Chapter 27: Snatching Life from the Tiger's Mouth (Part 2) Update
On the streets of Yucheng, Chi Mu changed out of his Yanjing Imperial Guards' armor and put on plain civilian clothes. He walked on the slightly cold and hard loess road, patrolling the streets.
"General Chi, this is it."
The person who spoke was also dressed in Xiguan folk clothes. He was the new Xiguan Governor Wang Yanpeng who was promoted from the officials of the Governor's Office as part of the Yanjing decree brought by Chi Mu this time.
Obviously, such clothing made him very uncomfortable as he was used to wearing the long gown of scholars.
But he didn't dare show it in front of Chi Mu. He continued to report in detail and respectfully, "The Fu family is a prominent clan in Xiguan Yucheng. According to previous investigations, the Xiguan Marquis's Mansion has indeed had frequent exchanges with the Fu family in recent times. Previously, the Xiguan Marquis had collected a lot of the outstanding debts from the Xiguan Governor's Mansion, and many of them were transported to the market streets where the Fu family lived, which are now the streets we are on."
Chi Mu nodded and looked around the street in front of him.
He was born into a military aristocracy in Yanjing. He practiced martial arts since childhood and grew up in Yanjing. Because his family was trusted by the emperor, he was enlisted in the imperial palace guard at the age of fourteen.
Although he had been sent abroad on missions before and was promoted because of his outstanding performance, this time he was able to come here as the emperor's plenipotentiary representative to purge the Imperial Guards and the West Gate, which undoubtedly showed that he was highly trusted by the emperor.
At the same time, the Chi family is also related to the prince's maternal family by marriage. On the prince's side, although they need to be cautious in their interactions, there is no doubt that the prince is close to him and has a good impression of him.
This time, he was sent to the most desolate and remote Western Border of their Great Zhou Dynasty for the first time.
Since entering Xiguan County, what I have seen along the way is very different from the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Yanjing, and the various styles of prosperity along the way.
The hardships and desolation of Xiguan County exceeded his expectations.
Take this place in front of us, which is known as the largest city street market in Qianli Xiguan County. It only has three or four streets in total.
This so-called street market is almost entirely made up of yellow adobe houses with grayish-blue tiled roofs.
The roof tiles were all brand new, and it was obvious that the whole city had just finished a "forced roof replacement" campaign.
Now it is early winter and the loess ground has been frozen hard, which prevents the scene of loess covering the sky when a car or horse passes by.
However, although the place was extremely poor, it was indeed the most lively place he had seen in Xiguan so far.
Whether it was workshop workers, leather workers or blacksmiths, they all came and went frequently, and the shop assistants and craftsmen were busy all the time.
There were also many people coming and going to look for goods and buy things. They were not at all conspicuous as they walked among the crowd.
Chi Mu asked Wang Yanpeng, "In your opinion, does the Marquis of Xiguan want to do business with these border residents?"
Wang Yanpeng nodded and responded, "Exactly."
Based on his past understanding of the young Marquis of Xiguan, he analyzed, "Although the young Marquis previously bullied the Governor's Mansion and demanded so much money, grain, and goods, the Xiguan Mansion now has less than a hundred people. With so much cloth and raw iron left, I'm sure they won't be able to use it for the time being. Our young Marquis of Xiguan, Major General Chi, must have understood that he's not at all shy about his status as a royal marquis! Trading with these ordinary people in the border areas for income isn't unusual for the young Marquis of Xiguan."
After listening to this, Chi Mu remained silent.
He had indeed seen with his own eyes that the Xiguan Marquisate was in a bad state.
"There's definitely something wrong with the young Marquis of Xiguan!!"
Chi Mu recalled last night, when Iberly was covered in bruises and blood scabs, but with his eyes open, he whispered to him in an overly solemn tone.
"General Chi, you have to believe me! Since the young Marquis of Xiguan was less than seven years old, I have watched him grow up almost every day until today! A seven-year-old child can't lie. The young Marquis of Xiguan in the past was truly evil and stupid! Therefore... the problem must be now!"
Chi Mu stared at him and asked, "So, what's the problem?"
At that time, when Iberly heard Chi Mu's question, he tried to get closer to Chi Mu in a mysterious way and lowered his voice, as if he was afraid of being heard by someone who did not exist.
Iberly said, "The current young marquis of Xiguan...had his soul taken away by someone else!"
Upon hearing this, Chi Mu looked up and stared at the top of Iberly's head. The bowl-sized bump that was kicked out by Xiguan Hou was swollen high.
Iberi, the former governor of Xiguan County, had bloodshot eyes and was abnormally excited.
“Tsk.”
Chi Mu showed a hint of impatience and regret, stood up indifferently, turned around and left.
Iberly's shout came from behind again: "You don't believe me! I saw that monster beating me! I really received a revelation! A revelation from God!"
"There's definitely something wrong with the young Marquis of Xiguan! General Chi... General Chi..."
Chi Mu, who had already walked to the prison door, raised his hand.
All the unfinished words of Iberly turned into sobs.
The wise and enlightened emperor is sitting on the throne in Yanjing. When will it be your turn, a former governor of Xiguan County, to receive revelations from heaven?
Just because of this one sentence, Iberly, who originally had a chance to survive, now arrived in Yanjing and found that the same fate awaited him as Pan Yi.
Chi Mu naturally would not easily believe these crazy words that were spoken with gnashing of teeth and incomprehension.
Chi Mu had his own reasons for today's actions.
Regardless of the purpose, the overly close contacts between the Xiguan Marquisate and these border people are very different from the style of the Xiguan King who has kept a low profile and almost isolated himself from the outside world in the past ten years.
Even if there is only a slight possibility that there are ulterior motives, he will get to the bottom of it and find out.
The businesses here are basically family workshops, with each household running a different craft, and eventually the entire street is connected together.
Chi Mu walked to a door with a wooden sign that read "Fu Sanpi Cloth Shop".
This family has several spinning machines. Two women in the family are busy spinning semi-thick yellow and white cloth in front of the spinning machines.
On the other side, on a wooden table, the finished woven products were neatly arranged. Chi Mu walked over to look at the cloth and felt that it was very hard to the touch.
He examined it more closely and saw that the fabric was incredibly thick, the threads so tightly pressed that no air could penetrate. Consequently, the women sewing the fabric with needles three or four times thicker than the usual iron needles were using, making sewing incredibly laborious.
Fortunately, there was a hollow stove burning in the middle of the yard, and warm air came from it from time to time.
Chi Mu observed the situation for a while, but found that the shapes formed by these thick and hard pieces of cloth in the hands of these women looked familiar yet somewhat strange.
He couldn't help but step forward and ask curiously: "Excuse me, what are you doing?"
The woman who was working looked up at him and asked as if it was normal, "Are you from another county?"
Chi Mu nodded.
"That's it. These are the most common felt cloth and felt tents in our Xiguan. Winter is coming soon, and these felt tents are essential items for winter!" said the woman.
"So that's what it is. It's actually a felt tent."
Chi Mu's expression suddenly became clear, but at the same time, he was still quite confused.
The outer court guards where he was stationed had a vast training ground outside Yanjing, and they naturally had felt tents for marching training.
He was also familiar with the military supplies used by the garrisons in various places. However, the felt tents used by the common people in this northwest region were of a type he had never seen before.
He had just looked around and found that there were more than one workshop and cloth shop that made this kind of felt tent. Although they did not belong to the same family, the things they made looked the same style.
Presumably, it is because they are all from the same Fu clan.
Chi Mu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Making so many felt tents, the consumption of cotton and linen fabrics is definitely not small. As far as I know, the production of cotton and linen fabrics in Xiguan County is not that high. Where do you get all these materials from?"
After all, it is a border area, and the people there are relatively warm and open.
These are similar in function to market streets, with each workshop serving multiple purposes, including a store, workshop, and even accommodation. Craftsmen work directly in places clearly visible to passers-by, and they don't feel the need to avoid even questions about the source of goods, which would be sensitive to normal businessmen.
The woman continued casually, "This is what my husband brought back from the clan leader and uncle! Our young clan leader Fu and the young Marquis of Xiguan are sworn brothers, and they have a very good relationship! When young clan leader Fu was not feeling well, he was recuperating in the Xiguan Marquis's mansion. The young Marquis of Xiguan took such meticulous and thoughtful care of our young clan leader! Therefore, the things in the young Marquis of Xiguan's house are now open to us, the Fu clan, to use!"
It is no secret that Liu Ziye, the young marquis of Xiguan, has a private relationship with the only son of the Fu clan leader.
Because of the misunderstanding that occurred a month ago when the Fu family surrounded the important figures in the government office, almost everyone in Yucheng knew about it.
Not only did the new governor of Xiguan County know about this, but Chi Mu also heard a detailed report on this last night.
He didn't say much, just exchanged a few polite words and left the felt tent workshop.
Wang Yanpeng, the governor of Xiguan County who came with them, also followed along and watched. He also found the shape of the felt tent sewed by the woman novel.
However, the Xiguan Governor's Office is located in the northwestern frontier and has never been involved in actual civil governance.
At this moment, if he was asked to explain what the specific differences were between the felt tent made by this woman and those made in previous years, he would not be able to answer.
In short, this is how these border residents spend the winter every year!
Going further, there is a carpenter's shop.
Chi Mu came closer and looked at him silently for a while before asking, "Old man, what can our carpentry shop do?"
A middle-aged carpenter, who was measuring the wood with a plane and an axe, looked up and replied, "It depends on what you want to make. From window tables and wooden stools for the house, to cart wheels for hauling goods, to beams and pillars for the house, as long as you tell us the details and we provide the drawings, we can make it!"
Chi Mu asked, "What are you doing now, brother? Why have I never seen this before?"
"Oh, this! This is the ice chisel our clan leader sent down this year. Winter is coming soon, and the freshwater lakes in Xiguan freeze over every year. If we want to catch fish in the winter, we have to rely on the ice chisel to break through the lake surface so that we can cast our nets and catch fish!"
Chi Mu nodded and looked at the new governor of Xiguan County again, hoping to get confirmation from him.
Wang Yanpeng failed to recognize the felt tent made by the woman at first glance, which exposed his unfamiliarity with the people of Xiguan County.
If he couldn't explain it clearly this time, he was afraid that his image as the new governor would be greatly damaged in front of this powerful official in Yanjing.
He was still hoping to establish this connection, so that he would at least have a way to get to the top in Yanjing in the future!
Wang Yanpeng, the governor of Xiguan, quickly organized his words: "Exactly!"
"The climate in the thousand-mile northwest border of our Great Zhou Dynasty is extremely unpredictable, and winters are extremely harsh. It's possible for thousands of miles to be frozen and tens of thousands of miles to be bleached. Before winter arrives, every household must mobilize and prepare everything they need to survive the winter! This is because the Fu family, as the largest clan in Yucheng, can prepare so carefully. The lesser-ranked refugees in the thirteen towns have it much harder. For the elderly, the weak, women, and children, every winter they survive is a blessing and a gift from the Holy Ancestor!"
Hearing him say this, Chi Mu temporarily suppressed his doubts.
He then went to a blacksmith shop and several weaving shops and took a look. They were all mainly preparing supplies for the winter.
Although I was surprised by the complicated and grand preparations for winter made by the people of Xiguan, if this was the local custom, it would not be surprising that other retail investors would need to purchase supplies from these big families in exchange for the supplies they could not produce.
Moreover, what really made him feel relieved was——
Whether it was the information he personally visited and investigated today, or the information brought back by the guards and imperial guards he sent out to investigate, the preparations being made in the several large cities of Xiguan were indeed just for civilian use, and none of them involved war.
Even though the young Marquis of Xiguan caused quite a stir in the two cities and thirteen counties in less than two months.
But to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than a "reasonably equivalent transaction."
Just when the new governor of Xiguan thought that today's visit would come to an end, the lieutenant of the Yanjing Imperial Guard finally put aside his doubts.
But he turned and solemnly instructed the soldiers who had come with him, "Go back, change your armor, form up your troops, and go to the Marquis' Mansion at Xiguan immediately."
On the busy streets, they no longer need to hide their identities.
Several accompanying imperial guards immediately changed their casual demeanor, stood up straighter than they had deliberately slouched, and said, "Yes!"
For a moment, all the pedestrians in the streets were shocked and looked sideways.
Chi Mu, however, acted as if he didn't feel anything at all. He also changed his ordinary and dusty demeanor, showing his sharp edge, and strode out of the street first.
The originally cold and hard ground was kicked up by them again, creating billowing smoke and dust.
The newly appointed Xiguan Governor Wang Yanpeng was dumbfounded, watching the group stride away, his tailbone almost numb from the shock.
He was stunned for a moment before he sighed, "This is... Xiguan Marquis Mansion is going to be in big trouble again!"
He hurriedly followed behind.
·
The gate of Xiguanhou Mansion was wide open.
Chi Mu led hundreds of guards in armor and armed with spears and swords, and strode towards the Marquis's mansion without any concern. The dozens of private guards led by Jin Ji were on cautious guard, but their standoff was like an egg hitting a rock.
The disparity in numbers and strength between the two sides was too great, so Jin Jie was naturally not prepared to confront Chi Mu and his group head-on.
After being forced to retreat into the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, he then called on all the private guards of the Marquis' Mansion to turn around and disperse behind him.
The young Marquis of Xiguan, Liu Ziye, who was standing on the corridor behind the screen wall of the Marquis' Mansion and was not allowed to leave the Mansion without permission due to the imperial decree, was wrapped up from front to back.
Liu Ziye was still dressed in gorgeous clothes and a tall crown, his upright ponytail rustling in the cold wind, his cheeks slightly red, his eyes filled with anger of being offended and deceived, and he stood in the center of the front yard of the marquis's mansion with his hands behind his back.
After seeing Chi Mu walking out from among the imperial guards, she forced herself to ask.
"I wonder why Young General Chi has returned? But has anyone in the Xiguan Marquisate offended you before?"
Chi Mu looked at him, his arrogant expression, his pupils scattering, his mind in disarray. He remained unmoved, and continued politely, "How dare I? The young marquis is a member of the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I, Chi Mu, am just a lowly guard working for the royal family. How dare I criticize the young marquis?"
Liu Ziye pointed behind him with anger and demanded, "Then what are you doing bringing these guards to our door in such a grand and menacing manner in front of the entire city!"
Chi Mu bowed again and said, "I came to Xiguan by the imperial decree. Today, I came to the young marquis's house, and it is also for the imperial decree!"
When Liu Ziye heard Chi Mu mentioned the imperial decree, his arrogant attitude of wanting to hold someone accountable immediately disappeared.
She stammered, "What other orders do the Emperor's uncle and the Crown Prince have? Haven't they told me everything they told me to do? I, I did everything they told me to do!"
"Yeah?"
Chi Mu asked in an ambiguous tone, "Whether the young marquis has followed the rules and obeyed the emperor's orders, let's wait for Chi to confirm it personally before we can say anything."
After saying this, he raised his arm and said to the guards he brought with him: "Search the house!"
“Here!”
At the command, more than a hundred guards dressed in icy iron armor grasped the hilts of their swords and made a uniform sound.
Immediately afterwards, each team dispersed and headed towards the Xiguan Marquis Mansion in all directions.
"Slow down...!" Liu Ziye was so angry that his voice was trembling.
"No one in my mansion is prepared for this kind of disaster. If you rush in like this and scare anyone in my mansion, or if you break or lose anything in my mansion, what will you do?!"
"Don't worry, young marquis. My guards know their limits. If anything goes wrong, I, Chi Mu, will surely be able to compensate for it. As for the people in your mansion, do you really care about them, young marquis?" Chi Mu said with a smile.
At this moment, he was almost the same person as the arrogant but seemingly friendly Chi Mu from yesterday.
While Liu Ziye was diligently fulfilling her role today, she was also shocked in her heart.
This guy seemed to be very tolerant of my own suicidal behavior at the beginning, but once he turned against me, he was more than just dangerous!
She glared at Chi Mu in anger and helplessness, and had to put on airs and order the people in her mansion around.
Over the past few days, she has gotten to know most of the dozens of private guards who stayed in the marquis' mansion.
These people were once the personal guards of the palace, but in this northwest area, the palace was in a difficult situation. Most of the so-called personal guards of the palace were ordinary people who had no food to eat and had to come here to make a living. They did not have much martial arts background.
For many years, the original owner's father, the former King of Xiguan, seemed to have no intention of training this guard properly.
At this moment, these dozens of people came face to face with the aggressive and armored guards, and there was really no difference at all.
Let’s talk about the private guard clothes first. They are just ordinary cloth clothes. Except for the waist buttons, there is hardly any metal on the body. The clothes are modified to be tight and slim just to facilitate movement.
The weapons were also scattered, some were knives, some were swords, and they were of different lengths and sizes.
It looks shabby no matter how you look at it.
Liu Ziye sighed and her eyes fell on the private guard captain Jin Jie who had been standing in front of her.
Jin Jie had his back to her, listening to a private guard talking to him in a low voice.
Since he had nothing to do, Liu Ziye carefully looked at Jin Jie from head to waist and then to heels.
Judging by her limited aesthetic experience in her previous life, he seemed to have broad shoulders, long legs, well-proportioned muscles, and a tall figure...
Although he has an ordinary appearance and average martial arts skills, he seems to have a good figure. No wonder he rides the horse so steadily.
Jin Jie turned around at this moment and met Liu Ziye's inquiring and thoughtful eyes.
He didn't seem to be showing any signs of abnormality. He simply asked Liu Ziye calmly, "Young Marquis, the men led by Major General Chi split into four groups and searched the Marquis' mansion. Now, they've been combined into two teams. One team is in front of the woodshed, and the other, led by Major General Chi himself, is in front of our mansion's private vault. Major General Chi has asked the mansion's steward to open the vault door, and the steward is trying to delay them."
Liu Ziye didn't feel uncomfortable about being caught peeking, and listened to Jin Jie calmly. Then, in an instant, he turned into an expression of uncontrollable anger.
"Humph! Come on, take me there to have a look!"
After saying this, she let out a long breath to show her great anger after being offended.
Jin Jie: ...
There were no extra people around at the moment, so who was the young marquis performing for?
Since you have to act, then just act.
Liu Ziye had no idea what her private guard captain was thinking.
After Chi Mu arrived, Du Hui consciously kept a low profile and reduced his presence, and many things required Liu Ziye to personally step in to take care of them.
When he saw Chi Mu and his guards surrounding several servants and private guards of the Marquis's Mansion, and confronting them with disdain.
Liu Ziye immediately strode forward and said, "What? Young General Chi is actually going to inspect every detail of my private vault. Is this really necessary?!"
Chi Mu obviously didn't want to argue any further. He just lowered his eyes slightly and looked at him, saying calmly, "I am just following orders."
"By order? What order did you take? Did my uncle order you to search my house? Bring out his imperial edict. This Marquis wants to see it with his own eyes!"
"That's not necessary."
Chi Mu said calmly, "Young Marquis, you must know that His Majesty has ordered you to stay in the Xiguan Marquisate for the next three years to reflect on your past mistakes and mend your ways. I must strictly obey His Majesty's orders. If you shut yourself up in your mansion and live a life of luxury and comfort, and His Majesty learns of it, this mission will be ruined."
Liu Ziye snorted, but his momentum was still a little diminished.
After thinking for a moment, he softened his voice and said, "This...this treasury doesn't actually have much in it. The Marquisate has been without income for three years, and I don't even know if it can last for three years. There's no need to inspect it at all!"
"Whether it's necessary or not, I'll have to wait for my own investigation before I can make a final decision. I don't want to embarrass you, young marquis. I'm only acting in accordance with the sacred order of the Tian Family. If I can turn a blind eye, I naturally won't embarrass you, young marquis."
"real?"
Liu Ziye's eyes flashed with hope, and he looked at Chi Mu: "If that's the case...then you, just open it."
After saying that, he snatched a bunch of keys from the old steward Liu Biao's hand and threw it over.
“Pah.”
Chi Mu caught the key accurately in his palm and handed it to the deputy general beside him: "Open the treasury."
The key jingled against the copper lock, mixed with the sound of chains, and the first treasury door opened.
Everyone held their breath and concentrated, and after the guard opened the warehouse door, they all involuntarily turned their eyes to the back of the warehouse door.
But in the next moment, they were all stunned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
