Chapter 112: Ye Yu Revisits Old Grounds, Geniuses Are All in the Imperial Court (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Bazhou is right next to Tongzhou, not far, but carrying a coffin makes it impossible to pick up the pace even if one wanted to travel quickly.

Pei Shaoqing could certainly rely on Black General to leave the main group behind and head out first, but he would not do such a thing.

After all, how could a leader put themselves in danger alone?

Not to mention that with his status, no one would dare to kill him.

But in all things, one must fear the "what if."

Didn't he himself kill the original owner of this body back then?

The higher one's status and position, the less one can afford to take unnecessary risks; this is not only being responsible for one's own wealth and glory, but also for the comfortable lives of one's subordinates.

For the sake of safety, Pei Shaoqing also dispatched two Jing'an Guards to act as scouts and ride ahead to scout the path.

"My Lord, there is a tavern by the road ahead," one of the Jing'an Guards responsible for scouting reported back on horseback.

Pei Shaoqing looked back at the group and said, "Pick up the pace slightly; we will rest at the tavern before continuing."

"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.

About a quarter of an hour later, Pei Shaoqing also saw the lonely tavern built by the side of the road, operated only by an old man and a girl of about ten years old.

It was empty inside at this moment, with no customers.

"This commoner pays respects to the Baron of Pingyang; please come inside, officers," the old man knelt at the tavern entrance to welcome them.

Pei Shaoqing handed his horse to a subordinate and asked with interest, "Old man, you actually recognize this official?"

"This commoner has not had the fortune to see your true face before, but riding such a divine steed near Tongzhou while traveling with the Jing'an Guard, it must be you, My Lord," the old man kept his head lowered and his back hunched, answering cautiously.

"Rise. Bring out whatever good wine and food you have," Pei Shaoqing smiled indifferently, then walked over to a bench that Zhao Zhilan had wiped down with a silk handkerchief and sat, asking casually, "It must not be easy running a tavern here, old man; there isn't a single customer at mealtime."

"There were, just a moment ago, many customers, but they were all driven away by your men, and they hadn't even paid their bills yet," the old man's granddaughter pouted and complained indignantly.

"Xiao Hong, hold your tongue!" the old man scolded his granddaughter in a panic, then threw himself down to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly, "The child is ignorant; please, My Lord, calm your anger."

"Old man, please rise quickly." Pei Shaoqing stood up and personally helped him up, glanced at the two subordinates acting as scouts, but did not criticize them, saying to the old man in a gentle and pleasant tone, "It was my men who delayed your business; take this silver as compensation."

As he spoke, he untied the money pouch at his waist, took out several small silver ingots, and stuffed them into the old man's hands.

"This... this is too much..." the old man was both surprised and delighted, stammering, "There is no need for so much."

"You old man, just take what my Lord gives you," Chen Zhongyi said with an unfriendly tone.

"Yes, yes, yes." The old man gave a start, took the silver, and bowed repeatedly to express his thanks: "Many thanks, Lord Pei. You are truly the good official the legends say you are. Having you in Tongzhou is a blessing for us."

"If you really want to thank me, then hurry up and bring the wine and food," Pei Shaoqing smiled and went back to sit down.

Seeing him so approachable, the old man also relaxed and laughed, "Right away, right away."

Xiao Hong opened her round eyes to look at Pei Shaoqing, then trotted off to help her grandfather.

"We disturbed the people without cause; please punish us, My Lord!" The two scouts walked before Pei Shaoqing and knelt on one knee to plead guilty.

Pei Shaoqing unfolded his folding fan and shook it lightly, glanced at the busy grandfather and granddaughter, and said indifferently, "What crime have you committed? You did the right thing; reward yourselves ten taels of silver each."

His subordinates had proactively created a safe and quiet environment for him to rest, so how could he reprimand them?

Let the subordinates do the work of offending people.

As the beneficiary, he does a bit of superficial work to make up for his subordinates' mistakes, and he can reap a wave of good reputation.

The bad things are all done by the people below.

Lord Pei is good; he is unaware.

"Thank you for the reward, My Lord!" The two Jing'an Guards acting as scouts were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly rejoiced and bowed in thanks.

Ten taels of silver was not much, but what they were happy about was that what they had done had reached the heart of Pei Shaoqing.

Pei Shaoqing said in a calm tone, "After you finish your meal, set off first to scout the situation ahead."

"Yes!" the two replied in unison.

In the kitchen in the distance, the hard-of-hearing old man could not hear the conversation between the three, and looking at this scene, he lowered his head and said to his granddaughter Xiao Hong, "Look, my good granddaughter, Lord Pei must be reprimanding those two. He really is a good official who loves the people like his own children and is selfless and impartial."

"But Grandpa, why do those two look so happy even though they were reprimanded?" Xiao Hong asked in confusion.

The old man understood everything and said, "Lord Pei is kind-hearted; it was just a reprimand, not a punishment, so of course they are happy, and they surely won't dare to commit the offense again."

"Oh~" Xiao Hong suddenly realized, and said with a naive face, "Lord Pei is just like the big brother who helped us beat the bad guys last time; they are both good people."

"Yes." The old man nodded, and he also remembered Ye Yu, saying, "I hope Lord Pei and that young hero can both have good rewards for being good people and live long lives. In this world, there aren't many good officials and chivalrous people like them left."

The grandfather and granddaughter did not know that Pei Shaoqing was not a good person, nor did they know that the other "good person" they spoke of was currently lying in the coffin under the tree outside the tavern.

………………………

The next afternoon, they entered the territory of Bazhou.

At a fork in the road, Pei Shaoqing split his forces into two.

Liu Yuheng took a portion of the men to escort Ye Yu's corpse back to the Iron Sword Sect, while he took Zhao Zhilan, Chen Zhongyi, and others into the city to find the local Jing'an Guard to investigate Cui'er.

"Giddyap! Giddyap!"

The group galloped on horseback.

The guards at the city gate saw Black General from afar and were both shocked and afraid, not knowing for a moment whether they should stop them or not.

"Whoa!" Several meters away, Pei Shaoqing pulled on the reins to stop and said loudly, "I am the Baron of Pingyang, Pei Shaoqing, here on official business; move aside at once."

At this time, Chen Zhongyi and the others caught up on horseback.

"Greetings to the Baron of Pingyang!" The guards saw the Jing'an Guards arriving close behind and had no doubts about Pei Shaoqing's identity, so they retreated to both sides and knelt to welcome him.

"Rise." After Pei Shaoqing finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the people behind him, "Do not gallop and startle the people upon entering the city."

It wasn't as if they were executing some urgent mission, and they weren't on their own turf, so he had to consider the face of the local officials; there was no need to offend colleagues for no reason.

Chen Zhongyi and the others replied in unison, "As you command!"

"Giddyap." Pei Shaoqing squeezed his horse's belly, Black General tossed its head and snorted two puffs of hot air from its nostrils, and with its head held high and chest out, it walked into Bazhou City with an arrogant posture, slow and leisurely.

Unsurprisingly, it naturally attracted countless people to watch.

And Black General enjoyed this feeling very much, so it put on even more airs, its eyes looking down on everyone, and even the distance and force of its steps were controlled just right.

"Brother Chen, go quickly to report to the Hundred-Household," a local Jing'an Guard in the crowd said, turning his head to his colleague.

As for the colleague giving him the opportunity to report to the Hundred-Household and show his face, the Jing'an Guard surnamed Chen was also quite moved, "Many thanks, Brother Wang, I will go right now."

Watching his colleague hurry away, and after he had gone far, the Jing'an Guard surnamed Wang immediately rushed out, knelt on one knee on the street, lowered his head, and said: "Your subordinate, Wang Peng of the Baozhou Baihu Suo, pays respects to the Baron of Pingyang. I do not know why you have come to Bazhou, my lord? This lowly one is willing to lead the way for you."

Reporting the news of Pei Shaoqing's arrival to the Hundred-Household at the first opportunity would allow one to show their face before him, but how could that compare to the importance of showing one's face before Pei Shaoqing?

An ordinary Jing'an Guard Hundred-Household is a sixth-rank official; their official rank is higher than a County Magistrate, their power is greater than a County Magistrate, and with the imperial authority to execute first and report later, they can already be considered to hold a high and powerful position.

Yet, as a fellow Jing'an Guard Hundred-Household, Pei Shaoqing also holds a noble title and enjoys the favor of the Emperor; he is the son of the Weiyuan Marquis, which is far beyond what a Bazhou Hundred-Household can compare to.

"Whoa!" Pei Shaoqing reined in Black General and looked down at Wang Peng from his high vantage point, "Take me to the Hundred-Household Office."

"Yes!" Wang Peng stood up, walked forward a few steps, and said: "My lord, please allow this lowly one to lead your horse."

Pei Shaoqing could tell that this kid really wanted to get ahead.

He smiled and tossed the reins to the other party.

He had always appreciated such ambitious people and was willing to give them opportunities, because as long as a person has desires, it is possible for them to be of use to him.

What he feared most was encountering those who had no desires and just wanted to lie flat.

Except for appearing on his own initiative at the very beginning, Wang Peng was very quiet for the rest of the way and did not try to show himself off again.

This caused Pei Shaoqing's favorable impression to increase greatly, so he asked casually, "How old are you, Jing'an Rider Wang?"

"In reply to my lord, this lowly one is twenty-one this year."

"Oh?" Pei Shaoqing raised an eyebrow, then followed up with another question, "How long have you been in the Jing'an Guard?"

"My lord, this is my third year."

"Jing'an Rider Wang is young and promising." Pei Shaoqing did not hide the surprise on his face and said with a faint smile.

The biggest difference between the Jing'an Guard and the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard is that it cannot be inherited, so the competition is very fierce; if Wang Peng had no background, being able to become a member at seventeen or eighteen shows that he is sufficiently outstanding.

Wang Peng replied respectfully: "This lowly one has a good physique, so my martial arts talent is passable."

These words indicated that he had gotten in purely on his own ability.

"What is your current strength?" Pei Shaoqing asked.

The precocious Wang Peng finally showed a bit of high spirits, pursed his lips, and replied: "Ningqi Late Stage."

Chen Zhongyi and the others cast sidelong glances at him one after another.

In Great Zhou, the true geniuses are all in the imperial court.

"This is even stronger than your Hundred-Household, isn't it?" Pei Shaoqing chuckled, speaking with a hint of teasing.

Wang Peng immediately wilted again, "How could this lowly one compare to the Hundred-Household? He, like you my lord, is a person who devises strategies within a tent; martial strength is merely the icing on the cake. A brainless brute like this lowly one needs to rely on martial strength to make a living."

This is the beauty of the system and power; ability does not equal status. Wang Peng is just an ordinary Jing'an Rider, while the Bazhou Hundred-Household, whose martial arts are inferior to his, holds a sixth-rank official position.

Are there any Martial Artists dissatisfied with this situation?

Certainly there are!

Then what to do about that dissatisfaction?

Naturally, it is to practice hard; once one breaks through to become a Master of Transformation Energy, one will have value for the united front, and the imperial court will take the initiative to offer an olive branch and confer an official post, allowing one to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

After breaking through to become a Master of Transformation Energy and becoming a beneficiary within the imperial court's system, one naturally will no longer be dissatisfied with the imperial court, and instead will suppress those who were once like themselves.

Therefore, Martial Artists who are dissatisfied with this system simply cannot form an effective force of resistance; they can only live, endure, and muddle along while complaining about heaven and others.

There is also a portion who will choose to join the Xuanhuang Sect.

According to the imperial court's narrative, the Xuan Sect wants to overthrow the existing system and build a country where Martial Artists are supreme.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the imperial court is deliberately spreading rumors.

"Jing'an Rider Wang..." Pei Shaoqing spoke again.

Wang Peng said: "My lord, please call me Little Wang."

"Alright, Little Turtle, what is your Hundred-Household called? What is his temperament like?" Pei Shaoqing asked again.

It's Little Wang! Not Little Turtle! Wang Peng's mouth twitched, and he replied respectfully: "Our Hundred-Household's surname is Zhou, given name Li; his temper is gentle, and he is extremely skilled at socializing."

Officials may not be skilled at getting things done, but most are skilled at socializing; they are all warriors tempered by alcohol.

Pei Shaoqing nodded, then changed the subject and returned to him, "With your strength, Little Wang, you must have performed many meritorious deeds in these past two years; why haven't you been promoted?"

"Perhaps Hundred-Household-daren feels that I am young and not mature enough, and that I still need to be polished." The expression on Wang Peng's face stiffened, and he pursed his lips, forcing a smile.

A high-EQ answer.

Pei Shaoqing smiled and said nothing more.

After receiving the report from his subordinate, Zhou Li was very surprised by Pei Shaoqing's arrival; although they were of the same rank, he decided to set aside his status and take the initiative to go and seek him out to show respect.

But just as he stepped out the door, he saw Pei Shaoqing and the others arriving on horseback; seeing Pei Shaoqing preparing to dismount, Zhou Li immediately put on a smile and quickened his pace to greet him.

And the Jing'an Guard surnamed Chen, who had previously been sent away by Wang Peng, stood frozen at the entrance upon seeing Wang Peng leading the horse for Pei Shaoqing; he said nothing, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

"The divine steed has long legs and a sturdy body; Baron of Pingyang, please be slow."

Zhou Li arrived at the side of the horse and fawningly supported Pei Shaoqing, as if afraid he would fall while dismounting.

(End of this chapter)