Chapter 218 Trash Is Trash, Refusing to Shed Tears Until They See the Coffin
Deceiving a superior and falsely reporting intelligence.
Among the Jinyiwei Regulations, obedience and loyalty were emphasized the most. These were no small crimes.
When the situation was severe, one could even be thrown into prison!
The moment those prickly ones heard Cheng Yu’s words, they froze, and their originally smug expressions became wrong.
Someone forced a smile and said, “Lord Cheng must be joking. Where are we supposed to find a hundred rebels...?”
A hundred!
These were not Wild Dogs by the Roadside. They were rebels harboring treasonous intentions. Whether the Great Qian Capital Command Office could capture that many in five years was hard to say!
If they could not find enough, they were not allowed to rest, and they could not arrest innocent people to claim merit either.
Then they could forget about resting for the rest of the year!
Cheng Yu looked at their forced smiles, and the smile on his own face immediately faded.
“Where are you supposed to find rebels? Is that my business? You were the ones who took the initiative to request this duty. I am only responsible for setting the quota. If you cannot do it, then you are trash.”
“This...”
The prickly ones widened their eyes. They had not expected Cheng Yu’s attitude to be so firm and domineering.
He was determined to hold onto this matter!
Their strength and backgrounds were quite good. They were all from official families, sent by their clans to the Jinyiwei to gild their resumes.
They all held the official post of Commandant and had their own teams under them.
They had neither the status of Lu Family disciples nor had they joined the Zhang brothers’ faction. With nothing to strive for or desire, their days were extremely relaxed.
Every day, they reported for attendance.
Then they could find some excuse to walk the streets and alleys, or listen to songs in the pleasure quarters.
Not long ago, Cheng Yu had still been at the same level as them. He had only just rendered great merit and risen one rank, yet unexpectedly, he had immediately come running over to make things difficult for them.
Did he think of himself as the heavenly king of the Command Office?
Among the prickly ones, someone stepped forward and saluted. “My lord, is it not a bit too much of a joke to say we must capture a hundred rebels?”
If it were ten.
They all had their own intelligence sources and informants. If they gritted their teeth, arresting a few ambiguous targets would not be a problem.
At least it would not count as arresting innocent people to claim merit.
But a hundred was far too unrealistic. Cheng Yu was completely making things difficult for them.
Cheng Yu raised a brow and looked at him. “What is your name?”
“Replying to my lord, I am Xiao Qi.”
Xiao Qi had not expected Cheng Yu to ask his name at a time like this, but he said it without worry.
His surname was Xiao!
The surname of Great Qian’s imperial family!
Cheng Yu revealed an interested expression. “Oh? Are you an imperial relative or noble?”
“I would not dare call myself a noble, but I do indeed have some kinship with His Majesty. My family’s ancestor was Duke Zhongyi.”
Xiao Qi nodded proudly, clearly approving of his own identity.
He did not think there was any problem with spending every day drawing a salary and listening to songs in the pleasure quarters. In any case, his family’s ancestors had shed blood and rendered service for Great Qian.
The noble title had already been reserved for his elder brother, so he did not even have the motivation to work hard.
He simply deserved to enjoy himself!
Cheng Yu nodded and did not continue discussing the topic of his background. “You mean to say that you people cannot catch a hundred rebels?”
“It is not that we cannot catch them. It is that there are not that many rebels in the Great Qian Capital! My lord, forcing this requirement on us is making things difficult for us!”
Xiao Qi did not think there was anything wrong with him and did not back down at all. His temper rose, and he began arguing with Cheng Yu.
When the other Jinyiwei saw this scene, they looked at one another.
In their view, Cheng Yu had demanded centralized training as soon as he took office and claimed it was to train professional standards. Clearly, he was trying to establish his authority.
An Assistant Commissioner who had relied on martial strength and merit to climb up, and who was also so young.
What insight could he possibly have into Jinyiwei professionalism?
Since he wanted to establish authority, he naturally had to face people like Xiao Qi, descendants of meritorious officials.
Cheng Yu saying they had to capture a hundred rebels was no different from a wild fantasy.
Now someone had directly pointed out that it was unrealistic.
When Zhang De and Zhang Fen dealt with dissidents, even they would not make things so blatantly difficult or speak such nonsense.
If Cheng Yu could not explain this issue clearly, then his dignity as a superior would be damaged.
Capture a hundred?
This was bullying people without even bothering to act.
They wanted to see exactly how Cheng Yu would justify his words.
Cheng Yu saw the questioning expression on Xiao Qi’s face, as well as the expectant looks of the others.
He immediately sneered. “A group of trash dares claim something is impossible just because you cannot do it yourselves.”
Trash!
The moment all the Jinyiwei heard this, rage burned in their hearts. Cheng Yu had actually called them trash!
Especially those few prickly ones with decent strength. Their pride suffered the strongest blow.
The anger on their faces was the most obvious.
“Cheng Yu, you must take responsibility for what you say! Although His Majesty values you, the Jinyiwei is not your one-man domain!”
“You call us trash? Then what counts as not being trash? You must explain that clearly!”
“That is right!”
The Jinyiwei instantly became united by shared hatred. All of them stared fixedly at Cheng Yu.
He had cursed them as trash for no reason the moment he came up. They were not people who could be easily bullied either.
Cheng Yu’s expression became even more disdainful. He stretched out a hand and snapped his fingers.
SNAP!
“Trash is trash. You refuse to shed tears until you see the coffin. It seems you will not give up unless I show you clearly.”
When the sound of the finger snap fell, several figures walked out from the shadows.
They were all Jinyiwei wearing Flying Fish Uniforms and Xiuchun Sabers at their waists.
Everyone recognized these people’s identities.
They were Cheng Yu’s trusted subordinates, whom he had trained and brought over from Jiannan Circuit!
“Do you not think it is impossible to find a hundred rebels in this Great Qian Capital? What if they can do it?”
When Xiao Qi and the others heard this, they immediately became somewhat shocked.
Cheng Yu actually intended to search for rebels in the Great Qian Capital—an entire hundred of them!
Was this not a wild fantasy?
Xiao Qi immediately revealed a disdainful expression. “If they can truly do it, we will willingly serve as hounds under my lord. But if they cannot, my lord must also apologize publicly.”
“You must apologize for being too unrealistic and using an impossible task to demand things from us!”
The others nodded one after another.
They were already prepared to watch the spectacle of Cheng Yu apologizing.
Cheng Yu smiled and nodded. “You are quite good. You are one of the rare people who dares negotiate conditions with me. I hope you can maintain your current attitude in a while.”
He waved his hand at the trusted subordinates who had come from Jiannan Circuit.
“Search the Great Qian Capital for spies from the Jianghu, Prince Chu, and other rebel forces. Move out now!”
“As you command!”
...
At a marketplace somewhere in the Great Qian Capital.
Several Jinyiwei wore ordinary clothes and were dressed like young masters from common wealthy families as they walked down the street.
The Jinyiwei from Jiannan Circuit walked in front, their sharp gazes observing the crowds coming and going.
Cheng Yu and the prickly ones slowly followed behind them.
Xiao Qi complained disdainfully, “What are we doing in such a noisy place? Could rebels possibly be hiding here?”
He had thought Cheng Yu had some major clue and might truly be able to catch a few people.
He had not expected Cheng Yu to run to a bustling market, intending to rely on blind luck. This was simply a wild fantasy!
Cheng Yu glanced at him but did not say anything, merely walking forward calmly with his hands behind his back.
Seeing this, Xiao Qi and the others sneered. They were waiting to see Cheng Yu become a joke and apologize later.
At this moment.
The Jiannan Circuit Jinyiwei walking at the very front stopped and stood before a shop selling Jiangnan tea leaves.
When Xiao Qi and the others behind them caught up, they were somewhat puzzled.
Why had they come here to buy tea?
Cheng Yu leisurely walked behind them. After sizing up the shop, he nodded in satisfaction.
These subordinates of his were not bad. They had found one already.
His efforts to train them back in Jiannan Circuit had not been wasted.