"As soldiers of Great Qin, it is natural for us to defend our territory. Moreover, the Wolf Clan is like a blade over our heads. Once they enter the Central Plains, it will be a disaster, so there’s no question of hardship or not," Ma Peng chuckled, perfectly responding to Ye Shikai’s words. From this perspective, if Ma Peng were in a modern company, he might belong to those diligent middle managers—ticulous yet waiting for a promotion opportunity, hoping soday he would be recognized by his superiors.
"By the way, Brother Ma, we’re new here, and our understanding of the Wolf Clan is far less than yours. I have a few questions, and I hope Brother Ma can enlighten us," Ye Shikai shifted the topic, hoping to find so flaws in Ma Peng’s words.
"Ask away, Brother Ye. As long as I can answer, I won’t hide anything."
"I have crossed paths with the Wolf Clan before, though only a few tis, and it was mostly with so of their guerrilla forces. I’m not sure what weapons their regular army has or how strong they are."
"Presumably, Brother Ye has also seen in recent days; the Wolf Clan is known for their bravery, excelling in horseback riding and archery. Their cavalry is both fast and fierce. Once they launch a collective charge, they are unstoppable. At such tis, our army uses strong bows and crossbows to stabilize the Wolf Clan cavalry’s formation, interrupt their charge, and then engage with a phalanx of spears to secure victory. That’s why General ng repeatedly warns the army to practice formations diligently, otherwise..."
"Right, you said just now that the Wolf Clan excels in mounted archery, didn’t you?" Ye Shikai interrupted Ma Peng.
"Wh... what happened?"
"Since our army has strong bows and crossbows and the Wolf Clan are good archers, why does the Wolf Clan charge under a rain of arrows rather than choosing to shoot back at us?"
"Brother Ye might not know, the Wolf Clan is skilled at archery, but the feathers used for making arrows are scarce for them. Without arrow feathers, the arrows lack stability and are hard to control. So, the production level of Wolf Clan arrows is not high. Furthermore, without our armor-casting technology, they find it hard to produce iron armor. Once hit by an arrow, their leather armor alone can’t offer much protection," Ma Peng explained in detail. Speaking of this, the Wolf Clan is located on the steppes, where there’s little to compare with the abundance or advancent of the Central Plains Qin Dynasty, especially food. The grasslands lack grain, and every winter people die of hunger and cold, making them yearn for the fertile lands of the Central Plains.
"Brother Ma, I’ve heard sothing about the frontier. If it’s not warti, the borders between the Wolf Clan and Great Qin should see so comrcial exchanges, right?" Ye Shikai said faintly. Indeed, this was not wrong. Although the Great Wall was built, it doesn’t an complete closure. Qin Dynasty rchants took food, tal tools, dicines, and other materials to the steppe, while Wolf Clan rchants brought animal furs and livestock to the Central Plains. But this one sentence made Ma Peng look a bit unsettled, as if it hit a sore spot.
"This... is indeed the case. There is indeed much trade between rchants from both sides. However, for military supplies like arrows and armor, there are strict inspections at the border to prevent such items from flowing into Wolf Clan hands. Now that war has begun, all of Great Qin’s borders have been sealed."
"I see, no wonder. I thought the Wolf Clan had arrows but didn’t use them; turns out this is the reason." Ye Shikai slowly stood up, gently patted Ma Peng’s shoulder, and softly said, "I’ll take my leave first, Brother Ma, enjoy your al."
..................
Returning to the barracks, Ye Shikai saw Xue San sitting on one side. Upon seeing Ye Shikai enter, Xue San sprang up from his chair.
"How did it go, have you found out everything?"
"Chiliarch, the task you gave , I absolutely fulfilled it." Xue San took a bamboo slip from his clothing.
"This is the information you wanted." Xue San handed over the bamboo slip.
"How did you find this information so quickly?" Ye Shikai asked curiously.
"Ma Peng’s family is in Ji County, and since he’s a military man, finding his ho was very easy. As for this bamboo slip, it was simply left in his study, so I easily took it," Xue San said with a hint of pride.
"I didn’t expect this Ma Peng to be one thing on the surface but another secretly. No wonder he doesn’t mind being a chiliarch at this desolate outpost," Ye Shikai opened the bamboo slip, and before even finishing it, he smiled slightly, as if he’d encountered sothing good.
"Chiliarch, what’s it about? Is it possible this guy has ill intentions?" Xue San asked curiously.
"Not exactly ill intentions, just... evidence that he secretly sold arrows to the Wolf Clan," Ye Shikai said lightly.
"What?" Xue San exclaid in surprise. He couldn’t help but shout, even though routinely military supplies are strictly controlled to prevent them from reaching the Wolf Clan, let alone being secretly sold now that war has begun. The crux is now that war has started, these arrows will soon beco ’killers’ against the Qin Army soldiers.
"This is a capital cri. Ma Peng must be tired of living," Xue San, though a thief who has done many sneaky activities in his ti, was also scornful and even outraged to hear that Ma Peng was illegally selling arms.
Perhaps, this is what they call ’Thieves also have principles.’
"I didn’t expect you to be so angry too," Ye Shikai teased.
"Chiliarch, I’m not exactly a good person, and I’ve stolen from quite a few, but I understand right from wrong. If these weapons cause the Wolf Clan to breach the fortress, who knows how many civilians will die," Xue San said with an unusual sense of righteousness, quite impressing Ye Shikai.
"There’s a saying where I co from: ’With enough money, you can make the devil push a millstone.’ As long as the profit is high enough, most people will be tempted. If there’s huge profit, there will always be soone willing to take risks," Ye Shikai responded. Initially suspecting that Ma Peng had issues, it now seed true. If he hadn’t discovered the assassin eavesdropping outside the barracks, he might not have suspected. Sending soone to eavesdrop so blatantly was tantamount to confession, revealing his guilty conscience.
"Chiliarch, we should report this imdiately to Lord Han and charge Ma Peng with his grave cris. I never thought, outwardly diligent, he would secretly be colluding with the Wolf Clan."
"Now that we have evidence, we indeed should catch Ma Peng. However, his command of two thousand soldiers under him is a bit tricky."
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