Yuan Qingyan was pacing back and forth in his study, as restless and helpless as an ant on a hot pan. He was not alone in the room. General Hsu was sitting by the tea table and sipping his tea intently.

“General Hsu, it’s not that I’m unwilling to help, but that b… Lord Li keeps making excuses and refuses to provide any grain. Perhaps we can make do for a few more days?”

General Hsu lowered his teacup and asked, “Which do you think is the truth, Lord Yuan: Are they unwilling to provide what you asked, or are they unable to?”

Yuan Qingyan’s heart sank. This was not a question to be answered lightly, so he replied, “I don’t know.”

General Hsu slowly set down his teacup and said, “Soldiers cannot fight without meat, and besides, our monthly pay is already two days late. Lord Yuan, Wei Yuan had just poached several thousand people into his domain—all of them strong, well-trained men. If, in a couple of months, these men all became his, then it will be quite the conundrum, don’t you agree?”

Yuan Qingyan gritted his teeth and said, “They’re already short on grain, yet they still dare to poach so many people. I’m certain they’ll run out of supplies in three days! It’s just that my colleagues in the bureaucracy don’t want to see me succeed and are deliberately sabotaging us.”

General Hsu immediately retorted, “Please drop that...