107 Frontline Strains, Rear Lines Under Pressure

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Xu Hong intended to leave with his men, abandoning the grain as well.

What use was there for grain now? It was fortunate enough if he could keep his head.

Did he think he could simply leave?

What Xu Hong had just said—was he trying to burn paper money over a grave and pass it off as fooling ghosts?

Could he really fool Ju Yi?

Ju Yi thought, Stealing military provisions was one thing, but insulting my intelligence was another. That was where he had crossed the line.

You just happened to find three thousand dan of grain? Then why have I never found any?

Ju Yi gave a meaningful glance, and his soldiers immediately blocked Xu Hong and the others.

“No one leaves until this matter is made clear!” With a wave of his hand, Ju Yi ordered his men to bind Xu Hong and the rest.

Cold sweat broke out on Xu Hong’s forehead. He knew there was probably no way this matter would end peacefully today.

Forcing himself to remain calm, Xu Hong said to Ju Yi, “General Ju, leave some room for others. We may need to meet again someday.”

“If you do this, you will offend more than just my uncle.”

Though Xu Hong did not spell it out, Ju Yi understood perfectly well what he meant.

Ju Yi had seized the military provisions and bound Xu Hong and his men. If this affair grew serious, Ju Yi would effectively be offending every civil and military official involved.

Xu Hong was speaking in the most cowardly tone while delivering the harshest threat.

His words were a warning to Ju Yi.

Ju Yi was consumed by fury. That bastard actually dared threaten him.

“To hell with you!” Ju Yi strode forward and kicked Xu Hong to the ground, cursing, “My brothers are bleeding and fighting on the front lines, while the rear has raised a pack of parasites like you!”

Ju Yi was a man who yielded to neither force nor persuasion. The more someone tried to frighten him, the less afraid he became.

If his head fell, it would leave no more than a scar the size of a bowl.

Had Ju Yi known nothing about the smuggling of military provisions, he could have let it go. But now that he had caught them in the act, he had no choice but to enforce military law.

“Come here!” Ju Yi bellowed, immediately giving the order. “Drag them all to the roadside and execute them. Hang their heads from the trees along both sides of the road.”

“Let’s see who will dare smuggle military provisions after this.”

The junior officer standing nearby thought anxiously, They cannot be beheaded! Catching them and giving them a lesson would have been enough. If these men lose their heads, Xu You will be offended beyond repair.

After this, won’t Xu You badmouth you before our lord and make life difficult for you?

The junior officer was just about to speak up when Ju Yi glared at him with a pair of wide, furious eyes. The officer immediately fell silent.

He knew his general’s temperament. Once Ju Yi had made up his mind, even eight horses could not drag him back.

Since persuasion was useless, the officer decided it was better not to try.

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Ju Yi’s soldiers escorted Xu Hong and his household guards to the roadside, lined them up, and began beheading them one after another.

“General Ju, spare me! Please, spare me!”

“For my uncle’s sake, spare my life!” Terrified out of his wits, Xu Hong begged repeatedly.

Begging for mercy?

It was useless. How could Ju Yi possibly spare him?

At this point, invoking Xu You’s name would not help. Nor would invoking anyone else’s.

Ju Yi was so enraged that he wished he could behead Xu You himself.

After the men had been executed, the junior officer took out a bloodstained document and presented it to Ju Yi.

The document had been found on Xu Hong.

Ju Yi opened it and discovered that it was a transport authorization for grain.

Of course, it had not been issued by Yuan Shao.

It was a document jointly prepared by those involved in the theft.

Anyone carrying it could transport three thousand dan of grain at a time.

The document bore a long list of names.

Xu You was listed first, followed by Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and Chunyu Qiong.

All of their names appeared on the document, turning it into evidence of their crimes.

How could they have been so foolish as to write their own names on it?

This document was a grain-transport permit.

It was not a matter of foolishness. To transport grain, one needed an authorization.

Without such a document, anyone could go to Wuchao and haul away grain and fodder. How could that be allowed?

The document bound everyone named on it together. So long as they formed a community of shared interests, even if Yuan Shao discovered the truth, there would be little he could do to them.

Dozens of names were densely packed onto the document, and more than half belonged to Yuan Shao’s most powerful ministers.

Even if Yuan Shao discovered everything, could he really kill them all?

If he killed them all, Yuan Shao himself would be finished.

That was precisely why these men had dared to create such a grain-transport permit without fear of consequences.

Ju Yi was a battlefield general. When he saw the permit, he was so furious that he ground his teeth.

“Ah!”

“How infuriating!” Ju Yi roared. Throwing back his head, he cried out to the heavens, “Could it be that there is not a single loyal minister beneath my lord?”

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“Once I return, I will certainly report all of you to our lord.”

Returning to settle accounts with everyone whose name appeared on the list was one matter.

For now, Ju Yi also had a mission of his own: he had to go to Wuchao and transport the military equipment he needed.

After ordering his men to hang all the severed heads from the trees, Ju Yi set off for Wuchao at once.

The commander stationed at Wuchao was Chunyu Qiong, a veteran general.

His relationship with Yuan Shao was much the same as Xu You’s relationship with Yuan Shao.

Both had been among the first to join Yuan Shao after he began building his power.

Back when Emperor Ling established the Eight Commandants of the Western Garden, Chunyu Qiong and Yuan Shao had even held equal rank.

Among the eight commandants, Yuan Shao had been Commandant of the Central Army, Chunyu Qiong Commandant of the Right Army, and Cao Cao Commandant of the Military Administration.

With that history between them, Chunyu Qiong was one of the most senior figures in Yuan Shao’s camp.

Though he was not particularly capable, he enjoyed Yuan Shao’s deep trust.

The fact that Yuan Shao had entrusted him with the defense of Wuchao was proof enough.

Wuchao was not on the front lines. It lay deep within Yuan’s territory.

In Yuan Shao’s view, it would not come under attack. There was no need for a particularly formidable warrior to guard it; all that was required was a trustworthy general.

Thus, Yuan Shao chose Chunyu Qiong to defend Wuchao.

That decision would become one Yuan Shao regretted for the rest of his life.

Wuchao had originally been a small county town. After Yuan Shao decided to establish a grain depot there, the local inhabitants were relocated elsewhere.

Whether they received any compensation for the relocation was another matter entirely.

Once the people had departed, Wuchao contained nothing but soldiers and uncountable stores of grain, fodder, and military equipment.

In short, every item required by the entire Guandu front—from massive siege engines to something as small as a flag—had to be transported from Wuchao to the front lines.

As the commander of Wuchao, Chunyu Qiong had grown fabulously wealthy since the war began.

Fight, fight, he thought. While you lot on the front lines are beating each other’s brains out, I’ll be making a fortune back here!

Chunyu Qiong was no good at warfare, but when it came to lining his own pockets, he was a consummate professional.

End of Chapter

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