knife

Chapter 524 Missed
On the wide official road, scouts galloped by, their whips cracking in the air. The riders shouted orders for everyone on the road to immediately move aside.

This greatly displeased those traveling on the official road.

This is Danyang, right under the emperor's nose. Who do you think you are, trying to make us move aside with just your words?
Immediately, someone stood in the middle of the road, loudly rebuking the scouts. Judging from their attire, they were clearly not from ordinary families.

"The great road leads to the heavens, each to their own path. Which of you is so arrogant as to drive away the people? Do you have any regard for justice and the law?"

The rider on horseback looked at the man standing in the middle of the road and laughed loudly: "Minister Nawei, the Southwest Military Commissioner, is coming to the capital to meet the Emperor. I advise you to give way, or you'll regret it!"

"Heh, just a tribal chief, yet he puts on such a grand air. I, Xiang Hui, an imperial censor, would like to see just how powerful this Southwest Military Commissioner is, and what authority he has. This is overstepping his bounds, and I will impeach him!"

Officials in the Censorate have always been of low rank but considerable power. With just a pen and a mouth, they are unrestrained and difficult to deal with. If those in power act too harshly, they will be branded as petty and unwilling to listen to advice. If they don't act, these people are so annoying.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, people don't like to provoke officials from the Censorate.

The knight saw the young censor blocking the road but did not make things difficult for him. He simply twirled his riding whip and said with a smile, "If you want to block the road, then so be it, but don't regret it later."

As they spoke, several banners appeared as the road behind them turned a corner. The soldiers carrying the banners looked quite different from the Chu people that everyone was familiar with.

Everyone glanced at these people briefly, then their eyes were involuntarily drawn to the enormous creatures behind the knight.

That was something the people of Danyang had never seen before.

He was almost as tall as two people, with a long nose that swung around, and a wooden frame was carried on his broad back, inside which several soldiers sat comfortably.

One such creature had already completely blocked the official road. Looking back, there were seven or eight more such giant creatures, thumping on the ground as they marched proudly.

Or perhaps they saw people ahead of them, and the long-nosed animal at the front let out a bellow, prompting its seven or eight companions behind it to bellow in unison. Many horses, mules, and donkeys on both sides of the road became restless, and their owners held on tightly to the reins, some even covering the eyes of their mounts.

The young censor in the middle of the road was not so lucky. He originally wanted to publicly reprimand this newly arrived Southwest Military Commissioner who didn't know the rules in order to boost his reputation. Although he was called a Military Commissioner, he was actually just a tribal chief. Reprimanding him would not have any consequences. The censor had such a good idea, but he never expected that what came his way was such a huge creature that he had never seen before.

Before he could react, his donkey, amidst the braying of those enormous creatures, turned and galloped wildly down the road. No matter how the censor pulled on the reins, the donkey only brayed and ran off, its pathetic state causing the knights on the official road to burst into laughter.

Among the crowd watching below the road were the three people who had just been seen off.

"Granny Rong, how about it? Impressive, isn't it!" The tall Cheng Zhen crossed his arms and looked at the procession slowly moving forward on the official road, smiling as he spoke to Shang Rong, who had three long tufts of beard beside him. "That Na Wei's airs are even bigger than our Prime Minister's. I think only His Majesty can compare to him."

Shang Rong, who was in his early forties, snorted: "A bunch of ignorant bumpkins who know nothing about etiquette, yet we allow them to be arrogant for a few more days. Eventually, we will let them know what the might of the emperor is."

"It's not easy!" Cheng Zhenyi spread his hands and said, "See his troops? They are real fighters, not just for show."

"You can tell that?" Qian Yiding asked from the side, "You've never fought them before?"

Cheng Zhen said, "Whether they're just for show or not, you can tell at a glance. Why would you need to fight? Just like the ceremonial guards around our Emperor, they all look tall and strong, with arms that could support a horse and fists bigger than bowls. But if it really came down to a fight, those seemingly ordinary gatekeepers around the Empress Dowager could make them cry for their fathers and mothers!"

"Shut up!" Shang Rong said, "You have such a foul mouth, you'll suffer for it for the rest of your life."

"I'm at a disadvantage because of my words, but your broken pen isn't much better than mine. We're two brothers in misfortune, so if you don't criticize my scars, I won't criticize yours!"

Watching the two bicker, Qian Yiding looked miserable and said, "You two deserve it! I didn't do anything, just because I had a drink with you and listened to your complaints, I was exiled to that southwestern region. It's truly unjust!" "Give me a break!" Cheng Zhen sneered, "You spend half the year in those forests, and you've even made a name for yourself in the southwest. Before, you always paid for your own trips, but this time it's all on the company's dime, and I'm even your bodyguard. You must be laughing in your sleep!"

Qian Yiding chuckled, unable to contain his feigned laughter any longer.

Shang Rong sighed: "Although the Empress Dowager wields great power, her actions and personnel management are so impressive that people have to respect her. I'm really conflicted right now!"

"What's so contradictory about it!" Cheng Zhen said dismissively, "If it's for the good of Great Chu, I, Cheng Zhen, will support it; otherwise, I'll oppose it!"

Qian hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Brother Cheng, if one day the Empress Dowager wants to become emperor herself, would you support her?"

Cheng Zhen stared at Qian Yiding in astonishment for a long time before finally saying, "Then I definitely won't support it."

"But what if it would be best for Great Chu if the Empress Dowager became emperor?"

The three exchanged glances and fell silent. After a long while, Shang Rong said, "What's the use of talking about this now? Let's focus on handling things in the Southwest first. Only when I become the Southwest Military Commissioner and you, Cheng Zhen, are in charge of the military affairs of the Southwest will we be qualified to talk about these things."

"Let's go, let's hurry up and not let the court down."

"If the reform of the native chieftain system in the southwest is successfully completed, we will be remembered in history."

On the official road, inside a huge carriage pulled by four horses, Na Weixin sensed something, lifted the curtain, and looked outside. Both sides of the road were densely packed with onlookers, the cacophony of voices all focused on the eight elephants leading the way. No one paid any attention to him, the governor on his way to the capital.

After observing for a moment, Na Wei lowered the carriage curtain.

Na Wei thus brushed past Shang Rong, Cheng Zhen, and Lu Yiding.

In the pavilion, Jiang Qian and Li Dachui were also watching Na Wei's team.

"How are you feeling?" Jiang Qian asked.

“Those elephants are quite magnificent!” Li Dachui replied.

"Those are Na Wei's elephant troops, which are extremely powerful. It can be said that Na Wei's reputation in the southwest is largely due to his elephant troops. This time, Na Wei has brought dozens of elephants, which will be a surprise for He Zudao."

Li Dachui scoffed: "Useless! These elephant soldiers are difficult to train and extremely expensive. They look imposing, but once they're on the battlefield, there are a hundred ways to rout them instantly. Heh heh, they might be able to show off in the jungles of the southwest, but they won't work here."

"Easily broken?"

"Just scare it, that'll do. This thing is very timid."

"How did you know?" Jiang Qian asked suspiciously.

"I heard it from someone!" Li Dachui chuckled dryly.

(End of this chapter)