Chapter 76 : Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Could It Be That Great Qian Truly Does Have Officials Who Do Not Oppress the Common People?!

After hearing Gao Song finish his introduction to the jianghu forces of Jiannan Circuit, Cheng Yu more or less had a clear grasp of the situation.

He then raised another question.

“Besides that, there is one more matter I would like to ask Lord Gao.”

“His Majesty sent me to Jiannan Circuit and ordered me to investigate the matter of Prince Qing’s remnants. Does Lord Gao know anything about it?”

The moment Cheng Yu asked about this, panic flashed across Gao Song’s already frightened face once more.

“Pr-Prince Qing’s remnants?”

He forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said, “Naturally, I have heard of them. The previous Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander Yang was precisely harmed by Prince Qing’s remnants.”

“However, Thousand-Household Commander Yang disappeared while pursuing the rebels, so I never learned any further information.”

“These rebels who murder officials and seek rebellion are truly hateful beyond measure!”

Gao Song did not stint in condemning Prince Qing’s remnants aloud.

But inwardly, he knew the truth perfectly well.

Where in Jiannan Circuit were there any Prince Qing remnants?

That was nothing more than the excuse he had fabricated to cover up the fact that he had murdered the previous Thousand-Household Commander!

Now that someone had been sent to investigate it, if they insisted on digging to the bottom of the matter, in the end it would lead straight back to Gao Song himself.

At that thought, his heart grew even more tense.

After listening, Cheng Yu nodded.

The descendants of Prince Qing were indeed extremely persistent when it came to rebellion, and over the years they had naturally accumulated some experience in concealing their traces.

If something like this could be learned just by casually asking a Circuit Intendant, they would have long since been wiped out in one sweep.

Better to investigate it slowly and see where it led.

For now, the more urgent matter was still dealing with the local jianghu of Jiannan Circuit.

Those people were the true key to Cheng Yu’s growth in strength.

“That is all I wanted to ask. If Lord Gao is busy, you may return first.”

Hearing this, Gao Song was so overwhelmed he nearly burst into tears. At last, he could finally leave!

He had nearly been tormented to death!

“Then I shall take my leave first! If Lord Cheng needs anything, you may send someone to notify me at any time.”

Watching Gao Song flee as though escaping for his life, Cheng Yu smiled coldly.

Jiannan Circuit was unlike places such as Dragon Abyss Path.

There, jianghu martial artists had attached themselves to a top great sect and could completely suppress the court, brazenly pursuing private gain, while cheating, coercion, and tyrannical conduct could be seen everywhere.

The various forces in Jiannan Circuit, by contrast, had packaged themselves rather well.

At a glance, they all appeared to be law-abiding and respectable households, leaving no easy pretext for action.

In truth, however, they colluded with court officials and committed all kinds of evil in the shadows.

If an ordinary man came here hoping to accomplish something, then either he would find no excuse to act, or he would be jointly suppressed.

Just like the previous Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander, whose fate was still unknown.

Unfortunately for them, the man they had encountered this time was not ordinary.

It was Cheng Yu.

He raised a hand and summoned his subordinates.

“Men, arrange for the Jinyiwei to go out every day and suppress bandits. We must not neglect our old line of work.”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone accepted the order at once and moved to carry out Lord Cheng’s command without hesitation.

At that moment, one local Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Commander from Jiannan Circuit frowned.

“Lord Cheng, there are no bandits in Jiannan Circuit, as far as anyone has heard.”

Jiannan Circuit was filled with jianghu forces, each one carving out its own territory. Where would there even be room left for ordinary brigands and bandits?

Suppress bandits? If there were no bandits, then how was one supposed to suppress them?

But upon hearing this, Cheng Yu merely smiled and shook his head.

He pointed toward his old subordinates from Qingjiang Prefecture.

“That is where you fail to understand. Great Qian lacks many things, but bandits are not one of them. Just learn from them.”

With that, he left the place, intending to go give his disciple some guidance in sword cultivation.

The Hundred-Household Commander was left utterly baffled.

If there were no bandits, then there were no bandits.

Could facts really be denied?

Wearing a puzzled expression, he turned to look at the colleagues from Qingjiang Prefecture standing nearby.

The others all wore meaningful smiles.

They explained, “Bandits are not going to call themselves bandits. We, the Jinyiwei, are the Son of Heaven’s personal guard. We are the ones who decide.”

“Ah?”

This Hundred-Household Commander had long been accustomed to being suppressed by jianghu forces, and in his heart, the Jinyiwei’s status was simply lower than everyone else’s.

The moment he heard such reasoning, his mouth fell open even wider in confusion.

“Then what kind of people count as bandits?”

“Those who possess martial skill, keep slaves in private, extort and swindle, and engage in conduct tantamount to rebellion—if they are not bandits, then who is? Just wipe them out!”

The Hundred-Household Commander was instantly shocked.

Those things—what force in the entire jianghu of Jiannan Circuit was not involved in them?

By that logic...

all the jianghu forces of Jiannan Circuit were bandits! All of them could be suppressed!

The newly arrived Thousand-Household Commander’s ambitions ran that deep!

...

Outside the Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office, Gao Song, still in excruciating pain from the scalding tea, hurried off to seek treatment.

Passersby saw the mighty Circuit Intendant coming out of the Jinyiwei compound in such a bedraggled state.

His mouth was swollen red, split open, and raw.

All of them were astonished, and discussion immediately broke out.

“How did Lord Gao end up like that after coming out of the Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office?”

“I heard a new Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander has arrived, some truly formidable figure. Could it be that he was the one who reduced that man surnamed Gao to this state?”

“Heaven has eyes. That fat Gao sits in high office and does nothing but line his pockets. He never cares whether the common people live or die. He deserves it!”

The common people all discussed the matter among themselves.

For most of them, however, it was simply a spectacle to watch.

They had long been disgusted by the Gao Residence’s arrogance and tyrannical behavior.

They certainly did not cherish Gao Song—who only knew how to line his pockets—as some beloved father-and-mother official.

“What did you just say?!”

Gao Song himself had already hurried away, but some of his guards had not yet gone far.

They had already been forced to swallow their anger while following their master in the Thousand-Household Office.

Now they came out only to hear this sort of talk, and fury immediately flared in their hearts.

A bunch of lowly commoners dared mock people from the Gao Residence!

“The one who just said my lord deserved it—get out here! Have you forgotten who really rules Jiannan City?!”

The Gao Residence guards drew their weapons and shouted angrily while channeling their Internal Energy.

The frightened passersby hurriedly shut their mouths, lowered their heads, and regretted ever stopping to watch the commotion.

When no one answered, the guards’ anger did not lessen in the slightest. The leader casually grabbed a civilian man by the collar.

“Was it you?!”

The man had been struck by disaster out of nowhere.

Terrified out of his wits, he immediately cried out with a miserable expression, “I was only passing by! I did not say anything at all, my lord!”

Smack!

The lead guard did not care in the least what the man said. He slapped him viciously across the face.

Then he snarled, “I heard you say it! Throw this man into prison!”

He then turned to the others, who had already been frightened badly.

“See that? Dare to gossip about my lord or the Gao Residence in Jiannan City, and this is what happens to you!”

After making an example of the man by killing the chicken to frighten the monkeys, the passersby were all too terrified to do anything but bow their heads and admit fault.

Only then did the guards feel much better. Satisfied, they nodded and prepared to leave.

Then a cold shout suddenly rang out.

“Drop your weapons and raise your hands! Otherwise, bear the consequences yourselves!”

Everyone was startled.

Who would dare provoke the Gao Residence at a time like this?

The guards were instantly enraged and turned toward the source of the voice.

“Which blind fool—”

The shouting stopped halfway, caught in their throats.

Because before their eyes were gleaming Xiuchun Sabers and heavy crossbows.

The lead guard saw that they were men of the Jinyiwei, and his attitude changed at once.

“So it is brothers from the Jinyiwei—”

Whoosh!

A crossbow bolt shot through the air and drove brutally into his shoulder, knocking the weapon from his hand.

“AHHH!!!”

A scream of pain rang out, and all the commoners looked on in shock.

They had actually made a move?!

“Who are you calling brothers? You think you are worthy?”

“I already said that if you did not put down your weapons, you would bear the consequences yourselves! Throw them all into prison!”

The Jinyiwei captain gave the order without hesitation.

The moment the Gao Residence guards thought of the way the newly arrived Thousand-Household Commander Cheng had dealt with Gao Song, panic overtook them.

That man was not afraid of them at all!

Filled with terror, they still could not escape being directly hauled off into the Jinyiwei prison.

“On Great Qian soil, whoever oppresses the subjects of Great Qian shall never be spared by the Jinyiwei!”

The Jinyiwei swept their gaze over the crowd, spoke coldly, and then departed.

The common people were dumbstruck.

They could tell these Jinyiwei men were unfamiliar faces.

It was not hard to guess that they were subordinates of the newly arrived Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Commander.

Shock filled their hearts.

Could it really be that Great Qian truly had officials who did not oppress the common people?!