Bai Shan said, "Why not let the yamen officials go with our scouts and explain our identity, saying we’re borrowing a place to camp."

Assistant General Nie’s eyes flashed as he looked steadily at Bai Shan, thinking scholars are indeed crafty, no, smart.

He said, "What if there are people in their tribe familiar with the bandits..."

Meaning what to do if they are in collusion?

Bai Shan replied, "Didn’t they say Governor Duan has already dispersed them four times, with two times breaking them apart?"

The yamen official was stunned for a moment before nodding, "Yes."

Assistant General Nie understood, these bandits likely have no close ties with the local herders, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to break them up so easily.

Assistant General Nie rolled his eyes and said, "It would be great if the two envoys could go along, it wouldn’t only show our sincerity but also represent the court’s stance. The Great Jin won’t tolerate horse bandits blocking trade routes and committing arson and robbery."

Bai Shan nodded solemnly, "Indeed, I will talk to the two envoys."

The two envoys nearby: ...

There was no need for Bai Shan to persuade, Wei Xingren directly volunteered.

Manbao rummaged through the boxes and quickly found two jars of ointment and several packets of medicine, "These are gifts."

Going as a guest always requires bringing gifts. She introduced to Wei Xingren, "These medicines were concocted in the Tutu tribe, used to deworm children, each packet can serve ten, boil twice, and mix both times’ decoctions to consume. There are five packets in total, all here."

Bai Shan said, "Let’s also bring some tea leaves." These are scarce items on the grassland.

Mr. Zhuang nodded and let them go to prepare.

Seeing the time was getting late, Assistant General Nie waved his hand, "Set up camp."

Manbao rolled up her sleeves and said to Bai Shan, who was idle, "I need hot water."

Bai Shan knew she needed to treat the wounded, nodded, and went with Bai Erlang and a few others to find dry grass to start a fire.

Mr. Zhuang also rolled up his sleeves to help.

Old Master You and the others weren’t seriously injured. They wisely surrendered after realizing they were surrounded by horse bandits and couldn’t escape. They behaved well after being captured, suffering only minor bruises from being pushed and kicked, with most injuries from falls while fleeing.

Manbao only glanced at them before checking the bandits who were cut and shot with arrows.

After examining them, she said to Zhou Liru, "Bring me the big medicine box."

Inside, there are knives and clamps.

Zhou Liru went to get it.

Manbao had already checked the wounds of several people. Once the medicine box was brought, she listed off a series of medicine names, "Prepare the herbal soup to stop bleeding, once ready, hand it to Bai Shan and the others to brew, and also fetch a bottle of wound medicine."

Assistant General Nie walked over and heard this, "Lord Zhou, these are all horse bandits, in my opinion, there’s no need to waste such expensive medicine, especially precious wound medicine."

The passing soldiers nodded repeatedly, whispering, "Lord, the wound medicine you brought is from Jishi Hall, isn’t it? Their wound medicine is made from Chinese ginseng powder, extremely valuable."

Just as Manbao was about to speak, Bai Shan, carrying firewood, interrupted, "That’s true. After all, once they’re sent back to prison, they’ll be beheaded. Instead of wasting food and effort guarding them all the way, it might be better to let them bleed out and die now."

Manbao’s heart stirred, displaying a conflicted expression, "Is that appropriate? They are human after all; a doctor’s heart is compassionate. What if they make meritorious contributions and escape the death penalty later?"

"Impossible," Bai Shan replied, "Haven’t you seen how resilient they are? They don’t look like they’ll talk. We might as well leave it at that."

He paused and turned to Assistant General Nie, "Assistant General Nie, these people’s heads count as military merit, right?"

"Yes!" Earlier, the ones they killed hadn’t been dragged out, but they did take the heads to count as military merit later.

However, within the group, some were older, some younger, and Assistant General Nie didn’t want to scare them. So he had the soldiers carry the bundled heads on the other side, keeping them unseen.

He didn’t understand why Bai Shan brought it up, was he dissatisfied with their cruelty?

Bai Shan, expressionless, said, "Oh, cutting off heads while alive is too cruel, better to wait until they’re dead."

He set down the firewood and then suggested to Assistant General Nie, "Should we open their wounds more to make them bleed faster?"

Assistant General Nie: ... How to respond?

If he agrees, do they really stab them to bleed out?

If he disagrees, it seems cowardly, not like they intend to kill them.

Manbao then looked down at them and shook her head, "Forget it, bandage them up. Without medicine, in such cold nights, they will eventually die slowly."

Bai Shan nodded, "Alright, go check on Old Master You and the others."

Manbao hesitated a moment but eventually left the place for them, taking her medicine box to see Old Master You and others.

Zhou Liru came back with the medicine, sensing something was off, blinked, and ran to find Manbao, "Little Aunt, what are they doing?"

Manbao sighed mournfully, "They’re interrogating with torture."

Zhou Liru: "... That doesn’t count as torture, does it?"

Manbao corrected, "They’re preparing for exterminating the horse bandits."

Besides one person who fell and broke his arm needing attention, Old Master You and the others only required simple washing, disinfection, and medication for their injuries, which were merely abrasions meant to heal gradually, thus handled quickly.

On the other side, the more seriously injured bandits who had initially bandaged their wounds with cloth to stop bleeding raised pale faces at the two people.

Their gaze shifted from Assistant General Nie to Bai Shan. The leader with a twisted smile said, "Have the Central Plains lambs turned into wolves upon entering the prairie? Or are they bluffing to scare people?"

Assistant General Nie strode forward, placing a foot on the shoulder of the man who had been cut, applying pressure. He couldn’t help but cry out in pain, the blood previously halted now seeping out again, staining the cloth red.

He said expressionlessly, "I don’t know if he’s bluffing, but as long as I’m not, it matters."

Bai Shan, somewhat uncomfortable, slightly turned his head away, lowering his eyes, not speaking.

Assistant General Nie ground his foot further before withdrawing it, "I advise you to be honest. If you’re willing to reveal the hideout of the bandits and gain achievement, then good; if not, no matter, I’ll just torture you a bit and take your head as merit, ensuring I won’t lose out."

His opponent bit down hard on his lips, spitting out blood-foamed saliva, glaring viciously at Assistant General Nie, asking, "You’re not officials from Liangzhou."

Though phrased as a question, it was stated definitively.

Assistant General Nie bared his teeth in a smile, "We’re not, so as long as we get your heads for military merit, that’s enough; we’re not interested in long-term rewards and wouldn’t get them anyway."

"Governor Duan won’t allow you to kill us."

Assistant General Nie replied, "We’ll act before he arrives then, they won’t be here until earliest tomorrow noon, so you have a night and half a day to decide if you’ll give us heads or confess for merit."