Chapter 318: Eager and Determined to Succeed

After two days of competitions, the number of those selected—after overcoming numerous challenges—far exceeded twenty, which immediately relieved many of the men who had been worried about their fates. However, eight of them were led around in circles by Chief Li to a secluded house. When they heard they wouldn’t be assigned to the Yingtianfu government office but instead sent to another department, the crowd erupted in outrage.
“How can this be fair? What’s wrong with us that they chose just us?”
“That’s right! We’ve fought so hard—there must be a reason for this sudden change!”
“The others were all defeated by us. If not, let’s fight again!”
Faced with this chaos, Chief Li felt both envy and jealousy. Worried that their noise might anger the dignitaries in the next room, he slammed his hand on a nearby table and snapped angrily, “Stop making noise! Do you know which department has called you for duty? It’s the Jinyiwei’s Northern Pacification Bureau!”
Hearing this, the once noisy crowd fell silent as if struck dumb. He then hurried to the door next door and bowed respectfully, “Sir, these people are rude and ignorant of rules. Please forgive them. There are eight of them in total, and their backgrounds will be investigated one by one.”
Who among those working in government offices wouldn’t want to join the Jinyiwei? Even he himself wished to give up his role as a chief constable to join them, yet they insisted on these ignorant men!
It was then that the crowd finally snapped out of their stupor. Overjoyed, they quickly knelt down in disarray, their faces filled with fear—long gone was the arrogance they had shown when arguing with Chief Li. Even those who had been the most ruthless in the competitions now behaved like gentle cats. Only when a cough came from inside did they quiet down, not daring to breathe loudly.
“Chief Li, take them to the intersection on Ningdong Street. Carriages will come to pick them up later.” The deep voice paused briefly before adding a hint of cruelty, “Remember, the Jinyiwei is the most rule-bound organization. If anyone causes such chaos again, they will face severe punishment!”

These words were extremely harsh, yet these usually aggressive characters all meekly agreed and obediently followed Head Constable Li outside. Sure enough, when they reached the street corner, they saw two black, flat-toped carriages parked there, with drivers covered in gray cloaks, their faces completely hidden. Once everyone had boarded, thick cotton curtains were drawn down, and the two drivers whipped their horses to set off. Head Constable Li waited until the two carriages disappeared before rushing back to the original spot, still not daring to enter but standing bowed in front.

“Sir, they’ve all been sent away.”

After a while, the tightly closed doors slowly opened, and a person in a hooded cloak stepped out. He casually tossed a bundle over and ordered in a deep voice, “You did well on this task. Here are a hundred taels of silver as a reward! You should know how to explain the missing eight people. If anything leaks out, I’ll hold you fully accountable!”

Although Head Constable Li could intimidate many people in Ying Tianfu just by stomping his foot, he didn’t even dare to lift his head this time. He caught the heavy bundle of silver with the wind and quickly nodded and bowed, saying, “Sir, rest assured. I won’t reveal a single word. These people rarely come home for a year or so. I’ll just spread the word that they were dismissed and left in anger. No one will know their whereabouts, and it won’t interfere with your secret mission.”

When the officials in Nanjing learned that one of the imperial envoys from Beijing was pressing the accountants to audit the accounts while the other was so ill that even the crown prince sent medicine, there was much speculation among them. Many were eager to see what would happen, though they still kept an eye on the envoys’ residence on Ma Fu Street but no longer monitored it constantly. Thus, aside from a few people, no one knew that all the spies had been closely watched, nor did they know that the two envoys had quietly moved to an empty house on the outskirts of the city, preparing to head to Songjiang.

“You old scoundrel, Huang Yan! If I catch you in a compromising situation, I’ll see how I deal with you!”

Nervous yet excited, Lu Feng paced back and forth in the room, itching to take action. Suddenly, he heard knocking at the door. Instinctively, he called out for Cheng Jiu, only to remember that Cheng Jiu had been sent to the kitchen to fetch tea. Going to open the door himself, he saw Zhang Yue standing outside.

“Eunuch Lu, all the people you wanted are here.”
The phrase “all the people you wanted” instantly made Lu Feng beam with joy. Turning back into the room, he grabbed a brocade robe embroidered with gold and floral patterns and threw it over himself before following Zhang Yue out and down the steps. Entering the other courtyard in a hurry, he immediately spotted eight strong and muscular men standing there, and his steps grew lighter. Upon getting closer, he recognized them as exactly the men he had personally chosen—none more, none less. The shortest one even looked shocked upon seeing him, which filled Lu Feng with great satisfaction.
“Lord Zhang truly is extraordinary—fast and efficient, plus he selects the best people!”
Recalling how he had easily placed three men in position, Zhang Yue smiled and said, “I’m glad Eunuch Lu is satisfied. Now it’s time for you to take care of your own matters; I’d better step back for now.”
“What are you talking about? My people are also your people—why retreat?”
Apart from the three who already knew the situation, the other five had only ever met officials as low as county clerks or magistrates before. Now, they were dazzled by Lu Feng’s brocade robe—both the large floral patterns and the gold-thread embroidery were things they had never seen before. Yet what surprised them the most was Lu Feng’s appearance.
Was this not the same guy they had seen sitting in the teahouse waiting? Could this really be a high-ranking official from the Jinyiwei?
Turning to look at these men whose faces now showed utter reverence, Lu Feng quickly shed the smile he had worn when facing Zhang Yue, replacing it with an air of superiority. “I’m sure you heard when you came that the Jinyiwei has called you here to carry out a task. But let me tell you—this time it’s not the Jinyiwei but the Eastern Depot that has summoned you! It doesn’t matter if you’ve never heard of the Eastern Depot. Just remember: by next year, even the Jinyiwei will have to follow the Eastern Depot’s orders! You are the first batch assigned to the Eastern Depot, and also the first batch under my command. As long as you remain loyal, I will never treat you unfairly!”
Seeing his words spark awe among them, he felt immensely proud. Then he pointed at Zhang Yue and said, “This is Lord Zhang. We’re going on this mission together with him. From now on, whatever he says is as good as my words. You must listen carefully and act accordingly—no mistakes allowed! When the task is completed and the emperor bestows rewards, I will surely ask for credit and rewards on your behalf!”

Those who could stand here were the strongest among those who competed that time, and they already had some reputation in Ying Tianfu. But no matter how great their reputation, how could it compare to the fearsome fame of the Jinyiwei? Hearing that the Jinyiwei would soon be under the control of the Dongchang, and after listening to Lu Feng’s words, the group immediately grew heated. Without a word, they all knelt down and struck their heads hard on the ground.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. After all, Yuan Fang’s roots were in the Jinyiwei, and most of the people he had trained initially already had assigned roles. There were only a limited number like Hu Qi who couldn’t be promoted from candidates, and even fewer with high martial skills like those three. Otherwise, if all eight of them became his own people, wouldn’t every move of the Dongchang be under surveillance from now on? Of course, all of this depended on Lu Feng being able to secure a position in the Dongchang.

After secretly calculating the dates, he became even more confident. This time, he had left Beijing with only Hu Qi and a few agile servants; the other three had already been sent to the south earlier. With these prior plans, he wasn’t afraid that Lu Feng might ruin things by revealing his intentions too soon. In fact, he hoped Lu Feng would make things as chaotic as possible.

“Lord Zhang, I’ve seen his martial skills with my own eyes. After this, one of us will go to Songjiang and the other to Ningbo. You have few people with you, so he can protect you along the way!”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue quickly snapped out of his thoughts and saw Lu Feng smiling as he pointed at a short man speaking to him. He pretended to be casual and glanced at Hu Qi, who gave him a signal. He quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, “I still have a few people assigned by the Crown Prince to help me. But Lu Gonggong’s men are all staying at the imperial envoy’s camp. Of course, these people should accompany you for protection.”

“Good. I won’t be polite with you. Just ask for help whenever you need it!”

Lu Feng waved his hand readily, then suddenly remembered something. He took out a silk pouch from his sleeve and calmly said to the eight people, “This is your first time working for me. The money inside is a reward from me. It’s not worthless paper money—it’s real silver! Also, I’ve already had people go to clothing shops to buy you each a set of clothes. There are also swords in the warehouse for you to use. Fight hard to bring honor to me in the future!”

They had just pledged their loyalty, and now they had received silver, clothes, and weapons. If there had been any hesitation when they first kowtowed, now they were completely devoted, taking the silk bags and dividing them right there in front of them before thanking him together. After they left, satisfied, Lu Feng stepped forward to Zhang Yue.
“Lord Zhang, we should set off tomorrow, as planned—you go to Songjiang Prefecture and I to Ningbo Prefecture. I hope we can succeed quickly so that our journey in this cold weather won’t be in vain. By then, when you return to Beijing, those noisy civil officials will finally shut up.”
“As long as we succeed quickly and Your Excellency returns to Beijing, even the title of Deputy Supervisor of the Imperial Workshop will change!”
The two exchanged smiles, bowed, and went back to their own rooms, their faces showing the same smile yet their thoughts entirely different.