"Go prepare some wine and meat," Ye Shikai turned and instructed.

"Yes, General."

"Xue San, go change your clothes first. No need to rush. We’ll talk slowly at the dining table later," Ye Shikai patted his shoulder, speaking calmly.

"Thank you, General."

An hour later.

"Xue San, eat slowly," Ye Shikai reminded, as Xue San seemed like a refugee escaping famine, who hadn’t eaten for three days, directly grabbing the whole roast chicken and biting into it.

"Yes, if it’s not enough, I’ll have the kitchen make more," He Linghan also advised alongside.

"Sir, my current disheveled appearance is truly disgraceful," Xue San said awkwardly, swallowing the meat in his mouth and bowing repeatedly in apology.

"No problem, you and I are brothers. I don’t care for such formalities. However... how did you end up like this?" Ye Shikai inquired; Xue San shouldn’t be so broke that he can’t afford food. Even if in a hurry, one must eat, otherwise, it’s too strenuous to ride a horse. Or perhaps... he encountered the rebel forces.

"General, after receiving intelligence from Chu Territory, I rushed over immediately. The situation was too urgent, so I couldn’t bother to eat and traveled all night without eating."

"What kind of intelligence is it?" Ye Shikai’s gaze turned serious upon hearing this. A piece of information causing Xue San to rush back without bothering to eat must be a matter of great importance.

"Well..." Xue San glanced at He Linghan, hesitating to speak.

"You guys talk slowly, I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare more dishes," He Linghan understood the situation, realizing they’re discussing military matters, as a woman, she shouldn’t interfere, so she left proactively.

"There’s no one else here, speak."

"General, this time I took the brothers to Chu Territory and gathered quite a bit of intelligence. The situation in Chu Territory is much more chaotic than in East County. Some county towns have already been captured by rebel forces, and the court likely can’t dispatch troops to suppress them anytime soon. Therefore, the power of the rebel forces is like a snowball, getting larger and larger. With the strength of the local government troops, it is hard to resist. On our way, the brothers and I also encountered numerous ambushes by rebel forces, but I dared not linger in battle, so I led the team away."

"Unexpectedly, the situation in Chu Territory has deteriorated to this extent," Ye Shikai murmured to himself in shock.

"Indeed, but Chu Territory is thousands of miles away from us; it won’t reach here soon. This time, I rushed back urgently due to intelligence on Hua Liandie."

"What, Hua Liandie?" Ye Shikai suddenly stood up, having waited for months to finally hear news about her.

"Yes, exactly regarding Hua Liandie," Xue San nodded and said.

"Quickly, tell me."

"Hua Liandie is a noble from Chu State, harboring intentions to rebuild Chu State. Over the years, she has been managing enterprises across the land of the Seven Kingdoms, relying on her privileged background, accumulating wealth daily, amassing gold and silver, cloth and grains. Additionally, her enterprises include military factories that produce weapons. The people of Chu Territory have long been grievous about the court’s rule, so upon hearing Hua Liandie raising a rebellion as a Chu State noble, they responded en masse."

"Alright, I know all these, get to the point," Ye Shikai urged eagerly, telling Xue San to be straightforward.

"Hua Liandie possesses money, grains, armaments, and the support of the populace, conquering city after city in a short time, advancing irresistibly. She now controls four counties and thirty-one cities, commanding tens of thousands of troops, considerably powerful." Xue San’s words thoroughly amazed Ye Shikai; he hadn’t expected Hua Liandie to expand her influence so significantly over the past few months, even capturing so many county towns, seemingly on the verge of ’dominating one region.’

Indeed, as Xue San mentioned, Hua Liandie’s ability to rally people stems not only from exploiting Chu Territory citizens’ dissatisfaction with Qin Country’s rule but also significantly due to her resources. In these chaotic times, having a place to live and a hot meal is a luxury for many. To put it bluntly, in the current era, money and grains equate to troops.

It seems Hua Liandie is truly determined to rebel, yet Ye Shikai is very worried about her. As the commander of East County, how could he not know the strength of the court’s military? Though Meng Tian’s army of three hundred thousand defends against the Wolf Clan in the north, significant forces guard the Central Plains and around Xianyang, and the Qin Army was once the ferocious force sweeping the Six Kingdoms, with commanders being contemporary renowned generals, not easily dealt with.

This is why Ye Shikai is unwilling to revolt, even if he disapproves of Qin Dynasty’s rule, he still doesn’t want to raise the banner of ’acting on heaven’s behalf.’ He currently commands many brothers; if he truly rebels, certainly many people would join, but if defeated, it would ruin countless families, a consequence he cannot bear.

"General, since there’s a connection between us and Hua Liandie, will this affect..."

"Rest assured, few people know that I’m acquainted with her, and they’re all my trusted aides; nothing will happen," Ye Shikai waved his hand. According to Qin Law, colluding with rebels is a capital crime, and if someone tattles on Ye Shikai, even as a general, he’d be in big trouble. But truthfully, Ye Shikai is not worried at all; Ma Yao, for starters, doesn’t wish to do this. If Ye Shikai gets captured, who will lead the troops into battle?

"General, Hua Liandie has helped us many times before; now that she’s openly rebelling, what should we do?" Xue San asked as Ye Shikai stood up, placed his hands behind his back, paced back and forth with a heavy expression, remaining silent for a long time.

"Xue San, today’s conversation between us, along with the intelligence you’ve obtained, must be kept absolutely secret, revealing not a single word to the outside. Otherwise, it would be a disaster for you, me, and Hua Liandie."

"Yes, I obey."

...............

"Old Ye, it’s almost New Year, and recently those rebel forces seem to have quieted down considerably." In the military camp, Shangguan Jian teased; in the past half month, they had not received any intelligence regarding rebel activities, as if in hibernation, rendering all of East County peaceful suddenly.

"Everyone here is born of East County, why would we want to fight with each other until death?" Ye Shikai sighed deeply. Though the empire is unified, wars have never ceased for a day, claiming lives daily, even among fellow townsmen killing each other.

"Recently, many soldiers have been nostalgic. Should we let them go home to visit their families?"

"Yes, you speak correctly; soldiers are human too. Besides, ever since joining the army, they’ve been battling nonstop without proper rest. I agree with your idea."