"Kei Ni?" Mang Meng frowned and looked at Jiang Wei: "What does he want to see me for?"
Jiang Wei bowed his head and reported, "I asked the Danjun, and he said that there is unrest among his troops that is difficult to control. He wants to seek your favor, General, to advance the distribution of rewards for the two thousand men in his army. He has already been kneeling outside the gate."
Man Chong's face became even more ferocious, and he huffed heavily: "An outsider who dares to play these tricks in front of me. Zunu, can you guess what the intention of Kei Bieng is?"
Jiang Wei pondered for a moment: "I think that the beginning of this matter may still be related to the rewards. Segmenting General is in charge of the Wulun Commandery and guarding the Wuhan clan in Youzhou, and Field General is in charge of guarding the Xianfu and Wuhan tribes in Bingbu Commandery as they head west, and all these people have received rewards."
"Ke Bieng's current two thousand light cavalry, having been selected from a force of five thousand for the southward campaign, are also required to go to Yecheng to collect their rewards. There's no telling that they might cause a stir within their ranks because of this. Ke Bieng has lost his authority since he left his hometown and is under the control of the court, so he wants to use General's prestige to calm things down a bit."
"In this way, Ke Bieng can give these foreign people an explanation when he returns to the army."
"Your Majesty often says that Zunu is a man of talent and virtue, and his insight into people's characters is no less than that of Emperor Wu and Emperor Filai." Man Chong looked at Jiang Wei with a smile: "Zunu, deliver the command of the General. Before this, the General had already issued military orders in Tu Yin, ordering Ke Bieng's troops to receive awards again in Yecheng. Today, he has violated the military orders and come to request rewards again. Although he is a single king, he still obeys the General's control."
"Right before the gate, whip him twenty times!"
Jiang Wei, hearing this, was slightly surprised and bowed back and asked, "Dare I ask the general, is it true that you are going to whip Ke Bieng twenty times?"
Man Chong waved his hand, throwing a token to Jiang Wei: "It's just for show, Zunu, you can handle it as you see fit."
Jiang Wei didn't ask any further questions, bowed his hands in respect, and then came out of the tent and walked directly to Ke Bieng, who was kneeling outside the gate.
"Don't kneel anymore, get up."
Ke Bieng sighed, "May I ask General Jiang, has the front general approved my request?"
Jiang Wei didn't say much either. He put his hands into Ke Bieng's armpits and slightly bent his waist, easily lifting Ke Bieng without much effort. After Ke Bieng stood up, he was a bit dazed. He never expected that General Jiang, with a gentle appearance, would have such strong arms.
Jiang Wei spoke in a calm voice: "The General is aware of what the Single has requested. A military order has been issued before this, and the Single has violated the order this time. Therefore, he shall be whipped twenty times."
"Attendants," Jiang Wei held up the token in his hand and flashed it at the soldiers at the gate, "The General commands, the Xianbei Single has violated military orders and shall be whipped twenty times! Carry out the military punishment immediately!"
Ke Bieng silently watched Jiang Wei, didn't say anything, and was compliantly raised by the people around him.
The whip lashed with a howling sound, striking the back of Ke Bieng. Each stroke followed another until Jiang Wei personally finished the twentyth stroke. He then signaled the guards to let go of Ke Bieng. Jiang Wei approached and comforted him:
"Quanzhou is only a thousand two hundred miles from Yecheng, and the army can reach there in more than twenty days. The matter of the rewards, the Single should be able to give an explanation to his troops."
Jiang Wei's gentle demeanor had a reason. When he was whipping Ke Bieng twenty times earlier, he didn't even require him to remove his armor. The maximum physical impact of twenty whips for Ke Bieng would be the noise caused by the whips.
Ke Bieng lowered his head slightly, sighed deeply, and bowed: "Thank you for your kindness, General Jiang. I also hope that you will pass my gratitude to the front general. I take my leave."
"Single King, take your time," Jiang Wei also bowed in return.
As the campaign was being conducted on their own soil, the setting up of camps became somewhat more casual.
Man Chong unified five military camps and Fei Lin's left military camp, led by Jiang Wei. He led the rest of the cavalry in front, with Liaodong troops at the rear. Ke Bieng's 5,000 light cavalry and those of the Xiongnu were at the end.
At this moment, Ke Bieng was returning to his camp and had to bypass the encampments of the Liaodong troops in order to get back to his own camp.
Ke Bieng returned from the gate with an older Xianbei nobleman named He Lian, each of them holding horses and torches, walking slowly northward under the night sky.
Ke Bieng asked casually, "He Lian, did you see that General Jiang whipped me twenty times just now?"
"I did," He Lian smiled: "Although General Jiang is young, he is very wise. The armor was not even removed, and the whip strikes felt like just scratching. What could that be considered a big deal?"
The firelight flickered up and down. Ke Bieng glanced sideways at He Lian's face and sighed slightly: "He Lian, do you remember what I said to you in Yanmen?"
"Yanmen? I remember the Single was speaking to me and Selili, He Shi, saying that joining up at Yanmen was an act of necessity. If the Single had not agreed, perhaps our tribe would have suffered a disaster."
Ke Bieng nodded: "That's right, I remember you said that. Do you still think what I said was correct today?"
"Hm, the Single is of course correct," He Lian burst into a laugh: "Serving in the army near the Emperor in Luoyang, receiving government salaries, with people from our tribe looking after us, how could this not be a beautiful thing?"
A loud thud, Ke Bieng's heel struck the ground heavily, and he stopped immediately. He Lian, from the inertia, walked forward an extra two steps before realizing something and turned around:
"What's wrong with the Single?"
Ke Bieng remained silent, bringing the torch closer to his face. The light flickered in his pupils, and his expression gradually became ferocious.
"Trust not the words of the Han!"
He Lian was startled and quickly looked around, making sure no one was watching. Only then did he approach Ke Bieng: "Single King, what's wrong? We've always agreed to go to Luoyang and serve the Emperor, leading troops and enjoying wealth and luxury."
Ke Bieng's eyes were wide with fury, and his teeth were clenched so tightly that they made a creaking sound: "Did you see that? Although I am the Xianbei Single King, a lieutenant general of Wei can whip me twenty times in front of a large crowd at the gate. What is this difference between me as Single King and dogs or horses in a cage? Today, one lieutenant general can whip me, but will two soldiers enter my home tomorrow and capture me to hang my head in the prison for treason?"
"Single King..." He Lian was completely bewildered: "What's wrong with the Single King today?"
"Call me the King, don't call me the Single King!" Ke Bieng loosened the reins of his horse, took out his riding whip from his waist, and struck his face in the air.
A long blood-red whip mark, starting from the left temple and running horizontally to the right chin.
"King!" Overwhelmed with shock, He Lian knelt down with a sobbing voice and asked, "King, what's wrong with you? Wasn't everything agreed upon before we came? Why are you whipping yourself?"
Ke Bieng said sharply: "When I was in Pingcheng, I feared that the Emperor might lead troops to subdue me, considering my tribe's well-being, I was summoned to join the expedition in Yanmen. From Yanmen to Changping, then to Liaodong, and back to Yulinbing, during all these events, Wei repeatedly stripped me of my authority. But I have tolerated it for the sake of our Xianbei tribe. But today when I came to ask questions from Man Chong, even if he personally scolded me, I could forgive him in the name of our tribe. But Man Chong did not come himself and only sent a lieutenant general to whip me!"
"This is Quanzhou, still within the territory of Youzhou, and there is still hope. But if we really reach Yecheng, if Wei changes its mind and wants to kill me, it would be as easy as killing a cow or a horse!"
As Ke Bieng spoke, the blood from the whip marks on his face began to trickle down, one drop after another, forming a stream that looked increasingly terrifying in the light of the torch: "He Lian, you are my most trustworthy companion. Will you join me in returning to the north? Let's leave tonight!"
The amount of information in these words made He Lian somewhat difficult to accept at first: "King, weren't you worried about the tribe before? If we run away today, what will become of the western Xianbei? And what if Wei attacks again?"
Fresh blood from the wounds on Ke Bieng's beard flowed down to his mutton chops, and he paid no attention to the pain, growling: "The Emperor of Wei rushed south in such a hurry, it must be something going on in Wu and Shu! How could he care about me?"
"If Wei truly comes to attack, with the vastness of the grassland, where can we not go? If it's really not possible, we could head west to Western Regions, and then further west to the middle Hebei region. There is always a place for us to roam freely. Why worry so much?"
Saying this, Ke Bieng drew out the precious sword from his waist, the blade across his neck: "If you are willing to help me, I will certainly help you become a leader of a tribe. If you betray me after my death, let the eagles peck at your flesh! If you do not wish to help me, I have no thoughts left in Wei. It would be best for me to end it here by suicide!"
He Lian knocked his head repeatedly: "King, why would it come to this? Why would it come to this! I am your underling, if you leave, I will follow you!"
"Alright!" Ke Bieng said: "Wei has dishonored me, and whipped my face so severely, I will ensure the entire army knows about it! At three o'clock tonight, we will all ride north under the cover of darkness! The camps of Tian Yu and Duan Zhao are still at Tu Yin. I will take the Quanzhou route through Yongnu, Lüxian, and then from Yuanyang into the deserts. Along this route, there should be no Wei troops to hinder us."
"This time, you must help me!"
"King, you can rest assured!" He Lian took the torch from Ke Bieng's hand, crouching down and allowing Ke Bieng to step on his shoulders to mount his horse.
Then, both men and their horses raced swiftly towards the camp.
Ke Bieng had been in the Western Xianbei for many years and didn't need to worry about the army. When he went to look for Jiang Wei earlier, he claimed that there were noises in the army demanding rewards, but it was just a lie told by a few trusted people.
Ke Bieng returned to camp with his blood-covered face, everyone was shocked, and He Lian nearby further stirred up the camp by saying that once they arrived in Yecheng, they would be executed by Wei for their past rebellion.
Frightened, they all agreed to Ke Bieng's request and quietly began to gather and prepare in the camp that night.
Later in the night, when Jiang Wei was patrolling outside the main camp, a sound of horsehooves came from the north, which was especially clear in the night. Jiang Wei signaled his guards to raise shields, and he himself drew his precious sword and led fifty people to welcome the direction of the horsehooves.
"Who is the general ahead? I am Liu Bao, a Xiongnu!" Six cavalrymen rode from the north, and the leader in a single garment shouted loudly.
"Jiang Boyue is here!" Jiang Wei replied in a deep voice, "Are you unaware of the curfew? Why are you coming to the main army camp at night?"
Liu Bao stopped his horse at a distance of three zhang (approximately 30 feet) and jumped off to run forward in a single cloth garment. He stopped in front of Jiang Wei, gasping for breath and said:
"General, General Jiang! The Xianbei people have fled!" (Chapter ends)
