Borrowing a Knife to Kill, Secretly Scouting the Enemy

Yellow Dragon Army Right Wing Guard Han Kai received Commander Qi Biao's military orders and led more than ten soldiers to search the surrounding villages through the night.

Han Kai rode a fine, sturdy horse and wore silver armor. Turning back, he said, "If you find a village, do not kill indiscriminately. Use your words to coax them into bringing their money and grain, then have them come with us to the camp themselves."

One elite soldier under him laughed. "Guard Han, we understand. If we kill them all, with so many corpses to haul around, wouldn't that tire us to death?"

Another said, "That's right. Once the corpses grow worms, they won't be fresh anymore. We need to make them come over when we're hungry,

and jump into the pot themselves."

"Not bad, not bad. My cultivation of you hasn't gone to waste."

Han Kai nodded in satisfaction, urged his horse into a gallop, and laughed. "For those lowly commoners to enter our bellies is already virtue accumulated by their ancestors. When we achieve our great cause someday, they can be said to have rendered the merit of following the dragon."

All the soldiers burst into laughter.

The night was pitch-black, and there were many villages around Qingning County. Before long, they discovered one at the village entrance.

By then, the night had grown late. Every household had extinguished its lamps and shut its doors. The silence was terrifying.

Han Kai held the reins, slowed down, and shouted, "People inside, listen up! The Yellow Dragon Army is here to take you all to a good life!

"Get up, get up!" a soldier captain shouted. "We have good news for you. Whoever comes late won't get a share."

Yet after calling for a long while, they heard no response. Han