“You persuaded Chenliu to surrender. That is a great achievement.”
A glint flashed through Zhang Jing’s eyes as he looked at the young officer.
“You deserve a substantial reward. What is your name?”
“This subordinate is Liao Hua, a native of Nan Commandery.”
Liao Hua’s face flushed with excitement as he respectfully clasped his fists.
“I formerly served under General Xu He as the commander of the Central Squad of the Right Company, Left Division.”
“Very good.”
A trace of surprise flashed across Zhang Jing’s face before he nodded in satisfaction.
“From this day forward, you are promoted to Central Army Sima.”
“As for Dian Wei, after I have settled into the government office, bring him to see me.”
“This subordinate obeys!” Liao Hua was overjoyed.
Dropping to one knee, he clasped his fists and declared respectfully:
“Liao Hua is willing to die for my lord!”
The surrounding Qihuo soldiers looked on with envy.
Liao Hua appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old.
Yet because he had persuaded Chenliu to surrender, he had been promoted three ranks in one stroke.
Such luck was truly rare.
“I have high hopes for you.” Zhang Jing nodded slightly.
“Go make the necessary arrangements. Chenliu has only just been secured. We must not let our guard down.”
“Yes, my lord!” Liao Hua responded enthusiastically.
“Little brother, what did your lord say?”
After Zhang Jing had departed, Dian Wei walked over to Liao Hua and asked:
“Did he make me a general?”
“Old Dian, that’s not how things work in the Qihuo Army.”
Liao Hua rolled his eyes.
After spending a short time together, he had already gotten a good sense of Dian Wei’s personality.
Since Dian Wei had voluntarily surrendered, he wasn’t being kept under guard.
“Then what do you go by?” Dian Wei scratched his head.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“Do you rank people by who has the strongest fists?”
“Cough, cough.” Liao Hua coughed awkwardly.
“Strength certainly counts.”
“But what I mean is that in the Qihuo Army, only the original Yellow Turban commanders are called generals.”
“Below them are Army Simas.”
“They command about twenty-five hundred men.”
“Then there are Military Marquises, who command five hundred…”
“So that’s how it is.” Dian Wei nodded in understanding.
“I’m not greedy.”
“I think Army Sima sounds pretty good.”
Previously, he had been a squad leader, commanding fifty men.
Then, for nearly two days, he had served as a Military Marquis, commanding two hundred men.
In Dian Wei’s view, if he joined the Qihuo Army, an Army Sima position would suit his status.
“Well…” Liao Hua was somewhat speechless.
After sizing Dian Wei up for a moment, he said:
“Old Dian, you’re a surrendered officer.”
“Wanting to become an Army Sima the moment you join won’t be easy.”
“Though if you truly possess extraordinary abilities, it’s possible.”
As for suspecting Dian Wei’s loyalty, Liao Hua had no doubts whatsoever.
The man’s outlaw aura was even stronger than that of many former Yellow Turban commanders.
He was simply a straightforward brute who loved and hated openly.
“Extraordinary abilities?”
Dian Wei thought for a moment before replying hesitantly:
“I’m very strong.”
“My martial skills aren’t bad either.”
“Ordinarily, even eighty or a hundred men couldn’t get near me.”
“Does that count as extraordinary?”
“Holy—are you serious?” Liao Hua was stunned.
Looking at Dian Wei again, he felt a trace of awe.
Was this guy really that formidable?
“Why would I lie to you?” Dian Wei replied matter-of-factly.
“By the way, you still haven’t told me.”
“How exactly is your lord planning to arrange things for me?”
“The lord said—”
Liao Hua gave Dian Wei a long look.
“Chenliu has only just been secured tonight.”
“We need to remain on high alert, and there are many matters to handle.”
“For now, come with me to the camp.”
“The lord will meet you personally tomorrow.”
“That makes sense.” Dian Wei nodded in agreement.
“I surrendered voluntarily.”
“No matter what, he ought to meet me in person.”
“Don’t worry, Brother Liao.”
“From now on, Old Dian will look after you.”
“I’ll make sure you live well and eat well.”
“…”
Liao Hua fell silent.
That night, Dian Wei stared at the bowl of hot porridge before him.
His face immediately darkened.
Looking at Liao Hua, he asked:
“Brother Liao, this is what your lord feeds you?”
At this point, Dian Wei viewed Zhang Jing and the Qihuo commanders no differently from the corrupt officials he had known before.
“Enough.”
Seeing Dian Wei’s expression, Liao Hua immediately understood what he was thinking.
He quickly finished his bowl of porridge, stood up, and said:
“Come on.”
“I’ll take you to meet the lord.”
“You can see for yourself whether the lord’s food is any different from ours.”
“Your lord eats this too?”
Now it was Dian Wei’s turn to be shocked.
His eyes widened with disbelief.
“Fine.”
“I’ll go see for myself.”
“But if what you’re saying is a lie, Brother Liao, then I, Dian Wei, will never serve your lord.”
“Let’s go.” Liao Hua waved his hand and led the way.
“Actually, we don’t eat porridge every meal while on campaign.”
“Sometimes we have dry millet rations as well.”
“It’s just that there are no battles in Yan Province right now.”
“So if we can save a little, the army saves a little.”
“Old Dian may not know this, but when the old commander passed away, our grain supplies…”
Along the way, Liao Hua told Dian Wei everything he had seen and experienced.
By the time they neared the government office, the anger on Dian Wei’s face had long since disappeared, replaced only by curiosity.
He truly wanted to know.
Was the lord that Liao Hua spoke of really as extraordinary as he claimed?
If so, then he would indeed be a benevolent ruler worthy of serving.
…………….
Inside the main hall of the prefectural residence.
Zhang Jing was currently bent over his desk, busy handling official affairs.
A bowl of hot porridge sat beside him, still giving off a faint wisp of steam, indicating that it had been there for quite some time.
“Reporting to my lord.”
A guard entered and respectfully cupped his fists.
“Military Officer Liao Hua has arrived with the surrendered general Dian Wei and requests an audience.”
“Let them enter.”
Zhang Jing frowned slightly upon hearing this.
He glanced outside at the night sky and nodded.
“Understood.”
The guard respectfully withdrew.
“So late already…”
Knowing that Dian Wei had come, Zhang Jing no longer felt like continuing his paperwork.
After all, this man was not someone to be underestimated.
He had originally expected Dian Wei to visit the next day.
“This subordinate, Liao Hua, greets my lord.”
As Zhang Jing was organizing documents, Liao Hua entered with Dian Wei.
“Mhm.” Zhang Jing nodded slightly and looked past Liao Hua.
There stood a burly giant of a man, like an enormous bear.
“You must be Dian Wei of Chenliu?”
“Chenliu’s Dian Wei greets the General.”
Dian Wei glanced at the bowl of porridge in front of Zhang Jing, then at the official documents in his hands, before respectfully saluting him.
“Mhm, I know of you.”
Zhang Jing put away the documents and said:
“Dian the Hero is a native of Jiwu County. In the past, you avenged a friend by slaughtering a county magistrate’s entire household. More than a hundred soldiers under the magistrate’s command did not dare approach you.”
“Afterward, you vanished without a trace.”
“Among the common folk and the jianghu, your deed has become something of a legendary tale. To meet Commander Dian today fills me with great joy.”
“Huh?”
Upon hearing this, Liao Hua looked at Dian Wei again, his expression becoming somewhat strange.
Although his lord had put it in flattering terms, the meaning was clear enough:
Dian Wei was actually a wanted fugitive for murder.
“General has actually heard of me?”
Dian Wei’s face lit up with delight.
The way he looked at Zhang Jing now carried a trace of approval and recognition.
“Of course.”
Zhang Jing took a sip of the now-warm porridge and continued:
“The imperial court is corrupt, and because of that corruption, greedy officials and petty tyrants run rampant across the land, oppressing innocent people.”
“What you did, Warrior Dian, was immensely satisfying.”
“You helped ordinary people vent their resentment and anger.”
“Such a deed.”
“Such a hero.”
“How could I, Zhang Jing, possibly not know of you?”
— The end of the Chapter–
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