Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 105 To Win, Not to Lose

The first "drill" after the establishment of Shi Shouxin's hereditary army ended in a crushing defeat.

According to military orders, the army drums will sound two hundred times, and the soldiers must line up in formation on the drill ground. The generals and deputy generals of each army must wait in the central command tent to be mustered.

Anyone who fails to arrive after two hundred drumbeats will be dealt with according to military law, with the most serious offenses punishable by immediate execution.

However, after the two hundred drumbeats, a third of the soldiers were still absent! Not only was Shi Shouxin disgusted, but even Xi Zuo and the others felt utterly humiliated and wished they could just chop up those lazy recruits.

If even assembling on time cannot be completed, then the remaining drills are out of the question.

Shi Shouxin, with a stern face, ordered the troops to disperse and instructed his commanders to take back the new recruits who had not arrived on time. Then, Meng Guan, with his personal guards, supervised these men to enforce military law on the new recruits who had violated the rules: ten strokes of the military rod for each soldier.

Then there are the junior officers, who, regardless of whether they have violated military law, will receive an additional five strokes of the cane if anyone in their rank violates it.

From now on, this principle will apply: if a soldier makes a mistake, the junior officer in charge of him will also be punished.

After the event, Shi Shouxin returned to his quarters and refined ten military rules to make them easier for the new recruits to remember, intending to issue them the next day.

Article 1: All actions must be carried out in accordance with orders, and subordinates must obey superiors.

Article 2: Merit shall be rewarded and wrongdoing shall be punished.

Article 3: Advance when the drums are beaten, retreat when the gongs are sounded; the central army flag serves as the command.

Article 4: Any spoils seized shall be confiscated and handed over to the public; anyone who keeps them shall be executed.

Article 5: The troops shall assemble in the central army within two hundred drumbeats; those who fail to arrive shall be beaten to death.

Article 6: Anyone who makes a rash move while in formation shall be executed.

Article 7: Officers shall sleep and eat with soldiers; those who violate this rule shall be forbidden from eating for three days.

Article 8: Anyone who participates in a private fight, regardless of the reason, shall be punished.

Article 9: Without orders, no one may loot civilian homes or clear battlefields.

Article 10: No noise is allowed in the military.

If there were only these ten military regulations, there would inevitably be many omissions in their implementation. Or rather, there are many situations in the military that these ten regulations cannot handle.

The military laws currently enforced in the Wei army are extremely detailed, so much so that even Shi Shouxin himself could not memorize them all. Often, these laws exist only in theory; their actual implementation depends on which general is leading the troops.

Shi Shouxin decided to take a different approach, only requiring the new recruits to memorize these ten military rules. He reasoned that there were likely few literate people among the retainers of these local wealthy families in Hanzhong, and they wouldn't be able to memorize overly complex military regulations.

Therefore, the only option is to memorize a portion first and then gradually improve it by "patching" later.

Adapting to local conditions and teaching according to aptitude, Shi Shouxin felt that this approach should be reliable.

After writing the Ten Articles of Military Law, Shi Shouxin's mood finally improved. He then continued to count the amount of grain and supplies in the signing room, write down the handover procedures for logistics supplies, and the distribution system for military property, working himself to the bone.

The army was newly established, and it was impossible to rely on local tyrants from Hanzhong like Xi Zuo to be good at leading troops. Moreover, the military laws in the Cao Wei army were outdated in many ways; to put it bluntly, there was too much looting and the military discipline was very poor.

Morale is often maintained by looting.

However, the laws, logistics systems, and official positions in an army are not established overnight, nor do they exist naturally.

It can only be built up slowly, like stacking building blocks.

In this process, Shi Shouxin was able to firmly control the military power of this army, and grasp the power of personnel appointment and dismissal, financial allocation, and combat command.

The busy work lasted until evening, and Shi Shouxin, feeling dizzy from writing, had to stop and close his eyes to rest. As he massaged his temples, he truly understood the difficulty of starting a business.

Everything a prominent family possesses is the result of generations of accumulation. For Shi Shouxin to compete with them, diligence is an essential foundation.

Suddenly, Meng Guan's voice came from outside the signing room, saying that someone was requesting an audience.

Shi Shouxin responded, and Meng Guan then led a burly military officer into the signing room. It was none other than Qiu Jian, Zhong Hui's trusted general!
"What wind has blown General Qiu here? He truly brings honor to my humble abode!"

Shi Shouxin quickly stepped forward and invited Qiu Jian to sit down. As the captain of the personal guards and the cavalry captain, Meng Guan stood motionless beside him, keeping his head down and remaining silent.

Qiu Jian glanced at him thoughtfully, as if he understood what Shi Shouxin meant.

However, he didn't care much about it. He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it directly to Shi Shouxin, saying, "The Grand Commander's order is for your troops to go to Hanshou immediately and prepare to follow the Grand Commander through Jiange into Shu."

"Entering Shu?"

Shi Shouxin looked puzzled. He took the letter, which contained only one sentence: that Shi Shouxin should bring his troops to Hanshou, without saying anything else.

"Yes, Deng Ai's army has already captured Chengdu, Liu Shan has submitted a letter of surrender, and the Shu Kingdom is doomed."

Qiu Jian said with a touch of emotion.

He had once been a general in the Northwest Army, and had fought against the Shu army for a long time, so he knew the strength of the Shu army well. Now, hearing that the Shu Kingdom had actually fallen, Qiu Jian also felt a sense of emptiness.

And unease.

The cunning rabbit is dead, so shouldn't the lackey be thrown into the pot and stewed too?

This thought grew in my mind, but I couldn't tell anyone else.

"Did Deng Ai finally succeed?"

Shi Shouxin nodded slightly, his tone showing no surprise.

"Understood. I will lead my troops to Hanshou tomorrow and await the Grand Commander's orders."

Shi Shouxin immediately agreed without haggling.

"Liu Qin's troops can remain stationed at Baishui Pass, but the new army that Supervisor Shi just gathered must come to Hanshou. Before I left, the Grand Commander specifically instructed me to make sure to deliver this message."

Qiu Jian said in a deep voice, offering a reminder.

This kind of discrimination in the military is now blatant, and many people feel there is no need to hide it anymore.

The army marched into Sichuan not to achieve great deeds, but to make a fortune and return home for the New Year. Those "unrelated people" didn't need to go, right?

There's only so much wealth; how can it be divided among too many people?
Zhong Hui probably meant that.

"Understood. I will arrange for Liu Qin's troops to garrison Baishui Pass. After all, the world is not at peace, and it is very necessary to leave some men to guard against bandits."

Shi Shouxin echoed Qiu Jian's words without raising any objections. It should be noted that Liu Qin's army was now under his command; Zhong Hui's single military order had left Liu Qin's troops stationed to guard the pass.

It can be described as both domineering and unreasonable.

"Very well. The Grand Commander's orders have been delivered. I shall take my leave now."

Qiu Jian bowed to Shi Shouxin, his face relaxed. Before coming, he had been worried that Shi Shouxin would try to negotiate or become emotional. If that happened, he, as the messenger, would be caught in the middle and in a very difficult position.

Now is the perfect time. Shi Shouxin will accept Zhong Hui's military orders without question, and Qiu Jian will be able to report back to Zhong Hui after returning to Hanshou.

Shi Shouxin escorted Qiu Jian out of Baishui Pass, giving him ample face. Only after Qiu Jian had gone far away did Shi Shouxin arrive at Liu Qin's camp and reveal Zhong Hui's transfer order, as well as the Grand Commander's explicit requirement for Liu Qin to guard Baishui Pass, without holding back a single detail.

After he finished speaking, Liu Qin and his deputy Wang Jian both looked angry, but they did not explode because of Shi Shouxin.

"The troops of Weixing County have always been looked down upon by the imperial court. Zhong Hui refused to write down the military orders for fear of giving others ammunition to criticize him."

This scoundrel deserves to be punished!

Liu Qin slammed his fist on the table and said angrily.

Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents.

Zhong Hui's refusal to allow the Wei Xing Commandery troops to enter Shu was actually a sign of his disdain and distrust of Liu Qin and his associates. Therefore, they couldn't even get a ticket to this grand event of entering Shu; they could only watch from the outside.

Although they had previously plundered the Yang family of Nanzheng under Shi Shouxin's leadership.

However, how could the wealth of a local tycoon family in Hanzhong compare to that of the prosperous Chengdu Plain?

Zhong Hui's actions this time were truly outrageous. Even Liu Qin, who had always been very patient, was finally about to lose his temper!
"Shi told you not to plunder the local areas after you entered Shu, but you can still get some rewards."

If we can't enter Sichuan, we won't get anything; there's nothing we can do about it.

Shi Shouxin sighed, feeling sorry for the situation and also somewhat inclined to stir up trouble.

"Now that things have come to this, Liu has no choice but to accept his fate, as he can't fight city hall with his elbow."

Liu Qin shook his head and sighed silently.

"By the way, my hereditary army has an authorized strength of 5,000 men, but only 2,500 soldiers actually perform the duties."

Why don't General Liu send two thousand soldiers to serve under my command temporarily? Zhong Hui won't be able to tell anyway.

After entering Shu, whether they plunder or collect rewards based on the number of people killed, they will not return empty-handed.

General Wang leads the troops, accompanying the army. General Liu guards Baishui Pass to fulfill Zhong Hui's orders. Wouldn't this be a win-win situation?

Shi Shouxin smiled and offered a new suggestion.

It's simple in a way: just mix black sand with white sand. Then, put on a military uniform, and nobody can tell which is which!
This avoided the predicament of the Weixing County troops being left to starve at Baishui Pass.

As for what Shi Shouxin intended to do after entering Shu, Liu Qin had some guesses, but he pretended not to know anything.

"That's fine then, thank you, Supervisor Shi."

Liu Qin and Wang Jian bowed to him.

"Generals, you needn't stand on ceremony. We'll be working together closely soon."

Shi Shouxin said humbly, secretly relieved.

Zhong Hui's pace is quickening, and who knows what will happen once he arrives in Chengdu?

We'll just have to see how things go when the time comes. Anyway, he has over five thousand soldiers under his command, so they should be able to get some work done.

In ancient times, without telephones, telegraphs, and the internet, the timeliness of information was severely limited. Often, it was a matter of "whatever you say is what it is."

A man who goes to his hometown to do business elsewhere may return home three years later, having already remarried and started a family. His original wife back home may not even know about this; she can only hear about it from him after he returns.

This is a classic case of "whatever you say goes".

The same was true of the gamble in entering Shu. Whether it was murder and arson or mutual slaughter in Shu, what Sima Zhao ultimately heard was the message passed on to him by the "final victor".

So what you did isn't important; what matters is surviving and becoming a winner.

……

After calming Liu Qin down, Shi Shouxin returned to the signing room. As soon as he opened the door, he was startled to see a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl sitting on his couch, looking at him with a resentful expression.

In the dim light, the figure looked like a ghost doll, which startled Shi Shouxin.

"who are you?"

Shi Shouxin asked in confusion.

The little girl seemed unable to speak, but instead took out a piece of silk from her sleeve, on which a poem was written:

My heart, clear and pure, reflects the heavens; I ride the azure clouds, treading upon jade peaks. The phoenix dances, the stars shift, the wind carries the tinkling of jade pendants, the moonlight chills.

This scene left Shi Shouxin both amused and exasperated.

Damn it, you wrote an acrostic poem, don't you know my reading habits? I read it horizontally, not vertically.
I am Xiangfeng! She is Zhao Xiangfeng! Zhao Lun's younger sister!

"Are you Zhao Xiangfeng?"

Shi Shouxin asked softly, not because the woman's appearance was particularly ferocious, but because her physique seemed... Could it be that Zhao Lun's mother was raped by a weak scholar-mink back then?

The physical differences between the brother and sister are too great!
"I've come to serve you in bed tonight."

Zhao Xiangfeng looked dissatisfied and spoke hesitantly, as if he had made a great decision.

This child is completely underdeveloped; he's a real idiot! No wonder Zhao Lun and Li Liang both looked so troubled that day.

Even disregarding this girl's age, just looking at her figure makes it impossible to make a move!
"Go back and rest."

Shi Shouxin ignored her and simply lay down on the couch.

He was too tired today to care at all whether there was a little girl beside his bed. In the blink of an eye, Shi Shouxin was snoring softly, and he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Zhao Xiangfeng glanced at the acrostic poem she had prepared for so long, then at the sleeping Shi Shouxin, and was so angry that he almost cursed. He stomped his foot and left the signing room.

Just as he stepped out, he bumped right into Zhao Lun, who was waiting outside. Enraged, Zhao Xiangfeng punched Zhao Lun hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling on the ground groaning like a shrimp.

"You didn't give yourself away, so you don't have to take it out on me, do you?"

Zhao Lun got up from the ground and sighed.

My little sister may be young and small, but she's incredibly strong!
Zhao Lun thought Shi Shouxin was quite a good match for him; it would be fine for him to be a little follower and bodyguard by his side.

(End of this chapter)