At the gates of the barbican military camp, two groups of troops were locked in a standoff. One side was naturally Wei Yuan's forces, their armor gleaming and their equipment immaculate.
The other wore ash-gray uniforms. Though fewer in number, each radiated a ferocious, murderous aura.
Dozens on both sides were bruised and swollen; they had clearly just fought a brawl, and by the looks of it, neither side had gained the upper hand.
The soldiers in ash-gray uniforms clamored noisily, shouting, "We all serve under Military Commissioners, and we've all walked through frontline piles of alien corpses! Why do you get to hog all the good barracks while us men under the Military Commissioner of Anbei have to sleep in tents on the snow?"
Another stiffened his neck and yelled, "Come on, chop right here! Your grandpa's head is right here for you to take! Even the Liao Clan barbarians couldn't cut it off—let's see if you bastards have what it takes!"
Many on Wei Yuan's side already had their hands on their hilts, murder in their eyes. But a vice general in their ranks shouted, "Restrain yourselves, everyone! This is the royal capital—the bigger picture comes first!"
This vice general was somewhat advanced in years, the eldest among the seven or eight vice generals present. Earlier, Wei Yuan had taken all the generals to the relay station, so when this man stepped forward, the other vice generals held their tongues.
Seeing this, the soldiers in ash gray grew even more arrogant. The deputy general leading them barked, "We aren't asking for much. Yield barracks for a thousand men, and we'll let this drop! We have three thousand men, so asking for a thousand spots isn't over the line. With all my battle scars and military merits, I've earned this much!"
The vice general on Wei Yuan's side hesitated. "I cannot make this decision. I must report to his Excellency."
Before his words had even settled, thunderous hoofbeats echoed as Wei Yuan and an escort of generals arrived!
Arriving on the scene, Wei Yuan swept his gaze over the area, taking in the entire situation at a glance.
Cui Yu and several generals of aristocratic lineage wore grim expressions, glaring darkly at that vice general.
Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, the vice general hastily saluted and stammered, "My Lord, it happened like this... A dispute broke out later, and considering that this is the royal capital, I had the brothers show restraint for the sake of the bigger picture..."
Wei Yuan remained expressionless, remarking coolly, "Oh? You fought a brawl, and you lost?"
Startled, the vice general quickly said, "Around a hundred men from each side engaged, and it was merely a draw."
With a flick of Wei Yuan's finger, an invisible whip of Dharmic power lashed violently across the officer!
With a sharp crack, the vice general's armor shattered. Even with his late Dao Foundation cultivation, the agony brought him crashing to the ground, though he bit back a scream.
Wei Yuan's voice turned icy. "If you were going to fight, why only send out a hundred men? Were the other ten thousand-plus in the camp dead corpses?! Having so many men fight a thousand pieces of trash to a draw—what use do I have for you!"
The Anbei Army troops flared with indignance and clamored once more. The slick veteran soldier from before stepped out again, tilting his head and pointing at his neck. "Ayo! Who are you calling trash? Who the hell do you think you are? Come on then, if you've got the guts, take this piece of trash's head—"
Mounted on his steed, Wei Yuan extended a finger and drew a light stroke through the air!
The Anbei veteran's head soared high into the air! An expression of disbelief remained frozen on his face; he had never imagined Wei Yuan would strike without a second thought.
Wei Yuan immediately pointed at the thousand or so Anbei soldiers and barked, "Seize them all! Slay any who resist!"
Wei Yuan's heavy-armored warriors had been holding back for too long. The Dragon Army in particular had been undefeated since its creation, considering itself peerless in land warfare. When had they ever endured such wretched insolence? Even without fire guns, they never believed they could lose to the Anbei Army.
The moment Wei Yuan gave the word, a torrent of steel surged forward. Troops detached automatically from both flanks to encircle the rear, trapping the Anbei soldiers in the center and thrashing them mercilessly!
In the blink of an eye, all thousand-odd Anbei soldiers were subdued, leaving a dozen corpses sprawled on the ground. Wei Yuan's subordinates, fully encased in heavy armor, suffered only two minor injuries.
Only then did Wei Yuan's expression soften slightly.
Only now did the vice general scramble to his feet, explaining, "My Lord, I was only thinking of the bigger picture—"
Wei Yuan snapped sternly, "The bigger picture? Is the bigger picture yours to worry about? If trouble breaks out, I'm the one who will clean up the mess! Your only job is to win! If you don't win, everything else is bullshit! From this moment on, you are stripped of all rank and sent to the vanguard battalion as an ordinary foot soldier. Earn your merit from scratch!"
The man hung his head, not daring to utter another word, and retreated to the ranks.
Drawing breath, Wei Yuan projected his voice before the ten thousand-plus ironclad warriors, calling out, "I will settle everything else! All you have to do is win—no matter who stands against you!"
The blood of thousands of soldiers boiled in an instant. Their unified roar shook the air like an avalanche or a surging tsunami.
At that moment, a resonant voice boomed from the distance: "Lord Wei truly possesses magnificent spirit! Yet to dare slay my Anbei men within the royal city... could it be you take this official for a pushover?"
Hundreds of armored horsemen swept in like the wind, confronting Wei Yuan.
At their center rode a burly, imposing man with a saber scar running across his face. Glaring at Wei Yuan with murderous intent, he was none other than the Military Commissioner of Anbei, Xu Tongshou.
Wei Yuan sneered. "Lord Xu's soldiers came all the way to my military camp to stir up trouble and seize my barracks. It seems to me that they are the ones who took me for a pushover!"
Xu Tongshou frowned. His gaze fell upon his men, who were bound tightly with cords. Suddenly, he drew his blade and slashed through the air! The ropes binding his deputy general snapped completely.
Seeing clearly that the strike was not aimed at his own soldiers, Wei Yuan did not intervene.
Xu Tongshou reached out across the air, dragging the deputy general before him with an invisible grasp, and barked, "What happened?"
Reeking heavily of alcohol, the deputy general had nonetheless been frightened completely sober. He stammered, "The weather was bitterly cold, and the brothers had no choice but to stay in tents outside the city. It was unbearable, so we thought of coming into the city for some drinks to warm up. While drinking, we heard people saying that all the prepared barracks had been taken by the Dingxi Army, and no one else was allowed to stay. In the heat of the moment, I just wanted to come over and see who was acting so high and mighty, and then... we started fighting."
Xu Tongshou furrowed his brows and glanced at the corpses on the ground. He said coldly, "Lord Wei, we serve as ministers in the same court. If our subordinates were merely squabbling, that would be a trifling matter, but why must lives be taken?"
Wei Yuan replied without a shred of politeness, "One of your grunts had the audacity to stick out his neck and dare me to chop it off, so I granted his wish. As for the rest who died afterward, they were collateral casualties. Lord Xu, surely you didn't think a mere soldier from your Anbei Army could disrespect me and I would still grant you face?"
Xu Tongshou narrowed his eyes, staring at Wei Yuan as his murderous intent slowly surfaced.
Wei Yuan sat calmly in his saddle, completely unruffled.
Just then, a vice general behind Xu Tongshou spoke up suddenly: "Wei Yuan! Did you say that the dharma idols of our Xu family are all trash?!"
Wei Yuan answered flatly, "That's right, I did."
Xu Tongshou suddenly backhanded a whip fiercely across that vice general's head, instantly ripping flesh open and leaving his face drenched in blood.
Ignoring the vice general, Xu Tongshou turned to Wei Yuan. "My subordinates have offended Lord Wei, but lives have already been paid. May they be released now?"
"Release them!" Wei Yuan waved his hand, and his warriors severed the cords binding the Anbei soldiers, shoving them forward.
These Anbei soldiers were all injured. Even though they had been at an overwhelming disadvantage in the brawl, every one of them had fought with reckless ferocity. Yet the Qingming Iron Cavalry had likewise crawled out from piles of corpses; when confronted with anyone defiant, they would simply beat them until they yielded.
Xu Tongshou gave another wave, and his warriors lifted the corpses. Wei Yuan then ordered the confiscated weapons returned. Xu Tongshou cupped his hands toward Wei Yuan and said chillingly, "Lord Wei, watch yourself!"
With that, he led his men away without another word.
Now that outsiders were gone, Cui Yu spoke up. "Someone must have provoked this!"
Wei Yuan remarked placidly, "Naturally. I knew it the moment this entire military camp was allocated to us. And I have a fair idea of who orchestrated it."
Cui Yu asked, "Since you knew it was a scheme, why didn't we yield some of the barracks? This camp can accommodate twenty thousand men."
"Yield? Why should we yield?" Wei Yuan countered, sneering coldly. "If they dared offer it, it's not as though we couldn't take it. If we hadn't accepted, wouldn't that make it seem like we were afraid? Besides, an old fox like Xu Tongshou is no fool. With a little thought, he will naturally understand what happened. Unable to gain anything from us, he will naturally vent his anger on the instigators."
Wei Yuan added, "A clash like this is far better than other alternatives."
***
Xu Tongshou owned estates of his own in the royal capital. Returning to his manor at this moment, he stormed furiously into his study, followed by a violent racket of smashing objects that terrified the servants into silent dread, none daring to approach.
Once things quieted down slightly, a scholar hurried into the study and shut the door tight behind him.
Inside the room, Xu Tongshou was holding a teacup and sipping slowly, showing not the slightest hint of rage. Seeing the scholar arrive, he smiled immediately. "Mr. Qi, you've come. Please, have a seat."
The scholar had an extraordinary bearing. Once seated, he asked, "I hear Lord Xu had a clash with the Military Commissioner of Dingxi's men?"
Xu Tongshou gave a snort and said slowly, "It was all a trap set by Commander of the Nine Gates Lü Zhongzhi. He gave the entire military camp to Wei Yuan and then incited my subordinates to go stir up trouble! Hmph, I merely beat him at his own game. If I hadn't made a bloody mess with Wei Yuan and cost a few lives, those folks named Lü probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night."
The scholar smiled faintly. "It seems there was no need for my concern. Your Excellency naturally sees through everything clearly, with all things well in hand."
Xu Tongshou said, "There are no major concerns here in the royal capital. However, on the family's side, there is an urgent matter that requires you to make a trip, Sir. I truly cannot entrust it to anyone else."
Mr. Qi said, "Pray tell, my Lord."
"Over there, I have eighty thousand mu of mulberry groves and one hundred and fifty thousand mu of grain fields. Lately, silk prices have soared while grain prices plummeted, and I hear all the silk has been bought up by Wei Yuan. I was thinking of converting tens of thousands of mu of grain fields into mulberry groves, but I feel uneasy, always suspecting some plot behind it. Yet if I don't convert them, I'll miss out on two hundred thousand taels of immortal silver in annual income, which leaves me rather disgruntled. That is why I would like to trouble you to go back, Sir, to see whether we should convert grain fields into mulberry groves, and if so, how much to convert."
Mr. Qi's expression turned solemn, and he said seriously, "I fear I will have to make a trip to Qingming to find out. While Wei Yuan is still in the royal capital and Qingming's defenses are thin, I shall set out tomorrow."
"Then I leave it in your capable hands, Sir."
Before the scholar took his leave, Xu Tongshou suddenly asked, "What would you think, Sir, if I were to ask Wei Yuan directly about this?"
"That would naturally be best. However, it can only be done after leaving the royal capital. Otherwise, those lives will have been spent in vain."
Chapter 453