Free Web NovelChapter 2331: Chapter 2306: Persuasion
Bai Shan reached out to catch the two torn pieces, merely furrowing his brows. He didn’t blame Erge, but turned to Jin Kui’an instead and said, "The letter of introduction is torn, it seems General Jin can only go over there with nothing but his own person."
Jin Kui’an, who had not really believed there was a letter from General Guo, took one look at Bai Shan’s expression and instantly believed it was real.
He flew into a rage, raised his saber and pointed it at Erge. "You sold me out!"
Erge said with a grave face, "Jin Kui’an, do you really think defecting to Kucha will end well for you? Back then our Tiele Tribe people worked like dogs under the Turks. They wanted miners, they wanted cattle and sheep, they wanted the vanguard—our Tiele people never dared say no, or it was a crime as high as the sky."
"But in the eyes of the Western Turkic, we Tiele people are still Eastern Turks. There’s blood feud between the two sides—what good do you think you’ll get going over there?" Erge said. "General Guo has shown us great favor, he didn’t kill us, and the Heavenly Khan is generous and tolerant, never caring about a man’s origins when he uses him. Is there any better place to go than the Great Jin?"
Bai Shan also sighed and said, "Jin Kui’an, I really don’t like you. Quite a few of my men died at your hands back then. When Erge came to report that you were about to run, I said, let him run. Once General Ashina brings the main force back, you’ll get what’s coming to you."
He said, "No matter how brave and fierce you are, you’re just one man. I don’t believe General Ashina’s thousands of troops can’t take down a single you."
Bai Shan sneered. "Wasn’t your Xue Yantuo crushed by General Ashina?"
Jin Kui’an’s face flushed red as he roared, "It wasn’t him! Ashina was nothing but one of our khan’s defeated generals. Our khan lost to your emperor and Li Zhen."
At that time General Ashina had indeed been serving under Minister Li. Bai Shan paused, then asked, "Can you stand against General Ashina’s thousands of troops?"
Jin Kui’an’s face reddened and he said nothing.
Bai Shan smiled faintly and said, "Jin Kui’an, when it comes to tolerating and employing men, there’s probably no one under heaven who can match our emperor. Among the vassal generals in our court who can hold command, there are General Ashina, General Sili, and General Qibi. In another country, of different surname and different tribe, who would dare entrust you with troops?"
Jin Kui’an stayed silent.
Bai Shan went on, "General Qibi is one of your Tiele Tribe people, he was even once the khan of your Tiele Tribe..."
Behind Bai Shan, Erge lowered his eyes, hiding the mockery in them. Though they were both Tiele, they belonged to different factions.
But in Jin Kui’an’s eyes, the khan of the Tiele Tribe was an existence high above the clouds, because he himself had been nothing but a slave.
It was only because General Bazhuo had taken a liking to him that he’d been promoted.
Jin Kui’an wavered in his heart for a long while before saying, "You’re going to lose. General Guo is gravely wounded. Once the line of retreat is cut off..."
Bai Shan said with confidence, "We made arrangements the very night the rebellion broke out in Wang City, and we already have a plan now. It’s only a matter of dragging things out for a few more days."
He said, "Jin Kui’an, you think after defeat we’d still stay here waiting to die?"
Jin Kui’an stared at them. "You’d run?"
Bai Shan smiled slightly. "We in this party are not regular army men. Even if we run, once we’re back at court no one will hold us accountable."
He said, "I’m from the aristocracy, Zhou Man is an imperial physician in the palace, my Junior Brother is His Majesty’s legitimate imperial son-in-law, and Liu Huan is the grandson of the Minister of Revenue. Do you think people like us would sit and watch the army lose and not run?"
Junior General Meng couldn’t help but glance sideways at him.
Bai Shan said with full confidence, "Our statuses are no lighter than Kucha’s. General Guo would rather abandon Kucha than fail to get us out safely. The only reason we haven’t left yet is that we have a plan in hand."
Jin Kui’an grew even more uncertain, but he wasn’t completely stupid. Clenching the saber in his hand, he asked, "If you’re really that confident, why did you come after me?"
Bai Shan sighed and said, "Naturally to form a good relationship. I said from the beginning, General Guo cherishes talent and doesn’t want you to run into trouble after you get to Kucha. Once we retake Kucha later, General Jin can just come back."
He cast a regretful glance at the torn scraps of paper on the ground. "Shame about the letter being ripped up."
Erge chimed in at the right moment, "Jin Kui’an, for the sake of being from the same tribe and having fought as comrades, I’ll warn you this: the importance of staying in camp to share hardship with the general now, and then re-enlisting after the city is retaken, is not at all the same."
Junior General Meng gave a derisive snort and thrust his spear forward. "I look down most on this sort of deserter."
Bai Shan: ...
Erge: ...
Jin Kui’an flew into a rage. Bai Shan was just thinking what he could say to smooth things over when Jin Kui’an had already bellowed, "Who says I’m deserting the camp?"
He grabbed at a random excuse. "I was going to Wang City to scout for information!"
Bai Shan: ... Good excuse.
Bai Shan immediately said, "Perfect timing, we were just about to go take a turn by Wang City as well. Why don’t we go together?"
Jin Kui’an looked at him suspiciously.
Bai Shan smiled at him. "General Jin, I only brought this few men with me. Even if there were three times as many, we probably still couldn’t stop you. And we’re going toward Wang City anyway—what are you afraid of?"
Jin Kui’an let out a cold laugh. "Who says I’m afraid?"
He was highly skilled and bold to match; he really wasn’t afraid.
Bai Shan nodded slightly at Junior General Meng, who then ordered the checkpoint opened. Their group passed smoothly through three gates in succession and reached a spot not far from Wang City’s main gate.
Everyone watched the city gate from afar, not daring to get too close.
They had no choice. There were archers atop the gate, and none of them wanted to die before their campaign had even begun.
Jin Kui’an also didn’t seize the chance to charge over and surrender with his men. Bai Shan tilted his head slightly to glance at him and asked with a smile, "General Jin, if you were trapped inside the city, how confident are you that you could cut your way out?"
Jin Kui’an said, "I’ve already been trapped once."
Only then did Bai Shan remember that he’d been in the vanguard before, following right behind General Guo and his son as they charged into the city. Aside from the Guo father and son and their personal guards, that squad of theirs had been in the most danger.
Bai Shan ran his eyes up and down Jin Kui’an, then thought back carefully, confirming that when the wounded were being sorted he hadn’t seen Jin Kui’an, and he hadn’t seen his name on the list of those receiving medicine either. It seemed his martial skills really were formidable; he hadn’t taken so much as a scratch.
This also showed he hadn’t been all that devoted. When they were withdrawing from the gate, the vanguard became the rear guard. General Guo and his son had stayed at the very back, while he was a short distance ahead. He’d clearly had strength to spare, yet hadn’t turned back to rescue the commander.
Bai Shan curled his lips and said approvingly, "General Jin is brave indeed. Our planned stratagem could very well include you in it."
Junior General Meng couldn’t help but look at him. Wasn’t their current provisional "stratagem" just to drag things out? What stratagem?
Bai Shan didn’t say what the stratagem was. But with that big bone tossed out and the excuse in place, after they circled once around Wang City, they successfully brought Jin Kui’an and the would-be deserters back.
Back in camp, Bai Shan and the others seemed to fully accept Jin Kui’an’s story that they weren’t deserting but scouting for information.
He directly brought Jin Kui’an to see General Li, who’d been sitting there ill at ease, and said with a smile, "General Li is currently the one in charge of the army. General Guo is badly wounded, drifting in and out of consciousness, and probably can’t see you right now. In future, if you have any business you can go straight to General Li. General Guo thinks highly of you; General Li will also give you some face."
General Li: ... General Guo had once commented that Jin Kui’an was brave but witless, with a vicious heart. He could be used as a vanguard, but must not hold independent command.
As for Erge, he had brains, but his character was hard to read; thus Guo was only willing to keep him in the ranks to be tempered. Whether he’d be used in the end would depend on his performance.
How had that turned into "thinks highly of" in Bai Shan’s mouth?
Still, it was indeed a kind of high regard—General Guo had originally planned to keep Jin Kui’an at the front of the army as vanguard for life. He was very good at cutting people down.
