Patrol Captain

That day and night, the darkness was as black as ink, splashing across the nine heavens.

At the Xuntian Hall on Yunding Mountain, candlelight blazed brightly as the meeting continued.

In the main seat, Chen Yuan leaned back in the chair, his eyelids closed, his fingertips with distinct knuckles tapping the armrest casually.

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk"

The sound was neither fast nor slow, blending into the discussions within the hall and subtly lowering the voices of the generals.

Inside the hall, a dozen or so desks, filled with documents, were laid out in a seemingly chaotic yet orderly fashion. The generals summoned their subordinates to convey the documents and instructions. Today's meeting was essentially a major reorganization of the mountain-crushing army after its reconstruction, focusing on redistributing and adjusting the patrol and dispatching responsibilities of the prefectures and offices in charge of each mountain in response to the demon clan's harassment of the rear.

Previously, Jiannan Circuit comprised thirty-six prefectures, and each of the twelve mountain-destroying armies had its own supervisors overseeing and controlling the three prefectures. Since the demon race breached Youmen Pass three years ago, resulting in the destruction of six mountains and the fall of seven prefectural cities, Jiannan Circuit has been in constant turmoil. These systems have become largely ineffective, and the entire Jiannan Circuit can be described as quite disorganized. Now, with the Pacification Commissioner fully engaged in war preparations, these systems must be revived and a complete order rebuilt to prepare for full-scale combat. Therefore, today's meeting has been rather long.

At this moment, armored soldiers came and went in an endless stream at the palace gate. When they entered, they carried documents and tokens in their hands, their armor plates clanging together. When they left, they carried orders and strode out, the wind they stirred up stirring the candlelight, making the light and shadow inside the palace flicker.

When the time was almost up, the generals had finished their work and went up to Chen Yuan to ask for instructions.

Yun Tiansheng gestured for his men to retreat, waved his hand, then took a few steps forward and bowed to Chen Yuan.

"General, we have almost finished discussing the matter."

"Of the remaining twenty-nine prefectures in Jiannan Circuit, I and the other officers have divided up our respective jurisdictions and are making arrangements and preparations. The relevant details have been handed over to my subordinates."

"After the meeting, we will send people down to focus on investigating and eliminating the demon spies. In addition, we will also give special protection to the military equipment escort to avoid a repeat of the losses we suffered this morning."

"This is the relevant directory."

Yun Tiansheng handed over the documents compiled by the two military officers who were taking notes in class, and gave them to Chen Yuan to review.

Sitting at the head of the table, Chen Yuan stopped tapping his fingers, didn't even lift his eyelids, and spoke directly, saying calmly,
"I'm listening to everything, so I don't need to look at it."

"That's right."

"Yes."

Yun Tiansheng agreed, and quietly called over the military advisor Gao Yu, handing him the documents in his hand and instructing him to seal and organize them.

Then he turned his head and asked, "General, what about us?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuan kept his eyes closed and did not speak.

And then the sound of fingertips tapping softly rang out again.

Yun Tiansheng, Pei Yanhu, and the other lieutenant generals exchanged puzzled glances, their eyes filled with confusion.

Judging from General Chen's tone, there was clearly something else going on.

By the way, half an hour ago, Chen Yuan suddenly summoned Mr. Gongsun to his side and conveyed something to him. Mr. Gongsun left in a hurry and disappeared midway. I don't know what he did. It seems that General Chen also had something on his mind.

However, since everyone was only guessing and couldn't figure out what was going on, they didn't say much. They simply dismissed their men and quieted down the chaotic hall.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Yuan, who was in the main seat, suddenly opened his eyes, paused his tapping on the armrest, and then raised his sleeve and flicked it towards the door. Instantly, a thunderous sound rang out outside the door, followed by a blinding white light.

A white beam of light descended from the sky and landed on the plaza outside.

Inside the hall, Yun Tiansheng and his group of scribes turned and looked around, whispering in their throats, their eyes darting out of the hall.

Under the watchful eyes of the assembled generals in the main hall, the white beam of light rapidly converged, and two figures stepped out from within.

One of them was Gongsun Yang, who had just left, and the other was dressed in a vermilion robe and jade belt, with an extraordinary air about him. Everyone knew that there were strict restrictions on the colors of clothing that officials wore. Vermilion was a color that only officials of the second rank or above in the imperial court were entitled to wear.

The group of generals looked puzzled. They had never seen this person before. Who was this high-ranking official in the court? Why was he here at this time?

Under the suspicious gazes of everyone, Gongsun Yang led his men to the front of the hall, where the fire blazed brightly. He stood still and reported to the emperor.

"General!"

In the main seat, Chen Yuan sat up straight, his gaze falling on the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices behind Gongsun Yang, and he gestured to the side with his hand.

Gongsun Yang stepped aside and moved to his side. The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who was one step behind him, was facing Chen Yuan, who was sitting in the hall. Their eyes met.

Jiang Yi and Chen Yuan stared at each other for more than ten breaths, but in the end, Jiang Yi could not withstand the pressure and his eyelids drooped first. He was supposed to be carrying the emperor's order, holding the emperor's flag, and secretly inspecting Jiannan Road. He thought that once he arrived, he would not need to hide his whereabouts. The ceremonial procession would enter Shu in a grand manner, and all the officials would come out of the city to welcome him. Then he would loudly read out the imperial edict, proclaiming the emperor's benevolence to the world and rewarding the soldiers of Shu.

When he completed his mission, the soldiers in Shu should have been happy. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but now everything was ruined. He was the only one left in the army that left the capital. Most of the rewards from the court had been stolen. He entered Shu in disgrace. When he met the person in charge of Jiannan Circuit, he had no confidence left.

She succumbed to their gaze, her eyelids drooping slightly, her hands hovering in a gesture of support.
"I, Jiang Yi, am here on the orders of His Majesty as Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I have come to pay my respects to Imperial Envoy Chen!"

The reason for this title is that Chen Yuan was nominally the Imperial Inspector in charge of the three southwestern circuits, a title personally bestowed by His Majesty.

Chen Yuan then rose from his chair, descended a few steps, looked at the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and slowly began to speak:

"Mr. Gongsun had already informed me of what happened to Lord Jiang before you arrived."

"I heard that His Majesty has decreed a reward for my soldiers in the mountain-climbing army, but I also heard that the troops you were to reward were ambushed and killed halfway."

Chen Yuan's voice was unreadable, and as he slowly walked down, he exuded immense pressure.

Upon hearing this, Yun Tiansheng and the other generals were immediately shocked. They had no idea such a thing could happen.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yi's face darkened, filled with a mixture of shock and anger, and he forced out a sound.
"That's right!"

"We were ambushed and almost completely wiped out. Only I escaped, but I was hunted down by a Martial Saint. Most of our rewards were stolen, and only His Majesty's edict and a few other items remain on my person."

While Jiang Yi was saying these words, Chen Yuan had already walked up to him, only a few steps away.

Upon hearing the imperial edict, the imperial envoy Chen raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and gave a half-smile.

"Let's leave other matters aside for now!"

"Now that Lord Jiang has arrived, the imperial edict should be read."

"I'm curious how our Emperor will reward my soldiers in the mountain-climbing army!" (End of Chapter)