Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 28 Airborne
The atmosphere inside the Jingbian Division compound was extremely heavy.

Seeing this, Lin Xuan and the other two quietly blended into the group.

Soon after, more people entered, and upon seeing this scene, they dared not breathe and quickly joined the queue.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Commander Zhou looked around the room and slowly said, "I have gathered you here today to announce something important."

His gaze shifted to the tall, handsome young man beside him, and he said, "This is Lord Shen Qingya. From this day forward, Lord Shen will serve as the centurion of the Jingbian Division in Sizhou. All affairs within the division will be under the full responsibility of Centurion Shen!"

"Wow—"

This sound was like a thunderclap, exploding in the hearts of everyone in the Jingbian Division, and the crowd instantly erupted into chaos.

After Chen Baihu was transferred, everyone assumed that the position of Baihu of Sizhou Jingbian Division would undoubtedly belong to Wu Fu Baihu, and they all pledged their allegiance to Wu Fu Baihu.

Unexpectedly, it was this Shen who succeeded Chen as a centurion.

As Commander Zhou just said, Commander Shen will be in full charge of all affairs within the department, which is unprecedented.

Typically, local border defense offices have two centurions, one responsible for action planning and the other for intelligence gathering.

Among them, the centurion in charge of the operation was the chief centurion. Although he was in charge of the most important personnel transfers in the border defense department, intelligence and finance were handled by the deputy centurion. This was a kind of check and balance that the court intentionally created.

This Shen, a centurion, whose background is unknown, has managed to completely sideline Wu, the deputy centurion who had been in charge of the Jingbian Division in Sizhou for more than ten years, as soon as he arrived.

Wu Baihu stood there, his usual composure gone, his gaze unfocused, his expression dazed.

After regaining their senses, everyone immediately clasped their hands in greeting and said loudly, "Greetings, Lord Shen!"

Shen Qingya remained calm. He did not speak, but simply nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over everyone. His eyes seemed gentle, yet they carried a sense of condescension.

Lin Xuan stood in the crowd, equally surprised.

These days, Wu Baihu is full of confidence, as if his promotion to regular Baihu is a foregone conclusion.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court sent a centurion named Shen to the capital.

The ways of officialdom are truly unfathomable.

At this moment, Commander Zhou pointed to the young woman beside him, whose temperament was as cold as frost and whose appearance was stunning, and spoke again: "This is Commander Wenren Yue. From today onwards, she will assume the post of Commander of the Sizhou Border Pacification Division and assist Commander Shen in handling the division's affairs!"

The crowd clasped their hands in greeting once more and said in unison, "Greetings, Commander Wenren!"

Some veteran banner officers were already having second thoughts.

The fact that a mere squad leader was personally introduced by Commander Zhou suggests that this renowned squad leader has quite a background.

Wenren Yue stood there expressionless, her eyes as still as a frozen lake, undisturbed.

Commander Zhou looked at everyone and said sternly, "Commander Shen and Commander Wenren are both of extraordinary backgrounds and have outstanding abilities. I hope that you will be conscientious in your duties and obey orders in the future, and do not slack off in the slightest. If you disobey, you will be punished according to military law!"

"Yes!"

A unified response instantly rang out from the courtyard.

Commander Zhou nodded to Shen Qingya and Wenren Yue and said politely, "Commander Shen, Commander Wenren, you two must be tired from your journey. Please go and rest. If you need anything, you can ask Commander Wu at any time."

Shen Qingya clasped his hands slightly and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Commander Zhou."

After a while.

Inside Wu Baihu's office.

The door blocked the view from the outside. Zhou Qianhu stood in front of a painting, his hands behind his back, his expression calm and revealing no emotion.

Wu, the centurion, stood dejectedly to the side, looked at Zhou, the commander, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Sir, didn't you say that the position of centurion of the Sizhou Border Pacification Division was rightfully mine? What... what exactly happened?!"

At this moment, his heart was filled with grief and indignation. Chen Feng was gone, and he thought he had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel and could sit in the position he had always dreamed of, but in the end, it was all for nothing...

Commander Zhou waved his sleeve and said coldly, "You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? I've already spoken up for you, but Shen Qingya is the person designated by the higher-ups. The secret letter personally signed by the garrison commander was handed to me. What can I do? I originally wanted my nephew to be a captain under you, but I didn't expect that even the captain position would be decided by the higher-ups. Giving Shen Qingya full authority to take over the Sizhou Border Pacification Division is also the garrison commander's intention..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a look of deep surprise appeared on his face. He muttered to himself, "The Shen family, the Wen family... what are these important figures from the capital doing in the southwest all of a sudden?"

Wu Baihu's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say anything.

Commander Zhou paused, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of reminder and warning: "The Shen family and the Wen family are both from the Qingliu faction. The Qingliu faction and the Prime Minister are sworn enemies. Don't offend them. Just do your job well and you might get a good result..."

Wu Baihu's face showed bitterness as he murmured, "Qingliu..."

Zhou Qianhu's words were like the last boulder, completely crushing the last remaining hope in his heart.

The Qingliu faction viewed the Grand Secretary's party as a treacherous faction. As a former protégé and subordinate of the Grand Secretary, how could they tolerate this newly arrived Commander Shen?

He had already secretly written to the capital, hoping that the higher-ups could help him secure a position as a centurion. Unexpectedly, not only did his hopes for promotion vanish, but his new superior was also from the opposing party.

From the first day he arrived in Sizhou, he was a deputy centurion. Now, more than ten years later, the position of centurion of the Sizhou Border Pacification Division has changed hands five times, but he is still the deputy centurion.

He knew very well that if he wanted a promotion, ability was secondary; the important thing was having connections.

The Grand Secretary wielded immense power, and if the authorities had paid him any attention, he wouldn't have remained in that position for over a decade.

Overwhelmed by a profound sense of despondency, he felt no anger, only endless sorrow.

"Hehe, hehe..."

Wu Baihu let out a few bitter laughs, then slumped back two steps and sat down weakly in a chair, staring blankly ahead.

Commander Zhou shook his head and sighed softly, saying, "You'd better take care of yourself..."

He didn't look at the dejected Wu Baihu again, left a casual remark, and went straight out the door.

A moment later, a figure walked in from outside.

Shen Qingya looked at Wu Baihu with a calm and unwavering gaze, and said indifferently, "Deputy Baihu Wu, please have the personnel roster, recent files and archives of the department organized as soon as possible and sent to my office."

He emphasized the word "deputy" in Wu's name, "deputy centurion."

Commander Wu slowly stood up from his chair and said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, Commander Shen."

He seemed to deflate completely, and walked towards the door like a walking corpse.

When I got to the door, I even tripped over the threshold and almost fell.

Inside the courtyard, the Jingbian Division members looked at Wu Baihu's dejected appearance, and a thought simultaneously arose in their minds.

Things have changed!
The situation in Sizhou Jingbian Division has completely changed.

Wu Baihu is now history; the most important thing now is how to curry favor with the new Shen Baihu…

Lin Xuan watched Wu Baihu's dejected figure as he walked away, and sighed inwardly.

He was really unlucky.

Chen, the centurion who had sheltered him, was transferred away the day after he arrived.

Having finally gained Wu Baihu's trust, another Shen Baihu was parachuted in from above, completely sidelining Wu Baihu.

Not only were all previous efforts rendered futile, but Lin Xuan's own situation also became unpredictable due to this sudden power shift...

(End of this chapter)