wavenovel Chapter 83 Where to Go From Here
Chapter 83 Where to Go From Here
"Lord Lin, please inform Lord Rong that I have news to present."
This matter concerns the talent selection ceremony and involves cheating in the military examination; it is of great importance.
Zhang Mingyuan quietly slipped a silver note from his sleeve and handed it over, his face beaming with smiles as he spoke.
Fifty taels.
Lin, the head of the Ministry of War, lowered his gaze slightly, glanced at the document, twitched the corner of his mouth, and naturally slipped the silver note into his sleeve.
"Lord Zhang..."
"I dare not address you as an elder; I am already of age and have no official duties."
"Old Zhang, you're making things difficult for us."
Lord Rong is currently busy with the reform movement and has little free time.
The adults were determined to eliminate the corrupt practices in the military, but there were so many things to sort out that they couldn't sleep all night.
How could we bother him with such unsubstantiated rumors?
Also, Lord Xie instructed that any important information should be recorded beforehand.
After we have investigated, we will report back... Don't worry, if it's true, you will definitely get credit for it.
Zhang Mingyuan gritted his teeth, his anger surging, and his face darkened.
The official in front of me, a junior official of the Ministry of War, was only a sixth-rank official.
Before he took office, he was a fifth-rank garrison commander, but now he was being looked down upon like this.
As for the Master Xie mentioned by the other party, he naturally knew him as well.
He was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War.
They were from the same year of the martial arts examination and had once shared drinks and laughter.
Unexpectedly, now even seeing the other person is impossible.
As for Lord Rong, a second-rank official, why would he care about a retired old man like himself?
He was furious inside, but remained outwardly calm, revealing no trace of his inner emotions.
He just smiled and recounted his personal experiences one by one.
Furthermore, he also revealed the whole story of how Yagyu Hakuro had exposed that his name had been stolen from him when he was taking the martial arts exam.
I thought that Director Lin would be greatly alarmed.
Unexpectedly, the other party remained calm and continued drinking his tea.
He flipped through the scrolls from time to time, seemingly not paying any attention to them.
"Old Zhang, I already know about this. You should go back and wait for news."
For the sake of the fifty taels of silver.
Finally, Steward Lin couldn't resist adding, "The matter of the military examination is, as it stands, outdated. The officials have also offered suggestions to the current emperor. After this year's examination, I fear there will be no further successors..."
"How could this be?"
Zhang Mingyuan's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with disbelief.
At that moment, he thought of many things.
If the martial arts examination is no longer valued, then is practicing martial arts still important?
How will we select talent and improve the combat effectiveness of soldiers in the future?
How to deal with attacks from foreigners?
Lin, the steward, smiled faintly and said, "You all know what you're thinking... The imperial court allocates so much silver every year to train the troops and hone their skills."
As a result, they were utterly helpless against modern guns and cannons.
How can a nation become strong if it trains its troops in this way?
And where did they get the ability to compete with foreigners?
Even a traditional martial artist like Zhang Mingyuan had to admit this.
Faced with modern guns and cannons, bows, swords, and the like were indeed completely useless.
He had previously refused to face reality, but now, upon closer reflection, reform might indeed be inevitable.
To remain unchanged is to perish.
But if that's the case, what will become of us?
Are they all being laid off and a new army being trained?
But regardless of whether things change or not, it is wrong for those people to treat national affairs as a game and to buy and sell official titles at will.
Zhang Mingyuan was immediately in a bad mood.
Still not reassured, he added, "Please, Lord Lin, do not underestimate such cheating; these scoundrels are parasites on the nation."
If left unattended, it will surely cause endless trouble...
After saying this, he took his leave and left the Ministry of War.
……
Zhang Mingyuan's figure disappeared.
The sneer on Steward Lin's face gradually turned into a hint of pity. He sighed and murmured, "Zhang Mingyuan, Zhang Mingyuan, I took the money and sent you a message. It's a pity you couldn't understand it."
Turning his head, he squinted and looked towards the distance near the side door...
A servant in gray had already boarded the carriage and sped away.
He knew what they were going to do.
The officials in charge of the yamen all knew about it.
In fact, before Zhang Mingyuan arrived, the Sakura Embassy had already informed the Ministry of War.
Furthermore, they also took away the lists of all previous martial arts examination candidates...
Those foreigners came in a menacing manner.
Their demands were not something even Lord Rong dared to ignore.
……
Courtyard No. 18, Embassy District.
The flower pavilions and terraces were now in a state of chaos, and amidst the bloodstains, five more corpses had been added.
"waste!"
With a loud shout.
A tall, slender young man with thick, sharp eyebrows, dressed in a white robe, drew a shimmering arc of light with a long sword at his waist.
The man moved with the blade, slicing five constables in two with a single stroke...
Seeing the scene of intestines spilling out and blood gushing out, Yu Side, the commander of the Fifth Army, turned pale with fright.
He quickly bowed and said, "Mr. Yuanye, please calm down. The murderer killed someone last night, so he must not have fled too far."
"Give us a little more time to conduct a thorough search, and we'll surely bring the murderer to justice."
Yagyu Haruno killed five people with a single slash, feeling the demon sword in his hand leaping and dancing with joy, as if a spirit was quietly forming within it. The violence in his heart burned even more fiercely, like a flame.
"Little Wolf is pure of heart. He usually loves fine clothes, delicious food, knife skills and judo. He never makes enemies."
After arriving here, he would practice his sword skills and play with women in his spare time.
I know his nature; he likes to compete with others. Therefore, I also instructed others to give him some leeway.
Unexpectedly, this led him to misunderstand his own abilities, believing that his swordsmanship was so strong that no one could defeat him.
As Liu Shengyuanye spoke, his eyes turned fierce: "Heh, a martial arts champion, if he wants a martial arts champion, he can just call on your Ministry of War and give it to him."
Even if I can't get it, when I see the martial arts champion, I can just kill him with one blow.
"It's ridiculous to insist on hiring someone to teach you military strategy and tactics..."
Yu Qianzong bent his waist even lower.
They were terrified that the other party might chop them up again if they disagreed.
He quickly replied, "That's right. Since Mr. White Wolf is interested in studying military strategy and tactics, it's not difficult to find out who he's been associating with lately..."
"No need, I'm here."
Yagyu Haruno gave him a cold look, waved his hand, and a group of elite soldiers escorted several people in through the courtyard gate.
A middle-aged man with gray hair had a lump the size of an egg on his forehead, and his face was flushed red.
His hands and feet were tightly bound by the four horses' hooves, and his mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth.
The other two were a woman in her forties and a girl of thirteen or fourteen.
"Speak. Since you said in the Ministry of War that my brother, White Wolf, invited you to our home to teach, you should know who broke in and killed so many people, right?"
"Pooh……"
As soon as the cloth was ripped out of his mouth, Zhang Mingyuan spat out a mouthful of blood and roared, "Colluding with each other! If this continues, the country will cease to exist!"
"Um?"
Yagyu Haruno gave him a wink.
One of the soldiers raised his rifle, aimed it at the middle-aged woman, and pulled the trigger.
bah...
The woman's eyes were glazed over, a bloody hole appeared on her forehead, and she rolled over and fell to the ground.
"mother……"
The little girl cried out loudly, collapsed to the ground, and crawled to reach for her mother's body.
Nobody cared about her.
The dozen or so people present all watched coldly.
……