The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 42 Generous Reward
Xiao Yi closed his eyes, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.

After that, he threw down the knife, turned around and went out of the house, stood on the porch, and shouted.

"Come here! There's an assassin!"

The shouts echoed through the Imperial Guard's headquarters, drawing a chorus of footsteps.

The torchlight illuminated the side room, and Lü Chou peeked out and was greatly surprised. He immediately went to inform Nie Wenjin.

After a while, Nie Wenjin strode over and shouted, "What's going on?!"

"Reporting to the general, I was resting when I suddenly heard a strange noise. When I woke up, I saw three men sneaking in to kill me. I fought back and managed to kill them."

Nie Wenjin frowned, pushed Xiao Yi aside, and strode into the room. He saw only two corpses and asked, "Three people?"

"Yes."

"Flip the bed!"

The bed was overturned, and two guards stepped forward, turned over the body lying on the ground, and exclaimed in surprise.

The firelight illuminated a distorted face, its eyes wide open, filled with fear and pain.

"It's... Officer Meng?!"

"Meng Ye?"

Nie Wenjin squinted at him, then suddenly turned and stared at Xiao Yi.

"Did you kill him?"

"Yes."

"You didn't recognize him?" Nie Wenjin suddenly raised his voice, suppressing his displeasure, and asked, "It's too dark, you didn't see clearly that it was Meng Ye, did you?"

Xiao Yi remained silent for a moment.

Then, he calmly met Nie Wenjin's almost fiery gaze and said, "Reporting to the general, I did not see his face, but I know it is Meng Ye."

"what?"

Nie Wenjin was taken aback.

Xiao Yi said, "I dare not hide it from the general. He crawled under the bed and begged for mercy, and that's when I knew who he was."

"You knew?" Nie Wen stepped forward, his powerful aura enveloping Xiao Yi. "Then you still dared to kill him? You have some nerve!"

Lu You and Lu Chou, standing nearby, were horrified, their faces turning deathly pale instantly.

Xiao Yi lowered his gaze and said, "I was confused for a moment. I thought that if I didn't get rid of him in order to gain a foothold by the general's side, he would become a disaster sooner or later. Killing him would allow Shi Dechong and Zhang Mantun to surrender and the plan to be implemented smoothly."

"Thinking you're so clever? Just for that, I should kill you."

"It was my fault. I've seen so many brawls at the Shi residence that I couldn't stop myself."

"You fucking don't understand? Is he an ordinary person?"

"Please punish me, General, to appease the Emperor's brother-in-law's anger."

“Fuck!”

Nie Wenjin kicked over the table, his chest heaving, and walked a few steps over the pool of blood on the floor before finally walking straight out.

He neither asked why the guards at various locations did not stop Meng Ye when he arrived, nor did he ask about the source of Xiao Yi's crossbow bolts, as if he had long been accustomed to military brawls.

Lü You and Lü Chou breathed a sigh of relief, pointed at Xiao Yi, and followed the other soldiers to catch up with Nie Wenjin.

More guards were added outside the door, and they wouldn't let us close it.

Xiao Yi carried the bed back by himself, laid out the bedding, and lay down.

Beneath the bed frame lay Meng Ye's body, who lay there with his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

He was extremely tired, but had difficulty falling asleep, and it took him a long time to drift into a light sleep.

Suddenly, a bloody hand reached out from under the bed, flipped him over, and pinned him down. When he looked up, he saw a grinning face that had been hacked to pieces...

Xiao Yi jolted awake.

I opened my eyes to find it already bright daylight, with sunlight streaming through the window.

After waiting a while, Lü You pushed the door open and came in. He saw him lying peacefully asleep among the corpses and shook his head speechlessly.

"The general ordered us to take you to the main hall... You almost got us killed."

"The Imperial Brother-in-law is here?" Xiao Yi stood up unhurriedly and said, "Don't worry, nothing will happen."

"Huh? You're quite the character."

Xiao Yi didn't believe Li Ye would kill him for Meng Ye, at least not while Meng Ye still had some use to him.

But Li Ye didn't even question him.

"I don't need to waste my time on the deaths of a few useless people."

As soon as Xiao Yi arrived in the main hall, Li Ye threw out this remark.

He sat languidly at the head of the table, holding a hand warmer in his hands. He wore a purple robe with a snow-white fox fur coat over it, exuding an air of nobility. His eyes were smiling as he mentioned another trivial matter.

"I remember someone saying that no matter who I am, our fate is not yet aligned. And now? You want to rely on me?"

"Yes." Xiao Yi knew what Li Ye wanted to hear, and he didn't hold back, giving it to him directly. "At that time, I was ignorant of the times and thought of submitting to the traitor to avenge the Li family. I never expected that the Imperial Uncle was the one who was far-sighted and resourceful."

Li Ye then asked with a smile, "Is Shi Dechong more worthy of loyalty?" "He is not worthy," Xiao Yi said. "Back in Taiwan, Shi Dechong was only pretending to be magnanimous because he was jealous of the emperor's brother-in-law. That very afternoon, he summoned a distant relative of the Li family and forced me to kill Li Hongdu in the street. I had no choice..."

“I told you, don’t waste your time on trash.” Li Ye raised a finger to stop him, and said, “I admire you. Since you’re willing to join me, two lives are nothing.”

Xiao Yi sensed it the first time they met on the long street; Li Ye's eyes lit up when he looked at him, showing a very clear appreciation.

This appreciation is intense and carries a strong sense of control.

It's as if... Li Ye is just lazily leaning there, waiting for him to pledge his allegiance, but if he turns around, Li Ye will destroy him.

"Thank you, Imperial Uncle."

"I have a keen eye for people. The moment I saw you, I knew you were a thoroughbred horse, and I was the discerning judge of talent."

Xiao Yi was slightly surprised, and replied, "I regret not serving the Emperor's brother-in-law sooner."

“It’s alright,” Li Ye said. “Back to the matter of the talisman, your plan… I’m not satisfied.”

Xiao Yi was quite surprised and waited for what was to come.

Li Ye said, "My elder brother, Li Hongwei, is the military governor of Zhenning Army, and his administrative center is in Chanzhou. You take Shi Dechong to get close to Wang Yin, gain his trust, cooperate with my brother, and act when the opportunity arises, understand?"

"clear."

"Smart people are just so useful."

Xiao Yi asked, "Do you have any proof of contact with Commander Li?"

Li Ye said calmly, "You don't need to worry about it. Someone in the team will make the contact."

"Yes."

Xiao Yi then realized that Li Ye's trusted confidants would definitely be accompanying him on this mission.

"When we first met, I promised you a bright future. Today, I wanted to give you a high-ranking position and generous salary, but unfortunately you have not yet made any contributions. No rush."

At this point, Li Ye paused, thought for a moment, and then waved his hand generously.

"By imperial decree, Xiao Yi is appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Crane Control Guard, with the additional title of Cloud Cavalry Captain, and is granted 100 strings of cash and 10 bolts of brocade."

Xiao Yi's first reaction was surprise, then he turned to look at Nie Wenjin.

Nie Wenjin was very satisfied with his attitude, and subconsciously nodded, saying, "Aren't you going to thank the Imperial Uncle for his great kindness?"

"Thank you, Imperial Brother-in-law."

"What's this? The real reward will come when you return with merit." Li Ye sneered. "Remember, there are still many enemies to be eliminated for the sake of the Han Dynasty. We need manpower now, so don't let me down... Enough said, go and collect your reward."

"Yes."

Xiao Yi had a good understanding of Li Ye's personality: bold, gambling, and willing to take risks based solely on intuition. Such a person could rise to prominence overnight or lose everything in the blink of an eye.

If only Guo Wei were this generous.

Nie Wenjin then ordered the Lü brothers to take Xiao Yi down to receive the reward.

Soon, Xiao Yi received the seal and a certificate.

This time it was a genuine imperial appointment.

The paper is coarse and firm, with faint cloud patterns outlined in light ink along the upper edge, interspersed with tiny seals of the three characters "控鹤卫" (Kong He Wei).

"By imperial decree, Xiao Yi was appointed as the Left Deputy Commander of the Second Army of the Left Wing of the Crane Control Guard and the Cloud Cavalry Captain, in order to fill the vacancy in the Imperial Guard due to his bravery."

Below are two large vermilion seals. The "Left Wing Seal of the Crane Control Guard" has full vermilion and red marks on the edges, indicating that it was just stamped. The "Seal of the Ministry of Personnel's Meritorious Officials" is slightly smaller and has a lighter vermilion color, indicating that it was stamped long ago so that Li Ye could promise rewards at any time.

The deputy captain is a ninth-rank official who, together with the captain, manages about a hundred imperial guards. Li Ye gave him this position to use him and allow him to lead some troops, but he is only a deputy and not a complete delegate.

Yunqiwei was a ninth-rank honorary title, which added a touch of prestige to Xiao Yi's background. He would receive an extra six dou of millet and thirty coins every month, and an extra set of padded jacket and shoes from the Ministry of War every winter. He could also wear a wooden plaque indicating that he was a ninth-rank honorary official when he went out, which was considered an additional privilege.

Thus, he earned 6.6 shi of millet and 280 wen of cash per month, 1.5 bolts of silk and half a set of winter clothes per season. His total monthly income was about 3,000 wen, which was slightly worse than Zhang Mantun's previous treatment.

It should be noted that Zhang Mantun had fought on the battlefield for half his life, his iron teeth capable of devouring enemy generals, while Xiao Yi had only said a few words.

Compared to Shi Hongzhao, Li Ye had usurped power and was somewhat unaware of the true cost of living.

After receiving the receipt and official document, Xiao Yi then looked at the reward money and ten bolts of brocade.

He said it was a hundred strings of cash, but it was actually equivalent to gold and silver. He packed a bag of gold ingots that were easy to carry and said to Lü You and Lü Chou, "I don't know if I will survive this journey. If I can come back, I won't lack this. You saved my life, so let's divide this among ourselves."

"No, no."

The two were taken aback, their eyes widened, but in the end, they waved their hands repeatedly.

"It's not that we don't want it, it's a gift from the Emperor's brother-in-law to help you settle down, how could we dare accept it?"

Xiao Yi didn't press the matter, saying, "Then please take as much as you like. Is the rest enough for me to buy a small house in Kaifeng?"

"If you want to buy a detached house with half an acre of land in a decent location in the city, that's not enough. But if you don't care about the location, you can find a small house with two rooms and furnish it with some belongings, that's enough."

"Could I ask you for your help? Of course, I won't help for free. This is hard work, and I'll take a 10% commission."

"That's way too much... Alright, I'll take care of it." Lu You chuckled and said, "In that case, you'll have settled down in the capital. Find a wife, and life will be wonderful."

Lü Chou was overjoyed. He suddenly turned around and said, "Your armor has arrived too. Try it on."

Xiao Yi followed his gaze and saw the exquisite armor; a smile involuntarily appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)