Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 51

Chapter 51: The Fifteenth Day of the Villain Being Emperor

Clad in black armor and riding in the center of the column, Chu Xin felt a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

She had to admit, being a general felt entirely different from sitting in the magistrate’s office. She knew she had little martial prowess and couldn’t lead a charge, but seeing the high morale and battle-readiness of the soldiers, Chu Xin felt a surge of eagerness herself, looking forward to the confrontation three days away.

The location for the operation was provided by Choumou. To avoid alerting the bandits, Chu Xin set up a temporary camp ten miles away. Choumou even set the exact time and pre-selected the ambush site, giving Chu Xin—the titular commander—great peace of mind.

“Master Chu, I will not participate in the coming battle. I ask you to take full command,” Choumou said once the ambush was set, remaining at Chu Xin’s side.

Chu Xin thought seriously before turning to the vice-commander. “General Wan, the command of this battle is in your hands. I shall assist from the sidelines.”

“Yes! Thank you for your trust, Master,” General Wan replied, a spark of excitement in her eyes. She was one of the experienced female officers who had remained in the Mingyue Camp after General Liu’s departure.

The group lay in wait a full hour early. As time ticked by, some soldiers who had never seen combat gripped their weapons tightly, their breathing heavy.

Clop-clop—clop-clop—

The sound of hoofbeats approached. General Wan easily judged the distance and signaled the archers to standby. When the shadows of men appeared less than a hundred meters away, two hundred archers drew their bows.

As the figures drew closer, Chu Xin saw about eighty riders followed by two or three hundred bandits on foot. Something felt wrong. Their bearing wasn’t that of bandits—though their skin was tanned, their clothes were clean, and their beards and sideburns were neatly trimmed. True mountain outlaws living in the forest couldn’t look like this.

Having overseen the confiscation of over a dozen households, Chu Xin guessed the truth: these weren’t mountain bandits, but guards of the local gentry disguised as outlaws. Remembering Prince Lian’s past experiences, were these men targeting passing officials?

Before she could fully untangle the logic, General Wan shouted, “Release!”

Hundreds of arrows flew, taking dozens of lives instantly. Without shields or armor, the “bandits” were defenseless. After three volleys, the cavalry charged with lances, shattering the enemy formation. Only then did the infantry charge.

The battle lasted less than fifteen minutes. The survivors—only a dozen or so—threw down their weapons and surrendered.

“Bind them. Count the casualties and treat the wounded,” General Wan commanded.

Chu Xin looked at Choumou. “Commander, you knew they weren’t… ordinary bandits, didn’t you?”

Choumou smiled. “Master Chu, there is no need to be so specific. You only need to know they appeared as bandits.”

Chu Xin pursed her lips, thinking of the “pirate” massacres in January. “The slaughter of the coastal civilians… was there more to that as well?”

Choumou’s smile vanished. “Master Chu, if the innocent civilians were killed by ‘pirates,’ then the thousand gentry killed two months ago were also killed by ‘pirates’.”

Chu Xin froze, realizing the subtext. If the gentry had caused the death of innocent people for their own selfish desires, the Emperor’s actions were merely a life for a life. Was that a form of justice?

…

After returning to Anji, Chu Xin wrote a memorial to the Emperor. She reported the victory but added her own counsel, pleading with the Emperor to use legal and formal means to bring the gentry to justice.

She argued that by publicizing their crimes and executing them according to the law, the people would lose their fear of the gentry. She could not accept the Jinyiwei masquerading as bandits to wipe out entire families.

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Wen Qingyun looked at the 3,000-word memorial. Chu Xin had personally investigated the aftermath in Huzhou and noted that even servants without “life-contracts” (free laborers) had been killed by the “bandits.”

Wen Qingyun sighed. She picked up her brush and wrote a single red word on the memorial: “Approved.”

…

“Master Chu, the Emperor ordered me to give these to you,” Choumou said, handing over a stack of documents. “These are items recovered from secret rooms and confessions from the ‘bandits’.”

Chu Xin began to read the confessions:

Confession 1: Followed master’s orders to lure a man into a gambling den, forcing him into a debt of 15 taels. Threatened his ten-year-old daughter to purchase 15 acres of land at a low price.

Confession 2: Scholar Liu mocked the master at a tavern. Orders were given to break his right leg and destroy his books. Later framed him for immoral conduct to strip him of his degrees.

Confession 3: A farm girl, Xu, was beautiful and refused the master’s advances. Her father and brother were fired from their jobs to force her into service. During a struggle, she scratched the master. She was stripped and beaten, committed suicide in shame, and her body was dumped in a mass grave.

Confession 4: A farm woman tried to complain to the National University students; she was beaten to death and thrown off a cliff to look like an accidental fall.

Chu Xin’s hands trembled. For one household, there were fifty-six such confessions from just ten “bandits.” How many more atrocities had the rest committed?

Fury burned in her heart. For a moment, she thought like the Emperor: Wipe them out. None of them are innocent!

Then she read the ledger: 300 taels to bribe this official, jade ruyi for that guest, 1,500 taels in kickbacks, three “slender horses” (concubines) sent to another… all while ruthlessly squeezing the commoners and monopolizing local trade.

Chu Xin sat in the dark until sunrise. When her sister-in-law, Xiang Han, brought breakfast, Chu Xin looked up, lost. “Sister-in-law, am I being too naive? Is there truly no one innocent in these great clans?”

Xiang Han sighed. “One cannot say there are none, but over time, they are all dyed the same color. If the masters are debauched and lawless, can the servants stay pure?”

“Master Chu,” Jiang Ling (the Governor’s daughter disguised as a son) stood at the door. “Commander Choumou asks if you are ready to arrest the criminals in Wukang.”

Chu Xin swallowed her porridge and stood up. “Yes. I’ll change and depart in fifteen minutes.”

“Can I come with you?” Jiang Ling asked. “I want to learn real skills.”

Chu Xin looked at the eager youth. “Do you know where we are going? To arrest the Fan family in Wukang.”

“I know. I won’t hold you back!”

Chu Xin nodded. “Then follow us. You will handle the clerical records.”

“Thank you, Master Chu!”

“Aren’t you going to rest? You didn’t sleep at all,” Xiang Han worried.

Chu Xin shook her head. After reading those files, she couldn’t sleep. If she didn’t seek justice for those victims, she would never find peace.