Chapter 272: The Eastern Depot and the City Defense Forces

As the city defense soldiers stepped onto the second floor over the corpses of the Jianzhou barbarians, who had long since fallen silent, and pushed open the window, a figure happened to leap down from it at that very moment.

The soldiers hurriedly gave chase, but all they saw was Ning Wanwo grinning at them before he rolled over and vanished into the darkness.

Wang Xiantong arrived upon hearing the news and angrily slammed his palm against the windowsill. Ignoring the pain in his hand, he turned and shouted, "Send word at once to the three guard commanders of the Eastern Depot—tell them that Ning Wanwo has escaped!"

The Emperor had entrusted such an important matter to him, and he had failed. Wang Xiantong was seething with self-reproach, his heart wishing nothing more than to tear that Ning Wanwo limb from limb, when he suddenly heard a soldier beside him pointing into the distance and shouting.

"My lord, look!"

Wang Xiantong quickly turned to look, and saw countless figures suddenly appear in the darkness. These figures gathered below the building, exchanged a few words with one another, and then immediately dispersed to search everywhere.

Though these men were still on the move, Wang Xiantong and the others could already see from the standard equipment at their waists—the twin official blades of the Eastern Depot—that the Depot's agents stationed throughout the city had already sprung into action.

The dark figures grew more and more numerous. Their movements were extremely agile as they swept in from all directions. Within a few breaths, Ning Wanwo was completely subdued by these shadows.

"Run? Go on, run some more!"

Two agents seized Ning Wanwo from left and right, while the Eastern Depot squad leader stepped forward with a smile, planted his foot on Ning Wanwo's face, and sneered coldly: "In this capital city, anyone the Emperor wants caught has never slipped through the Eastern Depot's fingers."

Having had his moment of glory, the squad leader waved his hand grandly and shouted, "Take him back to the prison!"

"Squad leader! Squad leader!"

The group of agents had not gone far when a squad of city defense soldiers came running toward them from the opposite direction, led by a Hundred Commander. Seeing that the other party was from the Eastern Depot, this Hundred Commander did not dare act too rashly, and the Depot's agents, seeing the city defense troops approaching, likewise set aside their usual arrogance.

"Oh, if it isn't Hundred Commander Deng! What wind blows you here?" The squad leader called out, then clapped a hand directly on the Centurion's shoulder. The two walked off to one side, looking for all the world like the best of friends.

"Um, this prisoner was supposed to be captured by our city defense forces on His Majesty's orders. I think... it would be best to hand him back to us." Hundred Commander Deng seemed to know that having botched the job was hardly a point of pride, and spoke with some embarrassment.

Upon hearing this, the squad leader's eyes rolled for a moment, and he said with a smile, "What are you saying, Old Deng? This prisoner slipped through the Eastern Depot's fingers. If I can't bring him back and hand him over to Chiliarch Li, who handles punishments, I'll be in serious trouble. Anything else is negotiable, but this—no discussion!"

"Hey, you—!"

Hundred Commander Deng grew anxious at once—this fellow was lying through his teeth with his eyes wide open.

If Ning Wanwo were taken into the Eastern Depot's prison, word of the city defense forces' failed capture would spread throughout the city by dawn. Not only would the Earl of New Establishment lose face, but the first impression the city defense forces made on the world and on the Emperor would be a poor one.

"Brother, let's talk this over. Worst case, I'll treat you to a drink when we get back?"

"I said no means no! Once a prisoner falls into our Eastern Depot's hands, they might as well be dead!" The squad leader was utterly obstinate. Having said his piece, he turned and led his group of agents away.

"We can't report back empty-handed this time—what do we do?" Seeing the Centurion's expression of both anger and helplessness, the other soldiers could already guess the outcome of the conversation with eight or nine parts certainty, and asked one after another.

Watching the agents swagger off, the Centurion let out a long sigh and said:

"What else can we do? Go back and report to the Earl, and let him think of another way!"

"Depot Commander, the prisoner has been brought in—it's Ning Wanwo." Chiliarch Li Youde, who handled punishments, said with lowered brows.

Wang Cheng'en, who was in the torture chamber, listened to the full account and gave a soft "Mm." Without turning his head, he said, "This matter was handled incorrectly. Li Youde, make a personal trip and be sure to return the man to the Earl of New Establishment before dawn."

Li Youde did not understand and asked, "Depot Commander, we caught this man. Reporting it to His Majesty would earn us merit—why give him back with our own hands?"

"Hmph, what would you understand? His Majesty deployed how many men to catch this Ning Wanwo? Four to five hundred in total! With such a grand show of force, if he hadn't been caught, where would the Emperor's dignity be? Where would the Son of Heaven's authority be? What would those sharp-tongued civil officials think—that the city defense forces, drilled for over a year, had been trained into this sorry state?"

As he spoke, Wang Cheng'en let out a cold laugh and continued, "Besides, the Earl of New Establishment is after all one of the Duke of Ying's men. The meritorious nobles and imperial relatives of today are no longer what they once were. The city defense forces and the imperial guards are mostly in the hands of the meritorious nobles and great families—we cannot provoke that."

"Your subordinate understands. I'll see to it at once." Li Youde's face lit up with sudden comprehension. He nodded, turned, and was about to leave.

"Come back. I've thought it over—I'll write an apology letter here for you to take along. When you get there, say it was an unintentional mistake. As for that squad leader who led the capture, find some excuse tomorrow morning to send him off to work in the Liaodong region. He was too ostentatious—keeping him in the capital will only cause trouble."

Upon hearing this, Li Youde's expression changed, and he quickly nodded.

"Our Depot Commander has said that this time a subordinate meant well but did harm, mistaking the Earl of New Establishment's prisoner. This Ning Wanwo has been returned without a scratch, and we hope the Earl and all the brothers of the city defense forces will be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against a lesser man! After all, we all serve the Emperor!"

Li Youde arrived at the city defense forces' western camp. Facing the assembled officers in the tent and the soldiers gathered outside, he bowed his head and admitted fault directly—something no one present had expected.

This Li Youde was a clansman of Li Youcheng's, and both men were highly trusted by Wang Cheng'en, the Eastern Depot Commander. Not only had he come bearing Wang Cheng'en's apology letter, but he himself maintained such a low posture.

Wang Xiantong had been full of fury upon hearing of the affair and greatly dissatisfied with the Eastern Depot's conduct, but after reading Wang Cheng'en's letter, his anger largely dissipated—at least this fellow had been quick to admit his mistake.

Burning the letter, Wang Xiantong said with a cold snort:

"Whether Ning Wanwo is truly unharmed is none of my concern. Keeping this dog alive is something His Majesty still has use for. But as for you people of the Eastern Depot—has your conduct lately been a bit too reckless?"

"Yes, yes, the Earl speaks truly. The Depot Commander was also greatly angered by this. The squad leader who led the capture has already been transferred out of the capital and sent to the Liaodong region to gather intelligence. This was all a misunderstanding." Having heard Wang Xiantong's relentless words, Li Youde felt even greater admiration for Wang Cheng'en's foresight, and hurried to say.

With that, Wang Xiantong had nothing more to say. After all, Wang Cheng'en had not only admitted fault and returned the man, but had even transferred his own people out of the capital to Liaodong to report on intelligence.

"Enough. I am magnanimous. Go back and tell Wang Cheng'en that if something like this happens again, he had better know what His Majesty on the throne hates most!"

Li Youde was inwardly shaken as well, and repeatedly said yes before bowing and withdrawing.

Not long after he left, the city defense camp erupted in laughter. Gao Shan, a newly promoted officer of the city defense forces, said boisterously, "My lord, the Eastern Depot is usually so arrogant and overbearing—how did they become so obedient this time, like little children!"

"Hahaha, what Brother Gao says is what I can't figure out either. My lord, what's the reasoning?"

Hearing the officers' questions, the angry expression on Wang Xiantong's face had by now completely vanished. He laughed a few times and said, "With such a wise and enlightened Son of Heaven on the throne, how could he allow another Wei Zhongxian to emerge in the capital?"

"Moreover, this Wang Cheng'en is an old slippery eel—smooth as can be. He wouldn't act without restraint. I've been waiting all along for him to send the man back; I just didn't expect his attitude to be so humble!"

Gao Shan shouted, "With such an enlightened Son of Heaven on the throne, those civil officials ought to be trembling in their boots!"