Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 108 Wear small shoes

Before nightfall, Shi Shouxin led his troops to the gates of Hanshou (also known as Jiameng Pass). At this moment, the gates were open, and many troops dressed in Wei army uniforms were coming and going, creating a surprisingly lively scene.

Shi Shouxin sent men to inquire and learned that these people were transporting grain supplies from the rear to Hanshou. Not only did they have to travel under cover of night, but Zhong Hui had also set a very tight return date. If the grain transport was delayed, the consequences would be severe!
Shi Shouxin led his horse through the city wall of Hanshou, muttering to himself:
"More than 100,000 troops are about to enter Sichuan. We can procure food and supplies on the spot."

Logically, the amount of grain that needs to be transported should be greatly reduced, so why is there an urgency to transport the grain?
Zhong Hui kept sending people to transport grain from Hanzhong. What was he planning?

This incident gave Shi Shouxin a bad feeling, because something unusual must be going on!

Considering Zhong Hui's long-standing plans, it seems that what he really wants to do is already obvious.

But Shi Shouxin couldn't talk about this with anyone else; he could only ponder it in secret and deal with it discreetly.

When Shi Shouxin arrived in Hanshou with an army of several thousand men, it was clear that he could not hide his presence.

Upon entering Hanshou territory, Zhong Hui arranged for Li Fu to lead the way, guiding this group of soldiers, composed of local tyrants from Hanzhong, to an empty camp.

Seeing that Li Fu's expression was somewhat unpleasant, Shi Shouxin casually asked, "Who was stationed at this camp before?"

"It's Hu Lie's main force. His troops have already passed through Jiange, probably to pursue the remnants of the Shu army."

Li Fu said it casually, appearing absent-minded.

"General Li, is something on your mind?"

Shi Shouxin asked in confusion, unsure if Li Fu had any issues with him, as it shouldn't be that bad.

Upon hearing this, Li Fu pulled Shi Shouxin to a secluded spot where no one was around, and he sighed deeply, pouring out his grievances:
"We have over 100,000 men, but we've been stuck outside Jiang Ge, unable to defeat Jiang Wei. Now that the Shu army has retreated, it was Jiang Wei who retreated voluntarily, not because of our victory."

To outsiders, aren't we practically useless? Right here outside Jian Ge, we watched as Deng Ai secretly crossed Yinping and marched all the way to Chengdu, forcing Liu Shan to surrender.

When we return in triumph, how will our names be recorded in the register of merit? Compared to Deng Ai, what are we?

Li Fu was, after all, a deputy general who had served under Sima Yi, and his official rank and seniority were evident, so he naturally spoke very subtly.

But the meaning was expressed very clearly.

Deng Ai alone performed all the scenes they were supposed to act out. What about the other actors who hadn't even had a chance to showcase their skills on stage? Were they just supposed to go home, wash up, and go to sleep?
A person's reputation matters. What will others say about this afterward?
Li Fu is now full of dissatisfaction with Deng Ai, and of course, he also has some complaints about Zhong Hui.

"Life is full of disappointments, so General Li shouldn't think too much about it."

The saying goes, "Wealth and peace are the best blessings; even if wealth and peace are unattainable, returning home safely is still a good fortune."

Shi Shouxin offered a word of advice.

Li Fu glanced at him with some surprise, and inexplicably found the words of this Supervisor Shi quite pleasant to hear.

"Let the men handle the camp setup. You may now accompany me to see the Grand Commander."

Li Fu pointed to the Governor's Mansion not far away.

This place was originally Liu Bei's "temporary palace," which was much more impressive than the government office at Baishui Pass.

Before long, Li Fu led Shi Shouxin into the heavily guarded Governor's Mansion, a place practically patrolled by sentries every few steps. It was unclear what had happened, but Zhong Hui's security level had been drastically increased.

It should be noted that although Zhong Hui was arrogant, he had previously maintained a low profile and often worked in his command tent.

Upon reaching the study door, Li Fu took his leave. Before leaving, he pointed to the study door, indicating that Shi Shouxin should go in himself.

"Supervisor Shi, please come in. The Grand Commander has been waiting for a long time."

Qiu Jian, who served as the captain of Zhong Hui's personal guards, saw Shi Shouxin arrive and quickly went up to greet him, leading him into the study.

Shi Shouxin secretly complained to himself: Zhong Hui is really putting on airs now. Ordinary people can't even see him. If they want to see him, they have to go through several formalities. He's acting like an emperor!

By the way, the emperor?
Shi Shouxin was suddenly startled, as if he had realized something.

He followed Qiu Jian discreetly, and upon meeting him, he noticed that Zhong Hui was beaming with pride. He gently waved to Qiu Jian, who obediently left the study, leaving Shi Shouxin to have a private conversation with Zhong Hui.

"sit down."

Zhong Hui pointed to the soft cushion opposite the table in front of him.

After Shi Shouxin sat down, Zhong Hui smiled and poured Shi Shouxin a glass of wine, and then poured one for himself.

"You delivered the military rations very timely this time. If it weren't for you delivering this batch, our army would have run out of food."

Zhong Hui raised his wine glass, and Shi Shouxin had no choice but to raise his glass in return. The two of them drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp. Then Zhong Hui looked intently at Shi Shouxin, waiting for him to speak.

"Has the imperial court blocked the grain supply route?"

Shi Shouxin asked in a deep voice, his expression slightly changing.

"Indeed, Yang Hu wrote me a letter saying that now that the Shu Kingdom has surrendered, there is no need for so many troops to enter the Shu territory, and naturally there is no need to supply so much food."

I replied that the people of Shu were not yet loyal, and entering Shu might lead to internal strife; it would be better to have more troops. Therefore, not only should provisions be sent, but the quantity should not be less than before!

Zhong Hui snorted coldly, seemingly extremely dissatisfied with Yang Hu making things difficult for him.

Shi Shouxin thought to himself: Yang Hu is a cautious man, how could he possibly make things difficult for Zhong Hui? On the surface, it seems that Yang Hu is delivering the message, but in reality, he is just acting as Sima Zhao's mouthpiece.

Sima Zhao's meaning was simple: even before the war, the Shu Kingdom couldn't muster a full 100,000 troops. Now that they had surrendered, their weapons were stored away, and their horses were at rest; they were no longer capable of resisting. So what was the point of bringing over 100,000 troops into Shu?
To be fair, Sima Zhao's question makes sense! If you don't withdraw your troops after the battle is over, are you planning to rebel?

"Grand Commander, does this scoundrel Sima Zhao have any doubts about Empress Dowager Guo's dying wish?"

Shi Shouxin asked in a low voice.

Zhong Hui was feigning ignorance, so he had no choice but to play along. As for the Empress Dowager Guo's dying wish, only a fool would believe that.

"I think so too, but it doesn't matter what that scoundrel Sima Zhao thinks, let him be."

Zhong Hui waved his hand gently, indicating that there was no need to elaborate further, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

"By the way, are the soldiers you recruited in Hanzhong this time reliable?" Zhong Hui changed the subject and asked.

Shi Shouxin hesitated for a moment, then nodded with great certainty and said, "They are very reliable. In any case, they could not possibly be mixed up with Hu Lie and his ilk. If anything changes, they can still be relied upon."

That's the truth.

In fact, Zhong Hui didn't really trust those local tycoons in Hanzhong to be loyal and work for him.

On the other hand, if those people don't obey Hu Lie and Wei Guan's orders, wouldn't that be equivalent to them standing on our side?
As long as they don't side with the enemy, they are allies worth trying to win over. Having them by your side is much safer than having them among the wolves of the Wei army.

"Tomorrow I will move my command tent to your army, including my personal guard. Is that alright?"

Zhong Hui asked.

Upon hearing this, Shi Shouxin felt like vomiting blood!

By moving so openly, aren't you just making your distrust obvious? What are generals like Li Fu, who haven't clearly chosen sides, supposed to think?
Shi Shouxin quickly tried to dissuade him:

"Grand Commander, this move is highly inappropriate. I believe it is best for you not to relocate your command tent."

Such a high-profile move of the tent will surely alert Hu Lie and his men, who may immediately launch an attack.

My subordinate troops are currently inconspicuous. They remain hidden in the shadows, making it easier for them to serve the Grand Commander in the future.

If you move your command tent to one of my troops, wouldn't everyone be watching me? How can I work for you then?
This is a very important matter; please think it over carefully!

That made sense, and Zhong Hui nodded slightly, seemingly convinced. Actually, he had just said it casually; if he were to actually do it, he would hesitate again and again.

"That's fine then. Your unit will be responsible for transporting grain right next to the central army, so you won't attract attention."

Of course, I will allocate all the mules and horses used for transporting grain in the army to you. Then, I will also give you the authority to distribute the military rations.

Do you understand what I mean?

Zhong Hui chuckled coldly. Of course, he wasn't laughing at Shi Shouxin, but at everyone else.

Those who couldn't hold back any longer and started openly opposing him!

After Liu Shan, the emperor of Shu, submitted his surrender to Deng Ai, the respect that Zhong Hui's generals had for him disappeared at a visible speed.

Why is this? The reason is simple: the Shu Kingdom surrendered, so there was no need to fight anymore!

Many of the Grand Commander's powers were "born from war." When there was no war, he could not find a reason to kill a general in the army.

If there is no war, then the right to distribute the spoils of war also disappears automatically.

If they no longer have the right to distribute spoils of war, why should the generals in the army still indulge Zhong Hui?
You are the Grand Commander, you are very capable, but the war is over!

What are you trying to prove?

Zhong Hui was also very helpless about this. Therefore, his hatred for Deng Ai grew stronger day by day.

"The Grand Commander means that if anyone respects him, then when distributing provisions, his troops will be given some special consideration, right?"

Hearing Shi Shouxin say this, Zhong Hui nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's natural. If there are soldiers in the army who obey my orders, then they should be given priority in being given provisions. It's only human nature."

Zhong Hui's little trick was perfectly understood by Shi Shouxin.

As for his recruitment of local tyrants' hereditary military retainers in Hanzhong, Zhong Hui didn't think it was worth pursuing.

Zhong Hui is now targeting people, not the issue at hand.

Even if you do the right thing, it's useless if you're not one of his people.

"The army will set off tomorrow and enter Jiange."

You can stay in Jiange for a while and arrange for the provisions to be stored in the granary.

After you've finished these things, come to Fucheng and meet me there.

As for the authority to distribute rations in the army, I will issue you a military order; there is no need to create new official positions.

Zhong Hui gave Shi Shouxin a very important order: to take on the additional responsibility of distributing the army's provisions!
It can be said that he was given a very important role.

However, Shi Shouxin did not forget the famous scene of Prime Minister Cao "borrowing a head for use".

Clearly, Zhong Hui is now giving him important responsibilities, but he has also secretly set a trap for him. If he disobeys Zhong Hui's orders, the blame for "embezzling grain supplies" will immediately be placed on Shi Shouxin's head.

Whether he can keep his head at that time is another matter entirely.

"Understood, this subordinate will certainly carry out the tasks assigned by the Grand Commander well."

Shi Shouxin bowed to Zhong Hui and said.

Zhong Hui waved his hand gently, indicating that Shi Shouxin could leave.

As Shi Shouxin walked out of the governor's mansion, he suddenly remembered something.

I heard that Yang Xiu is leading an army all by herself, and now I have control over the distribution of grain and fodder. Should I... give Yang Xiu a hard time?

In terms of the distribution of provisions, could we slightly favor Yang Xiu's troops?

That's something to look forward to.

A slight smile appeared on Shi Shouxin's lips.

He's not the kind of person who waits ten years to take revenge; he takes revenge from morning till night, and he'll try to get any chance he gets!

See, here comes the opportunity!
(End of this chapter)