Chapter 147: Bing Wengu Overestimates Himself? An Unpromising Contest…

Chapter 147: Bing Wengu Overestimating Himself? A One-Sided Showdown...

If this were in Ji County, no one would dream of contradicting Bing Wengu’s words, for they all knew his temperament. The less one argued, the better—any rebuttal would only invite harsher ridicule.

But the officials of Fengzhou were unaware of this. So when they heard Bing Wengu’s merciless, soul-crushing verbal barrage, they were stunned.

By the time Baili Wuya processed the words, his face flushed beet red, veins bulging visibly on his forehead, his fists—each big enough to knock out an ox—clenched so tightly they trembled slightly from the strain. He was a hair's breadth from snapping, as though those massive fists might at any moment slam into Bing Wengu’s pretty-boy face, leaving it bruised and swollen.

Shen Chengzhou swiftly grabbed Baili Wuya’s fist, shooting him a warning look.

*‘This is the new prefect! Do you want to hit him? Have you lost your mind?!’*

Baili Wuya glared at Shen Chengzhou, who seemed on the verge of shouting his thoughts aloud, then took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to throw a punch.

"What a godsend that Lord Bing has graced us with his presence in Fengzhou. From now on, I shall eagerly await his grand display of talent to turn the tides!" Baili Wuya sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Faced with such blatant mockery, Bing Wengu acted as though he hadn’t detected it—even responding as if it were genuine praise. "As long as none of you screw things up like incompetent fools, the crisis in Fengzhou can be resolved."

Baili Wuya was breathing like a winded bull, as if he had just run hundreds of miles with a heavy load.

Seeing that the former prefect made no move to mediate—in fact, eating it up like cheap theater—Shen Chengzhou realized the man probably wished for the situation to spiral further into chaos. The worse Fengzhou fared after his departure, the less his own incompetence would stand out. He could then simply shrug and say, *See? He did even worse than I did.*

Understanding the former prefect’s intentions and knowing no help would come from him, Shen Chengzhou gritted his teeth and spoke up, "My lord, you must be exhausted from your long journey. Allow this humble official to arrange a welcoming banquet for you."

"With Fengzhou in such a state, how could I have the heart to indulge in a welcoming feast?" Bing Wengu rebuked without a shred of courtesy.

As if he alone were the noble official concerned for the nation, while the rest were nothing but good-for-nothing seat-warmers.

Shen Chengzhou wished he could slap himself. *Should’ve kept my damn mouth shut.*

"I heard on my way here that Fengzhou was recently raided by the Xiongnu again. How many were injured? What were the losses? How much grain does the yamen have left? How much food do the commoners still have at home?"

He rapid-fired one pointed question after another, each only deepening the already thick, choking tension.

Bing Wengu scanned the room and found all three men rooted to the spot, mouths shut tighter than a miser's purse, none moving or speaking.

His brow furrowed. "Can none of you recall such important figures? Then bring me the records on bamboo slips."

The former prefect awkwardly replied, "We’ve been too busy these past few days to tally them yet. Besides, the Xiongnu raid Fengzhou so often—what good would counting every damn loss do? They solve nothing."

"So you simply gave up keeping track?" Bing Wengu’s icy gaze cut into him. "Noted. These words of yours will soon land right on the Emperor's lap, word for word. Let us hope the Emperor shares your reasoning."

The former prefect knew full well his negligence was unacceptable—the Emperor would surely be furious.

Annoyed by Bing Wengu’s obstinacy, he snapped, "Prefect Bing, remember—I’ve got one foot in the capital already. You’ll need my help sooner or later. It’s wise to leave some room for future dealings."

Bing Wengu let out a cold laugh, striding over to take the seat reserved for the prefect. "Bring me whatever data you have now. Don’t tell me there’s nothing at all."

The former prefect glared at Bing Wengu’s bullheaded stubbornness, then stormed out in a huff. Shen Chengzhou went to fetch the bamboo slips, handing over whatever was available.

Bing Wengu flipped through the records. The numbers were rough estimates at best, but every one more gut-wrenching than the last.

When he checked the records from the past year, he found barely a damn thing written down.

Bing Wengu barked at a clerk and snapped orders for an immediate headcount of recent civilian casualties and losses.

He worked until the small hours, only pausing when Nan Jinping brought him a meal, which he wolfed down.

It wasn’t until the moon was past its peak that Bing Wengu finally called it a night. Only then did Shen Chengzhou and Baili Wuya work up the nerve to turn in themselves.

As they traveled, Baili Wuya remarked, "It's rare for Prefect Wengu to have such drive. Unfortunately, he’ll soon realize that diligence alone is the most useless thing in Fengzhou City."

Shen Chengzhou gave a bitter smile. "At least he’s diligent—better than slacking off."

The former prefect had long ordered people to keep an eye on Bing Wengu’s every move. Upon learning that Bing Wengu had worked until late at night before resting, he sneered, "Playing the upright official? What a joke—just a lecherous hypocrite. Couldn’t even travel without dragging his husband along. Pathetic—can’t keep it in his pants. What kind of decent man is that?"

Over the next few days, Bing Wengu was busy with the handover from the former prefect. But the former prefect gave him nothing useful—not a damn thing.

On the day the former prefect left Fengzhou, Bing Wengu’s impeachment memorial against him had already reached the Emperor.

Zhan Yu read the memorial and, already dissatisfied with the former prefect, flew into a rage. When the former prefect arrived in the capital, not only was he unable to secure a position in Bianjing as he had hoped, but Zhan Yu also had him beaten, investigated, and summarily booted out of Bianjing, never to be employed again.

By then, Bing Wengu had also obtained detailed records of Fengzhou’s population. The entire city had barely ten thousand households left.

Now, only the old, the sick, women, and kids were left in the city. Nearly every man fit to fight had been dragged off to war, except those with disabilities or too frail to wield weapons.

Seeing this situation, Bing Wengu knew there was damn little he could do. He could only petition the Emperor for more troops while simultaneously recruiting soldiers locally.

The locals had seen this song and dance before—Fengzhou was forever scraping the barrel for troops. Every year, they lacked soldiers, every year they conscripted more, and every year the Xiongnu raided them.

Recruitment would take time, so Bing Wengu first visited the military camp to assess the soldiers’ condition.

Military affairs were primarily overseen by Military Commissioner Baili Wuya. When Bing Wengu arrived, Baili Wuya was drilling the troops.

Let’s be real—it wasn’t bad, but it was nothing special—barely passable.

Bing Wengu said, "I have a different method for training soldiers. Stick to my drills for now."

Baili Wuya had always looked down on Bing Wengu as a scholar. In his view, a civilian official dictating military matters was total bullshit—a desk jockey playing general.

In Baili Wuya’s eyes, Bing Wengu, a scholar newly arrived in Fengzhou, should have started with what he knew best: governing the people.

Instead, Bing Wengu had immediately targeted the military. Baili Wuya couldn’t tolerate it.

"If the Prefect wants to fix Fengzhou’s damn problems first, go ahead. As for the military, I’ve got decades of experience under my belt. The Prefect can leave it to me."

"Worry my ass," Bing Wengu shot back. "Worry about how you’re going to get your ass handed to you by the Xiongnu again? If your methods actually worked, the Xiongnu would’ve been crushed long ago. Face it—your ‘tactics’ are garbage!"

The soldiers' jaws hit the dirt. No one expected Bing Wengu to humiliate Baili Wuya like that. After all, Baili Wuya was still the Military Commissioner—the one they relied on in battle. Even the former prefect had given him some respect.

Baili Wuya’s face darkened. If he’d managed to hold his temper last time, this time was different. Getting chewed out in front of everyone—he’d never command respect again.

With a grim expression, Baili Wuya said, "If the Prefect finds me incompetent, put your man up against one of mine—let’s settle this. Let’s see whose training produces better fighters."

The man Baili Wuya pointed to was Cong Lin. At this moment, Cong Lin couldn’t afford to back down and embarrass Bing Wengu.

Standing behind Bing Wengu, he clasped his fists and declared, "I accept the Military Commissioner’s challenge. Please enlighten me!"

Baili Wuya raised an eyebrow. A paper-pusher from cushy lands daring to fight his men? His soldiers might not be top-tier, but they'd bled in battle. They were a hundred times better than some greenhorn bureaucrat who hadn’t seen bloodshed.

Determined to teach Bing Wengu a lesson and crush his arrogance, Baili Wuya was about to select his best fighter when Bing Wengu spoke again.

"Since you’re unconvinced, why don’t you step up and fight me yourself?" Bing Wengu’s voice was calm but carried clearly to everyone present.

For a moment, the soldiers thought they’d misheard. Some even rubbed their ears and whispered to their comrades, "Did I just hear the new Prefect challenge our Military Commissioner?"

"I heard it too."

"It's not our imagination—the Magistrate really did say that."

"Is this guy out of his mind? A book-smart official actually wants to fight our battle-hardened Military Commissioner? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life."

"It's like a dog trying to challenge a lion—this guy has no damn idea what he's up against."

"Does the Magistrate think we're all pushovers who lost to the Xiongnu, thinking just anyone off the street can wipe the floor with us?"

"My lord," Cong Lin said urgently, "you're a scholar, and the Military Commissioner is a soldier. How can you two possibly fight each other in hand-to-hand combat?"

Cong Lin knew Bing Wengu had some martial skills, but since Ji County had never seen war, Bing had never actually used them. Cong Lin didn't know his real strength and just figured he had picked up a few moves from hanging around martial artists.

Baili Wuya was itching to finally beat Bing Wengu into silence and shut his damn mouth once and for all. But he couldn't do it—fighting a civilian would be pointless and wouldn't prove a damn thing. Even if he won, his own men would look down on him, making him seem like he was picking on someone way out of his league.

"My lord must be just blowing off steam," Baili Wuya said. "Let’s have the soldiers you trained face off against the ones under my command instead."

Bing Wengu took off his official hat and tossed it to Cong Lin, tucking his robe into his waistband. "Are you a soldier or not? Stop whining already! If you’re scared, send someone who isn’t!"

To Baili Wuya, Bing Wengu’s words were full-on trash talk—so arrogant it was almost laughable.

Since the new Magistrate refused to back down when given the chance, he had it coming.

Baili Wuya threw down his weapon. "I’ll leave mine behind so I don’t hurt you—I’ll fight barehanded. Don’t worry, I won’t go all out."

Seeing that they were actually going to fight, the deputy ordered a soldier, "Go get a doctor from town—just in case the Magistrate gets hurt."

"Yes sir!" The soldier ran off quickly.

The deputy turned to the Military Commissioner. "Even if you're furious about him interfering with military matters, you’ve got to hold back. If he gets seriously injured, Fengzhou will be left without leadership and fall into chaos."

Baili Wuya scoffed. "Relax, I know where the line is. But today, he needs a lesson. Otherwise, he’ll keep thinking we border troops are nothing but good-for-nothing lushes."

Realizing he couldn’t stop him, the deputy helplessly stepped aside.

The watching soldiers watched intently, eager to see how this new Magistrate would be put in his place so he’d think twice before meddling with their affairs again.