"You’re right, perhaps this is an excellent opportunity." Ye Shikai nodded and said, looking at the map in front of him. They didn’t have a map near Ji County, not to ntion a detailed military map. At least from these won’s mouths, they should be able to get so useful information.
Thinking of this, Ye Shikai didn’t care about the heavy rain outside anymore. He ran out wearing a raincoat and went straight to Man Cang’s camp.
"Are the arrangents for those won done?" As soon as Ye Shikai arrived outside the barracks, he saw Man Cang and several soldiers standing outside the door.
"Village chief, we have cleared an empty barracks for them, enough for them to live in. Per your instructions, we gave them als that are up to the officer’s standards, so they won’t be hungry." Man Cang explained.
"Then what are you all doing here, peeking at them?" Ye Shikai retorted.
"We wouldn’t, village chief. We’re honest n; how could we do such a disgraceful thing?" Man Cang quickly explained, seeing no movent inside the barracks. He pulled Ye Shikai’s arm to the corner, seemingly worried about being overheard by those won.
"Shangguan Baijiang asked the brothers to pay more attention, so we didn’t dare slack off."
"I see." Ye Shikai murmured. It seems Shangguan Jian still couldn’t rest easy, but he could understand, after all, he’s commanding so many people, being cautious is a good thing.
"Alright, I’m going to ask them so questions; go prepare so cloth and ink." Ye Shikai instructed.
"Yes, village chief, please wait, I’ll prepare it imdiately."
Inside the barracks.
As soon as Ye Shikai entered, it was as if a hungry wolf had entered a flock of sheep. The won instinctively retreated, maintaining a distance from Ye Shikai.
"You don’t need to be so afraid of ." Ye Shikai said with a smile. He wasn’t a violent person, placing the cloth and ink on the table.
"Have you all had enough to eat?" Ye Shikai didn’t start writing imdiately, but instead first offered so "care and comfort." These won were taken by the Wolf Clan to serve as slaves; they must have suffered quite a lot, even torture. Even now, facing the Qin Army, they were still trembling, afraid to say much. To get information from them, building trust was necessary.
The first step is to make them let go of their guard.
"Thank you for asking, sir, we... have all eaten." A relatively brave woman slowly stepped forward and said, but her tone was very timid. Perhaps because Ye Shikai had the soldiers give them clean clothes and warm als, her vigilance towards Ye Shikai wasn’t so high.
"That’s good. You don’t need to be afraid; as long as you’re not spies, I’ll naturally send soone to escort you back to the village."
"Thank you, sir."
Ye Shikai chatted with the won for a long ti, finally making them feel safe and lower their guard towards Ye Shikai. Frankly speaking, in this chaotic era, be it the Wolf Clan or the Qin Army, neither was more cruel or more lenient than the other. The oppressed were always the common people.
"Since you managed to escape from the Wolf Clan, it must have been quite a distance to get here." Ye Shikai took out the ink, continuing to ask.
"Yes, we walked for five days and nights, dared not rest, had no food, could only drink water to stave off hunger, and lost a few sisters on the way before finally escaping to Qin Territory."
"I see." Ye Shikai nodded, saying. Five days and nights at the pace of fleeing; this was enough to cover hundreds of miles. It was evident that they had suffered greatly.
"Don’t worry, your als will be supplied according to the officers’ standards. We’re heading to the front lines now, afraid we won’t be able to care for you well. When we reach the nearest village, I’ll have the Three Elders settle you."
"Thank you for saving us, sir, we’ll never forget it." The won finally completely trusted Ye Shikai. If it weren’t for his tily intervention, these won would have been bowing and thanking him already.
"Alright, I want to ask you a few questions. If you answer well, I have reward money." Ye Shikai placed several strings of Copper Coins on the table. This money was enough for them to settle in the village, never having to be labeled as slaves again.
"Please ask, sir."
"Since you were taken by the Wolf Clan, have you been to their camp?"
"To answer the sir... we have indeed been to their camp. The Wolf Clan captured us and took us to the camp, gathered us together, then distributed us to various clan leaders."
"So, is the Wolf Clan’s army large?"
"Yes, really large." Before Ye Shikai could finish asking, a woman suddenly stood up and said excitedly.
"Exactly how many?" Ye Shikai’s face grew solemn. Although he wanted the truth, this truth was indeed alarming.
"When I was brought into camp before, the Wolf Clan army seed to be assembling. I saw many, many horses, filling the entire grassland. Specifically... I couldn’t count them all."
Ye Shikai’s heart grew anxious upon hearing this. To fill an entire grassland, from the perspective of human vision, this must be at least tens of thousands of cavalry, and this might not be even the entirety of the Wolf Clan’s force. They have several tribes, and infantry haven’t been accounted for yet. So, the Wolf Clan might have deployed hundreds of thousands, perhaps even two hundred thousand troops this ti.
"Are you telling the truth?" Ye Shikai repeatedly confird.
"I dare not lie; this is all true. As for the number, I really couldn’t count."
"Alright, here’s your reward." Ye Shikai handed a string of Copper Coins to the woman.
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
...............
"The village chief has been inside for four hours; what exactly is he asking?"
"Don’t make noise; it’s probably obtaining intelligence."
Outside the barracks, a group of soldiers gathered there, discussing. Shangguan Jian also waited at the door for Ye Shikai to co out.
Bang.
Suddenly, the door to the barracks was opened, and Ye Shikai waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.
"It’s almost ti to set out; why aren’t you taking the opportunity to rest, what are you doing here?" Ye Shikai had all the soldiers disperse, return to camp, and rest.
"Old Ye, how are things?" Shangguan Jian stepped forward. He knew Ye Shikai wanted the soldiers to disperse because he was worried about the intelligence being overheard. Though it ca from the mouths of several slaves, in fact, this was classified intelligence.
"Look at this." Ye Shikai opened the cloth in his hand, revealing a map.
"Although it’s not very precise, it’s roughly usable. With this map, we can estimate the approximate location of the Wolf Clan’s camp." Ye Shikai handed over the map.
"That’s great, Old Ye, with this, we can launch a surprise attack."
"You’re overthinking. The Wolf Clan’s camp has no less than tens of thousands of people; we only have two thousand. We’re not their match."
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