Chapter 6: Pioneer Mission

  "I asked Jiamu," Ren Yuan used his elbow to nudge Zhang Jiamu and asked: "How much did you take in today?"

  "Not much, Ninth Brother!" Zhang Jiamu shook his head and sighed: "Adding up, it's only three to five taels of silver and over two thousand copper coins." He nodded towards the back and said: "We still have to give 30% to those dogs and hand over 50% to the higher-ups. You calculate, how much will we be left with?"

  Brocade guards can't do everything personally, with such a large range of things to do on their own, they'd be exhausted before making any money. Each brocade guard would temporarily hire some local rascals and hoodlums within their patrol area, and have them handle some tasks that aren't convenient for the guards themselves. They'd just give them a small share of the profits.

  It seems now that they didn't gain much from their looting, and the running dogs are also almost starving to death.

  After a few days, Zhang Jiamu had roughly figured it out. In Zhengnan, near the Left Shun Gate of the Imperial Palace, the residents were either wealthy or noble. Although there weren't any aristocratic families with princes and dukes, many officials lived here, and among the rich citizens, some had connections with those in power.

  This way, everyone will naturally be unable to act freely, and the Imperial Guards will become toothless tigers, who would still care about them?

  They inquired and found out that apart from their own situation being unfavorable, the income of Yu Gang and the other small groups was also not optimistic.

  No wonder they sent these people over, it seems like there's a lot of depth here.

  "Magistrate Zhang, Magistrate Ren," the two were in a predicament when a rascal named Li Sizi panted and ran over, kowtowed on the ground, and then reported: "The two magistrates, Lord Yu has summoned you!"

  "What's going on?" Zhang Jiamu's eyes were piercing as he scrutinized this scoundrel.

  These people, with ulcers on their heads and pus oozing from the soles of their feet, are not a single good thing, absolutely untrustworthy. When ordinary people encounter brocade-clad guards, they fly over like flies... Hmm, describing themselves in this way seems to be a bit too much.

  If we say that Jin Yiwei is a bad person within the system, then these people are vicious dogs outside of it, even more detestable.

  Li Xiangzi's face was uglier than a dead man, and he stuttered: "I heard that there is a hundred-house official who has arrived, and is now lecturing at Xiao Qi's place."

  "So it was!"

  Zhang Jiamu and Ren Yuanhao suddenly looked at each other: It seems that the higher-ups are not satisfied with the work of Yu Gang and the flag bearers, so they sent someone to supervise!

  This pioneering work is really tough...

  Zhang Jiamu was a bit puzzled in his heart. There were so many officials and nobles in Zhengnan, and the wind was tight now, why did he have to come here to make a big fuss?

  Two people hurried on the road, and everyone was terrified along the way. Even beggars and vegetable vendors fled quickly. The riders were all menacing today, so it's best for everyone to be careful.

  It wasn't a humble abode, he requisitioned a wealthy family's secondary estate, although not large, it was clean and tidy, much better than the ordinary school dorms.

  However, Yu Xiaoqi was kneeling in the middle of the courtyard with his head hung low, and on the steps of the upper house, a chair was placed, on which sat Jin Yi Bai Hu Men Da. His face was full of whiskers, and his muscles were so strong that they seemed to burst out of his clothes. At this moment, Zhang Jiamu entered the door, and Men Baihu was scolding Yu Gao loudly.

  "Scoundrel, what did you say when you patted your chest at first? - Sir, don't you know yet? I can even extract oil from a stone, now bring the oil here, bring it!"

  Meng Da's voice was as loud and powerful as a cow, his tone high like the howling of a wild horse, shaking the sky and piercing the nine heavens. Under such scolding, Meng Huo's head hung down so low that it almost touched the ground, his usual eloquence nowhere to be seen.

  "Shameless, talking nonsense!" Menduo saw him like this and became even more furious, his hands fiercely pounding on the armrest.

  "Nothing can be done about it." Yu Gao was defeated, like a wild chicken that had been beaten in a fight. He almost cried out: "Everyone here is a wealthy and stubborn commoner, and the adults have instructed us not to use force arbitrarily, but if we don't use force, they simply won't buy our accounts..."

  As soon as he heard this, Menduo let out a cold hum, and Zhang Jiamu felt a chill run down his spine. Meng Gang's face also changed color. Just now, when Menduo was scolding people, everyone didn't feel particularly afraid, but after that gloomy hum, all the people present took a step back.

  "Alright, you've really made progress." Mendao sneered coldly: "Can't even handle things properly, and yet you dare to talk back, huh?"

  After this "hmm" with an overwhelming sense of majesty, Xiao Kang's small face turned completely white. He removed the veil from his head, and after uncovering it, he kowtowed to the ground without stopping. In a short while, his forehead was already covered in blood.

  Although Zhang Jiamu knew he wasn't a good person, his heart couldn't help but be deeply shaken. The Brocade Guards were indeed ruthless to outsiders, and also ruthless to their own people!

  Seeing Yu Cong's persistent kowtowing, Menduo was extremely leisurely, having just been furious and now calmly holding a delicate purple sand teapot, savoring tea one sip at a time.

  Others were relieved that the lightning did not strike their own heads, but Zhang Jiamu's heart was churning.

  This time, why did the higher-ups want to take over Zhengnan Fang? He didn't think it was that simple. The Embroidered Uniform Guard of today wasn't like the one during the Zhengtong era. Zhang Jiamu knew little about it and had always heard rumors about how they operated. During the Zhengtong era, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard handled cases, who cared about evidence? If they wanted to extort money, they would directly barge into your home, torture you until you couldn't take it anymore, and wouldn't stop until they had cleaned out your family's assets. As long as you were targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, even if you didn't die, you'd be left with nothing but a layer of skin.

  The notorious reputation of the Brocade Guard, was it not earned? Not to mention the Hongwu era when people were killed like hemp, from Renzong to Zhengtong of the Ming dynasty, which dynasty was not heavily indebted in blood?

  The imperial family's running dogs, really honest and don't bite people anymore, why does the emperor still keep the Brocade Guards?

  However, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has become much more subdued now, for a very simple reason: the most powerful minister of the current dynasty is suppressing and controlling the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

  This man is a famous figure in history, even Zhang Jiamu, a historical novice, knows that he is Yu Qian.

  Yu Qian, the Minister of War, was a minor official at the time of the Tumu Crisis. He played a crucial role in establishing Emperor Yingzong and bringing troops from the capital to defend Beijing. Yu Qian personally led the army and defeated the invading Esen Tayishi, saving the Ming dynasty from destruction.

  Yu Qian was also trusted by the current emperor, although he was not the chief of the cabinet, but all matters were implemented after consulting Yu Qian's opinions. During the Jingtai period, Yu Qian had a say in everything.

  When the country has a good ruler, the prestige of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is greatly reduced. Nowadays, many cases are not accepted or cannot be accepted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and they are directly handed over to the Ministry of Punishment. In folk, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also dare not arbitrarily arrest people, and must have procedures and evidence, so that others will not speak out.

  After being bound by layer upon layer of restrictions, doing things naturally becomes much more difficult.

  Although things were strange, he thought about it again and decided to take a gamble!

  Zhang Jiamu took a step forward and bowed his hands to Lord Meng: "Your Excellency, I have a way to make this bamboo clapper sound!"

  Seeing him like this, even Ren Yuan and the others were stunned. On a cold day like today, sweat began to drip from his forehead. Zhang Jiamu had always been a very calm and steady partner, so why did he suddenly rush out to seek death?

  "Oh?" Mendan looked Zhang Jiamu up and down, the smile on his face was quite interesting. He smiled deeply at Yu Gang who also stood up: "Yu Gang, you this pig head, how did you train your subordinates? A mere soldier dares to interrupt!"

  "Uh..." Poor Jia Mu didn't know what to say, wanted to explain a couple of sentences, but didn't know where to start.

  Menda ignored him and smiled at Zhang Jiamu: "Looks like you're a veteran, come on, don't be afraid, speak up!"

  Menda's smile was terrifying, as he smiled, the scars on his face twitched like insects.

  Zhang Jiamu's expression was calm and composed: "Sir, I think that the situation in Zhengnan Fang is at an impasse, and no one can collect any silver or intimidate the local ruffians. It's really not Zhang Duo's fault."

  This is a fact, and Yu Gang's ruthless and venomous reputation in the Imperial Guard is well-known. There are many people with cruel hearts and harsh methods in the Imperial Guard, and Yu Gang's ability to gain notoriety for his ruthlessness is not unfounded. It's said that when he was "beating the stake" - using torture to extort money from people - Yu Gang liked to use fire to burn the children of wealthy families to force them to hand over their wealth. And it wasn't uncommon for him to accidentally roast someone to 70% doneness... What a beast!