Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

Inside the camp.

Wu Zimian is counting money.

He took the silver ingots out of the box one by one and laid them out on the table.

His fingers slid across the smooth surface of the ingot, and he noticed that his hands were sweaty. He wiped them on his robe and then picked up the next ingot.

Looking at the piles of silver in front of him, he couldn't hide the greed in his eyes.

Then he started counting.

"one two three,"

As he counted, his finger trembled.

The silver slipped from my fingers, bouncing and tapping on the table.

Wu Zimian quickly reached out and pressed it down, then swiped it aside and continued counting.

"Twenty-seven, twenty-eight..."

The sound grew muffled with each repetition, but finally he clenched his fist suddenly.

These are all real things that end up in my pocket; they're all money!

But I should be happy, so why can't I be happy?

Wu Zimian stood up, leaning on the table, walked around to the tent pillar, and grabbed it tightly with his knuckles.

Zhang Mengjing is dead.

He muttered to himself, his expression full of disbelief.

"How could he have died?"

When he first started withholding rations, he never imagined things would escalate to this point.

It's just a little less food.

Even if the soldiers below go hungry for a few meals, it won't cause any major trouble.

"If I had taken less," he said, stopping mid-sentence, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "what difference would it have made? Those inhuman bastards would still have run away, wouldn't they?"

Zhang Mengjing is dead.

So many soldiers deserted from his own ranks.

This is no longer as simple as losing a few pounds of grain or a few soldiers.

If anyone investigates—no, they definitely will—I'm finished.

If the imperial court investigates, how should I answer?

A series of thoughts crowded into Wu Zimian's mind, causing beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.

"You idiots, why are you running away!" Wu Zimian gritted his teeth and said, "You think you'll starve to death just because you've missed a few meals? I've been eating sand in this border town for years, and I've never been short of food! You think you're so precious!"

He sighed, looking frustrated: "What's the use of saying all this now? Why couldn't I have held back back then?"

Wu Zimian gripped the tent pillar, remaining silent for a long time. Then he looked at the silver on the table, walked back to sit down, and took out some more silver from the box.

The cool touch of the silver calmed him down a bit.

"Sigh, how could he have died?" Wu Zimian murmured again.

Zhang Mengjing is not dead; there are still people covering up these things for him.

But now, that's out of the question.

Wu Zimian closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

This time, it seems that I might have really gone a little too far.

But now they've taken the money and run away.

He even drove his superiors to their deaths, resulting in a fatality.

Now that you want to stop, is it too late?

Wu Zimian opened his eyes and looked at the table full of silver coins, his eyes filled with a mixture of greed and fear.

But his hands still involuntarily gathered all the silver in front of him.

"There's always a way." He felt a pang of regret. "As long as we still have this money, we can use it to bribe the higher-ups. At most, it'll cost a little more, but it won't cause any problems."

"Count the money first, then we'll talk."

"They can always find a way."

He heard footsteps outside, and through the cowhide curtain, a voice came: "Sir, the lower official has just finished compiling the grain registers and has something to report."

Wu Zimian heard it.

But his eyes were still fixed on the silver on the table, and he was still counting it on his fingers.

The person outside waited a moment, but received no response, so they tentatively asked again, "Sir?"

Wu Zimian: "Come in."

The tent flap was lifted, and a civil official in charge of military documents walked in.

He bowed respectfully, keeping his eyes down and not daring to look around.

But the table was covered with gold and silver, laid out so openly and brightly that even if you didn't look at it, you couldn't avoid it out of the corner of your eye.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

"Yes, speak, what is it?"

Even when people came in, Wu Zimian ignored them, keeping his head down and not bothering to hide anything, and then casually counted the money.

"Several military merits have been delivered today. They have been sorted out and are presented for your review, sir."

"Military merits?"

Wu Zimian gave a casual reply, not even bothering to lift his head.

"Just put it there."

"One of them is rather special."

Wu Zimian asked casually, "Oh, how is it special?"

"It was reported by a captain of a Gansu loyalist army. They said that they were chased by Jurchen cavalry on the way and almost all of them died. A group of our people came to help and killed dozens of Jurchen cavalry."

Wu Zimian frowned slightly: "Weren't our men supposed to be resting and reorganizing in the camp these past few days? How come some of them have run away?"

"Which battalion are you from? Do you know their unit number?"

"Sir, I have a number."

Wu Zimian casually replied, "Read it."

The civil official announced the unit number.

"..."

Wu Zimian stopped counting the silver.

Give me the booklet.

Wu Zimian took the military merit book handed to him by the civil official.

They then pulled out the military registers and compared the two records.

That's right, this unit number is indeed one of his own.

But hasn't this team already disbanded?

So many people deserted from the army in January, and this battalion has also disappeared without a trace.

But now, their unit numbers have appeared on the military merit list.

Wu Zimian was completely confused.

"After these guys ran away, they actually got back together. What's going on? What are they after?"

But Wu Zimian still didn't care much.

Who cares? When you're sleepy, someone brings you a pillow.

Even a little bit helps.

It would be even better if these people could regroup and even go on to kill the Jurchens.

Wu Zimian casually tossed the military merit book onto the table.

"Since they are soldiers under my command, any merit they achieve will naturally be attributed to my Yansui Army."

Wu Zimian finished his work and began counting the money.

The ignored official was not annoyed; he was used to it. He casually said, "There is some more information about this unit."

"explain."

"It seems this isn't the first time this group has encountered the Jurchens. We've heard from other loyalist groups that these people have rescued many Ming soldiers along the way."

"It is said that many Jurchen squads were killed."

Wu Zimian put down the silver: "How much exactly?"

"It's still being verified, but conservatively, at least ten scouting teams have been rescued."

"I heard that after they killed the Jurchens, they never took their heads."

Wu Zimian was stunned: "If we don't take the head, aren't we just giving away military merit to others? What would they gain from that?"

"They said they hated the Jurchens so much that they only thought about killing them, and didn't care much about military merits."

Wu Zimian's eye twitched, and he slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"Damn it, if they don't want it, I'll take it!"

Just now I was thinking, "Every little bit helps."

But this squad, which was left to roam freely for some unknown reason, seems to have accumulated quite a few military achievements!

Isn't this just free food being offered to us?

Wu Zimian spoke urgently.

"Go and find out which of the loyalist armies had seen them before."

"Search them one by one."

"Write down everything for me: who they saved, how many Jurchens they killed, where they killed them, and when they killed them."

"Especially those who witnessed it firsthand, get me to explain things clearly."

"These military achievements cannot be overlooked; they fought against the Jurchens and flew under the banner of Yansui."

"The credit for this achievement was made by the people of Yansui, so it should naturally be attributed to the Yansui Army."

He spoke with absolute certainty.

"Whether they want it or not is their business. I cannot stand by and watch military merits go to waste."

"Once we've sorted out and reported all the military achievements, then find this team for me."