Chapter 211: For a promotion, what’s a little risk?

Late at night, the Le’an Town Inspection Office, just fifty li away from the Gaojiagang Inspection Office, also had blazing torches. Yet the inspector who used to lead archers to set up checkpoints was now kneeling there, not daring to lift his eyes. A few steps ahead of him stood a middle-aged man in a black robe, gazing into the distance, surrounded by dozens of elite guards. The imposing aura made not only the inspector tremble but also the archers.
When these men first arrived, they thought they had encountered powerful gangsters after being constantly attacked by geese while hunting them. But when the opponent showed documents, they were even more shocked. How could their small inspection office possibly attract such important figures?
“Is the information reliable?”
“My lord, it’s absolutely true. I’ve been closely watching the Shouguang Prince’s mansion and seen everything clearly.”
Hearing this firm reply, Meng Xian smiled in satisfaction. When he first came to Shandong, he thought he had been demoted and felt quite anxious. It was only after receiving the letter from Prince Zhao that he became truly at ease. The Han King was stationed in Le’an, right under Beijing’s nose, but everyone knew this man wouldn’t stay put. That’s why he was appointed as the Deputy Commander of Shandong—partly to keep an eye on any suspicious activities. It was unfortunate that he, who considered himself Prince Zhao’s advisor, lost his composure simply because he was removed from his position as commander of the guards in Changshan.
“Pass the order—everyone must be fully prepared for battle! Remember, be careful not to kill too many people!”
Meng Xian had brought with him today the men from his Meng family’s ancestral household, who had served as elite guards in the army and were thus the most reliable. Orders were passed down layer by layer, and soon they replaced the archers, arranging themselves in an orderly manner behind the barriers. Seeing this, the inspector’s legs turned to water, but he forced himself to suppress his fear and stepped forward.
“Meng… My lord, since no action is needed here… should I take them somewhere safe?”
“This is the Le’an Town Inspection Office. I still need you as witnesses, so you must stay.” Meng Xian sneered. Seeing the archers cowering and too afraid to speak, he frowned slightly before speaking in a softer tone, “This isn’t some secret mission. I’ll reward you generously once it’s done. You just need to watch from the side—nothing involves you.”

Hearing that there was a generous reward and no need to exert effort, the patrolman’s pale face improved slightly, and he awkwardly retreated among the archers. However, as the bright torches in the distance drew nearer, his face, which had just regained some color, turned pale again, and his heart began to pound violently. Looking at the long line of torchbearers, there were at least dozens of large carts coming from the opposite direction. Few people in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture, or even in Shandong, would venture on such a night journey, but this time they had run into a real problem.

“Quickly open the gates! We’re delivering goods from the Shouguang Prince’s palace to the Han Prince’s palace!”

Meng Xian, who had been tense until then, smiled upon hearing this. Hidden in the shadows, he gave a signal to the head of his bodyguards. With a sharp whistle, numerous men leaped out from behind the wooden gates like tigers breaking free from their cages and rushed at the cart drivers and guards.

The men guarding and driving the carts were already listless and distracted; they never expected to encounter an ambush here. A few quick-witted ones immediately drew their swords, but most were still confused. With Meng Xian’s calculated actions, the situation became one-sided almost instantly. Cries of pain mixed with curses and occasional sounds of weapons clashed as the battle was resolved in just the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

After the brief skirmish, two bodyguards brought over a disheveled guard, forcing him to kneel on the ground. This guard was the head of the Shouguang Prince’s guards. Used to being arrogant, he still stubbornly cursed despite the dire situation, “How dare you intercept the prince’s goods? Aren’t you afraid of being torn to pieces?”

“Have you checked everything on the carts?” Meng Xian ignored him and asked the bodyguards directly. After getting an affirmative reply, he looked down at the insolent guard. “Princes are not allowed to be involved in salt affairs—this is a rule that has been in place since the Hongwu era. The Shouguang Prince is quite bold to have these twenty salt carts transported by night. Those carts must weigh nearly ten thousand pounds! The Salt Transport Bureau in Shandong can no longer afford to supply salt, yet the Shouguang Prince hoards it privately. This time, he’s been caught red-handed!”

Seeing Meng Xian speak in an official tone, the guard’s heart sank. But before he could ask further, he was knocked unconscious with the back of a knife and lost consciousness immediately. After checking the casualties, Meng Xian learned that none of his men had been hurt, while only a few unlucky ones from the salt convoy were injured. He ordered that all captives be tied up and gagged, then instructed his bodyguards to continue driving the carts, ensuring they reached the Daqing River before dawn.

The patrol officer and the archers reluctantly pressed their fingerprints on the documents until a large gold ingot was thrown at them, at which point they became delighted. Only after everyone left did the patrol officer sigh in relief and quickly call over an archer, instructing him to go to the Gaojia Gang Patrol Station to report—the group clearly came from there, and this incident was clearly no small matter. Both patrol stations needed to communicate thoroughly and then inform the relevant officials in Qingzhou Prefecture. It was clearly a fight between big players; if they, the smaller fish, got caught in the crossfire, they would suffer greatly!

Early in the morning, Mu Ning, preoccupied, got up early. After doing a lazy set of exercises in the courtyard, a trusted subordinate rushed in with a visibly anxious expression. “Governor Mu, someone from the Shouguang Prince’s mansion has come, saying they have important documents to be delivered through the Jinyiwei!”

“How quickly!” Mu Ning’s eyelids twitched. He quickly took a towel from his attendant and wiped his face before saying cheerfully, “Alright, I’ll go see them right away! Order everyone to be on high alert. Keep a close eye on all officials in Qingzhou Prefecture, including the secret informants. Report three times a day—no delays allowed!”

Half an hour later, two Jinyiwei messengers set off from the courtyard, racing toward Beijing at full speed. Another half hour passed, and Mu Ning received two unexpected messages. Upon learning that two seemingly unrelated people had taken action targeting the same goal, his expression turned extremely strange. Meng Xian was one thing—after all, he was part of Prince Zhao’s faction—but how dare Sun Lianggan be so bold?

Zhang Yue received news not much later. Since both patrol stations were under his jurisdiction, patrol officers from Gaojia Gang and Le’an Town came to see him early in the morning and recounted everything that had happened the previous night. Rather than being surprised he hadn’t anticipated this, he was more astonished by how well-informed and reckless these two were. They actually planned to use this incident to bring down the Han Prince? It was one thing for Sun Lianggan to take revenge alone, but Meng Xian resorting to such drastic measures meant he had completely broken ties with the Han Prince. Was he that utterly loyal to Prince Zhao?

Due to this unexpected situation, after evening prayers that day, Zhang Yue immediately went to consult Governor Ling Hua. When he briefly explained the whole matter, the governor, who had just been promoted from an assistant judge, gasped in shock. It was no wonder—although Ling Hua had obtained his position easily, he hadn’t expected to stay in it forever, but to be removed from office so soon would indeed be frustrating. With that in mind, as a superior, he set aside his pride and bowed directly to Zhang Yue.
“Brother Yuanjie, I’m completely at a loss and don’t know what to do. In short, for this matter, I’ll follow your lead entirely—whatever you say, I’ll do.”
Zhang Hua hurriedly helped Ling Hua up and said with a smile, “Governor Ling, you’re overthinking it. When has it been our place to interfere in matters involving the princes? Lord Sun acted on his own, and as for Lord Meng, he’s from the Shandong military command—there’s nothing we can do about him. All we need to do now is send a report on this situation to the Shandong Provincial Administration.”
Seeing Governor Ling nod repeatedly, Zhang Yue then revealed his true intention: “Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask Governor Ling for help with. You must have heard that the emperor issued an edict calling for honest advice recently. I’ve already drafted a memorial. I was wondering if you’d be willing to co-sign it with me?”
Ling Hua was naturally cautious. Upon hearing he needed to sign a memorial, he hesitated. So when Zhang Yue handed him a document, he nervously took it and hesitated before opening it. Once he read through it, his eyes lit up, and after glancing at Zhang Yue, he read it again from the beginning. After reading it twice, he was sure he hadn’t misread it and took a deep breath.
“Lord Zhang, with all due respect, this clearly is a salt administration proposal drafted entirely by you, and it’s excellent word for word. Why do you need me to co-sign it? Wouldn’t that unfairly take half of the credit away from me? If you think your voice isn’t strong enough because of your youth, I remember Governor Du is your teacher—why not ask him to co-sign it?”
“Governor Ling, precisely because Governor Du is my teacher, it would be highly inappropriate to ask him to co-sign it. Besides, he’s in Jinan after all. Don’t think it’s just about credit—this also mentions the current situation of the salt fields in Le’an and Shouguang. With what happened recently, we can’t avoid being held responsible. And have you seen the last clause? It leaves room for future developments—we don’t know what will happen yet.”
“This…”

At first, he had hesitated, but after hearing this, Ling Hua was truly convinced. He was already over forty; although he had just made a step forward in his career, it was still unstable. If he could achieve fame through such a proposal, it might lead to a smooth path ahead. For the sake of promotion, what was a little risk compared to that?
After pondering for a long time, he finally nodded firmly at Zhang Yue: “Since Lord Zhang values me as a prefect, I’ll agree. But Lord Zhang, you must explain these matters to me. What exactly are the rules regarding these capital funds and exchanges?”
Now that Ling Hua had agreed, Zhang Yue felt relieved of his greatest concern and began to explain everything in detail. Suddenly, a bright white light flashed in the room lit by candles, followed by a loud thunderclap. The two men, who were discussing matters, immediately looked up and heard heavy rain outside, leaving them stunned.
Had spring thunder already arrived?
Volume 6: The Roar of Spring Thunder
Spring rain is unpredictable, and so is spring thunder. After the harsh winter covered everything in snow, when spring thunder arrives unexpectedly, does it shake just one region or the whole world?