Chapter 57: You Want to Help Us?
At the thought of this, Yuwen Tong turned around and retraced his steps back into Ling Zhang’s room.
Ling Zhang looked at him with a frown on his face as he saw him return.
“I have no intention of arguing with you, but you’ve been in Tanyang all this time, so you must know clearly about what Zhang Chong has done in Tanyang.” Yuwen Tong sat down again and fixed his eyes on Ling Zhang.
Still angry with him, Ling Zhang didn’t want to talk with Yuwen Tong at all.
Ever since Yuwen Tong turned up, violent fluctuations of his mood had never subsided. He really could use some time to think all this through and figure out what he should do.
“Are you still angry?” asked Yuwen Tong.
He put it as though Ling Zhang was quibbling over some frivolous matters. With an unnatural smile, Ling Zhang twitched the corners of his mouth and said, “You must be joking, Marshal. Of course I’m not angry. It’s just that I have no idea which aspect Marshal was referring to.”
Since Yuwen Tong had just arrived in Tanyang and Ling Zhang didn’t know him well enough, so he naturally wouldn’t stupidly tell Yuwen Tong everything.
Besides, he still had vivid memories of what that servant of Yuwen family had done to him in his last life. Were people of Yuwen family really trustworthy?
As a result, though Yuwen Tong had just offered him help, he didn’t dare to take a gamble, since this matter was of great importance.
Probably having seen what Ling Zhang was hesitating about, Yuwen Tong said, “Zhang Chong has a cousin who’s an imperial concubine in the palace. The prince she gave birth to is already sixteen years old and will reach adulthood next year. He’s been making preparations to compete for the throne for a very long time, but he’s not a legitimate son, so he must be powerful enough to defeat his opponents in order to succeed to the throne, and Zhang Chong is one of his backers.”
So this was what it was about. No wonder Zhang Chong had such a solid foundation in Tanyang. It turned out that he had such a powerful ally in the imperial court, who’d been supporting him all the time.
With a frown on his face, Ling Zhang asked Yuwen Tong, “Does Marshal by any chance also think that this prince is the best prospect?”
If Yuwen Tong sided with Zhang Chong, he would be his enemy!
“The best prospect?” Yuwen Tong sneered. “What makes you think I will regard him as the best prospect? The emperor is fatuous, incompetent and has a very suspicions mind. And all his sons are weirdos, who barely have any merits, only heads full of evil thoughts. All of them are terribly incapable. I don’t think any of them would make a prospect for the throne even if they could start their lives from the beginning all over again.”
Ling Zhang widened his eyes with shock. How…How dare this man be so bold as to make such disrespectful remarks in front of him? Was he not afraid that he might tell on him?
Maybe because the surprised look in Ling Zhang’s widened eyes was really very amusing, Yuwen Tong couldn’t help scrutinizing Ling Zhang, deeply feeling that the more time he spent with Ling Zhang, the more he liked this person.
He began to consider that maybe he should not break off the engagement, that maybe he should just marry the man.
“Then why are you asking about Zhang Chong?” Ling Zhang managed to subdue the shock caused by Yuwen Tong’s disrespectful words and asked.
“I don’t want any internecine warfare to happen while I’m fighting with foreign enemies outside. Besides…” After saying this, Yuwen Tong gave a subtle pause before continuing, “Your butler told me that you have an old score to settle with Jia family and Zhang Chong. Your grandfather once saved my grandfather’s life. Though my grandfather passed away, I’ll never forget what your grandfather did for us. Giving you a hand is merely a small gesture of gratitude.”
Giving them a hand? Did Yuwen Tong’s words contain an undertone of his intention to cross Zhang Chong?
And about the matter of saving his grandfather’s life…
With a serious look, Ling Zhang stared at Yuwen Tong’s eyes, intending to find a trace of Yuwen Tong lying in his eyes, but the expression in his eyes was firm and poised without anything suspicious.
Yuwen Tong was telling the truth…
“You really want to help us?” asked Ling Zhang.
“What I’m going to do will tell you the answer. Now Zhang Chong and your family have become mortal enemies. He’s a very powerful man in Tanyang. What happened in the woods today was just a beginning. He will make yet more moves in the future. Trust me, he is by no means an opponent easy for you to deal with,” said Yuwen Tong.
Ling Zhang’s heart lurched. If what Yuwen Tong said about Zhang Chong’s backer was true, then he would have to face not only Zhang Chong but also his powerful allies. Could he really defeat them and protect Ling family single-handed under the circumstances?
But if he gained Yuwen Tong’s support, the situation would be totally different. With all those troops at Yuwen Tong’s command, he could even overthrow the government in the blink of an eye if he wanted to, since there was no longer any army powerful enough to stop him in the Great Yue.
In addition, Yuwen Tong had paused for some subtle reason during his talking, which indicated that he indeed wanted to help Ling family, but there must also be some other reasons why he did this.
“Okay, I’ll tell you everything,” replied Ling Zhang after making up his mind.
This might be his only chance. If he let it slip away, it was very unlikely that he could find another ally powerful enough to be a match for Zhang Chong.
To this end, he was willing to leave aside the humiliation those servants of Yuwen family had inflicted on him in his last life! He was even willing to forget his hatred towards Yuwen family if Yuwen Tong really offered him help.
“In Tanyang, ninety percent of businesses have some kind of connection with Zhang Chong. It’s not that they voluntarily choose to fawn on Zhang Chong but that if they don’t curry favor with Zhang Chong, they won’t be allowed to transport their goods out of Tanyang, and even all their family members’ lives will be in danger. Though being robbed of their goods is unfortunate, at least they still get to live. But if Prefecture Guard secretly spread the word that certain businesses were no longer under their protection, those businesses would become the targets of bandits.”
“After a lot of such things happened, all people are scared. Now everybody pays Zhang Chong protection money. Gradually, Prefecture Guard becomes even more powerful than the Prefecture Yamen, and many officials side with Zhang Chong. Lord Tao only has the authority to deal with petty affairs. He barely has any say in major issues in Tanyang, since Zhang Chong has been the one who makes the call for a long time. Though announcements are still issued by the Prefecture Yamen, it’s a mere formality.”
Ling Zhang’s words contained a lot of undertones. Tanyang had now become Zhang Chong’s territory. Even bandits were in collusion with Prefecture Guard.
“I heard that you once faced Zhang Chong’s down in the Prefecture Yamen not long ago,” said Yuwen Tong.
A cold look flashed across Ling Zhang’s eyes. “I merely took advantage of the indignation of the public. As long as Zhang Chong doesn’t seal Tanyang off, news on some matters will spread out of the city eventually. Currently, he is not bold enough to run the risk of being convicted of rebellion.”
That trick wouldn’t work for a second time, and Zhang Chong was no fool.
Yuwen Tong said with a serious look, “What about the station of the Tanyang Prefecture Guard? Are you familiar with the situation inside?”
“People like me are not allowed to get in there. We’ll be regarded as spies working for bandits and arrested if we approach that place,” said Ling Zhang.
Recalling what his Second Uncle had told him, Ling Zhang hesitated about whether or not to tell Yuwen Tong.
“You got something else on your mind?” Yuwen Tong noticed it with his sharp eyes.
“Two days ago, Zhang Chong submitted an application to the Imperial Court, requesting a permission to expand the station. And my family’s herb farm is the area he wants. If this is really a reasonable need of Prefecture Guard, Ling family is willing to give up this herb farm for free, but the station of Prefecture Guard is already far larger than it is supposed to be by the law. If he manages to expand it further, he will be powerful enough to revolt,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong briefly lifted his eyebrows, but there was no surprise on his face. “You think he’s going to succeed?”
“The Imperial Court has hardly rejected any of Zhang Chong’s requests these years,” said Ling Zhang.
Yuwen Tong nodded, “That’s true. When something clouds the emperor’s judgement, he can’t even see fallen sky.”
Ling Zhang looked at him in surprise. Yuwen Tong casually criticized the emperor once again. Was he really not afraid that he would tell on him? Or did he believe that he wouldn’t tell on him?
“I’ll make sure his request is denied. Anything else?” said Yuwen Tong.
He agreed just like this with no strings attached? Ling Zhang could scarcely believe what he had just heard.
On the sight of the interrogative look in Yuwen Tong’s eyes, Ling Zhang collected his thoughts. After thinking for a while, he said, “Zhang Chong has been secretly buying ore from Jia family’s mine all these years, but I have no idea whether he’s been using it to forge weapons or not, because I’m not allowed to enter Prefecture Guard station.” Finally, the look on Yuwen Tong’s face slightly changed. He furrowed his brow and asked, “Jia family’s mine?”
Ling Zhang nodded, “It’s right in the West Mountain. Though it’s not a big one, he has bought a considerable amount of ore from it during the past couple of years.”
“Why didn’t anyone report such serious matter to the Imperial Court?” Yuwen Tong asked.
Surprised, Ling Zhang looked at him and said, “You think there are a lot of people who can get their words heard by the emperor? I don’t know whether or not Lord Tao has ever mentioned this in his memorials to the throne, but others… Tao Yi once told me his father, for several times, had suggested that the Imperial Court dispatched an army here to eliminate those bandits once and for all, but none of his proposals was accepted.”
Yuwen Tong coldly snorted and an aura of sharpness briefly surged out in a spontaneous manner.
Ling Zhang quivered and involuntarily slowed down his breathing. Not until now did he realize the reason why he hadn’t felt uncomfortable was that Yuwen Tong had been restraining his Qi all along.
“Yaoyi,” Yuwen Tong suddenly called.
“My lord.” A man in black immediately walked inside.
“Send a letter to the capital city. Tell them to make sure Zhang Chong’s request never goes into the palace,” said Yuwen Tong.
“Yes, my lord.” The man in black named Yaoyi replied.
Then Yuwen Tong looked at Ling Zhang and said, “Where’s the exact location of that mine you just mentioned?”
Ling Zhang didn’t answer but turned around to the desk, ground some ink, dipped the head of a writing brush into it, drew a sketch map of the West Mountain and handed it to Yuwen Tong.
“I don’t know the exact location, but it’s roughly within this area.” Ling Zhang poked a circle on the paper.
Yuwen Tong nodded and put it away.
Ling Zhang was a little puzzled as he saw Yuwen Tong put it away himself. Was he not going to send his men to investigate into it?
As if having read his thoughts, Yuwen Tong said, “I’ll investigate myself.”
Ling Zhang nodded, confusion and suspicion gleaming in the depths of his eyes.
Yuwen Tong was giving him a sense of security as well as this feeling that whatever he entrusted Yuwen Tong with would be handled properly, which was very different from what he had imagined. What was going on exactly?
Ling Zhang silently returned to his seat and sat down, his thoughts and emotions still in disorder.
…
“Nobody? Why?”
In the Prefecture Guard station, sitting in the host seat, Zhang Chong questioned them in a slow voice, his eyes sweeping across a dozen men kneeling on the ground.
These people were the patrol that had arrested those herb farmers.
“Today those herb farmers have been staying in the herb farm all along. None of them went to the pond in the woods to get water,” the captain of the patrol answered, his head down.
“Those farmers go to the woods to get water every day. Why is today an exception?” Zhang Chong queried a man standing on the right side in the uniform of a deputy captain.
