PFC Chapter 18 Shaking Hands
Chapter 18 Shaking Hands
After thinking for a moment, Li Baihu emphasized, "The enemies facing the Imperial Guard Squad are very strong. They are either superhumans or followers of evil gods with unpredictable abilities. The mission is extremely dangerous."
"Therefore, for your safety, the captain of the Imperial Guard holds the power of life and death. Anyone who disobeys in battle may be executed on the spot."
The four extraordinary Imperial Guards, their expressions solemn, knelt on one knee, clasped their hands, and pledged: "We will follow Commander Chang's lead without question and would never dare to disobey orders!"
Li Baihu nodded: "That would be best."
Li Baihu handed a mission letter to Chang Yuan in front of everyone, saying, "I'm entrusting this elite cavalry unit to you."
Chang Yuan sincerely thanked him, saying, "Thank you very much, Commander!"
After seeing the centurion off, Chang Yuan turned back and asked, "Who is Gao Su?"
The tall, imposing Imperial Guard, bearing a striking resemblance to Commander Gao, stepped forward: "This humble officer is Gao Su, a junior officer of the Imperial Guard!"
Chang Yuan said expressionlessly, "You've been a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard longer than I have. You'll be my deputy."
After saying that, he opened the mission document in front of everyone, glanced at it, and then threw it to Gao Su: "You read it aloud."
Gao Su took it and began to read: "Mission objective: The priest of the evil god 'Jade Statue of Creation'."
"Intelligence indicates that an evil priest has appeared in Zhangde Prefecture. During the investigation, two constables in Zhangde Prefecture died and three went missing. This matter was reported to the Eastern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard ten days ago."
"The Jinyiwei garrison in Zhangde Prefecture launched an investigation, during which two spies and one captain went missing. They reported to the Thousand Household Office yesterday."
Gao Su summarized: "The mission is simple: find that damned evil priest, kill him, and clean up the followers he recruited."
Chang Yuan said, "I have been a junior officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for less than a month, and I have never been involved in investigation and screening work before."
"I have decided to entrust the preliminary investigation work for the mission to Deputy Captain Gao Su. During the investigation, everyone shall obey Gao Su's command."
Does anyone have any objections?
Chang Yuan's sudden delegation of power not only surprised Gao Su, but also left the other three Imperial Guards bewildered, not knowing what to say.
Chang Yuan smiled and said, "If no one objects, then it's settled."
"Gao Su, I am currently training at Changhui Martial Arts School. After confirming the target's whereabouts, send someone to the school to notify me, and then carry out the capture mission."
Gao Su was bewildered and at a loss, then hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "Yes!"
Chang Yuan emphasized, "I also know something about the Evil God's Creation Jade Statue. Its predecessor was related to the Fragrance Cult. It was a tightly organized group that was good at bewitching people and relatively opposed killing without any skill."
"The fact that the number of missing persons was higher than the number of deaths is also consistent with the appearance of the Jade Statue of Creation."
"Therefore, the enemies we face are very likely to include the corrupted Imperial Guards. When investigating, we must prioritize our own safety and would rather miss the target than take any risks."
"Gao Su, did you understand?"
Gao Su: "Understood. We'd rather lose the objective than take any risks!"
Chang Yuan smiled and nodded: "Good, you understand. You can make the arrangements from here on out. I'll be going now."
After saying that, he left without looking back, leaving the four bewildered Imperial Guards in the room looking at each other in confusion.
"Really... really gone?"
"He's really gone!"
"What's going on here?"
"What do we do?"
"What should we do? We'll just have to follow your arrangements, Gao Su!"
"First, go to the Zhangde Prefecture government office to check the data: maps, population, workshop owners, merchants—check everything you can find."
"How can we investigate with just the four of us?"
"It's alright. Once we get to Zhangde Prefecture, we'll have the clerks from the neighboring prefecture's county office come to investigate, to prevent any leaks."
"Let's do it that way then!"
"..."
"Our new captain is really awesome!"
"The captain's face is the real spectacle!"
"I think you want to die!"
Chang Yuan has truly relinquished control and become a hands-off manager.
Because he believes that professional tasks should be left to professionals.
He knew nothing about investigating cases; his greatest confidence came from drawing his gun and blowing someone's head off, and secondly from his newly developed strength!
Since we don't know how to investigate cases, let's leave it to those who do.
Once you know who your target is and where they are, just go up and kill them.
He wasn't worried at all that he would be sidelined after handing over power.
Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards were part of the system and engaged in factionalism and infighting, they were ultimately bound by military law and did not prioritize scheming.
Especially for the Jinyiwei's extraordinary squad, they face extraordinary cases and extraordinary enemies. Their most important ability is not to investigate cases, but to defeat the enemies.
As long as Chang Yuan is the best fighter, this team will respect him, and no one can sideline him.
Therefore, he decisively delegated power, handing over all the preliminary work to Gao Su.
He went home to prepare to make a new revolver and new bullets.
Chang Yuan had a premonition that the number of people he was going to deal with this time would be quite large, and that it would be very troublesome.
He first went to the market and picked up the parts he had ordered from the blacksmith's shop, as well as a thin stack of copper coins.
Then they obtained the pre-ordered nitric acid and mercury fulminate cap from the Taoist temple.
These costs a full 148 silver dollars, but Chang Yuan doesn't feel bad at all, because from today onwards, all of this can be reimbursed!
Reimbursement means spending the government's money to do your own things.
The biggest perk of working within the system!
Returning home laden with supplies, Chang Yuan sat down at the simple workbench built by the original owner and quickly modified the old-fashioned revolver.
After more than ten days of training at the martial arts school, his strength increased and his hands became more steady.
Modifications that used to require repeated revisions can now be done in one go, and with greater precision.
Even the most troublesome 48 parts can be polished by simply relying on strength and shaking the iron sander vigorously.
No more need to spin it on a shelf for two hours.
When pressing the cartridge case, Chang Yuan pressed the platform with his left hand and grabbed the handle with his right hand, applying force for one second to press out a perfect cartridge case.
Compared to the last time when I relied on my body weight to slowly press down, this method is not only incredibly fast, but also has a much higher success rate.
He modified a new revolver and rolled a hundred bullets in just one and a half hours.
Chang Yuan even had time to rush back to Zhangde Prefecture, have a sumptuous lunch at Changhui Martial Arts School, and then immediately begin his afternoon's arduous training.
For the next two days, Chang Yuan practiced the Twenty-Four Postures at the martial arts school, drank herbal soup, soaked in medicinal baths, tasted Kun meat, and then ate large amounts of beef, mutton, and chicken.
On his third day as captain of the Jinyiwei's Extraordinary Squad, Gao Su rode his iron steed to Changhui Martial Arts School and reported to Chang Yuan: "Captain, we've found it."
Chang Yuan immediately exhaled and made a sound, dissipating the force he had used to drive the pile.
After a quick bath, he changed into the uniform of the Imperial Guard and left the martial arts school with Gao Su.
Compared to the meager results of practicing stance training, the greater gain would be eliminating the cultists, collecting their spiritual energy, and then returning to continue training!
Mount your iron horse, drive out of Zhangde Prefecture, and gallop twenty miles southeast, and you'll see the skyline of Gongfang Town filled with towering chimneys.
Seeing the powerful scene in the distance, Chang Yuan was shocked to realize that he was like a frog in a well, full of misunderstandings about the Ming Dynasty.