Chapter 619: A More Skilled Opponent

Tongzhou has been the starting point of the Grand Canal since the Sui Dynasty. Although the Yuan Dynasty built the Tonghui River, allowing goods to reach Dadu directly by water, its prosperity remained limited. Now, with the Tonghui River clogged, cargo ships must dock at Tongzhou’s wharf before being transported to the capital by land. Thus, since the capital was moved here, the area has become far more bustling than before. With a large number of merchants coming and going, along with various crowds traveling to and from the capital, the inns here are almost always full, even the cheapest rooms are occupied by porters.

Despite a curfew, as the flow of grain ships was of utmost importance, the curfew in Tongzhou was much looser than in the capital. People could still be seen walking on the streets at night. Some inns left gaps between their doors for guests who rushed ashore to stay temporarily, while others simply hung red lanterns signifying full occupancy, with their doors tightly closed. After searching several main streets, Zhang Yue finally found a small inn with its door slightly ajar. He quickly led Peng Shisan and the others over there.

The innkeeper, who was counting on a abacus behind the counter, quickly looked up upon hearing noise. Seeing several burly men armed with weapons burst in, he thought he might be facing thugs. It wasn’t until he noticed a weary young man in blue clothes following them that he relaxed. Putting down the abacus, he stepped forward with a smile. Seeing the young clerk at the first table still fast asleep, he angrily slapped him on the back of the head.

“Who hit me?”
The clerk jumped up. Seeing the innkeeper glaring at him and noticing guests at the door, he quickly shrunk back. Hearing the innkeeper’s overly polite words to those guests, he inwardly grumbled about the old man’s rudeness. Then he realized that these people didn’t seem like merchants traveling far, nor scholars taking exams in the capital.

Zhang Yue observed that the hall was fairly clean and directly asked for four guest rooms. Upon hearing this request, the innkeeper showed a troubled expression. Given these people’s imposing presence, they probably weren’t troublemakers, but his inn was small—with two premium rooms, three standard rooms, and five shared beds—and only one standard room was left. Fearing they might be wealthy people he couldn’t afford to offend, he quickly apologized and explained the situation.

Seeing the burly man examining the stairs from top to bottom, he quickly said, “Young master, it’s late at night; I can’t just ask someone to vacate their house. There are many outsiders in the Tongzhou area these days, and I doubt there are any vacant houses elsewhere. If it’s inconvenient for you, I have a room of my own that I can tidy up for your family to stay in…”
Since he knew there were no guest rooms, Zhang Yue agreed, “Then please go to the trouble, shopkeeper. We missed the deadline to return to the city and will have to stay outside for the night. Lao Peng, bring over those wild game animals; they’ll make a good dinner.”
It was then that Peng Shisan took out a pair of pheasants and three hares from his saddle bag—prey caught earlier in the forest—still holding two arrows in his hands. The shopkeeper was shocked upon seeing these wild animals with arrow wounds, thinking that the Tongzhou Guard and several defense units were stationed near Tongzhou, and almost all the forests in the area were reserved for them. People from the capital who went hunting usually headed north. Despite his confusion, he immediately ordered his staff to prepare food in the back, then closed the door and brought out some snacks to satisfy their hunger. After all, it would take at least half an hour to prepare such wild game.
When the food was served, everyone sat at two tables. Starving, Zhang Yue devoured his meal heartily, and the others ate quickly as well. While the sounds of them gobbling up the food amazed the shopkeeper and his staff, suddenly there was a pounding on the door. The young staff member went to open it, and someone quickly squeezed in.
“Lao Han, I’m here again to borrow your wine and food… Huh!”
The person who squeezed in was a thin old man in his fifties wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt. But as soon as he saw Zhang Yue, he was shocked and stepped back, almost tripping over the high threshold. Seeing that Zhang Yue was also looking at him, he forced a sheepish smile, recalling the scene he had seen at the camp gate earlier. Those arrogant hereditary officers usually looked so imposing, but back then most of them were bruised and disheveled, while Zhang Chao wasn’t even covered in mud. Although Zhang Chao was famous for his martial skills, it would be hard for him to defeat more than a dozen opponents alone. So, it must be because he had helpers.
What kind of skills did these helpers have to take care of those people? There were only five of them here, while those young masters and officers numbered nearly twenty, and none of them were weak in combat!
“Young master, I never expected to run into you here again.”

“It’s really fate to run into each other twice.” Zhang Yue glanced at this talkative veteran and suddenly remembered what had happened in the forest earlier. He nodded and said, “Since you’re here to drink with the shopkeeper, I happen to have some dishes to go with the liquor. Let’s sit together; I actually have some things I’d like to ask you.”

“You’re too kind. How dare I accept such an honor? If you have anything to ask, just ask me, Old Ma.”

Old Ma glanced at Zhang Yue and noticed a hint of something unfathomable in his smile. He quickly lowered his head and sat even more humbly. Somehow, he felt a growing sense of pressure and soon regretted speaking too much at the camp gate earlier. Seeing his reaction, Shopkeeper Han sensed something was off, so he pushed aside the young clerk and went ahead to pour liquor for everyone, then quietly slipped away behind the counter.

“Judging by your expression, Old Ma, it seems you saw them return to the camp. They left late today, and there were some complications. Did it cause a stir?”

More than a stir—it was a complete uproar! Old Ma became even more convinced that it was Zhang Yue and his men behind this. Swallowing hard, he said cautiously, “It’s common for them to go hunting outside the city. It’s not unusual for them to be late. It’s just… they said they startled their horses while hunting, and some of them got injured. Commander Chen got angry and scolded them, but that’s about it.”

Zhang Yue was only worried that these people might lose patience and cause trouble for Zhang Chao as soon as they returned. Hearing this, he felt relieved. With those two arrows in his possession, along with other tactics, it would be easy to control these young officers. But the army was far larger than just this small group, so solving the problem required a broader approach.

“Do you know when they started causing trouble for Zhang Chao?”

At that moment, Old Ma felt his back go cold and hot alternately. That seemingly trivial question earlier wasn’t much of a deal, but now it made it clear that this man in front of him was no ordinary person. Despite trying hard to give a vague answer, he was defeated by Zhang Yue’s gentle yet firm gaze.

“Zhang Qianhu went to Tongzhou Guard and heard that he had been demoted. His father was a count, and since he had achieved great merits this time, his title was likely to be hereditary. Yet Zhang Qianhu wasn’t included in that. So at first, the officers were very friendly with him, inviting him to every drinking party and womanizing affair. But since Zhang Qianhu was fine with drinking but rarely involved in such debauchery, their relationship gradually cooled down. Just over ten days ago, suddenly, conflicts broke out between the two sides; there were several fights in secluded places, and many harsh words were spread…”

“When exactly did this sudden conflict start? Or rather, who started it first? Were there any strange events or omens before it happened?”

Zhang Yue’s series of questions made Lao Ma break into sweat. He instinctively picked up the wine glass in front of him and drank the shaojiu inside in one gulp. The spiciness from his throat made him grit his teeth. Pressing his hands tightly on his knees, he finally managed to calm his panic before struggling to recall.

“It was around May 13th. It seems Lord Mo, one of the deputy commanders, started it. He was drunk and returning from outside with two companions, cursing that someone was cutting off their path to survival. He happened to meet Zhang Qianhu going out and challenged him, only to end up suffering the consequences. After that, things escalated, and our men also heard some clues. Sigh, it’s hard enough for us military households to get even a rank of Baihu in our lifetime, yet there are so many third-rank commanders in the army…”

As Lao Ma kept talking on and on, Zhang Yue fell into deep thought. Indeed, such things couldn’t spread suddenly in Tongzhou Guard unless deliberately spread by someone. Even if the lower-ranking military households agreed with them, their anger wasn’t as intense as that of the hereditary officers. After all, in the army, positions were often passed down from father to son. These military households might think of escaping because military life was too hard, but those officers relied on the pay and rations to live. If that were the case, the number of people he offended would be enormous!

Thanks to his relationship with the Duke of Ying and his earlier achievements by working with the army, the nobles regarded him as one of their own. Marquises like Anyuan and Wu’an even treated him like their own nephews. Now that this news has spread so widely, it’s probably not just about ruining his reputation. So why go to such lengths?

By the way, as long as the nobles think he’s meddling or self-serving, he’ll lose their trust. Even when a truly critical situation arises, he won’t be able to speak up in front of them. And that critical moment is precisely when others plan their true moves! You see, it’s impossible to win over the Duke of Britain—there are so many nobles in the capital who command troops!
“What a more cunning opponent; ordinary people probably wouldn’t think this far ahead.”
With these thoughts, Zhang Yue raised his cup and drank it in one gulp. The spicy shaojiu rolled down his throat and into his stomach, causing a burning sensation. He lowered his cup and smiled at the terrified Lao Ma, “Thank you, Brother Lao Ma, for your honest words today. For this chance encounter, let me toast you!”
Meanwhile, Peng Shisan hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol. Chewing on wild chicken slowly, he couldn’t help but recall how he had used a knife to remove the arrows. Although there were indeed two arrows, with surnames carved on them and standard military arrows, how could those two guys have aimed them accurately in such dim light?