Chapter 492 – Julu Crisis
Hours passed after Lu Zhi had lashed out in the clan chat.
North of Ye, Julu was still as peaceful as ever.
Julu city had long become the calmest town in Ji Province. Traders, merchants, and tourists often visited this place along with Ye, the capital of Tong's empire.
Taoist temples, military schools, food stalls, and the old battle site, Anping Fort, where Tong fought the turning point battle against Han Fu Army and his allies with fewer soldiers and won, were the main attraction for tourists and scholars.
Not only this city was popular among the tourists, but medicine practitioners also came to Julu because of one person.
Hua Tuo
Tong's father-in-law had opened a medical school as suggested by Tong and Zhang Jiao. He finally had a place to call home and enjoy his semi-retirement.
Hua Tuo passed down his techniques and knowledge to all physicians and all scholars, but he accepted nothing in return, which earned him a title, medicine saint. His disciples became teachers for the physician trainees while Hua Tuo sometimes gave his disciples tips and advice.
By Hua Tuo's side, Tong's eldest daughter, Zhang Min, always attended to her grandfather. Her copy-image of Hua Shi became a replacement for Hua Tuo's daughter, which soothed his fragile heart.
This medicine saint was a happy man. If God could grant him one more wish, he would have asked for these days to last forever.
He had friends.
He had a family.
He had disciples.
He had everything he had always dreamed. As long as Tong was still the Han Dynasty emperor, nothing could go wrong.
"Grandpa! Look at my wings! Is it pretty?"
Despite all the happiness, Hua Tuo also had worries.
"Look! There were four yesterday, but I have six now! Cultivation is so easy. You should cultivate, too!"
Hua Tuo sighed, "I'm too old to compete with youngsters. I'm satisfied with having a couple of thousand years of lifespan, Min'er."
Zhang Min was now a full-fledge 18-year-old maiden. Her glossy long black hair, pretty face, smooth white skin, and the perfect S-curve body created a stunning beauty that could fall any nation.
Yet, this princess was still single, and Tong had not wedded her to anyone.
In fact, Hua Tuo found it hard to recommend any worthy man to be her husband. He also wanted to cherish this granddaughter longer.
"But you can't fly with only one or two wings, grandpa! You need at least 4 wings to fly!"
"Haha! True. Well, how about you carry me when you fly, so I can fly, too?"
"Don't be lazy, grandpa! Sitting and playing chess all day will ruin your bones and muscles. You need to exercise. Come! I'll teach you basic muscle training for elders that I learned in school!"
Zhang Min grabbed Hua Tuo's hand and pulled him off his chair.
"Okay, okay! Don't pull so hard. I'm coming with you."
Both of them had a fun workout. But in the end, Zhang Min carried her grandfather and flew in the sky, pranking her grandfather.
.
.
Another semi-retired man, Zhang Jiao, was puffing smoke. A new product that Te Langpu had invented became his favorite relaxant, a cigar.
The old man gazed into a distance while he was standing in front of the assembly hall. As usual, he was still donning in daoist robes but with a different color than the old yellow. His white outer robe and red inner robe contrasted, but it looked cleaner than the old uniform.
His hair was still black even though he was already in his 60s. Because of the extra lifespan that Tong had distributed to his father, Zhang Jiao's appearance was that of a man in his 40s. His face and body slowly regressed back to his youth each year. Zhang Jiao would look as young as Tong in the next 20 years.
His long black hair was tied and kempt, unlike the past when he worked as a physician and a daoist priest. Traces of the angry sect leader was gone, leaving with the only satisfied and dignified look of a retired man.
Zhang Jiao was still working as the governor of Julu Commandery. Still, he entrusted most of his tasks to his deputies.
Just like others, Zhang Jiao also had his memory back, but he did not mind having Tong as his son in this life.
What was there to regret when his son had become an emperor? No sane father would be sad when their sons succeeded in life.
"SLOW DOWN, MIN'ER!!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
The voice of his friend and his granddaughter was audible from afar. Zhang Jiao could see that Zhang Min was flying in the sky while piggybacking Hua Tuo.
Zhang Jiao sighed, "She won't be able to find a husband if this keeps up. Should I arrange a marriage partner for her?"
He looked at the clan chat menu, which he rarely used.
Deep down inside, Zhang Jiao wanted to talk to Tong and consult him about Zhang Min's future. He was worried that she might stay single for life if she still had this childish attitude.
Zhang Jiao hesitated to send texts in the chat. Recently, the situation in Ye did not look well because of Te Langpu's movements.
Zhang Jiao also took 100% of Julu farmland and all businesses as his clan assets when Te Langpu had offered him the deal. They completed the transaction in the open, but no official dared to object since Zhang Jiao was Tong's father.
He felt guilty because his action aroused the jealousy of other governors. As a result, many of them took advantage of Te Langpu's project and bribed the prime minister to gain extra territory for their clans.
In other words, Zhang Jiao was also the indirect cause of the mass embezzlement.
'Bah, forget it. I'll just write a letter to Tong or Lu Zhi. Come to think of it, Sima Yi is interested in Min'er…'
He rubbed his chin and thought about Sima Fang.
'Should I tie the Sima Clan with the royal court? Sima Clan was the winner of the civil war in the alternate world, so their descendants are competent.'
A smile appeared on this former yellow turban leader's face.
'Sima Yi is a good candidate for Min'er. He did well in the other life, so he should be able to do the same here. I'll contact Sima Fang and talk to him about this arrangement.'
After Zhang Jiao made his decision, he used the clan chat and invite Sima Fang for a private talk.
Zhang Jiao: "@Sima Fang. Excuse me, do you have any plans to visit Julu? I would like to reserve a bit of your time for a private matter."
Sima Fang: "What a coincidence. I'm on my way to Julu at the moment. I'll visit you after I finish dealing with the police department over there."
Zhang Jiao: "Thank you. I'll see you soon."
He smiled, looking forward to seeing Sima Fang here. Zhang Jiao was sure that Sima Fang would be delighted if his son could marry the first princess.
While Zhang Jiao was fantasizing, a loud scream came from a distance.
This former yellow turban leader turned toward the source of the commotion. The voice just now came from Zhang Min.
The girl in question was flying toward Zhang Jiao. Hua Tuo was also with her.
Upon her landing, her panicked expression surprised Zhang Jiao. She never showed this kind of face when she was with him.
"Grandpa! We've got to run! Bad guys are coming to our city!"
"What?"
"I saw many angels flying here. Two of them have six wings and the rest has 4 wings!"
Now, Zhang Jiao understood why. His face changed. He had been reading clan chat whenever he had free time, and he often exchanged news with Lu Zhi and Sima Fang, so he knew that they were not a part of their forces.
The only six-wing angels in Tong's forces were Lu Bu and Li Feihong. As for other elite generals, they got stuck at the 4-wing tier.
First, since both of them had been assigned to the western province and Si Province, those two six-wing angels were not Lu Bu or Li Feihong. Second, whenever an elite general wanted to visit any city, they always reported in the clan chat about their destinations and their purposes.
But no one reported anything in the chat, which meant … those men were not Tong's subordinates!
"Let's head to our secret room. We'll leave this city using the emergency passage."
Zhang Jiao referred to the underground passage that Lu Zhi designed for Tong's family as a token of friendship. The passage route structure mimicked Luoyang's secret underground tunnel for the emperor and the royalties, but Lu Zhi made it for Zhang Jiao.
No one would have thought that this token of friendship would be useful in this situation.
Hua Tuo gulped and nodded. Although he did not know what this emergency passage was, it was better than nothing.
Zhang Min also listened to her grandfather. She might have the strength to fight, but she chose not to get involved with her father's war. Zhang Min was not afraid of the invaders, but she worried about her elders since these two old men were too weak to fight against even an ordinary angel with 2 wings.
With Zhang Min and Hua Tuo's consent, Zhang Jiao led the group to his bedroom, where the door toward the secret passage located.
As they were escaping from the city, Zhang Min did not forget to borrow a spear from a nearby soldier. But, they did not bring anyone with them.
It took them only a minute to reach Zhang Jiao's courtyard since his resident was nearby.
Zhang Min, Hua Tuo, and Zhang Jiao hid their presence as they sprinted toward the secret passage.
*RUMBLE*
Threatening aura from two 6-wing angels was noticeable. The trio flinched and glanced at the city assembly hall's direction.
The uninvited guests might have reached there.
"Let's hurry. I think they also saw me when we were flying."
Zhang Min guard bedroom door while the two elders opened the underground passage under Zhang Jiao's bed.
After Zhang Jiao and Hua Tuo rushed down the stairs toward the underground level, Zhang Min, who was sweating in nervousness, followed her grandfathers.
"There you are."
The cold voice of a young man sent a chill running down Zhang Min's spine.
Zhang Min spread her wings, gathered his force to reinforce the spear, and threw it toward the source of that voice.
The spear traveled toward the entrance doors that Zhang Min had guarded.
*BOOM*
The wooden doors exploded. When the dust dispersed, Zhang Min could see a middle-aged man with 4 white wings behind his back.
The man ignored the injured arms, which he had used to blocked Zhang Min's strike. He bellowed.
"I FOUND THE GOVERNOR AND A SIX-WING CULTIVATOR!! I NEED HELP!!"
