Chapter 557: Murderous Intent at Jiming Post Station

Jiming Post Station was a necessary stop on the road from Xuanfu to the capital. Compared to other post stations along major routes, it was even more bustling. After extensive construction and repairs in the 18th year of the Yongle era, it had everything needed—post station offices, warehouses, military command posts, guesthouses, and stables—along with temples and theaters. To accommodate the merchants and travelers passing by, shrewd locals bribed the post station officials and military commanders to open an inn next to the guesthouses, earning huge profits in just a year. Inspired by this example, another inn opened at the beginning of the year, even selling various kinds of liquor in its lobby, despite there being no city walls.

As the foremost post station in Xuan East, Post Master Wang had a busier schedule than ordinary post masters, but with so many merchants and travelers, the profits were substantial. After setting aside a share for the powerful military officer who backed him and giving some to the lower-ranking soldiers, he could keep the rest for himself. Thus, the new inn next to the post station office was his favorite place to frequent. Whenever he had free time, he would order a pot of liquor in the lobby and enjoy it with some snacks.

It was noon. Since no grain was being transported northward to the capital, nor were there any military reports to deliver, he sat at a table near the counter on the ground floor, sipping his liquor in comfort. By the end of July in the north, the weather had already turned cooler, making it ideal for merchants to travel and conduct business. The lobby was filled with people. Seeing everyone speaking in hushed tones, he assumed they feared him as the current post master, which made him extremely pleased.

As he sat cross-legged, drinking on his own, a soldier suddenly rushed in, out of breath, even before reaching Wang’s table. He shouted, “Sir, dozens of people are coming from the official road in Xuanfu. They’re all wearing red military robes—seems like they’re sent by the army, not ordinary officials passing through!”

Post Master Wang, who was slightly tipsy from his liquor, immediately became cold with fear upon hearing this. He set down his cup and stood up, asking, “Have you sent someone to inform Officer Mao?”

“We already sent someone, but we just heard that Officer Mao’s brother-in-law is having a birthday today, so it’s likely no one will be available… Ah, they’re already coming this way! Sir, you need to hurry!”

Seeing the messenger rush out quickly, the post master hurriedly tidied his clothes and left the hall in a hurry without even saying goodbye to the shopkeeper. A young couple sitting near the door watched the two of them leave one after another. The woman in the delicate dress whispered, “Third sister, when are we going to take action?”
“What action? Zhu Zhan Tan is dead, Zhu Zhan Qi is imprisoned. The King of Han now only has a bunch of useless sons. Yet that Fang Rui still expects me to keep my promise from before. How ridiculous! I’m not some honorable man who keeps his word! I just pretended to agree with that crown prince. Probably he never imagined that his illness would be cured so quickly, only for him to die so fast. We’ve come out on such a rare leisurely trip—let’s just enjoy the scenery and watch their drama. There’s no need to rush.”
Three years hadn’t left any signs of weariness on Tang Sair’s face, but her eyes now lacked some of their sharpness and appeared softer. She downed a cup of wine carelessly and said nonchalantly, “I used to only know about force. Over the years, living among the powerful, I finally understood what strategy really means. Assassinating Zhang Yue without actually killing him—tsk tsk, they’re quite clever in planning. But I don’t want to play by their rules!”
Since Yue Changtian’s death, Tang Qingshuang had changed into women’s clothing. Now, her smooth black hair was adorned only with a simple hairpin, making her look like an ordinary housewife. Hearing this, she widened her eyes in shock. “Third sister, do you mean to find an opportunity to kill him?”
“Although he’s always surrounded by many people, why would I wait until now to kill him? Out of respect for my master’s past connection with him, I’ll put aside the old scores for now and settle them later. But if I don’t act, someone else will.”
“Huh?”
Tang Qingshuang was greatly surprised. Before she could ask further, she saw her clever and perceptive third sister pouring wine into her mouth cup after cup, and her heart grew heavy. She had misjudged the person. Although she eventually killed that scoundrel, she never wanted to get involved with any men again. Her third sister, in the prime of her life, had never felt anything again since her brother-in-law was forced to death by the authorities. Though they no longer worried about food or clothing and even had extra money to send back to help those poor believers, was this really the life they wanted?

Even though she was filled with self-pity, when she saw the people at the three tables not far away getting up to pay and leave the hall, she immediately paid attention. She remembered clearly that from the moment she and Tang Sair sat down in the hall, those people at those tables had already been drinking inside. Out of a warrior’s habit, she almost instinctively glanced at their lower bodies. Although their faces were red as if they were drunk and their steps seemed unsteady on the surface, they were actually very steady. Realizing this, she quickly turned to look at Tang Sair.

“King Han Zhu Gaoxu only sent his trusted man Mei Qing to the capital. That guy isn’t even as smart as the self-righteous Fang Rui, so there’s no way he would send extra people here. As for King Zhao, his house arrest has only been lifted halfway. Men in this world are more stubborn than women. For them, as long as someone is willing to take charge, they don’t care about anything else.”

Just as Tang Qingshuang understood the implied meaning, Zhang Yue, who had stopped his horse in front of the station, directly expressed his request to exchange mounts to the station master. Although he had traveled slowly along the way, it wasn’t like sightseeing, so his horse had exhausted a lot of energy. He had thought he could make it to the capital, but after leaving Xuanfu by more than twenty li, his well-fed horse became listless. Though doubtful, unless he was prepared to discard those forty-odd horses, he had no choice but to switch to foot travel.

Although Zhang Yue didn’t have the official seal plaque of the postal messengers, he had something even more useful: the seal of the Ministry of War. So, though the station master was reluctant, he still had to make arrangements. However, although Jiming Post was a major post station, it only had a little over fifty horses, all kept for urgent military messages. Now, only about forty could be used. If he allocated them all to Zhang Yue, what would he have to handle urgent military messages with?

The station master explained the difficulties with a smile, leaving Zhang Yue in a dilemma as well. The troops accompanying him were cavalry specially assigned to him by the eunuch Liu Yongcheng from the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau—fiercer even than the elite troops of the capital’s garrison. It was possible they had other orders, so he couldn’t abandon them. And what the station master said about leaving enough horses for the postal messengers to replace their mounts was also completely reasonable. The problem was: did he have to stay another night at Jiming Post, less than fifty li from Xuanfu, to let his horses recover?

This place is too close to the capital. He claims to everyone that he’s here to urge the delivery of military provisions. The censors who are keeping a close eye on him surely won’t think he’s just taking the opportunity to observe the surroundings as part of his duties!
“How many postal horses can you spare here?”
Wang, the postal officer with sharp eyes, had taken the chance to inspect those horses earlier and easily found the branding on their legs. The branding from the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau filled him with awe, so he showed even more respect and courtesy toward Zhang Yue: “Sir, it’s possible to lend horses to officials along the way, but I must keep half of them for delivering urgent military messages. At most, I can provide twenty horses for you. However, since these are mostly merchants delivering goods to Beijing, we can requisition some from them.”
From Beiping to Beijing and then to the capital, such a rapid progression in just twenty years meant that the capital of the Ming Dynasty still had some inherent shortcomings. Compared to the prosperity of South Zhili, the capital relied on the Grand Canal for both food and goods. In addition, Xuan Dong was another important trade route, with many merchants from Shanxi traveling there. So when Wang mentioned this, Zhang Yue thought it could work as well.
Since Zhang Yue agreed, Wang immediately promised to handle it right away and rushed off to make arrangements. On the way, he encountered those slightly drunk merchants and casually mentioned it. To his surprise, upon hearing that an official wanted to requisition their horses, they readily agreed. They quickly agreed on the number—three horses from each of them—and soon gathered over twenty horses. Wang was overjoyed at having accomplished this task. Since those merchants said they wanted to meet the official as well, he without hesitation took them there.
Ever since the first attempt to lure the enemy out almost turned into a real assassination attempt, Peng Shisan had become extremely cautious about safety. With Xiang Long and Liu Bao already back in the capital, he never left Zhang Yue’s side throughout the journey, taking every opportunity to teach Niu Gan and Zhang Bu.
At this moment, as he helped Zhang Yue select twenty postal horses, as soon as the horn was blown, he saw Wang leading six or seven people approaching. Instinctively, he sized up those people. Noticing that they were wearing boots and their steps seemed odd, he immediately raised his eyebrows at Niu Gan and Zhang Bu and gave a subtle gesture to the other two guards.

“My lord, these merchants say they’re willing to give you the horses!” Seeing a group of bodyguards standing on either side, watching warily, Wang Yicheng felt even more certain that this unknown young man must be the descendant of some noble family. If he were one of those wealthy merchants, he would surely be willing to exchange a few horses for some kindness from others. Glancing at Zhang Yue’s expression, he smiled again and said, “These are merchants from Luzhou Prefecture, who happen to be bringing the latest silk to the capital.”

The silk from Luzhou Prefecture in Shanxi was famous throughout the land, and almost half of Zhang Yue’s family’s belongings were made of it, so at first he didn’t suspect anything upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say he only needed to borrow the horses, he felt someone lightly tap his back, causing him to pause. While he was distracted, the merchants behind Wang Yicheng stepped forward a few more steps. Suddenly, he snapped out of it, horrified, and was about to shout loudly when Peng Shisan rushed in front of him in an instant.

In a flash, Niu Gan and Zhang Bu rushed forward without hesitation, followed quickly by the other two guards. Wang Yicheng was stunned by this sudden turn of events. It wasn’t until he saw those merchants, who had just been full of deference, start shouting loudly and then pull sharp blades from nowhere to fight against the guards that he trembled with fear. Unconsciously, he sat down on the ground, and once he regained his senses, he rolled away to take cover.

Zhang Yue was firmly protected by Peng Shisan, so he could only hear the clashing sounds and see that many of the bodyguards had rushed in to help, but he couldn’t tell what was happening in that chaotic fight. At that moment, he became highly alert. After all, although his journey had been slow, if someone wanted to ambush him here, they must have known about his route. His life surely wasn’t worth such a big effort—there must be some other ulterior motive.

With the outnumbered fighting against those armed with knives rather than swords, if it weren’t for the guards and bodyguards aiming to capture live captives, those assassins disguised as merchants would have long been torn to pieces. Seeing no danger anymore, Peng Shisan stepped back beside Zhang Yue. At that point, noticing that the assassins were struggling despite their efforts, Zhang Yue’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly shouted, “Don’t hold back! These assassins are a threat if they survive—kill them all!”

Faced with this order, Niu Gan, Zhang Bu, and the other three immediately obeyed without hesitation, but the imperial guards were slower to react. If the assassins were not left alive, how could they find out who sent them later? But since Zhang Yue had given the order, they quickly reacted, and two assassins were killed on the spot. At this moment, the remaining few, who were fighting desperately, could no longer hold on. A man in a blue Lu Chou shirt shouted, “If you spare us, we’re willing to surrender…”
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Yue angrily roared, “Kill them all! Not a single one left!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the pleas for mercy ceased instantly. By the time the guards dispersed, there were only pools of blood and seven or eight corpses left on the ground. Seeing this, Peng Shisan, who was beside Zhang Yue, drew his dagger and went forward, delivering a final strike to each body without any expression, before turning back and reporting, “They’re all dead.”
“Someone, search them!”
After two imperial guards went through the bodies and found nothing but daggers and a small amount of property, Zhang Yue sent another dozen guards to search the inn where they had stayed. After they left, he glanced at the Wang Yicheng, who was sitting on the ground trembling, and ordered him to be brought over.
After questioning him briefly, he found that the man was too scared and seemed to know nothing, so he scolded him harshly before saying sternly, “Considering you were merely negligent today, I won’t hold you accountable. If the court sends someone to investigate in the future, you should know how to report it.”
“Yes, yes.” Relief at having escaped punishment, the Wang Yicheng agreed eagerly, bowing his head repeatedly. Then he suddenly remembered something and cautiously asked, “I only know that you are an official from the Ministry of War, but I don’t know your name…”
“Zhang Yue, Director of the Military Armory Department of the Ministry of War!”
After saying this, Zhang Yue led everyone toward the inn, while the Wang Yicheng stood there in a daze. No wonder killing them was as easy as killing chickens—it must be Zhang Yue!