Ding Dalin's eyes shifted, "This is indeed a good opportunity."
"What good opportunity?" Cao Buwei did not understand.
"An opportunity to get rid of Gao Fei," Ding Dalin chuckled sinisterly, "Didn't Wan Fuchang give us the order to dispatch half of our troops to suppress the bandits? Let Gao Fei go. This ti, let's see how he dares to refuse. I refuse to believe he'll dare disobey an order from Wan Fuchang."
"Right," Cao Buwei's eyes lit up, "How co I didn't think of that?"
"There's no ti to lose, let's give Gao Fei the order right now," said Ding Dalin, getting a little impatient.
"Okay," Cao Buwei picked up a pen, wrote a few lines on a piece of paper, stamped it with a seal, and then handed the paper to Ding Dalin, "You go personally. Hand the order to Gao Fei and take the chance to knock him down a peg."
"I should go..." Ding Dalin hesitated; he still felt the pain from the two slaps Gao Fei had given him a few days ago.
"What's with that look? Don't dare to go?" Cao Buwei's face darkened, "Don't tell a couple of slaps frightened you out of your wits?"
"No... I'm not... I'll go right now..." Ding Dalin's face flushed, he folded the order carefully into his clothes, then turned and left.
After Ding Dalin left, Cao Buwei called over the subordinate officers, and announced the order from Wan Fuchang in front of everyone.
Upon hearing they were to go to the hilly prairies to suppress the bandits, the expressions of the officers changed imdiately. The hilly prairie was notoriously dangerous; the climate was harsh, and bandits ran rampant. Going there to suppress bandits was virtually a life-and-death endeavor.
"Step forward, those who are willing to go suppress the bandits!" Cao Buwei demanded.
The officers hung their heads, silent.
"What? No one dares to go?" Cao Buwei glared at them, "Don't forget, you are officers! Suppressing bandits is your duty and obligation!"
The officers remained silent.
"No one is speaking, is that it?" Cao Buwei nodded his head, "In that case, I shall start naming nas."
Hearing that Cao Buwei was going to choose, the officers instinctively shrank their necks, fearing being picked by him.
"A bunch of cowards," Cao Buwei cursed, "I must have been blind to have promoted you cowards."
In the following ti, Cao Buwei nad nas one by one. Those who were called turned pale and shook uncontrollably, their hearts filled with misery.
"All of you, get out," Cao Buwei waved his hand, "Those who were selected, hurry up and prepare for battle. Those who are left, take good care of the barracks."
The officers left one by one.
In the blink of an eye, Cao Buwei was the only one left in the hall.
"A bunch of short-sighted fools," Cao Buwei cursed, "They only see the danger of suppressing bandits but not the rit! This ti, Wan Fuchang himself is taking charge. As long as soone performs well, they can gain the favor of Wan Fuchang. They could rise to the top and make a fortune."
Often, risk and opportunity exist together.
...
Walking tall and proud, Ding Dalin arrived at Gao Fei's barracks, and with his head held high, arrogantly shouted, "Summon Gao Fei to see !"
"Centurion is sick and cannot et you," Chen San said as he approached from a distance, his expression cold, "Whatever you have to say, you can tell ."
"Sick? I think he's pretending to be sick!" Ding Dalin scoffed coldly.
Chen San's face darkened, "You can eat carelessly, but words should not be spoken recklessly. Our Centurion is truly ill, and it's quite serious."
"Such tricks are only ant to fool idiots. Anyone with a bit of brains wouldn't believe it."
"You..."
"Here, this is the military order personally written by Chiliarch Dalang."
"Military order?"
"Tell Gao Fei, if he still wants to be a Centurion, he'd better hurry and lead his troops to the hilly great prairie to suppress the bandits." After dropping those words, Ding Dalin left with his head high and chest puffed out.
"Little rat! One day I'll take care of you!" Chen San cursed and took the military order to see Gao Fei.
The room was filled with a pungent dicinal sll, the windows were tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn.
Gao Fei lay on the bed, covered with thick bedding, his face pale as paper, his breathing as fine as a thread, occasionally coughing, and it had to be said, Gao Fei's act was very convincing, almost without a single flaw to be seen.
"Sir." Chen San lifted the curtain and walked in.
Gao Fei opened his eyes and asked weakly, "Where is Ding Dalin?"
"He's gone."
"Gone?"
"Yes, I watched him leave."
"Damn it! Why didn't you say so earlier?" Gao Fei threw off the blankets and sat up, the earlier weakness gone completely: "What did Ding Dalin co for?"
"He ca to deliver the military order." Chen San handed over the order.
"One military order isn't enough, so here cos another one?" Gao Fei took the order, glanced at it, and then frowned: "How could it be such a coincidence? Just after Cao Buwei transfers to the hilly great prairie to suppress bandits, Wan Fuchang goes there too. Isn't it too coincidental? Could it be arranged by Cao Buwei himself, with the purpose of plotting against ?"
Chen San's facial muscles twitched: "Even with great prowess, Cao Buwei can't command Wan Fuchang. I believe... this ti it's a coincidence."
"A coincidence?" Gao Fei frowned more deeply: "Using Wan Fuchang's na to order around, if I refuse... Cao Buwei will certainly speak ill of in front of Wan Fuchang. Once Wan Fuchang believes Cao Buwei's slander and orders my punishnt... my situation will be dangerous..."
"Wan Fuchang only issued the order for Cao Buwei to transfer half of the troops to the hilly great prairie to suppress bandits, without specifically naming you. All of this is Cao Buwei's doing behind the scenes." Chen San cursed through gritted teeth: "Cao Buwei is a despicable rat!
Just because you publicly contradicted him, he's harbored ill will and tried every ans to sche against you, it's truly hateful."
"To go or not to go?" Gao Fei hesitated.
"Of course you can't go," said Chen San. "It's clear Cao Buwei has bad intentions. If you go to the hilly great prairie, it will definitely be fraught with danger, and you might very well lose your life."
Gao Fei's face gradually turned grim.
"Seek help from Lord Mayor Bai Daqing," Chen San suggested. "Tell him what happened, so he can seek justice for you."
Seek help from Mayor Bai Daqing? A thought crossed Gao Fei's mind; it was indeed a solution... but after careful consideration, he dismissed the idea.
Seeking Bai Daqing's help at the first sign of trouble would leave a bad impression, which would be detrintal to Gao Fei's future prospects.
Take a simple example, two children fight, one of them loses and runs ho to his parents to complain... Such behavior will be laughed at.
If one can solve a problem on their own, they should not bother Bai Daqing.
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't want to trouble the mayor," Gao Fei shook his head.
"Without the mayor's help, how can we solve the current problem?" Chen San was getting anxious.
"If it cos to that, I'll just take a trip to the hilly great prairie myself," Gao Fei stated slowly and deliberately.
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