novelraw Chapter 207
Chapter 207
Chapter 207 Returning to Old Ways
Where did Yi Shisan go?
He took people to fight bandits.
Wei Yu learned this answer while watching Fang Sheng maintain order among the disaster victims, just as the other party returned leading a group of people, dusty and weary.
Looking at the group of mountain bandits who had been captured and forced back, Wei Yu's mood was very complicated.
He asked Yi Shisan, "You went to scout ahead, so why did you fight bandits for no reason?
Are you so used to fighting bandits over in Ji Commandery?"
They had brought back thirty-four captives; Yi Shisan was unscathed and, without changing his expression, he reached into his chest pocket and showed Wei Yu their spoils—
two hundred tael silver notes, six pieces of fragmented silver, and four strings of copper coins.
Yi Shisan said, "I hadn't planned to interfere, but they stopped and injured travelers along the way. This is stolen money and must be confiscated." Saying that, Yi Shisan glanced slyly at Wei Yu and stretched out the hand holding the money again.
Good grief!
Staring at Yi Shisan’s honest-looking face a few times, Wei Yu had to admit this guy had learned the essence.
This is how a bodyguard should be!
"Hmm, very good, it’s all for the people. You did well."
Wei Yu silently pocketed the money.
After securing the money, Wei Yu asked him again, "So you didn’t see any disaster victims coming over before?
If you had, wouldn’t you have sent someone back to report?"
Yi Shisan shook his head, "No."
Since he hadn’t seen any, Wei Yu let it go and then asked about the bandits.
Yi Shisan said, "This group of bandits originally had more than fifty people, but some were unruly, so I dealt with them directly. I also asked; they said they were local bandits around here. Upon seeing many people fleeing from the county below, they went near the official road to loot travelers…"
Ah, as expected, bandits smell profit and come running.
Robbing on the official road—isn't this truly ‘risking danger for wealth’?
Wei Yu pondered for a moment, then looked at Yi Shisan again.
Though this guy was capable, it seemed having worked as an intelligence agent for so long, when given freedom, he acted on his own without reporting back first—
a grave military mistake.
Thinking it over, Wei Yu began to criticize Yi Shisan’s lack of diligence in his work.
"Yi Shisan, your Highness is very frail and can’t handle such scares. Do you know how terrifying those disaster victims just now were? Luckily, we had many people and carried knives, so the victims dared not cause trouble. If there were more victims and this happened two or three more times on the road, your Highness’s life would probably be over!"
Wei Yu stretched his neck and showed him his rosy little face, "Look at your Highness’s pale face—it’s because of the fright, isn’t it? I’ve even lost weight from fear. Sigh, no more handsome looks. I wonder if they can come back…"
Yi Shisan glanced silently.
His Highness was holding his chin and frowning; from that, it looked quite pale and maybe… a bit thin???
Wei Yu put down his hands and couldn’t help but sigh.
The recent carriage rides have been very bumpy, appetite is poor, the melon seeds are all gone, and he didn’t know when he could eat a proper meal again.
His cheeks felt rough to the touch.
Wei Yu blamed Yi Shisan without any guilt, stood up straight, and sternly criticized him again, "Look at your Highness’s miserable state now—it’s all because you didn’t do your duty. You must clearly know your mistakes and absolutely mustn’t let this happen again, understand?"
Yi Shisan hung his head sadly, "I understand."
What was supposed to be a meritorious deed suddenly encountered a group of disaster victims; if His Highness had gotten into trouble due to his mistake, he would be utterly responsible—truly distressing…
The kid is grown up, understands his mistakes, and correction follows. After a slap and a kiss, the next step is rewards.
So Wei Yu skillfully comforted Yi Shisan once again.
He softly said, "It’s good that you know your mistake. Yi Shisan, you have to understand, I speak like this for your own good. If you didn’t notify anyone and ran off into some blind corner, what if something went wrong and you got severely injured? What would I do? I care so much about you, and just thinking about you being alone in some little corner, your Highness’s heart feels like it’s being twisted by a knife…"
Yi Shisan lowered his head further, "I truly understand my mistake!"
"Are you sure?"
"Sure!"
"What if you make the same mistake next time?"
"…Then you can deduct a month’s salary."
"Only one month? Not enough, a year then."
"…Yes!"
Wei Yu was finally satisfied.
After the lesson, he told Yi Shisan to arrange for the bandits on his own and went to find his Third Brother.
The Third Prince was among the disaster victims, watching his men resettle them.
When Wei Yu came over, the Third Prince glanced at him but didn’t ask about Yi Shisan’s situation and continued looking at the disaster victims.
Of course, since he didn’t ask, Wei Yu felt he should report.
"Third Brother, the road ahead might not be easy. Bandits have appeared on the official road, robbing travelers. I guess on the way there will be bandit attacks and disaster victims blocking the road quite often. Also, I suspect the local government in the disaster area might have some problems…"
Wei Yu roughly relayed Yi Shisan’s report to his Third Brother.
The Third Prince’s expression didn’t change; he just kept staring at the Imperial Physician taking pulses.
Wei Yu looked at him, "Third Brother? Your opinion?"
The Third Prince didn’t answer.
Wei Yu looked again, "We have too many people; although it’s safe, if we get stopped, we can’t move. And if we are too cold to the disaster victims asking for help, it might hurt the Imperial Court’s reputation. So, should we split up and travel separately?"
Still no answer from the Third Prince.
Wei Yu continued to gaze at him, "If we split up, little brother can go first, I’ll just take my own guards, and leave the others to you…"
"You want to leave first?"
The Third Prince finally spoke, turning to Wei Yu with a stern glare, "You know the road ahead is unsafe and only taking your one hundred guards—if something goes wrong, how will you explain it to Father Emperor?"
Wei Yu blinked, "No, who said I only have one hundred guards!"
The Third Prince silently stared at him.
Wei Yu gave a sly grin, an uncharacteristically innocent smile.
"There are people everywhere; as long as they can be used, they can be used~"
Disaster victims can’t, but now there are those bandits Yi Shisan caught—
it’s just returning to old ways!
Once a beginner, twice a veteran—simple.
The Third Prince was shocked by Wei Yu’s sudden display of bandit spirit.
He looked at Wei Yu deeply and suddenly asked, "Is this how you operated back in Ji Commandery?"
The fact that the three princes had once been bandits in Ji Commandery wasn’t known to everyone, but those who should know did. Since their reputation wasn’t good, this matter was kept under wraps.
Especially since Wei Yu’s Oxhead Army hadn’t been disbanded yet and, with Emperor Wei’s tacit approval, this reorganized bandit troop was stationed outside Ziyang County City, serving as guards for the Merchants’ Alliance and its factories.
Of course, although they were guards, they were still classified as civilians not enlisted in the military.
As long as they worked seriously, they received salary and benefits, and could be reassigned to road construction and infrastructure when necessary.