Chapter 147: The Game (6)

Yuan Zijin had always been quick with his tongue—a blabbermouth who couldn't keep a secret to save his life.

But given that this matter was far too serious—if exposed, it would bring annihilation upon his entire clan—after three consecutive sleepless nights, he was left with dark circles under his eyes and had completely given up any intention of telling anyone about it.

If the secret leaked, Le Wuya would be the first to lose his head.

To scheme against the Emperor—what an earth-shattering crime that was!

He hated him, yet he did not wish him dead.

During those nights when Yuan Zijin tossed and turned, repeatedly dreaming of Le Wuya being arrested and taken to the capital in shackles awaiting punishment, Le Wuya's memorial had long since been written—painstakingly earnest, listing in detail the various military affairs of Tongzhou. Le Wuya first sent it to Feng Long for review, then hurriedly dispatched it to the capital, awaiting a reply.

Yuan Zijin knew nothing of this.

As he listlessly hung his head and swayed unsteadily while practicing horsemanship at the edge of the training grounds, Qin Xingyue and Le Wuya stood shoulder to shoulder in the corner of the grounds, practicing archery together.

Qin Xingyue feared the heat, so he simply went without a shirt, his lean, wiry muscles glistening in the sunlight.

He stole a glance at the dejected Yuan Zijin and asked Le Wuya, "Sir, why not let the kid know? Even if the higher-ups truly wanted to get to the bottom of it and inspect the original military registers, the blame wouldn't fall on you."

Since he'd only recently arrived in Tongzhou, he'd naturally just pass along whatever his subordinates reported.

If they really went after accountability, the Emperor could at most reproach him for negligence.

The ones who would truly suffer would be Wei Yixian, who had managed Tongzhou's military affairs for all these years.

If this succeeded, Le Wuya would obtain a hundred thousand taels of military funds, solidify the troop reduction, and resolve the chronic military corruption that had plagued Tongzhou for years.

If it failed, he would have effectively lodged a veiled complaint against Wei Yixian.

Either way, he couldn't lose—so why not take a shot?

Le Wuya held the Jackdaw bow gifted to him by He Lianche and loosed an arrow—straight into the target.

He cocked his head with satisfaction: "I want to see how long it takes him to figure it out."

Qin Xingyue: "Little Yuan was never bright to begin with. Why do you insist on messing with him?"

Le Wuya said, completely straight-faced: "Because it's amusing."

Qin Xingyue couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Le Wuya glanced at him, seeing his bright smile and radiant eyes—a far cry from the unkempt, bearded figure of a year ago—and felt his mood lift. "How's that massage therapist I found for you? Working out okay?"

At this, Qin Xingyue's heart dropped.

He rubbed his upper thigh and shook his head helplessly. "Sir, this leg of mine is done for..."

Le Wuya cut him off without ceremony: "How old are you? You planning to live the rest of your life like that? Just wait—once you pass thirty-five, the pain will really do a number on you. At Lord Feng's birthday banquet the other day, I heard Prefect Qiao mention that some missionaries had arrived in their area, one of whom understood Western medicine. I've already dropped Old Qiao a line, asking him to have that man come to Tongzhou when he has the chance."

Warmth flooded Qin Xingyue's chest. He lowered his head, his face red with shame: "Sir, your subordinate is not whole. I have yet to render you any meritorious service, yet you've shown me such kindness—I really don't deserve it."

"If you feel you don't deserve it, take it anyway. Debts can be repaid slowly—we've got plenty of time, and I'm not afraid of you defaulting." Le Wuya said. "And quit dwelling on your disability. When I first saw you, I knew you had your limitations, yet I still chose to employ you—because you've got qualities that even able-bodied men can't match."

He nocked two arrows to the string, his youthful brows blazing like fire: "This is the last time I want to hear about your disability. From now on, don't come to me with things that are already done and dusted. Your future's ahead of you, not behind. If you can grow your own wings, why lean on a ladder?"

With that, Le Wuya pressed the string with practiced elegance—both arrows flew, striking the target dead-on.

He swallowed the rest of his sentence.

...The fact that you're still breathing is the greatest achievement of all.

At that moment, a chorus of cheers went up behind him:

"The boss is a beast!"

"The boss never misses!"

"Beat it, the lot of you!" Le Wuya spun around, one hand on his hip, a fiery red headband making his brows and eyes shine like stars. "You think I need you clowns to tell me I'm good? Watch your mouths! Get back to your drills! Sucking up and getting kicked in the face for it—what a joke!"

Le Wuya could rip into a man without ever really offending him. The bunch of young men fell silent but weren't intimidated, each suppressing a smile as they returned to their drills.

The prefectural compound's training grounds were now a hive of activity.

Earlier, Wei Yixian had instructed Chiliarch Zhang Ashan to let the soldiers under his command know about the lavish gift the Prefect had given Lord Feng, so they would come to the government office and raise a ruckus.

According to Wei Yixian, the Prefect was a civil official by background—when a scholar meets a soldier, reason goes out the window. Moreover, the soldiers' unpaid wages were a fact. Ordinary troops had received no silver or grain for two months, surviving only on whatever little they'd managed to save. No matter where they took their grievance, they'd be in the right.

Add to that the Prefect's youth and thin skin—if the soldiers made enough noise, even if it meant giving in to whoever made the biggest stink, the Prefect would have no choice but to take the matter seriously.

Hearing this instigation, Zhang Ashan egged on his subordinate Cai Zhi to go cause trouble.

But Le Wuya turned the tables on them on the spot, threatening right back with an inspection of the military registers.

When Cai Zhi, thoroughly humiliated, reported Le Wuya's words back to Zhang Ashan, the latter immediately burned with anxiety, unable to voice his distress.

Zhang Ashan naturally knew that the military registers were a murky, unreadable mess of accounts. If the Prefect truly wanted to investigate to the bottom, then he was a fool—turning his back on a good life to make trouble for himself.

But if the Prefect was truly bent on committing this folly, and the other garrisons learned that it was his men who had stirred up trouble, provoking the Prefect's displeasure and triggering this register inspection, then he would have offended all his colleagues, and could forget about any good days ahead.

That was precisely why he rushed frantically to the Tongzhou government office to offer his apologies.

In name, it was an apology; in reality, it was reconnaissance.

Fortunately, the Prefect was not stupid—he was greedy. He raised the matter high and set it down gently, willing to drop it entirely if they offered some bribes.

Money was fine.

Anything that could be settled with money wasn't a problem at all.

After hearing about the farce, the various garrisons pricked up their ears and listened for any developments. Upon learning from Zhang Ashan that the new Prefect had no intention of investigating the practice of drawing pay for nonexistent soldiers, they breathed sighs of relief. They sent over their compiled military registers and, as Le Wuya had instructed, selected fifty elite soldiers, presenting them to the government office along with their tribute to the Prefect.

Of course, "elite soldiers" was a generous term—they were really just seventeen or eighteen-year-old lads.

Their arms and legs were all intact, and their appearances had been carefully selected—at minimum, they had passably clean faces.

But alas, a donkey's dung ball is only shiny on the surface.

Upon inspection, only a handful of these youths had ever seen combat. Most had never even caught a glimpse of a Japanese pirate, let alone a bandit. They could talk your ear off about farming, but when it came to military matters, their heads were full of mush—good only for gripping a hoe handle or riding an ox or a donkey.

Faced with this gaggle of open-mouthed eaters, Le Wuya turned no one away and accepted them all.

He first used the tributes from the various garrisons to have everyone measured for new clothes, then dragged this motley crew of misfits to the training grounds and announced his purpose in summoning them.

—Le Wuya intended to establish an elite force of garrison soldiers to guard and protect the city of Tongzhou itself.

These soldiers would no longer need to farm; they would remain at the prefecture for training.

The soldiers must wear identical uniforms, share meals and beds, train by day and study by night.

The prefectural office provides their food and lodging, and they receive two taels of silver monthly—a full eight qian extra—while saving on living expenses since meals and lodging are provided.

As garrison soldiers of Tongzhou Prefecture, discipline must be ironclad: gambling and whoring are forbidden, harassing civilians is forbidden, accepting bribes is forbidden, concealing personal gains is forbidden, and internal strife is forbidden. Any breach will be met with severe punishment under military law.

At the end of each month, Le Wuya conducts an examination of them.

During the examination, those ranking highest draw their pay and remain in service for the following month.

Those who excel for three consecutive months may be selected for the personal guard, with pay rising to two and a half to three taels.

Those ranked at the bottom receive half a tael as severance and are sent packing back to where they came from.

After unqualified soldiers are discharged back to their hometowns, the garrison must select an equal number of new soldiers to report for training and fill the gaps.

To prevent anyone from currying favor with company commanders or battalion commanders for recommendations, Le Wuya ordered that if any garrison sends slack or poor-quality soldiers, that garrison will never be selected from again, and the responsible commander will be stripped of rank, replaced with someone more able.

The reasoning was ready-made: a commander who can't tell good soldiers from bad is blind, and he'd best step down and yield to the worthy.

Hearing that there was money and prospects to be had, and a chance to keep their families from grubbing a living from the dirt, these half-grown boys went wild, fired up and quietly vying with one another.

There were also the sharp-witted schemers who, realizing they couldn't match others in skill, gave up training early and focused all their energy on buttering up Le Wuya—buttering him up, attending him day and night, stopping at nothing.

Le Wuya accepted it all without batting an eye.

After all, no matter how silver-tongued one is, if one's ability falls short, they're out on their ear when the time comes.

Tongzhou's rice won't feed an idle mouth even half a bite more.

...

Within the drill ground, battle cries shook heaven and earth.

A few green-brick walls away, Wei Yixian lifted his fishing rod.

The hook was bare—not a single bite.

Seeing his grim face, the servant behind him held his breath, silently pouring him a cup of tea.

Wei Yixian raised the cup, when suddenly a chorus of shouts came over the wall, sending ripples across his tea.

"How uncouth," Wei Yixian shook his head. "Scared off every fish in the pond."

The servant, unsure how to console him, put on an indignant air: "My lord, is the prefect making such a big show not just raising a private army?"

Wei Yixian replied, "He's selecting from existing soldiers, not recruiting anew—how is that private raising?"

"But... such extravagance—where does the money come from?"

"Isn't it the tribute silver from the garrisons?" Wei Yixian sneered. "Spending their silver to build his own army—now that's a shrewd calculation."

The servant asked cautiously, "Then, my lord, should we do something?"

Wei Yixian rebaited his hook: "No rush. The big fish hasn't bitten yet. Let's wait and see how it unfolds."

No sooner had he spoken than, from the corner of his eye, he saw Mu Jiazhi in blue robes hurrying over in a whirlwind.

"Lord Mu, what brings you here in your leisure?" Wei Yixian rose to greet him. "I've just cast my line—care to give it a try?"

"Spare me." Mu Jiazhi waved a hand. "I have urgent business to discuss with Lord Wei."

Then, cutting straight to the chase with no beating around the bush: "Liang Huaimin, the magistrate of Yunlian County in Sanjiang Prefecture, colluded with local garrison commander Wu Xing, forming cliques for personal profit, and on the pretext of resisting arrest, slaughtered local ruffians Luo Jinglong, He Chengwen, and twelve others. With witnesses and evidence now in hand, this is a grave matter touching on military affairs. I've filed a memorial with the testimony and evidence to Commander Cheng and the Ministry of Justice. His Excellency the Commander has taken it seriously and ordered Liang Huaimin and Wu Xing arrested and imprisoned."

The fake smile on Wei Yixian's face froze solid before it could even fade.

...How could he not know of this?

But Wei Yixian had a brain—he would never ask such a foolish question aloud.

A moment's thought made it clear: Mu Jiazhi must have acted in secret, gathered evidence, and rushed to report it up the chain, letting Commander Cheng's wrath like thunder strike to catch him flat-footed.

He smoothly transformed his frozen smile into a perfectly timed expression of shock and outrage: "How could such wickedness exist?"

Mu Jiazhi replied in a businesslike tone: "Magistrate Liang was spending the night at a brothel when he was spotted by local thugs Luo Jinglong and He Chengwen, who had come to seek pleasure. Luo and He, emboldened by drink and accustomed to extortion, gathered men and cornered Magistrate Liang in the courtesan's bed..."

He paused, closing his eyes, clearly ashamed: "...Officials of this dynasty are strictly forbidden from patronizing brothels. Luo and He threatened Magistrate Liang's career, forcing him to sign a confession, demanding he deliver a hundred taels of silver and grant them favors in the future. Under duress, Magistrate Liang signed. Returning home in resentment, he confided in his former brother-in-law Wu Xing, who devised a plan to eliminate the threat—killing the thugs on the pretext of their resisting arrest with firearms, to end the problem once and for all."

"Unexpectedly, Luo and He, fearing Magistrate Liang might renege, had someone carefully recopy the confession and hid it beneath the bedding of Luo Jinglong's mistress, Li Jiaoniang."

"After obtaining that document, I personally visited Magistrate Liang with it. Seeing the contents unchanged and his signature intact, he assumed it was the original that hadn't been destroyed—that Wu Xing had kept it for ulterior motives. In his agitation, he implicated Wu Xing."

Wei Yixian felt a growing unease.

He cared nothing for the case itself.

What he cared about was: why had Mu Jiazhi come to tell him all this?

Soon, Mu Jiazhi gave the answer: "The Commander and the Prefect have jointly ordered: to rigorously investigate whether any such collusion between officials and the military exists within Tongzhou's forces, military command of Tongzhou is temporarily placed under my authority for thorough inspection—no stone left unturned."

Wei Yixian: "..."

By all rights, he should have been pleased.

As he had hoped, the big fish had bitten.

Prefect Wenren had indeed, as he'd anticipated, sidelined him and elevated Mu Jiazhi.

But Wei Yixian had never imagined he'd be sidelined so thoroughly!

This was effectively stripping both military affairs and personnel authority from his hands!

Moreover, he knew Mu Jiazhi's capabilities.

What if he actually uncovered something?

Author's note:

Yaya: I heard you like playing the pig to eat the tiger, so I'll just eat you like a pig.