Chapter 130: Squads of Five Like Kin, Companies of a Hundred Like Friends

"Heifu... Platoon Leader, the camp medic said Dongmen Bao's life isn't in danger..."

Ji Ying ran back to the "head inspection" site to report. After hearing this news, it wasn't just Heifu who breathed a sigh of relief — the other men also exclaimed that Dongmen Bao was lucky to be alive, their faces relaxing.

Ji Ying himself felt a stone drop into his stomach. Although ever since he'd known Dongmen Bao during their conscript service in Anlu County, the two had constantly mocked each other and seemed to bear grudges, yet when Dongmen Bao was wounded and unconscious, it was Ji Ying who bustled about most anxiously. Unknowingly, over a year had passed; under Heifu's leadership, the two had spent every day together and had grown as close as brothers. They would still bicker and quarrel, but when the other's life was in danger, they would do their utmost to help.

But Ji Ying immediately sensed something off in the atmosphere: aside from the entire Xin Platoon gathered here, at the stinking head-inspection site, quite a few Qin soldiers were also standing around watching, pointing and commenting at the scene before them.

"What's happened? What's this about?"

Ji Ying had just been waiting for the camp medic's reply and didn't know what had happened outside. He found it strange — why was his own squad's Squad Leader, Gong Ao, trussed up tightly, looking as if he were being interrogated by a military law officer?

He immediately grew tense. Could it be that Gong Ao had committed an offense? Desertion? Defying orders? Any of these would mean collective punishment and accountability! Heifu had long warned them: if even one man in a squad deserted and the other four did not stop him, then when the crime was judged, besides the deserter, the other four would also be executed!

"Nothing serious."

Heifu smiled. "Just wait — there's a good show to watch."

As they spoke, a horse-drawn chariot raced back. The Qin soldier driving and the petty clerk in the carriage dismounted, carried down a headless corpse from the vehicle, and laid it before the military judge...

"Is this the man?"

The military judge had an assistant first bring Gong Ao over, let him take two looks at the corpse, then ordered him to quietly give his answer into the assistant's ear.

After Gong Ao had finished looking, Man was also brought over to do the same.

Once both had given their answers, the military judge's brow furrowed. He glanced at Heifu and shook his head at him.

It turned out that the idea Heifu had proposed was simple: since the head alone could no longer determine who had truly killed this man, the only option was to have the platoon leader who had seized the two men go to the scene of the incident and retrieve the headless corpse. According to the platoon leader who had captured them, the area had been deserted at the time, with only that corpse lying beneath a willow tree — not hard to identify.

Heifu had also suggested that when the corpse was brought back, they should first present a different headless corpse, one killed elsewhere, for the two men to identify. Since it had been a fight to the death and they had personally cut off the head, it was impossible for them to have no impression of the dead man's clothing and build.

Yet to their surprise, Gong Ao and Man both denied, one after the other, that this was the dead man's corpse...

Li Xian, standing nearby, clicked his tongue. "Seems Man paid attention to the corpse's clothing even while fighting over the head. This is a bit troublesome now."

"No rush." Heifu remained fully confident. "If the first move doesn't work, there's still a second."

Since the truth could not be tricked out of them, there was no need to keep up the pretense. The military judge had the real corpse carried down from the chariot and asked the two men again to confirm: was this that man's corpse?

"This is the corpse of the man I killed." Gong Ao came over, took only one look, and said without the slightest hesitation.

On the other side, Man was brought over again as well. After a brief hesitation, he also told the assistant: "It is indeed the corpse belonging to the head I cut off!"

The military judge shook his head once more and had the assistants blindfold them, then led them thirty paces apart to spots where they could not hear each other. Then he had a black-robed medic summoned from the military camp come forward to directly examine the corpse...

Back in Anlu County, Heifu had witnessed how Scribe Clerk Nu, when handling cases, examined corpses with meticulous precision, almost reaching the level of a later-era forensic autopsy report.

Relying on such era-defining autopsy methods, unless — like that Shu Wu whom Heifu had killed but falsely claimed had died in the line of duty — the wound in the eye socket had been "accidentally" smashed to pulp by falling off a cliff, destroying the evidence, nothing could escape Scribe Clerk Nu's discerning eye!

It was only after Heifu became friends with Nu and chatted with him that he learned this skill, called the "Art of the Scribe Clerk," was not actually invented by case-handling officials. Rather, they were taught it in the academy by Qin state physicians.

Nu had also said that if Heifu's younger brother Jing wished to develop in the direction of a scribe clerk in the future, he too would have to study this skill well...

On the battlefield, though there were no scribe clerks, there were medics — especially "wound physicians" who specialized in dealing with blade injuries. The condition of that head's wound earlier had been examined by a wound physician. They could, by the characteristics of the wound, accurately reconstruct what injuries the deceased had suffered before death and in what manner he had been killed...

Before long, under the gaze of an ever-growing crowd of Qin soldiers, the black-robed physician had completed his examination of the corpse. He wrote all the information he had discovered onto a wooden tablet, which was then passed on for the military judge to review.

Heifu felt a pang of emotion. The rigid character the Qin people had been molded into by Qin law was truly etched deep into their bones. Even on a battlefield with crude conditions, a physician's examination of a corpse still had to be submitted to the military judge in written form — an oral report alone would not suffice.

After reading the inquest document, the military judge's brow finally relaxed. He nodded at Heifu and once again ordered two assistants to separately question Gong Ao and Man.

"At the time, how did you fight this man, and how did you kill him? Spare no detail — tell everything!"

Gong Ao, though blindfolded, still stood ramrod straight, head held high, and slowly recounted the course of events. The assistant recorded it while nodding slightly toward the military judge.

As for the other side, Man had a far harder time. After being asked this question, he was already drenched in sweat. He stammered out an account... then suddenly, as if he had lost the courage to continue, he slumped to his knees in defeat!

Man hadn't spent his time in the Qin army for nothing; he knew that the story he had guessed at and fabricated could not possibly match the facts in every detail. He understood that he could no longer escape the military judge's questioning, but by now regret was too late. He could only knock his head against the ground and cry out:

"This lowly man... this lowly man confesses his crime!"

After a skillful interrogation, the truth finally came to light. The man had indeed been killed by Gong Ao, but during the fight, Gong Ao had also sustained a minor wound on his shoulder.

Just as Gong Ao had cut off the head and was about to hang it from his belt, Man arrived. Seeing Gong Ao wounded and spotting the head, a wicked thought instantly arose in him. He raised his sword, intending to kill Gong Ao and seize the head!

To his surprise, Gong Ao's skill was greater than his. In just a few moves, Gong Ao was chasing Man all over the place. With Gong Ao's short temper, how could he endure being ambushed? He didn't even want that head anymore and threw it straight onto the ground!

At that moment, a platoon happened to be passing by. Seeing Qin soldiers fighting among themselves over a head, they seized them both...

After all, at the time, it truly looked like Gong Ao was chasing Man down, and the man had a foul mouth to boot, so suspicion had instead pointed toward Gong Ao.

Had Heifu not stepped forward to request that the military judge handle the matter cautiously and use that headless corpse to ascertain the truth, Gong Ao might well have been wrongfully condemned to death.

Indeed, this crime was punishable by death. After dejectedly confessing, Man, having committed the two crimes of head-snatching and private dueling, was sentenced to beheading by the military judge!

To be carried out immediately!

Before the eyes of several hundred Qin soldiers, Man was pressed down onto a wooden block. The axe blade fell, blood gushed forth like a spring spurting several chi, and his head was separated from his body. His flying head was bound with hemp rope, hoisted up, and hung above the camp gate!

Afterward, the military judge also smiled at Heifu.

"Heifu, when I served as a Deputy Scribe in Jiangling County, I too heard of your deeds. As expected of Heifu, the village head who cracked three major cases in a row — truly no ordinary man."

Had it not been so, the military judge would never have heeded the suggestion of a mere platoon leader.

The military judge stroked his beard. "Had you not been here today, this head-snatching case likely would not have been brought to light so swiftly."

Heifu repeatedly protested that he dared not accept such praise. At that moment, the military judge's gaze turned toward Gong Ao, who, though now untied, still wore a face full of indignation.

"Squad Leader Gong Ao, your grievance has been cleared. I shall now record this head onto the wooden tablet for you and Xin Platoon... Rest assured, your merit will be reported truthfully, and your reward and rank will not be shortchanged."

With this, Gong Ao's wrongful accusation was cleansed, and Heifu's platoon had also obtained the seventeenth head they had so desperately yearned for, reaching the standard for "full merit assessment." This should have been a matter of universal celebration.

Yet at this moment, Gong Ao's proud, prickly temper flared up again. Sulking, he thought to himself: "Ridiculous! I only wanted to clear my name — who cares about this rotten head?"

Thinking thus, he opened his mouth, intending to say that the head could be credited to Xin Platoon, and that it would be enough for the platoon leader to gain a rank.

As for him?

Any reward, any rank — I, your father, don't care for them, don't want them! Give them to whoever you like!

However, he had only uttered a few words when Heifu guessed what this idiot was about to do. In his desperation, he stuck out a foot and tripped Gong Ao to the ground!

Gong Ao was shocked and was just about to demand an explanation when Heifu crouched down, pretending to help him up, but instead shoved a handful of sand into Gong Ao's mouth and hissed into his ear: "Shut up!"

The military judge watched this performance by the two men and said with a cold smile: "Platoon Leader Heifu, what did this squad leader wish to say?"

"He said to thank the Military Law Clerk for upholding the law impartially and clearing his name."

Heifu's face was all smiles as he used both hands to press down firmly on Gong Ao, not letting him speak.

The Military Law Officer was no fool; he had already guessed what Gong Ao had left unsaid. But for Heifu's sake, he did not pursue it further. He simply waved for everyone to leave — he still had to continue tallying the heads and calculating everyone's merits and ranks…

…

"Heifu, what are you trying to do? Why humiliate me in public like this!"

After they had withdrawn several dozen paces, Gong Ao shook off the others supporting him, spat the sand from his mouth, his face full of indignation.

Heifu only watched him coldly, saying nothing. It was Li Xian at the side who sighed and said, "Gong Ao, you are a squad leader after all — do you truly not know what military law says about this?"

"What does it say?"

Gong Ao felt that mouthful of sand had nearly choked him to death; he was still hacking dryly without stop.

Li Xian was literate and knew the law. Back when they mustered in Fangcheng County, Heifu had pulled him along to copy out the military code together and learn the army's orders and prohibitions. The two of them were the only men in the entire platoon familiar with the Qin army's regulations.

So he said to Gong Ao, "Military law states: 'One who deserves punishment yet pleads not to be punished — death! One who deserves reward yet pleads not to be rewarded — death!' If you had spoken recklessly just now, your head would already be hanging above the camp gate alongside Man's!"

At these words, Gong Ao's face completely changed color.

This was a supplement Wei Liao had added to the Qin state's military law: one who deserves punishment but begs for leniency is to be executed; one who deserves reward but begs not to receive it is also to be executed!

Yes, the Qin army's regulations were that extreme. You might think refusing a reward shows character, lofty integrity, a matter of personal choice. But in the eyes of a Qin official, it is a subordinate disobeying a superior's order, an attempt to question the reward-and-punishment system within the Qin laws and military code!

If left unchecked, such an attitude would continue to spread, ultimately causing the soldiers to grow disunited and the general to lose command of the army.

Therefore, any violator — whether one who deserves punishment and pleads against it, or one who deserves reward and refuses it — all alike are to be executed! This tendency must be strangled in the bud.

Li Xian sneered. "Gong Ao, just now the platoon leader not only proposed an autopsy to the Military Law Officer and proved your innocence, but also stopped you from babbling yourself to death. He saved you twice! And you? How did you repay the platoon leader?"

After hearing this, Gong Ao stood stunned for a long moment. Proud and self-regarding as he was by nature, he was not one who could not tell right from wrong.

Once he knew the truth, his earlier fury instantly turned to remorse and shame. This young man, who had always hated bending the knee, without another word immediately knelt before Heifu, knocked his head heavily on the ground, and said, "Gong Ao has never owed anyone anything, but now I already owe the platoon leader two lives! Gong Ao engraves this on his heart and will surely repay it!"

Heifu sighed and helped Gong Ao to his feet. Gong Ao was still full of guilt, not daring to raise his head to look at him. It seemed that the biggest thorn in the platoon had, through this incident, finally been won over.

"When I was memorizing the military regulations and laws back in Fangcheng County, at the very end I saw a passage like this — it must have been added by the State Commandant, Wei Liao."

Heifu looked at his subordinates: Gong Ao, his face full of shame; Ji Ying, trustworthy and reliable; Li Xian, perceptive and quick to read expressions; Little Tao, honest and taciturn; and Bu Cheng, muttering his mystical nonsense…

He spoke slowly: "'Make squads and fireteams like kin, squads and companies like friends. Only thus can one halt like a rammed wall, move like wind and rain, with chariots never breaking their tracks and soldiers never turning on their heels — this is the Way of fundamental warfare!'"

"Well said by the State Commandant! My wish is just the same: that within a single platoon, all men can be like kin and friends, sharing life and death together! Only by trusting one another can we survive this campaign to destroy Wei and earn plenty of merit and rank!"

"Like kin, like friends — follow the platoon leader's orders, survive, and earn plenty of merit and rank!"

No matter who it was, they all shouted in unison. They crowded around Heifu like stars surrounding the moon. After a bloody battle, the bonds between them seemed even tighter than before.

Even the aloof Gong Ao had, because of this matter, been drawn into the small group and now followed Heifu as a horse follows its rider.

Seeing that everyone had finally been forged into a single whole, Heifu was thoroughly satisfied. He smiled and said, "Let's go — we'll head into camp and check on Ah Bao!"

"Right, let the lads see his wounded, sorry state too!" Ji Ying began stirring things up.

Unexpectedly, before Heifu and the others could even reach the camp gate, they heard a voice calling out to him.

"Platoon Leader Heifu!"

Heifu and the others turned their heads. It was the black-robed physician who had examined the corpse earlier. According to Ji Ying, this man was called Chen Wujiu, a medical officer attached to the army. Dongmen Bao's wound had been treated by Chen Wujiu…

The group looked at one another. Heifu's heart thumped. "Could it be that Dongmen Bao's injury has taken a turn for the worse?"

He immediately stepped forward and responded, "That is this humble officer. May I ask Physician Chen, how is Guardsman Dongmen Bao's injury?"

"He is fine — for now, his life is not in danger. It is you I am looking for!"

"Looking for me?" Heifu was taken aback. He had a vague guess as to why, but he feigned puzzlement and asked, "May I ask what this is about?"

Chen Wujiu glanced at Ji Ying. "I heard from the man who brought him in that the wound on that guardsman was treated by the platoon leader?"

"It was me…" Heifu was about to explain, but once Chen Wujiu got his answer, his face lit up with delight. Impatiently, he grabbed Heifu and started dragging him away!

"It was you — good! No need for many words. Come with me at once and show me again how you stopped the bleeding on those several wounds!"

PS: A big four-thousand-character chapter — begging for monthly tickets.

Also recommending a very famous book written by a true female author, Mythical Edition of the Three Kingdoms. Qi Yue has been writing for three years and has weathered countless tribulations, but the most terrifying was being jinxed four times by this book's author, one of Qidian's three great poison-milks, Shui Baihe. Three times nothing happened; the fourth time the poison struck and killed the book. As the saying goes, three broken limbs make a good physician, four jinxings make a poison-milk. Now it is finally my turn to repay the favor (jinx her back). Everyone, hurry over and add it to your collection, then give me the monthly tickets that should have gone to her, and help me suppress her.

(End of chapter)