Drag them out and behead them!

Dozens of guards immediately poured into the command tent.

"Spare us, Governor!"

"Governor!"

The whole tent erupted in an instant. Instead of the rewards they had hoped for, the scouts had received a death sentence.

Wen Qin looked utterly bewildered. "What is the meaning of this, Governor?"

"The meaning?" Xiahou Xian flew into a rage. "Thirty horsemen wiped out nearly eight hundred bandits? By your reasoning, if I gave you eight hundred horsemen, you could wipe out a hundred thousand troops of the rebel Wu!"

"Zhongruo, military merit isn't something you can swindle your way into!"

Exposed on the spot, Wen Qin immediately dropped to his knees and pleaded, "Governor, I admit my guilt!"

"Too late!" Xiahou Xian abruptly rose and glared at the guards beside him. "What are you standing around for? Didn't you hear what I just said? Drag them all out and behead them!"

"Yes, sir!" The guards obeyed, hauling the men up and dragging them outside. Seeing that Xiahou Xian meant it, Wen Qin's expression grew uglier still. He was a hair away from bursting into tears before him.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Governor! I truly admit my guilt! Please spare me!"

At that moment, Chen Yuan, who stood beside Xiahou Xian, suddenly spoke. "Governor, our army is on the eve of battle. Executing a general now might affect morale. Why not..."

"Say no more, Zhongbo," Xiahou Xian interrupted at once. "Governor Yue and I just reached an agreement. If our Huainan army could successfully bring those displaced people into the fold, our two commanderies, Huainan and Lujiang, could share their manpower."

As he spoke, Xiahou Xian fixed Wen Qin with a ferocious stare. "And now look at this. What a mighty display Commandant Wen has put on, slaughtering those unarmed displaced people to the last, then shamelessly coming here to claim credit!"

"After this battle, Commandant Wen's name will certainly 'resound far and wide.' Those displaced people hiding deep in the mountains will only fear our Great Wei even more. Some may even flee to Jiangdong. He, Wen Zhongruo, cannot escape responsibility for all the consequences that follow."

Xiahou Xian said a great deal in one breath. Only after he had finished did Chen Yuan continue, "That may be so, but General Wen is, after all, quite familiar with the Huainan region. Why not spare his life and let him serve at the front, earning merit to atone for his crimes?"

Chen Yuan had thought his earnest persuasion would soften Xiahou Xian's stance. Instead, Xiahou Xian said outright, "No. What use do I have for a man who disregards military discipline and recklessly advances in his greed for merit?"

"Do not try to persuade me again, Zhongbo. My mind is made up. Behead everyone involved, and hang Wen Zhongruo's head above the camp gate to demonstrate the army's authority!"

Seeing Xiahou Xian so insistent, Chen Yuan knew he could not sway him. He merely looked regretfully at Wen Qin, who stood before him trussed up tightly.

Wen Qin was already dumbstruck. He wanted to say something, but no words came.

"Governor Xiahou!"

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the command tent. They looked toward it as an armored man lifted the tent flap and walked in.

The newcomer was none other than Yue Lin.

"Governor Yue." Xiahou Xian nodded in greeting.

Yue Lin walked straight over and glanced at Wen Qin and the others kneeling on the ground. He could not help remarking, "Your military discipline is strict indeed, Governor Xiahou."

At first, Xiahou Xian could not tell whether this was praise or mockery. Somewhat ashamed, he said, "I have failed to govern my men properly. I have made a spectacle of myself before you, Governor Yue."

Yue Lin offered no judgment, but still gave his advice. "General Wen is your subordinate. How you deal with him is naturally your decision. But I would still remind you that within Great Wei's borders, particularly in the border war zones, displaced people are no different from bandits."

"Besides, I have just received General Man's orders to lead three thousand troops toward Shu County. I imagine your deployment orders will arrive soon as well, Governor Xiahou. It would hardly be appropriate to delay military operations over something like this."

At first, Xiahou Xian had not understood why Chen Yuan had kept defending Wen Qin, as though the man had merely committed some trivial offense like breaking a vase.

Yue Lin's words finally made him understand. In this era, it was already no small thing for law-abiding civilians to receive a little "protection" from those above them, while displaced people who hid in the mountains could no longer be treated as human beings. Whether or not they harbored rebellious intentions, they would all be regarded as bandits.

Of course, Yue Lin had indeed wanted to bring them into the fold at first, but since this had already happened, the greater picture naturally had to come first.

If Xiahou Xian really beheaded them, others would instead see him as making a mountain out of a molehill.

Xiahou Xian remained silent for a long time before finally walking up to Wen Qin and the others. Coldly, he said, "For Governor Yue's sake, I will spare you the death penalty this once. Every one of you will be demoted one rank and forfeit a year's military pay. Earn more merit in battle from now on to offset your offenses."

"Thank you, Governor."

"Thank you, Governor." ...

The dozens of men all spoke up.

Wen Qin had broken into a cold sweat from fright. He felt this was the closest he had ever come to the gates of hell.

Though his legs were weak, he forced himself to stand. Only after cupping his hands and bowing to the two governors did he leave the command tent in a crestfallen state.

Once the matter was settled, Xiahou Xian took Yue Lin on a brief inspection of the camp, after which Yue Lin returned.

Inside the command tent, Chen Yuan brought Xiahou Xian several sets of bamboo slips and said, "Governor, these are the grain registers. I have already checked the supplies. The provisions currently in camp will sustain our army for more than two months."

Xiahou Xian acknowledged this. He had never doubted Chen Yuan's logistical abilities.

While writing up documents, Chen Yuan suddenly said, "Governor, you were truly too impulsive today. I have never seen you like that before."

"If Zhongruo doesn't rid himself of that foul habit, he is bound to make a grave mistake someday."

Chen Yuan chuckled. "Had Governor Yue not come to stop you, I imagine Commandant Wen would have had no future at all. We really must thank Governor Yue for preserving a fierce general skilled in war for our Huainan."

Skilled in war?

Xiahou Xian did not know whether Chen Yuan was making fun of Wen Qin.

Truthfully, he really had intended to kill him today, but after calming down, he also felt somewhat fortunate.

He remembered previously asking Wen Qin whether he had any sons. Wen Qin had only said he had two daughters. Presumably, Wen Yang had not yet been born. If he executed Wen Qin now, would he not be strangling his own "little Zhao Yun" in the cradle?

Before long, the approaching hoofbeats outside the camp could be heard from far away. They stopped outside the gate, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps.

"Report!" A messenger entered the command tent. "Governor Xiahou, military orders from Shouchun."

Xiahou Xian had Chen Yuan receive the orders and read them aloud to him.

"The letter says our army is to assist Yue Lin's forces in surrounding Shu County. As long as we can block the Wu troops heading from Shu County to reinforce Ruxukou, it will count as a great achievement."

Xiahou immediately frowned. He suspected he had misheard.

Shu County was no small county town. It had once been the administrative seat of Lujiang Commandery during the Eastern Han. It had changed hands several times before finally coming under Wu State's control after the last Battle of Shiting.

But how could a strategically important city like this be surrounded with just six thousand troops?

After all, when Sun Ce attacked Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang, he had brought twenty thousand men and still taken two years to crack it.

However, Wei State's army had the advantage of mobile cavalry. Perhaps Man Chong intended to use this advantage to harass Wu State's reinforcements rather than actually draw up battle lines and fight.

At this thought, Xiahou Xian gained some understanding.

He sent Chen Yuan to begin preparations for overseeing grain transport, while he remained in the command tent, studying the map on the table.

Chen Yuan walked slowly out of the command tent. He came to the camp gate, summoned a messenger, and handed him a letter concerning grain transport.

The messenger immediately swung onto his horse and rode out through the camp gate.

Then Chen Yuan walked over to a cart piled with hay. Several of the carts there were to return empty to Shouchun.

He reached out and stroked the hay, glanced around briefly, and quietly slipped a piece of silk beneath it...