Chapter 308: If Life Were Always Like the First Encounter

For the most part, the atmosphere within the realm of Qingming seemed to have changed overnight. However, there were still a few places that remained as they always had—cut off from the outside world.

At present, there were still a little over 3,000 people confined within a camp. It had been expanded twice just to make it less crowded. Among those held were members of the Xu Clan’s private army, former troops of Yue Qilin, Hsu Li’s loyalists, and scattered official troops who had been captured here and there.

Due to their different backgrounds, the prisoners had naturally formed their own small groups. For example, the Xu Clan’s private army and the various official troops absolutely despised one another. Despite living on the same side, they remained strictly separated.

By now, most of the Xu Clan’s private army and Yue Qilin’s former troops had already surrendered to Wei Yuan. Those remaining were all people who clung stubbornly to the banner of righteousness and personal pride. However, they could not change the fact that the majority of their comrades had surrendered. Just the guilt by association was enough to earn them the scorn of the other official troops.

But there was one particularly clear factional divide amid these tangled relationships. On the other side of the camp were several hundred men of all backgrounds. They were all people who had declared their intention to surrender. In the past, these men would have been taken away immediately after the declaration, but this time, for some unknown reason, there had been no movement even though several days had already passed.

Naturally, those who refused to surrender viewed those who did as thorns in their side. They only wished they could beat these traitors senseless. Of course, the guards would never allow such a thing to happen. Whenever a conflict broke out between the two sides, they would always take the surrenderers’ side regardless of whether the loyalists were in the right or wrong.

Furthermore, the best spots with the best feng shui in the camp had all been given to the surrenderers. There were only four to five hundred of them, yet their living quarters were easily larger than the 3000 loyalists’.

The loyalists were, of course, furious beyond measure. Whenever they saw the surrenderers, they would hurl scornful remarks and all manner of insults, though ultimately, their taunts boiled down to the same thing: once the court’s army arrived, these rebels and bandits would surely meet a grim end.

One day, the two groups once again ran into one another in the center of the camp. The dozens of loyalists naturally hurled filthy insults at the surrenderers, and the annoyed surrenderers retorted just as noisily as matter of course. When the two sides began shoving and jostling each other, it looked like a full-scale brawl was about to erupt.

Just then, the sound of hooves thundered from outside. As dozens of warhorses charged straight into the center of the camp, the lead rider, without bothering to say a single word, cracked his whip down on the loyalists and scattered them like flies.

However, the loyalists in the camp emerged from their tents, gathered into a band, and glared coldly at the riders, their eyes filled with murderous intent!

A mutiny was about to erupt!

The riders remained utterly unfazed, though. They acted as if the thousands of loyalists didn’t even exist. He ordered his men to round up all the surrenderers in the center of the camp and lined them up into neat rows. Then, he walked a circle in front of the crowd while bellowing, “You lot sure are lucky—you’ve just surrendered, yet already you get to wear new clothes! From now on, you’re all under my command! Anyone who dares to disgrace me will get a whipping! Men, hand out the uniforms!”

At this moment, both the loyalists and the surrenderers were completely confused. They had no idea what was happening.

Several riders opened the trunks they had brought with them and began handing out sets of brand-new uniforms to the surrenderers. Suddenly, the lead rider’s nostrils flared, and he instructed, “Take them to get a good wash first. Don’t let them stink up their new uniforms.”

Suddenly, a thunderous shout rang from the side. “Stop right there!”

The lead rider turned around to see a seven-chi-tall man step forward from the ranks of the loyalists. Imposing and fierce, he jabbed a finger at the uniforms and shouted, “Aren’t these the military uniforms of Great Jin? Are you really planning to rebel? Aren’t you afraid that your entire clan will be exterminated to the nine generations?!”

The lead rider sneered coldly and replied, “The King of Jin has already appointed the Realm Lord as the Military Commissioner of Western Pacification; a high-ranking official of the second upper rank! We are now officially registered as official troops in the court records—and border troops at that! What else are we supposed to wear, if not the military uniforms of Jin? It is you lot who have repeatedly opposed the military commissioner and are rebelling against Jin right now! Aren’t you afraid of having your entire clan exterminated to the nine generations?”

The imposing man looked utterly stunned by the declaration and could only stammer, “You’re lying! That... that’s impossible!”

Just then, someone from the loyalist faction suddenly rushed forward, dropped to his knees with a thud, and cried out repeatedly, “We’ve always been utterly loyal to the court! We wish to surrender! Ah, no, we wish to serve the military commissioner!”

The rider merely looked at him with contempt and said, “Now you’re thinking of surrendering? Too bad for you, the Realm Lord’s ranks are no longer open to just anyone! It’s too late!”

He spat on the ground, swept his gaze over the crowd, and sneered. “A bunch of good-for-nothings, that’s what you are. You’re so slow you can’t even catch a hot load of shit before it’s cold.”

Holding their new uniforms, every single surrenderer was strutting about like roosters about to spread their tails.

At the edge of the Shattered Realm.

A merchant caravan appeared, moving slowly along a path that was barely discernible. The dozen or so wagons in the caravan were packed with so much goods that the wheels frequently sank into the mud, requiring the combined strength of the drivers and escorts to push them free.

It was obvious at first glance that the wagons looked plenty ordinary. They were equipped with weight-reducing arrays that were better than nothing.

A checkpoint appeared ahead of the caravan, flanked by tents housing over 100 official troops. When they spotted the caravan from far away, they immediately brandished their weapons and signalled for the caravan to come forward for an inspection.

The caravan’s leader, a middle-aged man, approached the military officer. Before he even said anything, he slipped a money pouch into his hand.

The officer weighed the pouch, tucked it away, and said, “Are you aware that the commandery administrator has ordered that all caravans are strictly forbidden from traveling north?”

“But I’ve heard the trade routes have already been reopened...” The middle-aged man slipped another money pouch across.

The officer’s expression softened slightly. “You may pass, but you must pay the border tax.”

The caravan steward’s heart sank. “How much is the tax?”

“Half of your entire cargo will do.”

Horrified, the caravan steward cried out, “But my lord, that is too much! This is everything I have; my livelihood!”

The officer’s face darkened. “Don’t be ungrateful! If you don’t pay, I’ll just cut you all down, dump you in the wilderness, and claim it was the work of bandits. Who’s going to know?”

The caravan steward was so furious that his hands were trembling, but what could he possibly do against these beasts masquerading as official troops? Unable to catch his breath, he abruptly lost consciousness and fell on his back.

His men hurriedly lifted him up and scrambled to treat him. They just barely managed to save him before he would pass away.

Just then, the ground shook, and a squadron of cavalry in bright armor appeared, charging straight toward the checkpoint. At the sight of them, the military officer paled and unsheathed his saber with a swish!

The hundred-strong cavalry halted before the checkpoint. One rider looked down on the officer from above and sneered, “You dare to draw your sword before the Heaven Fighting Gang? Are you—”

The cavalry leader raised his spear and bonked the speaker in the head. Wincing his pain and realizing his mistake, the speaker hurriedly corrected himself, “We are the Mountain-Shaking Iron Cavalry serving under the Military Commissioner of Western Pacification! How dare you draw your saber in front of us—are you tired of living?”

He then turned to the cavalry leader and declared in a righteous tone, “My lord, I suspect that these official troops aren’t who they appear to be! Should we take them back for questioning?”

The cavalry leader nodded. “These days, many horse bandits are disguising themselves as official troops. Considering how lackluster this lot’s martial skills are, they may very well be horse bandits in disguise!”

Meanwhile, the military officer was furious but dared not to provoke the riders. He forced a smile and said, “We’re here on Lord Yuan’s orders to set up this checkpoint and investigate illegal activities. We are not horse bandits!”

The cavalry leader replied coldly, “What proof do you have?”

The officer swallowed his anger, produced his official documents and identification token, and handed them over.

The cavalry leader gave them a glance before tossing them back, demanding, “Who authorized you to set up a checkpoint here?”

“Naturally, it was Lord Yuan’s order.”

“No one is permitted to set up a checkpoint without the military commissioner’s command!”

The officer stammered nervously, “But... this area doesn’t fall under the military commissioner’s jurisdiction!”

The cavalry leader paused and looked at the rider beside him. “Is that true?”

The rider pulled out a map, examined it, and replied, “Huh. He’s actually right.”

Just as the officer let out a sigh of relief, the cavalry leader pointed at the caravan and said, “This caravan looks suspicious. I suspect they’re spies from the State of Zhao! Confiscate their goods and take everyone into custody. We’ll interrogate them thoroughly once we’re back within the realm!”

Shocked, the officer blurted out, “My lord! We were the ones who stopped this caravan first!”

The cavalry leader’s face darkened. “And I saw it first!”

Moments later, the caravan passed through the checkpoint and continued under the riders’ escort until the checkpoint was out of sight.

The cavalry leader reined in his horse and said, “Keep going straight down this road. You should reach the realm of Qingming in about three days.”

The caravan steward was stunned. “I thought you were going to escort us back?”

The cavalry leader smiled and said, “There are no checkpoints on our military commissioner’s territory, and no one can arbitrarily tax you or confiscate your goods. Be on your way!”

The caravan steward thanked him profusely and repeatedly tried to slip him money. Alas, he failed.

Watching them walk away, the cavalry leader took out a mask and put it on, saying, “Let’s go. We’re going to take out that checkpoint.”

“What about the soldiers themselves?”

“Capture them as well. I heard that Lord Yuan is quite poor. These vacant posts are just what he needs to catch a breather.”

Willow Ash Town.

The few official soldiers guarding the town entrance yawned listlessly. The sky was a gloomy yellow, the air was indescribably humid, and diseases ran rampant everywhere. It was a terribly uncomfortable place to live.

It was said that if the domain to the north were to expand, the weather here would improve somewhat. That was why they were all secretly hoping the domain would reach this location sooner rather than later.

Just then, the ground began to shake. The official troops, already on edge from recent events, immediately assumed a running stance. Only then did they gaze into the distance.

A large cavalry force appeared at the end of the main road. The men were mighty, the horses looked strong, and the banners stood like a forest. Their spirits were so strong they scorched the heavens above!

The garrison troops thought they were seeing things at first. But when they carefully rubbed their eyes and looked again, they realized that the approaching cavalry wore no masks. Not only that, they were wearing the uniforms of the Western Jin army!

The fierce, 1,000 or so riders thundered into the town. This time, the garrison troops did not flee, but they dared not block the cavalry troops’ path either. Instead, they kept their distance and watched from afar.

The cavalry column rode all the way to the gates of the commandery administrator’s office. Only then did Wei Yuan step out of the ranks.

The onlookers all gasped in astonishment—it was none other than the newly appointed military commissioner himself on an inspection tour!

Wei Yuan raised his hand. Before he could knock, the gates swung open, and several officials of various ranks serving in the residence had already formed two lines behind them.

Wei Yuan removed his gloves and handed them, along with his riding crop, to an attendant standing nearby. Glancing at the fawning expressions on the officials’ faces, he nodded and remarked, “You lot are pretty sensible.”

One by one, they broke into broad smiles as if they were honored by his presence.

Just like that, Wei Yuan and a bunch of murderous-looking men strode through the main gate and set foot inside the residence.

Moments later, in the reception hall of the commandery administrator yamen, Wei Yuan took his seat at the center.

To his left sat Cui Yu, Hsu Yi, Wang Yu, and other scions of noble clans. Cui Yu currently held the rank of chief commander—a fifth rank post—which placed him on the same level as Yuan Qingyan. Wang Yu was a deputy chief commander, and Hsu Yi was the Chief Steward of Civil Affairs of the Military Commissioner Office. Both were fifth lower rank posts, which put them half a rank below Yuan Qingyan, but still far higher than any other official in the room.

Yuan Qingyan sat in the seat of honor to Wei Yuan’s right, his expression as grim as could be. The officials seated below him were filled with trepidation.

Wei Yuan lifted his teacup, swirled the leaves with the lead, took a light sip, and fixed his gaze on Yuan Qingyan. A smile playing at the corners of his mouth and a friendly expression on his face, he greeted, “It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Lil Yuan. How are things at home?”