Si De was born and raised in the capital, and as such did not have much of a background in the northwest. However, he was stationed there for many years. When Count Ziyang had guarded the border, Si De was only a low-ranking officer. Now, he was a high-ranking general in charge of an area. Si De had a stern countenance. Body tall and thin. Compared to Zhao Weidu, he seemed to live in comfort. Si De and Zhao Weidu climbed the stairs to the top of the city wall. They spoke of the Qiang people’s attempt in invading their territory.
Zhao Weidu asked, “What’s the situation at Xinyuan Country?”
“The spies we sent said Xinyuan Country did not seem to have the intention of attacking,” Si De said. “However, they have continuously sent their grain to the leader of the Qiang people, Agu Er Mu.”
Xinyuan Country was located in a fertile region. To its border were the Luo River and Yun River. These two rivers originated from that land. Originally, the place Xinyuan Country was now situated had been the territory of several of the smaller ethnicities at the border, where they had all lived in a compact community. Then many years ago, Xinyuan Country suddenly appeared. The Han people was one third of its population. Their language, both written and spoken, was that of the Chinese. In the past, Xinyuan Country colluded with the Qiang people to take down the Great State of Kang. But because of their small population and lack of power, nothing large occurred.
Zhao Weidu furrowed his brows. “Where is their main military power located?”
Si De’s smile was somewhat cold. “The Qiang people had suddenly attacked us and we lost several tens of thousands of men. What’s most hateful was that they did not have a set encampment, moving to another area each time. The quickest this took was one day. Or, they would have their army scatter and hide. For this reason, this humble general could not rashly set off to battle. However, General Situ thought that with 100,000 men, failure would be impossible. Then they were ambushed. There were only 40,000 survivors. The defeated army returned in a sorry state.”
As soon as Zhao Weidu heard those words, he went quiet for a while. Then he said, “Based on the Qiang people’s tendency to use guerilla warfare, how could it have led to Yushu Pass being in such a sorry state?”
Impassively, Si De asked, “Is General Zhao blaming this humble general for being useless?”
Zhao Weidu stared him straight in the eye. “General Si, this general is only lamenting. You shouldn’t think this general is looking down on you. You and I are both generals the court has sent to keep peace at the border. Could it be that we won’t eliminate our enemies but fight each other at the very start instead?”
Si De kept quiet for a moment before saying, “It’s been said that General Zhao has a rash personality, in the past beating up an Imperial Censor. Today, this humble general has discovered those words to be lies.”
Zhao Weidu did not respond to that. He took his time saying, “Everyone has their own view of life and way of thinking.”
“Where is Prince Chun?” Si De asked. “When will the leading general introduce Prince Chun to this humble general?”
Zhao Weidu shot him a strange look. “Why must this general introduce you to a Commander of a Hundred?”
This caught Si De in surprise. He smiled. “This humble general understands.”
The first thing Zhao Weidu did when he had arrived at Yushu Pass was manage Situ Xu’s remaining 40,000 men. Those who had committed crimes would receive punishment. Those who had done something of merit would be rewarded. After that, he would add them to the large army. He fell into his thoughts for a moment, and decided to have his consulting general, Yu Pengfei, and Prince Chun, Li Chen, deal with this matter together.
Yu Pengfei was in charge of internal work. He was meticulous. This matter was best suited for him. As for Prince Chun, it’s because Zhao Weidu saw that he was not interested in the matters concerning battle. He also felt that the duty of assimilating the new troops into the army could not be done by others. Prince Chun’s identity could suppress the generals who had lost in the prior battle.
