TGPSAC – Chapter 60

Seeing Chen Yuan hesitate, Chi Wan picked up the imperial edict and placed it before the chiliarch, gesturing for him to take it.

The chiliarch was completely stunned. He couldn’t believe he was getting his hands on the edict so easily.

But the moment he reached out, he collapsed to the ground. Everyone saw it; he fell before he even touched the edict.

“Chiliarch!”

Soldiers immediately rushed forward to protect the fallen, burly man.

Chi Wan took the edict back and handed it to Chen Yuan beside her.

Chen Yuan, startled, quickly clutched the edict. It was still in its brocade box, not yet opened. Chen Yuan was clear-headed enough to be relieved that it hadn’t been opened.

Otherwise, it would have been contempt for imperial authority, and everyone from the Imperial City Division and the Jinwu Guard would have had to die.

No one had expected the chiliarch to collapse at that moment. But why had he fallen on his own? No one had touched him.

Chi Wan, sitting atop her horse, glanced at Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan immediately stepped forward. “Quickly, call your Grand General out.”

The men guarding the gate hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Chi Wan had no time to waste with them. “Men, take this down. Today, we delivered pay to the Central Camp. The Central Camp refused to accept the imperial edict. Report this to His Majesty by swift horse.”

Pay? No one had said the Fuma was here to deliver their pay.

These men hadn’t received their military pay for ten months. Their families were on the verge of starvation. If the Fuma really left, who would give them their money?

There was also a vice-chiliarch on duty. He quickly trotted over. “Fuma, please calm your anger. Your subordinate has already sent someone to inform the Grand General. Please wait a moment.”

At least there was one person with some sense. But Chi Wan hadn’t come here to be slighted.

A mere chiliarch dared to swagger before her and disregard an imperial edict. She didn’t believe a chiliarch could have such audacity on his own.

The crowd had already discovered that the chiliarch who had been carried away had only fainted. They breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t dead.

But no one believed he had fainted on his own. It couldn’t have been such a coincidence.

Chi Wan ignored the vice-chiliarch’s words, nor did she need to. She, a Fuma, had received such a cold reception. Was she not allowed to leave? Why should she stay here and suffer this indignity? The Grand Princess herself had rarely subjected her to such treatment.

Normally, enduring a bit of disrespect might lead to promotion and wealth, but that was from the Grand Princess. What did this chiliarch from the Central Camp amount to?

Besides, she was here to deliver money, not to borrow it. Had these people failed to grasp the situation?

“Let’s go.”

At Chi Wan’s command, the convoy prepared to depart. There was no reason they had to deliver the silver to the Central Camp of the Five Army Camps first.

The vice-chiliarch hurriedly blocked Chi Wan’s horse, preventing her from leaving.

“Fuma, the Grand General will be here shortly. Please, wait just a moment.”

“A moment?” Chi Wan sneered. “How long have I been here? Has your Grand General come out?”

Chen Yuan immediately added, “Insolence! The Fuma has come on imperial orders, yet the Central Camp treats her thus, making excuses and delaying fetching Grand General Liu. What is your intention in blocking our path now?”

Chen Yuan drew the sword from her waist. “Move aside, or don’t blame us for being impolite.”

The vice-chiliarch looked behind him in distress. No one dared to step forward to help him. What had the chiliarch been saying just now? Taking the imperial edict to the Grand General for inspection?

Did the Grand General even know about this? Once the Emperor found out, the Central Camp would likely see a river of blood.

That was an imperial edict, yet it was treated with such negligence. Since when did the proclamation of an edict depend on time, place, and prior approval?

Such a thing had never happened, not just in the Great Zhou, but even in the previous dynasty.

If Chi Wan had simply proclaimed the edict and left it at that, both sides could have covered it up and let the matter pass. But if it wasn’t proclaimed, the forty thousand men of the Central Camp would become a thorn in the Emperor’s side.

In a more severe scenario, the Emperor could directly execute the camp’s Grand General, the generals, the eight guard commanders, and the five chiliarchs under each guard—a total of forty chiliarchs.

Including other positions, nearly a hundred officers at or above the rank of chiliarch would all have their nine relations exterminated. If the Emperor were merciful, at most only the chief culprits would be executed, without implicating their families.

The moment the chiliarch had spoken, many had sensed trouble. But he was the highest-ranking officer at the gate today, so they could not speak out.

The vice-chiliarch, worried that Chen Yuan would really strike her down, quickly stepped aside.

Just then, a voice came from within. “This subject pays his respects to Lord Fuma Commandant. May your honored self be well.”

Lord Fuma Commandant was a term of respect, as was “honored self,” similar to how a prince could be addressed as “your princely self.”

Chi Wan looked over and saw a man as round as a small mountain nimbly “rolling” out. He immediately knelt before her horse, his attitude surprisingly good.

The chiliarch from before hadn’t even knelt. This man called himself a subject and wore a gold fish pouch at his waist, indicating he was an official at or above the rank of Guard Commander.

“Who are you?” Chi Wan asked in a deep voice, seeing the man blocking her horse.

“Reporting to the Fuma, this subject is Liu Chuanjia.”

Oh, the Grand General of the Central Camp, Liu Chuanjia. According to the Great Zhou’s military system, the highest officer of a camp was a Grand General of the Vice Second Rank, with two generals of the Principal Third Rank under him.

Chi Wan was a Commandery Governor, which should have been a Vice Second Rank position, slightly higher than a Guard Commander. However, because the Imperial City Division had long been underutilized, it had become a Principal Third Rank position.

The Guard Commanders in the army were all Principal Third Rank, and she commanded over ten thousand people, while a Guard Commander only had about five thousand under them.

She would have to ask the Emperor to restore her Imperial City Division Commandery Governor position to its proper rank someday. A Vice Second Rank office was nothing to scoff at.

There were quite a few military officials of the Principal Third Rank and above. Guard Commanders had superiors, but a Commandery Governor was their own boss. The difference was not small.

Chi Wan looked down at Liu Chuanjia with a cold expression. “Grand General Liu, what great prestige you have, to dare have your subordinate demand to see the imperial edict before deciding whether to accept it.”

“What, has Grand General Liu become so disloyal as to be without ruler or father?”

Judging by Liu Chuanjia’s attitude, he wasn’t ready for a confrontation, at least not before the silver was handed over.

Liu Chuanjia quickly knelt again. “What is the Fuma saying? This subject only just heard of this matter and rushed over immediately. I truly knew nothing of what happened at the camp gate. I implore Lord Fuma Commandant to investigate clearly.”

“I do not know whose orders this chiliarch was following to dare commit such a treasonous act, to even profane an imperial edict. This subject would rather die ten thousand times than disrespect His Majesty or the imperial edict.”

“This subject has guarded the capital camps for years with utmost loyalty. I cannot allow a loyal subject to be wronged because of a villain’s instigation. The Fuma must not listen to such provocations.”

This brute of a military man was quite eloquent.

Chi Wan waved her hand. “Leave the silver. Let’s go.”

She had no intention of entering the Central Camp. She would just leave the silver and depart.

“Will the Fuma not enter the camp?” Liu Chuanjia was delighted, though his face wore a look of regret.

Chi Wan could sense it and figured it out. What happened at the gate was likely arranged by this very Grand General Liu. There must be some scheme within the Central Camp that couldn’t be seen by outsiders, which was why he was afraid of her entering.

For this, he was willing to sacrifice a chiliarch. It seemed the chiliarch she had knocked unconscious with her internal energy was not going to live.

Chi Wan was not one to misjudge a situation. They had only a thousand people, while the camp had forty thousand. No matter how skilled she was, she couldn’t fight that many. It was best to leave first.

She still had two secret guards with her. She could have them sneak in at night; they were bound to discover something.

“Do you truly wish for me to stay?”

Liu Chuanjia quickly waved his hands. “This subject would never dare.”

After the six hundred thousand taels of silver were unloaded, Chi Wan suddenly smiled. Cupping her hands around her mouth and infusing her voice with internal energy, she shouted to the Central Camp, “By imperial command, I, the Fuma, have come to deliver ten months’ worth of pay to the sisters and brothers of the Central Camp! The silver has been handed over to Grand General Liu. You may all go to Grand General Liu to collect it.”

Then she turned to the grim-faced Liu Chuanjia. “Have Grand General Liu sign for it. Oh, and provide a thumbprint.”

How could she just hand over six hundred thousand taels like that? They wouldn’t even let her into the camp. They probably wanted to embezzle the money quietly, incite the soldiers by claiming the Emperor wasn’t providing pay, and then, when the time was right, produce the silver and say, “The old Emperor won’t give it to you, but I will,” and then start a rebellion.

It wasn’t that Chi Wan was overthinking it; this was a classic scheme. It was just that Liu Chuanjia’s acting was poor, far worse than her own Grand Princess.

Her sensitivity to auras was growing sharper. No matter how well Liu Chuanjia hid his emotions, she could sense them.

Thus, she could sense that Liu Chuanjia wanted to kill her.

The fact that Chi Wan knew martial arts was no longer a secret after the last assassination attempt, and she had no intention of hiding it. With her voice amplified by internal energy, everyone in the Central Camp now knew that Liu Chuanjia had received six hundred thousand taels of silver—the soldiers’ hard-earned money.

His Majesty had sent the pay. If Liu Chuanjia obediently distributed it to his soldiers, they would be grateful for His Majesty’s benevolence. When it came time to rebel, with the silver already in their hands, how many would still follow him in such a life-threatening venture?

If Liu Chuanjia didn’t distribute it, they would wonder, “His Majesty sent the silver, so why aren’t we getting it? Was it embezzled?”

Chi Wan watched Liu Chuanjia’s face darken. He could no longer maintain his cool composure. Because of her shout, many people had gathered to watch.

This time without using internal energy, her words would still spread throughout the camp. “I have also brought the stipends for all the generals of the Five Army Camps. Unfortunately, I am unable to enter the camp today.”

“Men, bring out the portions for the generals.”

Chen Yuan quickly had her men bring out the prepared items. Inside were gold, silver, treasures, and medicinal pills, enough to serve as the stipends for the generals of the Five Army Camps.

Hearing this, the people inside erupted. Not all officials could get rich from corruption; many held positions with little opportunity for graft, and many still possessed a sense of justice. The Fuma had brought their silver, yet she couldn’t enter the camp. What were they, who relied on their stipends to live, supposed to do?

Chi Wan pointed to the silver laid out on the ground. “I had intended to leave the silver and go, but on second thought, the imperial edict has not yet been proclaimed. If I leave just like that, none of you will know of His Majesty’s goodwill. The edict is for the Central Camp. If I fail to proclaim it because of a villain’s obstruction, when His Majesty asks, can any of you bear the responsibility?”

“It’s just that Grand General Liu has so cordially insisted I stay, it would be impolite for me to refuse. However, I will certainly not be entering this Central Camp, but the imperial edict must be proclaimed.”

Liu Chuanjia: “?” Did I insist?

Before her words had even faded, she immediately shouted, “The Central Camp Army, receive the edict!”

She used her internal energy for this sentence. Many people found themselves kneeling before they even realized what they were doing.

Liu Chuanjia was furious, even wanting to kill Chi Wan. But with the scene she had created, he was powerless to touch her now.

She had come to deliver silver. If he tried to kill her, his own men wouldn’t agree.

He would have to use his own confidants, but that would expose his plans prematurely. He had intended to provoke Chi Wan’s group into leaving, ensuring his men never knew they had come to deliver silver.

Many were willing to follow his plot for the sake of a better life for their families. Now that the silver had arrived, how many would still conspire with him?

What’s more, she had brought the stipends for so many officers. Would those officers still follow him after taking the money?

This was the difference legitimacy made. The Fuma, sent by His Majesty, was bestowing a reward. The silver they gave was a bribe. They were completely different.

When Chi Wan had been about to leave, he had feigned trying to stop her to show his stance—he had tried to stop her, but the Fuma had insisted on leaving.

Who knew Chi Wan would pull a stunt like this? Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he had no choice but to receive the edict.

“This subject, Liu Chuanjia, receives the edict. I respectfully inquire after His Majesty’s health.”

“We are well.”

Seeing that everyone had knelt, Chi Wan dismounted her horse and opened the edict. “An edict from the Emperor: We, having received the Mandate of Heaven to rule all under the sky, are deeply aware of military affairs…”

Chi Wan read slowly for three minutes. Just as Liu Chuanjia was about to rise and accept the edict, her tone shifted. “Should there be any withholding, misappropriation, or delay in the distribution of military pay, all soldiers of the armies may report it to the Fuma. Once verified, the perpetrators will be severely punished to uphold the laws of the state and comfort the hearts of the army.”

After she finished reading, the crowd remained kneeling, afraid she wasn’t done and that rising would be disrespectful.

Chi Wan rolled up the edict. “You may all rise.”

“We subjects obey the sacred command.”

Liu Chuanjia reached out to take the edict, but Chi Wan placed it back in the brocade box. “I still have to visit the other camps, so I won’t give the edict to you, General.”

“Yes, yes, the Fuma is right.”

Liu Chuanjia smiled cheerfully, thinking to himself: She should be leaving now, right?

The six hundred thousand taels of silver would definitely have to be distributed now. Fortunately, the amounts for the officers were still unknown. As long as the officers remained on his side, there was still a chance to turn things around.

Since Chi Wan had already guessed Liu Chuanjia’s intentions, she naturally had a plan. “Men, set up a tent. We will distribute the silver right here, outside the Central Camp.”

“Officers of centurion rank and above will collect their silver from me. Line up according to rank. For the common soldiers’ pay, form groups by squad. Each squad will select five people to collect the money. These five cannot all be officers; there must be both men and women.”

This was to prevent the military pay from being embezzled to a certain extent. The silver had to reach the hands of the common soldiers.

No one dislikes the person who gives them money.

Chi Wan’s arrangement sent a wave of excitement through the army. They were overjoyed. Only in this way could the silver truly reach their hands.

Liu Chuanjia hurried over. “Fuma, isn’t this against the rules?”

“Rules?” Chi Wan laughed. “I am the Imperial Commissioner. My rank may not be high, but I represent His Majesty. General Liu, surely you don’t need me to explain the duties of a Imperial Commissioner to you.”

A Imperial Commissioner represented the emperor, an imperial envoy wherever they went. Whether their rank was higher or lower than hers, everyone had to listen to her. To put it arrogantly, her rules were the rules.

Her status as Fuma could intimidate people, the title of Imperial Commissioner could change the rules, and she was also the Commander of the Imperial City Division. With her status, power, and military authority, there were few like her in the entire Great Zhou.

If Chi Wan hadn’t yet learned how to use her power to pressure people, she wouldn’t be speaking so pleasantly.

Liu Chuanjia was extremely frustrated. Then he heard Chi Wan say, “Grand General, you first. Come get your stipend.”

Liu Chuanjia: “…” When had he, a dignified Grand General, ever needed to personally collect his stipend, let alone be ordered around like this?

He was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only follow Chi Wan into the tent.

Chi Wan smiled and opened the most exquisite box. Inside were gold, silver, and jewels, as well as a small bottle of pills. She patted Liu Chuanjia’s shoulder. “You know that His Majesty doesn’t have much money on hand, so Her Highness had to find a way to cover the officers’ stipends. But as a daughter, it’s only normal for her to help share his burdens. It’s just that Her Highness the Grand Princess doesn’t have much money either, so she could only supplement it with these pills.”

She took out the pills and handed them to Liu Chuanjia. “Don’t underestimate these pills. If a Qian Yuan uses this during their susceptible period, they won’t be affected. One pill is worth a hundred taels. There are three in here. Along with these gold, silver, and jewels, it’s enough for your yearly stipend, General Liu.”

Liu Chuanjia was speechless. It was a tradition in their old Yu family—if they couldn’t provide enough silver, they’d use goods to make up the difference. Things like pepper and other random items that were impossible to sell, yet they’d claim the stipend had been paid in full.

Now they were even more shameless. Three little pills were supposed to be worth three hundred taels of silver. They truly had no shame at all.

Seeing Liu Chuanjia’s silence, Chi Wan asked again, “What, does General Liu not like them? It’s fine, I have other pills. Whitening ones, strengthening ones… if General Liu is… incapable, I have pills for that too.”

“I am capable!!!” Liu Chuanjia retorted instinctively.

Chi Wan gave him a perfunctory, disbelieving look. “Alright, alright, I know.”

Liu Chuanjia was speechless. These words must never be heard by outsiders.

Then he heard Chi Wan say, “Alright, you can go out now.”

“Huh?”

“I said you can go out. You’ve collected your money, what are you still doing here?”

Ugh… Liu Chuanjia, fuming internally, still took the items and left. Pills were pills; it was better than nothing.

Once his plot succeeded, he would definitely loot the Grand Princess’s Residence.

Next were the Central Camp’s generals, guard commanders, and chiliarchs. Each one heard the same speech from Chi Wan, almost word for word, with hardly any changes.

The key point was that, while the silver was nominally from His Majesty, it was actually from Her Highness the Grand Princess. Although Chi Wan didn’t say it outright, all the generals understood who had provided the money, even though her words were meant to speak for His Majesty.

After distributing the money, Chi Wan stretched her stiff body and walked out of the tent. “Pack up. On to the next stop.”

“Fuma, it is already late. Why not rest in the tent for the night and set out tomorrow morning?”

“No, I’ve decided to go to the post station. I can’t afford to stay in the Central Camp’s tents.”

Chi Wan mounted her horse and left first, leaving Liu Chuanjia standing there, watching her departing back with a cold, sinister gaze.

Immediately, Liu Chuanjia said to the person beside him, “Send word. Chi Wan is heading to the post station.”

“Yes, Grand General.”

Liu Chuanjia looked at the soldiers in the camp who had received their pay, their joy evident on their faces. A plot that had been in the works for so long had been more than half-ruined by an upstart who didn’t know her place. How could he not be angry?

Continuing with the plot would likely be even more difficult now.

At the same time, An Shi had blended into the military camp and was with one of the Central Camp’s generals. “You say Liu Chuanjia wants to rebel? Do you have proof? How many men does he have?”

“Lord An Shi, originally he could mobilize at least thirty thousand men in the Central Camp. When the rebellion started, he would have killed the remaining ten thousand. But after the Fuma’s disruption, I fear less than half will follow him.”

An Shi nodded. “It seems Prince Zhongshan truly intends to rebel. I just don’t know how many men he controls in the other camps.”

The general shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s a lot. Not just Prince Zhongshan’s men, but Prince Ying’s as well.”

An Shi acknowledged this. Her Highness the Grand Princess already knew. Prince Ying wanted to use the case of annexing civilian land to force Prince Zhongshan to rebel. If he succeeded, Prince Ying would reap the rewards. If he failed, the blame wouldn’t fall on him.

His men in the army, fishing in troubled waters, would have an easier time succeeding.

The Fuma’s actions were unpredictable. No one had expected her to disregard all rules and set up a tent at the camp gate to distribute silver.

If the Fuma had entered the camp, it would have been Liu Chuanjia’s territory. He could have directly seized the three million taels of silver and detained the Fuma. It would have been very difficult for them to protect her.

The Fuma’s unconventional approach had, instead, caused half of Liu Chuanjia’s scheme to fail.

Losing half the battle before it even began was not a good thing for Prince Zhongshan.

Suddenly, the camp erupted in commotion. “Grand General? What’s wrong with the Grand General?”

“Roar!!!”

An Shi looked over and saw Liu Chuanjia roaring and pouncing on people everywhere. He grabbed a sturdy man and kissed him.

No, even if that sturdy man was a He Yuan, there was no need to be so hasty, was there? In public, no less. He hadn’t expected Liu Chuanjia to have such tastes.

The accompanying general asked doubtfully, “Did you do this?”

An Shi: “? No.”

An Shi suddenly thought of something. “The pills. Did the Fuma give you pills?”

The general nodded. “She did.”

“Use them on Liu Chuanjia.”

The general’s eyes lit up. He immediately ran over, shouting, “The General must be in his susceptible period! Quick, call the military physician!”

“Physician? No need for a physician. The pills the Fuma gave should work.”

“Right, the Fuma gave us pills.”

“But the pills the Fuma gave me are for beauty.”

“Mine are for strengthening.”

“Me, me, I have the suppressant pills!”

Then, a dozen burly men pinned Liu Chuanjia down and stuffed the suppressant pills into his mouth. In a short while, Liu Chuanjia regained his senses.

“It worked! The Fuma’s pills are miraculous.”

“No wonder the Fuma said these pills are worth a hundred taels. This effect is definitely worth a hundred taels of silver.”

“Yes, with these pills, Grand General Liu’s male concubine wouldn’t have been schemed against that year.”

“Yes, yes.”

Liu Chuanjia knew what had happened. His body had been out of control, but he hadn’t been completely unaware. Especially after hearing the discussions around him, he rolled his eyes and fainted.

An Shi returned and reported everything that had happened in the Central Camp to Chi Wan. Chi Wan just smiled, showing no surprise.

An Shi’s eyes widened. “Could it be that you really did this, Fuma?”

“Yes. They all thought the pills were worthless, just the old Yu family’s way of fobbing them off. Now that they’ve seen the pills’ value, when we send people to inquire about the price of our pills later, won’t they find out?”

Right now, their pills were priceless and had no market. They were limited daily, with only the first hundred customers eligible to buy, or those who became members of the shop—VIP users. At first, the quota wasn’t filled, but after the pills’ uses were discovered, a hundred slots were far from enough. If they sold their pills, the price would be inflated.

The first step was to let them see the value of the pills. Liu Chuanjia had even had someone scatter nails on their path, trying to lame their horses and stop them, undoubtedly for an assassination attempt or something similar.

And in the tent, there had been a sleeping draught in her tea. As if she couldn’t smell it.

So many things had happened at the very first stop, and there were still four more to go. Chi Wan had to awe the remaining four camps first, otherwise the mission would be difficult.

Sigh, business trips are so tiring. It’s not as good as serving Yu Jiuzhou at home.

Her Highness the Grand Princess was fair-skinned and beautiful, a joy to look at. How could it compare to a business trip where the bumpy ride made her butt hurt?

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