Chapter 829: Assassin

During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang established military academies in places like Danning to teach the children of military officers, but the curriculum consisted solely of Confucian studies. Decades later, although these military academies still existed, they were far inferior to those in prefectures, counties, and towns. As for the martial skills such as archery and horsemanship of military officers’ offspring, they were often passed down from father to son. If the father died early, the son had no chance to learn martial arts and would most likely end up as a idle officer who relied on others for support, just like most of the people in the small training ground at that moment.

Yet, who wouldn’t want to bring honor to their family and provide for their wives and children? So Zhang Yue first mentioned martial arts and then command positions, instantly stirring up a stir among the crowd that had just settled down. Faced with various questions, Zhang Yue simply pressed his hand downward, parted the crowd, and walked to the shooting lane in the center of the training ground. He ordered someone to bring a horse, then personally fetched a strong bow and a quiver from the weapon rack nearby. After testing it out, he mounted the horse and rushed off.

With swift movements of drawing the bow, stringing it, and shooting, Zhang Yue and his horse soon reached the end of the lane. The onlookers stretched their necks to see the three targets set up there and saw that all three arrows hit their marks, one of them landing precisely in the center. Even Zhang Yue, who had prepared in advance, let out a sigh of relief. Since he had witnessed exceptional archery skills at Hyde Park last time, he had feared being sent on border patrols. Determined to improve his martial skills, he had finally achieved something. But that was only because there were targets on one side of the lane; shooting at willows wouldn’t be so lucky.

When he dismounted, Zhou Ping’an rushed over anxiously, followed by Shang Yong with a stiff expression. Some of the young officers around cheered, some praised him, while others didn’t know what expression to wear. He handed the bow and quiver to Peng Shisan beside him and said with a smile, “At least we didn’t lose face.”

Then he turned to the crowd and said in a deep voice, “Martial skills depend solely on diligent practice. Previously, you had no time to practice or anyone to teach you, so that’s understandable. But now that you’re officially on the payroll with a recognized status, you can’t continue to neglect it! Once we decide on the martial arts curriculum, I’ll request that you be among the first batch to enroll. If in two years you still can’t surpass my skills today, then the word ‘dismissed’ won’t just be a rumor!”

Seeing the crowd fall silent, Zhang Yue turned directly to Zhou Ping’an and said, “The list for today’s competition.”

Zhou Ping’an glanced sideways at Shang Yong, seeing his face as pale as death, and immediately felt resentment—just now he had been told to ignore everything, so how could he now resolve this situation? Yet Zhang Yue had already stretched out his hand, forcing Zhou Ping’an to reluctantly take the ledger from the clerk beside him and then hand it over with a heavy heart.

Zhang Yue flipped through a few pages, noticing dense lists of names with a few marked with crosses. He asked coldly, “I watched today’s competition from start to finish. Aside from a few with outstanding martial skills and a few others who were passable, the rest were more or less the same. What’s the deal with these people?”

Seeing Zhou Ping’an sweating profusely and unable to answer, Zhang Yue simply turned around and called out, “Chen Tienu, Wu Dazheng, Feng Sanbao…”

As he called out their names one by one, several people pushed their way out of the crowd and knelt down unevenly. Zhang Yue noticed they were all dressed in tattered clothes; two of them even had torn patches on the back of their padded jackets, with torn cotton showing through. He told them to look up and carefully examined their faces, realizing they were all those who had at least performed martial arts earlier. His expression darkened even further. Without looking back at Zhou Ping’an or Shang Yong, he ordered someone to bring a pen and circled those names.

“Your martial skills are passable. Since I treat everyone equally, you’ll all be selected for now.”

“Thank you, sir!”

The men were overjoyed and hurriedly bowed in gratitude again. Immediately, the surrounding crowd became noisy, with some even complaining, saying things like they had paid money. But this time, Zhang Yue ignored them completely. He didn’t return the ledger to Zhou Ping’an and Shang Yong but handed it directly to Hu Qi. When his attendants brought over a horse, he mounted it.

“Go back and practice your martial arts hard. In the future, it will depend on you to provide for your wives and children!”

Seeing Zhang Yue seemingly forget about the person he had sent earlier, waving his whip and about to leave, Zhou Ping’an felt a sense of relief. But as the horse neighed loudly, he saw that Zhang Yue didn’t leave right away. Instead, he suddenly turned the horse around and looked down at him.

“Where’s the person I sent first?”

Zhou Pingan’s mouth dropped open in shock—he didn’t know what to say. Just then, Shang Yong stepped forward abruptly and said coldly, “My lord, this matter should have fallen under the responsibility of the Military Selection Department. You came here suddenly without any prior notice, giving orders and making promises. You even allowed an outsider to interfere. Isn’t that overstepping your bounds? As for who to select and who not to, you decide with just a few words—what use is the Military Selection Department then?”

It is said that one’s environment shapes one’s demeanor, and habits influence one’s temperament. Since Zhang Yue had held power in a region, killed people, fought in battles, and served as a high-ranking official, he naturally carried an irresistible authority even after returning to the capital. Seeing Shang Yong dare to speak to him in such a manner only intensified his already simmering displeasure.

“Are you saying it’s my fault then?”

Zhou Pingan thought that regardless of Zhang Yue’s background, his current position was one that neither of them could openly challenge. So even though he knew Shang Yong had already knocked someone unconscious and incited the crowd, committing a grave mistake, he thought the Military Selection Department had always operated this way—it wasn’t just him who was corrupt. Unable to resist, he tugged at Shang Yong’s clothes from behind. To his surprise, Shang Yong not only remained calm but even smiled: “Of course, my lord is not at fault. If there is any fault, it lies with us subordinates. But…”

Before those two words could finish, there was suddenly a sharp sound as an arrow left the bow. While everyone was still stunned, someone sharp-eyed saw an arrow flying toward Zhang Yue on horseback. Before anyone could scream, Zhang Yue swiftly rolled to the side, jumping off his horse just in time. The arrow flew past him and struck the crowd behind, causing a cry of pain and panic.

In a flash, Peng Shisan, who was quick-witted, spotted a person with a bow standing on a large rock not far behind the crowd. Without hesitation, he nocked an arrow and shouted loudly, “There’s an archer! Be careful!”

The sudden sound of arrows sent chaos through the crowd. Hu Qi, Zhang Bu, and a few others pulled Zhang Yue off his horse and protected him. After a moment’s hesitation, the few young men who had been called by Zhang Yue and said to be selected also rushed forward, raising their hands to shield him. Among the other young people, several shouted commands, causing the crowd to scatter.

Faced with such a scene he had never imagined, Zhou Ping’an was too terrified to move. Suddenly seeing Shang Yong retreating, he hurriedly called out, only for an arrow to fly straight at him. Terrified, he sat down on the ground. By the time he reacted and looked back, he saw the arrow deeply embedded in Shang Yong’s back, staining his blue official robes bright red. In that instant, having never seen blood before, he was completely frozen, unable even to move.

Zhang Yue had just managed to dodge the arrow by hooking one foot over the stirrup—a reflexive reaction only someone accustomed to danger could have. If Peng Shisan and the others hadn’t arrived in time, and if his horse had been hit by another arrow, he would surely have been in grave danger. Yet the moment his feet touched solid ground, despite still hearing the sound of arrows flying, he quickly regained his composure and shouted sharply, “Seize that man!”

Before he could finish speaking, someone rushed over—Hu Qi. Seeing Peng Shisan’s arrow strike the man’s thigh, he felt relieved and quickened his pace. When he saw the men lurking nearby pounce on the archer on the rock, certain they would capture him alive, his anxious heart settled a bit. Yet he still gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, resenting that he hadn’t anticipated such chaos in public.

The Shuntianfu was responsible for maintaining order in the capital, while the Wucheng Bingmasi handled law enforcement. The Jinyiwei and Dongchang were in charge of arrests. His own spy agency fell under the Ministry of War, meaning even if something major happened, it wouldn’t affect him. But since he had reported the incident to Zhang Yue, he couldn’t shirk responsibility, even if others didn’t blame him.

Fueled by anger and urgency, he finally rushed to the man. Seeing his subordinates firmly hold him down and stuff a piece of cloth into his mouth, confirming he was still alive, he tore off a strip from the hem of his robe, grabbed the arrow stuck deep in the assassin’s thigh, and pulled it out with a sharp snap. As the arrowhead exited the flesh, he saw the man’s face contort in pain, barely avoiding fainting on the spot. He then tied a cloth strip tightly around the upper part of the thigh to stop the bleeding and had someone pour out the gold-plated medicine he carried. Only after finishing all this did he have time to look back.

“How is it?”

“Sir, he’s still alive.”

“It’s good he’s alive… Damn it, I wish I could skin him!”

Zhang Yue saw Hu Qi directing several subordinates to work busily, which gave him time to observe the surroundings. In just a short while, the crowd that had been in chaos due to the sudden appearance of the assassin had gathered again, but they all stood at a distance, too afraid to approach. Further away, Zhou Pingan was still sitting on the ground, as if he were a clay or wooden statue.

“Lord, Minister Shang is dead.”

Although the assassin had been captured, no one could guarantee that there was only one assassin, so Zhang Yue was still surrounded by guards. Hearing that Shang Yong was dead, he frowned deeply, feeling an indescribable emotion. When Shang Yong had come to reprimand him earlier, he had sensed a mixture of false righteousness and weakness in him. Now that Shang Yong was dead, he felt that what had happened seemed like nothing more than corruption in the military selection process, but there might well be deeper secrets.

Sure enough, moments later, Peng Shisan came slowly from the other side, supporting Fang Jing. Seeing Fang Jing shaking his head vigorously as he walked, with water droplets still on his hair and looking dazed, Zhang Yue’s expression turned grim as he hurried over. Only when he reached them did Peng Shisan remind him, and Fang Jing finally raised his head, taking some time to speak coherently.

“Third Brother Zhang, I went to deliver your message just now. That Minister Shang insulted me first and then questioned me. Before I could respond, someone knocked me out from behind…”

“Those shameless brats!”

Zhang Yue cursed angrily. When he looked again, some officials from the Ministry of War finally remembered Zhou Pingan. Two of them carried him over, one on each side. As they got closer, he saw that Zhou Pingan was utterly distraught. It was more like he was being dragged than carried. He asked him a few questions but ultimately realized that the man was too scared to speak properly, repeating only “It was all Shang Yong’s idea” and “I don’t know anything.”

“Clean up this area and inform Shuntian Prefecture and the Jinyiwei East Factory.”

After saying that, Zhang Yue nodded at Fang Jing and asked Peng Shisan to help the man rest nearby before heading toward the crowd. Before he could reach them, the crowd all knelt down. Ignoring them, he casually asked one of the remaining officials and learned that no one had died, but several were injured. Apart from one unlucky man who had been shot in the shoulder, the others were injured from being trampled while fleeing, with some even having broken ribs.

He glanced at them briefly, not paying attention to the three young men who had stood in front of him at those critical moments. Instead, he asked Hu Qi for the roster. It was only at the reminder of his guards that he noticed a few leaders who had led others to hide. He then checked each name one by one and found that there were twelve people missing from the list. After crossing out those twelve names, he returned the roster to Hu Qi.

“Once we’re back at the Ministry of War, have the Military Selection Department report everything about these twelve people’s backgrounds and origins. Oh, and if the Imperial Guards show up, have them investigate them thoroughly as well. If they really ran away out of fear, that’s one thing, but if not…”

If they didn’t run away out of fear, then it must be because they were guilty of something or had other more serious reasons! If Zhang Yue’s suspicions were correct, things would really get serious today. Hu Qi, alarmed, quickly bowed in agreement and stepped aside to make arrangements.

At that moment, Zhang Yue had no desire to say much to these young people still shaken. He simply said, “You’ve all seen what happened today. Whatever the reason, just one archer caused such a mess. What if you encountered a surprise attack on the battlefield? Wouldn’t you all scatter? Think carefully when you get back!”

After everyone kowtowed and gradually dispersed, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but rub his temples. He thought to himself that what he had thought would be a casual outing had turned into such a situation. He regretted bringing Fang Jing along.