Chapter 23: A Little Cut on the Rear End

The north wind howled. Along the Baoxie Plank Road, Xu Yi walked in front, with Zhong Hui and his men following closely behind.

Every so often, the column would halt so that the plank road beneath their feet could be meticulously inspected to see if the repairs were up to standard. As a result, their progress was agonizingly slow. Throughout the entire morning of stop-and-go travel, Zhong Hui failed to find a single flaw.

He turned to Du Yu and said, "General Du, you take your men and inspect it."

"Understood. Please rest assured, Great Commander, I will act impartially and will never show favoritism," Du Yu replied, his tone stiff and formal.

Zhong Hui nodded noncommittally. He glanced at Xu Yi, then at the calm and composed Shi Shouxin standing nearby. He was seething with hidden rage, yet he had no excuse to vent it. He secretly resolved that if he found even the slightest issue with the road, he would make a mountain out of a molehill, execute a few men to set an example, and strike fear into the entire army.

Zhong Hui had reason to be angry. At daybreak, he had ordered the drums to sound and the troops to mobilize toward the Baoxie Road. He had personally accompanied the vanguard under Xu Yi’s command, flanked by high-ranking officials like Wei Guan. Along the way, he had examined every repaired section with extreme scrutiny. Naturally, Shi Shouxin had also trailed behind him. The Great Commander leading the invasion of Shu had already declared that if any defect were found in the plank road, he would have both Shi Shouxin and Xu Yi beheaded.

After all that exertion, Zhong Hui had come up empty-handed and was forced to pin his hopes on Du Yu.

"Du Yu, how is this section repaired?" After waiting for a long time, Zhong Hui pointed to the new timber on the plank road and asked Du Yu, who was still in the middle of his inspection.

"Please wait a moment, Great Commander."

Du Yu looked left and right, then directed a dozen men to jump up and down on the newly repaired section. After a moment, he approached Zhong Hui, bowed, and said, "Great Commander, this repair is up to standard!"

"Really? One can eat indiscriminately, but one cannot speak indiscriminately. If something goes wrong, you will be held responsible." Zhong Hui squinted at Du Yu, his tone malicious, clearly reaching the limit of his patience.

But this tactic did not work on Du Yu. The son-in-law of the Sima family replied with rigid formality, "Great Commander, there is no need for suspicion. Good is good, and bad is bad. I will not shield anyone, nor will I frame anyone. If something goes wrong, please deal with me along with them!"

Zhong Hui said nothing. He rode his horse back and forth across the plank road, testing it repeatedly, but it remained as solid as ever, without a single defect.

"Hmph. Pass the order: continue the march. Do not overlook a single repaired spot; check everything with the utmost care!" Zhong Hui threw out the command and turned to return to the central army.

Having been slapped in the face, what was the mood of the commander of the Eastern Route Army, Zhong Hui? Don't ask—it was abysmal. He had thoroughly humiliated himself.

Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly pulled Shi Shouxin aside, gripped his hands tightly, and said with emotion, "Thank you, Supervisor Shi. If it hadn't been for your strict requirements and meticulous attention to detail back then, I fear my head would have already fallen." He was truly shaken. At the time, he had not understood Shi Shouxin’s rigid demands and had even thought the man was intentionally making trouble. Now, it seemed Shi Shouxin had eyes like torches and had foreseen that Zhong Hui was planning to stir up trouble.

"General Xu, it is too early to say we are safe. Prepare yourself in the next two days. Once the army makes camp, Zhong Hui will make his move..." Shi Shouxin leaned in and whispered in Xu Yi’s ear for a long time.

"Zhong Hui would actually dare to act so recklessly?" Xu Yi gasped in horror, lowering his voice before clamping a hand over his mouth.

"One must always be prepared against others. Just consider me a scoundrel for saying this, General Xu. If nothing happens, we lose nothing, right?" Shi Shouxin sighed.

In fact, perhaps no one in this era understood Zhong Hui better than he did. Whether it was treachery or malice, these were not inherent to Zhong Hui’s character but were things he had adopted to survive in this dark world. Zhong Hui’s character was best described as "stubborn." Once he decided on something, he had to see it through, and he would use any means necessary to achieve it. This was his true nature; he did not care about the means as long as he reached his goal.

With nothing happening during the day, Du Yu and the men assigned by Zhong Hui inspected every section of the plank road repaired under Xu Yi’s supervision and found no issues.

After nightfall, the army continued its march, unable to stop. There was no suitable ground for camping along the way, so they were forced to march until they reached the next open area. After two days of continuous marching, the army chose to camp at Yaling. This was an open valley on the Baoxie Road; further south, the paths became fewer, and the army would rely even more on the plank roads.

That night, a small squad of several dozen men quietly slipped out of the Wei army camp at Yaling. They passed through the Yaling fortress gate without obstruction and pushed forward, seemingly searching for something. After about an hour, they stopped, lit torches, and stood beside a newly repaired section of the plank road. Some of them took axes and other tools from their packs, apparently intent on sabotaging the structure.

Just as they prepared to hack at the wooden pillars, a large number of figures approached from both the north and south sides of the plank road. Without engaging in melee combat, they immediately drew their bows and let fly. No questions were asked, no answers given—they simply struck to kill.

Suddenly, arrows rained down through the night, accompanied by the dull thud of blunt instruments piercing flesh. *Swish, swish, swish!* The air was filled with the shrieks of death. Even after the men had been brought down, the archers did not stop. Soon, the groaning of those on the ground ceased.

Only then did the ambushers light their torches. The leader of the northern group was none other than Xu Yi, while the leader of the southern group was Shi Shouxin. With each leading a detachment, they had executed a perfect pincer movement, catching the enemy unaware.

"Supervisor Shi, why didn't we capture a live prisoner?" Xu Yi asked, feeling somewhat confused; he was now thoroughly convinced of Shi Shouxin’s ability. This supervisor was truly formidable, planning every move with such precision.

"These men are Zhong Hui’s confidants. Do you wish to blow the lid off this, General Xu, and accuse the Great Commander of framing you?" Shi Shouxin countered calmly.

Xu Yi fell silent. What else could he say? Even a cornered rabbit would bite, let alone a Great Commander.

"General Xu, pull out these arrows, collect them all, and leave the bodies here. If Zhong Hui asks in public, just say that Shu scouts were responsible. I suspect he won't ask. After this, he will at least restrain himself and stop giving us trouble over the plank road," Shi Shouxin sighed. In this day and age, one could not expect much integrity from others. Zhong Hui would likely not find it beneath him to frame his own subordinates. Shi Shouxin remembered that in his past life, Zhong Hui had also been ruthless when he betrayed Deng Ai.

The night wind howled; the darkness seemed to hide countless venomous snakes and wild beasts. Yet, Shi Shouxin felt that human hearts were colder than the freezing winter and far more terrifying than any beast.

Returning to the camp, both men were heavy-hearted. "Supervisor Shi... is Zhong Hui planning to rebel?" Xu Yi whispered, his form of address for Shi Shouxin having changed. Even someone as politically insensitive as he was could smell something wrong.

"Just keep that in your heart, General Xu. Do not speak of it," Shi Shouxin replied. It wasn't until they reached the camp gate that he offered this heavily implied confirmation.

Xu Yi nodded and patted Shi Shouxin’s arm, promising earnestly, "If something really happens, just come to my camp for refuge! With me here, I will ensure your safety!"

Shi Shouxin thought to himself: *I fear I may truly have need of you when the time comes.*

The next day, the army continued its advance. Before long, the scouts in the lead discovered the dozen bodies left by the plank road, their corpses riddled with arrow holes. As if he had anticipated such an outcome, Zhong Hui insisted that Shu scouts were active in the area and that these men had been killed by them. From then on, he stopped pressuring Xu Yi to rush the repairs.

Shi Shouxin’s life became much more stable. He was ordered to accompany the vanguard, clearing paths through mountains and bridging rivers. Although it was hard work, requiring shifts of woodcutting and carpentry, he no longer had to face Zhong Hui, and his days were tolerable.

Ten days of uneventful road-building passed. The vanguard arrived at the ruins of "Sanjiao City," a vital point on the Baoxie Road and the intersection with the Lianyun Plank Road. The Lianyun Plank Road, built during the Han Dynasty, had long since fallen into disrepair, but what Shi Shouxin and the others had not expected was that the Shu army had even abandoned the sentry post at the ancient site of Sanjiao City.

This "small matter" seemed to indicate a massive, unignorable problem: the Shu Kingdom’s defensive strategy for the Hanzhong region had undergone a fundamental shift. The Baoxie Road was no longer being defended. As for other areas, it remained to be seen.

Less than a hundred miles south of this spot lay the southern entrance to the Baoxie Road—Shimen. Beyond it lay the Hanzhong Plain. Xu Yi did not dare to be careless and sent men to ask Zhong Hui for instructions. This time, Zhong Hui did not act out; he issued a direct order: the vanguard would garrison Sanjiao City, the central army would establish a command post at the Yaling fortress, Hu Lie would take overall command of this route, and a temporary grain depot would be established at the Yaling open ground to receive supplies from Guanzhong.

As for Zhong Hui himself, he actually turned his main force and rear guard around and headed back! Or rather, he pulled out of the Baoxie Road, returned to Chang'an, and took command from the rear, leading the reserves to support the front via the Tangluo Road!

Most of the generals on the Baoxie route were at odds with him—from Hu Lie to Xu Yi, along with a host of others who had witnessed him being thoroughly humiliated by Shi Shouxin. Knowing he had lost his authority and the respect of his men, Zhong Hui decided to switch routes.

For Shi Shouxin, this was good news. Once Zhong Hui had settled the logistics for the Baoxie route, he departed. That same day, Hu Lie, now fully empowered, summoned Shi Shouxin to his side.

The day he returned to Yaling, Hu Lie hosted a banquet on the city walls to welcome him, and they drank and made merry. Many cavalry commanders and garrison generals of Xu Yi’s stature attended. After Shi Shouxin’s bold defiance of Zhong Hui that night, these men considered him one of their own, and the banquet was filled with camaraderie and boisterous talk.

After the banquet dispersed, Du Yu quietly found Shi Shouxin and led him into his private tent, where he produced a silk scroll. The scroll detailed the entire process of Shi Shouxin’s confrontation with Zhong Hui and the "plank road incident," concluding with his own assessment: *Zhong Hui is arrogant and likely harbors rebellious intent.*

"Yuan Kai, what is this?" Shi Shouxin asked, puzzled.

"My secret report to the Great General. I made a copy for my own records; the original has already been delivered to Wei Guan," Du Yu said calmly. Showing this letter to Shi Shouxin was clearly an expression of support. In a precarious situation, the most important thing was to distinguish friend from foe.

Shi Shouxin nodded, understanding perfectly. Whistleblowing could be simple, but the details required extreme caution. As Sima Zhao’s brother-in-law, Du Yu surely had his own "secret mission" beyond his official rank. Shi Shouxin believed that after Sima Zhao read Du Yu’s report, he would see Zhong Hui in a new light. In other words, Du Yu surely knew that Zhong Hui would never return to Luoyang; it was only a matter of how he would meet his end.

Shi Shouxin sighed and said, "Yuan Kai, I suspect Zhong Hui will not remain idle. He is no fool."

"Who could say otherwise?" Du Yu nodded, then lowered his voice. "My greatest fear is the scenario you once mentioned. If Deng Ai truly breaks into Shu, I fear the mountains will crumble and the earth will shatter."

The two chatted over wine in the tent until late into the night, when Shi Shouxin finally returned to his own quarters and fell fast asleep.