The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

With such a commotion, all sorts of news naturally spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Chang'an.

For a time, from the mansions of high-ranking officials to ordinary teahouses and taverns, everyone was talking about this case of suing the Shence Army.

Naturally, the news quickly spread to the Shence Army.

Just after noon, Xue Jiling finished his lunch in the Inner Palace and was about to rest when a man burst in from outside, saying...

"Lieutenant, save me..."

Xue Jiling opened his eyes, looking somewhat displeased, but he did not lash out.

Because those who could enter without prior notice were basically his confidants, and this person was no exception.

"Zhang Chongwen?" Xue Jiling called out, his tone tinged with impatience, "What happened? Why are you in such a panic?"

This man was none other than the seventh general of the Shence Army, the Commander of the Capital Garrison, and a confidant of Xue Jiling.

However, Zhang Duyu looked panicked and said repeatedly, "Lieutenant, something bad has happened! Those lowly people who were beaten before have actually gone to the Jingzhao government office to cry for justice! And, moreover, the newly appointed Jingzhao prefect, Xue Yuanshang, has actually accepted the petition and said that the Jingzhao government should take care of this matter."

"What's the panic!"

Xue Jiling was clearly very dissatisfied with Zhang Chongwen's strong reaction. He snorted and rebuked him.

"A mere Prefect of the Capital, do you think they can just interfere with the affairs of my Shence Army?"

After being scolded like that, Zhang Chongwen felt somewhat calmer and hesitated before saying, "But Lieutenant, the whole capital is talking about this now, and after all, someone was killed. If this continues, I'm afraid..."

His expression was somewhat contradictory, as if he wanted to say something but dared not.

Seeing this, Xue Jiling cursed again: "You worthless thing, let me tell you the truth, I already knew about this two days ago, and even the Sage already knows about it."

"Ah, Saint, Saint..." Zhang Chongwen was immediately filled with fear and could not speak coherently.

Seeing this, Xue Jiling's face showed a hint of smugness, and he said, "With me here, what are you worried about?"

"Don't worry, we've already suppressed this matter before the Emperor. It won't matter if we report it to the Prefect of the Capital or even to the Secretariat."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chongwen finally felt relieved.

But only for a moment, he added, "Thank you, Lieutenant. However, just to be on the safe side, perhaps I should relocate those troublemakers to a nearby military town to avoid any further complications."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jiling snorted and said, "By the time you make the arrangements, it will be too late. To tell you the truth, we already knew about these troublemakers going to file complaints a long time ago."

"As soon as we received the news, we submitted the 'results' of the case to His Majesty and sent all these soldiers out of the capital. Judging by the time, they should have left the city by now."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chongwen finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "The lieutenant is indeed far-sighted; I admire him."

Xue Jiling leaned back without saying a word.

Seeing this, Zhang Chongwen quickly stepped forward again and said, "I feel really bad that this matter has caused the lieutenant so much trouble. The other day, I specially collected some good things, including a Han Dynasty marquis's seal, which is very rare. I will have someone deliver it to him after dark..."

A smile finally appeared on Xue Jiling's face as he said, "You're quite sensible. Because of this matter, my family has taken a lot of responsibility in front of the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chongwen became even more obsequious: "Please rest assured, Lieutenant, I will definitely do my job well in the future and will never let you down."

…………

Snowflakes began to fall sporadically from the sky. They weren't heavy, but the north wind whipped them up like steel knives scraping bones, stinging people's faces.

Amidst the howling north wind, a group of a dozen Shence Army soldiers slowly walked out of the city gate. The leader spat and couldn't help but curse.

"Damn it, it's all the fault of these lowly people. They owe me money and don't pay it back. They even dared to turn around and blame me, dragging Zhang Duyu into this mess. Now I'm going to be kicked out of the capital in this weather. I really regret not killing them back then."

Upon hearing this, the people around him were also somewhat indignant.

It should be noted that there are differences between different Shence Army units.

The Shence Army stationed in the capital city received the best treatment. They didn't have to go out to fight or train. Except for pretending when their superiors inspected them, their daily routine consisted mainly of playing football and sumo.

At night, the timid ones stayed in the camp to gamble and have fun, while the bold ones went straight to the night market to seek pleasure. Even if they caused any trouble, with their own lieutenant protecting them, no one dared to mess with them. They were incredibly carefree.

But once they leave the capital, they become a completely different story.

Unlike the capital city, where the army was directly commanded by eunuchs, the Shence Army in northwestern Beijing faced the threat of the Tibetan Empire and had to regularly go beyond the Great Wall for "autumn defense" every year. Therefore, they not only needed to train day and night, but also risked losing their lives.

More importantly, the Shence Army soldiers transferred from the capital to other military towns were not issued armor; they had to "borrow" it from the army. They would take a suit of armor from the capital and have to pay three times the amount when they arrived at the military town.

It can be said that being transferred from the capital to a military town was like being completely skinned alive for them.

How can we prevent them from hating us?

The group of people continued marching forward, grumbling and cursing, completely unaware that a group of several hundred people was already waiting in the distance.

"Chang Lin, Liu San, Bi Gong, Wang Gou'er..."

Amidst the wind and snow, a calm voice suddenly rang out, causing the soldiers to frown.

"Who is where?"

Then, a young figure dressed in official robes slowly walked out, followed by several eunuchs, all with cold expressions.

The figure held a roster in his hand and continued reading in a calm and unhurried voice.

"...Yang Feng, Du Lu, Wang Qi, Fan Sheng, Duan Wu..."

"Is it you guys?"

The figure closed the roster, a chilling aura emanating from his eyes.

At this moment, the soldiers who had left the city also noticed the hundreds of black-clad servants who had come with them, and they couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

Fortunately, at this moment, another person next to him spoke up.

"Captain, I've seen this man before. He's the newly appointed Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. I heard his name is Xue Yuanshang."

"Jingzhao Prefecture?"

The captain in the lead, named Chang Lin, felt much more at ease upon hearing this name and spoke loudly.

"We are the Seventh General of the Shence Army, dispatched by Lieutenant Xue to relieve the garrison in the capital. You people from the Jingzhao Prefecture, get out of the way immediately! If you delay military affairs, none of you can afford the consequences!"

However, Xue Yuanshang showed no fear in the face of their "threat," and simply repeated it again.

"I ask you, were you the ones whose names I just read out?"

"So what if it is?"

These soldiers were already angry, and seeing that even a mere official from the Jingzhao Prefecture dared to be so arrogant, they immediately started shouting.

"That's good..." However, Xue Yuanshang laughed at their reaction, but only for a moment before his face turned icy cold again, and he said in a chilling voice, "Lock it up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of henchmen behind him rushed forward.

"Who among you dares to..."

The dozen or so soldiers initially tried to resist, but Xue Yuanshang was clearly well-prepared, bringing far more men than they could muster. After a short while, he had them all tied up.

Once again bound hand and foot and thrown into a snowdrift, Chang Lin, the leader, still couldn't believe it and said...

"You dare arrest me? You surnamed Xue, aren't you afraid of what will happen to us lieutenant?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Yuanshang laughed instead and said, "What I'm afraid of is that he won't blame me."

After saying that, he picked up the roster again and read it aloud, saying, "Those who are not on the roster, I will let you go. Go back as soon as possible... Inform your lieutenant that these people are involved in a murder case, and that the Prefectural Governor of Jingzhao has arrested them!"