Chapter 159: The Blade of Xinzhou

As Lao Zhao listened, the expression on his face gradually shifted from confusion to a blank stare.

Just this?

He really wanted to say: If you don't want to do it, why not just quit?

But they were relatives after all; among the survivors of his maternal uncle's family, Clerk Fang was the only one left of this generation.

Before his own mother passed away, she had repeatedly urged him to take good care of his uncle's family.

After the other party arrived in Xinzhou, Lao Zhao had indeed taken good care of them and was still quite biased toward them in daily life.

But when placed in front of Wen Gu—

By blood, Clerk Fang was naturally closer.

But—

But, well—

Lao Zhao was already feeling somewhat impatient as he listened.

In the same scenario, at the same time, how many things could Wen Gu get done?

How come when it comes to you, you babble for half a day over just this little bit of trivial nonsense?

With your ability, you'd better just honestly do some clerical work; you really can't handle anything else!

But Clerk Fang didn't notice at all and continued, "That person named Cheng Zhi does so little work and is so relaxed every day! But look at the tasks Wen Gu dumps on me? They are th—is—thick!!"

Lao Zhao pinched the bridge of his nose.

It's just copying and writing, it's not like you're being sent out to fight and kill!

"Is there some misunderstanding in this?" Lao Zhao asked.

Clerk Fang had originally been acting a bit, but upon hearing this, genuine tears burst forth—I've been talking for so long, and you're actually asking if it's a misunderstanding?!

Lao Zhao continued to pinch the bridge of his nose. He indeed trusted Wen Gu more.

Clerk Fang's conduct in daily life wasn't very upright, and he liked to slack off. But his current weak and listless appearance really didn't look like it was faked.

Seeing that Clerk Fang showed no signs of stopping, Lao Zhao pondered for a moment before interrupting him: "When are you on duty tomorrow?"

Clerk Fang choked up instantly. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

He couldn't very well tell Lao Zhao that he planned to slack off tomorrow, could he?

Clerk Fang hesitated, but still stated the time he was on duty.

Lao Zhao said: "I will go to the Patrol Guard Division tomorrow."

Clerk Fang's spirits lifted. In his view, Lao Zhao was going to back him up.

Cousin is still the most reliable!

He must let Lao Zhao see exactly how Wen Gu is torturing them!

Clerk Fang went home satisfied.

The relationship between him and Lao Zhao was similar to the relationship between Wen Gu and Zhao Shaozhu; they were both relatives from the mother's side.

It was just that Wen Gu had the wealthy Shen Family behind him, while Clerk Fang's side couldn't really help and had no sense of presence.

Now that he felt targeted and wronged, he could only come to find Lao Zhao.

The next day.

Clerk Fang timed it carefully and waited at the entrance of the Patrol Guard Division, waiting for Lao Zhao to arrive before they went in together.

Lao Zhao hadn't been to the Patrol Guard Division for a while, so this was a good chance to walk around.

First, he went to the East Office to take a look.

Cheng Zhi was not in the clerical office at this time, but in the study where Wen Gu worked, assisting with matters.

Lao Zhao did not go in.

Seeing Wen Gu look over, Lao Zhao made a gesture, signaling him not to mind him and to let Wen Gu continue with his official business.

Cheng Zhi was focused on the work in his hands and didn't notice the movement outside the door.

After Wen Gu took over as Patrol Guard Division Vice Commissioner, he had a carpenter build an entire bookshelf in his office, which was already filled with documents, scrolls, letters, and booklets.

The curio cabinet next to it didn't hold decorative ornaments either, but various documents and booklets.

Anything that could be placed out in the open wasn't highly confidential. Cheng Zhi having access to these now didn't count as a violation.

With a gesture from Wen Gu, or just a simple word or term, Cheng Zhi could quickly and accurately find what was needed from the dense grid of bookshelves and hand it to Wen Gu.

After Wen Gu finished processing them with a swish, Cheng Zhi would accurately and quickly return them to their original places. Whatever information Wen Gu needed, he could find it the moment he turned around.

The most direct manifestation was that the thick stack of documents by Wen Gu's hand was visibly shrinking, only to be replaced by a new stack.

In his calm and swift state, Cheng Zhi moved back and forth, putting away and retrieving various documents; under this efficient rhythm, he even had time to help grind ink!

In Wen Gu's view, although there were a few tiny issues, overall, it was already done very well!

If it were an average person, their CPU would be fried.

For example, the two people at the door—even just watching, it felt like their brains were already burning up, and they might as well have had "Holy crap!" stamped on their faces.

Clerk Fang's eyes were dull, his face pale, and his lips trembling.

It was as if something had shattered.

Lao Zhao tilted his head to look at him, silently questioning: You call this "doing little work"?

Seeing that Clerk Fang seemed to have been dealt a blow, Lao Zhao didn't say much and continued to watch Cheng Zhi.

If it weren't for the fact that he already had a clerical team and it wasn't convenient to parachute in a newcomer, he would really want to poach Cheng Zhi!

Just this alone—one person is worth ten!

Before, he had only heard Wen Gu talk about Cheng Zhi's traits and hadn't felt it deeply enough, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he faced the full impact.

No wonder the emperors of the past were so partial to those scholars who fought their way through the imperial examinations and possessed photographic memories!

They are truly powerful when it comes to getting work done!!

Of course, Lao Zhao's own current clerical team is actually not bad either; there are people in it who could be called photographic, and although they aren't as outrageous as Cheng Zhi, they can still remember things after looking at them a few times, and their abilities are relatively well-rounded.

Thinking about it again, Wen Gu had said that apart from a good memory, Cheng Zhi had no other advantages.

Lao Zhao could only suppress the restlessness in his heart once more.

Not continuing to watch, Lao Zhao turned and left.

When Lao Zhao and his group were leaving, Cheng Zhi caught a glimpse of the movement over there from the corner of his eye, seeing only a back.

"Deputy Envoy? Did someone just come by?" he asked.

"My uncle came by," Wen Gu said.

"Oh, your uncle—that means—is it—is it?!"

Cheng Zhi realized.

Wen Gu continued: "He just came over to take a casual look; he saw your performance just now, and he looked very satisfied."

Cheng Zhi was so excited his face flushed red.

That is the highest-ranking official in Xinzhou!

He had been recognized!

At this moment, he thought of many things, and his desire to excel became even stronger.

On the other side.

After Lao Zhao had walked a bit further away, he said to Clerk Fang: "Look at that person, look at that person!"

"I don't have very high requirements for you either; even if you can't do other things, it would be fine if you could just discover a talent!"

Clerk Fang was absent-minded and did not react.

Lao Zhao sighed.

Forget it, forget it.

He said: "In this regard, there is no need for you to compete."

Who would have thought, Clerk Fang seemed to wake up suddenly: "No! I cannot swallow this insult!"

Lao Zhao was displeased and was about to reprimand him.

Clerk Fang: "I want to win it back!"

Fighting spirit burned in his eyes.

Don't even think about pushing me out!

I cannot lose!

Absolutely cannot lose!

Clerk Fang ran quickly toward the office.

Lao Zhao did not follow, and looked around again.

He didn't alert anyone else, and those who knew wouldn't spread it around.

Coming to the Patrol Guard Division this time, Lao Zhao really had some thoughts in his heart. No wonder Wen Gu had recommended the highly ambitious Mu Family members before!

Some personnel are indeed very idle!

Nowadays, food is precious, and the quotas he expanded were all decided after much deliberation.

He really doesn't want to support idlers with the food in the warehouse!

East Office clerical room.

After Cheng Zhi returned, Clerk Fang went out of his way to probe him with a few questions.

He was curious about Cheng Zhi's freakishly strong work ability, so he picked one of the matters to ask about. It involved one of the tasks Cheng Zhi had just performed for Deputy Envoy Wen.

However—

Cheng Zhi: "Huh?"

Every question met with confusion.

When he assisted with work for Wen Gu, he generally didn't ask much and didn't look at much.

A massive amount of information passed through his brain, but afterward, it seemed to be a blank slate.

It was like a computer desktop after processing a large number of files—clean and tidy. That information had already been filed and stored in a deeper place, not opened on ordinary days.

He doesn't look at what he shouldn't look at. Therefore, even if it didn't involve secrets, he wouldn't deliberately go searching for it, so he had no psychological burden.

Open and honest, empty and blank.

Clerk Fang: "—"

So, how could one lose to a person like this?

I'll give it my all!

For the next few days, he stopped going to gatherings and stopped listening to music, putting more energy into his official duties and turning on "stubborn mode."

It wasn't for Wen Gu, nor was it for Cheng Zhi, but for himself!

Just to win back some dignity!

Isn't it just the intensity of preparing for the imperial examinations?

I've experienced that too!!

Although I didn't pass.

Of the three clerks in the East Office, two had now started to work hard, and the remaining Clerk Lu, seeing that the situation was wrong, couldn't spare the time to drink tea and also started to work hard.

Clerk Lu thought to himself: Good for you, old Fang! Yesterday you were still pretending to be a slacker, and today you've started working hard!

Trying hard behind my back, are you?

At the same time, he was suspicious: Could it be that one of the three clerk spots in the East Office is really going to be cut?

Thinking this, he dared not be careless.

Fu Ju, the Deputy Envoy of the West Office, came to find Wen Gu to discuss some matters that day, and took a look when passing by the East Office's clerical room.

He saw that the three people inside were all writing furiously, fully focused.

He returned to his own West Office and took a look at the West Office's clerical room.

Many of these people who came from the Border Army had old habits that were hard to change, and they often neglected clerical work.

Therefore, the tasks on the clerical side were few; the clerks would copy and write every day, then drink tea and read the newspaper.

When Fu Ju went over, the two clerks inside did not know what they were chatting about; they were happy and cheerful, shaking their heads and commenting on the topics in the newspaper.

Fu Ju's already poor complexion turned even gloomier, and his voice carried a harsh severity: "What? What are you chatting about? What major event is there in Xinzhou that I, a Patrol Guard Division Deputy Envoy, do not know about?"

The two clerks quickly stood up and saluted: "Deputy Envoy!"

Fu Ju's gloominess level +1.

It has been so long and they are still unwilling to call me "Bailuo Deputy Envoy"; is my "Bailuo" title too hot to handle?!

I do not know what Fu Ju did in the West Office's clerical room that day, but after that, the West Office's clerical room was also immersed in a serious atmosphere, and things became more numerous.

Commander Ming Tiao looked at the East Courtyard, looked at the West Courtyard, and ran to the chief official Pei Jun once.

Soon, the Main Courtyard's clerical room also began to work seriously.

Crying and howling is useless; go find a backer, and the backer has no way either.

Look at how Lao Zhao went once and didn't say a word of nonsense.

Am I even more formidable than Lao Zhao?

If you don't want to work, then don't!

How many people are lining up behind you? There are talented scholars from both the north and south; they have connections if they want connections, and ability if they want ability! You people who have already taken advantage of the situation don't want to work?

Look at those in the East Office; whose connections are not solid? Aren't they still working!

The clerks of the Main Courtyard and the West Office were on the verge of tears; they didn't dare to speak in the Patrol Guard Division, so they could only complain when gathering privately.

In short, the leisurely time of drinking tea and reading newspapers had temporarily left them.

So much so that when they saw the three people from the East Office's clerical room—Cheng, Fang, and Lu—their eyes were dim and filled with resentment.

Roll, damn it, roll!

Are the people in the East Office all sick?!

The clerical atmosphere of the three great halls of the Patrol Guard Division soon affected other clerical departments as well.

This day.

The three members of the Mu Family, who had already passed the menial worker assessment, came to the Patrol Guard Division for the first time.

They did not go to the three great halls where the chief and deputy envoys were located; they first went to the place responsible for menial worker recruitment to report.

They originally thought that going through the process would take half a day, and that they would have to give a gift and say a few empty words of social pleasantries, right?

Who would have thought that the civil official here would not say an extra half-word, his brush moving like flying, stamping several large seals with a clatter, registering them into the book, returning the identity documents, and telling them to come back in two days to collect their Identity Plates.

Done!

It didn't even take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

When the three Mu Family members—the aunt and her nephews—came out, they were still a bit dazed; upon returning home, they couldn't help but praise them to their family: "As expected of the Patrol Guard Division!"

"Their speed of handling affairs is truly incomparable to ordinary people!"

"It is indeed as sharp as their blades!"

Commander Mu vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he quickly cast this doubt to the back of his mind.

He remembered the large stack of documents Wen Gu was holding when he saw him at Zhao Fu.

Thus, he also affirmed: "Zhao Dutong is indeed a person who is swift and decisive, capable and resolute!"

And the Patrol Guard Division, it is indeed the shovel of Xinzhou forged by Lao Zhao—cough, it is indeed the Xinzhou Blade!

Lao Zhao is not only good at forging, but also good at sharpening!

Look at this Xinzhou Blade, how sharp it has been sharpened!

Not only is raiding homes efficient, but handling other matters is also efficient!

>