Chapter 62

When it was noon, the sun was scorching, and the crops were wilting. It was even worse for people.

Under the shade of a tree, Wu Fan and his two companions stopped. On such a day, it was impossible to continue their journey.

After elegantly taking a couple of sips of water, the young eunuch Manning finally opened up, but he didn't start by talking about his own situation. Instead, he began by mocking Wu Fan.

"Got kicked out, didn't you? Hehehe... I knew you wouldn't have a good end! Too cocky!," the young eunuch Manning said with a somewhat gloating look, his delicate expression truly chilling: "Tell me! Tell me! What happened? Which old fox tricked you? Tsk! Even if you don't say, I can guess it right, believe it or not?"

Wu Fan wiped his mouth, put down the water bag, and smiled, "What about you? Why didn't you go back to Chang'an with Lord Luo?"

The young eunuch Manning blinked his eyes, pouted, and said gloomily, "Isn't it because something happened in Yingyang? Hey! Don't tell me you really know nothing about it?"

Wu Fan touched his nose and laughed self-deprecatingly, "Seems like I'm in a worse situation than you! I really don't know anything!"

The young eunuch Manning giggled, then his expression turned serious, "No more fooling around! I got the news temporarily and turned back halfway. I'm preparing to go to Yingyang to handle some matters. I heard you, the unlucky one, are also going to take up the position of the new hundred-household in Yingyang, so I waited for you at the city gate of Luoyang to come together and have some company."

Wu Fan rolled his eyes and started to joke, "Lord Man, you said... we've been through hard times together, right? Give me some information, what's going on there? This feels really off! Zhao Qianhu didn't tell me, but you must... hehe! You can't bear to see me go there without knowing anything and mess things up, right?"

The young eunuch Manning plucked a blade of grass and waved it in front of his nose, then said after a while, "The canal, there's a problem!"

"Huh?"

Wu Fan raised an eyebrow, and the smile on his face vanished.

The empire had dug a canal a hundred years ago, connecting the Luo River from north to south. Luoyang was the central crossroads of this canal. To the south were Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and to the north was Jizhou, spanning over eight hundred miles. On the surface, this canal was for the convenience of trade between the north and south. In secret, it was a smooth and fast route for the empire's troops. Yingyang, located northeast of Luoyang, was the most important section of the canal to the north. The empire's two major enemies, the Southern Liang had just fallen, and the Northern Yan still existed...

"Some people have reached into places they shouldn't have!" The young eunuch Manning narrowed his eyes, his lips lightly uttering, "They should be killed!"

Wu Fan tapped his forehead and smiled, bowing flatteringly, "Give me something practical? This is all vague and meaningless."

The young eunuch Manning smiled, "Your task, to clear the bandits!"

Got it!

Wu Fan thought about it and understood what was going on. It was probably just the usual collusion between officials and bandits.

Wu Fan thought about it again and felt something was off, his eyes changing... [In theory, sending me to Yingyang is just to take up the position of the hundred-household of the Yingyang Yingyang Guard, to monitor the civil and military officials in the area. Clearing bandits is the job of the local troops, why is it my responsibility? No, something's not right!]

The young eunuch Manning giggled, "Got it?"

Wu Fan leaned against the tree trunk, muttering, "Oh! I see! I see! I got it! I got it! After all this, the problem is with you! I see why I met you at the city gate, it wasn't a coincidence, it was your careful arrangement! The order to transfer me to Yingyang was given by you to Zhao Qianhu, right?"

The young eunuch Manning shrugged, not saying anything, but acknowledging it.

Wu Fan bowed and sighed, "Well! In that case, I should thank you! If you hadn't pulled some strings to get me to Yingyang, that old fox Zhao Qianhu would have left me to rot in Luoyang! Rather than being stuck in Luoyang, it's better to go out, 'the sea is wide for fish to leap, the sky is high for birds to fly'!"

"Good that you understand! I actually don't understand the details, it was what my godfather told me to do," the young eunuch Manning, not a deep schemer, said what he thought: "My godfather said you have the potential for great things, but your perspective is a bit narrow. He also said... the capital is about to move, Luoyang is a place of intrigue, with nobles being pulled into the Maitreya Sect issue, and Zhao Xi, who always wants to stir up trouble. Transferring you is partly to avoid the storm, and partly to temper you, to make you capable of standing on your own. My godfather said a lot, but I didn't remember much. In short, it's for your good."

Wu Fan laughed, very happily.

After laughing enough, Wu Fan asked seriously, "So, the meaning now is, 'going to Yingyang, my goal is clear, to clear the bandits, and nothing else,' right?"

The young eunuch Manning nodded, "That's right!" Then he added matter-of-factly, "Transferring you is to assist me. When I need help, you must lend a hand, not just stand there and watch."

Wu Fan understood and simply agreed.

After finishing the serious talk, the young eunuch Manning started to complain, "The sun is so scorching, and my godfather actually made me travel all the way to Yingyang, humph~~~ really heartless! I'm already sunburned~~~"

His words had a childish tone, but the person saying them was a eunuch, which was really a mood killer!

"Hey! What's up with your nephew?" The young eunuch Manning looked at Tong Wei under another tree, curious, "That kid's gaze is off, like I did something to him~~~"

Wu Fan's eyes darted, and he blurted out, "He practices martial arts, you know how tough it is! He's fifteen this year, and needs to be trained hard, or he'll be useless. I guess I trained him too hard, he's exhausted! His eyes are even tired! Hahaha!"

That's what Wu Fan said, but what he thought was:

[The kid is still young! He can't accept reality! It's understandable, a seed of infatuation just sprouted in his heart, but before it could even take root, it was scorched and fried by reality. It's a wonder he didn't break down... seeing such a beautiful person, only to find out he's a eunuch, it's a testament to his strong mental fortitude, he's a prodigy! He'll have a bright future!]

After a good internal rant, Wu Fan changed the topic, smiling, "I've heard the bandit problem in the empire is serious, and there's something called the 'Seven Prefectures Green Forest Alliance'? The Yellow Gate Guard has the most reliable information, tell me about it?"

The Great Sui Empire, before conquering the Southern Liang, had seven prefectures: the Sili Prefecture where Luoyang and Chang'an were located, Qing Prefecture to the east of Sili, Ji Prefecture to the north, Liang Prefecture to the west, Yanzhou to the south, and to the south of Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and to the east of Yanzhou, Xuzhou, covering the entire Central Plains from the Bohai Bay to the Yangtze River. After incorporating the Southern Liang into the empire, four more prefectures were added: Yang Prefecture, Jiao Prefecture, Jing Prefecture, and Shu Prefecture. The "Seven Prefectures Green Forest Alliance" referred to the recognized leading organization of all the bandits in the original seven prefectures of the empire.

The young eunuch Manning rolled his eyes, thought for a long time, and shook his head, "I really don't know about this. I only know that they recently changed their leader, called... Shan Xiongxin! I think that's the name."

"Who?"

"Shan Xiongxin!"

Faced with the young eunuch Manning's strange look, Wu Fan quickly covered up his shock, pretending he didn't hear clearly and asked again.

[First Zhai Rang, then Shan Xiongxin? And there was An Lushan a while ago... what's going on here?]

...

PS1: New week, seeking favorites, recommendations, likes, and support, everything.

PS2: Thanks to the support of the 100-point coin reward from the "Xiang" friend, thank you.

PS3: This chapter was written late at night, if there are any unclear parts, please point them out. I'll have more time starting from the first of next month to make changes.