Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
It wasn’t until this moment that Sun Bingchen, who had been sitting just now, stood up and walked toward a captured and knocked-out Ye Tiancheng. He gazed at Ye Tiancheng from above and calmly said, “Yijie, watch over him personally. Don’t let him cause any trouble!”
“Yes, sir!” Liang Yijie sheathed his long sword and cupped his fists at Sun Bingchen before he took a few guards with him to detain Ye Tiancheng.
“Military Governor…” Sun Bingchen turned his gaze toward to a stern looking Huangfu Qianqi, who immediately stepped forward and stood at attention. “Your humble servant is here!”
Up until now, Huangfu Qianqi’s heart was still riddled with fear. Nevertheless, he had full respect for Sun Bingchen. It turned out that Ye Tiancheng was the reason why this Patrol Inspector came to Pingxi Prefecture in the first place. In the end, however, Ye Tiancheng might not have even predicted that he would fall into the scenario that Sun Bingchen had set up for him.
If the Patrol Inspector decided to make a move against Ye Tiancheng, then that meant that he had intended to make a move against the Ye Clan. Huangfu Qianqi was a bit excited yet uneasy when he thought about the rapid and collision between these events. As the Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he had never seen the things that the Ye Clan had done in Gan Province, but he more or less heard about it before. He had long since harbored dissatisfaction toward Ye Tiancheng, but as Military Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he had to keep his thoughts to himself no matter how many opinions he had. Huangfu Qianqi had to suffer under Ye Tiancheng’s control on normal days too.
“How many soldiers are there inside and outside of Pingxi City? Do they all listen to your command?” Sun Bingchen looked at Huangfu Qianqi with gleaming eyes.
“There are ten barracks altogether inside and outside of the city, which means there are 26,000 soldiers in total. Eight barracks amongst the ten will absolutely listen to my orders. The remaining Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks are confidants whose loyalty have been bought by Ye Tiancheng. Usually, they will only heed to Ye Tiancheng’s deployment…”
“Mm, not bad. This is in line with my understanding of the situation. Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun are indeed commandants of the same party with Ye Tiancheng!” Sun Bingchen nodded his head and continued speaking with Huangfu Qianqi. “I will give you a mission right now.”
“What do you have for me, sir?”
“No one from the outside knows about this incident yet. Go now and bring back Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun to me. At the same time, you have to guarantee that the Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks will not start a riot. Can you do that?”
“Rest assured, Lord Sun. As long as your humble servant goes out and finds a reason to arrange a meeting with the Barrack Generals at the Military Governor’s Office, I will take them down as soon as they arrive. Most of the soldiers in the Liu Barracks and Tu Barracks are faithful and loyal. Once both Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun are captured, I will go to their barracks and make them obey your command with unwavering will!”
“Good!” Sun Bingchen nodded and turned to look at Yan Liqiang with a gentle smile. He asked with deep concern, “Liqiang, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, it’s just a minor flesh wound. I can still fight!” Yan Liqiang cheerfully replied.
Sun Bingchen nodded in satisfaction and said, “Good. Liqiang, I’ll have to trouble you again for going to the Military Governor’s Office with the Military Governor tonight. After you manage to apprehend Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, bring them back here!”
Yan Liqiang could only comply with the order when Sun Bingchen arranged a target for him. “Understood!”
“Sir, your humble servant… would like to ask another question.” Huangfu Qianqi said after hesitating for a while.
“Please, ask!”
“If the Shatu people in the city catch wind of Ye Tiancheng’s capture and proceed to siege the barracks and government, or even start a riot, I wonder how we should handle that. Can you please give us advice on that, sir?”
“If every Shatu person in the city starts a riot, will the soldiers from the ten barracks inside and outside of the city be able to suppress their rebellion and protect the civilians from harm?”
Huangfu Qianqi creased his brows and said in a low voice, “Even though the number of Shatu people is aplenty, there aren’t many who can actually fight in a battle. Their superior weapons aren’t as good as mine either. If they really are going to start a riot, the ten barracks of Pingxi City will be sufficient enough to hold them down!”
Sun Bingchen sneered, “In that case, why do you still need to ask? As long as the Shatu people daringly start a riot, I will grant you the authority to make a swift decision and kill them. Tell your subordinates that the heads of the Shatu people will be the basis of merit for their battlefield!”
The words uttered by the Patrol Inspector, who was smiling and drinking wine moments ago, made him seem like he was a god-killer. Yan Liqiang felt a chill roll down his spine at those words. If his message had to be passed on to the subordinates, aside from death awaiting those Shatu people, there would be no second chance should they try to start a riot. Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen’s words could essentially turn every soldier from the ten barracks in Pingxi City to ferocious tigers.
After receiving orders from Sun Bingchen, Yan Liqiang and Huangfu Qianqi proceeded to leave the place together. Before they left, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but look at the maid beside Ye Tiancheng just now. However, he noticed that the woman was taking off her mask, revealing an appearance of picturesque beauty behind that facade.
When she sensed Yan Liqiang watching her, she quickly turned her head toward him and stared back with a cold gaze, causing Yan Liqiang to shiver uncontrollably.
Goddammit, this woman was actually Li Mochou [1] herself.
In just a short amount of time, the manor that Sun Bingchen was currently staying at had been enforced with tight security without showing it on the outside, which changed it to something entirely different. The guards who were cleaning the mess a moment ago had already begun moving and they equipped themselves with armors and crossbows, guarding various places inside the manor. All the stewards and servants who were originally based inside the manor gathered together to watch the place. None of them dared to make any suspicious moves. Whatever information they had could not be leaked out from the manor.
As Yan Liqiang followed Huangfu Qianqi, he spotted two of his bodyguards currently resting at the courtyard inside the manor, patiently waiting for Huangfu Qianqi to return.
Those people who had followed Ye Tiancheng inside just now were now separated from him and they were lured to another courtyard. Moreover, they had been taken down by Liang Yijie without a peep. Both Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards did not hear anything either, which was why both of them still had no idea what was going on inside the manor.
“Sir…” The two bodyguards who were currently resting quickly stood up when they saw Huangfu Qianqi enter the courtyard.
“Back to Military Governor’s Office!” Huangfu Qianqi said nothing else and gave a clear-cut order, bringing those two bodyguards and Yan Liqiang along with him as they exited the door.
After a few minutes, Huangfu Qianqi, Yan Liqiang, and two of Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards mounted on their rhinodrakes together. They then left the manor toward the Military Governor’s Office.
After they left the manor, Huangfu Qianqi turned around to look at the manor and realized that the entire place was still brightly lit, which was almost the same scenario as when he arrived. He was secretly fearful of Sun Bingchen’s approach on the situation. When he turned to look at the youthful Yan Liqiang, who had mounted on a rhinodrake as he followed from behind, Huangfu Qianqi’s perception toward him had completely changed.
If it were other people, they wouldn’t understand the reason why Sun Bingchen allowed Yan Liqiang to follow him to the Military Governor’s Office. However, Huangfu Qianqi, who had been with the officials and the military for most of his life, understood why. By dispatching Yan Liqiang with him, Sun Bingchen wanted Yan Liqiang to take all the credit and achievement for himself by apprehending Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun without any risk or danger. As long as this young man followed him and captured those two, it would theoretically be considered an achievement. In other words, he would be participating in the apprehension of Ye Tiancheng’s important partners in Pingxi Prefecture.
When Huangfu Qianqi thought of that, he began to feel a little bit envious because he knew that this young man called Yan Liqiang had earned Sun Bingchen’s trust just by rushing forward to protect Sun Bingchen when Ye Tiancheng charged at him for the attack just now. He would have a promising future due to the trust endowed by Sun Bingchen. The reason Sun Bingchen allowed him to tag along was to give him a chance to redeem his credit, as well as to strengthen his usefulness for the future. Otherwise, it would have been sufficient for Sun Bingchen to order Huangfu Qianqi to capture Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun and bring them back by himself. He could guarantee that those two would be brought back without a single problem. There was no need for Sun Bingchen to allow a young man to tag along like this…
Sometimes, a person’s choice could determine the outcome of many different things.
Yan Liqiang turned around and flashed a smile at Huangfu Qianqi when he sensed Huangfu Qianqi watching him. He didn’t say anything, yet Huangfu Qianqi could sense from Yan Liqiang’s smile that he had already realized Sun Bingchen’s intention of sending him here.
Whatever Huangfu Qianqi could think of, Yan Liqiang could do the same as well. However, at that moment, besides these thoughts in his head, Yan Liqiang was still amazed at the wonders of fate. At the same time, he felt a bit helpless too. He didn’t expect that he would be forced to confront the Ye Clan head-on in the end after turning around to jump on Sun Bingchen’s bandwagon, thinking that he had already temporarily escaped the dispute with the Ye Clan.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang’s only hope on Sun Bingchen was that he’d better have something up his sleeves. Acting against Ye Tiancheng at Pingxi Prefecture was only the beginning. They better be capable of eradicating the Ye Clan once and for all. Otherwise, it would not be a joke if the Ye Clan were to get their revenge.
……
After following Huangfu Qianqi for a moment, Yan Liqiang finally arrived at the familiar Military Governor’s Office.
As soon as they arrived at the office, Huangfu Qianqi immediately called upon a herald and asked him to beckon all the Barrack Generals for a meeting at the Military Governor’s Office. The reason was simple — to arrange the escorts for Patrol Inspector Sun Bingchen’s departure from Pingxi Prefecture tomorrow.
After he sent away the herald to swiftly transmit his orders, Huangfu Qianqi then called upon his confidant in front of Yan Liqiang once more and secretly made some arrangements. He decided to have a bunch of armed men rush toward those two on his signal when they arrived later…
Yan Liqiang could not help but laugh when he heard that at the sideline, “You don’t need to do that, Military Governor. I have a plan that will guarantee those two to obediently submit themselves without putting up a fight. There’s no need to have your army risk themselves and fight them!”
“Is there a plan to do that?” Huangfu Qianqi was slightly in disbelief.
However, he cried out in amazement after listening to Yan Liqiang’s plan…
……
In about less than an hour, all the Barrack Generals in Pingxi City who received the military orders from the Military Governor’s Office arrived at White Tiger Hall in succession for the meeting. Eight Barrack Generals came in one after another, and when all of them were present, they had to wait another ten minutes until two more commandants wearing Barrack General coat armor came in late. It was only then that the meeting could convene as usual.
“PAK…!” Huangfu Qianqi gazed angrily at the last two Barrack Generals who came in late and slammed the table, “Liu Quanzhong and Tu Chunyun, why are you two late for the meeting at White Tiger Hall today? Do you know what crimes you have committed?”
“We rushed here as soon as we received your orders. The sky was dark and the journey was long, which was why we were late. What crimes have we committed?”
Even though those two Barrack Generals were slightly surprised by Huangfu Qianqi’s outburst, one of them still managed to utter a retort back to him. It seemed like this Barrack General wasn’t even afraid of Huangfu Qianqi by the look on his face.
“Insolence. Guards, take these two away. I’m going to have the Prefectural Governor make the judgment…” With the orders from Huangfu Qianqi, two of his bodyguards quickly rushed in and pinned those two down.
The two Barrack Generals wanted to resist at first, but after struggling for a while, they relented and allowed Huangfu Qianqi’s bodyguards to seize their weapons away and tie them up using a rope. They showed no sign of fear. One of them even sneered at Huangfu Qianqi like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, “Then let Prefectural Governor judge us and see whether Military Governor has been overly harsh on us or not…”
With a glance from Huangfu Qianqi, two other bodyguards quickly moved in, apprehended those two by tying their hands behind their backs, and put on a full set of metal shackles on their hands, feet, and necks…
“Huangfu Qianqi, what are you doing…” The two Barrack Generals became disconcerted and exclaimed upon seeing Huangfu Qianqi locking them up with steel shackles and treating them with the means reserved specifically for felonies…
“Idiots!” Huangfu Qianqi cursed…
……
