Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 131 Resignation
Zhenfu Division.

After Chen Qing was awarded the Qilin robe, the attitude of everyone in the Zhenfu Division towards him improved considerably. Even before Chen Qing's centurion's office was fully established, Commander Yan had already vacated a large courtyard for him in the Zhenfu Division as the residence of his centurion's office.

In the middle of this large courtyard is a training ground, used for daily training. To the left of the training ground is a row of houses, where officials like Chen Qing conduct their business.

Just then, Chen Qing entered the training ground, and Yan Cong quickly came to greet him. Seeing that Chen Qing was only wearing the ordinary uniform of the Zhenfu Division, he frowned and said in a low voice, "Brother Zizheng, haven't the Qilin robes been issued yet? Why didn't you wear them?"

"This is the first time we've met properly. You look so majestic in your Qilin robes."

Chen Qing shook his head and said with a smile, "I haven't received it yet. Even if I did, I wouldn't wear it. I don't like to show off."

"I don't think Lord Yan or Commander Tang wear their flying fish robes all the time."

The flying fish robe is embroidered with a dragon's head and a fish's body, second only to the four-clawed python robe. In the entire Imperial Guard, only the emperor's personal guards and ceremonial entourage, as well as some high-ranking officials at the thousand-household level, are granted the privilege of wearing the flying fish robe.

It is still quite rare in the Zhenfu Division.

"How is that the same?"

Yan Cong turned his head to look at the training ground and coughed: "Today, there are fifty or sixty people here, and seven or eight imperial guards have also come. Wearing this out will be a good way to intimidate them."

Chen Qing shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm useless. Even if I came out in a flying fish robe right now, it wouldn't make any difference. Let's go, let's go."

Chen Qing strode towards the training ground.

"We'll have to meet sooner or later. If they accept me as their centurion, we'll work together from now on. If they're really not happy about it, we'll go our separate ways."

Yan Cong followed behind him, jogging quickly to catch up. Before long, they arrived at the training ground, where fifty or sixty people had already gathered, chatting idly in twos and threes. Yan Cong stepped forward, coughed, and announced loudly, "Gentlemen, Commander Chen has arrived!"

Everyone immediately stopped chatting and turned to look at Chen Qing and Yan Cong. Some of the more sensible ones clasped their hands in greeting and addressed him as "Baihu" (a high-ranking official).

Some people also greeted Yan Cong by calling him "Young Master Yan".

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Chen Qing then glanced at the crowd.

There were fifty or sixty people, mostly under thirty years old, with the majority in their early twenties.

What stood out were several guards dressed differently. These guards were all dressed in black, and some of them were even wearing straw sandals. They were all sizing up Chen Qing.

As for the others, they were mostly captains and strongmen in the Zhenfu Division.

After observing for a while, Chen Qing smiled and said to everyone, "Gentlemen, I am the newly appointed centurion Chen Qing. I am honored that you have come here. From now on, we are brothers in the same centurion's office."

At this point, Chen Qing looked at Yan Cong and said with a smile, "Of course, I know that most of you are only working under me because of Lord Yan's influence."

"As you all know, I haven't been with the Zhenfu Division for long, and there are still many things I don't understand about it. If you have any opinions or suggestions, please feel free to share them with me."

"As for the form of address."

Chen Qing said calmly, "I am the eldest son in my family, so you can call me Chen Da."

“There’s nothing wrong with calling him a hundred households.”

At this point, Chen Qing thought for a moment and continued, "If we were to ramble on for a long time on our first meeting, it wouldn't be very meaningful. As for my future role in this centurion's office, I can't guarantee anything else."

At this point, a smile appeared on Young Master Chen's face.

"I'll make sure the brothers eat and drink well."

Among these fifty or sixty people, more than a dozen were officers from the Zhenfu Division who had followed Chen Qing to investigate the mutilation of the herb and received benefits from him. Upon hearing Chen Qing's words, they all understood his meaning and cheered.

With these people taking the lead, the atmosphere became much more lively. Chen Qing pressed his hand to signal everyone to quiet down, then coughed and said, "Today, we will decide on the ten squads of our centurion's office."

"That's all the number we have for now. We'll recruit more people later if needed."

Putting aside everything else, with the resources Chen Qing currently controls, he could easily turn his centurion's office into a highly sought-after position within the entire Zhenfu Division and even the entire Yiluan Division, if he so desired.

Chen Qing did indeed intend to diligently cultivate his network of connections and influence within the Zhenfu Division, and to manage the Zhenfu Division with care.

After the opening remarks, Chen Qing and fifty or sixty people sat on the ground in the training ground and began to discuss the selection of the flag bearers.

Sometimes, the head of a centurion's office needs to be recommended by the centurion and then decided by the higher-ups. However, the junior officers are basically decided by the centurion himself. Chen Qing only has one head officer under his command, Yan Cong, and he doesn't plan to appoint a second one for the time being.

Ten flag bearers were not hard to find. Among these fifty-odd people, there were two flag bearers from other centurions who had followed Yan Cong to Chen Qing's place.

The remaining eight sat down together, and it was not difficult to simply elect eight group leaders on the spot.

By the time the flag was finally placed, almost an hour had passed. Chen Qing looked up at the sky and saw that it was nearly noon.

He took out a large ingot of silver from his pocket, handed it to Yan Cong beside him, and said with a smile, "Brother Yan, could you please make a trip to Manxianglou in Dashiyongfang and order eight tables of fine wine and dishes to be delivered to our Hundred Household Office?" Yan Cong stood up and said with a smile.

"Subordinate, go right away."

Manxianglou was not too far from Zhenfusi, and Yan Cong soon returned. Before long, seven or eight servants from Manxianglou brought over dishes in food boxes.

Soon, Chen Qing's table at the centurion's office was almost completely filled, and some items had to be placed on the ground because there was no more room for them.

Fifty or sixty people, all beaming with joy, thanked Chen Qing in unison and began to feast.

This scene was inevitably witnessed by the other centurions under Commander Yan, and around noon, many people gathered together and discussed it.

"This young Master Chen is truly generous, hosting such a large banquet at Manxianglou."

"This meal will probably cost twenty or thirty taels of silver."

"What's this?"

Another person scoffed, "We're in the Zhenfu Division, and we have to pay for a decent meal?"

"Why don't you try eating at Manxianglou?"

The man who spoke laughed and cursed, "It's said that the Duke of Wei's mansion is behind you. If you go there to eat for free, they'll beat your brains out!"

…………

After the meal, Chen Qing dismissed everyone except Yan Cong, a few imperial guards, and the newly appointed squad leaders.

"Everyone."

Chen Qing looked at everyone and slowly said, "There are a few important matters in our institute right now, and I'll briefly explain them to you all."

"The first thing is the White Lotus Sect. Everyone should already be aware of this. The relevant arrangements have been made, so you don't need to worry about it. When manpower is needed, everyone can work together."

"Brother Yan will inform everyone when the time comes."

These men, having just eaten a meal at Chen Qing's house, were now full of fighting spirit. Upon hearing this, they immediately clasped their hands in a fist salute to Chen Qing and said, "We are at your service at any time!"

Chen Qing hummed in agreement, then pondered for a moment before dismissing several of the smaller officers, leaving only seven or eight guards behind. He himself, Yan Cong, remained in his official residence.

"You are all elites of the Zhenfu Division, and also the emperor's personal guard. Now I have something I would like to entrust to you."

"Give everyone one to two months, and everyone should do their best to get it done."

Everyone clasped their hands in a fist salute to Chen Qing and bowed their heads in greeting: "The centurion's orders are all that's required!"

Chen Qing grunted in agreement, looked around, and said, "I need everyone to investigate Minister Yang."

"All information and intelligence about Master Yang, whether it is about him, his children, grandchildren, disciples, clansmen, etc., as long as it is related to Master Yang, should be recorded and sent to me."

"One month, the more detailed the better."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the several imperial guards, including Yan Cong, changed.

Chen Qing remained calm and said indifferently, "It's just gathering information, not investigating Minister Yang. You can focus on your work. If any problems arise, I'll take the blame. It has nothing to do with you."

Everyone then bowed to Chen Qing and withdrew.

After the guards left one by one, Yan Cong turned to look at Chen Qing, his expression changing slightly: "Brother Zizheng, you..."

Chen Qing patted Yan Cong on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Brother Yan, don't worry. I may not be sure about other things, but I'm very confident about this one."

Upon hearing this, Yan Cong shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, "That's not what I'm worried about."

"Brother Zizheng, you may not know this, but Prime Minister Yang has been in power for more than ten years. During the reign of the late emperor, he was the prime minister. At present, he has countless disciples and former officials throughout the court and the country."

"If you investigate him, he'll probably find out immediately."

"That's why I sent the Imperial Guards to investigate. If I had sent them, Lord Yang would have known immediately."

Chen Qing looked at Yan Cong, his expression calm.

“Then I will go to the palace immediately and resign from my post before the Emperor.”

(End of this chapter)