Returning to the Capital

Returning to the Capital

Time seemed to have been put on fast-forward, and before long, a while had passed.

The two young commandants, Wang Yue and Ling Buyi—one the Empress's nephew, the other the Emperor's adopted son—shone like twin stars favored by the Emperor and Empress. In less than a year, they had swept the Imperial Capital Region clean of bandits. Even those beyond the region had suffered, and the nearby trade routes had gradually begun to flourish.

The forces each commanded had grown from just over a thousand men to their full complement of three to five thousand, not counting the auxiliary troops.

At first, Ling Buyi had dutifully kept his force at its previous strength. After killing the most vicious bandits, he let the rest go, only to discover later that they had fled to other strongholds.

During a casual conversation with Wang Yue, Ling Buyi happened to learn that Wang Yue's fighting force had reached three thousand men. Only then did he see the light and join the ranks of those expanding their forces.

A commandant's troop strength depended entirely on the Emperor's wishes. The realm had not yet been unified, and the Emperor certainly wasn't opposed to having more soldiers. By the time the prefectures and counties around the Imperial Capital Region were free of bandits too, Wang Yue had five thousand fighting men, while Ling Buyi had three thousand.

The Emperor was pleased with the two men's performance and promoted them to Flank Generals. The whole court was envious. Among the younger generation, aside from Lou Ben of the Lou Family and Yuan Shen of the Yuan Family, no one could compare to them—and both of those men were civil officials. With the realm still unsettled, they had no chance to shine like generals.

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