The Bodyguard King's CEO Wife-Chapter 1394: The People Outside the Barracks

"I have carefully inspected them. Among these two thousand soldiers, there are quite a few seasoned veterans, and while some of their equipment is damaged, it is still fairly good. I believe these soldiers are quite capable in battle. With them, our strength will be greatly enhanced." After all, being the border garrison of the Qin Army, their combat capability should not be underestimated.

"Ma Peng has been enlisted for over twenty years, spending nearly ten years on the Great Wall’s defense line, and has achieved considerable military merit. Yet, until now, he remains merely a Chiliarch. Don’t you find it rather strange?" Ye Shikai retorted.

"You know so much about him; did you know him before?" Shangguan Jian was quite surprised that Ye Shikai could say so much, expressing his confusion.

"Of course not. A little investigation is all it takes. When I first arrived at the fortress, I had Xue San take a dozen brothers with the Token to investigate. Ji County is not far from here, and the archives there contain all the records of military generals in Guangyang County." Ye Shikai placed a bamboo slip on the table. "Xue San just returned two hours ago, and I just finished reading it."

"You really leave nothing unchecked. You haven’t gone through my records too, have you?" Shangguan Jian joked, picking up the bamboo slip. After all, seal script is an ancient script, which a modern person should not understand, but Ye Shikai is an exception. He surprisingly understands the majority of the seal script on the bamboo slips, possibly because there are some similarities between ancient and modern scripts.

"Your records are in He Nei County, which I currently have no interest in." Ye Shikai replied. Previously, they all believed Xue San to be sneaky and ignorant, but now it seems they were wrong. As the modern saying goes, garbage is just misplaced treasure. Xue San specializes in wall-climbing, easily climbing even forty or fifty-foot-high city walls. Sneaking into the governor’s mansion to steal some records is hardly a difficult task.

"With his military merits, he is more than qualified to be a Left Deputy Director, commanding thousands of soldiers, should at least be a Military Marquis. Why is he still merely a Chiliarch?" Shangguan Jian was also quite puzzled. Above a Chiliarch, a "qu" can be formed, with the Military Marquis as the commander, while above a "qu" is a "bu," commanded by the Colonel. The number of garrison troops is usually fixed, without much expansion or reduction in troops, making military positions relatively stable. Moreover, records show that Ma Peng has always been a Chiliarch without any promotion.

"That’s precisely what I’m puzzled about, but I don’t have any evidence for now." Ye Shikai waved his hand. Everything was just his suspicion, but he certainly wasn’t paranoid. His suspicions were all grounded.

"What led you to suspect this?"

"My intuition."

"It seems great minds think alike; I too am quite suspicious..."

"Who’s there?" Not waiting for Shangguan Jian to finish speaking, a dark figure flashed past outside the barracks. Ye Shikai instinctively rushed out, drawing his bronze sword, adopting a combat stance. Shangguan Jian realized there was an assassin, and his expression instantly became serious.

Unfortunately, Ye Shikai was still a step too late. By the time he rushed out of the barracks, there was only the "whoosh" of the northern wind outside...

"What’s going on?" Shangguan Jian immediately asked, as dozens of guards surrounded them.

"Protect the Lord."

"Chase the assassin."

The guards were preparing to search for the assassin’s trail, but Ye Shikai stopped them.

"No need; they have long fled. This time I was careless," Ye Shikai said coldly. He would not be mistaken, but the visitor might not have been there to take his life. After all, Ye Shikai was highly skilled in martial arts, and Shangguan Jian was present at the time. Without a dozen experts, it would be impossible to kill them. Thus, it seemed that this person came to eavesdrop.

"Lord, I’ll immediately take people to chase them down. Even if we have to turn the military camp upside down, we must catch them." Man Cang volunteered.

"Forget it. Don’t cause too much commotion; dismiss everyone. No one is allowed to speak of this." Ye Shikai left Man Cang and a few guards to guard around the barracks, asking others to disperse. Unexpectedly, just as he started suspecting, the opposing side couldn’t wait to move.

The next day.

"Ye, I heard someone was eavesdropping near your barracks last night." Ye Shikai had just entered the barracks when Han Hao came out, looking quite tense.

"Indeed, but it’s nothing, just some petty thief," Ye Shikai waved his hand. He wasn’t a fool; counter-intelligence was his forte. The fortress is surrounded by plains, with nowhere to hide if someone infiltrates, let alone thousands of soldiers patrolling day and night. Last night he also asked Xue San; unless the assassin possessed his skills, there was no one else apart from Xue San who could sneak in silently. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Thus, the assassin must be someone internal.

"This isn’t right; the assassin is certainly still within the fortress. I’ll immediately order the entire army, having all soldiers search together." Han Hao was very excited. Ye Shikai and Shangguan Jian were essential to him; losing them would be a significant blow.

"No." Ye Shikai immediately stopped Han Hao.

"If we startle the snake in the grass, it will only make things worse. In fact, I already have a plan. I just worry... Lord Han, you won’t agree."

"Ye, your ability is evident to everyone; you can say whatever you intend."

..............................

"Oh, isn’t this Ma? What are you doing here?" While eating, Ye Shikai noticed Ma Peng sitting at the soldiers’ dining table, but at his table, he was alone...

"Turns out it’s Ye. As an officer, it’s natural to eat and live with the soldiers during battle preparations. This way, cohesion can be built."

"I see, Ma, you lead by example, and are one with the soldiers. I admire you," Ye Shikai said with a salute.

"Ye is truly remarkable. I’ve heard you’ve joined the Qin Army just a month ago and already became a Chiliarch. Lord Han recognized your talent, and your future is limitless."

"Ma, stationed at the fortress all year round, must have encountered the Wolf Clan a lot." Suddenly, Ye Shikai changed the topic, asking a question completely unrelated to the previous conversation.

"Ah, of course, the Wolf Clan constantly attempts to invade Zhongyuan, so the harassment occurs almost monthly." Ma Peng was initially stunned, then slowly answered his question.

"It seems Ma works really hard, having to guard against the Wolf Clan day and night."