I Never Expected It—We Truly Underestimated Magistrate Sun

Though the Luyang Prefecture Martial Guard Yamen now had more than three hundred men and counted as a powerful bureau within Luyang Prefecture,

its true foundation still lay with the thirty or forty veteran soldiers from back then.

The ones Military Sergeant Qian Mu truly trusted were Zhang Yuan, Qi Junliang, and the other old subordinates from those days.

According to Qian Mu, Luyang Prefecture had grown increasingly prosperous of late, and quite a few people in the commandery government had set their sights on it.

Qian Mu had no backing of his own. No one had cared for his Seventh Rank military sergeant post before, but now it had become a sweet prize.

Some time ago, people in the prefectural yamen had already sounded him out: Qian Mu would be transferred to the commandery's Martial Guard Bureau as a Subordinate Sixth Rank troop inspection officer.

An apparent promotion, a hidden demotion.

It looked like he had risen half a rank, but as a powerless Subordinate Sixth Rank minor official in the commandery, how could that compare to commanding several hundred soldiers in Luyang Prefecture?

"Erhe, before I leave, I'll settle the expansion and promote you to acting captain."

"Hu Yang has wanted to retire for a long time. Once he steps down, let his son take his place. You'll serve as captain for a few years, and the men's hearts will settle."

The military sergeant rode forward on horseback, his gaze falling upon the Great Qin Warrior formation ahead. His expression softened somewhat.

"I'll only rest easy leaving these fellows in your hands."

Qi Junliang, beside him, nodded solemnly. There was not the slightest hint of jealousy over the military sergeant's intention to promote Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan's cultivation and combat strength far surpassed his, and he had accumulated a great deal of Military Merit.

Most importantly, Righteous and Loyal Zhang Erhe was not just a saying. Zhang Yuan was truly loyal to his brothers.

All the old brothers in the bureau knew that whenever there was a mission, Zhang Yuan would charge at the front. Yet when it came time to claim Military Merit, he would fall back behind the others.

Take this time, for example. Had Zhang Yuan not yielded that first wooden boat, Qi Junliang's team would never have earned so much Military Merit.

Over the past five years, such things had happened too many times to count.

"I'll do my best." Zhang Yuan nodded. This time, he did not refuse.

In the past, Qian Mu had served as military sergeant, Hu Yang had led their team, and Chen Wu, Huang Sanliang, and the others had been there. Though the Martial Guard Bureau had grown ever larger, its foundation remained intact.

But if Qian Mu left, Hu Yang retired, and Chen Wu was transferred away, then some unknown outsider came to take command, the men's hearts truly would scatter.

Those people who had gone to such lengths to become officials in Luyang Prefecture would not show these Martial Guards any mercy.

They would gladly trade the brothers' lives for Military Merit.

Hearing Zhang Yuan agree, Qian Mu Revealed a hint of a smile.

From leaving Luyang Prefecture, to suppressing bandits in Yong'an County, to returning to the Martial Guard Bureau, the whole journey had taken four and a half days.

After returning to the Martial Guard Bureau, the soldiers did not disband at once. Instead, they formed ranks before the yamen.

The remains of the three fallen Comrade-in-arms had been brought back, and their parents and families had already been notified.

"Who says we have no clothes? With You as My Brother—"

All the Martial Guards clenched their fists and raised their arms, shouting the military chant as they bade farewell to their Comrade-in-arms.

Military Sergeant Qian Mu wore a grave expression as he personally handed the pensions and Military Merit redemption certificates to the fallen Martial Guards' families.

These pensions were Enough for their families to live on.

Not just the three fallen Comrade-in-arms—those too severely wounded to serve as Martial Guards any longer would have members of their Family's take over their posts.

It was precisely because countless generations of Great Qin Warriors stood guard that the common people could live in peace.

In the eyes of the strong, these warriors might have been nothing more than ants. But in the eyes of their Comrade-in-arms, they were brothers to whom they could entrust their very lives.

After seeing off their fallen Comrade-in-arms, all weapons and armor were inspected and sent back to the armory.

Then, after going to the Military Merit registration and exchange office to have the clerks record and redeem their Military Merit, the mission was truly concluded.

Afterward, the bureau would compile records of the entire mission, its losses, the Military Merit earned, and the pensions paid, then submit them to the prefectural yamen for filing.

Huang Sanliang exchanged his Level Three Military Merit for fifteen taels of Silver Ingots. As he walked out of the yamen, several traces of joy appeared on his face.

With those fifteen taels, his family would not need to worry about Expenses for two years.

Chen Wu exchanged only five taels of Silver Ingots, leaving two levels of Military Merit saved up.

He had only his elderly mother at home, and their usual Expenses were not great.

As for Feng Cheng and the other recruits, they also exchanged all the Military Merit they could for Silver Ingots, clutching the silver In hand with joy in their hearts.

Zhang Yuan exchanged his Military Merit for twenty taels of Silver Ingots, then called Feng Cheng over and told him to deliver fifteen taels to the families of the three fallen Comrade-in-arms.

"Brother Yuan, this..." Feng Cheng hesitated, then said quietly, "Then... then I'll contribute my silver too—"

Zhang Yuan waved his hand and patted him on the shoulder. "No need. I don't need money right now; you're different."

Zhang Yuan took out another two-tael silver ingot and pressed it into Feng Cheng's hand. "After such a hard battle, you should relax when you return."

After a pause, Zhang Yuan said, "Remember to bring Chen Wu."

By the time Zhang Yuan left the Martial Guard Bureau, the sun was already setting.

Rather than returning to Ding Family Alley, Zhang Yuan headed for the academy.

"Dispatching Two teams of Martial Guards to suppress bandits—this is one of the rarest cases in the past two years. How did the battle go?" Young Master Tao asked upon seeing Zhang Yuan.

Though the Martial Guard Bureau now had slightly more than three hundred soldiers, the prefectural yamen officials all knew that most of them were recruits. Their combat strength could not compare with that of the veterans.

The bureau had expanded over the past two years, but the Martial Guards had not truly been deployed, mostly only carrying out patrol duties.

This deployment of Two teams to suppress bandits was already the largest use of the Martial Guards in recent years.

Zhang Yuan roughly recounted the bandit suppression, omitting only the relic's effect on him.

Those matters were his own secret. He would not tell anyone.

"Yang Yaozu's plan was well designed. He went to Jiulin County to seek refuge with the Zhao Family, making Zhao Changchun's identity as Black Tiger that much more convincing." Young Master Tao said with a smile. "That wasn't your usual style."

"Whenever you encountered bandits before, you wiped them out root and branch."

This time, Zhang Yuan had spared Yang Yaozu partly because Yang Yaozu had been forthright and concealed nothing from him. After avenging the stockade's men, Yang Yaozu had also left himself entirely to Zhang Yuan's disposal, without the slightest hesitation.

Zhang Yuan had also read through the information Young Master Tao had previously given him about bandits on the Guangji River. Yang Yaozu and Guangyuan Stockade had not committed many evil deeds, which was also why Zhang Yuan had spared him.

Young Master Tao had originally arranged for the Black Ice Platform to shift Black Tiger's identity onto Zhao Changchun.

Now, with Yang Yaozu added to the mix, speculation throughout the martial world about Black Tiger's identity would tilt even further toward Zhao Changchun.

"I'll have the Black Ice Platform investigate the relic further." Young Master Tao's smile faded as he spoke in a deep voice. "Whether its origin or its destination, such a treasure must be thoroughly investigated."

How the relic had come to Great Qin, and who had intended to take it away—both had to be uncovered.

For all these years, Liangyuan Region had never relaxed its covert infiltration of Great Qin.

Those Buddhist Cultivation practitioners possessed an unimaginable fanaticism for spreading Buddhist teachings and gathering believers.

"This Martial Guard Bureau mission came about strangely. Someone was probably pushing things from behind the scenes."

"Either someone lacked achievements, or someone wanted to test the Martial Guard Bureau's strength."

Qian Mu's transfer was likely intended to make way for certain people in the commandery government.

"Wang Qinian should be able to find some news. I'll treat him to tea tonight." Young Master Tao, who had stood up, saw Zhang Yuan staring at him and gave a light cough. "Actual tea."

The next day, when Zhang Yuan arrived at the academy again, Young Master Tao took out a roll of papers and handed it to him.

Zhang Yuan opened the paper roll, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

"I never expected it. We truly underestimated Magistrate Sun."