Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 4: Others' Fools
When Inspector Deng Gui saw Xu Wujiang and others returning empty-handed, he knew that these cunning guys were unwilling to contribute.
Although he was only a ninth-rank military officer, he was officially selected and appointed by the Privy Council and was a regular official. He was an official, not a clerk, and was usually stationed in the military camp next to the street market in Huaiyuan Town.
The local political system of this dynasty was very different from that of the previous dynasty. Towns would be set up in important streets and markets where there were no counties. Therefore, Deng Gui also served as the supervisor of Huaiyuan Town.
His subordinates included Xu Wujiang. In addition to low-level military generals such as the head of the army and the governor, there were also subordinate officials such as the chief clerk and the tax collector. His power was quite large, and he was in charge of the mountains and villages outside of Biyang County, as well as matters such as preventing theft, catching thieves and suppressing smuggling.
However, the Tongbai Mountains stretch for two or three hundred miles and border three states, namely Sui, Guang and Ying. There are countless bandits roaming there. Deng Gui has only a hundred or so cunning local soldiers under his command, and they may secretly collude with the bandits. How can he care about so many things?
Today, in front of Wang Bing, Deng Gui still asked in a pretentious manner:
"In broad daylight, there are actually bandits who block the road and rob people. They are so bold! Do they think that our Huaiyuan Inspection Office is nothing? Xu Wujiang, have you caught these daring criminals?!"
"The bandits are fast, and they may have heard of Lord Deng's reputation. When we chased them, they ran away. How could we catch up with them?" Xu Wujiang said, "But I didn't expect that a few bandits would alarm Lord Deng and he would come out in person!"
"The horse thieves offended the Chief Censor Wang Bing, so how dare I slack off? But you guys were sneaky and treacherous, and refused to make any effort to catch the thieves. You let them go easily. Do you really think that I dare not punish you?" Deng Gui stared at Xu Wujiang and asked, his voice suddenly becoming stern.
"..."Xu Wujiang stood there in a daze, unable to figure out what Deng Gui meant.
Xu Wujiang had just rushed to rescue Xu Huai from trouble, but he did not ask about the origins of Wang Bing and the others, and thought they were just ordinary travelers.
At this moment, he glanced at Wang Bing, who was wearing a blue shirt with patches on the collar and sleeves, and thought to himself, these two grandfather and grandson were accompanied by only a maid and a gray-haired bodyguard, so could they be Wang Bing, the Chief Censor of the Censorate?
Another thing, when such a figure arrived at Tongbai Mountain, what about the officials in Lu, Si, Zhou and counties who fawned on him?
At this time, Wang Bing excused Xu Wujiang and others, saying, "It's good that we can drive these bandits away and bring them back safely!"
He was lucky to escape safely at this time, so why would he go into trouble and talk about the assassination?
Xu Wujiang was still in the dark, but Deng Gui was an official of high rank after all. He had heard from his colleagues that Wang Bing must have offended someone and was demoted to Tangzhou.
However, he also knew that Wang Bing had a very high reputation and that it was possible for him to make a comeback. He said that just now because he did not want to leave room for criticism.
Seeing Wang Bing trying to excuse Xu Wujiang and the others, Deng Gui stopped and reprimanded Xu Wujiang: "Prime Minister Wang is considerate and will not pursue the crime of dereliction of duty. Why don't you come over and thank Prime Minister Wang."
"Wang Bing is a criminal who has been banished to Tangzhou. I dare not accept the courtesy from you warriors!" When Wang Bing saw Xu Wujiang and others coming over to salute, he hurriedly returned the greeting.
Only then did Xu Wujiang realize that Wang Bing was the Chief Censor who had been banished from the capital and was standing aside with a knife in his hand.
Deng Gui confessed his crime to Wang, saying, "As per the rules, I have to inspect the southern part of the city today. I have military duties to attend to and cannot stay in Huaiyuan Town. Today, Xu Wujiang will take my place to entertain Prime Minister Wang. Tomorrow, Xu Wujiang will select a team of soldiers to escort you, Prime Minister Wang, to Miyang..."
Deng Gui scolded Xu Wujiang, who was trying to find an excuse to shirk his responsibility, with a stern face: "Don't let Prime Minister Wang be harassed by bandits again. If you neglect me, I will come back to deal with you!"
Xu Wujiang had no choice but to accept the assignment.
…
…
Xu Huai watched as Inspector Deng Gui quickly led his team and disappeared into the distant jungle, wondering if he had realized that Wang Bing's encounter with bandits was not a simple matter.
Regardless of Deng Gui, Xu Huai was still thinking more about the assassins' appearance when they left. He thought that they would not let it go, or that the person behind the scenes would not let Wang Bing go easily.
Xu Huai guessed that the three assassins probably didn't see his face clearly, and thought that as long as Wang Bing didn't tell anyone, even if the assassins came back, they would not be likely to find him. But even as he thought this, he felt an inexplicable emotion and felt that he shouldn't just stand by and watch.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly: Who do I think I am?
I got involved before unintentionally, because I was only focused on verifying the memory of the text that flashed in my mind. But if I don’t get myself out of it now, is it because I think I’m tired of living?
Wang Bing was old and his eyesight was not good. He could not see Xu Huai's face clearly when he was standing at the bottom of the cliff. After Deng Gui and a group of soldiers left, he whispered to Lu Xiong: "Was it that young man who stopped the assassin at the top of the cliff just now?"
"Hmm!" Lu Xiong nodded and said in a low voice, "This young man is acquainted with this officer under Deng Gui. They seem to be from the same clan..."
"I just heard from Deng Gui that Xu Wujiang was the military commander recommended from the local Xu clan. The young man might even be the nephew of your old friend Xu Wuxuan. However, you are involved in this matter and it is irreparable, but no more people can be involved," Wang Bing said in a low voice, "After you send Xuan'er and me to Biyang, leave Biyang directly and don't look for Xu Wuxuan..."
"I won't go looking for Xu Wuxuan, but I will stay in Biyang. From now on, my husband will have an old servant with no name who leads the horse and drives the carriage," Lu Xiong said in a hoarse voice, "My husband, please don't chase Lu Xiong away. If all this is just my imagination, after sending my husband to Biyang, I also want to go to the Mobei grassland to see how powerful the Chihu people's cavalry are. But looking at the situation today, Cai Ying will definitely not give up. How can I let go and leave? My husband, just think of me as retiring in Biyang. It is also a great pleasure in life to be able to accompany you every day."
"Brother Lu, I have no way to repay your kindness." Wang Bing saw that Lu Xiong was determined. At this time, when he saw Xu Wujiang walking towards them, he sighed, bowed to Lu Xiong, and stopped trying to persuade him.
"You idiot, come here and thank Lord Wang for bringing you the news!" Xu Wujiang called Xu Huai to go over to Wang Bin to express his gratitude.
"Thank you, Lord Wang, for the news." Xu Huai pretended to be stupid and stepped forward to thank him.
"Okay, okay. Our meeting today is fate. I don't even know this young man's name..." Since Wang Bing decided not to involve irrelevant people, he would not reveal many things.
"Old Master Wang, please don't be polite to this fool - Xu Huai is a little slow in his enlightenment and is clumsy in doing things. His father, Xu Wuxuan, is my cousin and died early. His mother raised him with great difficulty until he was fourteen, but she also died of illness two years ago. He has been hanging around me for the past two years. This idiot, I don't know what has happened these days. Every day when he goes out in the morning and comes back at night, he runs to Yingzizui and squats there, and he won't listen to any scolding. Fortunately, he met Master Wang today, otherwise he would have died at the hands of the horse bandits, and I don't know how I would explain to his dead parents..." Xu Wujiang said.
Wang Bing and Lu Xiong looked at each other and could see shock and confusion in each other's eyes.
Xu Wuxuan had passed away long ago, and the young man in front of him was Xu Wuxuan's son?
Xu Wujiang said that the young man had been guarding the Yingzizui Cliff from morning till night for the past few days. They guessed that the "big brother" behind the young man must have guessed that they would pass by here in the near future.
However, thinking back to how calmly the young man stood on the cliff and faced the assassin, they couldn't understand why, in the eyes of Xu Wujiang and others, this young man was actually a clumsy fool?
Seeing the confusion on Wang Bing and the "coach driver's" faces, Xu Huai smiled very "honestly".
Before he regained his sanity, Xu Huai lived in a daze for more than ten years. In the eyes of others, he was just a clumsy "fool".
There is nothing to deny.
"Are you trying to deceive us?"
The girl Wang Xuan did not have the cunning and scruples of Wang Bin and Lu Xiong. She lifted the car curtain and glanced at Xu Huai. She could not help but argue,
"He fought off those horse bandits all by himself, how could he be stupid?"
"..."Xu Wujiang laughed. It was obviously them who rushed to Yingzizui and scared away the horse thieves, but he would not argue with a little girl.
Xu Xin'an saw that the girl was extremely beautiful, and no one in the 300-mile Tongbai Mountains could match her. He couldn't help but chatter:
"This idiot, can he fight off the bandits? He has been practicing martial arts with us since he was a child. His muscles and bones are strong, and he can easily lift a three or four hundred kilogram stone mill, but he only has a dead strength..."
Except for Xu Wujiang and Xu Xin'an, most of the soldiers in this team were members of the Xu clan or farmhands from Lutai Village. They had watched Xu Huai grow up. The girl Wang Xuan saw that they all had such expressions on their faces and thought it was really a ghost. However, she refused to admit defeat easily and said:
"Xu Zhu, a famous general at the end of the Han Dynasty, was ferocious but also stupid. He was called a tiger idiot. Even if a fierce general like a tiger idiot was a little stupid, how could he not drive away three or five horse thieves?"
Xu Xin'an liked her in his heart, but he didn't know how to please a girl, so he subconsciously argued:
"He is so stupid, and he dares to call himself a tiger maniac? Those blind horse bandits, who don't know where they came from, are just scared by this idiot's bull-like size. But if they really fight, they will know that this idiot is just an embroidered pillow after one try. In the usual clan competitions, those young men who are just learning boxing, kicking, swords and guns, as long as they are smart, can make him run around. Look, he doesn't even have a knife, but he picked up a hatchet to pretend to be a swordsman. Speaking of which, those horse bandits are really stupid. They were scared away by this idiot. It's really funny!"
The girl Wang Xuan didn't like Xu Xin'an always contradicting her, so she turned her face away and didn't even look at him.
