Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Li Ji frowned, thinking to himself, "What do you mean? Your commander has vanished without a trace, so how can you say I have no chance of winning?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Li Ji's face, Xing Caojun seized the opportunity to ask, "May I ask, has my Zhentian commander been captured by your army?"

Li Ji nodded: "Tian Chengsi is now my prisoner."

Xing Caojun laughed and said, "General Li, don't try to fool me. If we have already captured General Tian, ​​we will surely bind him in front of the battle. Even if we lose General Tian's life, we will still hang his head high. Then we will have no choice but to surrender."

He then said seriously, “Last night, Commander Li was fortunate enough to win, capturing my camp and driving away Commander Tian. However, I also gained the fortification of Weibo and still control the pontoon bridge. Now your army has the strong city of Hengshui behind you and my army defending the fortifications in front of you. Your rear is cut off. How many days can your food and fodder last? As a general of the Tianxiong Army, I naturally know how much food is stored in the camp.”

No one could store large quantities of military rations directly in the camp, as they could be burned to ashes by spies or by enemy rockets. Generally, the main camp only had enough rations for a few days, or at most ten days, with the majority stored in safer bases—for example, the rations for Weibo were in Xindu; while the rations for the Tianxiong Army were distributed in Hengshui and Xiabo County in the northeast.

Xing Caojun said, "To be honest, I have already dispatched troops to recapture Xindu City. The official and private grain reserves within the city should be no less than 500,000 hu..." In fact, he underestimated the amount. The grain from Huainan alone, bestowed by the imperial court, amounted to 600,000 shi—"enough for a year's use. If I hold this position here, Commander Li will not be able to return to Zhangnan, and Commander Tian will send reinforcements from Xiabo or Wuqiang. At that time, we will attack from both sides, and Weibo will be completely wiped out!"

"As the saying goes, one should not be overjoyed, nor should one be carried away by success. Since Commander Li has achieved such a victory, he can now give an account to the court. If you are willing to withdraw your troops here, I will hold my position and not come out, allowing Commander Li to circle around the fortress to the west and find a place to cross the river to return to his post. If you still linger and do not leave, even if I am powerless to defeat your army, with tens of thousands of troops from Chengde currently stationed in Anping, Commander Li, do you think that once you have seen the situation here, you will help whomever side?"

Actually, neither Li Ji nor Xing Caojun could clearly judge Chengde Town's allegiance, but he had to use this to intimidate Li Ji—if Li Baochen knew that your retreat was cut off and that your more than 10,000 elite troops from Weibo were now isolated, he would most likely rush to take advantage of this great opportunity. In that case, with your exhausted and starving soldiers, how could you possibly stand against Chengde's fresh troops?

He then clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general is not here to oppose Commander Li, but only to ask Commander Li to speak to me on the battlefield and explain the advantages and disadvantages. I humbly request Commander Li to reconsider."

Li Ji stared at the ordinary-looking middle-aged man for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter, pointing his whip at him: "You are mistaken. Do you think I am only here to attack Jizhou because I am ordered by the court? Do you think that as long as I win a battle and have something to report to the court, I can return home in peace? You do not know me."

Xing Caojun said in surprise, "I still need to ask you..."

Li Ji raised his voice and said loudly, "The An Lushan Rebellion nearly destroyed the nation, leaving it weak and vulnerable to foreign invasion. My wish is to lead a small army to first quell the internal strife, and then suppress the external aggression. As long as Wu Zetian's army does not submit to the rule of the emperor and continues to act as a separatist regime, preventing the soldiers of Hebei from advancing westward, the grain from Hebei from being transported westward, and the nation from uniting its millions to march westward, I will not cease hostilities! If Tian Chengsi comes, I will kill Tian Chengsi; if Li Baochen comes, I will kill Li Baochen! Even if the entire Youzhou army marches south, I will not be afraid!"

He then put down his whip, raised his lance high, and shouted, "Wei Bo army, advance!"

In fact, the two armies were still quite far apart, and the soldiers on both sides might not have been able to hear what he was saying. However, when the commander of Weibo saw him raise his lance, the drums immediately sounded, and the soldiers formed a tight square formation, shouting in unison, "Weibo is a strong army, the hero of the world," and slowly advanced.

Xing Caojun had no choice but to turn his horse and return to camp. His subordinates asked him, "Should we defend the fortifications?" He shook his head and said, "We might as well fight a battle first. If we can blunt their momentum, we can still defend the fortifications. Otherwise, I'm afraid we don't have much of a chance of winning." He also ordered the drums to be beaten and the troops to advance.

However, it was obvious that the Tianxiong Army's formation was far less orderly than that of the Weibo Army, and their marching speed was also slower. Moreover, the further they went, the more scattered their ranks became. Upon seeing this, Li Ji immediately lowered his lance, spurred his mount, and galloped ahead of the formation, shouting, "First kill Tian Chengsi, then kill Xing Caojun, conquer Wuqiang, and in Hebei, only our Weibo Army will reign supreme!"

He charged ahead, spearheading the charge into the enemy ranks. His generals, seeing this, spurred their horses on or galloped to catch up. Li Ji, having reached the enemy lines, thrust his spear, only to find it had struck empty air…

The Tianxiong soldiers on the opposite side had already panicked. Upon seeing the spears coming, they immediately threw down their weapons, turned around, and fled with their heads in their hands. In an instant, like dominoes, one person fled, and the rest scattered, and the Tianxiong army formation of tens of thousands completely collapsed.

Seeing this, Xing Caojun threw his sword to the ground, sighed deeply, and said sadly, "Disarm yourselves, we are willing to surrender, but we hope that Commander Li will show mercy and not kill any more of our brave soldiers from Jizhou..."

The battle was over, and the soldiers brought Xing Caojun to see Li Ji. Li Ji dismounted, raised his hands to help Xing Caojun, who was kneeling on the ground, up, and said to him with a smile: "I thought that after last night's battle, the situation was settled, but I did not expect that General Xing was still able to gather tens of thousands of people to resist me. Although you were defeated, you are still honorable. I admire you."

Xing Caojun lowered his head and said, "I am a country bumpkin and do not know the might of General Li. I still hope for luck... The strength of Weibo is indeed unmatched in the world, and General Li's military tactics are far beyond my reach. I am willing to surrender now, and I hope that General Li will show mercy and not massacre the soldiers and people of Jizhou."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Why do I need your words? I am here on the orders of Heaven to punish the guilty. The imperial decree only holds Tian Chengsi accountable. The soldiers of Tianxiong are our Tang army, and the people of Jizhou are our Tang people. How can we justify killing them? As long as they lay down their weapons and do not resist the royal army, I will not commit any offenses against them."

Xing Caojun said, "This sinful general is willing to persuade the soldiers and men on behalf of Commander Li to stop resisting."

Li Ji tugged at his arm: "General, please wait a moment. I have a few questions to ask you."

"Li Shuai, please speak. I will tell you everything I know."

Li Ji's expression turned serious, and he first asked, "The Tianxiong Army has divided its forces to take Xindu. I wonder how many troops they have, who their commanders are, and how long they have been gone?"

Xing Caojun replied, "Military commander Fu Lin led four thousand troops and set off yesterday afternoon. Judging by the time it takes, if they travel day and night, they should arrive at the city of Xindu soon."

After hearing this, Li Ji calmed down a bit.

Within Xindu City, there are two battalions of loyal soldiers led by Nie Feng, along with over a thousand auxiliary troops. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so easy for the four thousand Tianxiong Army to conquer it. Of course, upon hearing the alarm from the front lines, it's uncertain whether Nie Feng will be afraid and even retreat voluntarily; moreover, there are still Hu E and several hundred former garrison soldiers within the city, and it's hard to say whether they will take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Yesterday during the day, the armies of Wu Shun and Zhao Yi were defeated, and Weibo retreated to defend its fortifications. Tian Xiong's army, including Tian Chengsi, all believed that victory was in their grasp. Logically speaking, Fu Lin did not need to travel overnight to take Xindu.

Would he really worry that Wu Shun's defeated army would empty the grain reserves in Xindu City beforehand? Six or seven hundred thousand bushels of grain—even if they were set on fire, it would take them ages to burn…

Xing Caojun said, "This humble general is willing to follow your army to rescue Xindu and persuade Fu Lin to retreat."

Li Ji neither confirmed nor denied this, but then raised a second question: "How many soldiers and how much grain are stored in Hengshui City?"

"The main army is stationed outside the city. Hengshui County only has the old garrison soldiers, less than a thousand, with more than 30,000 bushels of grain stored."

Li Ji agreed, “General, please write two letters for me. First, urge Fu Lin to cease hostilities. If he surrenders, all the better. If not, he can retreat eastward on his own. Second, urge Hengshui County to open its gates. Otherwise, I will send troops to attack it this afternoon. On the day the city falls, everything will be destroyed, leaving no one alive!”

Of course, given Li Ji's character, he would never actually massacre the city, nor would he even dare to slaughter an opponent who had already lost the ability to resist. But the necessary political intimidation still had to be carried out.

Xuan ordered Yang Shigu to lead two battalions of cavalry, carrying Xing Caojun's letter, to quickly find a shallow place to cross the Zhang River and rescue Xindu; he himself continued to clean up the battlefield and let the soldiers rest in preparation for Hengshui City to hold out against surrender.

Of course, the chances of this are extremely slim. First, as Li Ji said, both families belong to the Tang Dynasty and are not enemies with deep-seated grudges. Even if they are loyal to Tian Chengsi, there is no need for them to drag the entire city's soldiers and civilians to die for their lord. Second, with tens of thousands of troops outside the city defeated in an instant, would the less than a thousand garrison soldiers inside the city really still have the will to fight?

Before noon, Hengshui County opened its city gates, and the county magistrate, accompanied by the city's elders, surrendered with the official seal. Li Ji entered the county office and sat down, summoning all the generals and officials to discuss the next strategic plan. He also specially ordered someone to "invite" Xing Caojun, saying that he wanted to hear Xing Jun's views first.

Xing Caojun hesitated for a long time before finally clasping his hands in a gesture of respect and asking, "May I ask, were the words that Commander Li used to reprimand the disgraced general in the morning truly from his heart?"

Li Ji smiled wryly: "Naturally, every word is true, and there is absolutely no falsehood or embellishment."

Xing Caojun said, “If the commander lacks ambition, then having already defeated my Tianxiong Army, driven out Commander Tian, ​​and recaptured Hengshui, he can withdraw his troops now. The spoils of war in the prefecture, along with the imperial gifts of a million coins and grain, will all go to Weibo. Weibo will then become the leader of Hebei, and even Chengde and Zhaoyi will not dare to look at it directly. As for Commander Tian, ​​after this defeat, he will surely destroy the shrine of An Lushan and his son, and submit a petition to the court to apologize. I believe the court will still be willing to show leniency…”

"But if what I say is true, then what plans do you have for me?"

Chapter Thirty-One, Evil Extends to All His Dependents

Li Ji said that everything I said on the battlefield was true. I was not just following the imperial orders to make a name for myself, but I hoped to solve the problem of the overbearing warlords in Hebei, so that the court would no longer have to worry about internal strife and could concentrate most of its manpower and resources to revitalize the country and defend against the Western Barbarians.

So Xing Caojun said, "If what Commander Li said is true, then we absolutely cannot return to the town. We should immediately send troops and generals to continue north, so that Commander Tian cannot establish himself in Xiabo and will have no choice but to flee back to Wuqiang. Although Wuqiang's defenses are strong, seven or eight out of ten of its troops have been wiped out, and morale is extremely low. It will certainly not be able to hold out, and Commander Tian will have no choice but to surrender. Then Commander Li can escort him to Chang'an, and the entire Tianxiong army can be returned to the imperial court."

Tian Qianzhen, standing nearby, offered a different opinion. Of course, his true intention was to have the Weibo army reach the walls of Wuqiang City, so that Tian Chengsi would either commit suicide or be captured and taken to Chang'an, giving him the opportunity to succeed as the military governor of Tianxiong Army. If the campaign ended there, and Tian Chengsi were to submit a letter of apology, destroy the ancestral hall of An Lushan and his son, reduce his troops and cede territory, yet still remain a military governor, what would be left for him? Hadn't his trip to Hebei been a waste?

However, he still raised his concerns: "Our army is exhausted from continuous battles, and news from Xindu has not yet arrived. If our supply lines are blocked, and we are forced to advance and halt our troops under the fortified walls of Wuqiang, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous? Chengde Town is currently gathering troops in Anping. What if they take the opportunity to raid our rear?"

Xing Caojun shook his head and said, "Back then, before the Zhaoyi Army arrived, Weibo and Wushun had only 20,000 men. They did not retreat to Zhangnan, but instead fiercely resisted the Tianxiong Army here. They were not afraid of Chengde's intervention. Now that we have won the battle, would we still be afraid of them? I believe that Chengde knows the outcome of the battle and will not dare to act rashly. As for the obstructed supply lines, we now have enough grain from both camps and Hengshui to last for more than three months. Can't we still conquer Wuqiang, whose soldiers are exhausted and whose generals are cowardly?"

Lei Wanchun was the first to express his approval and requested the order: "This humble general requests the order to go first, to take Xiaobo, and head straight for Wuqiang!"

Li Ji pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly: "The provisions are really insufficient... Xing Junyun was able to supply them for three months, could it be that he has forgotten about the Tianxiong Army?"

Last night's battle saw the Tianxiong army, numbering tens of thousands, collapse in an instant. Xing Caojun managed to gather over ten thousand men, only to have them all handed over to Weibo as prisoners in the blink of an eye. Li Ji's concern was that these ten thousand prisoners also needed food; should he simply starve them or slaughter them all? If chaos were to escalate further, would he dare continue his advance northeastward?

Xing Caojun said, "Commander Li is benevolent. I, your humble general, am willing to fight for Commander Li."

Tian Qianzhen, Lei Wanchun, and the others standing nearby all curled their lips in disapproval, as if to say: How could we possibly trust you? And even if Commander Li trusted you alone, he couldn't possibly trust all the prisoners.

As expected, Li Ji waved his hand and said, "Let them all go."

He ordered Xing Caojun to select 300 honest and trustworthy prisoners to serve as guides for each army. The rest were to be given three dou of grain and three hundred coins and silk, and ordered to return to their hometowns. If they were seen on the battlefield again, they were to be executed without mercy!

He knew the origins of the Tianxiong Army, which were similar to those of the Weibo Army—in fact, the same in all the towns—the vast majority were local people, making them prone to desertion—because they were familiar with the geography and had places to escape and hide—but also easy to regroup. At least those elite troops that Tian Chengsi had carefully cultivated and trained, like the Weibo garrison, were professional soldiers unaccustomed to farming; even if they scattered temporarily, they would eventually return to eat and serve. If he were to withdraw his troops now, as long as Tian Chengsi had enough food, he could raise his banner again and within months still have tens of thousands of troops…

Therefore, we must capture Tian Chengsi or force him to commit suicide!

However, keeping tens of thousands of Tianxiong Army prisoners would surely cause trouble. We dared not use them, nor did we have enough manpower to guard them. Rather than harboring this worry, it would be better to let them return home, and provide them with ample travel expenses.

Li Ji did this for two reasons: First, people are all made of flesh and blood. If I show such kindness, even if the people of Jizhou do not welcome the king's army with food and drink, they should not be so bound to Tian Chengsi anymore. Second, if the prisoners have food and supplies, they may stay in the countryside for a while longer and not be willing to run out immediately to seek demobilization.

Secondly, the three bushels of grain and three hundred coins and silk were not a large amount, barely enough for a family of three to five for ten days, which Li Ji could barely afford. But the problem was that the weight was considerable—those who were slightly weaker would probably have to drag it along—so would the prisoners, carrying the grain and money, be willing to abandon them halfway and pick up their weapons again to harass their own transport route? There might be some stubborn fools like that, but they would certainly not be many.

He then ordered Lei Wanchun to lead troops ahead to capture Xiabo, while Li Ji rested his soldiers in Hengshui City, planning to continue marching north the next morning.

However, he was still worried about Xindu. Fortunately, at dusk, a scout from Xindu finally found out the situation in Zhangbei and came into the city to ask for an audience. He not only told them about the Tianxiong Army that had attacked him on the way, but also informed them of Nie Feng's capture of Qin Rui.

According to the scouts, Fu Lin's 4,000-strong Tianxiong Army had indeed not been traveling day and night, and it was estimated that it would take some time before they reached the walls of Xindu. As for whether Yang Shigu's cavalry could catch up ahead of time, and whether the enemy would be willing to retreat after seeing Xing Caojun's letter, it was difficult to predict. However, it was clear that Nie Feng had not abandoned the city and intended to defend Xindu, which put Li Ji somewhat at ease.

Even Tian Qianzhen said, "Nie Feng is indeed a loyal and brave general. The commander-in-chief's judgment of people is not bad."

But Nie Feng actually detained Qin Rui, which greatly surprised Li Ji. He couldn't help but frown and ponder – wasn't this throwing a hot potato at me? After all, that guy was an ally, not my subordinate. Even if he was defeated and fled first, even if he almost killed me, in principle, I only had the right to impeach him, not the right to punish him.

Let alone Qin Rui, even though Xue Song didn't come, only ordering his chief clerk Xue E to lead the troops, if Xue E disobeyed orders, Li Ji couldn't just arrest him directly. You, Nie Feng, have some nerve! A mere military governor, you arrest him without a second thought…

What should I do? I can't just chop Qin Rui up with one blow. But I've already captured him, and it would be a pity to release him... This would be creating an enemy, and letting an enemy go for even a day will cause trouble for generations!

He was unconsciously tapping the table with his fingers, frowning in thought. Beside him, Gao Ying crossed his arms and said in a low voice, "In my humble opinion, if Commander Qin does not enter Xindu, then so be it. But since he has entered, he must be captured. What Nie Feng did has truly removed a great scourge from our Weibo!"

"What do you mean by that, Gong Chu?"

Gao Ying replied, “Now, half of my supply route is in Beizhou. If Commander Qin does not return to his post, the people will not be united, and no one will dare to offend him lightly. But if Commander Qin returns to his post and harbors rebellious intentions, cuts off my retreat, or even takes advantage of the situation to invade my Weizhou, then all of your plans will surely fail, and the imperial order to quell the rebellion will be in vain!”

The officers and generals in the Weibo army generally distrusted Qin Rui and Wu Shun's army. In particular, Gao Ying, who was clean and had never been tainted by the An Lushan Rebellion, felt that all those surrendered generals were a menace. In theory, Qin Rui and Tian Chengsi were no different, except that one of them was more aggressive, so the court issued an order to conquer him first.

Li Ji then asked, "What does Gongchu think is the best course of action against Qin Rui?"

Gao Ying looked around and saw that Tian Qianzhen was out organizing his troops and not by his side. He then spoke frankly: "I know that the General originally intended to wipe out the Tianxiong Army and hand over the four prefectures to the Emperor. However, the court sent Deputy General Tian instead, which seems to be the intention to replace Tian Chengsi. Therefore, the Tianxiong Army cannot be withdrawn. At most, one or two prefectures will be ceded to the court, either to Weibo or to be directly under the control of the court."

"Now that Heaven has granted us a golden opportunity, although we cannot disband the Tianxiong Army, we can hope to disband the Wushun Army! The General can escort Qin Rui to Chang'an and hand him over to the court for judgment, and submit a memorial requesting the recapture of Bei and De prefectures. Now that your elder brother, Mr. Changyuan, is the prime minister, he will surely grant the General's request."

Li Ji thought to himself that Li Mi and he might not actually be on the same page when it came to suppressing the Hebei warlords. The old man was ultimately too cautious... However, Gao Ying's words also made sense. After finally capturing Qin Rui, would the court really let that guy come back to continue leading the Wushun Army? Even if the military governorships were still retained, replacing them with a more trustworthy minister would surely improve the situation in Hebei to a considerable extent.

He nodded and said, “What Gongchu said is true. Please write a memorial for me. I will order Nie Feng and Yang Shigu to escort Qin Rui into the pass after the Tianxiong Army has been defeated, and hand him over to the court for punishment.”

----------

Yang Shigu was unable to catch up with Fu Lin in time. At noon that day, Fu Lin led four thousand Tianxiong soldiers to the outside of Xindu City. He then set up camp and sent someone to shoot an arrow into the city, ordering the defending general to open the city gates and surrender.

—Although Li Ji had defeated the main force of Tianxiong Army and driven out Tian Chengsi more than half a day ago, not many defeated soldiers had fled directly to Zhangnan because the pontoon bridge had been burned. In addition, although Fu Lin did not travel day and night, his marching speed was not slow, so he had not yet received the news.

Upon receiving the report, Nie Feng naturally dispatched soldiers to the city walls to strengthen the defenses. At the same time, he ordered Hu E to issue a document in the name of the governor to recruit able-bodied men to assist in the defense within the city. For safety reasons, he dared not release Hu E directly.

Xindu was, after all, part of Jizhou. It had only been in the hands of Weibo for a little over half a month, and its control was not yet perfect. Knowing that the Tianxiong Army had arrived at the city, panic and rumors spread throughout the city... Jingjing'er had finally waited for this great opportunity.

Furthermore, Qin Rui was imprisoned in the dungeon of the government office. A dignified military governor, he was forced to sit cross-legged on a rotten straw mat, his hands and feet shackled. Although his meals weren't meager, even the finest delicacies would be impossible to eat in such an environment and smell. This fueled his deep hatred for Nie Feng, and he cursed him incessantly day and night.

"If your military governor returns, I will surely exterminate the entire Nie family, leaving not a single chicken or dog alive!"

Despite his threats, Qin Rui knew that even if Li Ji returned and was willing to forgive him, or even apologize in person, he would never severely punish Nie Feng. Unless Nie Feng abandoned the city upon hearing the news of the defeat in Zhangbei yesterday, his courage in defending the city was a great achievement regardless of the final outcome. Why would Li Ji punish him under such circumstances? At most, he would reprimand him and order Nie Feng to apologize, and that would be the end of it.

If Li Ji were to severely punish Nie Feng because of him, he would surely lose the hearts of his officers and soldiers—if it were him, he would never do that either.

Moreover, if we were in each other's shoes, perhaps Li Ji would turn around and reward Nie Feng handsomely, and from then on rely on him even more...

The saying goes, "Love me, love my dog; hate me, love my servants." Qin Rui took his anger out on Li Ji and cursed the boy countless times—"Look at the soldiers you've brought out, you've got some nerve!" But he only dared to curse Nie Feng, not Li Ji, lest Li Ji return and go all the way to the end, truly making him his mortal enemy.

He figured that as long as he didn't show any hatred towards Li Ji, the kid wouldn't dare to kill him. In the end, this campaign against Tianxiong Army had failed, and even if the Weibo soldiers were very capable, they would suffer heavy losses. For a considerable period of time afterward, Weibo and Wushun would have to stick together and fight against Tian Chengsi.

However, human nature is the most unpredictable thing. Li Ji has always been willful and reckless. If he suddenly becomes murderous without considering the gains and losses... I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of this prison!

What should I do? I need someone to help me think of a solution... If I can write to Cui Qi and ask Li Ji to intercede for me, perhaps I can still live.

That evening, he was sitting in the dark, and after cursing for a while, he picked up his bowl to drink some water. Suddenly, he heard a soft sound from above, followed by a person calling out in a low voice, "General Qin, don't panic, I'm here to rescue you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Rui's hand trembled involuntarily, spilling the entire bowl of water. He then lowered his voice and called out, "Jingjing? The defenses here are very tight, please be careful... I'm shackled now, how are you going to get me out?"

Jingjing said, "It's alright, I'm quite good at picking locks." Then, with a "whoosh," a dark figure leaped down from the beam... followed by a clear "clang" of a bell!

Jingjing'er was as thin as a feather. She leaped down, but as soon as her toes touched the ground, she felt her footing suddenly give way. Knowing something was wrong, she hurriedly tried to stand up and gather her breath, but then a bell rang from beneath her...

He couldn't help but curse inwardly: "That Nie Feng, he actually set a trap to try and capture me!"

Before yesterday, Qin Rui had never met Nie Feng, nor had he ever heard of him. But Nie Feng had long heard of him – after all, Nie Feng was also a former general who had surrendered from An Lushan. He was in Weizhou, which was not far from Beizhou. So how Qin Rui had gathered Zhou Zhi’s old troops and then coerced Shi Chaoyi to rise through the ranks and become a military governor of a town was already a well-known story.

The key point is that Zhou Zhi once served as the prime minister of the puppet Yan state. After Yan Zhuang surrendered to the Tang dynasty and Gao Shang was killed, he became the most prominent civil official in the country. His "Divine Machine Guard" consisted of many individuals with supernatural abilities, monitoring both inside and outside the capital. To be honest, his reputation in the puppet Yan state was no less than that of Li Fuguo's "Inspectorate"... both were equally infamous. Therefore, after his death, many of his subordinates fell to Qin Rui. Surely, Qin Rui also had quite a few petty thieves and scoundrels under his command?