Chapter 58: Distinguished Achievements and Promotion to Colonel

Liu Can's excited expression made Zhang Chao, who was sitting at the head of the hall, anxious as well.

How could one not be overjoyed to discover such a fierce warrior directly under one's own command? How could one not wish to win him over?

"Men, men! Quickly go and bring the head here so that everyone present can take a look!"

With that, Zhang Chao paced back and forth across the hall in excitement. The moment he heard about the three thousand Tibetan heads, he instantly cast all his doubts about Zhao Mang to the winds.

He spoke again with great excitement, "Such a great victory! Why wasn't it reported earlier?"

Zhang Chao's excited demeanor caused the officers and soldiers present to begin whispering among themselves.

"I've never seen General Zhang act so mercurially before."

"Indeed. Ever since I began serving under General Zhang, I have never seen him this happy."

"He wasn't even this excited when he established contact with the noble clans inside Guazhou City."

"It seems this great victory by Zhao Mang is the best thing he has encountered in all these years."

On the other side of the tent, the atmosphere was different. They were not discussing Zhang Chao's uncharacteristic behavior; instead, they were eager to know precisely how Zhao Mang had managed to defeat three thousand Tibetan cavalrymen.

Someone even asked aloud directly, "Commander Zhao, how on earth did you manage to defeat those three thousand Tibetan cavalrymen?"

"Could you share it with us?"

"Exactly, exactly! Let everyone open their eyes and learn a thing or two, so we can also contribute to the recapture of Guazhou!"

At this moment, Zhao Wuji's face was filled with wild ecstasy. He knew Zhao Mang all too well, having promoted the man himself.

If Zhao Mang said he had beheaded three thousand Tibetan cavalrymen, then he had indeed beheaded three thousand. There was zero falsehood in it.

Unable to wait for the evidence to be presented, Zhao Wuji eagerly opened his mouth to make a demand, "Brother Zhao, would you be willing to cede a thousand of the warhorses you captured to me?"

"I only need a thousand, and I shall be eternally grateful!"

Zhao Wuji's attitude left Zhao Mang somewhat stunned. Could this be the sheer power of resources?

Just as Zhao Mang was about to refuse Zhao Wuji's request, Zhang Chao on the platform grew anxious first.

"You scoundrel, how can you go about snatching someone else's spoils of war?"

"And you as well, Zhao Mang! The spoils of the frontier army must be partially surrendered to the authorities; you cannot simply swallow them all for yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Can felt as though ten thousand wild horses were stampeding through his heart. He thought to himself: I tried to play nice and act with civility and restraint, yet you people are openly trying to poach my resources right in front of my face.

简直臭不要脸 (How utterly shameless.)

He immediately spoke up, "My good nephew-in-law! We are family after all. Though they say there are no father-son bonds in the military, if you give these three thousand warhorses to me, I will personally handle your marriage to Wan'er!"

Zhao Mang was somewhat dumbfounded.

Before the evidence had even been presented, and before he had accomplished what he set out to do, these people had already started coveting his three thousand warhorses—and each one was more outrageous than the last!

It left him unable to laugh or cry.

One was his former superior, one was his immediate superior, and the other was the Grand General of the frontier army. He could not afford to offend a single one of them.

Yet he did not wish to agree to any of them either.

Zhao Mang had his own plans. Three thousand cavalrymen were vastly more formidable than three thousand infantrymen.

Just as he was wondering how to speak up, Xiao Han dragged a cartful of Tibetan heads into the military tent in broad daylight.

He bowed and reported in a loud voice, "This subordinate Xiao Han, scout commander under Commander Zhao. These are the heads of the three thousand Tibetan cavalrymen. There are more than ten carts left outside the tent, so I didn't drag them all in one by one."

"The General may send men to inspect them."

The moment Xiao Han's voice fell, the people inside the tent who had been wavering back and forth instantly fell silent.

Facts were the best proof.

Zhao Mang violently shoved Li Shihui to the ground, wrenched his arms behind his back, and bound them using the broken rope that had just tied him up.

With a resonant and stern voice, he questioned, "I ask you, Commander Li! Where on earth did your so-called three thousand cavalrymen come from?"

With that, Zhao Mang delivered a kick to him, causing him to howl in pain.

"And who was it that ordered you to lie before the Vice-Military Commissioner?"

Dragging Li Shihui up, Zhao Mang struck him across the face, drawing a stream of fresh blood from the corner of Li Shihui's mouth.

"How could you ever face those three thousand fallen frontier infantrymen?"

Zhao Mang forcefully dislocated Li Shihui's arm. The excruciating pain of the dislocated joint brought Li Shihui to the verge of losing consciousness.

"I, Zhao Mang, consider myself a cold-blooded man, but I never expected you to be even worse!"

Seeing that Zhao Mang's methods were ruthless, yet he did not immediately take Li Shihui's life, the officers present turned a blind eye and did not take the matter too to heart.

Li Huai'an gripped his fists tightly in anxiety, his lips trembling slightly. Several times he wanted to speak out to stop it, but he managed to restrain himself for lack of a proper reason.

Zhang Chao, sitting at the head of the hall, narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows slightly. He had heard tales of Zhao Mang's ferocity, but this was the first time he was witnessing it firsthand.

However, this also suited his own wishes. Among the few noble clans remaining in Sha City, the Li family was the most influential.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to curb their arrogance would be just the thing to let them know where they stood.

The military ultimately required capable generals who possessed real strength. Stuffing any stray cat or dog into the ranks was simply inviting disaster upon oneself.

Li Shihui and Li Huai'an were prime examples. Ever since they entered the military camp, they had never done a single good deed.

Li Huai'an, whom he had personally appointed as the Agricultural Reclamation Commissioner, pulled far too many petty stunts behind the scenes, frequently leaving his frontier army short of grain.

Though deeply angered, Zhang Chao had no way of dealing with him, as Sha City currently suffered from a shortage of talent.

Only by successfully recovering all the prefectures of the Hexi Corridor at an early date could he expand his own team of advisors.

For now, he would simply make do with them. Thinking of this, Zhang Chao spoke up to intervene.

"Alright, alright! Since you have already punished him, let the crime of false accusation end here!"

With that, Zhang Chao sat back down in his seat and twirled the teacup on his table.

He directly announced the appointment, "Since you have rendered meritorious service in slaying the enemy and devised a brilliant strategy to repel them!"

"I hereby promote you to the rank of Huben Colonel! Raised by one official grade, awarded fifty households of stipend, and a hundred mu of fertile farmland."

Zhang Chao took a sip of tea and continued, "I hear that you have already set up camp at Dunzi Peak and demarcated your own territory."

"That being the case, I shall have someone send you the official documents another day. From now on, that shall be your domain."

Zhao Mang waited patiently for Zhang Chao to finish speaking, yet he still did not let go of Li Shihui in his grasp.

Zhao Mang cupped one hand in the other and said earnestly, "This subordinate thanks General Zhang for the promotion! From now on, I shall strive even harder to train troops and forge generals, so as to recover the Hexi Corridor at the earliest!"

After a burst of high-sounding rhetoric, Zhao Mang's tone abruptly shifted, "Though I have made this grand vow,"

"A thousand-li dike collapses from a single ant hole. This Li Shihui has committed countless evils, is full of lies, possesses no talent for command, and lacks any shred of compassion."

"How can we simply let him off the hook after he caused the deaths of so many of our compatriots?"

"I propose executing him to sacrifice to the flags!"

"To comfort the wandering souls of the three thousand fallen frontier soldiers!"

As soon as Zhao Mang said these words, all the officers in the military tent were utterly shocked.

They hurriedly began to try to persuade him, "Colonel Zhao, your bloodlust is still far too heavy!"

"It was merely a battle that wasn't fought well; how can you casually take someone's life over this?"

"After all, he is a man of the Li family. Show them some face at least!"

"Indeed, who among commanders never makes a mistake? Where is there such a thing as an ever-victorious general on the battlefield?"

Hearing this, Zhao Mang was consumed by burning rage!