The Ways of the World

When it came to practicing martial arts...

Yang Ge was growing more and more enthusiastic.

Perhaps it was because he really did have a talent for it, even a sense that let him see a Martial Arts Progress Bar.

Perhaps it was because Great Wei had so little entertainment that, apart from practicing martial arts, he could find no other way to pass the time.

Or perhaps his present circumstances truly demanded this skill, both to protect himself and to secure a place in the world.

Or perhaps, as his martial skills deepened day by day, he had begun to appreciate the true allure of martial arts.

In short, practicing martial arts was gradually beating out "courtyard renovation" to become his greatest hobby in Great Wei.

One thing was worth mentioning...

Ever since learning that a Banner Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard earned eight taels of fine silver a month, he had been planning to rent the deserted, dilapidated courtyard behind his house too. He would open a passage between them, make a little vegetable garden, and raise some chickens and ducks. He had even drawn up a sketch of the layout. All he needed now was for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to pay him.

Over the following few days...

Yang Ge stayed shut inside his little courtyard, concentrating wholeheartedly on improving his martial arts.

Strengthening his inner force.

Tempering his muscles and bones.

Refining his kicks.

Correcting how he exerted force.

He devoted a great deal of time to studying and refining every step.

His kicks, which had previously been somewhat haphazard and sloppy, gradually became crisp and clean under his wholehearted refinement, flowing like drifting clouds and running water. Their power grew by the day as well.

Whenever he became too tired or bored with training, he pulled out his vegetable garden sketch and continued revising it.

Where should he build the chicken coop so that it was airy and shaded without disturbing life in the front courtyard?

Which vegetables should he plant to ensure he had fresh produce throughout spring, summer, and autumn?

Where would the water come from, and where would the drainage go...?

His life was dull and monotonous, yet he savored every moment.

During this time, visitors came to the little courtyard every day.

Wang Dali visited once.

He complained that grain prices at the market had risen again, that there were suddenly far fewer boats on the Bian River, that the authorities had started raising taxes again, and so on. His family could barely afford to eat, the inn still had not reopened, and his father found fault with him every single day, no matter what he did...

In the end, he scrounged two cornmeal buns off Yang Ge as usual and left thoroughly satisfied.

Big Yellow was so furious that he planted his legs apart at the courtyard gate and cursed him for a full quarter of an hour... Those two buns had been his rations.

The fellow had been protective of his home since he was little, and petty too.

If anyone brought something into the courtyard, he greeted them with such a welcoming grin on his doggy face that his tail nearly spun like a windmill!

But if anyone took anything out, he lunged to bite them unless Yang Ge stopped him. If Yang Ge did stop him, he stood at the gate and cursed!

And you could be sure that on your next visit, he would still remember you had taken something from the courtyard and curse you roundly before you even stepped inside...

Liu Mang visited once.

The fellow came through the door sporting a black eye that did nothing to support his claims, yet thumped his chest and swore he was about to out-stubborn his old man. If his father came to discuss things at this critical juncture, Yang Ge absolutely had to support his idea of opening a martial arts school. Once they cleared this hurdle, the glorious days of their "Unrivaled Fists and Kicks" duo punching their way through South Mountain Retirement Home and kicking their way through North Sea Kindergarten would be just around the corner!

But as far as Yang Ge could see... unlikely!

The Welcome Inn was the old proprietor's lifeblood. Its renovations had been finished for almost a month, yet he still refused to mention reopening. Clearly, he intended to outlast that wastrel son of his and force Liu Mang to abandon the hopeless venture of opening a martial arts school, settle down, inherit the Liu family business, and become an innkeeper who never had to worry about food or drink.

Fortunately, wastrel though Liu Mang was, he was not terribly disobedient. Otherwise, with a constitution that left him panting after climbing a flight of stairs, the old proprietor could never have given him that black eye.

Fang Ke visited twice.

The first time, he brought Yang Ge a personnel roster.

After carefully reviewing everyone's records, Yang Ge selected four literate soldiers who had served as five-man or ten-man squad leaders in the frontier army and appointed them Probationary Junior Banner Officers. Together with Fang Ke, a full Junior Banner Officer, each led a group of strongmen to haul boats on the Bian River.

On his second visit, Fang Ke delivered the roster of additional personnel supplied by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Yang Ge.

After this second round of reinforcements, Yang Ge finally had a command worthy of his title as Banner Commander. Including himself, he had fifty-one men, every one a hard case who had cut people down and seen blood!

Yang Ge had long since prepared himself for that, so naturally he thought nothing of it.

What he did not know was that his situation was actually unusual within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Under normal circumstances, the four lower and middle ranks under the Embroidered Uniform Guard—Banner Captain, Banner Commander, Probationary Hundred-Household Commander, and Hundred-Household Commander—held military appointments, but most of the time they commanded no troops.

Instead, each took only a few trusted confidants out on inspection and arrest duties. Only when they needed substantial reinforcements did they apply to their superiors for an official seal and temporarily requisition troops for the assignment. Once the mission was completed, they had to return the seal and troops immediately.

It was rather like detectives finishing an investigation, then calling in uniformed officers to arrest the suspects.

But the assignment Shen Fa had given Yang Ge's banner was to establish a covert outpost in Luting County-in other words, a "Luting County intelligence station." They would be stationed there permanently and independently handle the full range of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's local duties, including reconnaissance, support, and arrests.

That was why Yang Ge had been given his full complement of men all at once, rather than being saddled with the title of Banner Commander while doing a constable's work!

This was naturally a good thing!

With men, authority, and territory, there was no need to break laws or accept bribes. All it took was a little flexibility in handling affairs, and earning seven or eight grand residences and seventeen or eighteen pretty young women in a year would be child's play.

As for whether it was a good thing for Yang Ge...

Only Yang Ge himself knew.

Of course, Shen Fa very much wanted to know too!

Three days after delivering the complete roster, Fang Ke brought him more things.

This time, there was quite a lot: loads on his back and in his hands, creaking as he walked.

At the sight of him, Little Yellow's doggy grin nearly went crooked. He flattened his ears like airplane wings and bounded over with a fawning smile.

This time, however, Yang Ge did not even let Fang Ke into the house. Sitting in his rocking chair beneath the grape arbor, he tipped his chin at him. "What have you brought? Open it up."

Fang Ke smiled shamelessly. "Banner Commander, your subordinate has come such a long way. Surely you won't deny me even a bowl of water?"

Yang Ge's face remained expressionless, his voice turning cold. "Open it."

Fang Ke could only dawdle as he set down the heavy cloth bundle in his hands, then took the case off his back, placed it on the ground, and carefully opened it.

A Koi Narrow-Sleeved Uniform, black with bronze-colored embroidery, emerged into the sunlight. The koi leaped from the waves with two wings sprouting from its back, lifelike, resplendent, and imposing!

Beneath the uniform lay a Bronze-Pattern Ox-Tail Saber, its scabbard, guard, and hilt covered with brass fittings. Unlike the standard black-scabbarded Ox-Tail Sabers carried by ordinary officers, this Bronze-Pattern Ox-Tail Saber was a size larger. Together with its abundant brass ornamentation, it exuded an intimidating air of splendor and authority!

With an awkward smile, Fang Ke pointed out the uniform and saber to Yang Ge. "Banner Commander, please look. These are your regulation uniform and saber. Both bear your name and rank. If they are lost, the Guard will investigate..."

"Enough nonsense!"

Yang Ge stared at the heavy bundle beside Fang Ke's feet and tipped his chin again. "Open it."

"Sir..."

Fang Ke glanced around. "Why don't we go inside to talk?"

At last, Yang Ge frowned. "Do I have to do it myself?"

Fang Ke hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed. "I wouldn't dare trouble you to do it, sir."

Unable to stand against Yang Ge, he could only keep glancing at him as he slowly, reluctantly untied the bundle.

In an instant, a snowy gleam dazzled Yang Ge's eyes...

The bundle was full of silver ingots!

Boat-shaped ingots of exceptionally pure, snow-bright silver, each as large as an egg!

Each ingot weighed ten taels. This enormous bundle contained at least forty or fifty!

Silver prices in Great Wei were stable, with one tael worth a little over twelve hundred copper coins.

Going by the monthly wage of one hundred and fifty copper coins Yang Ge had earned as a waiter at the Welcome Inn...

He would have had to work at Welcome Inn for at least three hundred years without spending anything on food or drink to save this much silver!

Yang Ge slowly narrowed his eyes and looked at Fang Ke with a faint, ambiguous smile. "Banner Captain Fang, what is the meaning of this?"

Fang Ke forced himself to remain calm and plastered his face with smiles. "Well, this is the first time the Guard Office has paid our monthly wages. The men are grateful to you for saving their lives and giving them a new beginning, and they insisted on expressing their appreciation, so they pooled a little money... It isn't much. They even thought it was embarrassingly little. It only stopped at this amount because I held them back. From now on, behind closed doors, we're all one family. Please don't treat us like strangers, sir!"

In terms of seniority, he was not actually afraid of Yang Ge, his immediate superior.

But Yang Ge was the Thousand-Household Commander's current favorite. How could he dare not curry favor?

Never mind anything else-could an ordinary person get their hands on case files from the Northern Pacification Office's Archives Repository outside the capital?

"Really?"

Yang Ge was still smiling. "The men really volunteered the money? You Junior Banner Officers didn't take it from them by force?"

He had examined the Embroidered Uniform Guard's pay scale for his subordinates. An Embroidered Cavalry trooper earned three taels a month, a Junior Banner Officer six, and a Banner Commander eight.

Compared with the wages at the Welcome Inn, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's pay was naturally three or four stories higher.

But considering the Embroidered Uniform Guard's status and the work it did, that level of pay was understandable!

After all, it was a profession where you might lose your head whether you did well or badly...

At this, Fang Ke immediately swore an oath. "Please judge fairly, sir. If any of us forcibly took even a single copper coin from the men, you may cut my head off!"

Only then did the smile finally vanish from Yang Ge's lips. He nodded and said quietly, "I'll believe you this once. But take this as a warning, and never do it again. From now on, we're brothers wielding our ladles over the same pot. If I take even this money earned with their blood and sweat, this money they risk their lives for, won't the men shoot arrows into my back?"

Fang Ke smiled awkwardly and waved his hands repeatedly, saying Yang Ge worried too much...

Yang Ge could not be bothered with him and waved a hand. "I appreciate the men's kindness. Take their silver back and return it to them. Thank them for me too!"

"From now on, I won't allow anything like this under my command. If anyone thinks I'm blocking his path to riches, he is welcome to seek a better position elsewhere. If he's unhappy, he can kick me out instead. I'll thank him sincerely!"

"But if anyone refuses to leave and still secretly sucks the soldiers' blood... don't blame me for turning on him without mercy!"

Fang Ke's expression shifted slightly, but he still hesitated. After pondering uncertainly for a good while, he stepped forward and said softly, "Sir, the other officers in the Guard Office actually all do this..."

Yang Ge cut him off. "Does Lord Shen do it too?"

Fang Ke hurriedly shook his head. "The Thousand-Household Commander naturally disdains taking this kind of hard-earned money!"

Yang Ge pointed upward. "Then that settles it, doesn't it? Lord Shen will shoulder any trouble!"

Convinced at last, Fang Ke turned and picked up the great bundle of silver. He lifted the hem of his robe and counted twenty ingots into it, then offered the remaining, larger portion to Yang Ge with both hands.

Looking at the silver, Yang Ge frowned again. "That amount isn't right, is it?"

Fang Ke hurriedly said, "Sir, this is all yours. If you don't believe me, you can check with the Guard Office later..."

Yang Ge laughed in exasperation. "Is it you who can't count, or me?"

At that, Fang Ke's expression turned bitter. Faced with a rash young superior who understood none of the unwritten rules, he felt both helpless and worried.

He hemmed and hawed for a long while before finally saying quietly, "Sir, all of this is ill-gotten wealth our men gathered while handling cases. We don't know where the lion's share went. Our men only get the scraps nobody else cares for. Otherwise, that little salary allocated by the Ministry of Revenue really wouldn't cover repairing our armor and feeding our horses!"

"You aren't the only one getting this money. Every man involved gets a share. It's only a question of how much."

"If you don't take it, which of the men below you will dare take theirs? And even if the officers above do take theirs, how can any of them feel at ease?"

After hearing this explanation, Yang Ge instinctively wanted to ask where these cases had come from, since their banner had not even begun operating yet.

But just as the words reached his lips, realization struck him. "The Xie Family case?"

Fang Ke nodded slightly. "Although the case is still being held at the Three Judicial Offices and hasn't been formally brought forward, it's already nailed to the board. Not one member of the Xie Family will escape. You can take this money with complete peace of mind, sir. There will be no repercussions!"

Yang Ge also wanted to ask, Does Lord Shen know about this? But before the words left his mouth, he swallowed them again.

With this rotten business, where everyone involved tacitly skimmed off a layer of grease and even knew to spread the rain and dew evenly, what could Shen Fa do even if he knew? What difference would it make if he did not? Could he block every member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard from making money?

After a long silence, he finally asked in a low voice, "How much?"

Hearing that, Fang Ke felt an enormous weight lift from his heart. He hurriedly replied, "Just enough to round out your monthly pay to three hundred taels!"

Some rounding...

Speechless, Yang Ge accepted the bundle, counted out fifteen ingots, and pushed them into Fang Ke's arms.

Fang Ke paled in alarm and was about to persuade him again when Yang Ge said, "This money will cover our banner's meals. Take it back and buy meat. From now on, our men will have meat with every meal!"

Fang Ke started to speak, stopped, then started again. After wrestling with himself for quite a while, he finally clasped his hands and bowed in admiration. "On behalf of the men, I thank you for your generosity and noble spirit, sir!"

Yang Ge waved a hand. "No need for ceremony. If there's nothing else, head back."

Fang Ke clasped his hands to take his leave, but just as he was going, he suddenly remembered something else. "Sir, the inspection and arrest files from previous years that you requested from the Thousand-Household Commander have arrived. I have sealed them away at the house and assigned a man specifically to guard them, so you may return home and read them whenever convenient."

Yang Ge stood and patted his shoulder. "You really have thought of everything. I'll come home tomorrow!"

Those files came from the Archives Repository. Would I dare not think of everything? Fang Ke muttered inwardly, then clasped his hands and took his leave.