Chapter 725: Give Them to Wu Shen, He's Rich
The battle was over!
Xue Hongqi had been killed, and over two thousand five hundred rebel bandits were captured, all of them strong, young, hardened fighters. Their contingent of old, weak, women, and children, who had hidden in a cave a few miles away, were all captured by Shi Jian's unit two hours later, adding another three thousand people to the tally.
The final count of captives reached over five thousand five hundred.
At Gadu Monastery, Shi Jian's unit, along with Governor Chen Qiyu and Commander Luo Xi, were stationed. The two thousand garrison troops who had scattered earlier also returned, rejoining Shi Jian's forces to form a combined army of three thousand men.
However, everyone knew that those two thousand garrison troops were of little use beyond cheering the others on.
Shi Jian said, "I think we should do this: these two thousand garrison troops shouldn't have to risk their lives with us. Let them escort the five thousand captives back first."
Chen Qiyu wore a peculiar expression. "Yan'an Prefecture cannot accommodate so many surrendered rebels. My office doesn't have enough food or arable land to settle these people."
Shi Jian chuckled. "Your Excellency, Governor, you needn't worry about that. Before you assumed your post as Governor of Yansui, Governor-General Hong Chengchou's method for handling surrendered rebels was to hand them all over to Censor Wu Shen. After all, Master Wu has one hundred thousand taels of silver in his hands."
Chen Qiyu’s expression grew even stranger. "Surely Wu Shen's hundred thousand taels were used up long ago?"
Chen Qiyu thought to himself: *That fifty thousand taels was only reluctantly coughed up by the Prince of Qin's heir to avert disaster after he made a grave mistake and was scolded by the Emperor, wasn't it? What noble sentiments of patriotism are those?*
He cleared his throat. "That fifty thousand taels, I'm afraid, also..."
Shi Jian waved a dismissive hand. "No worries, no worries. Don't fret, he still has money. Just send all the surrendered rebels his way."
Chen Qiyu thought to himself: *I can't deal with these surrendered rebels myself. Indeed, it's better to pass the buck to Wu Shen. Who cares if he still has money? Just give them to him, all of them.*
And so, the matter was amicably settled.
Luo Xi selected a thousand-household commander and instructed him to lead the two thousand garrison troops, escorting five thousand disarmed rebel bandits, and deliver them to Wu Shen. As for how Wu Shen would handle them, that would be his problem.
After sending off this hot potato of a problem, Chen Qiyu's thoughts returned to the present. He cupped his hands in a respectful salute to Shi Jian. "Commander Shi's military tactics are divine, truly brilliant and cunning. Today's battle has truly opened my eyes."
Here was a dignified Provincial Governor lavishing such praise on a fifth-rank military officer.
Assistant General Luo Xi, standing nearby, naturally couldn't be outdone. He quickly added, "Commander Shi is awe-inspiring, a truly peerless general!"
Shi Jian could only chuckle awkwardly. "Just average, just average. You flatter me."
Chen Qiyu asked, "Commander Shi, why are you so familiar with the terrain around here? It's as if you were fighting in your own backyard."
Shi Jian cleared his throat lightly. "Well, I found a few native herb gatherers from around here, gave them some money, and they guided the way."
Chen Qiyu exclaimed, "What?"
Luo Xi uttered a surprised, "Uh!"
Neither of them quite believed him, but since he had already offered the explanation, there was no need to deliberately expose him. They simply accepted his words.
Chen Qiyu continued, "Next, we must still hurry to Yanchang County town. Although Xue Hongqi has been dealt with, the rebel forces holding 'A City' and those led by 'King One-Character' are still active near Yanchang County town. They could attack the city at any moment, so we must go to their aid."
Luo Xi interjected, "The Governor and I will lead our personal guards and move with Commander Shi."
Shi Jian didn't actually want these two to tag along. With them present, communicating with the Heavenly Lord wouldn't be as convenient, as the Heavenly Lord disliked revealing himself casually to strangers, especially high-ranking imperial officials.
However...
There was no reason to refuse.
"Alright then, let's go together!"
As evening fell, the sun was setting.
Shi Jian's unit, accompanied by Chen Qiyu and Luo Xi, returned to the main road. Once night fell, marching became impossible, so the entire army quickly set up camp and began preparing their evening meal.
It was during the time for preparing meals that the disparities in wealth between the different units became evident.
Both Chen Qiyu and Luo Xi had brought their personal guards. These guards were the foundation of every imperial official's standing, and naturally, they received the best treatment.
Chen Qiyu's guards produced substantial guokui flatbreads. These were made from the finest flour, mixed with minced meat. Each cake was hearty, and with every bite, one could taste the fragrance of flour and the rich flavor of meat. They were truly excellent.
Luo Xi's guards fared slightly worse, but they still had fried noodles. These dry-fried noodles were like the instant noodles of later eras, very convenient for transport. Although they lacked minced meat, they had been mixed with wild vegetables and beans, making them quite fragrant and delicious.
These personal guards had been forced to follow behind Shi Jian's unit during the battle, unable to fully demonstrate their combat prowess, and deep down, they felt a little aggrieved. Now, they could only bring out their delicious food to provoke Shi Jian's unit and salvage some dignity.
Zheng Gouzi sniffed the air towards the neighboring camp with his "dog's nose" and chuckled. "See that, brothers? The guards next door are showing off their delicious food, deliberately parading it around, just trying to make us envious."
Everyone laughed. "So they want to play this game, do they? Then let's play along!"
"Alright, brothers, bring out the canned luncheon meat."
"And the dried chicken and beef jerky too."
"I've got dried cod fillets as well."
"Compressed biscuits... not impressive enough, so I won't bother bringing them out."
The logistics of the Gao Family Village Militia were unmatched anywhere in the world.
With a flurry of activity, the men brought out a pile of gourmet foods. Right in front of those fools of guards, they set up their pots and started cooking all sorts of dishes, deliberately letting the tantalizing aromas waft everywhere.
Luo Xi's guards instantly froze, as if struck by a paralyzing touch. They turned their heads to stare, their gazes fixed on Shi Jian's unit with profound resentment.
Chen Qiyu's guards also felt that the guokui flatbreads in their hands instantly lost their deliciousness. Even though they contained minced meat and were usually their favorite food, for some reason, taking a bite now, they were not fragrant at all, not fragrant, completely bland.
As for...
"Can I have a bite?"—not a single one of them had the face to say such shameful words.
They could only stare.
Luo Xi leaned towards Chen Qiyu and whispered, "Your Excellency, Governor, why are that unit's military payments so abundant? Isn't the entire realm plagued by overdue military payments? How do they have such extravagant military rations?"
Chen Qiyu sighed. "That's not military pay; that must be personally distributed by Commander Shi. In other words, his army contains no regular garrison soldiers, only private guards."
Luo Xi gasped sharply. "A thousand private guards? That fellow... he's so rich!"
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