Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 52 Lighting a Cold Stove

Yang'an Pass was some distance from Zhong Hui's central army camp, requiring passage through a long mountain road. The central army camp was located northeast of Dingjun Mountain, very close to Hancheng, the capital of Hanzhong Commandery.

After galloping fifty li, they arrived at the southwest side of Dingjun Mountain. The road ahead was difficult to travel, and it was getting late, so Shi Shouxin ordered his men to set up camp near a stream at the foot of the mountain.

They lit a fire, ate some dry rations, and drank some water from their water bags. Shi Shouxin took out some mugwort from his bundle and burned it like mosquito coils to repel insects.

This was prepared by Li Wan; it was incredibly thoughtful of her.

Shi Shouxin stared at the roaring campfire, his gaze gradually becoming unfocused.

His reluctance to sexually assault the families of Shu army officers today was not due to any reason such as being unable to bring himself to do it.

Shi Shouxin was merely grieving for his own kind.

These days, the families of losers are just like the women who will be groaning and begging for mercy under Hu Lie and his gang tonight—perhaps this is still a relatively good outcome.

What would Shi Shouxin do if he himself became a loser?

Leaving aside his own life, his wives and concubines would surely become playthings, wouldn't they?
Shi Shouxin couldn't help but sigh.

What about Yang Huiyu?

He couldn't refuse this woman, which only brought him more trouble. Today he witnessed the fate of the losers; only by striving for self-improvement could he protect himself.

He can't lose! He has to stand up for himself, or he's doomed!

I have no interest in playing around with women!

Shi Shouxin clenched his fists tightly.

In the firelight, he seemed to see Yang Huiyu lying on the bed, her fair and jade-like body coming into view.

Every smile and frown of hers was so charming, gentle as water, and as beautiful as a dream.

It was an indescribable beauty... and an ineffable allure.

In a flash, Shi Shouxin's heart was gripped tightly, a mixture of sweetness and pain.

In a flash, he realized the horrific thing he had done! He had stolen the widow of the Sima family, and he had stolen her completely, taking her body and soul with him.

Shi Shouxin didn't even dare to think about the consequences if this matter were leaked.

"Commander Shi? Commander Shi?"

His personal guard called out to him.

"Yes, just tell me what's wrong, I won't blame you."

Shi Shouxin waved his hand slightly and smiled awkwardly. He had just been lost in thought, recalling the crazy night he spent with Yang Huiyu in bed, and his heart was itching with desire.

"Commander Shi, now that we've managed to break through Yang'an Pass, are we going to march into Chengdu?"

The guard asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to say, but it's very likely."

Shi Shouxin nodded.

"But it's very difficult for us to earn any merits while we're in the supervisory army."

The guard sighed helplessly.

"You want to make something of yourself?"

Shi Shouxin asked with a smile.

He noticed that the guard was quite young, probably only in his teens, and had just joined the army, his face still showing signs of immaturity.

His current composure seems forced and unnatural.

Needless to say, Sima Zhao has been recruiting soldiers and expanding the Imperial Guard in recent years, so this person must be a newly recruited one, given some experience in the Imperial Guard, and not expected to fight on the battlefield.

"If you come from a poor family, the only way to get ahead is to fight on the battlefield."

Inspector Shi was lucky; he married a beautiful woman from an official's family, so naturally, he had connections to help him. People like us are miserable; when will we ever be able to make something of ourselves?

The guard sighed, then suddenly realized he might have said something inappropriate. He quickly apologized, saying, "Supervisor Shi, please don't be offended. I was just very envious, and had no other intentions whatsoever."

Seeing his panicked appearance, Shi Shouxin quickly smiled gently and said, "To tell you the truth, this marriage was arranged by the decree of the Duke of Gaogui Township. Otherwise, I would not have been able to marry such a good woman as my wife, hahahahaha."

Seeing his carefree demeanor, the guards laughed along with him.

He bowed to Shi Shouxin and said, "This humble servant, Meng Guan, is from Bohai, Hebei. I am willing to become a trusted confidant of Supervisor Shi and follow him on official business in various places! Wherever you go, this humble servant will follow!"

Meng Guan immediately pledged his loyalty and knelt on one knee, refusing to rise.

Shi Shouxin narrowed his eyes and calmly helped him up.

In human society, there are some universal rules, one of which is to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Everyone is constantly observing who they can befriend, who is worth winning over, and who they can rely on.

While Shi Shouxin was secretly observing those around him, others were also quietly observing and scrutinizing him.

For example, Meng Guan, who served as his personal guard.

He observed Shi Shouxin for a long time, and then summarized from some big and small things, and felt that Shi Shouxin was a very loyal person and someone he could rely on.

Or rather, you can give yourself a hand!
These days, you can't survive in society without a powerful benefactor.

For example, Li Wan and Yang Huiyu can both be considered benefactors of Shi Shouxin, not to mention Shi Chong and Yang Hu.

Meng Guan, on the other hand, regarded Shi Shouxin as his benefactor.

Meng Guan also compared the personalities of Shi Shouxin and Zhong Hui, and concluded that although Zhong Hui had a high position, he was cold-blooded, ruthless, profit-driven, and extremely selfish with no human touch whatsoever.

On the other hand, Shi Shouxin is a much more interesting person. He can stand up for Xu Yi, he can offer advice to the army, and he can stand up to Zhong Hui for the greater good!

More importantly, Shi Shouxin is very young and has his father-in-law Li Yin as a powerful backer, so he hasn't shown his true colors yet!
If this cold stove is heated up, it will be of great help to me in the future.

After learning that Shi Shouxin was unwilling to participate in the sexually explicit party involving the wives and daughters of surrendered Shu Han generals, Meng Guan took the initiative to defect to Shi Shouxin.

In other words, such a person has impeccable character; even if they offer no help, they would never put themselves to their death. "So, what are your strengths?"

Shi Shouxin asked with a smile.

The weight that had been hanging over Meng Guan's heart finally lifted. If Shi Shouxin had agreed without asking any questions, he would have been truly frightened!

"Reporting to Supervisor Shi, my martial arts skills are passable."

Meng Guan said with great confidence.

Honestly, joining the army without martial arts skills is practically suicide. Unlike Shi Shouxin, whose primary job was as a "civil official" and who only served in the military because of wartime needs, they were not like others.

If a member of the Imperial Guard like Meng Guan could not be promoted, he could only wait to retire when he got old, or die in a battle.

He felt it wasn't worth it, so he wanted to have another option.

"Alright, from today onwards you will be my confidant."

Shi Shouxin patted Meng Guan on the shoulder and said.

"But we'll try to keep it a secret as much as possible."

Shi Shouxin added in a low voice.

Meng Guan nodded, glancing thoughtfully at Shi Shouxin without saying anything. Outsiders would eventually notice, but it was best to keep a low profile as much as possible.

Nothing was said that night. The next day, the group set off again northward, passing through the mountain path of Dingjun Mountain and arriving at the foot of the northeastern part of the mountain. During this time, Shi Shouxin's attitude towards Meng Guan remained unchanged, with no difference from before.

In less than an hour, the cavalry had arrived at the central army camp where Zhong Hui was located.

Zhong Hui's chosen location for the camp was not particularly advantageous; it merely had a water source, and the south side of the camp was overgrown with shrubs.

If a large fire were to break out, it's unimaginable how lively this place would be. Perhaps frightened by Xiahou Yuan's fate back then, Zhong Hui set up his main camp at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, very close to the main camp of the troops besieging Hancheng.

Upon careful consideration, Shi Shouxin felt that the military force was somewhat concentrated. They were simply taking advantage of the fact that Shu had few troops in Hanzhong.

Shi Shouxin estimated that Zhong Hui was relying on his strong military force, having already surrounded the two major cities of Hanzhong, and was not afraid of being attacked.

He vaguely felt that Zhong Hui was actually not good at leading troops and was ultimately just a figure like Zhang Liang. Even Shi Shouxin, a half-baked general, could see many flaws in Zhong Hui's camp setup, so he believed that other generals could see some as well.

In other words, the generals likely didn't have much respect for Zhong Hui; they were merely obeying orders reluctantly. If nothing went wrong, that would be fine, but if something did happen, how could Zhong Hui possibly control the officers and soldiers in the army?
Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Shi Shouxin led the supervising troops into the main camp, where he was then led alone to the commander's tent by Zhong Hui's personal guards.

As soon as he entered Zhong Hui's command tent, he saw many generals lined up on both sides, looking solemn and imposing, seemingly discussing some important matter. Wei Guan was clearly among them, even standing closest to Zhong Hui.

What is the situation at Yang'an Pass?

Zhong Hui asked calmly.

All the generals looked at Shi Shouxin.

"Reporting to the Grand Commander, General Hu has captured Yang'an Pass and requests that the Grand Commander move his troops here. This is the battle report and the silk scroll reporting the victory."

Shi Shouxin took out the silk scroll that Hu Lie had given him from his sleeve, and then handed it to a guard, who in turn handed it to Zhong Hui.

"Gentlemen, we will go to Yang'an Pass tomorrow to oversee the battle and, while we are there, reward those who have made contributions."

Zhong Hui finally smiled and turned to Wei Guan, asking, "What does Supervisor Wei think?"

“Excellent, I will send someone to report the victory to the General.”

Wei Guan smiled and said, and the atmosphere in the tent immediately relaxed. In fact, before Shi Shouxin arrived, Zhong Hui, Wei Guan, and others were still debating whether or not to attack Yang'an Pass.

"Oh, right, I have a task for you."

As if remembering something, Zhong Hui looked at Shi Shouxin, his eyes filled with a deep meaning and a half-smile.

"Please give your instructions, Grand Commander."

Shi Shouxin quickly bowed and paid his respects.

"No need for formalities, it's just a small matter. I'm too busy with official duties to come here. Zhuge Liang's tomb is at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, so you can go and sweep Zhuge Liang's tomb for me."

Zhong Hui said casually.

It is quite unusual that the Wei army's supervisor actually visited the tomb of Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it right away."

Although Shi Shouxin also sensed that this was strange, he didn't say anything. Of course, he couldn't refuse either.

"That's perfect. After you've finished sweeping Zhuge Liang's tomb, send the report of your achievements to the General in Luoyang. You can take a few men with you; the rest of your men can return to their posts."

"We're visiting the graves today; if we need to deliver the message, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

Wei Guan also mentioned it briefly.

If you can run away, then run as much as you can. If you don't die from running, then run as hard as you can! This blatant workplace bullying is palpable.

Shi Shouxin seemed oblivious, calmly accepting Wei Guan's order.

Only after leaving the command tent did his face turn ashen!

Meng, who was waiting outside the door, noticed Shi Shouxin's unusual behavior and leaned over to ask in a low voice, "Supervisor Shi, what happened just now?"

“Choose two brothers you know well, and let’s go together to sweep Zhuge Kongming’s tomb.”

After I finish sweeping the tombs, I will go to the military supervisor to get the documents. I will set off for Luoyang tomorrow to report the news.

I'll tell you the rest later.

Shi Shouxin spoke calmly, but his tone betrayed his disappointment.

There was also a subtle, almost imperceptible worry.

While he was indeed the military supervisor, he was a military civil official under Wei Guan's jurisdiction. Returning to Luoyang to report his achievements was also part of his duty, and he had no choice but to comply.

Meng Guan also showed a look of disappointment, but he quickly composed himself. He went back to his unit and found two soldiers he was familiar with, and the group left the camp together.

Shi Shouxin thought to himself: The fall of Shu is imminent. I wonder what Prime Minister Zhuge would think if he knew this in the afterlife.

(End of this chapter)