose, picked up the roster, and turned to leave the main tent, his armor clattering as he went.
Linghu Rui acted with remarkable speed and held a strong grasp over the army. Based on the list Meng Chuan provided, he first investigated the camps, units, and squads where each man was stationed, determined their identities—whether they were ordinary soldiers or officers with a certain degree of influence—and used different methods to take them down one by one.
For ordinary soldiers, he ordered the officers of their respective squads to summon them individually and gather them in one location.
As for several officers, he personally stepped in, bringing Dou Xi along and luring them out of camp under the pretense of an inspection.
In less than half an hour, without a sound and without stirring the slightest ripple, all three hundred ninety-seven people on Meng Zhao's list had been seized. Their armor and weapons were removed, and they were bound inside a makeshift prison.
After Meng Chuan came to report, Meng Zhao brought him and several personal guards hurriedly to the prison, where they met Linghu Rui, Dou Xi, and several others, including Han Pu, whom Meng Zhao had summoned.
Faint waves of uneasy curses could be heard, clearly coming from the soldiers who had been seized.
"General, what exactly has happened for so many soldiers to be arrested? Could some great upheaval have occurred?"
Compared to the fifty