Chapter 346 – Drawing the Knife

Chu Xianglong ate his lunch and ordered his attendant to make a cup of tea, he held the steaming tea, sipped lightly and asked:

“How has the princess been doing lately?”

“Stay in your room all the time.” The attendant said.

The large, luxurious and spacious room that housed the royal consort was actually a puppet, and the real royal consort came out all day long to sneak around and mingle with the ordinary maidservants.

Sometimes she would go to the kitchen to steal food, or watch with interest the boatman casting the net to catch fish, she stood aside and directed blindly.

Instead of being angry, the boatmen took a huge liking to the mediocre-looking elderly servant girl, and a few of them who had accumulated a lot of family money and had yet to start a family were privately prying into the old auntie’s situation.

This is the charm of a princess, even with a mediocre appearance, after spending time together, it can make a man’s heart fall in love.

That’s why Chu Xianglong wants to strictly prohibit soldiers from going on deck and men from touching the crown princess in private. But he can’t say it explicitly, and he can’t show an over-the-top concern for a maidservant.

“Go north as soon as possible, and when we meet up with the army sent by the king in Chuzhou, we will be completely safe.” Chu Xianglong exhaled a breath.

Mixing in with the investigative mission was undoubtedly a wise decision. Before departure, even the organizing officer, Xu Qi’an, and a host of other high-ranking officials did not know that the crown princess was accompanying them.

At that moment he suddenly heard the sound of dense footsteps, coming from the deck, and followed by the sound of men’s boisterous laughter and conversation.

The soldiers in the bottom of the cabin came out ………. Chu Xianglong’s face sank, then surged with anger, and he warned the big-headed soldiers underneath in three orders that they were not allowed to board the deck.

How dare you ignore his words?

Chu Xianglong walked out of the room, crossed the corridor, and came to the deck, where he saw groups of soldiers, carrying toilets, clattering and pouring filth into the river, and when the wind came, the stench hit their noses.

Centurion Chen Snap stood on the deck and yelled, “Remember to brush the Christine bucket clean after pouring.”

“Okay!”

The soldiers responded loudly with smiles on their faces.

Chu Xianglong stood with his arms folded, his face somber and serious as he drank, “Who told you to come up here.”

The cacophony stalled, and the soldiers hurriedly put down their toilets and looked at each other, somewhat at a loss for words, with their heads bowed, not daring to speak.

Chu Xianglong scolded, “Do you think that just because there are many people, the law is not against you? Like to go on the deck is it, come on people, prepare the military cane, execution.”

In a few moments, noisy footsteps came, and the guards that Chu Xianglong had brought with him, came around from the other side of the deck, carrying military staffs in their hands.

“General Chu, this, this …….”

Chen Snap was in a big hurry, the reason why he didn’t immediately explain the situation and tell Chu Xianglong that it was Xu Yinluo’s permission was because it would make it seem like he was arching his fire and instigating the two lords to fall out.

And Xu Qi’an happened to return to his room; he had inevitably heard the commotion outside, and if he was sincerely willing to stand up for the forbidden soldiers, he would come out.

On the contrary, it showed that he was not willing to start a conflict with General Chu, after all, this General Chu was the vice general of the King of Zhenbei, a big man with military power in his hands.

“Why is General Chu angry ah, it was I who told them to come up and brush the respectful bucket.”

Finally, the sound of the forbidden soldiers’ expectant voices came out from the cabin, accompanied by light but forceful footsteps, Xu Qi’an, who wore a silver gong errand uniform and pressed his sword with one hand, stepped out.

Chu Xianglong turned back around and gazed at Xu Qi’an in an aggressive tone:

“You don’t know my orders? If you don’t know, now immediately tell them to get their asses back in there and promise never to come out again. If know, then I need an explanation.”

Chen Snapdragon hardened his head and cupped his fists, “General Chu, it is like this, there are a few soldiers who have contracted illnesses, and my humble servant can do nothing about it, so I have no choice but to ask for help from Lord Xu ………”

Either you’re very righteous or very smart …….. Xu Qi’an commented in his heart, but his mouth said, “Is there a place for you to talk? Get lost.”

Chen Snap lowered his head and stopped saying anything, his eyes flashed with gratitude.

Xu Yinluo is trying to take him out.

After reprimanding the centurion, Xu Qi’an stared at Chu Xianglong and said in a deep voice:

“General Chu wants an explanation? Just take a trip to the bilge yourself, and if you can stay there for a few days, your feelings will be more profound. I have decided, in the future, the beginning of the hour to the end of the hour, the bilge forbidden troops can freely enter and exit. From the beginning of the noon hour to the end of the noon hour, they can come and go freely. From the beginning of the shen hour to the end of the shen hour, free access is allowed.”

You can be on deck for six hours a day.

This is both effective in improving air quality and beneficial to the physical and mental health of the soldiers.

On deck, the soldiers were beaming and exchanging excited glances. The wind and waves were so strong that the bilge rocked and lurched, plus a strange smell that smothered people and made them want to vomit.

Moreover, one has to eat dry food in such an environment. Physical discomfort is one aspect, but it is the torture in the heart that is the most torturous.

Chu Xianglong faintly said, ”If Lord Xu doesn’t know how to lead an army, don’t tell him what to do. What is this bitterness? When you’re really on the battlefield, you’ll even have to eat mud and lie down in a pile of corpses to do so.”

As he spoke, he looked at Xu Qi’an with a sneer on his face, not hiding his disdain and contempt.

Xu Qi’an tit for tat, retorted, “General Chu is a veteran of the battlefield, and I am not as good as you at leading troops. But if you want to dish out logic with me, I can talk to you about it.”

After a pause, he took a step forward, stared at Chu Xianglong, and asked:

“You also said it’s a war, can extraordinary times be the same as normal days? General Chu under the hands of the soldiers, also every day to live in thatched toilets, in the smell of urine and feces to chew dry food?

“These soldiers are elite, they usually drill just as hard, and they know how to fight a war. But hard work and suffering are not the same thing. How do you lead soldiers when you don’t even know how to raise them? How do you fight a war?

“To put it bluntly, these aren’t your soldiers, so you don’t treat them like human beings.”

Good point!

Chen Snapdragon roared in his heart, his heart ached as he watched his soldiers look disheveled in the past few days. Because these were the soldiers under his hands.

Chu Xianglong does not treat them as people, is not because these soldiers are not his.

Raise an army for a thousand days, Xu Yinluo is worthy of being the poetry leader of the Dafeng ……… Chen Snapdragon from the bottom of his heart, the more he thinks about it, the more he feels that this sentence is the most sensible words.

The soldiers lowered their heads and gritted their teeth, and although they did not speak, their slightly clenched fists showed the indignation in their hearts.

It is true that they are soldiers at the bottom of the hierarchy and have no status, but soldiers are human beings and have emotions.

Chu Xianglong seemed to be enraged, his expression both bratty and ferocious as he stepped forward, letting his face and Xu Qi’an’s face get very close as he sternly questioned:

“You’re teaching me things? What are you.”

“I wondered if I had given in too quickly last time and let you get away with it easily. So that in your mind, a wrong perception was created?”

Xu Qi’an took a step back and pulled away from Chu Xianglong.

Such a move, in Chu Xianglong’s eyes, was naturally a show of cowardice. That’s right, Xu Qi’an’s first impression in his mind was that he was extremely talented, but coveted power and position, and could be harnessed and suppressed with greater power.

This fit the image Xu Qi’an had shown in the imperial examination fraud case, easily allowing him to obtain the Vajra Divine Power, and afterwards he didn’t even dare to backtrack on his words and assiduously sent the Buddha statue to his door.

Many martial artists are willing to serve as dogs to people, groveling to high officials even though they are powerful themselves, because such people are greedy for power.

“Isn’t it?” Chu Xianglong despised.

As the words fell, he saw Xu Qi’an, who had retreated a step, suddenly whirling around and sweeping in with a vicious whip-leg interception.

There was no warning, and when they said they were going to do it, they did it.

Chu Xianglong crossed his arms to block, and with a bang, the qi exploded into ripples, as if he had been hit by a siege timber, his legs slid back, and his back slammed hard against the bulkhead.

The sturdy wooden wall clicked and broke.

A bit of golden paint lit up from Xu Qi’an’s brow and quickly traveled all over his body, appearing as a brilliant golden body as he said in a single word, “I’m very grumpy, Puffy Boy.”

Wei Yuan mentioned him to make good relations with the Zhenbei King’s people, this is to make it easier to investigate the case and not to encounter difficulties in everything.

But Wei Yuan definitely wasn’t asking him to grovel, smile at the Zhenbei King’s people, hit his left face, and still come up with his right face.

Because, if the case had no clue, he, the court appointed organizer, could return to the capital safe and sound. If he really found out the evidence against the King of Zhenbei, even if he and Chu Xianglong were friends of worship, it would not help.

Xu Qi’an had long since grown disenchanted with Chu Xianglong, taking advantage of his little old brother’s distress to fall into a well and plot to seize his Vajra Divine Power.

Chu Xianglong, whose arms were aching and involved old injuries to his meridians, stared at Xu Qi’an in disbelief.

How dare he do it?

Did he really think that he, a small silver gong, could afford to offend a handful of generals and the vice general of the King of Zhenbei?

“General!”

Chu Xianglong’s guards burst into a fury and swarmed over in unison, holding their military staffs, and facing to grant permission to Seven Anne.

As long as Chu Xianglong gave the order, they would go up and subdue this arrogant brat.

“Lord Xu!”

One hundred forbidden soldiers surged over at the same time, clustering around Xu Qi’an with solemn expressions as they confronted Chu Xianglong’s guards.

Their position was very clear, although the Forbidden Army and the Silver Gong were different magistracies that did not interfere with each other, Xu Qi’an was now the organizing officer, the supreme leader of the mission.

And, just based on what he had just said, it was worth putting one’s life on the line for him.

“Stop it all!”

Drums came from the cabin, and several officials who had heard the news came out at a brisk pace.

The two royal inspectors from the Capital Investigation Academy, the chief constable from the Ministry of Justice, and the head of the Da Lisi, who were followed by their respective guards and constables.

The two royal historians came up to make peace with the situation, saying in a loud voice, “If you have something to say, why do you two adults need to make a move?”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi looked at the cracked wall, as well as Xu Qi’an, who had appeared in his golden body, and said in a conspiratorial manner:

“Lord Xu is a good fighter, with this body of divine power, I’m afraid that the entire ship’s men together are no match for you.”

“You’re just in time.”

Chu Xianglong glared viciously at Xu Qi’an and told what had just happened, pointing at Xu Qi’an:

“The matter of the soldiers is just a pretext for him to stir up trouble, the real purpose is to take revenge on this general, how do the several lords think this matter should be handled.”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi immediately said, “There are women on the ship, and it is not appropriate for soldiers to board the deck. This official feels that General Chu’s order is reasonable.”

The Ministry of Justice’s arresting officer said indifferently, ”In my opinion, Lord Xu might as well make amends and apologize, and the forbidden troops return to the bottom of the cabin and are not allowed to go out. This matter will be resolved. We should be united on this trip north.”

The two Imperial Magistrates of the Metropolitan Council concurred.

The thoughts of the officials of the three divisions were simple, first of all, they themselves disliked Xu Qi’an, a son who had trouble with the Ministry of Justice, the Da Lisi, and the Du Cha Yuan.

Secondly, on this trip north, it was necessary to have a good relationship with the Vice General of the King of Zhenbei.

The commotion on the deck startled the Wangfei who was drinking tea in her room, she sniffed out and saw a group of Wangfu maidservants gathered on the corridor leading to the deck.

“What happened?” She frowned, asking out of habit.

The maidservants turned around and glanced at her, somewhat disliking the bossy tone of this faceless old maidservant, chirping:

“General Chu and Xu Yinluo clashed and almost fought.”

“It seems like there was a conflict because General Chu didn’t allow the bilge guards to go on the deck, and Xu Yinluo didn’t agree.”

“Hmph, this Xu Yinluo is so ungrateful, he actually dared to make a move against General Chu, who is our King Huai’s Vice General. Now several lords are on Vice General Chu’s side, demanding that he make amends and apologize.”

“Although I admire Xu Yinluo, but this time it is his fault, these big-headed soldiers stink, what an eyesore. We won’t be able to go to the deck to blow off steam in the future.”

The princess tried to squeeze through the maidservants, but she didn’t expect the maids, who usually treated her with respect, to reasonably hold her back instead of letting her out of the way.

The crown princess was so angry in her heart that she couldn’t see the scene on the deck, but fortunately the maidservants were quiet at this moment, and she heard Xu Qi’an’s cold laughter:

“Apologize? I am His Majesty’s handpicked organizing officer, and on this ship, I call the shots.”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi retorted, “It is not true that you are the organizing official, but it is not up to you to say anything in the mission; otherwise, what is the use of having us?”

The arresting officer of the Ministry of Justice nodded, “His Majesty’s decree is that the three divisions work in tandem with the night watchman to handle the case, and if Lord Xu wants to engage in one-liners, then I’m sorry that I can’t agree with that.”

The two royal historians agreed with the words of the head constable of the Ministry of Justice and the Chancellor of the Da Lisi.

All of a sudden, the pressure was all on Xu Qi’an’s side.

Even if he is stubborn and refuses to admit his fault, but in front of everyone, being ostracized by his fellow officials, his prestige is all gone ……… Wangfei keenly captured the intentions of the crowd of officials.

She didn’t think that this man who reigned supreme in the fight would ever go soft, but in a situation like the one at hand, soft or not, it didn’t really matter.

Everyone present could see that the organizing official, Xu Yinluo, was unpopular, and his fellow officials ostracized him and suppressed him.

Once such an inherent concept is formed, the authority of the organizing officer will be in tatters, and no one in the team will obey him, even if the surface is respectful, the heart will be disdainful.

“If it was King Huai who encountered this situation, what would he do ………,” the princess thought to herself.

For some reason, she always subconsciously compared that young man on the deck to King Huai.

After comparing them, it was discovered that the two could not be generalized, after all, King Huai was a Prince and a Third Grade Martial Artist, far from being comparable to the current Xu Ningyan.

So the Princess muttered again in her mind: what would he do?

Shouldn’t give in …….. Then I’ll have to look down on him ……. No, if he goes soft, I’ll have a handle to taunt him …….. She thought in her heart, and then, she heard Xu Qi’an’s drinking voice:

“All generals listen to the order, this official as the organizing officer, by imperial decree to go to the north to investigate the case, the matter is important, in order to prevent people from leaking secrets, disruption, now to expel idle people, Chu Xianglong and his deployment.”

On the spot, only four silver gongs and eight bronze gongs drew their blades and embraced Xu Qi’an.

The hundred forbidden soldiers on deck said nothing, and seemed afraid to get involved.

The scene fell silent for a few seconds before one of the soldiers quietly returned to the bilge.

And then came one two three ……… more and more soldiers with their heads bowed, leaving the deck and returning to the bilges.

It wasn’t long before the deck cleared.

“Snort!”

Chu Xianglong’s disdainful snort seemed particularly harsh.

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi was full of derision and gloating.

The corner of the Criminal Ministry’s arresting officer’s mouth hooked, his hands clasped on his chest, leaning against the bulkhead and assuming a watching posture.

The two Imperial Historians of the Metropolitan Police Force shook their heads helplessly.

Suddenly, there was a cacophony of footsteps on the ladder, “thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.”

The hundred forbidden soldiers went and returned, and unlike just now, the toilet in their hands was replaced with a standardized saber.

They were going back to the bilge to get their weapons.

Chen Snapdragon pressed down on his saber, walked to Xu Qi’an’s side, and said in a deep voice, “Draw your sword!”

“Medium ……..”

The sound of drawing swords rang out, and a hundred soldiers drew their swords in unison, pointing at Chu Xianglong and the others from afar.

“You, are you guys going to rebel?” The Chancellor of the Da Lisi’s face changed slightly, and he shouted angrily.

Chen Snap was silent, licking his lips and staring sharply at the Prime Minister of the Da Lisi before glancing at Xu Qi’an, as if he dared to go up and cut down this nagging civil official as long as Xu Yinluo gave the order.

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi had a chill in his heart and subconsciously took a few steps back, not daring to venture any further.

The Criminal Ministry’s arresting officer changed from leaning on the wall to straightening his back, his face changed from teasing to seriousness, and he quietly gripped the knife in his hand as if he was facing the enemy.

As a martial artist, he saw the toughness in the eyes of these forbidden soldiers, and would definitely not hesitate when wielding a steel sword.

Chu Xianglong’s forehead veins jumped angrily, he still did not believe that he, as the Vice General of the King of Zhenbei, would encounter such treatment. These lowly soldiers, actually dared to draw their swords on themselves.

“Yang Yan!”

Chu Xianglong growled lowly, “Are you fighters going to rebel, this general is traveling with the mission on His Majesty’s word.”

“Noisy!” Yang Yan’s voice came out from the cabin in a cold tone, “I don’t know about this.”

“You …….”

Chu Xianglong’s face instantly turned white, his complexion changed several times as he stared deathly at Xu Qi’an, gritting his teeth and saying, “What do you want.”

Xu Qi’an greeted the sunlight, his face untamed, and said, “Three things, one, my decision just now remains the same, the soldiers will have three hours of free time every day. Two, remember my identity, there is no place for you to speak in the mission.

“Is that clear enough?”

Chu Xianglong sank his face and slowly nodded his head.

Xu Qi’an walked over with his knife and sneered, “Third, apologize to me.”

In an instant, Chu Xianglong’s face was slightly distorted, veins bulged at the corners of his forehead, and his cheek muscles twitched.

Escorting the princess is a major matter, and it can t be done in a spirit of ……… Chu Xianglong finally softened, whispering, “Xu adults, adults have a large amount, don t be general with me.”

Xu Qi’an hemmed and hawed, “Understand.”

Behind them, a hundred forbidden soldiers grinned a pristine smile.

………….

PS: Thanks to “half step salted fish” alliance reward, thanks to “missed the loose people” alliance reward.

This was a bit of a long chapter, and I delayed updating it for half an hour, and I was going to delay refining it for another half hour, so I’ll just have to update it and go back to refining the chapter.