Chapter 180: This is Yong’an County |
Inside a stone house constructed on the spot using a Dao spell, Wei Yuan sat across from Niu Jingbao, frowning as he looked at this man who was determined to die.
Although the magistrate was tight-lipped, Wei Yuan probed him persistently, zeroing on every detail and picking apart every word he spoke. After patiently grilling him for an hour, he managed to extract quite a bit of information.
After the interrogation, it became very clear that the royal court had sent this man over to die. If Wei Yuan couldn’t resist the urge to kill him, Western Jin would have the pretext to launch a military attack on the realm of Qingming.
Aside from Niu Jinbao, Yuan Qingyan, the commandery administrator of Ningxi Commandery, was no pushover either. Formerly an oversight advisor, he had once been a notorious mad dog of the royal court, biting anyone he saw, with not a single friend to his name. The intention behind his appointment was just as clear as Ning Jinbao’s.
There was no doubt that the King of Jin had reestablished the four commanderies to bring the realm of Qingming under his control. There would be no point to the reestablishment otherwise.
At the moment, Wei Yuan found himself in quite a bind. He couldn’t kill Niu Jinbao, but he couldn’t yet let him live either. This man was essentially a gift from the King of Jin, meant for him to kill—and killing him would play right into the king’s hands.
Intentionally or unintentionally, Niu Jinbao had also revealed the royal forces were steadily pouring into Ningxi. In fact, the King of Jin had gone so far as to redeploy the border army at the northern frontier. It was clear that he was determined to succeed.
Western Jin shared the longest border with Northern Liao. Many areas lacked natural defenses and relied entirely on garrisons and mobile defenses to repel the enemy. Consequently,out of all the military units Western Jin possessed, the border army of the northern frontier was the strongest of them all.
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you want to die?”
Wei Yuan ignored him and left through the door. Several people burst in immediately afterward, including the two female cultivators who had been dragged onto the carriage.
First, they blind-folded and gagged Niu Jinbao. Then, they beat the shit out of him. Some of the blows were aimed specifically at his nether regions; if Wei Yuan hadn’t specifically instructed them otherwise, not a single one of the magistrate’s “parts” would have been left intact.
Fortunately, the cultivators were very obedient. Despite the brutal beating, about ten percent of Niu Jinbao’s private parts remained intact. Once done, they stripped the magistrate completely naked.
By now, Niu Jingbao was barely breathing and had no strength left to resist. He clearly did not care about his dignity either; adopting an attitude that seemed to say, “Do whatever you want—I’ll go along with it.”
They carried Niu Jinbao outside, shoved him into a box, and nailed it shut. Thinking he was about to be buried alive, the magistrate steeled himself and began cursing furiously. Alas, he only managed a series of muffled grunts because he was gagged.
The box began to sway, as if it was on a cart. It rocked like that all day long, until it felt as though every bone in his body was about to fall apart. Finally, it came to a stop. Someone opened the lid, hauled him out, and tossed him onto the ground. Then, they cut the ropes binding him and removed the hood covering his head.
Niu Jinbao’s vision blurred for a moment as he slowly adjusted to the light.
It was noon. He was surrounded by rolling hills, with a road winding through the valley. At the mouth of the valley stood several inns and taverns. It looked like a small village with several hundred residents.
Lying on the ground all around him were dozens of men including Commandant Liu. They were all as naked as he was. These men were the soldiers who had escorted Niu Jinbao to his post, and right here and now, they were all as naked as a newborn. Speaking of which, Commandant Liu seemed to be faring much worse than him. His face was covered in blue and black bruises, and one of his eyes was swollen shut to a mere slit.
Niu Jinbao glanced down at his nether regions and saw that ten percent of it was still intact. It brought him some comfort.
A group of masked riders hauled the last few soldiers out of the carriage and tossed them on the ground. One of them then informed Niu Jinbao coldly, “We’ve arrived.”
Niu Jinbao looked around and said, “This place seems barren and inhospitable—it’s just the spot for an old man like me to be laid to rest. But could you tell me where this is? That way, I can appear to my son in a dream and have him light some incense at my grave.”
The masked riders all remained silent, except for one who pointed to the side.
Niu Jinbao gazed at the direction he was pointing and saw a large tree with a section of its bark carved away. Two large words were inscribed on it: Yong’an County.
Niu Jinbao rubbed his eyes, but the words on the tree did not change. He blurted out instinctively, “This is Yong’an County? Did I get the wrong place earlier?”
Commandant Liu said helplessly, “The words were obviously new. The calligraphy is quite good though.”
The lead rider’s demeanor visibly softened as he said, “This is Yong’an County.”
Niu Jinbao snapped out of his daze and yelled, “This isn’t Yong’an County!”
“This is Yong’an County.”
“This isn’t Yong’an County!”
“This is Yong’an County.”
Niu Jinbao was about to yell again when suddenly, realization struck him. He changed his tune and said, “All right, this is Yong’an County.”
The rider said indifferently, “You were supposed to take up your post in Yong’an County, right? Well, you’re here.”
Niu Jinbao scrambled to his feet, completely unconcerned that he was naked, and asked, “And where exactly in Yong’an County, exactly?”
The rider pulled out a map and pointed to a spot on it. “Here.”
Commandant Liu also came over and, upon seeing the spot, gasped audibly. On the map, “Yong’an County” appeared to be located on the western side of the realm of Qingming, a full five hundred li away. Crucially, it was situated between the realm and the Shamans. Should the Shamans invade, this location would serve as the first line of defense.
The rider added, “There are plenty of horse bandits in these parts, so the two of you best not stray more than a hundred li from this tree. If you die at their hands, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Commandant Liu forced a smile. “I wonder which bandit groups are active around here?”
The masked rider pointed at himself and said, “We alone are enough, I believe. How many more do you want?”
The masked riders made no further delay. They mounted their horses and rode off into the distance, stranding Niu Jinbao, Commandant Liu, and dozens other “naked hogs”.
Niu Jinbao took a moment to survey his surroundings. Suddenly, made his way to a nearby spot on higher ground and began clearing away the rocks and bushes. When he noticed Commandant Liu staring at him in confusion, he called out, “What are you standing there for? Come help me already!”
“With what?”
“Setting up a yamen and establishing a county!”
Commandant Liu was completely baffled. Did Niu Jinbao seriously intend to set up his office in such a dangerous location? Besides, this wasn’t even Yong’an!
Glancing at the naked soldiers, Niu Jinbao suddenly remembered something. “We had two hundred men when we arrived. How come so few of them are left?”
He pulled aside a few soldiers and questioned them closely. That was how he discovered that many of them had defected to the rider and become horse bandits. The rest of them were left behind because they apparently lacked the physical prowess and aptitude to become one.
Niu Jinbao was furious, yet there was nothing he could do about it.
Back in the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan spread out a map and said to Cui Yu, who had just returned, “There are still three suitable locations to the west for establishing counties. I want Anbian, Qiaohe, and Weining to be relocated to those locations. It’ll be a hassle, but it needs to be done within two days’ time. No one qualified to be county magistrates are fools; they should all understand what it means to be assigned here. Even if they’re relocated, they should all be smart enough to play dumb.”
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment before adding, “As for their subordinates, we’ll do as we had with Niu Jinbao’s: Take in those we can, and send the resisters to the afterlife. But of course, we should leave some men behind for the county magistrates. Let’s say half. Otherwise, they won’t be able to get their counties up and running.”
Cui Yu asked, “What if these people actually managed to establish their counties? Wouldn’t they become obstacles in our western advance in the future?”
Wei Yuan rolled his eyes at him. “Western advance? We’d be lucky to hold our own territory right now. Besides, the Shamans are still invading, aren’t they?”
This time, Cui Yu understood his meaning. “When the Shamans’ armies show up, these four counties will serve as the first line of defense.”
Wei Yuan nodded. “If the Shamans attack again, their offensive will surely be fierce like nothing we have seen so far. These counties alone won’t be enough to hold them back. However, the King of Jin wants to use my hands to kill these people, so I won’t do it. They will die at the hands of the Shamans instead.”
He recalled something else and added, “When you relocate these three counties, make sure to extract as much intelligence as you can. I need the locations of every administrative center in Western Jin and the strength of their garrisons. If you’re not confident in your interrogation skills, then bring Wan’er with you.”
Cui Yu chuckled. “Sounds like a plan. If the King of Jin continues to act recklessly, then we might just relocate his commandery administrator as well!”
Wei Yuan replied, “Let’s see how Yuan Qingyan reacts after we’ve relocated the three counties.”
“Oh, right. My elders just sent over some information on this Yuan fellow. I’ll have someone bring it over immediately.”