Chapter 214: Supreme Commander

On this bright, sunny day, the entrance to Duanzhou City was in chaos. The snow on the ground was damp, splashing everywhere under the hooves of horses. Heavy-laden carts slipped on the stone pavement, causing the horses to strain and neigh, blocking the way. The Iron Riders from Libei could not proceed, so they dismounted to lend a hand.

"Such fickle weather," Yin Chang grumbled, his face flushing as he held tight to his waistband, urgency urging him on. "It was freezing just the other days, enough to chill one to the bone, and now it's roasting my posterior like an oven."

Horses dashed along the roadside, kicking up slushy snow that soiled everyone's attire. Fei Sheng tucked his robe into his waistband and, lifting his hand, pinched his nose in complaint. "Why are these borderland horses so stinky!"

"They run about on the Gobi as they please, shitting whenever they feel like it," Tan Taihu was saying when the Biansha pony before him raised its tail to defecate. The droppings landed in the slushy snow, steaming with warmth. Tan Taihu scraped his military boots, intending to lead the horse away, but before he could do so, several figures galloped past from behind, dousing them all in the fresh excrement."

Fei Sheng's face turned ashen with anger, and he jumped about in disgust. Seeing the feces flying towards them, he ducked behind Yin Chang, hoping the elder would shield him completely.

"Run for what?!" Yin Chang shouted at the charging Northern Iron Riders, then wiped his face and turned to scold Fei Sheng. "Hiding for what?!"

Wu Ziyu pulled on his reins, turning his horse around to head back. Tan Taihu quickly waved his hand and cursed, "Your mother! Get off your horse!"

Wu Ziyu had just put on new boots. Seeing how dirty everyone else was, he refused to dismount. Instead, he slowed his horse and approached, asking, "Why are only the two of you here? Where's Second Master and the Marquis?"

"Already inside," Fei Sheng panted, his voice strained. "Why wasn't this snow cleared earlier? Now it's blocking the way entirely. Look how filthy it is! My master's pristine green and white robe will be ruined if it touches the ground!"

Wu Ziyu, flushed with victory, was in high spirits, contemplating inviting his friends for a drink in the coming days. Unbothered by the scolding, he proudly replied, "I'm quite busy."

Before he could finish laughing, a snowball flew from the other side and hit him in the face.

Gu Jin couldn't tolerate the stench anymore; his face turned ashen as he hurled a snowball back at Wu Ziyu, cursing, "Laugh your ass off! With this heat, the snow in the city will melt, and you'll have the stench of Duanzhou's filthy canals flooding everywhere!"

Gu Jin was usually a man of few words. As the one responsible for caring for Ding Tao, he rarely resorted to foul language. Even when subjected to humiliation by Guo Weili last year at Tudalongqi, he had kept his temper in check. But now, standing amidst the unbearable stench, he lost his patience.

Wu Ziyu, usually meticulous in his dealings, had let his recent triumph cloud his judgment, causing him to overlook this detail. If Chen Yang were here, he would undoubtedly have reminded his friend. Instead, it fell to Gu Jin to give him a more direct reprimand.

The three men standing behind them were stunned. Yin Chang, holding back the urge to urinate, stood alongside Tan Taihu, ready to spring into action at Gu Jin's command.

Fei Sheng whispered, "That curse sounds familiar."

Tan Taihu mumbled, "Something about an ass."

"Ugh," Yin Chang crouched low, "I didn't teach him that!"

Wu Ziyu, now humbled, rolled off his horse obediently.

Duanzhou had never suffered the same devastating fires as Dunzhou, so its streets still retained their appearance from seven years ago. Most shops and taverns were closed, but Chi kept a few butcher's shops open, as the Scorpions enjoyed the braised beef here. Bansha's troops had once stationed here for a while, wiping out all the residents in the eastern and western neighborhoods, but they had preserved the northern Ghost Quarter.

"Lei Jingzhe conducted his transactions with the Scorpions right here," Shen Zechuan stepped on piles of old debris and leaped onto a collapsed courtyard wall. From there, he could see the northern quarter. "This place was a favorite of my master's in the past, where one could find things not available on the market."

"What's to the south?" Xiao Chiye climbed up beside him, looking in that direction. "…Bansha's stables."

Shen Zechuan exhaled. "This is a deserted city."

When he was in1 Ci and2 Cha states last year, Shen Zechuan had worried about the influx of refugees from Dan City, but now it seemed that Zhongbo, with its depleted population, was the perfect place to accommodate the refugees from the Eight Cities.

"It's time to revise the Yellow Registers," Xiao Chiye observed as Man soared high in the sky, seemingly lazy under the sun. He wasn't wearing armor today, only an armband. "Last year, the main focus was on the administration of the three states, with a shortage of garrison troops in Cha and Dun. The registration of new citizens was handled collectively by clerks. But now that we have six states under our control, civilian and military registrations should be separated."

Civilian registration fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household, separate from military records. As the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards in Qudu, Xiao Chiye was familiar with the specialized office for managing military records within the imperial guard headquarters – one reason why the imperial guards and the Eight Encampments didn't get along. Being the overlord of Zhongbo was no easy task. The staff in Ci state were insufficient, and all six states needed administrative offices and military command centers, along with corresponding supervisory bodies.

"These tasks aren't too difficult. Yu Xiaozai can inspect the affairs of the six states, which would be equivalent to serving as an overseer. I want him to be the Zhongbo Justice of the Peace. He performed exceptionally well in his inspections in Qudu and was involved in field work, so he's familiar with the tricks of local offices. Cheng Feng may not want to follow me, but he's willing to assist in the governance of the other five states, which helps alleviate my immediate concerns." Shen Zechuan watched Man fly back as he continued, "Clerks won't be a problem as long as each state's offices are open to hiring. What we lack are capable officials to oversee the state's administration."

Moreover, Shen Zechuan was short of generals.

At present, tea affairs in Tea State were temporarily under Luo Mu's supervision. Shen Zechuan wouldn't let him remain in that position for long. Luo Mu currently held three positions of power, with the Left and Right Supervisors being temporarily replaced by the Imperial Guards. However, the Imperial Guards had no authority to interfere in Tea State's administration. If Luo Mu harbored any ulterior motives and acted discreetly, he might evade Shen Zechuan's watchful eye. To prevent such a situation from recurring, Shen Zechuan needed to appoint suitable officials for each state as soon as possible.

Meng landed on Xiao Chiye's arm, and Xiao Chiye said, "Shopkeeper Qian is also needed."

Upon Xiao Chiye's mention of this, Shen Zechuan thought of Liang Cuishan. He looked at Xiao Chiye and said, "It's a shame about Liang Cuishan."

"He has something to do with Pan Lin, so it's not a waste," Xiao Chiye soothed Meng's feathers. "I heard from the recent reports that Xue Xiuzhuo is investigating the farmlands in Dan City. If this goes through, none of the eight cities will be spared. It would be a severe blow to the noble families."

"There's still no concrete news," Shen Zechuan said as he jumped down from the wall. "We'll only know the details when everyone arrives."

As they walked back, they arrived at their residence, but Gu Jin and Wu Ziyu were nowhere to be seen. Only Fei Sheng was waiting there.

"They're all clearing snow," Fei Sheng explained, his words carefully chosen. "Right now, it's Gu Jin and Wu Ziyu taking care of things."

The implication was that he wasn't slacking off, just taking a momentary break.

Shen Zechuan was familiar with Fei Sheng's personality and didn't intend to pursue the matter further. He merely told Xiao Chiye, "The canals in Duanzhou also need to be investigated. We don't know what condition they're in, so we should start planning for this sooner rather than later."

Xiao Chiye glanced at Fei Sheng but didn't comment. Fei Sheng had handled Huo Lingyun's situation reasonably well, suppressing his temper and not targeting Huo Lingyun despite disliking him. This finally made Xiao Chiye take notice of him.

Fei Sheng did not dare to let them stand at the entrance, so he led the way inside and first had the Duke take a seat. This place was the former residence of the Zhuzhou Commander, from where Lei Jingzhe hailed, but it had been left abandoned and was later tidied up by Wu Ziyu for their reception.

The snow at the city gate was cleared by evening, and since they were all military men, Shen Zechuan did not ask them to stay up all night. The kitchen had prepared meals early, so everyone could eat casually before resting. Fei Sheng shared a room with Yin Chang and Tan Taihu; as soon as these two removed their boots, Fei Sheng fell to the ground.

Just as Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye finished their meal, Gu Jin entered, waiting outside.

Seeing that something was amiss with Gu Jin, Xiao Chiye put down the book he was reading and asked, "What is it?"

Gu Jin took out a letter from his robe and presented it to Xiao Chiye, saying, "The Lord of Libei has sent a letter."

Xiao Chiye saw that there were two letters – one from Xiao Jiming on official matters, and another private letter from Chen Yang. He read Xiao Jiming's letter first. His elder brother mentioned that he would arrive at Luoshan by the end of February, and also that Xiao Chiye would return to the battlegrounds by then. These were things Xiao Chiye already knew, but there was a point that piqued his interest.

After Gu Jin left, Shen Zechuan popped out from behind and pressed against Xiao Chiye's head, peering down at the letter with a calm tone. "A surprise from Big Brother."

Xiao Chiye read that part several times before saying, "Big Brother is transferring Guo Weili to my Second Division, clearing the way for Master to take over the Third. Guo Weili doesn't mesh well with Hason's style, so he'll be stifled in the Third Division."

To be fair, Guo Weili indeed had the ability to lead troops. The fact that he could defend Tudal Dragon Flag for so long spoke volumes of his skills. However, he had a volatile personality, was hot-headed, and difficult to get along with, especially when he felt indignant. His words were often laced with sarcasm. Last year, he had injured Gu Jin and even stripped him of his rank, resulting in a delicate relationship between him and Xiao Chiye. After Xiao Chiye conquered Sand Third Division, there were frequent clashes between the Imperial Guards and Guo Weili's soldiers.

This year, the commanders of the three main battle camps were rotated, and neither Xiao Chiye nor Guo Weili was accustomed to each other's troops. Guo Weili barely touched the Imperial Guards when he joined the Second Division, as he thought they were slippery and disrespectful due to their background in Qidu. Despite his displeasure with Xiao Chiye regarding Xiao Fangxu, he had not openly clashed with him again. However, the incident involving Gu Jin had not been resolved; it was a thorn in both their sides.

This person is not easy to handle.

Xiao Jiming's arrangement was indeed deliberate. The other two major battle camps could communicate with Guo Weili, be it Zuo Qianqiu, Lu Guangbai, or Zhao Hui; none of them would provoke conflict with Guo Weili. Yet, Xiao Jiming had deliberately assigned him to Xiao Chiye's Second Camp.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Chiye said, "Big Brother is truly Big Brother."

This arrangement was a direct hit at the heart of the matter.

After the battle in Duanzhou, Xiao Chiye had gained weight in the theater of war. His relationship with the Northern Iron Cavalry might be uneasy, but they could adapt gradually, just as they were doing now. No soldier would refuse a commander who could lead them to victory, especially one like Xiao Chiye, who was both fair and decisive. However, if he wanted to fully utilize the Northern Iron Cavalry, he had to go through Guo Weili first, for without unity among the hearts, disaster would surely follow.

Shen Zechuan felt drowsy indoors, his eyes half-closed as he spoke softly, "Ce An, 'Hai na bai chuan, you rong nai da1,' this is the opportunity your elder brother has given you."

In the dim lamplight, Xiao Chiye recalled the bonfire amidst the snowy winds. Xiao Fangxu's clenched fist was right before his eyes, and Father had asked him that question by the flickering flames.

"You aspire to this position, but do you truly have what it takes?"