Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 43 Cunning Scheme
For several days in a row, nothing unusual happened at the Jingbian Division.

Although Wu Baihu regained the power that belonged to the deputy Baihu, he was still a deputy and only in charge of finance and intelligence. His power was not as great as that of Shen Baihu, the head of the Jingbian Division who was in charge of personnel and operations.

Therefore, after Wu Baihu returned to Jingbian Division, Lin Xuan did not go to see him alone.

This was also what he and Wu Baihu had initially agreed upon.

On this day, Lin Xuan arrived at Jingbian Division early in the morning and saw several banner officers gathered together in the courtyard, discussing something.

"What? The Xu Family Trading Company's goods were stolen?"

"Which bandits dare to be so bold?"

"Dare to rob the goods being escorted by the Jingbian Division? Are you tired of living?"

From the murmurs of the crowd, Lin Xuan learned that yesterday, a flag officer from the Jingbian Division was escorting a merchant's goods when they encountered a group of bandits. Several carts full of goods were looted, and the flag officer and the caravan's guards were also seriously injured.

Upon learning the news, Commander Shen was furious, and he naturally had his reasons for being angry.

These merchants all paid him money.

He accepted the money, but his goods were stolen. How could he continue to collect money from those merchants in the future?

Lin Xuan had just returned to his duty room, and before he could even brew a cup of tea, a clerk entered and said, "Lin Xiaoqi, Commander Shen summons you..."

Lin Xuan felt a slight chill in his heart, but remained outwardly calm.

He slowly stood up, straightened his uniform as a flag officer, and followed the clerk to Shen Qingya's duty room.

The atmosphere inside the duty room was somber.

Shen Qingya sat upright in the main seat, holding a report in his hand, his expression serious.

Lin Xuan stopped in front of the desk, clasped his hands and said, "Your subordinate Lin Xuan greets Commander Baihu."

Shen Qingya slowly raised his gaze to Lin Xuan and said calmly, "No need for formalities."

"Thank you, sir."

Lin Xuanzhi stood up, hands at his sides, waiting for what was to come.

Shen Qingya placed the report in his hand on the table and said, "You must have heard about what happened yesterday. The Xu Family Trading Company is a reputable merchant in Sizhou Prefecture, paying huge amounts of taxes to the imperial court every year. However, their goods, which were escorted by the flag officers of my Jingbian Division, were robbed by bandits. It is simply outrageous!"

He snorted coldly, slammed his hand on the table, and roared, "Robbing official and merchant caravans in broad daylight! Such behavior is tantamount to rebellion. If we do not swiftly and decisively suppress them, how will our Jingbian Division maintain its foothold in Sizhou? How will we protect the safety of the trade routes? What will become of the imperial court's reputation?"

Lin Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had already anticipated what he was about to say.

Sure enough, Shen Qingya stood up and said in a deep voice, "This time the bandits are rampant. I want to find out where they are, ascertain their strength, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop. To avoid alerting them, I need to send someone to investigate first..."

He looked at Lin Xuan and said slowly, "Lin Xiaoqi, you are known for your quick wit and competence. You have made great contributions to the Jingbian Division and even the Commander of the Thousand Households praised you highly. I now order you to lead your capable men to the scene of the crime and conduct a thorough investigation. You must find out the location of this bandit's lair, their numbers, their strength, the deployment of sentries... all information must be detailed!"

Before Lin Xuan could speak, a figure strode into the duty room.

When Wu Baihu saw Lin Xuan, he smiled and said, "Lin Xiaoqi, you're here. I have important business to discuss with you. Come, let's go to my duty room..."

After saying that, he grabbed Lin Xuan's arm and tried to leave.

"Wait a minute!"

Shen Qingya spoke coldly, walked up to Wu Baihu, and said, "I just entrusted an important task to Lin Xiaoqi. Deputy Baihu Wu, let's discuss this when he returns..."

Wu Baihu looked at Shen Qingya and said with a smile, "I have a task assigned to Lin Xuan that I cannot do without. Lord Shen, please find someone else."

Shen Qingya and Wu Baihu exchanged glances, and Shen Qingya said with a forced smile, "What a coincidence, this task of mine also requires Lin Xuan."

Wu Baihu looked surprised and said, "Oh, I'm curious, with so many banner officers in the Jingbian Division, what task does Lord Shen have that requires Lin Xuan?"

Shen Qingya countered, "Why don't you tell me first, Deputy Commander Wu, what mission do you absolutely need him for?"

Wu Baihu shrugged and said, "To be honest, Lin Xiaoqi is handsome, and my daughter fell in love with him at first sight. I'm thinking of pairing them up, and I was just about to take Lin Xuan to meet my daughter..."

Shen Qingya snorted coldly and said, "How can personal feelings between men and women compare to matters of state?"

Commander Wu also emphasized, "What important matter of the court requires a mere eighth-rank banner officer?"

Shen Qingya didn't want to get entangled with Wu Baihu any longer, and said coldly, "The goods of the Xu family's trading company were looted by bandits, and one of my Jingbian officers was also injured by the bandits. I want to send Lin Xiaoqi to find out about these bandits. Is there a problem?"

Wu Baihu straightened his chest and said indignantly, "Of course they are! Even with the flag officers of the Jingbian Division and the guards of the merchant guild, they are no match for those bandits. The Jingbian Division should send at least one captain. Lord Shen only sent one flag officer. Isn't that playing with the lives of the officials of the Jingbian Division?"

Lin Xuan glanced at Wu Baihu silently, without saying a word. Shen Qingya said coldly, "Zhang Zongqi and Wenren Zongqi have important missions and are not currently in the headquarters. If we don't send banner officers, are we going to send ordinary guards?"

Commander Wu said, "That's no reason for you to send your subordinates to their deaths!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Shen Qingya's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Deputy Commander Wu, don't forget, I am the Commander of the Border Pacification Division. I don't need you to tell me who to send!"

Unexpectedly, Wu Baihu was not buying it at all. Instead, he sneered and said, "Lord Shen, have you forgotten what Zhou Qianhu said that day...? As a centurion of the Jingbian Division, you are domineering and willful, treating the lives of your officers as a joke. If I don't report you, I am not Wu!"

Inside the courtyard, the banner officers and the border guards were so shocked they couldn't close their mouths.

This was the first time they had ever witnessed such a fierce direct confrontation between two centurions.

No one expected that Wu, the deputy commander who had been suppressed by Shen Baihu not long ago, would become such a tough person after returning to the Jingbian Division!
"presumptuous!"

Threatened to his face by his deputy, Shen Qingya's face turned ashen. After shouting angrily, a powerful aura pressed down on Lin Xuan and Wu Baihu.

A sixth-rank martial artist, whose inner energy is outwardly manifested.

Under the oppressive aura, Lin Xuan was finding it somewhat difficult.

But the next moment, an even more powerful aura pressed down on Shen Qingya.

Wu Baihu stood firmly in place, but Shen Qingya couldn't help but take two steps back.

Commander Wu clasped his hands slightly in greeting and said, "Lord Shen, I apologize for the intrusion. I only wanted to remind you that the lives of banner officers are also lives. You are a person of high birth and great stature, but don't treat your men like they're not human..."

Inside the Jingbian Division compound, the banner officers listened with fervor.

As a subordinate, who wouldn't want to work under a boss like that?
……

After a while.

Lin Xuan followed Wu Baihu into his duty room, cupped his hands in thanks to Wu Baihu, and said, "Thank you, sir."

Wu Baihu waved his hand and said, "There's no need for formalities between us. Besides, Shen Qingya is making things difficult for you because he's targeting me."

He casually pulled up a chair and said, "Sit down."

Wu Baihu was clearly in a very good mood. After Lin Xuan sat down, he personally poured him a cup of tea before saying, "The higher-ups said that I don't need to be afraid of the Shen family. The Jingbian Division was blocked at the gate by the Tusi, losing face. The commander was very angry, and even the Nanzhen Prefecture Envoy was reprimanded. In the short term, Shen Qingya won't dare to be too arrogant..."

He said with a touch of emotion, "It's ironic, really. I've worked diligently in this southwestern frontier for over a decade, and the higher-ups have never even given me a second glance. This time, we defeated Shen Qingya, and they used that as an excuse to utterly humiliate the upright officials before His Majesty. Yet, they suddenly remember me..."

Lin Xuan originally thought that this matter would at most only reach the Jingye Division.

Unexpectedly, even the Grand Secretary and the Qingliu faction were involved.

It seems that the factional struggles in the Dayong Dynasty have reached a very intense stage.

Wu Baihu took a sip of tea, tapping his index finger lightly on the table, and said, "Shen Qingya is determined to make an example of you this time. Sending you, a banner officer, to investigate the bandit's den is clearly a ploy to kill you, either by having you die at the hands of the bandits or by punishing you for your incompetence, indirectly embarrassing me. That bastard, he looks respectable, but his methods are truly insidious..."

Lin Xuan glanced at Wu Baihu silently. This move was clearly very popular with those of them who were superiors.

Wu Baihu narrowed his eyes and said, "Those bandits are usually quite sensible, at most only daring to target small merchant caravans with no background. This time, they dared to rob a caravan escorted by the Jingbian Division and even injured one of our Jingbian Division's flag officers. Such abnormality must have something going on behind it..."

As if remembering something, he suddenly said, "I recall that Huang Yue has a cousin who committed a crime in his youth and fled to the mountains to become an outlaw. Relying on his martial arts skills, he gathered a group of desperados who specialize in robbery and plunder. This matter is most likely a pre-arranged scheme by Huang Yue and Shen Qingya to lure you into a trap. Once you accept this mission, they might directly reveal your whereabouts to those people..."

Wu Baihu gritted his teeth and cursed, "What a load of rubbish! Their methods are dirtier than anyone else's!"

Then, he patted Lin Xuan on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, with me here, Shen Qingya can't do anything to you."

Lin Xuan clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your protection, sir."

Commander Wu smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite with me..."

Then, he changed the subject and said, "Actually, what I told Shen Qingya just now wasn't entirely a lie. When you came to my house last time, my Rou'er really took a liking to you, and she's mentioned it to me several times..."

Just now, Commander Shen sent Lin Xuan to inquire about the bandits' den, but Lin Xuan wasn't afraid.

Hearing Wu Baihu say this, he was truly afraid.

Wu Baihu's daughter is practically a carbon copy of him; Lin Xuan simply can't appreciate her...

He looked embarrassed and immediately said, "It is my honor to be favored by your daughter, but I already have someone I love, so I can only disappoint Miss Rou'er's kindness..."

Commander Wu was somewhat disappointed, but he still waved his hand and said, "Alright, since you already have someone you love, I won't bring it up anymore. It's a pity, I wish you could be my son-in-law..."

(End of this chapter)