Chapter 674

"My lord, how long has this tea been brewing?" Xu Zengyi asked with a bitter face.

Chen Wuji shook his head, "I don't know; anyway I put it up before I dozed off—if it's bitter, add a bit of sugar, there's some below. The bitterer the tea, the better the taste after adding sugar; sir, trust me, try a sip."

Xu Zengyi shook his head repeatedly, "I'd better change the pot for you, my lord; drinking this tea might be fatal."

He rejected Chen Wuji's suggestion.

Although Chen Wuji really thought that, it was just a bit hard on the stomach.

Xu Zengyi changed Chen Wuji's pot of tea, put it back on the stove to boil, then continued the previous topic: "In this battle, our army suffered 7,082 casualties, which is the number of severely wounded and killed."

"We killed 13,077 enemies, captured over ten thousand, and the rest fled."

"How many is the 'over ten thousand' captives?" Chen Wuji asked.

Xu Zengyi said, "The exact number hasn't been tallied yet, but it's close to twenty thousand; those who fled aren't many, all scattered during the battle."

"Although Langdu runs his army strictly, with many death soldiers under him, there are also many who cling to life and fear death."

Chen Wuji shook his head, "Sir, that's too absolute. This time's deserters are different from before; Langdu broke out, and it's natural for his followers to run with him. There are certainly many who fled out of greed for life and fear of death, but I suspect that among the over ten thousand who fled, most are likely Langdu's core troops."

"Sir, although we won a great victory, Langdu very likely isn't dead and still has so many people on the run; we can't let our guard down yet. We should issue a broad notice, ordering all prefectures to closely monitor the Qiang People's movements, to prevent this scoundrel from causing trouble within the commandery."

If it were someone else, Chen Wuji wouldn't need to be so careful.

But this person is Langdu.

A treacherous and crafty fellow who almost made him stumble.

Then we have to keep a few more wits about us.

Xu Zengyi's expression turned solemn, he nodded, "It was my oversight. Langdu fled wounded; his core troops very likely followed him upon seeing the situation, and even if not, that force of over ten thousand deserters, if Langdu were to rally the broken troops, would still be a considerable power."

"I will issue the notice as soon as possible, inform the prefectures, and have them send provincial troops to closely watch for any movement within their borders."

Chen Wuji grunted, "This battle went fairly well, but our army also paid an extremely heavy price; they've been tired lately, so once the merit is finalized, let's arrange rotating rest."

"Yes!"

Xu Zengyi answered, then asked, "My lord, do you intend to temporarily garrison Wuyang City?"

"Just stay here for now; the western prefectures and the matter of marching and garrisoning to take Jiazi Ling have no plan yet and urgently need resolution. Rest a few days, settle these two matters, then see how things develop." Chen Wuji said.

There are many matters; it just depends on whether Chen Wuji chooses to be busy now or later.

Lately he's also been worn out by the turmoil and wants to rest a few days first.

Xu Zengyi's freshly brewed tea was ready; he rose and poured a cup for Chen Wuji first, smiling lightly: "Although there are myriad affairs, my lord's smooth capture of Nan Jun deserves congratulations!"

"That's not counting Songzhou as a holdout, so it's not a full conquest." Chen Wuji waved his hand.

Speaking of this, the two briefly chatted about future governance of Hezhou and upcoming military affairs.

Taking Nan Jun is not Chen Wuji's endpoint, merely a starting point.

Although neither openly spoke of rebellion, their intentions were in accord.

Fortunately, the Qiang People are still holding the front, giving Chen Wuji enough scope to earnestly exert himself for a time.

Within these two or three years, even if everyone in the world thought he was rebelling, he would absolutely not take the initiative to raise that banner and change its color.

As the two were speaking, Hu Bu Gui, Xie Fengxian, Tang Yu, Lü Ji and others entered together from outside.

"Greetings, Commander!"

"My lord!"

Chen Wuji raised his hand, "Please, all be seated."

After everyone sat down, he glanced at their faces and smiled, "You guys just fought? Who beat whom?"

Each of them wore emotion on their faces, looking with eyes that weren't eyes, noses that weren't noses.

Xie Fengxian stiffened his neck and said, "My lord, you need to judge this: that surnamed Hu actually wants to monopolize those Qiang captives."

"Why, General Hu?" Chen Wuji asked askance, "What do you want those Qiang captives for? A bunch of useless things—why are you all fighting over them?"

Just now he and Xu Zengyi were about to discuss this, to see how to handle those captives.

Over ten thousand, nearly twenty thousand—if we kept them like that, Chen Wuji would be reluctant to spend the grain.

Even if we fed them less, those nearly twenty thousand would consume the provisions of a ten-thousand-strong army; he's already pinching pennies to get by—where would there be surplus grain for these irrelevant folks?

In any case, Chen Wuji's idea is either bury those captives entirely, or trade them to Zhong Qiang for a batch of warhorses and sheep to expand the cavalry and ease the grain and fodder shortage.

Hu Bu Gui said, "For training troops!"

"My subordinates lack experience fighting the Qiang; using these captives for training would be ideal. I don't want them all—just half would suffice. With half, I can drill battle formations."

Xie Fengxian immediately shouted, "Listen, listen—is that even human talk? There are only so many captives; how can you shamelessly demand half? Anyway, I disagree. If you want to train troops, I want to train troops too; even if I don't train, I still want those captives."

"If you're not training troops, what do you want them for?" Hu Bu Gui shouted.

Xie Fengxian crossed his arms, glared, and shouted, "Those captives are all strong laborers; if I just take some out, couldn't I exchange them for a heap of goods? We should give the troops more benefits. Speaking of warhorses—could I trade three thousand captives for a thousand warhorses?"

"My cavalry is too few; I need to replenish, so next time we charge, my troops won't lag behind yours and end up eating dirt in your wake."

Upon hearing that, Hu Bu Gui immediately grew even more displeased: "You at least have several hundred horses; my unit has only a few—what kind of situation is that? I haven't even shouted."

"Hold on, you two wait!" Chen Wuji raised his hand to interrupt their argument, then asked Lü Ji and the others, "Do you lot feel the same way?"

Lü Ji shrank his neck and muttered, "My lord, since this is beneficial, they want it, so I want it too. Not fearing scarcity but inequality—if others have it and our troops don't, I fear they'll complain."

"Commander Chen, I don't want any—I'm just here to join the fun!" Tang Yu hurriedly said.

Chen Wuji nodded, "Alright, I understand!"

"Like this: I'll give you two a choice—split evenly or divide by military merit. You lot decide yourselves; include Tang Yu as well—you also put in hard work, can't be left out, everyone gets a share of the blessings."