Chapter 323: Someone Takes the Lead

Chapter 323: Someone Takes the Lead

In front of the thousand-household office, the banners who had followed Centurion Yelaio of Shiga Castle and Centurion Jiaomujiao of Okayama Castle to attend the meeting fell silent, shifting their stances into a loose circle to shield themselves from any watchful eyes.

Within the wall of flesh, Yelao, a man of thoroughly average appearance who seemed to be in his middle years, nodded in agreement.

"The Wisdom King is correct. Our most critical priority right now is securing our positions in the top three for this year. If we lose even that, any hope for the deputy thousand-household post is out of the question."

Jiaomujiao replied with casual indifference, "What is there to worry about? Which other office could possibly force their way in?"

Hearing this, the Wisdom King could not help but massage his temples, his expression seemingly one of sheer helplessness.

Yet, deep within his eyes, a faint trace of amusement seemed to flicker.

Yelao likewise wore an exasperated look and could not resist asking, "Old Snake, have you ever considered why your Okayama Castle has consistently failed to outdo our two offices these past few years? Even your third-place spot is starting to look precarious."

"What, we're in the middle of a meeting and you're already rubbing it in my face?"

Jiaomujiao raised his brows, spreading his hands wide. "What other reason could there be? It is purely because Okayama Castle is cursed with a terrible location. No resources means no paper currency, and no money means no bandit trouble. The ones looking for death are all worthless scum; no matter how you cultivate them, they aren't worth a damn in military merit points."

"That is not the root of the problem at all. How many times have the Wisdom King and I told you to focus on developing your Second Bureau? Information is the lifeblood of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Yelao said testily, "Look at the men under your command, every single one of them a brainless brute. I heard that your Second Bureau Banner, 'Dragon Horn', cannot even figure out how to operate a Huangliang mainframe."

"Can information ever be more useful than a fist?"

Jiaomujiao curled his lip, his arrogance flaring. "As long as my fist is large enough, if I say he is a bandit, he is a bandit! If I am in a foul mood and wish to exterminate him, he must get on his knees and accept his death!"

"You—" Yelao's words choked in his throat.

"Besides, it is not that I do not care about building up the Second Bureau, it is simply that true talent is hard to come by."

Jiaomujiao's tone turned resentful. "I tried to recruit that banner under the Ghost King, the one named Xie Bi'an. Unfortunately, the bastard actually dared to snub me. Truly ungrateful!"

When a man relies entirely on brute force, one should never expect him to possess much of a brain.

So long as he could perform his duty as a gatekeeper, that would suffice.

Yelao and the Wisdom King exchanged a glance, before Yelao spoke slowly. "My subordinates ran the calculations. If the achievements of those two cases are factored in, Inuyama Castle is highly likely to emerge as a dark horse in this assessment. Making it to the top ranks will be effortless, and they might even seize the crown in a single stroke."

"We absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait for death!" Yelao said grimly.

"And that is precisely why I have been waiting here for the two of you today."

The Wisdom King nodded. "To bar Inuyama Castle from the top three, we must fix the cut-off date for the assessment strictly on the day of the New Dawn. It absolutely cannot be settled based on today's figures."

The situation was not complex, and the pivotal point was perfectly clear.

It all came down to the deadline for calculating military achievements.

"Wisdom King, you have the advantage of being close to the center. Do you know what the current attitude is over at the thousand-household office?"

"Yelao, what you really want to ask is the attitude of Thousand-Household Su, isn't it?"

The Wisdom King smiled faintly. "If the Commander's stance were entirely clear this time, I would not be standing here discussing the matter with you."

"Do you mean..." A look of joy spread across Yelao's face.

"The affair involving Lu Chengjiang has already dealt a severe blow to the dignity of the thousand-household office. A grand deputy thousand-household, merely to vent personal spite and eliminate rivals, actually dared to use unlawful torture against his own people, and was even secretly flirting with Honghu. In all the years since the Embroidered Uniform Guard was established in the Yamato District, such an egregious incident has never occurred."

"To suppress the fallout of this matter, Commander Su withstood pressure from the Imperial mainland, allowing the Inuyama Castle office to kill Lu Chengjiang to appease their anger, and even promised the Ghost King a deputy thousand-household position. That is already more than generous."

The Wisdom King raised his eyes to gaze toward the end of the deserted long street, where only the wind and snow lingered.

"However, in the entire Yamato District, there is more than just the Inuyama Castle office. The Ghost King's sudden leap to deputy thousand-household has already left many offices dissatisfied. If Commander Su continues to openly favor them in such a grand manner, it will simply be unjustifiable."

"To maintain the stability of the greater situation, Commander Su cannot easily intervene too deeply. Therefore, we have plenty of room to maneuver this time. As long as our opinions can be unified, the Commander will surely follow public interest."

Though clearly brimming with confidence, he still did not speak with absolute certainty.

In just a few words, the inherent caution of this Edo Castle centurion, operating under the alias 'Wisdom King', was fully revealed.

"That is wonderful. As long as the Commander does not speak up, this matter will be easy to handle."

Yelao let out a long breath, pondered for a moment, and suddenly frowned. "However, if we want a unified front, someone must step forward to take the lead."

He looked at the two men before him. "Of our three houses, who will do it?"

"Yelao, you don't need to ask such pointless questions. Who else but me would handle this dirty, exhausting work?"

Jiaomujiao, who had been listening for a long while, snorted and said, "Besides, your Edo and Shiga offices constantly sweep the top two spots. For either of you to lead this charge would inevitably look a bit too greedy. If I do it, the others will have nothing to say, so it fits perfectly."

Jiaomujiao's initiative was evidently within the expectations of the other two; it was a tacit understanding that required no words between them.

The three exchanged a knowing smile, and Yelao asked directly, "You, old snake, are not the type to wake up early without a profit. Speak up, what are your conditions this time?"

After so many years of 'cooperation', the three had long known each other inside out.

Jiaomujiao knew full well that his intellect was no match for the other two, so he had always willingly played the role of the enforcer within this small faction, charging ahead in the various meetings of the office.

In exchange, the Wisdom King and Yelao would support him with military merits at the appropriate times to maintain Okayama Castle's third-place standing.

Yet, if one were to dismiss Jiaomujiao as a mindless brute because of this, they would be grievously mistaken.

"By stepping forward to take the lead this time, I will inevitably clash directly with Inuyama Castle. No matter the final outcome, relations between our two cities will likely not be very pleasant in the future."

Jiaomujiao grinned fiercely. "While I don't give a damn about Inuyama Castle's feelings, gaining a mortal enemy will always bring a bit of trouble."

"You haven't even started the job and you're already crying hardship. Is that any way to drive up the price?"

Yelao laughed and cursed, "Fine. As long as you lead this charge well, make those people stay quietly in their original places, and crush their unrealistic delusions, I can compensate you with forty million paper currency's worth of Ministry of Works quotas."

"I will give you this number."

Under Jiaomujiao's excited gaze, the Wisdom King held up a single palm. "Fifty million, also in Ministry of Works quotas."

"Deal!"

Jiaomujiao's expression turned feral as he sneered, "Whoever dares to cut off my path to wealth, I will slaughter their parents! I would like to see just what capability this Inuyama Castle has to dare snatch food from our bowls."