Catching Monsters

Chapter 412 Porter

The capital city, the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In Li Wangxin's study, with a smile on his face, he formally signed the appointment document for Jiang Yun and handed it to Jiang Yun. Only then was Jiang Yun officially appointed as the Commander of the Eastern Garrison.

After receiving the appointment, Jiang Yun glanced at it and asked, "Commander, where is Lord Yang Liunian?"

Jiang Yun knew very well that Yang Liunian had always wanted to be promoted to the position of Garrison Commander, and after all, he was one of his old subordinates.

"I know what you're thinking, kid. Are you worried that you might take Yang Liunian's position as the garrison commander?" Li Wangxin said with a smile. "Don't worry, Yang Liunian has been promoted to garrison commander of the Southern Garrison."

"Furthermore, the people at the Eastern Garrison Command already know about your promotion and are waiting there early on." Li Wangxin's expression turned serious as he said this, reminding Jiang Yun, "His Majesty's promotion of you to Garrison Commander is a sign of his trust in you."

"In terms of your abilities, there should be no problem in taking on this position."

"But you still need to be careful. The situation in the capital is currently unpredictable. If there is anything you are unsure about, remember to ask me anytime."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun asked rather directly, "What does Lord Li mean by this reminder?"

Li Wangxin glanced at Jiang Yun and said in a deep voice, "His Majesty will be establishing a crown prince in the coming days. Within the capital, various forces are secretly vying for power."

The fact that he could say such a thing is enough to show that he considers Jiang Yun a confidant.

Otherwise, it's a very important matter, and such things wouldn't be said casually.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun indicated that he understood and asked in a low voice, "Does Your Majesty know which prince His Majesty favors?"

Li Wangxin slowly said, "The eldest prince is gentle and refined, and has the support of the civil service."

"The fourth prince, on the other hand, has the support of military generals..."

"As for the Eighth Prince, he is still young and does not have an advantage in any aspect."

"I'm afraid the position of Crown Prince will ultimately be chosen from between the First Prince and the Fourth Prince."

"However, I heard the latest news that the Fourth Prince has been captured by the rebels, and it is still a question whether he can return."

"Alright, hurry back to the Eastern Garrison Command."

Jiang Yun nodded upon hearing this and soon left the Northern Garrison.

After returning to the Eastern Garrison Command, almost all the members of the Eastern Garrison Command who were still in the capital came back. Among them, Jiang Yun's old subordinates were the happiest.

Qi Da, Dong Qiaofeng, and Zhu Zanyu were naturally the most delighted.

Soon, Jiang Yun also reorganized the personnel structure of the Eastern Garrison, promoting Qi Da and Dong Qiaofeng to the rank of commander.

The Eastern Garrison Command only had two thousand-household offices, so Zhu Zanyu could only serve as the deputy thousand-household officer first.

Openly and blatantly practice nepotism.

Of course, no one said anything.

After all, the two former commanders, Zhou Yi and Yang Liunian, had been promoted, and their trusted confidants would naturally follow them.

Those who remained were either people with little background or not considered confidants of the other two.

After being promoted, it was natural to promote one's trusted confidants first, which was not unusual in the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

If you finally get promoted, and you don't promote your trusted confidants as well, people might think you're a bad person.

Next, of course, comes the gift-giving segment.

Jiang Yun sat in the study, the threshold of which was almost worn down by people walking around.

There's no need to elaborate on the people at the Eastern Garrison Command.

As Qi Da and others were promoted, they naturally became generous with their gifts. Others who were not Jiang Yun's confidants but wanted to advance in the ranks went to great lengths to send him lavish gifts.

Jiang Yun roughly calculated that the gifts received by the Eastern Garrison alone amounted to a huge sum of 20,000 taels of silver.

Then there were the Six Ministries and various departments in the capital.

The Eastern Garrison Command wielded immense power; people from all departments, regardless of whether they knew Jiang Yun before or had any grudges against him, all came.

The implication was clear: they hoped Jiang Yun would take good care of them in the future.

Jiang Yun naturally greeted everyone with a smile.

In addition, there were people from the Six Ministries who came to deliver gifts.

As dusk fell, Jiang Yun carefully counted the silver and found that it amounted to a staggering 40,000 taels.

This is only his first day in office.

This is incredibly lucrative.

Inside the room, Qin Shujian and Wen Chen, whose hands were cramping from counting silver notes, were also exhausted.

Wen Chen couldn't help but exclaim, "Master, with so much money, how many years would it take us to eat our way through Chunyu Tower?"

Qin Shujian, who was standing next to him, said, "Look at your lack of ambition. Chunyu Tower is in the outer city and is only of average quality. This money is enough to buy ten Chunyu Towers."

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Yun said, "Divide this 40,000 taels of silver into four parts, each part being 10,000 taels."

"Master, what are you doing?"

"You can't keep all this money in your pocket."

"You two go to the Northern Garrison Command in person and deliver ten thousand taels of silver to Commander Li."

Wen Chen blinked, and the two quickly agreed. However, after leaving, Wen Chen was a little puzzled and asked, "Senior Brother Qin, why didn't Master go personally to deliver the money?"

"What do you know? Master wants us to gain more favor with Lord Li."

"Then who should we give the remaining three portions to?" Wen Chen asked, puzzled.

"One for Eunuch Feng, and I don't know about the other two," Qin Shujian shook his head.

As dusk fell, Jiang Yun first went to the purification room to wait. Soon, Feng Yu, having received the news, arrived.

"Eunuch Feng." Jiang Yun handed over ten thousand-tael silver notes with a smile on his face.

Upon seeing this, Feng Yu glanced at the silver note, his heart stirred slightly, and he accepted it with a smile, showing no politeness to Jiang Yun whatsoever.

He said, "You brat, you've already taken so much money so soon after taking office?"

Jiang Yun said with a smile, "The various departments in the capital are too enthusiastic..."

"In addition, I would like to trouble Eunuch Feng with something..." Jiang Yun said with a smile, "It's night, but I want to go to the palace. This mission to the Demon Kingdom failed, and I need to report the process of this mission to Eunuch Qin."

"I would also like to pay my respects to His Majesty."

Feng Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a smile, "Let's go, come with me to the palace."

Everything went smoothly. Although Eunuch Qin kept a stern face, he still accepted the money Jiang Yun sent.

Seeing that Eunuch Qin had accepted the money, Jiang Yun didn't bother him any further and quickly took her leave.

Then, he followed Feng Yu to the outside of the Imperial Study.

The lights in the Imperial Study were on, and one could see Xiao Yuzheng inside, looking through documents.

After gently knocking on the door, Feng Yu respectfully said, "Your Majesty, Jiang Yun has come to thank Your Majesty for your promotion."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng, who was sitting in the study, slowly raised his head: "Let him in."

After entering the room, Jiang Yun respectfully knelt down and bowed, saying, "This humble servant has come to express his gratitude to Your Majesty for your promotion."

Xiao Yuzheng chuckled and said, "You little rascal, it's time for a promotion. Those health-preserving prescriptions you gave me before have been quite effective."

After taking the medicine prescribed by Jiang Yun over this period of time, my body has indeed become much stronger.

Putting aside everything else, on a normal day, one could only stay in a concubine's room for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Now it takes at least half an hour.

His contribution in restoring the emperor's prestige was considerable.

Then, Jiang Yun took out a stack of silver notes and placed them on the table.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Yuzheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, "Are you trying to bribe me?"

Jiang Xiaoyu was also a little stunned. This was something new. He had been emperor for nearly thirty years and knew that corruption was rampant among his subordinates.

He was the one who hated corrupt people the most in his life.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yun dared to send him money.

Jiang Yun said with a smile, "Your Majesty is mistaken. Under heaven, what is not Your Majesty's?"

"I am not greedy for money."

"But now that I've been promoted, I can't resist the enthusiasm of my colleagues, so I have no choice but to reluctantly accept the money."

"But if you accept it, you'll probably have trouble sleeping when you get back. His Majesty hates corrupt people the most."

"After much thought, I believe the money should be returned to His Majesty."

Xiao Yuzheng chuckled and said, "Returning it to its rightful owner?"

"Yes, this world belongs to His Majesty, and this money naturally belongs to His Majesty as well."

"This servant is merely His Majesty's porter."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng burst into laughter, pointing at Jiang Yun: "You little rascal, you're quite the smooth talker, alright?"

At this moment, Xiao Yuzheng was in a great mood. After speaking, he used a folding book to clip the silver note and put it away.

Of course, the reason for his good mood was not only because Jiang Yun gave him a gift.

Instead, it was a secret letter sent urgently from Haiyan City.

"Take a look." Xiao Yuzheng took out a secret letter from the table and handed it to Feng Yu: "Just received it. Jing Fu, well done."

"This is the spirit that our royal men should have."

"Let Jiang Yun take a good look at it too."

Soon, the letter was passed between the two of them.

After watching carefully, Jiang Yun thought to himself, "The Fourth Prince's acting is a little too obvious..."

Of course, this is something that absolutely cannot be said aloud.

Xiao Yuzheng said with a joyful expression, "It's just in time that you've arrived, Jiang Yun. I hereby order your Eastern Garrison Command to rescue Jing Fu immediately!"

(End of this chapter)