Chapter 319: with translation of chapter title

Liang Renjie's mindset was very calm; he looked at Chen Wuji and sneered, "I have been a Provincial Troops soldier all my life, and it took me over ten years to rise from a lowly soldier to my current position. But you—who are you? Just last month you were still a hunter, and now you have suddenly leapt to sit above us all."

"The three Commandants of Yunan earned their positions through sheer strength, cutting their way up blade by blade, and we all respect them! But that dog official Qin Feng, in order to help you rise, actually set up a Hongmen Banquet for the three Commandants. Qin Feng may manage the first day, but what gives me, Liang Renjie, the right not to manage the fifteenth?"

"The brothers all trust me; I can lead them to wealth. If the news hadn't leaked, how could you be allowed to run rampant here today? Winner takes all, loser is bandit—more talk is useless. Whether to kill or chop, it's up to you."

"I'll be waiting for you below; you and that dog official Qin Feng, who keep committing injustices, will surely bring about your own downfall!"

Chen Wuji smiled and nodded, "What you said really makes sense!"

"You fought your way up with blades and spears—just who have you been killing? Surely not the people of Yunan?"

"If I recall correctly, when the bandits ran rampant, you shut your doors and ignored them. Only when the people, panicked, banded together to resist did you come out—but you didn't kill the bandits; you killed the refugees. Is that what you call your strength?"

"Fugui!" Chen Wuji called out, ordering, "I don't like what he just said—find a brother who enjoys cutting off people's fingers for fun and mess around with him."

Qian Fugui gave a sinister laugh, "Commandant, let me handle this job—I just love doing it."

Chen Wuji:?

The contrast in this kid's nature continually exceeds Chen Wuji's expectations.

Qian Fugui took two people and dragged Liang Renjie to the side.

Soon, the mournful wails echoed throughout the Lìng ground.

"Sir, although you suggested I use these people, deep down I actually resist it—using them means I must employ harsh punishment!" Chen Wuji said to Xu Zengyi beside him.

"Liang Renjie and the other leaders must be punished openly; their nine clans will certainly be implicated as well, otherwise it won't be enough to deter. But, sir, have you considered a question?"

"Please give your orders, Commandant."

Chen Wuji stopped in his tracks, looked at Xu Zengyi, and said, "Perhaps one day I too will overthrow my superiors and commit treason. As a member of the Chen clan, there are things I cannot simply do as I wish."

"I am now using harsh punishment to cow this group, making them understand the consequences of overthrowing their superiors; perhaps one day this will become a pit I dig for myself. When I prepare to do this, they may well consider taking my head to the court to claim merit."

Xu Zengyi suddenly fell silent.

After a while, he suddenly said something completely unrelated, "I recently asked a friend to look into the background of the Qin County magistrate, and I uncovered some unexpected matters."

"Magistrate Qin came from a humble background; before taking office as Yunan County magistrate, he spent every night in brothels, indulging in flower-seeking and wine-drinking. And after passing the imperial examination, he served less than half a month as an academy clerk before being stripped of his official robes for some reason."

Chen Wuji frowned slightly, "Are you suggesting he's a pawn planted by someone?"

"The Emperor." Xu Zengyi said directly.

"My friend's information is limited, but Qin Feng seems to have been propped up by the Emperor. However, there are many puzzling aspects: the Emperor supports officials to strengthen his voice at court, yet instead of placing them in the capital, he sends them to a remote borderland like Yunan, which is quite bewildering."

Chen Wuji interrupted him, "Mr. Xu, such ambiguous statements easily mislead our judgment. I don't like conclusions that are merely 'seems like' or 'appears to be'."

Xu Zengyi's expression turned grave, "What I mean is, Qin Feng suddenly throwing strong support behind the Commandants' control of Yunan's forces is inherently strange."

"The Commandants ruling the Provincial Troops with harsh punishment might leave future troubles, but compared to other potential troubles, it's not a major headache. No matter how much turmoil these people stir up, they always remain under the superior's watch, right?"

Chen Wuji glanced at Xu Zengyi, gave a light sneer, shook his head, and said, "I despise conspiracies."

"But conspiracies have already found the Commandants; Yunan, a place where fish and dragons mingle, is by nature a deep pool." Xu Zengyi said, "Since we've come to this point, I'd like to add a few more words."

"As for the Commandants' future actions, please focus primarily on self-preservation and accumulating strength. Given recent events, after thinking it over, I still lean more toward the idea of 'use'."

"The current emperor is far from the weak and feeble figure rumored; he is a sovereign who, even amidst wine pools and meat forests, can control half the court and arm-wrestle those powerful officials."

Chen Wuji nodded seriously and murmured, "Yunan is truly a remote place."

"Indeed, it's extremely biased and outrageously far." Xu Zengyi laughed and echoed.

Chen Wuji glanced at the now-quieting camp, "Let's go; we'll check the accounts overnight—I have a feeling we might make a big profit this time."

"War is truly the best business."

"The sage says: 'Weapons are instruments of ill omen; people despise them, hence the Dao avoids them. A gentleman honors the left at home and the right in warfare—but weapons remain ill-omened, not a gentleman's tool… It seems I am destined never to become a gentleman in this lifetime.'"

……

"Boring."

Qin Feng sat on the roof ridge, inhaled a breath of night wind tinged with a faint smell of blood, and casually flung the wine jar at Chen Xingyuan, saying, "The rotting rafters battling the heavy snow are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—I truly overestimated them. Damn it, I even told Chen Wuji to be cautious; this so-called caution is utter bullshit—what's the difference between that and charging into a pigpen swinging a knife wildly?"

"Aren't you afraid that Chen Wuji will come to dominate Yunan and treat you as nothing?" Chen Xingyuan suddenly asked.

Qin Feng laughed, "From what you're saying, it sounds like you don't trust the Chen clan head—does he really have that much ambition?"

"I'm just worried you'll use the Chen clan as a stepping stone, and things will end unpleasantly." Chen Xingyuan said, "The Chen clan hasn't had any ambition for a long time; if they do now, it's only because you recently gave them some."

Qin Feng looked at Chen Xingyuan and nodded seriously, "Now I understand why the Taizu Emperor was so wary of your Chen clan—you're literally born a family of generals."

"You've misunderstood, sir; we just want to live peacefully." Chen Xingyuan bowed his head.

Qin Feng lightly stepped forward and leapt from the eaves into the alleyways.

After two steps, he stopped again, turned his head to see Chen Xingyuan clumsily sliding down from the eaves, and said, "Don't bring up such talk again—it's a buzzkill."

"I heard your last words to the previous county magistrate were, 'I'll borrow your head for a moment,' and I don't want to hear you say that someday. No need to worry about yourself or the Chen clan—I'm propping up the Chen clan by any means not for some other purpose, but simply because I've read a few ancient books and know the story of your Chen clan."

"In extraordinary times, one must employ extraordinary people and undertake extraordinary deeds—that's all!"

Chen Xingyuan felt around for a ladder and clumsily climbed down from the eaves.

He felt that there really was a need to learn the county magistrate's wall-scaling, roof-leaping technique sometime.

Climbing up and down is indeed not as impressive as flying up and down.