Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 397 Have you heard what people say?
As the sun rose in the east and the spring breeze swept through the Liang army camp, it was another warm and peaceful day.

The Liang soldiers were eating breakfast, and their food was far superior to that of the Wei army. Thick, mushy rice porridge with mixed grain cakes would make even the Northern Dynasty's soldiers drool.

Officers even had plain porridge and steamed buns to eat, and there was even smoked meat and cured chicken as side dishes. This was a result of the more than 20 years of recuperation and development in Daliang, which led to its abundance of resources and prosperity.

At this moment, the drums sounded in the central army camp to signal assembly.

"They really know how to pick their timing." Several high-ranking officers had just sat down at the table, picked up their chopsticks, and barely taken a few bites, so they were naturally quite unhappy.

"Ignore him," someone said nonchalantly. "A chess slave who thinks he's all that."

"He still thinks he's in the Gouchen Division, but now nobody's afraid of him." The others nodded in agreement.

So the drums sounded again and again, but the soldiers remained unmoved, eating and drinking as usual. Only after they had eaten and drunk their fill did they lazily stroll together to the central camp.

By this time, the drumbeats had already sounded three times...

Upon arriving at the central camp, the generals sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat different today. The central army soldiers, all from the Gouchen Division, were menacing and stared at them as if they wanted to devour them.

"What's going on?" The generals were a little uneasy. "Could it be that Commander Chen is about to unleash his power?"

In fact, they were self-aware and knew how excessive they had gone. Let alone renowned generals like Wei Rui and Pei Sui, even under second-tier commanders like Cao Yizong and Wei Fang, they would have been much more restrained.

There was nothing they could do; Chen Qingzhi wasn't one of their own.

Of course, the generals also had something to say... We come from military families and have risked our lives for so many years, it's unreasonable for us to be controlled by a chess slave.

What does someone who plays chess know about warfare? For the safety of our brothers, we have no choice but to outwardly comply with Chen Qingzhi while secretly going against his wishes...

"Don't worry, we'll all stick together. If he plans to fight Yuan Jian alone, then he'll punish us all," the leading lieutenant encouraged the group.

"Haha, that makes sense. The law doesn't punish everyone, so what's there to be afraid of!" The group then encouraged each other, puffed out their chests and bellies, and entered the central command tent, looking as cocky as could be.

~~
In the central command tent.

Chen Qingzhi had been waiting for a long time, and he had almost finished reading the Huang Ting Jing.

Chen Zhao, clad in silver armor, stood behind him, glaring angrily at the belated generals.

"Commander Chen, is there something you need from us?" The generals were uneasy inside, but on the surface they seemed nonchalant.

"Yes." Chen Qingzhi nodded and said, "I originally wanted to announce some good news to everyone, but now I want to ask you all first, what do you consider military discipline?"

"Military discipline is military discipline, of course," the generals murmured.

"Should we abide by it or not?" Chen Qingzhi asked calmly.

"Of course we must obey," the generals whispered.

“What does ‘not quite time’ mean?” Chen Qingzhi asked again.

"This is what they call... a slow army." Someone blurted out, only to be shoved hard in the back by their companion. "Are you stupid? Just say what you're asked."

"What should we do with the 'slow army'?" Chen Qingzhi asked quietly.

"This..." The generals dared not answer.

"Is it that you don't know, or that you dare not speak?" Chen Qingzhi's cold gaze swept over the generals, and he said in a deep voice:
"Then let me speak for you—the second of the 'Seventeen Prohibitions and Fifty-Four Executions' is: 'Not responding to being called by name, failing to arrive on time, missing the appointed day, or altering the army's rules—this is called being a disobedient soldier, and those who violate this rule shall be executed!'"

Chen Qingzhi emphasized, "Do you even know that?!"

"We know..." None of the generals dared to admit they didn't know, lest new charges await them. "Knowingly committing a crime is unforgivable!" Chen Qingzhi slammed his fist on the table, his killing intent radiating, "Do you think my blade isn't sharp enough?!"

"Commander Chen, we..." At this moment, someone saw that the situation was not good and wanted to back down, but was stopped by his comrades with stern eyes.

If we are fooled by Chen Qingzhi so easily, won't we be at the mercy of this chess slave in the future?

"..." So the generals responded with silence.

"What do you mean by not speaking?" Chen Qingzhi asked, his face frosty.

"General Chen, don't make a mountain out of a molehill." His deputy general, Chang Baoye, was the son of the famous founding general Chang Yizhi. He inherited his father's title of Marquis of Yingdao County and felt that as a marquis, he had to stand up for everyone.

“The military camp is so far away, it will take everyone time to get here,” Chang Baoye argued. “We can’t just fly over as soon as Commander Chen beats the drum, can we?”

"Did I tell you to come immediately after the drumbeats sounded?" Chen Qingzhi slammed his fist on the table and demanded.
"One incense stick's time for one drumbeat, and three full drumbeats, which is the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, even if you were a turtle, you would have crawled over by now!"

"..." Chang Baoye's face turned bright red, and he couldn't say a word.

"We have to finish our meal, right?" someone muttered for him.

"You ask if people can speak?!" Chen Qingzhi roared. "Military matters are urgent, do you think I'm waiting for you to finish your meal?!"

“There’s nothing urgent…” Chang Baoye finally managed to say.

"How do you know there's no emergency?!" Chen Qingzhi sneered. "Such carelessness and negligence are a disgrace to your father!"

"You...don't insult people!" Chang Baoye's face turned red and then pale. These sons of military families were most afraid of being said such things.

Then he resorted to his signature move—straightening his neck and arrogantly declaring, "Fine, we made a mistake today, do whatever you want with us!"

"That's right, we were wrong, Commander Chen, kill us all!" The generals echoed. Anyone who backed down at this point would be talked about behind their backs by their colleagues for the rest of their lives.

Another fearless individual shouted at Chen Qingzhi, "If we're really talking about military law, you should behead yourself first!"

"Why would I want to kill myself?" Chen Qingzhi asked.

"Commander Chen himself avoids battle all day long, cowardly and afraid of the enemy. Doesn't that violate military law?" the man said audaciously.

"That's right, the brothers dare not speak out when they're angry, and they're not even allowed to have any feelings in their hearts?" Everyone quickly chimed in.

"If Commander Chen is so capable, go and cut down the Wei army outside Pengcheng. What's the use of using us to intimidate them?"

"If Commander Chen kills us, let's see who fights for you!" Of course, threats were indispensable.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. Military law stipulates 'first offenses are punished leniently,' so each of you will receive eighty lashes, and you'll be dragged out and given a proper beating!" Chen Qingzhi then threw out the tinder.

"Yes!" The guards rushed into the tent, intending to drag the generals out for execution.

"Commander Chen, have you thought this through? If you ruin the brothers, there will be no one left to fight for you." Chang Baoye was a little panicked, and threatened loudly, "The Emperor will definitely dismiss you tomorrow!"

"Expecting someone like you to fight a war?" Chen Qingzhi sneered. "Then I'll have to lose every single battle I play in the future."

"You're not counting on us, are you counting on your two thousand personal guards?" The generals sneered. "What can a few tiny men do?"

"Those tiny men, barely the size of a booger, wiped out 20,000 Wei troops last night, captured King Anle of Wei, Yuan Jian, and lifted the siege of Pengcheng." Chen Qingzhi coldly looked at the generals, raising his eyebrows triumphantly, and said, "Do you really think that without Butcher Zhang, we can't eat pigs with hair on?"

(End of this chapter)