In the brightly lit Yingxian Building, Chen Ji looked at Zhang Zhuo with so surprise.
The Ritual Supervision had long been at odds with the civil servants, as incompatible as water is with fire.
He had thought that, without the King’s Command Flag in hand, it would take so effort to take Zhang Zhuo away, but to his surprise, Zhang Zhuo had risen the instant he heard the refugees were in danger, willing to follow him.
Why?
Zhang Zhuo looked at Chen Ji with so amusent, "What’s the matter, you dare to follow , but you don’t dare to take with you?"
The noise in the hall gradually grew louder, and a newly appointed scholar stood up, bolstered by his drunken courage to loudly say, "My lord, you mustn’t follow the Eunuch Party; if they wish to take the opportunity to capture you and throw you into the inner prison, what then?"
"My lord, do not fall for the Eunuch Party’s trap!"
However, Zhang Zhuo suddenly raised his hand, quieting the hall, and said to Chen Ji with a smile, "Please, urgent matters are at hand."
After speaking, the Lord Magistrate actually went ahead and walked out of the Yingxian Building.
Once out of Yingxian Building, Zhang Zhuo stood on the stone-paved road of Baiyi Lane, looked back at Chen Ji following behind him, and said nonchalantly, "Let’s hear it then, what do you need to do?"
Chen Ji quickly explained, "I ask you to imdiately open the granary, Lord Zhang, and divert a batch of grain outside the West City Gate."
Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard, "Open the granary? Young man, the granary in Luocheng City is crucial for military strategies; it is a matter of great importance... Why haven’t you gone to Mr. Chen, but sought instead?"
Chen Ji calmly said, "Mr. Chen is rigid and pedantic. Right now in Luocheng, only Lord Zhang has the capability and the courage to do this."
Zhang Zhuo scolded jokingly, "Don’t butter up. If you said this in front of Mr. Chen, I might feel even more at ease."
With that, he composed himself, "I need to confirm once more, do you understand what you are doing at this mont, and can you bear the consequences?"
Chen Ji, wearing a gray cloak, and Zhang Zhuo, in his bright red official robe, stood facing each other.
After a long ti.
Chen Ji firmly said, "Lord Zhang, I know what I am doing."
Zhang Zhuo did not ask further, "That’s good to know."
Chen Ji turned and called out loudly to an alley beside Yingxian Building, "West Wind, prepare the carriage, you escort Lord Zhang to divert the grain, the quicker, the better."
West Wind led out a carriage from the alley, with a number of spies riding warhorses as a guard at the sides of the carriage.
Chen Ji said, "Lord Zhang, please get on the carriage."
But Zhang Zhuo didn’t board the carriage; instead, he swiftly untied the reins from the horse, mounted it, and laughed loudly, "The carriage is too slow! I’ll see you in the west of the city later; if I find out you’re rely bluffing, not even Xu Wenhe can save you!"
With that, Zhang Zhuo squeezed the horse’s sides with his legs and galloped away at full speed.
Chen Ji watched the figure in a red robe disappear around the bend of Baiyi Lane and felt that perhaps if there were a sword hanging from the official’s belt, he might look even more fitting.
Lost in thought, Jin Zhu ran out of Yingxian Building, mumbling to himself, "Madness, madness..."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "My lord, what happened?"
Jin Zhu complained, "Though the Spy Departnt is often overbearing and has captured quite a few civil servants, taking away a fifth-rank court-appointed official during a deer-calling banquet is sothing we have never done; it’s taboo!"
Chen Ji explained, "But we are not capturing Lord Zhang; we’re trying to save him."
Jin Zhu sighed helplessly, "The civil servants don’t see it that way! Before doing this, you should have at least consulted with !"
Chen Ji inquired, "If I had asked, would you still have allowed to do this?"
Jin Zhu said irritably, "Of course I would have disagreed... Never mind, do whatever you want! Where to now?"
"To the west of the city!"
...
...
"Chen Ji."
"Hm?"
Jin Zhu, riding a horse, looked at the dical apprentice beside him with a serene face and suddenly remarked with emotion, "You were born for this job. You said you would resign from the Spy Departnt, but the Spy Departnt is the best place for you."
"Why do you say that, my lord?"
Jin Zhu looked toward the end of the street, "You love to take unconventional approaches, and sooner or later, you’re going to take a fall."
Chen Ji changed the subject, "My lord, just now Lord Zhang ntioned ’even Xu Wenhe cannot save you.’ Who is Xu Wenhe?"
Jin Zhu laughed, "That is the Lord Pri Minister’s na, but nowadays most people either call him Poison Minister or just Pri Minister, and they’ve almost forgotten the na. Zhang Zhuo sure has a lot of nerve; a fifth-rank official daring to call the Pri Minister by his na!"
Chen Ji said curiously, "I always feel that Lord Zhang does not quite seem like those civil servants but rather like an adventurer."
Jin Zhu grinned, "You’ve guessed it right. After Zhang Zhuo’s wife died, he indeed spent a year as an adventurer, hanging out with people from Jianghu every day, not doing proper work."
"Then why did he co back and end up marrying the niece of Official Xu?"
Jin Zhu taunted, "Learning martial arts and joining the imperial family, don’t all civil servants think that way? There’s no ’why’ to it. By the way, what’s this about him agreeing to marry his daughter to you? If that really happens, you could save thirty years of hardship... The Lord Pri Minister once said that Lord Zhang is fit to be a Pri Minister!"
Chen Ji did not answer; he couldn’t.
At that mont, a spy cried out, "My lord, there’s a fire!"
Baiyi Lane was located to the east of the city, so by the ti Chen Ji and the others rushed on horseback to the west, it was already midnight.
Before they even left the city, they saw a huge fire outside the city, with sparks scattering in the night sky.
Jin Zhu looked at Chen Ji in shock, "Did you really anticipate this? How did you know sothing big would happen to the west of the city?"
Chen Ji’s expression was as solemn as still waters.
Jin Zhu urgently asked, "What outside the city could cause such a large fire?"
Chen Ji replied, "I’m afraid it’s Luocheng City Governnt’s granary used for famine relief."
Jin Zhu’s expression turned grim; he was no fool and imdiately understood the implications, "More than ten thousand refugees from West Henan are gathered outside the city, hungry and not properly clothed. If the granary burns down and soone incites the refugees, they could instantly turn into bandits, storm into Luocheng City, and start looting and rioting. If an uprising occurs, the careers of Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin would be utterly ruined!"
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