DLERB -Chapter 44 The Prince Has Given the Order—Help Those Officials Who Are Not ‘Willingly’ Willing!

Borrow troops?

From the Lantian garrison?

Wang Jian’s weathered old face instantly lost all color.

He stepped forward abruptly, his voice hoarse with urgency.

“Your Highness! Absolutely not!”

“The Lantian garrison is the capital’s outer defensive shield. Any troop movement requires His Majesty’s imperial tally and General Meng Yi’s seal. Neither can be missing!”

“More importantly, the camp is entangled with factions—pulling even a single thread affects the entire system! Forcibly extracting three thousand men would cause chaos in the garrison before any enemy even arrives!”

“This is absolutely impossible! This old minister… cannot do it!”

Wang Jian was practically pleading.

This was no longer military strategy—it was trampling on the century-old military laws of Great Qin!

However, before he could finish—

That mountain-like silent figure, Han Xin, spoke.

His voice remained cold, without the slightest ripple.

“No imperial tally is needed. No command seal is needed.”

“And I do not need three thousand elite soldiers.”

Han Xin’s gaze seemed to pierce through the walls of the study, reaching the Lantian garrison hundreds of miles away.

He slowly named three people.

“Scouting battalion deputy commander, Wang Wu.”

“Logistics squad leader, Zhao Si.”

“And in the archery battalion—the one stripped of rank for alcoholism, Li San.”

With each name Han Xin spoke, Wang Jian’s face turned paler.

He knew them.

Not just knew them—he knew them very well.

These three were precisely the most troublesome troublemakers, unruly rogues, and incorrigible misfits in the entire Lantian garrison under Meng Yi.

The soldiers under their command were all troops discarded by other units—true military delinquents.

Han Xin continued, as if reading an autopsy report.

“Wang Wu’s unit routinely reports false military intelligence and embezzles rations.”

“Zhao Si’s unit, while officially responsible for transporting supplies, in reality steals en route—it is no different from bandits.”

“As for Li San, his subordinates are all gamblers and drunkards. Group fights are a daily occurrence.”

“These three units together total 3,217 men.”

“They are nominally soldiers of Great Qin—but in reality, they are festering sores within the army.”

Han Xin withdrew his gaze and looked at the stunned Wang Jian.

“Remove these three thousand men…”

“and not only will the Lantian garrison not fall into chaos…”

“it will instead experience higher morale and smoother command.”

Wang Jian opened his mouth—but not a single word came out.

He felt as if he had become transparent, seen through completely inside and out by this man.

What kind of monster was Han Xin?!

He had never even been to the Lantian garrison—so how could he know its internal personnel situation so clearly?!

Wang Jian’s body swayed.

Looking into Han Xin’s unfathomable eyes, the last bit of his conviction collapsed completely.

He bowed deeply toward Han Xin.

Then he turned to Ying Ziye, his voice dry.

“Your Highness… the troops… this old minister… has solved it.”

Ying Ziye nodded in satisfaction, as if this had always been expected.

He turned his head, his clear young eyes landing on Li Si, who had been kneeling the entire time.

“Chancellor, now it’s your turn.”

“Where is your money and grain?”

Li Si trembled all over.

He suddenly raised his head. On that aged face, there was no longer fear or hesitation—only an almost manic fervor.

“Reporting to Your Highness! Money and grain are also not difficult!”

He pulled out a bamboo slip he had long prepared from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

“This minister has a plan, called the ‘Patriotic Contribution’!”

“In Xianyang, there are many former nobles of the Six Kingdoms, possessing vast wealth rivaling entire nations.”

“Many of them are secretly colluding with remnants outside the passes, but lack solid evidence!”

“In times of national crisis, they should share the burden of the state!”

“This minister believes we should, in the name of regency authority, call upon them to ‘voluntarily’ contribute to the formation of the ‘Divine Strategist Army’!”

Ying Ziye took the bamboo slip and unfolded it.

Neatly written on it were dozens of names.

Wei clan, Han clan, Zhao clan…

Ying Ziye looked at the list, a playful expression appearing on his young face.

He picked up the cinnabar brush on the desk.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

At the end of the list, he casually added more than a dozen names in one breath.

The disciples of Chunyu Yue.

The impeaching censor officials.

The Confucian scholars who once stood in court and forced him with the words “ritual and propriety.”

When Li Si and Wang Jian leaned in to take a look, they immediately felt a chill surge from the soles of their feet straight to their skulls.

They only heard Ying Ziye speak in a soft, childish voice:

“Since we’re inviting people to a banquet…”

“Then let’s invite everyone who once tried to flip my table.”

“Not a single one is allowed to be missing.”

Ying Ziye put down his brush and handed the list to Qinglong standing in the corner.

“Uncle Qinglong.”

“Take your Embroidered Uniform Guard, and bring along the new toys freshly produced by the Heavenly Craft Workshop.”

“Go tonight. Visit them one by one and ‘invite’ them properly.”

“Tell them: my Great Qin does not support idlers—and even less does it support parasites.”

Qinglong took the list without a word, his figure disappearing into the darkness.

Ying Ziye yawned, looking slightly sleepy.

“Li Si, Wang Jian.”

“You two should go back as well.”

“Tomorrow morning, I want to see money—and I want to see soldiers.”

……

Midnight.

Xianyang City, Wei Clan residence.

Violent banging on the door woke the Wei Clan patriarch from the warm embrace of his beautiful concubine.

He threw on an extravagant silk robe and walked angrily into the courtyard.

“Who dares cause trouble in front of me? Tired of living?!”

Dozens of guards with blades drawn surrounded a group of men in flying fish uniforms, each carrying embroidered spring sabers.

The leading centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard expressionlessly unfolded a document.

“By order of the Regent Prince, Lord Wei is requested to serve the nation and contribute wealth for military supplies.”

The Wei Clan head froze for a moment, then burst into loud, piercing laughter.

“Hahahaha!”

“A mere brat! A child not even weaned yet! His words dare be called an ‘order’?!”

He pointed at the Embroidered Uniform Guard, full of contempt.

“You want money from my Wei family treasury? Dream on!”

“Go back and tell that little bastard! Tell him to ask the Emperor himself!”

Behind him, the household guards drew their weapons, blades pointing straight at the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“Get lost!”

The same scene unfolded simultaneously in dozens of mansions across Xianyang.

“A brat’s lackeys dare act wild in my residence?”

“Tell him to come here himself and speak!”

“Won’t open the door! If you can, break in!”

Curses, ridicule, and the slamming of doors rose one after another.

Outside the Wei residence.

Qinglong stood silently in the darkness, listening to report after report from his subordinates.

Charcoal brushes scratched across bamboo slips, recording every defiant word.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard handed over a compiled bamboo slip report.

Qinglong didn’t even look at it. He simply stared at the tightly shut vermilion gate and said coldly:

“All recorded?”

“Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief—every word, without omission.”

Qinglong nodded and released a pre-prepared carrier pigeon.

The night sky remained deathly silent.

Less than a stick of incense later—

The pigeon returned.

A tiny bamboo tube, almost invisible, was tied to its leg.

Qinglong removed it and unfolded the paper inside.

There was only one character written on it.

A single word written in cinnabar—messy, yet carrying boundless killing intent:

“Approved.”

Qinglong carefully tucked the paper into his chest.

He turned to face the hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him, all of whom were already itching for action.

“The Prince has given the order.”

“These officials are frail. They’re too embarrassed to be ‘willingly willing.’”

“So…”

“We’ll help them.”

He slowly took out a strange-looking leather pouch from his robes.

Then he pulled out several unremarkable small cloth bundles wrapped in linen.

He tilted his chin toward the Wei residence gate.

“Smash the door.”

“Let them experience the warmth of the Heavenly Craft Workshop.”