Ling Zhang’s tone was unhurried and confident, as though he had conceived a counterplan some time ago. On hearing this remark, the Right Prime Minister couldn’t help but give it some thought. Then he ventured, “Is it because the Marshal has made some arrangements before he left the capital city?”
Having no intention of keeping it back from him, Ling Zhang bobbed his head. “Yuwen Tong has long since taken precautions against this. Someone will intercept the garrison of Jiangzhou. Currently, all we need to do is keep the situation in this city under control.”
The Right Prime Minister’s face took on a pleasantly surprised expression as it came to his knowledge that his guess was right. “Who is it?” he asked.
“The garrison of Shengzhou.”
The Right Prime Minister was amazed. “The garrison of Shengzhou? Right now the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom are attacking the north-west. The garrison of Shengzhou is supposed to be our second defensive line, the North-western Army being the first. If–”
“There’s no if,” observed Ling Zhang earnestly, looking at him. “If Yuwen Tong fails, even the garrison of Shengzhou wouldn’t be able to change the fact that we’re defeated. Do you think any of this would mean anything if things really come to that?”
The Right Prime Minister gazed thoughtfully at Ling Zhang. After a few moments, he solemnly said, “You’re right. If things do come to that, it wouldn’t make any difference whether or not the garrison of Shengzhou is in position.”
“The North-western Army’s victory is certain, and the army of Jiangzhou must be held back. The garrison of Shengzhou has covertly moved southward, poised to attack at any moment. Presently, what we need to do is keep the situation in this city stable. Cangzhou is too close to the capital city. Although Dai Cheng is wounded for the moment and his troops are occupied with fighting the rebel army, it’s best if we make sure nobody in this city reaches Dai Cheng. As a result, apart from defending this city, we also have to stay alert and prevent people in here from getting in touch with Dai Cheng. My suggestion is that we close half of the city gates and have everybody exiting the city undergo strict security check. What do you think, Your Lordship?” said Ling Zhang.
The Right Prime Minister’s countenance was now different from how it’d been a moment ago. If just now he had faintly meant to sound Ling Zhang out, then now he had no intention of putting out feelers whatsoever. “This is also one of the matters I came here to consult with you about, Childe Ling. Seeing as you also think this is a necessary measure, I’ll give the order to close half of the city gates immediately after I leave.”
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “I’ve been keeping watch on Fang Quan all along. Recently he and his allies haven’t found the time to take any action in response to the rebellion in Cangzhou. The rebel forces are a threat no less dire than the coalition of the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom. They won’t summon Dai Cheng to this city unless they have to. Right now what concerns me more is that Dai Cheng might ignore the rebels and lead his men straight back to this city if the real situation here comes to his knowledge.”
The Right Prime Minister was astonished, both at the undertone contained in Ling Zhang’s words and by the fact that Ling Zhang had actually thought this far.
“Currently Dai Cheng is held back by the insurrectionary army. He wouldn’t be able to go after us even if he wants to.”
After a few moments’ silence, Ling Zhang commented, “Dai Cheng was one of the former emperor’s henchmen, after all. It’s always wise to play safe. We need to be prepared for the worst.”
Yuwen Tong had made arrangements for the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) to go to Cangzhou overtly and Yue Qi to go there covertly, both of whom had orders to keep the army in Cangzhou under control and prevent Dai Cheng from leading his troops back to the capital city, but before everything was settled, anything was possible. They must make some preparations so that they wouldn’t be flustered when unforeseen events happened.
The Right Prime Minister thought for a while and then said, “I can see what you mean, Childe Ling. I’ll… How about this? If you’re free tomorrow, I’ll invite Lord Zhao and Commander Xie of the Northern City Garrison Battalion to your house to have a meeting and discuss it.”
Ling Zhang said, “Of course I’m available tomorrow, but I’m your junior by many years, and I don’t want to breach the etiquette. Would it be convenient for you if I pay a visit to your abode tomorrow morning?”
The Right Prime Minister smiled, “Sure. I’ll be waiting at home for you to come tomorrow morning.”
Ling Zhang said, “I don’t dare keep you waiting, Your Lordship. I’ll go there at an early hour. Have there been any changes of situation in the imperial palace?”
The Right Prime Minister replied, “The Eighth Prince and the Concubine Jin have been keeping vigil beside the former emperor’s coffin. The Ninth Prince and the Concubine Liu are also present. Of the two princes, the Ninth Prince is only two years old. He and his mother are largely invisible. The Eighth Prince and the Concubine Jin, however, are getting almost all the attention in the imperial court. This morning, I received a message saying that Fang Quan had had letters delivered to several courtiers’ dwellings. The couple of them who visited Fang Quan earlier this day were the ones who had made definite replies. The others haven’t taken a clear-cut stand yet.”
Ling Zhang said, “Those staying low are probably sitting on the fence. All of them are uncertain factors and could be swayed at any moment, which is bad news for us. We need to keep close watch on them. I’ve been informed of the identities of those who visited the Fang Mansion today. Since our goal is to use Fang Quan to bring down all those against us once and for all, it’s inadvisable for us to take any immediate action. The way I see it, right now we could just put them under surveillance. What do you think, Your Lordship?”
The Right Prime Minister replied, “I can’t agree more. I’ve already sent some men to stake out the Fang Mansion. I’m expecting them to make their move. It’s just… Although some of them didn’t show up, they are hiding in the shadows. These people might also be a big trouble, probably bigger than the trouble Fang Quan could bring us, actually.”
“You mean people like the Jiang family?” asked Ling Zhang.
The Right Prime Minister was astonished once again. It could be said that so far Ling Zhang had thought of everything he had thought of, which showed that Ling Zhang had some time ago got enough acquaintance with these matters and people in this city. He said with a nod, “Exactly. After all, the empress dowager was a member of the Jiang family. The two underage princes have cousinship with people of the Jiang family, so they are probably more inclined to support the two princes than they are to support the Marshal. Given that the Ninth Prince is still young, and the Concubine Liu and her family are relatively weak compared with the Fang family, I guess they wouldn’t take any action. After all, the Eighth Prince has a greater chance. So the likelihood is that the Jiang family would contact the Fang family.”
Ling Zhang said, “I understand what you mean, Your Lordship. The Jiang family hasn’t made their move so far, but they will in a day or two.”
Currently, of these people in the capital city, all those with enough sense would have known by now that their every move was being watched. He had his eye on those people, and maybe those people had their eye on him as well.
“Your Lordship, please make sure you’re accompanied by enough guards when you’re outdoors, in case anything unexpected happens,” said Ling Zhang.
The Right Prime Minister gave a nod. “The Marshal had made some arrangements in this regard before he left. I and a couple of other courtiers are all under the protection of secret guards. Also, I always take my own guards with me. I’ll be as careful as I could. It’s your safety that concerns me. Although the security of this residence is no doubt very tight, you still need to be extra cautious.”
“I understand,” said Ling Zhang.
…
The purposes of this visit of the Right Prime Minister’s were to sound Ling Zhang out and to keep each other informed. Now that both these ends had been achieved, he soon took his leave after the two of them agreed to meet in his abode the next morning.
It was when the Right Prime Minister had left that Ji Yin and Ling Zhaowu walked over from the rear yard. Ji Yin, whose sense of hearing was amazingly sharp, had heard every word of their conversation and given Ling Zhaowu a general account of it.
“Is the Right Prime Minister the one who has the other half of the commander’s seal of the Northern City Garrison Battalion?” asked Ling Zhaowu.
Ling Zhang bobbed his head. “Yes.”
“Tomorrow I’ll go to his place with you,” said Ling Zhaowu.
Ling Zhang looked at Ling Zhaowu, somewhat surprised, but he came to understand what he meant at the sight of the solicitous expression in Ling Zhaowu’s eyes. “Father, we might encounter dangers after we leave this place. You–”
“I can protect myself. I’m not comfortable with the idea of you going there alone,” said Ling Zhaowu.
“Let Donglin and Chaofang go with you two,” suggested Ji Yin. Compared with Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu both of whom were cautious about this trip, Ji Yin appeared much more relaxed, and the reason for it was because in Ji Yin’s eyes, these were all trivial matters. With his powers, he could easily hold back all people in this city, so he naturally didn’t take the subordinates of the opposing side seriously.
“I’ll have Wang Dashan and the other security guards deploy a large-scale formation in this residential compound, which I can guarantee no intruder would be able to make it out of alive.”
After saying this, Ji Yin directly left, found Wang Dashan and the others, and then started deploying the formation.
Four hours later, the formation was finished and with that the whole aspect of the Ling Mansion changed. Ling Zhang and all the others amid the formation sensed the changes. Those staking out the compound outside saw the front gates of it suddenly vanish into thin air and widened their eyes with horror, as though they had seen a ghost.
“Wha–What the hell is going on?!”
“How did the front gates of this residence disappear?”
“Not just the front gates. Look at that residence. It’s clearly still there, but if I stare at it for some time, I’d feel that there’s something weird about it, as though it was going to vanish into the void.”
The two speakers looked at each other in blank dismay. Eventually they each gave a cold shiver of fear.
…
In the Right Prime Minister’s residential compound.
“How did it go, Your Lordship?”
“He’s not what he seems either. No wonder the Marshal has got his eye on him. Previously I was confused as to why the Marshal didn’t let us meet Childe Ling first before he left the capital city, and why he dared leave him alone in the capital city. Now it all makes sense. It turns out that the Marshal knew some time ago that Childe Ling was capable of handling this situation, and I’m afraid he also did this to test us.”
“Judging from your words, it seems that Childe Ling is indeed more than what he seems.”
“Tomorrow Childe Ling will come here to meet you. We’re now all in this together, so we need to get to know each other.”
“Don’t worry, Your Lordship. We know what’s at stake. Tomorrow we’ll all be here.”
Later this day, Zhao Zheng showed up, and the Right Prime Minister brought him into his study.
When the Right Prime Minister had told him about his conversation with Ling Zhang during the day, Zhao Zheng just gave a smile, totally unsurprised.
“I came to know that he’s not a brainless playboy as early as the time when I first heard of his reputation. He told you about the garrison of Shengzhou merely to give us a word of warning,” said Zhao Zheng.
The Right Prime Minister also gave a smile. “I know. Originally it was me trying to sound him out, but eventually the reverse applied – he was tactfully warning me to toe the line. It’s actually quite interesting.”
“You said that you had only half of the commander’s seal. Now it would seem the other half is in his hands,” said Zhao Zheng.
The Right Prime Minister nodded. “My worry about this matter was the very reason why I paid him a visit to put out feelers to him today. Now whether or not he has the other half of the seal no longer concerns me.”
“By the way, about the Fang Mansion–”
“Your Lordship!” A sudden yell came from outside.
The Right Prime Minister exchanged glances with Zhao Zheng and then called the man in. “What is it?”
The man walked inside and reported the changes of the Ling Mansion to them. “… The front gates suddenly disappeared and we haven’t seen anybody go in or out of the compound ever since. It’s rea–really weird. What should we do, Your Lordship?”
“Are you sure of what you saw?” The Right Prime Minister was astounded.
Zhao Zheng said with a thoughtful look, “Take it easy. Tell us some details about the changes.”
