Chapter 431

The stocky man was questioned by Chen Wuji in a rapid-fire barrage, his eyes glazing over.

It looks like he really wants to die right now.

"Speak up, you mute—can you even be a general?" Chen Wuji barked.

The stocky man closed his eyes and simply pretended to be dead.

"Hang him up, beat him half to death first!" Chen Wuji shouted angrily.

"There's a big city right there, and you still managed to get lost, making me run all this way to chase you, and now we have to spend the night out in the wilderness—you deserve to die a thousand times over!"

"You're still keeping your eyes shut, putting on a tough act—come on, let's see how long you can keep it up!"

The stocky man's eyes snapped open, bloodshot, staring at Chen Wuji.

Even the child was on the verge of crying from feeling wronged.

Obviously, this child is truly lost.

But before the big tears could fall, the personal guard dragged him away, found a nearby crooked tree, and hoisted him up.

Moments later, muffled cries of pain began to echo from the hilltop.

"Chen Baojia!" Chen Wuji called.

Chen Baojia, who was busy organizing the prisoners, heard the call and ran over quickly.

"Commandant!"

"Send out scouts in a five‑li radius, set up camp—we'll spend the night right here." Chen Wuji ordered.

"Yes sir!"

The night grew hazy, the mountain breeze brushed past, bringing a slight chill.

Autumn had arrived, and the weather began to cool.

But Yunan's autumn only gets this chilly at most.

Located at the southern end of Da Yu, with mountains like Shenxian Ling blocking the way, the northern cold cannot reach Lingnan.

In this place, not even autumn, let alone winter, gets truly cold.

Only when it rains does it feel a bit cool.

The personal guard gathered firewood nearby and lit several bonfires on the spot.

Although it isn't cold, the bonfires are still very necessary.

Their main purpose is actually illumination.

Gu Wenjie's force, which seemed half‑asleep, had come on a raid, bringing no tents or supplies; the soldiers carried only a few days' rations, while Chen Wuji's side brought nothing at all.

That night, everyone could only nibble on the dry rations brought by the prisoners, spending the night under the sky and on the ground.

For a march, this is actually normal.

But because this bunch got lost, forcing him to sleep in the wilderness, Chen Wuji was still angry.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Yang Pojun's side should be finishing up soon. For the counties of San Yuan and Ningyuan, how do you plan to arrange things?" Qin Feng sat down beside Chen Wuji and handed over his wine gourd.

Chen Wuji took a swig without ceremony and said, "Not just San Yuan and Ningyuan—after this battle, all the counties of Hezhou can be settled."

"Among Hezhou's counties, only these three of ours have provincial troops. I drove Gu Wenjie out of Yunan; after this battle, the remaining counties ought to give me an answer. I cannot allow them to play both sides under my nose—there's no such free lunch."

Qin Feng sprawled his legs, took out a silk document from his bosom, unfolded it, and handed it to Chen Wuji.

"This is a rough summary I've compiled of the prefects of Hezhou's counties lately; the intel is limited and may contain many inaccuracies, so feel free to glance over it. As for problematic individuals, I think we don't need to keep them—Commandant, you could assign replacements yourself."

Chen Wuji looked surprised, "You've prepared thoroughly—no wonder you suddenly brought this up out of the blue."

These scholars…

We can't just dismiss their nonsense as nonsense.

"There's something." Chen Wuji took the document and said, "If we start appointing officials ourselves, aren't we moving too hastily? Taking steps too large could cause trouble."

"But given the circumstances, this must be done." Qin Feng said.

Chen Wuji nodded, "We need to do it, but how we do it matters."

"We currently hold only one county, our strength is slight; we must not lose that nominal prestige, cannot follow Lu Ping'an and Gu Wenjie in cutting off our own retreat all at once—we should still give the court some face."

That principle was taught by Boss Cao.

They've reached that point, yet can still proclaim to the world with ringing certainty: 'I, Cao Mengde, am also a subject of Han!'

You see, the histories never say they rebelled against the Han house.

No matter how corrupt the court has become, it doesn't matter.

This concerns only Chen Wuji's reputation.

Qin Feng listened with some difficulty, "I understand these principles, but if we don't appoint officials ourselves, what other means do we have? Da Yu's recommendation system presently seems limited to local chief officials recommending provincial troop officers, and even that only applies to the Lingnan Six Commanderies."

Da Yu has many special local arrangements in the Lingnan Six Commanderies, differing from the Central Plains.

To guard against foreign tribes, the court has repeatedly strengthened the authority of local officials in the Lingnan Six Commanderies.

To hold office in these six commanderies is to be, quite literally, a local emperor.

The irony is that this patch of land, continually patched and added to by successive Da Yu emperors, first began to crumble from within.

Truly, worldly affairs are fickle, life is like a big intestine wrapping a small one, and human strength eventually runs out.

Chen Wuji added firewood to the bonfire, gave a faint smile, and said, "I could file a complaint with the court, then praise the people we deem suitable, and see whether the court will accept the step we're offering."

"A small probe of the court's attitude—if it fails, we can just let the court send an official."

Qin Feng nodded, "If the court sends an official, we could hollow him out, letting him stand as an empty shell. Though that would increase my workload invisibly, it does seem more secure."

"But the court probably won't send officials anymore—Lu Ping'an rebelled, and Hezhou has fallen to Gu Wenjie. With just these few counties, those bigwigs at court likely won't trust us."

Chen Wuji gave a faint smile, "Then it's just a matter of whether the court wants this face. I'm also contributing a trifling bit to the court's party‑state affairs. They're constantly fighting, so there are surely plenty of people they dislike; we can just toss a few their way."

Qin Feng opened his mouth, then immediately broke into a wry, helpless smile, "People like you truly fit this age—you're either a great villain or a great sage."

Chen Wuji glanced at Qin Feng, "Watch your words—you're about to follow me in rebellion, so don't treat a petty rebel leader as if he weren't a traitor."

Qin Feng nodded vigorously, "Yes, my lord, I spoke out of turn."

Chen Wuji glanced askance, "You'd better shut up; hearing that is even more unpleasant."

He returned the silk scroll to Qin Feng, "This thing gives me a headache; you just need to tell me which people can be reused, which can be used, which should be observed, and which should just be killed."

"Then I need to send people to those counties to take a look and find out secretly." Qin Feng said.