Chapter 630: Gentlemen Even Beneath the Threatening Walls

Both the Tatars and the Oirats had a history of holding Ming envoys hostage, so representing the court in the steppes was never an easy task. After all, no one wanted to risk their life dealing with the Tatars. Yet such assignments were beyond one’s control, so when it was decided that envoys must be sent to the Oirats, many likely felt relieved—except Zhang Yue, who was utterly shocked.

He never expected that, while he would finally avoid such dangerous missions, Wan Shijie, who had only recently been transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Rites, would end up with this extremely difficult task. After the message was conveyed at the court meeting presided over by Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi, he went to the Ministry of Rites office at noon, waited outside after being announced, and saw several young officials emerging with somewhat awkward expressions as they hurried away.

“I knew as soon as the news came out that Yuan Jie would be unable to resist—sure enough, you showed up!”

Seeing Zhang Yue’s expression, Wan Shijie immediately signaled him to wait a moment, then dragged him out of the alley. Once they left the area surrounded by the six ministries and there were fewer officials around, he glanced around before releasing Zhang Yue and stretched lazily. It was only when he heard Zhang Yue’s annoyed questions that he turned his head.

“Don’t tell me you volunteered to go!”

“Am I the kind of person who would risk his life for a high-ranking position? I’ve just gotten married and certainly don’t want to go to a place controlled by the Tatars! Besides, Prince Shunning Tuohuan has a rather poor reputation. His father, Mahamu, once held Ming envoys hostage. This guy seems even worse than his father and is said to be competing for power with the leaders of the other two ministries, while also keeping an eye on the Tatar Arutai. In my opinion, Arutai shouldn’t have let him go in the first place—killing him would have avoided all these troubles.”

Hearing Wan Shijie’s calm tone, Zhang Yue sighed. “I only found out about this during the morning court session. There wasn’t any hint before. When Minister Li asked me to prepare, I thought it would definitely be the Ministry of War selecting someone. Who would have thought it would turn out like this? Apparently, Minister Lu had a well-thought-out plan. You used to be in the Ministry of War, and now you’re a vice minister in the Ministry of Rites—your status and experience are just right, so the emperor naturally won’t object. But with so many people in the Ministry of Rites, couldn’t they find someone else suitable?”

“The entire Ministry of Rites is like an iron barrel, all promoted by Minister Lü. Anyone who dares to defy him is either demoted or transferred elsewhere. He doesn’t need to use tricks on me, a mere minor official. If I can return safely after completing the mission, I’ll have merits, but he’ll have even more; if not, I’ll just be another lowly official. The emperor is currently annoyed at not having a reason to start a war, and who knows, he might just decide to go to war—only not against Arutai but against the Oirats… I’m just joking. Who doesn’t know that Minister Lü was initially against the northern expedition? Now that the situation is unclear and no decision can be made, he naturally wants to dissuade the emperor, which is why he’s interested in me, someone who’s good at speaking. Well, even if I don’t go, someone else will. Someone has to take the risk. Besides, the three Oirat tribes have been paying tribute for years and won’t be as reckless as Maham back then.”

Despite Wan Shijie’s words, Zhang Yue still felt heavy-hearted. This man was always selfish. Although someone had to take on such a dangerous task, when it came to his own relatives, it was not comparable to someone else risking their life. Moreover, Wan Shijie and Xiao Wu had only been married for a little over a month. Even if there was the slightest chance… he hardly dared to imagine the consequences!

“Don’t worry. I asked for an oracle bone divination in the temple earlier. The abbot said I have an unbreakable fate—disasters turn into good fortune, and I’ll live to be eighty! Besides, I’m not like you. You’re the enemy of Arutai’s son; as soon as you leave the border, you might be targeted. But me, a poor kid with no connections, it’s much simpler. Who would bother me?”

Seeing a restaurant by the road, Wan Shijie dragged Zhang Yue in without hesitation. They chose a quiet table by the wall and quickly ordered food. While waiting for the meal, he tapped his bowl lightly with his chopsticks. “After leaving court, Minister Lü called me over. Since I’m an imperial envoy, I’ll have about two hundred guards with me, all selected from the elite troops in the capital. Additionally, such missions always have eunuchs accompanying them. Do you know who’s going with me?”

Despite his worries, seeing Wan Shijie’s optimistic attitude, Zhang Yue could only accept this inevitable reality. Seeing Wan Shijie still enjoying the suspense, he felt both annoyed and amused. “I’m not the emperor’s confidant—how would I know who’s going with you? Those eunuchs are all extremely shrewd. I doubt even the most ambitious ones would want to go.”

“Of course. Back then, when Lu Feng went to Xinghe with you, they already ostracized him. What more this time? Tsk tsk… Accompanying him this time is Cheng Jiu from the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau. I heard he’s not even twenty yet and was once Lu Feng’s closest confidant. But since he’s been assigned such a task this time, it’s likely either because he’s fallen from grace or there’s some other hidden reason.”
Cheng Jiu? The moment Zhang Yue heard this name, he remembered last year’s events. After being surprised for a while, he thought it was only natural. Given Lu Feng’s temperament, once he had doubts, he wouldn’t let them linger. It seemed the reckoning had begun. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Wan Shijie’s trip to the Oirats this time wasn’t reliable. He couldn’t help but think of his four bodyguards. But remembering that they had just gotten married as well, he swallowed back what he was about to say.
“Alright, stop talking about my troubles. Let’s talk about something else. The provincial exams are coming in August. How are Xiao Fang and your fourth brother preparing?”
“They’ve studied the basics pretty well, but exams are 30% skill and 70% luck—you know that!”
“Hey, true! The Ministry of Rites just submitted nominations for the examiners of the provincial exams in Ying Tianfu and Shun Tianfu. Do you know who was chosen for Ying Tianfu? Besides Luo Rujing, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, it’s also Li Qi, the top scorer from our group and a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. The examiners for Shun Tianfu haven’t been chosen yet; probably two more will be picked from the Hanlin Academy. It’s a pity for both of them—without joining the Hanlin Academy, it’ll be hard for them to have students all over the country. If they can pass, it’ll at least comfort us a bit!”
Facing Wan Shijie’s jokes, Zhang Yue thought this time the guy hadn’t just gotten the worst fate of going to the Oirats but rather seemed like he was going on a trip to some beautiful place. Comforting words were useless, so the two simply had a hearty meal. After filling their stomachs, seeing Wan Shijie calmly picking his teeth, Zhang Yue’s frustration and anger vanished.
This guy clearly had great fortune and luck! But he still needed to find a few people to help Wan Shijie out.
When they went outside, Wan Shijie said he needed to return to the yamen in the afternoon to make preparations for the trip, but Zhang Yue didn’t agree. Seeing it was still early, he quickly pulled Wan Shijie back to Liubu Hutong. Then he hurriedly ordered the servants to bring out horses from the stables, had them mount up, and set off.
“Hey, where are we going this time? I have things to do this afternoon—there’s a whole set of procedures to teach at the Ministry of Guests, and I also need to learn rituals at Lingji Palace… Hey, Yuanjie, don’t just keep walking!”

There were few pedestrians on the streets at noon, so Zhang Yue and Wan Shijie rode fast without worrying about stepping on anyone. Zhang Yue was well-acquainted with the area, while Wan Shijie was confused. When they dismounted at the destination, the latter looked around blankly before finally realizing it was a small training ground. Puzzled, he saw Zhang Yue jump off his horse and talk to two young soldiers at the entrance, so he also dismounted. After listening for a while, he finally caught a few words: “Front Guard of the Imperial Army… Is this the personal guard under the Crown Prince?” Since Zhang Yue often came here with Zhu Zhanji for archery drills, everyone knew him. Now, after many days, when he returned, the two young soldiers immediately reported him, and soon an officer came out. Though young, he was not talkative; he simply led Zhang Yue and Wan Shijie into the training ground and left. Once they were gone, Wan Shijie muttered, “Everyone says the officers of the Front Guard are carefully selected young soldiers. I thought the officers here would be arrogant, but it seems I was wrong. This man seems to come from a prominent family; every move he makes is measured, as if keeping people at a distance. I wonder how popular he is among the troops.” “There were indeed many descendants of noble families among the Crown Prince’s companions, but most of the Front Guard are ordinary civilians with clean records. The officers hold their positions through military merit, only being officially appointed after achieving feats, which is why they serve as the reserve force of the capital. As for arrogance… that man just now was Hu An, the deputy commander of the Front Guard, the elder brother of the Crown Prince’s wife—a truly prominent relative by marriage.” Seeing Wan Shijie’s shocked expression, Zhang Yue felt amused. Though he came less often now, he still visited Shi Heng occasionally, as this was someone entrusted to him by Wang Yu. Looking around and seeing no one, he turned his gaze away, only to see a commander he had met many times before coming with someone along a side path. That person was dressed in a bright red brocade robe with floral patterns and black shoes. As he looked over, those dark pupils also noticed him. “Ah, it’s Lord Zhang.” “Eunuch Chen, Lord Wei.”

As soon as Chen Wu saw Zhang Yue, he left Commander Wei behind and walked over quickly. Seeing Zhang Yue nod to him in greeting, he said with a smile, “The Crown Prince mentioned the other day that you were extremely busy at the Ministry of Works and had no one to compete with in archery and horseback riding. Who would have thought you’d come here today? If I had known, I wouldn’t have stopped the Crown Prince earlier. Ah, who is this?”
“Eunuch Chen is joking. I’ve been so busy every day that I barely have time to rest. Today, I just sneaked out when no one was looking. This is Wan Shijie, an official from the Department of Guests in the Ministry of Rites, my brother-in-law and classmate. Old Wan, this is Eunuch Chen from the Crown Prince’s palace.”
Knowing that Wan Shijie rarely had opportunities to interact with palace eunuchs, Zhang Yue felt obliged to explain things to both of them. Commander Wei rarely got involved in political matters and remained expressionless, but Chen Wu examined Wan Shijie carefully before suddenly nodding in understanding and saying with a smile, “Ah, so you’re Lord Wan who is about to go to the Oirats soon. I see now.”
With that, he turned to look at Commander Wei and casually pouted, “The vanguard of the local army also belongs to the capital guards. How about Lord Wei personally selects some men to accompany Lord Wan?”