Chapter 743: Disagreement in Hearts

Since the Hongwu era when three administrative offices were established in each province, the military, provincial, and judicial offices had each handled their own affairs independently, with no overlap. Due to this lack of hierarchy, they often struggled to coordinate effectively in times of crisis. In particular, the military commanders were usually seasoned veterans who had spent most of their lives in the army, just as cunning as the civil officials.

Li Long, the military commander of Guangdong, was transferred from Xining to Guangdong, a move from the far north to the far south. At first, he was reluctant, but as he began to reap some benefits and received certain promises, Gu Xingzu suddenly appeared, taking control of his military office and dealing him a heavy blow. Though pressured to issue a summons, he was now faced with Gu Xingzu’s clear intention to detain Zhang Yue and Zhang Qian in his office, leaving him utterly confused.

In the study, watching Marquis Gu Xingzu sit leisurely with his feet up, Li Long felt sweat pour down his back. After pacing a few steps, he turned and said, “My lord, what if this matter gets out? Eunuch Zhang was once a servant to Emperor Taizong, an imperial eunuch back then!”

“You said that was in the past!” Gu Xingzu slammed his teacup down coldly. “If he were truly a trusted man, he should be in charge of the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau, not relegated to a lower position. Who is in charge of the Imperial Ceremonial Bureau now? Fan Hong, who serves Emperor Renzong! Who is in charge of the Imperial Eunuch Bureau? Wang Jin, who has served the emperor since his time in the Eastern Palace! Aside from these two, there are Zhong Huai, Huang Run, Ruan An, and others—his turn has not come yet! Does he think he can use his power from the capital here, thinking I’m blind?”

“But there’s still Zhang Yue… Zhang Yue is the nephew of the Duke of Yingguo, and his father is in the cabinet. Putting aside his past achievements, he has also earned great merits by accompanying the emperor on campaigns and suppressing rebellions!”

“The Duke of Yingguo has resigned from his position as commander-in-chief. A high-ranking noble without military power is like a tiger without teeth! As for his father, with the fierce struggles in the cabinet, who knows if he won’t be dragged down? As for his achievements… Hmph, which noble doesn’t have great merits? Besides, with the Empress Dowager in the palace, the emperor can’t favor him unconditionally! I’ve already sent my trusted men to Qiongzhou Prefecture. With evidence of the Li people’s unrest, this crime of rebellion alone will be enough to ruin him!”

“If that’s the case, my lord, there’s no need to take risks by detaining them. After all, there are others besides them in the Provincial Administration Office and the Maritime Trade Office…”

“There’s no need to say any more! If one lacks a sense of responsibility in doing things, how can they succeed? I kept those two behind because I need to leave the city right now—you can’t control them. Seize the opportunity while they’re detained at the military headquarters and send troops to search the entire city immediately!”
After saying this, Gu Xingzu handed over a note, saying word by word, “The locations of those Li people were provided by Xu’s men. They’re local troublemakers—there’s no doubt about it. Tonight, send people there to capture them all. If they resist, kill them without hesitation. After all, those who aren’t of our kind will surely have ulterior motives—just kill them! Yu Liang, the inspector, is the kind of person who avoids trouble at all costs. With Zhang Qian and Zhang Yue here, you, as the military commander, hold the most power in all of Guangzhou! Just boldly follow my orders, and you’ll surely reap benefits! Isn’t your salary not enough to support your family? I’ll arrange for Xu’s family to give you ten percent of their profits.”
Watching Gu Xingzu stand up and stride out, Li Long felt his mind go blank. It wasn’t until the figure disappeared that he couldn’t help but relax his grip, causing the note in his hand to fall to the ground. Only then did he realize that as a second-rank military commander, he meant nothing in Gu Xingzu’s eyes. Earlier, Gu Xingzu had threatened to impeach him for misappropriating military provisions, then brought up his threat to local merchants to seize the property left by Qin Huaijin, only to offer him this seemingly sweet deal. Everything was done as if it were only natural, as if he should obey… But what if things didn’t go as planned?
Although the military headquarters was staffed by military officers, it was a time of peace, and even they didn’t want to be mocked for being illiterate. Thus, three study rooms were set up in the west wing of the headquarters. The leftmost room had bookshelves reaching the ceiling, the middle one was divided by shelves, and outside the two main armchairs in the main room, there were four armchairs with footrests on each side. The rightmost room contained a bamboo couch for reading and resting.
There were no pretentious literary works or paintings in the study. Instead, on the middle wall hung an authentic calligraphy piece by some former official—four bold characters written in a flowing style, yet even the most learned couldn’t decipher them. At that moment, Zhang Yue stood under the scroll with his hands behind his back, staring at it for a long time before smiling at Zhang Qian, who was resting with his eyes closed nearby.
“It seems we’ll have to spend the night here together.”

Zhang Qian lazily opened his eyes, glanced around, then leaned back further so that the lotus leaf could support the back of his head. Only then did he say irritably, “It’s fortunate the weather in Guangzhou is hot; otherwise, sleeping in such a place would surely cause frostbite! The people in this military office are also stingy—no tea when asked, no snacks either. This isn’t just detention; it’s practically an attempt to harm us! I guess Gu Xingzu left us behind and disappeared because he must have already planned to leave the city.”

“If he hadn’t been completely confident, how would he have dared to do what he did today? Li Long has really screwed him over this time—having a provincial military commander at his mercy like a servant. Hasn’t Marquis Zhenyuan ever even taken him seriously?”

“That’s because Li Long is timid and easily frightened. He thought he’d been caught off guard, not realizing those matters weren’t serious at all. I even praised him in previous reports! Enough about that. Since everything is already arranged, let Gu Xingzu go ahead and cause trouble. When the truth comes out, we’ll see how he handles it! Leaving the army without permission, detaining officials, fabricating evidence of rebellion, colluding with corrupt merchants to traffic in people—each of these is a serious crime!”

As the two talked inside the room, Li Long, who was standing by the window listening, broke into a cold sweat. He quickly waved at a trusted personal soldier guarding the door. When the man came over, he asked in a low voice, “Have they been talking about these things the whole time?”

“Reporting to the commander, no. I’ve been following your orders to keep an eye on what’s going on inside. At first, Eunuch Zhang took a nap on the Xiangfei couch, while Master Zhang wrote a short poem at his desk and then read for a while. Though they did exchange a few words, most of it was unrelated. Only occasionally did they talk about Marquis Zhenyuan. I heard those few words earlier. Would you like me to repeat them for you, commander?” Seeing Li Long wave his hand impatiently to stop him, the soldier hesitated for a moment before saying softly, “Sir, it’s not that I’m meddling, but I really think that Marquis Zhenyuan acts impulsively, and you’ll suffer if you follow him.”

“Enough!”

Already upset, Li Long grew even angrier upon hearing even his own soldier advising him this. After walking back and forth in the corridor for a while, he suddenly stopped, turned, and stared at the bamboo curtain. With determination, he strode forward, lifted the curtain, and entered. As soon as he entered, he saw the two men in the room, each sitting in a grand armchair. Apparently hearing him come in, Zhang Yue removed the fan covering his face, sat up straight, and nodded at him.

“Lord Li has arrived.” Faced with this tone that seemed like a casual greeting, Li Long could hardly catch his breath. After a long while, he snapped angrily, “Eunuch Zhang, Lord Zhang, you two seem to be living in ease. Don’t you know what time it is?”
“Since Lord Li has come, of course we know what time it is. Most likely, Marquis Zhenyuan has already left. That’s why Lord Li felt uneasy and came here to probe us, to see if we’re truly at ease or just pretending to be.” Zhang Yue said this while calmly observing Li Long. Seeing his expression freeze, he knew his straightforward approach had worked, so he smiled and said, “I understand Lord Li’s concerns, so I don’t want to persuade you of anything. You have your reasons for this, but you’re just being coerced.”
If Zhang Yue had tried to persuade him from the start by pointing out the consequences, Li Long might have thought he was bluffing to trap him. But since Zhang Yue didn’t go for that approach and instead said he was being coerced, his already uneasy heart became even more uncertain. The next moment, he saw Zhang Qian also looking at him thoughtfully, nodding with a half-smile.
“Lord Li, I suppose you must now realize that Marquis Zhenyuan suddenly rushed here from Guangxi and acted so forcefully without regard for anything. It’s not about investigating rebels at all—it’s about his own family’s wealth. The Gu family has a huge enterprise, and aside from real estate, most of their money comes from the Xu family in Guangzhou. Not long ago, you even led troops to capture those human traffickers who sold people overseas illegally. You also played a role in getting the leader of the Xu family imprisoned. Now that he wants to free them, you’re one of the main culprits. Even if things go well, he’ll still need someone to take the blame, and by then, you likely won’t come out unscathed.”
These days, Marquis Zhenyuan, Gu Xingzu, had set up camp in his own military headquarters. Li Long saw him every day, and it was obvious that his attitude wasn’t favorable. Previously, he had given him a taste of sweetness after a slap—for someone who had always relied on his high status and power, such contempt was certainly unbearable. When Zhang Qian laid out the situation, Li Long’s heart chilled instantly. What had been a vague feeling before turned into certainty.

Indeed, even if everything Gu Xingzu had said to him before was true, and the backers of these two people weren’t as terrifying as imagined, for someone like him who had climbed to this position step by step, as long as they set their minds to it, they could easily crush him to dust! So, already feeling uneasy, he resolved to steel himself, took a deep breath, pulled out the piece of paper from his sleeve, handed it to Zhang Yue, and quietly repeated what Gu Xingzu had said earlier.
“Eunuch Zhang, Lord Zhang, if Marquis Zhenyuan really manages to find some evidence in Qiongzhou Prefecture…”
“We both know he’s already sent people there,” Zhang Yue said, glancing at the list before raising his head. Seeing Li Long seemingly unconvinced, he smiled. “Ever since Marquis Zhenyuan showed up and then stayed at your military office, Zhang Gonggong and I realized this and also sent people to Qiongzhou Prefecture. By now, things there should be settled. As the saying goes, it’s easier to deal with the King of Hell than these petty demons—Marquis Zhenyuan thinks he’s one of the top nobles, but the people he sent this time might suffer a crushing defeat.”
A crushing defeat? No matter how hard Li Long tried, he couldn’t figure out what that meant. Yet Zhang Yue and Zhang Qian were full of confidence, so he didn’t dare press further and quickly asked cautiously, “Then, shall I order someone to send the two of you back right away…”
Before he could finish, Zhang Yue waved his hand. “There’s no rush.”
Hearing those words, Li Long’s expression grew even more grim. “In just a short while, the Provincial Administration and the Maritime Office have already sent several groups to gather information. Xu Dacan from the Provincial Administration even came in person to inquire. By now, someone must have already drafted impeachment petitions. Since Lord Zhang knows I’m under coercion, please forgive me. Staying in my humble abode makes it difficult to handle affairs, doesn’t it?”
Seeing that the two remained unfazed, he forced himself to add, “Or perhaps there’s something else you, Lord Zhang and Eunuch Zhang, need me, Li Long, to do—just give the order.”
This was where the real drama lay. Zhang Yue and Zhang Qian exchanged a glance, then stood up with smiles, signaling Li Long to come forward. They whispered a few words in his ear. At first, Li Long felt uneasy, but as he listened, his expression gradually darkened, until finally he couldn’t help but clench his fists. He was a true warrior, his martial skills honed through battles on the battlefield. The crisp sound of his knuckles clenching echoed loudly in the quiet room, sounding extremely harsh. It took him a while before he finally exhaled.
“I never expected him to try to play tricks in my military office… If he dares to start, don’t blame me for going all out!”

A hint of cruelty flashed across his face, and soon after, he bowed to Zhang Yue and Zhang Qian, who was still sitting there, and said, “Then I’ll go handle this matter right away. For the Bureau of Administration, I’ll send a reliable person to deliver the message. As for the Maritime Office… Since Lord Zhang is so reasonable, I owe you both my gratitude! If Li Long can hold onto this position, any future progress will be thanks to you two!”
In the evening, as the office closed, many officers and servants began to leave. However, there was not a trace of the usual chatter and crowds; everyone hurried away as soon as they left the office, as if there were an epidemic inside. Peng Shisan stood at a soy milk stall on the street corner, trying to strike up a conversation, but his eyes kept watching the activity around him. Seeing everyone in a hurry with strange expressions, he grew increasingly uneasy. He glanced at the high walls of the office and even considered climbing up to find out what was going on.
Just as he was thinking about trying it at night, he suddenly felt someone pulling at the hem of his clothes from behind. Turning around, he saw a child still in his childhood years. Only then did he relax his clenched fists.
“Uncle, someone told me to give you this!” The child smiled as he handed over a paper ball, then pulled his hand back and blinked, saying, “That person also said that if you give me something tasty after receiving this.”