Chapter 280: Mars on the Way

The important task Ling Hua and the others asked Zhang Yue to handle was quite simple: to lead a large group to various counties in Qingzhou Prefecture to inspect how tax collection was being carried out. Although it wasn’t the end of the year, it was a critical time for collecting summer taxes. Even after killing so many people, collecting taxes from the commoners and local households would likely be no easy task. Though aware that they were using his reputation as an imperial envoy to intimidate people, Zhang Yue, after cursing them irritably, eventually agreed.

As a result, Lu Feng was exhausted from collecting so much money, while Zhang Yue was worn out from running around constantly. He had to engage in fierce debates with numerous merchants and occasionally deal with peasants who resisted paying taxes. Every night when they returned to the Qingzhou post station, both of them would fall asleep immediately, only to wake up full of energy the next day, greeting each other warmly before setting out together. Seeing this, the post station master Xu Sansheng and the other servants thought the two imperial envoys were working together harmoniously, never guessing that they would go their separate ways as soon as they left.

Eight days passed quickly. During that time, Zhang Yue found an opportunity to send Liu Da, Xu Er, and others off, assigning one of his family members to accompany them south to deliver a letter to his father, Zhang Zhuo. As they set off on their return journey under the farewell of the officials in Qingzhou, Zhang Yue glanced at Lu Feng’s sun-tanned and smug face and subtly squeezed the bundle in his sleeve.

It was said that imperial officials loved money, and the amount of silver Lu Feng had accepted so far was likely equivalent to the summer tax revenue of an entire county!

Although the deployment of 500 soldiers to the capital was ordered by Emperor Zhu Di and arranged by Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng, the soldiers themselves naturally wanted to profit from it. Fortunately, there were understanding merchants to handle the matter for them. On their return, although they may not have come away with huge gains, their empty pockets were at least filled with some goods. After leaving Qingzhou City, when Zhang Yue instructed Zhou Bailing, the commander of the troops, to send out more scouts along the way, Zhou immediately agreed without hesitation.

“I know what to watch out for now, my lord. Rest assured, these 500 men were all part of the army that fought against Arutai during the northern expedition—they are all top-notch warriors. Marquis Anyuan has already instructed us to protect you at all costs. If anyone tries to harm you, we won’t spare them! I’m not boasting—even if those commoners number three or five thousand, we can handle them!”

Lu Feng, who was in the car in front, poked his head out of the window at that moment and happened to hear these words. He immediately curled his lips, feeling somewhat annoyed. Although eunuchs today were not comparable to those in the Hongwu and Jianwen dynasties, the dukes and marquises still didn’t really take them seriously; otherwise, those words should have been said to him by Zhou Bailing. With this thought, he lowered the curtain of his carriage, and a hint of malice suddenly arose in his heart.

If that thousand-household officer boasted so much, what would he do if they really encountered three to five thousand commoners rebelling along the way?

Shandong was full of rivers and mountains, and even the official roads often required crossing mountains and bridges. Since the soldiers accompanying them were elite troops from the capital, equipped with swords, shields, guns, muskets, archers, and more, along with sufficient scouts at both ends, and with flags fluttering on horseback, they naturally had unobstructed passage as everyone stepped aside to let them pass. By the time they crossed Shangshan, even Zhang Yue, who had been initially cautious, relaxed, thinking that since he was leading elite troops from the capital, no one would dare to challenge them recklessly.

Xiaomengshui was a tributary of the Xiaoqing River. It was now summer drought season, and the river had almost exposed the gravel on its bottom. After crossing the bridge, they entered the territory of Jinan Prefecture. From this end of the stone bridge, one could faintly see the official road winding through the dense forest on the other side. After a day’s journey, Zhou Bailing had sent scouts in pairs to explore ahead, and this time was no exception.

It was nearly noon, and since there were no villages nearby and they needed to reach Zhangqiu by night to stay, they stopped by the river. Everyone ate some dry food to fill their stomachs. Lu Feng, busy counting money before leaving, had forgotten to prepare snacks. Now, he had no appetite after taking a few bites of the pancakes prepared by the two young eunuchs, so he got off the carriage to stretch his legs. Walking slowly to Zhang Yue’s carriage, he suddenly had an idea and reached out to lift the curtain. At first glance, he saw the tray placed on Zhang Yue’s lap.

“Lord Zhang is really particular. This colored tray with the pattern of the ‘Three Friends of Winter’ seems to be something from the palace. I’ve only seen one like it at Princess Wang’s place. I never expected you to bring one with you on your travels.”

Zhang Yue, who had been accustomed to fine things throughout his life—such as mother-of-pearl beds, blue-and-white porcelain, carved lacquer tables and chairs—no longer paid much attention to utensils and decorations. Hearing this, he was momentarily stunned before laughing and saying, “This tray was given to me by the Duchess of Yingguo before we set off. I didn’t realize it was so precious. It’s meant to be used together with the red lacquer and gilded food box that was given along with it. Inside this box are jujube pastries specially bought by my two apprentices. Would Lord Lu like to try a few?”

Seeing the golden-colored pastries in Zhang Yue’s box, Lu Feng couldn’t help but think of his two loyal but useless eunuchs, and he silently cursed them a few times. Then he stepped forward, took a piece, joked around for a while, and headed back. Before he could put the jujube pastry in his mouth, suddenly a loud bang came from not far away, and he looked around in confusion. Before he could figure out what was happening, a strong force pushed him from behind, knocking him to the ground. His nose hit the hard ground, and the intense pain almost made him cry out.

Furious, he shouted loudly. But the next moment, he heard several more bangs, and his shock turned into panic, which then turned into fear.

In the chaos, Lu Feng felt something lift off his back, as if someone who was pressing down on him had moved away. Yet he didn’t dare move at all. Even though the ground was full of sharp stones, his palms were scraped, and his chin was resting on a sharp edge of a rock, his life was what mattered most. He heard soldiers drawing their swords and occasionally the sound of firearms firing, along with chaotic footsteps and shouts… It wasn’t until someone grabbed his arm that he instinctively reached for his chest. Instead of finding the dagger, he found a thick stack of money.

At that moment, he regretted it bitterly. On the way here, he had considered the dagger a burden and put it away in his luggage. How could he have imagined such a thing would happen?

“Eunuch Lu, it’s okay. Someone in the forest fired a gun just now. Captain Qian has already led people after them. I saw sparks, so I pushed you down quickly. Are you hurt?”

Only when he recognized it as Zhang Yue’s voice did Lu Feng manage to lift his head with his elbow support. Seeing rows of soldiers with various weapons arranged in a semi-circular formation, and still hearing fighting sounds in the small woods across the river, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. With Zhang Yue’s help, he stood up, though his legs were completely weak.

Seeing the dent in Zhang Yue’s carriage and the broken stones not far from where he had lain, as well as Zhang Yue’s disheveled clothes and tilted black hat, he swallowed hard, feeling a sense of surviving a disaster. After standing there in shock for a while, he gradually remembered what Zhang Yue had said and what had just happened, and hurriedly bowed deeply.

“Lord Zhang, thank you so much for just now!”

Zhang Yue glanced sideways at Peng Shisan. Seeing that the man seemed completely unharmed, he naturally wouldn’t reveal that he had just been pushed and fallen to use Lu Feng as a human shield. Yet he was indeed a bit frightened by this unexpected encounter. Although he wasn’t a military general, his family had experienced veterans like Zhang Fu and Zhang You, so he was familiar with the Ming army’s organization.

According to the Ming army’s system, for every hundred archers, there were ten gunners, twenty swordsmen, thirty archers, and forty spearmen. It was strictly forbidden for civilians to possess long weapons or firearms. Scholars with official titles were allowed to carry swords, but not short knives or ordinary soft bows. Yet what had just happened was clearly the use of firearms from a distance of a hundred paces—undoubtedly military equipment. But now wasn’t the time to ponder such things. Seeing Lu Feng bow deeply toward him, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but step forward to help him up and offer a few words of comfort.

Everyone waited in battle formation for over an hour. Captain Qian, who led the pursuit, finally returned in a fury, along with two severely injured scouts and seven captives, plus a dozen more with minor injuries under his command.

He saluted Zhang Yue solemnly before reporting in a rough voice, “Sir, the first shot was fired by the injured You Daniu. After being attacked, he fired a shot right away to warn us of an ambush. Then those bastards tried to assassinate us. Unfortunately, many of them didn’t know how to use firearms, though a few misfired and injured people. Only two shots were fired in total. When I led my men in pursuit, we caught up with them. After a brief exchange of gunfire and arrows, we killed over a dozen of them and captured these alive. A few fled northward. It’s a shame we don’t have cavalry; otherwise, we would have chased after them and wiped them out!”

Glancing at the captives tied up with ropes, Zhang Yue stepped forward to examine the two injured scouts. Seeing the wounded soldiers all with fierce expressions, along with the rest who were also brimming with murderous intent, he took a deep breath before asking Captain Zhou Bailing, “When you fought battles before, what did you do with captives or enemy corpses?”

“If they were nobles from the Yuan dynasty, we handed them over to the higher officers. As for the rest, since we didn’t have food to feed them, we simply beheaded them to claim credit!” Zhou Bailing, who had almost suffered a disaster this time, showed a fierce, gritted-teeth expression. “Captain Qian has already brought back those bastards’ firearms. Once we investigate, we’ll know who’s behind this! If I find out which garrison dared to aid the enemy, I’ll skin them alive!”

Seeing that all the captives were staring at him with hateful eyes, Zhang Yue made up his mind in an instant. He immediately ordered, “Since you all used to cut off heads as a way to earn rewards, then cut off the heads of those people you killed before and hang them on flagpoles to clear the way. Tie up these guys, and once we reach Jinan Prefecture, I’ll have the local authorities investigate. After returning to the capital, I’ll reward you!”