Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1685 Secret Conspiracy!
Yi Jing, September 10
At 3:45 AM, under the protection of several servants, Zhang Zhiwen, the Provincial Governor of Youyan, arrived at the Provincial Governor's Office in a carriage. Although it was not the official working time for the officials, most of them had already arrived at the office.

Upon seeing Zhang Zhiwen, the provincial governor, everyone in the government office bowed and greeted him.

Zhang Zhiwen ignored the formalities of his subordinates and went straight to his cell.

No sooner had Zhang Zhiwen sat down in his chair than his secretary and nephew, Zhang Baozhong, placed a pot of tea on his desk.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhiwen glanced at the teapot. Without Zhang Zhiwen needing to say anything, Zhang Baozhong immediately understood and poured Zhang Zhiwen a cup of tea. Zhang Zhiwen picked up the teacup, took a sip, and nodded in satisfaction, saying:
"The tea is good!"

"Thank you for the compliment, sir!"

After finishing his tea, Zhang Zhiwen prepared to officially begin his work for the day and asked Zhang Baozhong:

Where has His Majesty inspected so far?

"As of yesterday, His Majesty inspected Zhao Family Town. He visited the Zhao Family Town Public School, toured several shops and markets in Zhao Family Town, inquired about the impact of the drought and floods on the farmers in Zhao Family Town over the past few months, and asked about the prices of grain, cloth, and meat in Zhao Family Town!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiwen nodded slightly. Although as the Provincial Governor of Youyan, he had many important matters to attend to every day, during Ye Mingsheng's inspection of Youyan, his most important task was to ensure that Ye Mingsheng did not discover any problems in Youyan...
Zhang Zhiwen, as the Provincial Governor of Youyan, also attached great importance to Ye Mingsheng's inspection. When Ye Mingsheng first expressed his intention to inspect, Zhang Zhiwen, in order to show his face and make his presence known to Ye Mingsheng, volunteered to accompany Ye Mingsheng on the inspection!
Ye Mingsheng had considered Zhang Zhiwen's offer to take the task, but ultimately felt that Zhang Zhiwen, as the Provincial Governor of Youyan, had a significant responsibility in managing the administrative affairs of Youyan.

However, my inspection of Youyan will take at least half a month. If Zhang Zhiwen accompanies me during this time, who will do the work in Youyan?

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng ultimately did not agree to Zhang Zhiwen's request to accompany him, allowing Zhang Zhiwen to continue to carry out his work in the yamen in Yijing as usual.

Although Ye Mingsheng hoped that Zhang Zhiwen could work well in the Yijing government office, Zhang Zhiwen was unable to work with the same peace of mind as before, given Ye Mingsheng's inspection of Youyan.
Zhang Zhiwen's thoughts on Ye Mingsheng's inspection were very clear: first and foremost, nothing could go wrong, and no mistakes could be made during Ye Mingsheng's inspection. If any mistakes were to occur, they absolutely could not be major mistakes!

Secondly, without making any mistakes, Zhang Zhiwen hoped that his subordinates could perform well under Ye Mingsheng's inspection and make a name for themselves as the provincial governor, thus demonstrating their abilities as the governor of Youyan.

Zhang Zhiwen had secretly made specific arrangements for this, just waiting for Ye Mingsheng to arrive...

At this moment, Zhang Zhiwen seemed to have thought of something, and immediately asked:
"Your Majesty, is Zhang Hu still the guard by your side this time?"

"Yes! It's Zhang Hu again!"

"Did Zhang Yufeng from the Attendant Department come along?"

Faced with this question, Zhang Baozhong thought for a moment and then answered:

"Attendant Zhang must have stayed in Yijing!"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Zhiwen's eyes showed a slight disappointment. After becoming the Governor of Youyan, entering the central government became his primary goal. In order to achieve this goal, he felt that he needed someone who could speak up for him, Zhang Yufeng, in front of Ye Mingsheng and say a few good words for him at crucial moments!

Zhang Zhiwen's first choice for the person who could speak to Ye Mingsheng was undoubtedly Consort Pei.

Everyone in the Great Qian Dynasty knew and was aware of His Majesty's favor towards Consort Pei!

Therefore, if one can gain the favor of Consort Pei, given Consort Pei's influence over His Majesty, a meteoric rise in one's career is a foregone conclusion!
Although the idea was wonderful, Zhang Zhiwen also understood that he was not the first person to have such a thought, and he would definitely not be the last. But so far, no one had been able to persuade Pei Zhixiu to speak for Ye Mingsheng!
Despite the lack of success before, Zhang Zhiwen did not give up. In his view, the failure of others did not mean that he, Zhang Zhiwen, would not succeed either. He wanted to be the first to try something new.

Therefore, Zhang Zhiwen used his power to try and attract Pei Zhixiu's attention by using Changshan Medical Clinic, where Pei Zhixiu had previously worked, as a starting point.

Although Zhang Zhiwen had the courage to be the first to try something new, unfortunately Pei Zhixiu ignored his actions as if they didn't exist.

After a series of fruitless attempts, Zhang Zhiwen had no choice but to give up on winning over Pei Zhixiu and turn his attention to Ye Cheng, the director of the Attendant Department!

Zhang Zhiwen thought that although Ye Cheng was a close associate of His Majesty, he was at most a third-rank official. He, a second-rank provincial governor, was bowing down to Ye Cheng. Ye Cheng should at least respond positively, if not feel extremely grateful and flattered.

However, to Zhang Zhiwen's utter surprise, what he thought was a humble attempt to befriend Ye Cheng turned out to be nothing more than the Governor of Youyan. Ye Cheng responded rather coldly to Zhang Zhiwen's initiative to make his acquaintance.

Seeing that his efforts to win Ye Cheng's favor had been met with indifference, Zhang Zhiwen felt both ashamed and angry. He thought Ye Cheng was arrogant and conceited, but there was nothing he could do. After all, apart from having a higher official rank than Ye Cheng, he was inferior to Ye Cheng in every other aspect!

Besides being a close confidant of His Majesty, Ye Cheng is also a member of the imperial family of the Great Qian Dynasty, a status far superior to that of an outsider like myself!

After repeatedly hitting walls with Pei Zhixiu and Ye Cheng, Zhang Zhiwen also realized a fact: although he, the Governor of Youyan, seemed to be a respectable and important figure to outsiders, he was still a figure of great importance.
However, in the eyes of those around Ye Mingsheng, he, as the provincial governor, was nothing at all and had no prestige whatsoever!

After recognizing this fact, Zhang Zhiwen continued to settle for second best and set his sights on Zhang Yufeng, the first-class staff officer of the Attendant Division!

To avoid the previous embarrassment, Zhang Zhiwen has clearly done his homework this time...

Through various inquiries and investigations, Zhang Zhiwen learned that although Zhang Yufeng was only a first-class attendant of the fourth rank, he was one of the people Ye Mingsheng trusted most in the Attendant Department, besides Ye Cheng. Ye Mingsheng entrusted many things to Zhang Yufeng!

Zhang Yufeng did these things very well, which pleased Ye Mingsheng. As a result, there were rumors in the central government that Ye Mingsheng intended to promote Zhang Yufeng to the position of deputy director of the Attendant Department. Although this rumor had been circulating for some time, Ye Mingsheng never actually implemented it. However, this shows that Ye Mingsheng still valued Zhang Yufeng.

Most importantly, Zhang Yufeng is not like Ye Cheng, who would love to have the character "Ye" tattooed on his forehead to tell others that he is a member of the royal family.

Zhang Yufeng was from Yuyang in Youyan. His father was a local scholar who failed the imperial examinations several times in the late Zhou Dynasty. Forced by financial pressure, he gave up the exams and opened a private school to make a living. After abandoning the examinations, Zhang's father pinned his hopes on his son, Zhang Yufeng. Therefore, from a very young age, Zhang's father focused on cultivating his talent. Under his father's tutelage, Zhang Yufeng passed the imperial examinations at the age of eleven, becoming a local prodigy and the envy of everyone.

However, just as Zhang Yufeng was preparing to continue his path of taking the imperial examinations and hoping to achieve greater success, war broke out in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The war severed communication between different parts of the Great Zhou and also hindered Zhang Yufeng's path to the imperial examinations.

Although fate closed one door for Zhang Yufeng, it also opened a window. While Zhang Yufeng could no longer pursue the imperial examinations, and just as he was feeling anxious and lost about the future, Ye Mingsheng led the Fengwu Army into the pass…

At that time, Ye Mingsheng, who had just risen to prominence and whose foundation was still shallow, was eager to recruit talents after entering Youyan. He recruited talents in Youyan and wanted to use them for his own purposes!
To be honest, Zhang Yufeng, who had been deeply influenced by the classics since childhood, always had the goal of serving the emperor!
So at that time, Zhang Yufeng actually looked down on Ye Mingsheng, who was a local warlord. He even thought Ye Mingsheng was a traitor!
Despite having such thoughts, Zhang Yufeng joined the Fengwu Army due to some practical factors. He was indeed a capable person, so he was quickly selected by Ye Mingsheng to become a member of the Attendant Division.

As the Fengwu Army conquered piece by piece, Zhang Yufeng, who was initially somewhat hesitant, immediately devoted himself to serving the Fengwu Army after realizing its potential, dreaming of getting a share of the pie in the new Q-force landscape in the future!

Thus, Zhang Yufeng played an increasingly important role in the Fengwu Army and even the current Daqian system, becoming one of Ye Mingsheng's most important people around him, and at the same time attracting Zhang Zhiwen's attention.

After recognizing Zhang Yufeng's potential, Zhang Zhiwen used their shared surname to get closer to Zhang Yufeng. He also used his position as the Governor of Youyan to secretly provide Zhang Yufeng's family with some benefits and send them some LY (likely referring to a type of bribery or bribery).

Zhang Yufeng wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what Zhang Zhiwen was planning, but he also had his own ideas.

He was well aware that although he had His Majesty's trust, given Ye Cheng's unwillingness to leave the Attendant-in-Ordinary, Zhang Yufeng's room for advancement within the Attendant-in-Ordinary was already very small.

Therefore, being transferred to another region had always been one of Zhang Yufeng's options. Thus, befriending a powerful local figure like Zhang Zhiwen was more beneficial than harmful to him.

Thus, a first-class attendant of the Imperial Attendant and a provincial governor of Youyan grew closer and showed signs of forming a political alliance!
Today's situation, with Ye Mingsheng inspecting Youyan, is precisely the time for Zhang Zhiwen to leverage his connections with Zhang Yufeng. Unfortunately, Ye Mingsheng didn't bring Zhang Yufeng with him.

Just as Zhang Zhiwen was pondering how to ensure a flawless and error-free inspection of Ye Mingsheng, another clerk came to report from outside:

"Your Excellency, Deputy Provincial Governor Zhang has something to report to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwen nodded slightly, then glanced at Zhang Baozhong beside him, who immediately bowed and left the room.

A moment later, Zhang Yilin, the Deputy Provincial Governor of Youyan, appeared before Zhang Zhiwen. After exchanging greetings, Zhang Yilin got straight to the point:

"Your Excellency, I have just learned of a situation that I feel compelled to report to you immediately!"

Seeing his deputy's serious demeanor, Zhang Zhiwen was also curious and asked:

"What happened?"

"It seems the Provincial Surveillance Commission has some designs on Magistrate Wang of Zhuo County. I heard they arrested one of Magistrate Wang's cousins..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwen was immediately startled and pressed for an answer:

"What the hell is going on?"

Under Zhang Zhiwen's gaze, Zhang Yilin said in a deep voice:

"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but the Provincial Surveillance Commission should be investigating Magistrate Wang!"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang Zhiwen's face showed surprise and uncertainty. After a few seconds, he looked at his deputy again and asked:
"Is the news reliable?"

"My lord, it's absolutely true!"

Seeing Zhang Yilin's certainty, Zhang Zhiwen no longer doubted it and immediately gave the order:
"Go and inform the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner that I have some matters to discuss with Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Chu. We will meet at Xin Kang Ji tonight!"

Faced with Zhang Zhiwen's instructions, Zhang Yilin gave a wry smile and said:
"My lord, you know that Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Chu of the Provincial Surveillance Commission. He's like a rock in a latrine—stinky and stubborn. If I go to invite him, I'm afraid he won't give me any face at all!"

Zhang Zhiwen was somewhat surprised to hear this, and then looked at Zhang Yilin with some suspicion.

Zhang Yilin said helplessly again:

"Our Inspector Chu is the kind of person who wants to be a lone minister and a cruel official!"

Hearing Zhang Yilin say this, and thinking about Chu Zhiyi's usual behavior, Zhang Zhiwen couldn't help but sigh.

After thinking carefully for a while, Zhang Zhiwen asked again:
"What do you think I should do?"

"This Inspector Chu is always only concerned with official business and never shows any leniency or personal feelings. If you were to seek him out privately, I'm afraid he wouldn't come!"

"However, there are some matters in Yuyang that our Provincial Administration Commission needs to discuss with the Provincial Surveillance Commission. But how about we call Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Chu over now so we can exchange our opinions?"

(End of this chapter)