The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 433- 435

Chapter 433: An Undercover Agent from the Wan Kingdom

“Here’s a secret letter for you, Sire.”

Yuwen Tong jerked out of his trance and put away all the letters. “Bring it in here.”

Miao Shisan walked into the imperial bedchamber with a letter that had just been delivered to him by a secret bodyguard of Yuwen Tong’s, a grave look on his face. “It’s from the Wan Kingdom,” he said.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head, took the letter, opened it with a special method and then read it.

Shan Congyi and Mu Rongfeng had dared to make trouble in the Great Wen. How could he not return the compliment? The Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom didn’t really trust each other very much. He needed to lay the trap step by step, and when it was done, it would take only the right opportunity to lure his prey into it.

After reading the letter, Yuwen Tong wrote a letter in reply, sealed it with a particular method and then had Miao Shisan deliver it to an undercover agent from the Wan Kingdom.

What with this matter, Yuwen Tong once again stayed up late making arrangements. Meanwhile, Ling Zhang in a faraway county in Cangzhou was also still awake.

The journey had indeed been quite weary, and this day had been hectic too, but due to the strange room and his longing to see Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang still had a hard job getting to sleep.

…

Ling Zhang, who got to sleep pretty late the night before, woke up very early in the morning. He had to pay a visit to Xiaofeng Village this day, so he needed to get prepared.

Yao Yi and some others had made breakfast already. After Ling Zhang washed his face and dressed, Yao Yi walked inside and disguised him. On the two sides of this residence were another two residences. In front of it was an fairly broad alley. Though it was early in the morning, they could hear the voices of their neighbors and passers-by. Residents of small counties always got up pretty early.

Even when in Tanyang, Ling Zhang, apart from anything else, had been the First Young Master of the Ling family. His grandfather used to be the Assistant Minister of Rites, so the Ling family had been a fairly wealthy family. Afterward, Ling Zhaowen had been promoted to the Right Tongzhi, and the Ling family’s status in Tanyang had become even higher. As a result, Ling Zhang had never experienced a morning with such a strong flavor of common people’s life when he’d been in Tanyang. What impressed him the most was the fight going on in the residence on the left side. It seemed that the man of that family was dressing down his wife who’d accidentally broken something. In the house on the right side, a woman with a loud voice was scolding her son, saying that he was lazy and shouldn’t have still been in bed when the sun was up, that he needed to go to school right away. “Your father and I work so hard to pay for your school, but you have no appreciation of it whatsoever. You ungrateful creature!” bawled the woman. The boy apologized to his mother in a high-pitched voice. And then Ling Zhang heard a commotion from the house, followed by the footsteps of the boy who seemed to be streaking out of the house, yelling along the way. The woman shouted in the doorway, enjoining the boy to get back home immediately after school and not to mess around.

All those walking past the front gates were carrying things on shoulder poles or pushing handcarts. Their footsteps were different. The wheels of the handcarts were rolling forward with a rumble. Some of them met their acquaintances and they greeted each other. Almost all of them were complaining that business was bad lately, that what with the matter of Jiangzhou, the whole prefecture was in panic. Everybody was worried that the imperial court’s army might not be able to hold the rebel forces from Jiangzhou at bay. Some said that they’d suffered long enough before the rebel forces in Cangzhou had been handled, and the new emperor had exempted them from the next three years’ tax, giving them hope of restoring their lives, but those people in Jiangzhou still wanted to make trouble. They wondered what the rebel forces in Jiangzhou were thinking…

These were all opinions of common people. Ling Zhang listened quietly as Yao Yi disguised him. He suddenly came to a quite distinct realization that a peaceful life meant everything to common people, that what people in high positions like him should do was try to give the common folk security and stability.

As long as the matter of Jiangzhou stayed unsettled, the people of Cangzhou would never had complete peace of mind. They had just undergone the ordeal of an armed uprising, and none of them wanted to see anything like that happen in their hometown once again.

…

“Childe Ling, I found a suitable spot.”

While they were having breakfast, Jiang Yu’s bodyguard returned and told Ling Zhang that he’d found a place where they could get out of the county without anybody noticing.

“Thank you,” said Ling Zhang with a nod. “I need you to lead us there after we finish breakfast.”

Felt overwhelmingly flattered, the bodyguard hurriedly said, “It’s my honor.”

Jiang Yu said, “You still need to be extra careful, Childe Ling. Right now residents of this county are pretty wary of strangers. It’s very likely there would be needless misunderstandings if any of them finds out, and they might even attack if things get hot, so please be cautious.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “I will.”

After breakfast, Ling Zhang and Yao Yi followed the bodyguard out of the residence. The bodyguard was a native of this county. With him accompanying them, nobody suspected anything.

The spot that the bodyguard had found was off the beaten track. It took Ling Zhang and Yao Yi some time to get there.

“I’ve checked that this place would be unguarded for a Joss-stick (a unit of time used in feudal China; how long it takes for a joss stick to burn itself out) when the yamen patrol change the shift, and that’s your chance to get out. You may return in four hours, when the next shift change is due.”

Ling Zhang and Yao Yi lodged this information in their minds. The two of them waited for a while and the yamen patrol left. Before the next patrol relief came on duty, Ling Zhang and Yao Yi took advantage of the opportunity and exited the county.

And then the two of them went in the direction the bodyguard had told them, heading for Xiaofeng Village.

They hadn’t got the map from the county yamen yet, so for the moment they could only try to locate Xiaofeng Village with the help of the bodyguard’s description. Fortunately Yao Yi was quite experienced. He led Ling Zhang squarely towards Xiaofeng Village without going astray.

They traveled fast. It took them only an hour to finish the trip which would normally take a common person two hours.

Xiaofeng Village was a relatively large village. Maybe because many itinerant traders traveled along the national road, there was an inn near an entrance of this village. A lot of people dwelt in this place, but right now all of them were on full alert, and all entrances were guarded by villagers. At ordinary times residents of this village seldom crossed the village boundary.

Ling Zhang and Yao Yi didn’t enter the village. Given that the two of them were strangers to this village, they would no doubt rouse everybody’s suspicions if they went into the village at this point in time.

The two of them made a detour around Xiaofeng Village and directly walked into the wood.

After progressing in the wood for a short while, the two of them halted.

There were sentries hiding in the wood, a lot of them. This area was not far away from the encampment of the imperial court’s army. They would definitely be spotted if they kept going forward.

“Please wait here for a moment, Childe Ling. I’ll go and check out the lay of the land,” said Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang inclined his head, found a secluded spot and hid himself there, while Yao Yi soundlessly went into the depths of the wood.

After Yao Yi disappeared from view, Ling Zhang looked around him, took a flying leap, landed onto a bough of a giant tree beside him and hid himself in its dense foliage, holding his breath, straining his ears to listen to the movements nearby. His internal energy had grown yet again, and his five senses were even sharper than before, so he could hear over an even wider range now. Ears cocked, he heard the faint sound of breathing of a lot of people as well as their hushed conversations, which presumably issued from hidden guard posts. He could also vaguely hear some sounds from the military encampment.

After listening for a while, Ling Zhang suddenly looked in the direction of the national road not far away as though he heard someone heading his way.

He slowed down his breathing as much as he could, crouching quietly on the bough, as motionless as if he’d become a part of the tree.

Predictably, a person showed up after a short while. It was a man dressed like a peasant. However, his footsteps were very light, and his whole body was tense, a highly watchful expression in his eyes. It was only too evident that his behavior was abnormal. Unsurprisingly, after getting close to this place, the man also suddenly halted. Clearly he’d also perceived that there were sentries hiding in the area ahead. However, unlike Ling Zhang who’d hidden himself in a secluded spot, this man started gingerly observing the surroundings and putting out feelers, and he was also changing his position constantly.

Ling Zhang could tell at a glance that this man was a scout. On top of that, when he approached, Ling Zhang noticed that there was something out of the ordinary about him. This man’s features were sharper than those of common people in the Great Wen, and judging from his conduct, it was very likely he was from the Wan Kingdom. Previously Shan Congwen had visited the capital city, and not long ago Shan Congyi had also done the same thing. The bodyguards of both of them were all from the Wan Kingdom. These people’s kung fu styles were somewhat different from those of people in the Great Wen. Apart from their fighting styles, their footwork and patterns of breathing were also fairly special.

The look in Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly became alert. Unless he was much mistaken, this man was a secret agent from the Wan Kingdom, who had disguised himself as a commoner of the Great Wen. It seemed that Shan Congyi had indeed arrived in this area and was now monitoring every move of the army stationed here by the imperial court of the Great Wen.

Ling Zhang wondered whether or not he’d be able to locate Shan Congyi’s hideout if he tailed this man.

Ling Zhang was tempted by this idea, but before he left the capital city, Yuwen Tong had cautioned him that he was not to act alone or get out of the sight of any of his bodyguards, and he’d given Yuwen Tong his word on that. Wouldn’t he be breaking his promise if he flew solo at this point in time?

With an intense struggle going on within his breast, Ling Zhang’s palms were on the verge of sweating, but eventually he still slowly unclenched his fists, trying hard to calm himself down.

Now that a secret agent from the Wan Kingdom had shown up in this place, there was no doubt Shan Congyi was nearby. It would take only a search of this area for him to locate Shan Congyi. Right now he should just… he should just wait for Yao Yi to come back.

In the final analysis, he was not strong enough. Had he reached the next layer of his method of cultivating internal energy or acquired the same ability to deploy formations as his maternal grandfather’s, he wouldn’t have been hemmed in by this kind of misgivings.

Ling Zhang exercised all his self-restraint and stayed put. When that secret agent quickly retreated after sensing a yamen patrol approaching, he felt the almost overwhelming urge to shadow the man, but eventually he still forbore from doing that.

‘No. I can’t do that. I must honor my promise.’

Ling Zhang took a deep breath, kept from looking in the direction that the secret agent had gone, and focused on hiding himself from the yamen patrol which were walking past the tree he was crouching on.

It was almost two hours before Yao Yi returned.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Childe Ling. Did anything happen here?” said Yao Yi anxiously.

“Nothing. Just now a secret agent from the Wan Kingdom showed up. Shan Congyi is probably hiding somewhere nearby,” said Ling Zhang.

Yao Yi’s face instantly became grave at these words. “You didn’t let that secret agent see you, I suppose?”

“No. He didn’t spot me,” replied Ling Zhang.

Relieved, Yao Yi observed, “That’s a relief.”

“How did it go? Has the General Zhongwu arrived at the encampment?” inquired Ling Zhang.

Yao Yi responded with a nod, “He got to the encampment at dusk the day before yesterday. I’ve met him already. Originally he wanted to come here personally to pay his respects to you, but considering his departure from the encampment might draw needless attention to him, we figured it’d be best if you go to the right side of this wood and enter the encampment. The soldiers on sentry duty there are his trusted men. We may directly go there.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod of agreement. “Okay. Let’s go there right away. We should tell him about the matter of Shan Congyi for good measure. Given that a secret agent from the Wan Kingdom has infiltrated into this county, there’s no doubt they harbor evil intentions.”

“Please follow me, Childe Ling.”

Chapter 434: A Meeting with the General Zhongwu

“Young Master, are we to continue making inquiries in the county seat today?” asked Jiang Yu’s bodyguard.

The county seat was not large, and the bodyguard had some friends and relatives living in this place, so it was not difficult for him to get some information from local scoundrels about suspicious out-of-towners that had come to this county lately. Two days ago, there were indeed some strangers showing up in the county seat, but it was said that those people didn’t go through the county gates facing in the direction of Xiaofeng Village, that they, after seeing the gates were heavily guarded by soldiers of the imperial court, doubled back, exited through the gates they’d entered, and then disappeared without a trace.

Judging from the collected information about those people’s manner, they bore little similarity to natives of the Great Wen. On top of that, they’d acted somewhat sneakingly and accosted a lot of locals, fishing for information. They’d come here neither to look up relatives nor to do business. Instead, they’d seemed to specially come here to gather intelligence. Local residents, who were quite wary of out-of-towners these days, had kept a weather eye on those people since their arrival. Maybe because those people had also perceived that they’d attracted local townsfolk’s attention, they’d soon left.

“Strangers who acted and spoke differently from natives of the Great Wen, did nothing but fish for information, left at the sight of the tight security at the southern county gates… Those people are very suspicious, even if they don’t work for Shan Congyi.”

Jiang Yu combed through the pieces of intelligence collected by his bodyguard and filtered out those insignificant ones. Since Ling Zhang had assigned to him the task of locating Shan Congyi, he must find Shan Congyi. Otherwise his insisting on accompanying Ling Zhang to Cangzhou would’ve been pointless, and it would also affect Ling Zhang’s impression of him in a negative way.

“Today you’re to continue making inquiries in the county seat. I’ll go out of town and see if I can find any useful information.”

The bodyguard said, “It’s not safe for you to act alone, Young Master.”

“Just do what I say. I’ll have someone else go out of the county seat to collect intelligence,” said Jiang Yu.

After hearing this, the bodyguard asked no more questions, accepted the order and took his leave.

Jiang Yu disguised himself before going out to hit the streets, for he and Shan Congyi had seen each other before. While walking on the street, he also arrested a lot of people’s attention. After all, Jiang Yu’s face was unfamiliar to residents of this small county, but as he was dressed decently and conducted himself properly, nobody made any particular speculations about him.

Jiang Yu walked once around the county seat and then entered a cloth store.

At the sight of him walking inside, a sales clerk stepped up and welcomed him. “May I ask what kind of material you’re looking for, my dear guest? We have literally all kinds of cloth here.”

“All kinds? Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?” said Jiang Yu in a mild tone of voice.

The sales clerk smiled, “We have not only materials from the south but also materials from the north, and they’re very stylish. If you don’t believe me, you may follow me to see for yourself.”

Jiang Yu didn’t decline the offer, so the sales clerk happily started showing him around the store, telling him about the materials for sale. He gave Jiang Yu an extravagantly colorful description of each and every single product, as though Jiang Yu would bitterly regret it if he didn’t buy some. Such was his eloquence that Jiang Yu couldn’t help but think it was little wonder this man had become a sales clerk. However, though this store was large, this man was the only clerk. In addition, it’d been quite some time since Jiang Yu’s arrival, but there still hadn’t been any other customers.

All the fabrics seemed to take Jiang Yu’s fancy, so the sales clerk’s enthusiasm built up continuously. Jiang Yu listened patiently for a while and then said, “Your products are indeed pretty good. Why are there so few customers in this store?”

The sales clerk immediately replied, “Oh, you’re so discerning, my dear guest. Our products are all top-of-the-line. Many premium ones are from the capital city. None of the cloth stores in this county and neighboring counties and towns can compare with our store in terms of product quality. As for why there are not many customers…”

The sales clerk’s face crumpled up as he paused. “You’ve just come into town, I suppose, my dear guest? As you can see, the security in the county seat is quite tight, because the situation out there is dire. We’d suffered a lot before the rebel forces of this prefecture were disbanded, and the business had just begun to pick up when…” The sales clerk finished speaking with a long sigh.

“What was it? Something serious happened out of this county?” asked Jiang Yu.

The sales clerk flicked him an appraising glance. Judging from Jiang Yu’s mien and manner, he believed that Jiang Yu had no ulterior motives, so he lowered his guard considerably and responded, “This county is very close to Jiangzhou, and a national road goes through this place before turning towards Jiangzhou. Previously, before the uprising, a lot of itinerant traders traveled past this place on a daily basis, and the whole county seat was uproarious, but after the revolt broke out, everything changed. There’s no telling how much longer the rebellion could’ve lasted had a new emperor not been enthroned. Still, although we have a new emperor now, our neighbor Jiangzhou…”

The sales clerk dropped his voice and breathed, “Our neighbor Jiangzhou doesn’t acknowledge the new emperor’s authority, and the commander of the Jiangzhou garrison is staging a revolt too. An army sent by the imperial court has cut off the national road connecting this county and Jiangzhou. Currently the troops are stationed near Xiaofeng Village which is right outside the county seat, keeping the rebel forces at bay. There could be a fight at any moment. First the national road was blockaded, and now this. Itinerant merchants stopped coming, and even locals don’t dare go out much, which is why we barely have any customers these days. Actually you’re our first customer in two days. Given your rich attire and elegant mien, it’s only too obvious that you’re from a wealthy family. Please allow me to give you a word of caution out of goodwill – stay away from Xiaofeng Village. Even if chances were that there wouldn’t be a fight, which they’re not, it’s inadvisable to be a hindrance to the army of the imperial court, right?”

With a shadow of a smile, Jiang Yu tossed the sales clerk a glance. “You have a point. Thanks for the heads-up.”

The sales clerk chuckled, “I’m just a talky guy. Oh, this fabric is very good. It really sets you off. If you put on a robe made of this fabric, it’d be perfect.”

Jiang Yu cast a look at the fabric and said, “I’ll take it. If my memory serves me correctly, there’s a tailor in this store. I’d like him to use this to make a robe for me. I’ll come back here to get it in a few days.”

“Oh, so thi–this is not your first time coming here. Then I was really being a busybody just now. Please forgive me for not having recognized you sooner,” the sales clerk hurriedly said, looking at Jiang Yu with a somewhat incredulous expression on his face. They did have a full-time tailor in this store, but normally he took orders from rich local families and had barely made clothes for any particular individual customer. Jiang Yu was clearly an out-of-towner. How had he come to know about it?

Jiang Yu didn’t waste any more time, produced an ID plate and said, “Well, I think we’ve done enough talking. Now take me to see the storekeeper.”

The sales clerk’s mouth fell open at the sight of the plate, his eyes widening, taken aback. “Yo–You’re from the capital city? I’ll go and inform our storekeeper straight away. Please follow me inside to take a seat. I’ll get you some tea.”

Jiang Yu followed the sales clerk into a reception room and then the latter quickly went to inform the storekeeper who was having a snooze in the rear of the store.

The storekeeper of the cloth store was a plump mustached man in his forties or fifties. After being woken up by the sales clerk who told him that the customer had an ID plate of the Jiang family, he hastened to rearrange his robes and then hurried to the reception room to meet Jiang Yu.

At the sight of Jiang Yu sitting there with an imposing air about him, the storekeeper’s heart started hammering. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, childe. May I have your name, please?”

“My surname is Jiang,” replied Jiang Yu, looking at him.

The storekeeper’s brow twitched and with that he hastily got on his knees to pay his respects. “You’re really gracing us with your corporeal presence. I didn’t know about your arrival, so I didn’t welcome you personally, which was a terrible mistake of mine. Please punish me, Young Master.”

“No blame attaches to the unconscious doer of wrong. My arrival in this place is supposed to be kept secret for the time being, so don’t disclose it to anybody else.”

“Yes, yes, Young Master. I swear I won’t breathe a word of it to anybody.”

Looking at the nervousness on his face, Jiang Yu asked, “Has anything particular happened in the old house lately?”

The storekeeper’s eyes roved briefly and with that he responded, “There hasn’t been any particular news from the old house for some time, and Old Master has been watching over the mausoleum all along. Every few days I go there to check on Old Master and deliver some daily necessities to him. The front gates of the old house are shut almost all the time and there are barely any visitors these days. Presently, an army sent by the imperial court is stationed near Xiaofeng Village. We’ve all been laying low and doing business. We don’t dare do anything other than covertly gathering information about the situation outside the county and having some men look after Old Master.”

“You sent some men to look after my father?” asked Jiang Yu, his piercing eyes flashing at him.

The storekeeper didn’t know whether or not he’d said the wrong thing, but at the sight of the look in Jiang Yu’s eyes, cold sweat broke out over his back and he quickly answered, “I sent two strong servants there in case any thieves show up, and if a fight does break out outside the county, they’ll whisk Old Master and Her Ladyship away immediately.”

Jiang Yu gave it some thought and said, “I see. Let’s leave it this way for now. Don’t tell my father about this visit of mine yet.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“There is, in addition, another matter that I need you to arrange for some men to handle.”

“Just give me the word, Young Master. I promise I’ll do everything within my power to get it done.”

…

When Jiang Yu had the storekeeper make arrangements for some men to conduct a covert search outside the county, Ling Zhang and Yao Yi had secretly entered the military encampment and met the General Zhongwu.

“It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Highness.”

“You may rise, General. I came here in disguise and I don’t want to blow my cover, so we can dispense with the formalities,” said Ling Zhang, raising the General Zhongwu to his feet. “Thank you for your service in Cangzhou. Were it not for you, Cangzhou wouldn’t have returned to peaceful life so soon.”

The General Zhongwu stood up and said, “Since you put it this way, I’ll boldly address you as ‘Childe Ling’. I only did what I was supposed to do. As for Cangzhou embracing peace again, most of the credit must go to His Majesty’s decision to exempt Cangzhou people from taxes and appoint Xu Lingyun as the Cangzhou governor. It’s all because of His Majesty’s wisdom.”

Ling Zhang smiled, “You’re being modest, General. We’ve all seen what you’ve done for this country. Now let’s put an end to the small talk and get down to business. I want to know how things have been going in the army. Have you had any news of the Jiangzhou garrison? And did Wang Xiangxin take any particular action?”

The General Zhongwu turned aside and said, “Please come with me and see for yourself, Childe Ling.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head and followed the General Zhongwu to a map hanging on a side wall of the tent. The General Zhongwu pointed at the checkpoints located in Xishan County and Jincang County in Jiangzhou respectively and began, “Currently, the checkpoint in Xishan County is guarded by the men of my lieutenant. For the moment the situation in Xishan County is fairly peaceful. Wang Xiangxin has been laying low ever since he blockaded the national road in Xishan County and set up a checkpoint there. That checkpoint of his is easy to hold but hard to attack. In all likelihood, it’s mainly for defensive purposes. The checkpoint in Jincang County, however, is different. In the past few days, he’s been deploying more troops there, which indicates that it’s not for defensive purposes only.”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. “Are they planning to get out from that spot, by any chance?”

The General Zhongwu replied, “We cannot rule out that possibility. Of course, it’s also possible that they’re just trying to clear the way to help someone get in.”

“Shan Congyi?” Ling Zhang furrowed his brows again.

Chapter 435: Money

“From the vantage point of the present, this is most likely to be the case, given that Shan Congyi is now in league with Wang Xiangxin,” observed the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor).

However, part of it still didn’t make sense. The collusion between Shan Congyi and Wang Xiangxin was covert. The reason why the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom were supporting Wang Xiangxin was because they wanted to throw the Great Wen into civil strife. There was no way they would actually help Wang Xiangxin take the throne. Besides, the two countries didn’t dare let this matter go public, and under no circumstances would they let it be brought to light. No matter which perspective Ling Zhang saw this issue from, it struck him as quite confusing that Wang Xiangxin would cross swords with an army of the imperial court just because of Shan Congyi. Firstly, Wang Xiangxin’s troops were stationed in four different checkpoints far away from each other. Even if he built another army by press-ganging residents of Jiangzhou, he would definitely save it for more important purposes and would by no means treat them as cannon fodder just to breach the defensive line of the enemy; secondly, considering Shan Congyi had managed to make contact and collude with Wang Xiangxin despite the blockade, he didn’t need to specially breach the defensive line to stay in touch with his ally. Besides, on no account would Shan Congyi dare blow his cover.

Unless… there was something very important which Wang Xiangxin wanted to get at all costs.

What could that thing be?

While Ling Zhang was casting around for an answer with a frown on his face, the General Zhongwu had finished analyzing the situation of the checkpoint in Xishan County and that of the one in Jincang County as well.

“No matter what Wang Xiangxin is up to, we must stop him,” said the General Zhongwu.

Ling Zhang was still racking his brains. Yuwen Tong wanted to use Wang Xiangxin to teach the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom a lesson because no matter what the two countries were plotting, they would need manpower and money if they wanted to support Wang Xiangxin, and both these two things were what Wang Xiangxin needed the most. Without these two things, it would be utterly impossible for Wang Xiangxin to stage an uprising or do this country harm in any other ways.

Shan Congyi didn’t seem to have what it took to offer Wang Xiangxin manpower or anything else, because currently he was hiding in Cangzhou. He had had a hard job getting into Cangzhou, eluding yamen patrols to keep his true identity secret. Between the Wan Kingdom and Jiangzhou was the vast territory of the Great Wen covering tens of thousands of square kilometers. No matter how capable Shan Congyi was, by no means would he be able to send any soldiers or other resources into Jiangzhou through that checkpoint.

So it was most likely that he would support his ally financially.

When it came to money, silver ingots were pretty heavy, and it would no doubt take a lot of silver to cover the expenses of the whole Jiangzhou garrison. If it was indeed silver ingots that Shan Congyi would give Wang Xiangxin, he might really have to breach the defensive line…

Ling Zhang, after giving it some careful thought, told the General Zhongwu about his conjecture.

The General Zhongwu wasn’t as well-informed as Ling Zhang, but he caught on to the situation immediately, feeling that Ling Zhang’s words were very plausible. Apart from reinforcements, money was the only thing that Wang Xiangxin would breach the defensive line of his enemy in that area at all costs to get.

“Your conjecture makes a lot of sense, Childe Ling. There’s a very high chance that it’s silver ingots which they’re going to transport into Jiangzhou. Now that we’ve come to know about their intention, things would be a lot easier.”

Ling Zhang said, “For now it’s still just a conjecture. We need to verify it. Before I came here, I chanced upon a secret agent from the Wan Kingdom.”

After saying this, Ling Zhang gave the General Zhongwu an account of what had happened in the wood previously. “There’s no doubt Shan Congyi is hiding somewhere nearby. The reason why that secret agent went to such great lengths to spy on your army definitely had something to do with Wang Xiangxin’s abnormal behavior. Right now what we need to do is ascertain Shan Congyi’s whereabouts as soon as possible and see if he’s hiding large sums of money.”

The General Zhongwu inclined his head. “You’re right, Childe Ling. I’ll send some men to covertly look for Shan Congyi’s hideout.”

Ling Zhang nodded. Thinking about what Jiang Yu was doing, he felt that it was okay for two groups of people to perform the same task. Currently, finding Shan Congyi as soon as possible was the most important.

“There’s no way I’m going to let them transport any silver ingots into Jiangzhou. Now that the Wan Kingdom has waded in, they’ll have to leave the money before we let them go elsewhere,” said Ling Zhang, a flinty look in his eyes.

The Wan Kingdom was in dire need of time to rebuild its economy. Its domestic situation was severer than that of the Great Wen. Firstly, what with its geographical location, its food production was lower than that of the Great Wen; secondly, the Wan Kingdom had suffered a spate of defeats during the past few years and had sued for peace twice in a row, offering the Great Wen money in war reparations again and again. Its economic situation had always been more serious than that of the Great Wen. It would need money to rebuild its strength, which meant that if Shan Congyi was really here to provide Wang Xiangxin with money, then this sum of money must be a considerable chunk for the Wan Kingdom, and it would take its toll on the Wan Kingdom’s vulnerable finances. If Shan Congyi had his way, it might be okay, but if his plan failed, the monarch of the Wan Kingdom would probably vomit blood with anger.

Moreover, Shan Congyi was supposed to leave the Great Wen, but he had secretly went to Cangzhou. Legally speaking, he was an infiltrator, and his action was against the law, which meant the Great Wen, naturally, could well execute him, and the Wan Kingdom wouldn’t dare say anything about it. Shan Congyi would die for nothing.

Now that he’d entered on this, he should go the whole hog and inflict on the Wan Kingdom such agony that even their breathing would be painful.

Ling Zhang had made up his mind some time before. Since he’d personally come here, he would, by hook or by crook, make sure Shan Congyi wouldn’t make it back to the Wan Kingdom alive!

“When the matter of Jiangzhou is settled, the people there would need help to restore their lives, which means they’ll need money. We may take those silver ingots as economic aid given to Jiangzhou people by the Wan Kingdom,” remarked Ling Zhang.

The General Zhongwu said, “Okay. If those silver ingots do exist, we’ll sure as hell confiscate them!”

It struck the General Zhongwu that Ling Zhang’s plan was well for his liking, so he was thrilled by it, his eyes glinting with determination to get those silver ingots.

…

Ling Zhang had no intention to let his arrival in Cangzhou go public, so after conferring with the General Zhongwu, he prepared to leave quietly.

“I’ll see you out, Childe Ling,” offered the General Zhongwu.

“That won’t be necessary. You’re a busy man, General. We can manage it ourselves. Currently, the first priority is to ascertain Shan Congyi’s whereabouts. I’ll come here to meet you again after Shan Congyi is located,” said Ling Zhang.

“I don’t dare have you personally come here again, Childe Ling. Just send me a message and I’ll go back to the city to see you,” the General Zhongwu hurriedly said.

“There’s no need for you to bother yourself about that, General. This encampment is a more suitable place for consultations.” Ling Zhang declined the General Zhongwu’s offer and made his decision about this matter final.

The General Zhongwu made no more remarks and had his henchman personally see Ling Zhang and Yao Yi out.

Before leaving, Ling Zhang looked in the direction of the distant checkpoint in Jincang County. What with the long distance between them, he was unable to get a clear view of it and could only tell that Wang Xiangxin had indeed deployed a lot of soldiers there to defend the checkpoint. It seemed that Wang Xiangxin was not really unafraid of death.

Ling Zhang and Yao Yi quietly left the wood. A short while before Ling Zhang had talked with the General Zhongwu about money. He still remembered his father had once mentioned to him that Zhu You, the so-called Jiangzhou governor, kept large sums of money in a vault in his mansion. Apart from this money of the Wan Kingdom, he was resolute to get that money as well.

On their way back, they went past Xiaofeng Village again, which was still well defended, with dozens of strong villagers holding knives and iron harrows on guard duty outside. They also organized their teams to make regular patrols.

Yao Yi, who could tell that Ling Zhang was fairly concerned about Xiaofeng Village, said, “This village is very close to the encampment. If it were only a common village, the villagers would have long since evacuated. However, Xiaofeng Village is beside a national road, and there’s even an inn in it. There are a lot of villagers here, and their houses are large and substantial, which shows that the villagers here have made quite some money because of the many itinerant traders traveling along the national road. The villagers are not going to give up a place like this. Although they’re fully aware that an army of the imperial court is stationed right outside, and that this area could be turned into a battlefield at any moment, they wouldn’t leave until they really have to.”

Ling Zhang slightly inclined his head. Actually, from the scale of Xiaofeng Village and the average living conditions of the villagers, he had vaguely guessed why they were staying.

“It can never be right to force people from their homes. It is prevent people from losing homes that we’re supposed to do. It’s just… No matter what, send some men here to check on them when necessary.”

Yao Yi grasped the undertone contained in Ling Zhang’s words. “Rest assured, Childe Ling, I know what to do. The General Zhongwu probably has made some arrangements in this regard some time ago.”

Ling Zhang gave a nod and said no more. After glancing in the direction that secret agent from the Wan Kingdom had gone previously, he told Yao Yi to remember that direction.

“After we go back, have some men go in that direction to conduct the search.”

“Yes, Childe Ling.”

…

The two of them retraced their steps back to the county seat. When they entered, the yamen patrols happened to be changing the shift. The two of them had just left when the new patrol relief arrived.

After returning to the residence, Ling Zhang found that neither Jiang Yu nor his bodyguard was back. Knowing what the two of them were engaged on, he had Yao Yi make arrangements for some men to ascertain the whereabouts of that secret agent and Shan Congyi.

He himself retreated to his bedroom to write Yuwen Tong a letter.

Chances were that Shan Congyi was indeed here to deliver money to Wang Xiangxin, and the amount of it must be enormous.

…

Yao Yi personally took some men to conduct the search. The security in the residence was mainly in the charge of Wang Dashan and the other twenty-three guards.

After finishing the letter, Ling Zhang called Wang Dashan in and asked, “Did anything particular happen in the county seat this morning?”

“No. It’s very quiet. From morning till now, no stranger has entered the county seat. Locals here have their own subterranean organizations, and they always secretly keep a weather eye on out-of-towners whose faces are unfamiliar to them. There were three batches of people who’d entered the county seat before us. All of them are small trade caravans, but the current circumstances in here are not very favorable for business, so the caravans are barely making any profits. One of them has already left ahead of schedule. The other two are staying in a local inn. They seem to still hold out hopes,” said Wang Dashan.

Caravans? Some caravans had ventured to this place at this point in time? Ling Zhang’s brow corrugated in a slight frown. Caravans traveled all around the country, and they were among the most well-informed. There was no doubt it had come to their knowledge that an army of the imperial court had been stationed near Xiaofeng Village. The reason why they had still dared to come to this county was either because they were audacious and wanted to chance their luck, or because they had some ulterior motives.

“When Jiang Yu comes back, have his bodyguard take you to secretly check the two caravans. Find out what they’re selling and where they’re from. I want every little detail.”

“Yes, Young Master,” answered Wang Dashan. “Except for the caravans, no stranger has entered the county seat so far. By the way, earlier this day some residents were staking out this residence of ours.”