After observing for a moment, Wen Shu said with a smile, "You must be Liu Jin, Liu Wenyi, whose fame has spread far and wide recently. You've repeatedly defeated the Yellow Turbans and today, you bravely slew enemies, breaking tens of thousands of bandits in one battle."
"Meeting you today, you are indeed as heroic and extraordinary as the rumors say."
Words of praise echoed around, and everyone present showed surprise. They hadn't expected the Prefect to immediately shower him with compliments, indicating his high regard for Liu Jin.
Upon hearing this, Liu Jin's face showed respect. He cupped his fists and said loudly, "Thank you for your praise, Prefect. I am undeserving."
"Any such merit is largely due to the Prefect's presence in Zhuo Commandery, his majestic authority, which deterred the Yellow Turbans, causing their morale to crumble and leaving them in constant fear."
"Only then could I achieve successive victories and a great triumph. Therefore, all this credit belongs to the Prefect."
At these words, the surrounding officials clicked their tongues, somewhat disbelieving that such fluent flattery could come from a person who commanded armies.
They just wanted to say that the flattery was truly resounding.
He was clearly trapped within the city by tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans, unable to move, and even insulted and cursed by the bandit leader, yet he offered no resistance, only meekly cowering in the city.
After you said that, not only did you attribute the credit for this battle to Wen Shu in front of all the officials and soldiers in the commandery,
but you also, in front of everyone, wiped away all the humiliation suffered during this period, transforming it into a display of brilliant wisdom and imposing might.
When Wen Shu heard this, his heart blossomed like a flower, and the smile on his face was impossible to suppress.
He hadn't expected this young man to speak so pleasingly, making his heart feel warm.
He didn't even know that he possessed such great power, that merely being present in the city could deter the Yellow Turbans.
Zheng Qian, standing behind him, heard Liu Jin's torrent of flattery, his verbose praise, and wondered why it sounded so familiar.
This young man had seemingly flattered him in the same way before, but now he was flattering Wen Shu.
His expression of envy almost made him bite off his molars.
Originally, these flattering words were meant for him, but because Wen Shu was the highest official, only he could enjoy the flattery.
Envy was envy, but he had no complaints in his heart. At least this battle was fought beautifully, and his own merit was undeniable.
Wen Shu's smile grew even gentler. He accepted the praise without demur and said softly, "Although that is true, you generals and soldiers bravely slew enemies and annihilated the Yellow Turbans. Your merit is great, and I, the Prefect, will naturally not erase it."
"I, the Prefect, came today to reward the entire army and bestow honors upon the meritorious generals and soldiers."
At this point, Wen Shu paused for a moment, then his voice continued, "Wen Yi, compile a list of all the bravely fighting soldiers and report it to me. I will discuss it with the officials of the commandery, and those who can be promoted will be promoted."
"As for your merit, I will truthfully report it to the court and request a reward for you!"
Liu Jin was overjoyed to hear this. He hadn't expected such a great benefit, clearly a reciprocal gesture.
Being able to decide which soldiers were meritorious meant he could promote all his subordinates around him.
For people like Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Han Dang, serving as a Military Marquis would not be a problem, and Wen Shu would likely not object.
He immediately bowed respectfully and said loudly, "Thank you, Prefect."
The officials standing behind him all showed envious expressions. This young man had truly good luck, to be so highly regarded by the Prefect.
Wen Shu stroked his beard and immediately led those behind him into the military camp.
Liu Jin respectfully led the way at his side, entering the military camp with the group of officials.
As for the wine and meat on the carriage, they had already been moved in by the surrounding soldiers, allowing the mess hall to prepare a feast of good wine and meat to reward the soldiers in the army.
The sky gradually darkened.
The entire military camp was bustling with excitement. Many soldiers were thrilled, not only could they eat meat and drink wine to their heart's content, but they would also receive some rewards.
In the temporarily erected main tent of the army, Wen Shu sat respectfully at the head seat.
The rest of the people sat on both sides, mostly high-ranking officials of the commandery. Only officials above six hundred shi were allowed to be seated.
Officials below that rank were not qualified to enter and drink.
Even though Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others had shown outstanding bravery and great merit, they were not invited by Wen Shu to drink, mainly because their status was still too low.
Liu Jin sat in the second seat below Wen Shu, with Prefect Zheng Qian above him.
From the seating arrangement, it was clear that Wen Shu highly valued Liu Jin, already treating him as the second-in-command of the army.
Although there were some meritorious achievements involved, it was undeniable that after this battle, Liu Jin's official position would at least be promoted, and serving as a Thousand-Stone Sima would not be a problem.
He would be considered a prominent figure in the commandery, and few would dare to provoke him.
As for Wei You, although he was also a Military Marquis, he only sat at the back of the tent. Although he had some merit, it was not very significant and did not catch Wen Shu's eye.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wen Shu raised his wine cup and said with a smile, "Today is a rare and grand occasion. I, the Prefect, will drink this cup with all of you."
Everyone in the hall raised their wine cups, their faces showing respect, and drank it all.
Wen Shu slowly placed his wine cup on the table, looked at Liu Jin, and asked, "Wen Yi, how was the outcome of today's battle, where you bravely slew enemies?"
Liu Jin, upon being asked, wasted no words. He immediately stood up from the table, bowed, and said loudly, "Reporting to the Prefect, today's battle was a complete victory. We annihilated over three thousand enemies, captured nearly ten thousand, and suffered only about a hundred casualties."
Everyone in the hall nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this battle result.
Liu Jin truly deserved to be called a skilled and brave warrior. Defeating one or two tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans with such a small force was indeed a rare and great victory.
Wen Shu was very satisfied with this battle result. Having annihilated twenty to thirty thousand enemies in total was already a significant military achievement.
Reporting it and then bribing some officials in the court to increase the number of enemies killed by twenty to thirty thousand, claiming to have killed fifty thousand, would definitely cause a stir among the court officials, and even the Emperor would praise it.
He might even be able to secure a marquisate. At the very least, for him, it would increase his political capital.
Because a Prefect with a marquisate and a Prefect without a marquisate differed greatly in status, to the point of being incomparable.
Once he had sufficient experience, having a marquisate would pave the way for him to enter the court.
"Was the bandit leader Cheng Yuanzhi executed?"
At this point, a cold glint appeared in Wen Shu's eyes.
That Yellow Turban leader, Cheng Yuanzhi, had insulted him in front of everyone in the city.
He had already sworn a solemn oath in his heart that he must chop off his head and use it as a banner to quell the hatred in his heart.
