Under cover of night, Xiahou Xian's carriage arrived at a military camp south of Shouchun, where the Huainan Guard was stationed.
Curfew was fast approaching, and a squad of armored soldiers returning from their shift happened to enter the camp.
After Xiahou Xian identified himself to a soldier, the soldier said that Wen Qin was out patrolling the city and was not in his tent. Xiahou Xian dismissed the soldier and entered Wen Qin's command tent alone.
About an hour later, Wen Qin's cursing rang out from outside the tent.
"Damn it! You pigs! Why didn't you tell me about something this important right away?!"
His voice drew nearer. Wen Qin lifted the tent flap and strode inside, looking thoroughly flustered.
"I did not know you would honor us with your presence, Prefect. I failed to come out to welcome you and even kept you waiting here so long. Please forgive me!"
Xiahou Xian rose from his seat and hurried to help Wen Qin up. "Please rise, General. If anyone is to blame, it is I for arriving uninvited."
Wen Qin looked deeply apprehensive. He raised his head to look at Xiahou Xian. "Prefect, if you need me to do anything, you need only give the order. Why come to the camp yourself?"
"General Wen, sit." Xiahou Xian returned to the command tent's seat of honor and extended a hand, motioning for Wen Qin to take a seat.
"What post do you currently hold, General Wen?" Xiahou Xian asked suddenly.
Didn't he ask me this before? Wen Qin said with an ashamed expression, "I currently serve as gate commandant, primarily responsible for Huainan's defenses."
"Oh?" Xiahou Xian deliberately raised his voice. "If I remember correctly, you previously held a post in Luoyang."
"Er..." Wen Qin was struck speechless. Only after a long pause did he speak again. "You are correct, Prefect. I did once hold a post in Luoyang."
Wen Qin merely acknowledged the matter without elaborating.
After all, being sent here in disgrace was nothing to be proud of.
"Ah!" Xiahou Xian's voice rang out. "A man born between heaven and earth-where could he not win merit and build a career?"
Wen Qin nodded, then looked at Xiahou Xian and asked, "May I ask what exactly brings you here tonight, Prefect?"
Xiahou Xian said, "I came to Huainan alone, without a single trusted aide at my side."
"You were the first person I met when I arrived in Huainan, General. Isn't that a coincidence? I happen to need a general to command my troops."
Wen Qin's eyes immediately lit up. After all, he had only recently been sent to Huainan in disgrace. By the time he arrived, the previous prefect had already been transferred away, and the newly appointed inspector paid him no attention at all, let alone the Huainan military governor.
Seeing that he seemed tempted, Xiahou Xian added, "If you are willing, General, I shall appoint you commandant of the Huainan Prefect's Office, to command the commandery's troops on my behalf."
Wen Qin hurriedly rose from his seat, came before Xiahou Xian, and bowed. "I thank you for your trust, Prefect!"
After that, the two chatted a while longer before leaving the command tent together.
Taking Wen Qin's hand, Xiahou Xian said, "General, there is something I must tell you."
"Please go ahead, Prefect."
"Though I am your superior, look-we are about the same age. I am really not used to us always speaking so formally."
"I still prefer that proud, untamable attitude you had when we first met."
"Bring it back."
Wen Qin froze on the spot, at a loss for how to answer.
Xiahou Xian patted his shoulder, but his palm struck a raised part of Wen Qin's shoulder armor, making him shake out his hand in pain.
The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"All right, report to my office tomorrow." With that, Xiahou Xian turned and left.
"Yes, sir!" Wen Qin watched Xiahou Xian leave before turning back toward his own tent.
"Huh? Why is your face red, Colonel Wen?" a soldier under Wen Qin's command teased.
Wen Qin flew into a rage. "Damn you! Get lost, get lost! Hurry up and change shifts for the night patrol!"
Wen Qin silently entered his command tent, a thousand thoughts swirling through his mind.
He remembered ten years ago, before he had come of age, when he lived in Ye City with his father, Wen Ji.
That year, Wei Feng, then a clerk of the western bureau in the Minister of Works' office, plotted a rebellion. Because Wen Qin was close to Wei Feng, he was implicated and thrown into prison.
Fortunately, Cao Cao remembered that Wen Qin was the son of Wen Ji, an officer who had served him for many years, and pardoned him.
After Cao Rui ascended the throne, he had also served for a time in the Luoyang army. Yet because of his temperament, he was ostracized at every turn, and no one had ever been willing to give him so much as a proper look.
He had intended to forget those bullshit dreams of winning merit and building a career once he reached Huainan, and to live carefree and content as a minor official in this place where heaven was high and the emperor far away.
As long as he lived happily, that was enough.
Until today, when that blazing fire in his heart had been kindled once more.
He certainly liked the gold, silver, and valuables Xiahou Xian had given him upon first arriving, but those were not enough to make him willingly pledge his service.
But coming from a military family, he could not resist the lure of military authority.
Most importantly, though, someone was finally willing to think highly of him.
The next day, after arranging the gate watches, city patrols, and other duties, Wen Qin rode to the prefect's office to report.
Upon entering the administrative office, Wen Qin noticed Xiahou Xian bent over his desk, his head lowered and a roll of bamboo slips in his hand.
Hearing him, Xiahou Xian looked up and said with a smile, "You're here, Zhongruo."
Hearing Xiahou Xian address him by his courtesy name warmed Wen Qin's heart. He immediately cupped his hands. "Prefect, I have finished taking stock of the Huainan Guard for you. There are eight hundred and twenty men in total."
"When the previous prefect left office, apart from some trusted personal troops he took with him, he left roughly two battalions on the rolls. No one has yet taken over the cavalry battalion or the infantry battalion. As far as I know, the two battalions together should number over four thousand men."
Four thousand men!
Xiahou Xian was astonished. That nearly matched the troop strength of a prefect during the great upheaval at the end of the Han.
Great Wei was now relatively peaceful internally. Commandery governors in the heartland of the Wei State were simply not permitted to raise such enormous forces.
After all, even the General-in-Chief had a mere three thousand household troops in peacetime.
This sudden windfall left Xiahou Xian feeling a little as though he were floating on air. But on second thought, he still had two high officials sitting above his head. It would not be so easy to deploy this army freely.
Xiahou Xian gathered his thoughts and looked at Wen Qin below him. "Zhongruo, I shall entrust the seal of office to you. I will leave taking over these two battalions in your hands."
"Yes, sir!" Wen Qin answered loudly.
"Oh, and one more thing," Xiahou Xian added. "Before that, there is something else that must take priority."
Xiahou Xian recounted to Wen Qin, exactly as they had been given, the arrangements Man Chong had made.
After hearing him out, Wen Qin immediately looked troubled. He hesitated before saying, "Prefect, I will certainly handle the strict inspections of traveling merchants at the city gates properly!"
"It's just... the matter of investigating the officials in the city."
"I'll be frank. I'm no longer afraid of being ostracized. I am a rough fellow. Training troops, conducting patrols, and the like are fine, but investigating a case in secret truly is beyond me."
Xiahou Xian considered it and realized that was indeed the case.
He could only have Wen Qin start with the things within his abilities.
"Very well. Get started, then, Zhongruo. As for the secret investigation, I shall give it some more thought."
Wen Qin accepted the order and turned to leave.
Just then, halfway out, Wen Qin remembered something. He turned to Xiahou Xian and said, "Prefect, I have heard of a man here in Huainan who made his name while still young. They say he read widely from childhood, possesses extraordinary intelligence, and leaves not a single pearl uncounted in his calculations."
"Oh? There is such a man?" Xiahou Xian's eyes lit up. "Where is he now?"