Chapter 532: The Power of Reputation

Although Meng Jun was much older than Zhang Yue, apart from his current assignment in Xuanfu and occasional visits to his hometown in Haifeng, Shandong, to pay respects to his ancestors, he had hardly ever left Nanjing or Beijing. He had no idea that even honest and law-abiding commoners could lose their temper under pressure. He thought his words would scare them, but when he realized they only seemed to inflame the situation, his heart raced. Just then, he felt someone pull him behind him; upon realizing it was Zhang Yue, he spoke up.
“As our fellow villagers have said, those Tartars are truly no good!”
After more than three years in office, Zhang Yue was no longer the inexperienced newcomer. After a moment of shock at this sudden situation, he quickly regained his composure. Though there were hundreds of elite soldiers nearby, those hundreds of large carts occupied most of the road. If a riot broke out, not only would all their previous plans fail, but it could also lead to unimaginable consequences. After shouting loudly, he saw the restless crowd fall silent for a moment.
“Then everyone must be wondering why the court accepts their surrender despite knowing they’re no good. That’s because war relies on the lives of soldiers, and the lives of the Ming warriors are worth more than those of the Tartars! The emperor is about to launch a northern campaign. Accepting their surrender means fewer enemies on the battlefield and fewer warriors lost!”
At this point, Zhang Yue glanced at the crowd of commoners. Seeing hesitation in their eyes after being stirred up, he seized the opportunity to continue, “You can look north. Beyond the Great Wall lies Tartar territory. In this winter, there are no cities or houses—only endless barren grasslands and relentless cold winds. Perhaps some of you have relatives in the army. Go ask them whether they prefer to fight fiercely and risk their lives, or to have support everywhere and keep winning battles and achieving great feats!”
“Of course, we want to win battles!”
Many people from Xuanfu and Datong, who had relatives in the army, immediately agreed. With that response, many others also changed their minds. But those who had been incited were unwilling to let Zhang Yue get away so easily. Unfortunately, Zhang Yue didn’t give them a chance to disrupt him and cleared his throat again.

“If everyone still doesn’t believe me, then I have one more thing to say. Beneath the walls of Xinghe, I buried my comrades who died at the hands of the Tartars. I fought against them, set fire to their camps, and even shot through their military banners with my own hands! Who am I? I am Zhang Yue, an officer from the Ministry of War appointed to oversee military affairs in Xuanfu. The thing I hate most in this world are those traitors who collude with foreigners! I hate those bastards who have forgotten their ancestors and lost their conscience! Who was it who first accused me of being a traitor colluding with the Tartars? Come forward if you have the guts! Say it again right in front of me!”
Meng Jun had always seen Zhang Yue as a gentle and refined man. But now, seeing his face turn red from anger and hearing his fierce shouts that left the crowd stunned, he couldn’t help but realize that one should never judge by appearance. At that moment, he heard Zhang Yue shout again.
“If you have the guts to do it, then have the guts to admit it! What kind of hero are you if you just hide behind others to stir up trouble? Everyone here are honest commoners—keep your eyes open and see who those troublemakers really are. Think about what they tried to get you to do just now! The Tartars are no good, and those with ulterior motives are even worse!”
While Zhang Yue was speaking, Peng Shisan had already quietly given orders. Half of the soldiers went around to the back of the convoy from the fields, while the other half circled around from the front. Ever since some people started running around in panic, he had been watching that highly suspicious Wu Yan. Now, seeing him sneaking away, he grew even angrier. If it weren’t for fear of provoking a riot, he would have already shot him with his bow.
These few hundred people were ordinary laborers hired at thirty coins a day to transport grain. They were usually very honest, bowing and scraping in front of village chiefs or officials, let alone high-ranking court officials. Now that Zhang Yue had revealed his identity, it caused another wave of uproar. News spread slowly in those days, but those the court wanted to publicize were exceptions. Especially in Xuanfu and Datong, Zhang Yue’s name was well-known, and the battle at Xinghe had already been exaggerated into a legendary tale.
“It’s actually Lord Zhang! Good heavens, are we dreaming?”
“Who dares to talk nonsense like that just now?”
“He even said Lord Zhang colluded with the Tartars! That fool who spread such lies is truly a scoundrel!”

Seeing hundreds of people in an uproar and looking around frantically, and hearing the noisy voices, Zhang Yue felt relieved, realizing that even the instigator could hardly control such a large crowd. Noticing that the two men he had forced to pretend to be Tartar envoys also had intense expressions, he quickly rushed over, waved at Long, and pointed at them. Only when he saw Long lead his men to take them away did he feel at ease. At that moment, he suddenly heard a chorus of curses rising from the crowd.

“It’s you! It’s you shouting nonsense about some dog official! Don’t think you can get away—you were right next to me just now, and I heard everything clearly!” Along with these angry words, a burly young man pulled out one person and shouted loudly, “Everyone, look! It’s this guy! He and I both drive carts for the Wu family in Fenzhou!”

With this start, within moments, five or six more people were pulled out of the crowd. Although most of them insisted they were just following others in shouting, gradually, everyone uncovered the truth—that most of these people were indeed cart drivers for the Wu family in Fenzhou. Suspicious, Zhang Yue didn’t say a word. He dismounted, stepped forward, examined the first person pulled out, then suddenly drew the sword at his waist and thrust it deep into a bag of rice. In an instant, yellow sand poured out of the torn bag, with only a few grains of white rice left. Seeing this, he pulled back his sword and shouted sharply, “Someone, capture that Wu Yan!”

First there was the uproar over Tartars and dog officials, then the dog official turned out to be Zhang Yue, and soon after, the instigators who had stirred up the chaos were brought to light… People were overwhelmed by these rapid developments, but no one expected such drastic changes to occur so suddenly. At that moment, Wu Yan turned around and ran toward the fields. But in a flash, Peng Shisan, who had his hand on his arrow quiver, quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow. The arrow flew like thunder and struck Wu Yan right in the shoulder. Seeing this, the crowd became even more agitated, and some people unconsciously loosened their grip on those they were holding.

Seizing this opportunity, several men who saw no way out quickly broke free from their restraints, drew their blades, and fled desperately. The young laborer who was forced to kneel at that moment raised a glinting blade from below and leaped up, slashing straight at Zhang Yue’s neck. Due to the narrow path, there were only Niu Gan and Meng Jun, who was half a step behind, beside Zhang Yue. Niu Gan almost instinctively stepped in front of Zhang Yue as per Peng Shisan’s instructions, while Meng Jun moved even faster, drawing his sword and slashing downward.

Whoosh—

Almost simultaneous sounds followed, immediately accompanied by a shrill scream and a faint, muffled groan. Blood burst from Niu Gan’s shoulder, but he remained frozen in place, while Meng Jun’s angry slash severed the laborer’s head outright. The blood of both men splashed onto Zhang Yue’s face almost at the same time, forcing him to close his eyes despite already having raised his sword to block.

Yet this was merely a desperate struggle by a cornered beast. After Peng Shisan’s first arrow proved effective, two more arrows hit Wu Yan’s legs, easily keeping him in place. The few who tried to escape were also caught by the soldiers stationed around them. To prevent any complications, Meng Jun simply dragged Zhang Yue into the fields. When the soldiers arrived to surround them, Zhang Bu also approached and skillfully bandaged Niu Gan’s bloody wounds. He couldn’t help but think of his own swift slash just moments earlier.

Life and death could happen in an instant. Seeing that over a hundred soldiers had already gathered the terrified laborers together with the backs of their swords, Zhang Yue no longer had time to worry about his lingering fears. Just as he was about to give orders, Peng Shisan’s loud voice came from beside him, “Stubborn Ox, good job just now!”

Niu Gan grinned and said, “Master, am I now a competent guard?”

“Of course. I’ve always said that speed alone isn’t enough; what matters is the right reaction!”

Seeing Niu Gan’s face pale but his smile joyful, Zhang Yue felt his heart pound strangely. He steadied himself and temporarily set aside the negative reactions from earlier. Nodding at Peng Shisan, who was stepping off his horse, he said, “We can’t make it to Zhangjiakou Fort today. Let’s head back to Xuanfu. Have these laborers board the grain carts in their original order. Order the soldiers not to mistreat them, but also not to let a single one escape!”

Hearing this, Peng Shisan agreed. Seeing that Zhang Yue was unharmed, Meng Jun spoke up, “Your face is covered in blood. Wipe it off quickly. Don’t worry, I’ll go with Old Peng to arrange everything—nothing will go wrong!”

The two of them went to arrange everything, while Long and Liu Bao dejectedly stepped forward to apologize. They had thought they had figured out several possible strategies on the other side, but who would have expected things to turn out so unexpectedly? If Niu Gan hadn’t reacted quickly and Meng Jun hadn’t made that final strike, who knows what would have happened!
Zhang Yue simply said a few words to them, his hand hidden in his sleeve clenched into a fist. It seemed he needed to remember to avoid acting impulsively in the future. For example, he hadn’t really needed to pierce that rice sack with his own sword—that way, he might not have given others a chance, nor would Niu Gan have had to step in to block it. Even a dog will jump over a wall when cornered, let alone a human?