Chapter 470: Neither Salty nor Sweet, Tears Without Sadness

Bao’an Prefecture was originally part of Shunning Prefecture under the Yuan Dynasty. During the Hongwu era, as it was close to the Mongol Yuan regime, the prefectural city was abolished and its inhabitants relocated inland. It was not until the second year of the Yongle era that Bao’an Guard was established here, and in the thirteenth year, a prefecture was set up within the guard city, directly under Shun Tianfu, only 300 li away from the capital. Located on the official road from Xuanfu to the capital, it was a necessary route for tributes to the Mongol Yuan regime. When Arutai sent envoys to pay tribute, those envoys often raided along the way on their return, so ordinary people were reluctant to live here. Since the establishment of the prefecture, aside from the 5,000 troops stationed there, there were only slightly over a thousand civilian households.

Despite being such a small city, Zhang Yue and his party, who had traveled 300 li in ten days, were already satisfied. They had only spent two nights at Juyong Pass and Huailai Guard, spending the rest of the time camping in the wild. Thus, when they saw the prefect of Bao’an Prefecture and the commander of Bao’an Guard coming out to greet them, Lu Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they would finally be able to sleep in a bed.

The commander held the third rank, while the prefect was only of the fifth rank. Moreover, in today’s world, military officials generally held higher status than civil officials, so a clear distinction could be seen between them. Commander Li Fu stood upright with a loud voice, whereas Prefect Feng always kept his head bowed and dared not speak loudly. However, in officialdom, rank was not the only factor. None of Zhang Yue’s three companions held a rank above the fourth, but since they carried the titles of imperial envoys and officials from the capital, Li Fu was extremely polite and respectful.

The main road running east-west through the prefectural city was dirt road. After hundreds of carts of goods were brought into the city, Zhou Bailing led troops along with the hundred men of Bao’an Guard to transport them to temporary storage sites. Seeing that his subordinates had already gone with Zhou Bailing, Li Fu accompanied the three imperial envoys into the city. Since Bao’an Prefecture was very close to the capital, he, who was well-informed, naturally understood which of the three was more important.

Lu Feng, the head of the Eastern Depot, naturally required the most careful attention. Although he seemed to be being exiled this time, it was uncertain what would happen upon his return. As the saying goes, “It’s better to offend a gentleman than a villain.” The Eastern Depot was far more troublesome than the Imperial Guards. Zhang Yue also needed to be kept happy. Setting aside his family background, just the title of Director of the Armory Department meant that any slight negligence could lead to delays in annual military equipment deliveries, which would be troublesome for him. As for the censor, although he wasn’t that important, after all, “harmony brings prosperity”—it was better not to offend him if possible.

Having made up his mind, Li Fu, who usually wore a stern expression in front of his subordinates, naturally beamed with a smile and devoted his full attention to the situation. In no time, he made an excuse to send Governor Wu away. Meanwhile, Zhang Yue, preoccupied with Niu Gan’s matter, asked as they rode together, “That hundredman just now said that Commander Li caught some spies here, right?”
“It’s just a minor matter. That guy actually spoke out in front of everyone—what an ignorant fool!” Li Fu took it lightly and said with a laugh, “Yesterday, we indeed caught three people—suspicious types who couldn’t speak Mandarin fluently. But they’ve already reported their hometowns, so they’re currently detained. We’ll deal with them after further investigation. If they’re really spies, then of course we’ll execute them as a warning to others. If they’re commoners who fled from the north, there are established procedures—first, we’ll thoroughly verify their hometowns. Once the records from there come in, they’ll surely be registered locally and can’t be released casually…”
Niu Gan, who was closely watched by Peng Shisan, immediately paled upon hearing that his companions had been captured. Only when Li Fu said they were still detained and not yet executed did he breathe a sigh of relief. Lu Feng, however, wasn’t interested in this and cut Li Fu off right away, “I heard that it wasn’t Xingan Bo who issued the martial law and execution orders in Xuanfu, but Wang Guan, the imperial supervisor?”
Seeing Zhang Yue and Yu Qian also showing concern, Li Fu’s heart skipped a beat. He silently cursed his talkative subordinate harshly, then suddenly thought of another crucial point. That hundredman, with his minor rank, probably couldn’t deal with these three. He must have let something slip while discussing private matters with Zhou Bailing. Now that the news had reached these three, could it be that Zhou Bailing and Zhang Yue were actually on the same side? At this thought, he broke into sweat and regretted it deeply.
If he had known this, he wouldn’t have insisted on following the old rules. How much was a hundred bolts of cotton cloth worth? Losing his career wasn’t worth it!
What was important now was to answer Lu Feng’s question, so he quickly joked, “This is just rumor at the moment. Our Ba’an Prefecture is directly under the capital and isn’t under Xuanfu’s control. Whether they impose martial law or execute people there, it has nothing to do with us. I’ve always instructed those thousandmen and hundredmen to follow the imperial laws and regulations in everything they do, which is why they’re still detained.”

These words sounded like nothing had been said, but in reality, they said everything, so Lu Feng couldn’t help but sneer. Zhang Yue, on the other hand, thought that Li Fu had handled things properly and wondered whether he should keep Niu Gan in Baoan Prefecture until things became clearer. After all, it was only fifty li away, and it would take just one day to reach Xuanfu. However, after walking carelessly for a while, filled with hesitation, he heard a commotion and argument. When he came to his senses, he found that the Baoan Guard Office was right ahead.

Like most government offices, the Baoan Guard Office also had a screen wall in front, with a tall archway behind it bearing the three characters “Zhongyong Fang.” Under the archway, there were about a dozen men on tall horses, all wearing blue jackets. The one at the front was dressed in bright brocade, with a shrill and loud voice.

“This is an order issued jointly by Eunuch Wang and Marquis Xing’an. You, Commander Li, are just a minor commander of a guard unit—how dare you defy orders and refuse to hand over the person? If the Tartars manage to disguise themselves and get into Shuntian Prefecture, will you be able to bear the consequences? If you’re sensible, hand over the person right away so we can take him away and execute him according to law as a warning to others!”

“We need to wait for the lord to return first. He’s gone to greet those imperial envoys from the capital!”

“Imperial envoys? They’re just tasked with the unpleasant job no one wants. In fact, they’re just transporting military equipment through Baoan Prefecture. Is it really necessary for Li Fu to go and fawn over them? Don’t think there’s an eunuch among them either—he was expelled from the capital after losing power…”

What angered Lu Feng the most was being outmaneuvered this time. Hearing the eunuch’s loud shouting, his cruel words reaching clearly, he became furious. Without thinking carefully, he spurred his horse into the alley. Zhang Yue didn’t pull him back, feeling that something was strange, so he followed after, urging his horse forward.

Hu Cheng was the eunuch in charge of Xuanfu Left Guard. Having ruled tyrannically there for five or six years, he had long abandoned the caution he once had in the palace and certainly didn’t take a minor guard unit like Baoan seriously. After spouting more insults, his arrogance grew even more: “The other two are either a minor censor who isn’t even at the seventh rank or a fifth-rank official from the Ministry of War. Is it really necessary for you, Commander Li, a third-rank official, to go and greet them? Even when flattering others, you need to be smart. That censor is one thing, but that little Lord Zhang was also exiled this time. None of the civil officials in the court likes him; otherwise, why would they send him to that deadly place in Xinghe? Hey, Xinghe has been attacked by the Tartars twice already, and now it has less than six hundred people. He might die there as soon as he goes…”

As he spoke, he noticed that the sergeants in front of him were all staring at his back with extremely strange expressions. Immediately on guard, he turned his horse around. He didn’t recognize most of them, but he remembered Lu Feng’s face clearly. Seeing that his face was ashen, his earlier arrogance vanished instantly. With great difficulty, he managed to force out a smile even uglier than crying and stammered, “Lu… Lord Lu…”

The young and ambitious Lu Feng had not yet developed the hidden cunning of the older eunuchs in the palace. As he rode closer, his eyes seemed to sprout fire: “Do you think I’ve fallen from power? Do you dare ignore me? Well, just because you have the audacity to slander an imperial envoy, I must assess just how dangerous you are! What kind of scoundrel are you, daring to slander an imperial envoy? Have you grown tired of living, or has your backer grown tired?”

Seeing Hu Cheng seemingly frozen in fear, Yu Qian turned to the stunned Li Fu and asked, “Commander Li, I recall you saying just now that Bao’an Prefecture is under Northern Zhili and not under Xuanfu’s jurisdiction?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Realizing this, Li Fu quickly regained his composure. Remembering how harshly the eunuch had spoken just now, he was also very angry. He raised his chin and said, “If you want to take people from Baoding Guard, go to the capital and have a duel first! There are established rules in the court—how can you act so recklessly?”

Unexpecting to encounter the actual person behind the backtalk, and with Li Fu clearly refusing to cooperate, Hu Cheng grew fearful. Yet with Lu Feng right in front of him, it was even harder for him to simply leave in shame. At a loss, he saw Zhang Yue walking toward him, his heart sinking again—he truly regretted everything.

“Since you’re here, Lord, don’t rush to leave. Come sit in the Bao’an Guard office for a while. I still have questions for you.”

“Talk inside the office! Before leaving the capital, I did instruct Mu Ning, the chief executioner, to temporarily take charge of the Eastern Depot, but I’m still its supervisor. If you refuse to accept my orders, do you think I won’t send the local Jinyiwei to arrest you and bring you back to the capital to explain to the emperor?”

Zhang Yue made no mention of what had happened earlier, and Hu Cheng dared not stay any longer. Before he could explain anything, he saw Lu Feng glaring at him fiercely and delivering such harsh words. He couldn’t help but swallow hard. If only he had known this would happen—those were all words spoken privately by Lord Wang. Why had he opened his mouth in public?

At that moment, he dared not raise any objections anymore and could only slump his head in disappointment as he followed into the yamen. Upon arriving in the small hall, he saw that everyone else was staring at him after taking their seats, which made him feel both ashamed and angry. Yet he dared not show the slightest sign of dissatisfaction and could only sit there with his body slanted.

Zhang Yue glanced at the thin, tall eunuch in front of him with scorn, thinking that the guy was utterly foolish—showing off at such an inopportune time, especially on this day. Then he said calmly, “Let’s put aside what happened just now for now, but there’s another matter I’d like to ask about. To determine whether those captured are Tartars or people of the Great Ming, it usually takes at least a month to conduct the checks. What’s with the martial law and order to execute issued by Xuanfu? Also, the people captured in Baoan Prefecture yesterday haven’t been reported yet, yet you rushed over in such a hurry today. Isn’t this news coming too quickly?”

Hearing this indifferent tone, Hu Cheng felt like crying but had no tears left. There was surely a complex reason behind this, but how could he dare to speak up?