Chapter 79: Little Wei's Platform |
The county office became the general's headquarters.
After Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing entered the city, they were summoned by Wei Wusheng.
The two had been quite anxious the entire journey.
It wasn't until they entered the main hall of the county office that the Sixth Prince, who had been organizing military intelligence, set down what he was doing and quickly stood up to walk toward them.
Only then did they understand—he was giving them a way out.
But this way out was hard to take.
If I take it, what about my nine generations of family?
"Captain Zhu, Chief Clerk Qin."
Standing in the middle, Wei Wusheng directly placed his hands on both their shoulders, guiding them inside, and said rather warmly: "Please, sit."
"Regarding the matter of seizing power, I didn't consult with you two beforehand—it truly was done on a sudden 'impulse,' and there wasn't time." Wei Wusheng explained. "Thinking about it now, I really do feel somewhat apologetic."
"Your Highness."
Slowly raising his head to look at him, Qin Kuo spoke with considerable difficulty: "I want to know, going forward, what should we do?"
Your Highness, please stop acting.
Give us a way to live!
"If we were alone in the world without ties, we would certainly be able to die for Your Highness's cause. Through fire and flood, we would not hesitate." Zhu Qing meant the same thing, speaking quite sincerely. "This time when I came, I already knew the consequences. But even so, I'm willing to fight until my last drop of blood runs dry. However, my wife and children are all in Sheng'an, and my youngest son isn't even three yet."
As he spoke, both of them revealed troubled expressions.
Wei Wusheng also nodded quite seriously, falling into contemplation.
"We certainly have loyal hearts, toward His Majesty and toward Your Highness."
Thinking of this, Qin Kuo said quite painfully: "But we are different from ordinary soldiers. When they follow Your Highness, the court won't blame their families—they can't do it. One thousand men means several thousand family members—there's no way to punish them all. However, Captain Zhu and I are the captain and chief clerk of this Forbidden Army. If something happens, we'll be the first ones held accountable."
Their concerns were perfectly normal.
The law doesn't punish the masses—even if those soldiers really rebelled, what could be done to them?
But the two of them, even if they were coerced, were the leaders of this Forbidden Army.
Moreover, if they truly became the commanders of a 'rebel army' and accepted the Prince's promotions, their nine generations would instantly be eliminated like a game of Candy Crush.
"I can fully understand your anxiety, and I can completely feel it." Wei Wusheng slowly stood up and picked up a handwritten letter. "I don't know to what degree I can remedy this, but I will certainly do my utmost."
As he spoke, he handed the letter to Qin Kuo.
Zhu Qing also quickly stood up and leaned over.
The two reviewed it simultaneously.
The more they read, the more serious they became, their expressions growing increasingly grave.
—Your subject vows to defend Shuofeng to the death, yet the city's provisions, armor, and soldiers are severely lacking. I was forced to coerce the Forbidden Army and completely plunder Langya's resources in order to resist Yuan with full strength. If Heaven does not bless me and the city falls with the army destroyed, Wusheng shall become an eternal scourge to the nation, bringing shame to the nine ancestral temples, reviled by ten thousand generations. If I drive out the Qi bandits and preserve our territory, Wusheng shall bind himself and appear before the palace gates, humbly awaiting Imperial judgment.
After the two finished reading, they slowly raised their heads.
Before them, Wei Wusheng gazed at them both with resolute expression and vowed: "I don't want anything. I only want to win this battle, I only want to yield not an inch of territory. Therefore, I will take on all the blame. If we truly repel the Qi bandits, I won't covet or cling to power. I will hand over everything, absolutely everything. If I violate this oath, may I be struck by five thunderbolts, and in the Yellow Springs suffer the torment of asura demons and fierce ghosts for a hundred lifetimes!"
Wei Wusheng had identified what these two were most worried about.
That is, if this battle was lost, that would actually be fine.
Dying for the nation would reduce their crime by one degree, and the court wouldn't be too heartless.
But what if they managed to hold out by chance and the Sixth Prince refused to relinquish power?
If he occupied Shuofeng and became a warlord with his own army, wouldn't they truly become traitors to the state?
You must understand that the Sixth Prince currently had nothing, but after winning, he would possess a great deal.
Once this doubt was dispelled, the two walked to the center, simultaneously knelt on one knee, clasped their fists with both hands, and said in unison: "We thank Your Highness!"
Wei Wusheng walked before them and supported them by their arms: "I know you two don't covet power and position, but you are my own people. Only with my own people can I use them with confidence."
"Please give your orders, Your Highness." Zhu Qing said resolutely.
Then Wei Wusheng said: "This time, we brought one thousand Forbidden Army troops and transferred away four thousand from Langya. Shuofeng still has about nine thousand men, but among them are nearly two thousand wounded soldiers. The ones we can actually use number approximately twelve thousand. I will break them up, reorganize them, and divide them into four battalions. Ran Jin will command one battalion, you two will each lead one battalion, and I'll personally command one battalion, completely controlling military authority."
The highest military commander of three thousand men would effectively be a general.
"Your current official ranks are too low, so for now you'll act as generals temporarily. If we truly manage to hold out, after I go to Sheng'an to hand over military authority, I'll also petition His Majesty to promote you both." Wei Wusheng promised.
"We will follow Your Highness's every instruction." Qin Kuo quickly agreed.
But Zhu Qing, after a brief silence, asked: "Your Highness, I'd like to ask, how will you deal with Zhao Xiang?"
"What do you mean?"
"Will you truly treat him as an ordinary soldier, serving at the front lines?"
Wei Wusheng said decisively: "Yes."
Hearing this, Zhu Qing was completely reassured and said: "As long as Your Highness can have this kind of determination, then we can properly manage the army."
"Just as Song Shi'an said." Wei Wusheng smiled. "You'll be my blade—whether the blade can kill depends entirely on whether I, the one wielding it, have a steady hand."
Anyone with wisdom who isn't reckless will actually consider this question.
That is, whether your leader is capable.
This reorganization was actually a seizure of power, dividing up the interests of the original locals and forcibly elevating some new nobility.
When Liu Yan entered Shu, he brought the Dongzhou faction to suppress the local Yizhou faction of Shu.
After Liu Bei entered Shu, he brought the Jingzhou faction, absorbed the Dongzhou faction, and intensified the suppression of the Yizhou faction.
There's only so much cake, and there's no new cake, so how to divide it?
You must give the smallest number of people the largest portions of cake, then unite these few people to desperately defend your cake-dividing principles.
Therefore, after elevating Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing, they would certainly have to continuously suppress the original commanders.
They had to keep pressing them down so they couldn't raise their heads or have the strength and opportunity to breathe.
But if the Prince's determination wasn't sufficient, or if he worried about the bad optics and didn't make the former boss Zhao Xiang serve as a common soldier but instead reinstated him to a leadership position, then Qin Kuo and Zhu Qing would become targets of everyone's ire.
This is what they mean by setting an example from above.
A sense of security is mutually given.
"He still speaks as boldly as ever." Qin Kuo shook his head and complained.
"However, you two shouldn't have too much of an opinion about Shi'an. Everything is what I want to do. He's just trying to get things done properly." Wei Wusheng said teasingly.
The two lowered their heads and once again said in unison: "Yes."
Their mouths agreed, but their hearts couldn't be completely at ease.
Why?
Nine point nine out of ten, these ideas came from that kid!
He's not innocent at all!
"Then General Zhu, you may go for now. Once the reorganization is complete, I'll publicly appoint you both." Wei Wusheng directly addressed him as 'General' and looked toward Qin Kuo. "General Qin, stay a moment."
"Then this subordinate takes his leave." Zhu Qing withdrew.
Only Wei Wusheng and Qin Kuo remained.
Before Wei Wusheng could speak, Qin Kuo took out that Imperial edict, presented it with both hands to Wei Wusheng, and explained: "Your Highness, please believe me, I also suddenly received this edict just before the expedition. Moreover, His Majesty's Jinyiwei gave no explanation whatsoever."
"I know."
Wei Wusheng looked at the edict on golden silk, his face expressionless.
"Your Highness, do you know something?"
Qin Kuo inquired curiously, simultaneously trying to make clear that he truly knew nothing.
"His Majesty was probably worried that this is my first time commanding troops and I'm not very skilled at it." Wei Wusheng smiled, then said, "General Qin, you may also go attend to your duties."
"Yes."
After bowing, Qin Kuo also left.
Once again taking up the edict and looking at it for a long while, Wei Wusheng murmured seriously: "Father Emperor, do you think that just because I was born in defiance, I will necessarily be defiant?"
He had originally felt somewhat resentful.
But suddenly he realized that His Majesty had guarded against this move and truly predicted that he would act defiantly.
He wasn't wrong.
He was even correct.
"Your Highness!"
Just then, Zheng Tong, the former chief clerk under Zhao Xiang, came running over and urgently reported: "There's trouble!"
The position of chief clerk was extremely common—county magistrates had chief clerks, commandants had chief clerks, regional inspectors also had chief clerks, and the military had chief clerks too, but there were differences between chief clerks.
I'm about to stop recognizing the characters for 'chief clerk.'
To use an analogy: high officials have secretaries, county magistrates also have secretaries (not full-time positions), but the difference in level between the two is quite significant.
Qin Kuo wasn't Zhu Qing's chief clerk, but rather one of the chief clerks in the military who jointly managed this army together with him.
When Zhao Xiang came out to greet them this morning, Zheng Tong had followed along, but after learning that he had advised Zhao Xiang against it but failed, they reinstated him and kept him for their own use.
When taking full control, they also needed someone who knew the army inside and out and fully understood the local situation.
"What's the panic about?" Wei Wusheng asked.
Zheng Tong said quite urgently: "Magistrate Song beat up Duke Zhang's people, and now the whole city is in an uproar."
At this time when people's hearts were already in turmoil, instead of maintaining stability, he was making a show of force—too reckless!
Hearing this, Wei Wusheng revealed an exasperated expression: "That's such a trivial matter? From now on, you don't need to report to me about things Magistrate Song does."
"Yes."
Since even the Sixth Prince said this, Zheng Tong could only agree. However, he still couldn't help but remind: "But that Duke Zhang is the regional inspector's uncle by marriage..."
Impatiently, Wei Wusheng directly waved his hand: "Tell me when he beats up Duke Zhang himself."
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