James Thompson immediately realized he had let something slip—how did he know that Dunhuang wouldn’t build a Maitreya statue? Wasn’t that the same as telling Kevin Sullivan that he also had someone in the court?

Kevin Sullivan, however, pretended not to understand and smiled, “I haven’t heard that Dunhuang won’t build it. Anyway, I received a letter from Prince Wei. His Majesty is sending a trusted aide. As for who exactly, Prince Wei didn’t specify. In any case, someone is coming, so preparations for the statue must begin as soon as possible. But I hope this time the Sullivan family can complete it independently.”

Kevin Sullivan certainly knew that building the Maitreya statue was an excellent opportunity for advancement, far surpassing the so-called martial arts county exam.

If he could take charge of sculpting the great Maitreya statue and please His Majesty, and if Ulysses Grant then put in a good word to the emperor, saying this was the Sullivan family’s wholehearted loyalty, it would greatly benefit the family’s future. No matter what, he absolutely could not let this opportunity slip by.

He had originally planned to promise the Thompson family other benefits, but since James Thompson now needed something from the Sullivan family, Kevin Sullivan decided to use this opportunity to have the Thompson family withdraw from the construction of the Maitreya statue.

James Thompson understood now—this was the Sullivan family’s condition. Peter Sullivan would help him stop Brian Thompson from competing for a spot, and the Dayun Maitreya statue would be monopolized by the Sullivan family alone. However... this condition was a bit too steep.

He hesitated for a moment and said, “But the Bolton family and the Clark family might also want to participate in building the Maitreya statue.”

“The Bolton family has already made it clear they won’t participate this time. As for the Clark family, I’ll go talk to Charles Clark.”

Kevin Sullivan’s eyes narrowed with a smile, the implication being that only the Thompson family was left. James Thompson fell silent for a moment.

Although such matters should be discussed and decided by the family elders’ council, time was tight. In order to secure the last spot to go to the capital and get Richard Martin’s letter of recommendation, he ultimately decided to give in.

……

At the same time that James Thompson and Kevin Sullivan reached an agreement, Deputy Military Commissioner Steven Bolton was also sitting in the back garden of his residence, watching his son Michael Bolton practice horseback archery.

Michael Bolton was Steven Bolton’s second son, twenty years old this year. He closely resembled his father, tall and sturdy, with a square face and dignified features. The Bolton family had been military men for generations, and Michael Bolton had begun systematic training at the age of six.

With his innate martial foundation and years of diligent practice, he had become one of the outstanding young men of Dunhuang. If not for Brian Thompson, that remarkable commoner, he would definitely be the number one in Shazhou.

Michael Bolton was not a student of the state academy; in fact, he was a squad leader in the Doulu Army. But he had also studied at the state academy, and this time he was participating in the martial arts county exam as a state academy student.

He was determined to win one of the three spots to go to the capital. If he succeeded in the capital exam, he could be promoted from squad leader to captain.

Although his father was the deputy military commissioner, promotion to captain required an appointment from the Ministry of War. The military promotion system was very strict, and even his father had no way around it.

Michael Bolton kept urging his warhorse to gallop, shooting arrows left and right, each one flying toward the target fifty paces away.

Although it was nighttime, a lantern hung above the target, so it was clearly visible. If it were daytime, he could shoot from eighty paces while riding.

Beside him, Steven Bolton was deep in thought. Today, he had witnessed Brian Thompson’s horseback archery with his own eyes. That instant double shot, hitting the bullseye between the brows, was a skill far superior to his son’s. Although his son ranked second, in reality, he was far behind Brian Thompson.

But what worried Steven Bolton was his conversation with Richard Martin today. Richard Martin clearly already knew about the predetermined list.

So in the end, he seemed to change his mind a bit. What did he mean by “I’ll only write a recommendation letter if the candidate meets my requirements”? Who knew what his requirements were?

To put it bluntly, Richard Martin simply didn’t intend to write a recommendation letter anymore. It made sense—he had already seen Brian Thompson’s horseback archery. After that, how could he be impressed by anyone else’s? Perhaps his requirement was simply to be on the same level as Brian Thompson.

Now Steven Bolton was in a dilemma. Should he tell Peter Sullivan about this, or just play dumb and pretend to know nothing?

In fact, the four great families of Shazhou were far from united; they were constantly engaged in secret infighting. For example, the Doulu Army was stationed in Shazhou year-round, and local security had always been the responsibility of the Doulu Army, with the Shazhou Sima holding only a nominal post.

But three years ago, the Sullivan family leveraged their connection with the top minister, Prince Wei Ulysses Grant, and Peter Sullivan was appointed as Shazhou Sima. He actually followed the Central Plains system and formed a local state militia.

Peter Sullivan took over security for Dunhuang and Shouchang counties, making the local militia responsible for city security, while the Doulu Army handled external defense.

This was indeed the Central Plains system, but this was the frontier of Shazhou. The governor also served as commander of the Doulu Army. Even if he, Steven Bolton, couldn’t also serve as Sima, at the very least, the real power of the Sima should belong to him—that was the tradition.

Now that the Sullivan family had taken away his real power as Sima, how could Steven Bolton possibly be happy?

Everyone knew that the Bolton and Sullivan families were secretly at odds, and this was the root cause. Outwardly, they maintained appearances, since they were fellow countrymen and there was no need to tear things apart.

This time, with three spots to go to the capital, everyone would get what they needed: he, Steven Bolton, would take one, the Sullivan family would take one, and as for the third spot, that had nothing to do with him—it was up to the Sullivan and Thompson families to work it out themselves.

Thinking of the Sullivan family’s encroachment on his interests, Steven Bolton finally made up his mind: as for Richard Martin’s favoring of Brian Thompson, he would just pretend not to know, play dumb, and as for the recommendation letter, he knew nothing about it.

……