Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 89 The Consequences of Leaving Early

Lin Zhizhou avoided him as much as possible, but Hao Tongzhi often visited him. There was a big difference.

If he was forced into a corner, he probably wouldn't even say a word. Jia Chuan wanted to see if this Hao Tongzhi was a good comrade.

Jia Chuan entered the second hall with caution. He did not ask the yamen runner to inform him and did not bow after entering the room. He found a seat and sat down directly. Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo stood behind him naturally, one on his left and one on his right.

Hao Wen was stunned for a moment. This was completely different from what he had imagined. When he realized what was happening, he was about to question him when Jia Chuan spoke calmly, "They're the General and Captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Logically, you should bow to Captain Chen, so why not just say you're being disrespectful? Just tell me what you want from me."

Hao Wen was startled. He subconsciously looked at Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian carefully. One was tall and mighty, and the other was tall and mighty with a scar on his face. But when he focused on the scar on Chen Mo's brow, Chen Mo shouted, "What are you looking at!"

Hao Wen was so frightened that his whole body shuddered and he almost jumped out of his chair.

Hao Wen hurriedly said, "No, nothing. I just asked Judge Jia to come and discuss some official business with the yamen. Can I speak to Judge Jia alone..."

"No! If you have something to say, keep it to yourself!" Gao Yuntian also shouted.

Hao Wen panicked. He realized that Jia Chuan was not ordinary. No wonder no one came to the Prince of Han's Mansion this morning. No wonder Zhu Heng met him in person yesterday and asked him to deal with Jia Chuan. He asked puzzledly at the time: "Wasn't that exposed?"

At that time, Zhu Heng stroked his beard and said, "You just need to make him unable to have other thoughts and just stay in the government office."

Hao Wen still thought this matter was not difficult to handle, but now... he was wondering if he had been cheated by that old guy?
Jia Chuan was also puzzled. This man looked like a puppet soldier, so why didn't he try to hide it? Was he completely obsessed with lard, thinking that the Prince of Han would definitely succeed? And before the Prince of Han succeeded, he wouldn't be reported, and the court wouldn't discover him?
Hao Wen mobilized all the intelligence he could muster to hold a meeting and came to a conclusion: Since he didn't call me along last night, it means he had already found out about me... Otherwise, why would he bring the Jinyiwei with him?

"Hey, Judge Jia, please don't listen to other people's nonsense. Although I have dealings with the Han Palace, it is a helpless move made out of necessity, intended to facilitate the handling of official business..."

"Oh? What kind of business? Moving all the grain to the palace granary?"

When Hao Wen heard this, he realized it was real. He fell to his knees and said in a trembling voice, "The people in the Han Palace forced me to do this."

Jia Chuan frowned as he looked at Hao Wen, who had suddenly knelt on the ground, and asked in confusion, "Are the King of Han's people... so straightforward?"

Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian didn't expect that this man would admit it so easily. Didn't he know what the crime was?
Hao Wen quickly waved his hands and said, "I'm not the King of Han's man, really not."

Jia Chuan raised his eyebrows: "You still know how to quibble, you're not completely stupid."

Hao Wen immediately explained, "Putting the grain in the Hanwang Mansion's granary was a last resort, and it was approved by Prefect Lin. The prefectural granary was nearly burned down last year, and it was also infested with rats and insects. So the Hanwang Mansion lent the granary to the prefectural government for their use first. Once we've renovated and cleaned it up, we'll move the grain back."

"Oh? This happened last year. Has the granary been repaired and cleaned this year?"

"Judge Jia, you don't know, the provincial government is... in dire financial straits!"

"It's okay. I'm here. I'll transport the grain back to the provincial granary within three days. If anything happens in our own granary, I'll take responsibility."

Hao Wen's face was extremely pale. His responsibility in the rebellious gang in the Prince of Han's Mansion was to provide local support. In addition to finding local gentry to secretly support the Prince of Han, this support also involved preparing food and fodder. Of course, he was in charge of a specific area, while Sheng Jian and Hou Hai would be responsible for food and fodder in other places.

If we transport the food back now...

Hao Wen had a plan in mind. He nodded repeatedly and said, "With Judge Jia here, there's nothing to worry about..."

"Is the food still there?" Jia Chuan asked.

"Of course I am here, where else could I go?" Hao Wen answered very quickly.

"The palace has its own farms, and I'm afraid the grain from their own farms can fill up the granaries. And there's still some left to lend to the state government for storage?"

"How can it be full? The palace's granary has plenty..." Hao Wen realized that he had said too much and quickly stopped talking.

Jia Chuan didn't ask further questions, but pretended to be sympathetic and asked, "You just said that the Han Palace forced you to do it. They forced you to put the grain in their granary?"

"Well...it can't be considered forced. The state government did have some reasons to do so, but everything is recorded and there's a trace to follow. It shouldn't be difficult to retrieve it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'll go and do it now."

Jia Chuan didn't stop him. Seeing Hao Wen stand up, he also stood up and said, "I'm tired today. I'll go back and rest first. You can handle anything you want. I just want to remind you that before I came here, I had dinner with the emperor. During the meal, the emperor said that if some officials know how to stop at the edge of the cliff, they can still be given another chance. If they encounter stubborn people..."

Hao Wen's legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees again. He wasn't shocked by what the emperor said, as he had automatically blocked out such words. What surprised him was that Jia Chuan had dined with the emperor...

"Hey, Judge Jia, wait a moment. I'll be right back."

Hao Wen used the remaining clear time to come up with a solution.

Jia Chuan sat down again. He wanted to see what this man would do.

Soon, Hao Wen came in carrying a box of 'cakes'. He was going to take this goodie to Zhu Heng. He was afraid that the King of Han would blame him for not reporting back in time yesterday, so he wanted Zhu Heng to help him out. Now, he handed it to Jia Chuan in a flattering manner and said, "These are some of Le'an's unremarkable cakes. Judge Jia, please don't despise them."

Jia Chuan took the box and thought about it. It was filled with bricks and silver. He remembered what Zhu Zhanji said: If the local officials are willing to give it to you, just keep it.

Does this count as accepting bribes on orders?
Jia Chuan handed the box to Chen Mo and said to Hao Wen, "I'm going back to rest. Master Hao, you've worked so hard. Please let me know as soon as possible when the grain is delivered so I can figure out what to do next."

Hao Wen nodded several times. He wanted to use silver to stabilize the new judge first, and then ask about the rules of the palace. Similar things have happened before. The palace would usually obey first, and then the officials who raised opinions would either be transferred or keep silent, and then they would go back to the old ways as before.

……

Jia Chuan walked towards the courtyard gate with his hands behind his back. Gao Yuntian reminded him, "Aren't you going to visit the prefectural governor Lin? After all, he is your superior."

"Humph, he knew there was something wrong with Hao Tongzhi, but he never mentioned it. He just wanted to avoid offending both sides and hide away until the situation calmed down. Why would I go to see him? Just wait for me to report him!"

When the three men left the yamen, servants had already moved the horses to the door.

Chen Mo looked at both sides of the street. Jia Chuan said, "This trip should be fine. They'll have to make some arrangements. They might not have known about my early departure. Besides, it's broad daylight. If they can't kill me in one fell swoop, I'll sue him..."

"What are you suing him for? The city's public security is not under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Han's Palace, and the person who came here would not have 'Prince of Han's Palace' written on his forehead." Chen Mo jumped on his horse and added.

Jia Chuan also mounted his horse and said, "As long as you can leave one person alive, regardless of life or death, I can say that it was the prince's palace who sent people to assassinate him. He thinks I have no evidence. It is indeed difficult to find real evidence, but it is easy to fake it. I don't need to convince the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court."

At this moment, Jia Chuan was unaware of Zhu Zhanji's previous preparations, and thought that it was all because of his relationship with the emperor that he was able to get the "evidence" directly to the capital. In fact, Zhu Zhanji had thought out every step. Jia Chuan's disadvantage was that he was unfamiliar with all aspects. He needed to go to Jinan and learn more under Zhang Zheng's guidance, and calm down his emotions. The imperial edict would arrive only when Jia Chuan was almost ready.

This decree was like a tight ring around Lin Wei's neck. Before, in order to keep the peace, he pretended to be ignorant of many things, but he would still report what needed to be reported. He knew that there must be Han Wang's people in Jinan, just like a sieve. If he made a mistake, someone would take care of it. In the eyes of Han Wang, he seemed insignificant.

But when the imperial edict arrived, he had to report directly to the emperor, and his importance was immediately highlighted. Just when he was at a loss and uneasy, another transfer edict arrived soon after. It was not a document from the Ministry of Personnel, but an edict, and Jia Chuan was coming.

Lin Wei's feelings at that time could not be described in words. It was just like that: the emperor was far away, while the king was close. What difference would it make who came?
Lin Xu thought Jia Chuan knew the emperor's arrangements, so he didn't mention it. So he thought it was reasonable for Jia Chuan to ask him to write the case report and send it directly to the capital.

Zhang Zheng received the news the day after Jia Chuan left. The emperor's decree was sent to the provincial government. Someone must have deliberately concealed it from him. It didn't matter anymore. Zhang Zheng just felt relieved. Since the emperor had paved this way, it was... I hope the people around Jia Chuan can protect him.

……

It was already noon. Gao Yuntian looked up at the sun and said, "I don't even know which way to go back. Shouldn't they take some time to find out?"

The three men's horses moved forward slowly, and no one noticed that someone was walking fast in front of them. They would look back every time they reached a street corner where they needed to turn.

On the way, Chen Mo was alert, looking at the roofs on both sides of the street from time to time. Gao Yuntian stared at the pedestrians on the street, and Jia Chuan was responsible for sorting out the clues of this night.

It was indeed beyond his expectation that the Prince of Han could resist sending anyone to cause trouble in the provincial government office, but it also further confirmed Zhu Zhanji's inference that it would take some time for the Prince of Han to be fully prepared. First of all, Zhu Di's death was very sudden. Zhu Gaoxu might have other preparations, but they mainly focused on tampering with the will and winning over ministers in the court. He also knew that his father would not live a hundred years, but who would have thought that his death would be so sudden.

Then, his elder brother, whom he had always looked down upon, sat on the throne so comfortably. Zhu Gaoxu must have thought of a comprehensive plan. Who could have thought that Big Fatty would die so easily? Zhu Gaoxu must have used up all his strength to prepare several ambushes on Zhu Zhanji's way back to Beijing. Naturally, nothing was prepared now.

Jia Chuan felt that Zhu Gaoxu needed to bide his time and endure hardships, but his nephew understood him well. He knew that his fiery temper had not changed with his age, but had only become more severe.

Since Zhu Gaoxu held back, it meant he was still a long way from being fully prepared. But even if he held back in the morning, would he be able to hold back if something else happened? Jia Chuan chuckled.

At this time, Chen Mo said: "Wu Bing is really meticulous in his work. He has arranged for people to accompany him on the way. After the mission is completed, he will at least be a deputy commander."

Jia Chuan remained silent. This was the man who had truly endured the hardships. Gao Yuntian asked in a low voice, "What did you ask Wu Bing to do last night? I haven't seen him all morning."

"Of course it's a gift I was going to give this morning, but the King of Han doesn't like it." Jia Chuan replied.

Chen Mo suddenly straightened his back and said seriously: "If you are in danger and we are too busy to take care of you, just follow the person in front and run towards the house!"

Jia Chuan frowned and looked ahead: "Are you going to take action so hastily?"

Gao Yuntian also saw the two groups of people rushing towards them in front of him, and said anxiously: "We should find someone to go to the house and call Duoduo over first."

Chen Mo held the hilt of the knife and said, "Can you do it? You have the nerve to think of your sister coming to your rescue at this time."

"I'm worried that we won't be able to take care of Jia Chuan..."

"I also have a knife, I can hold on for a while, don't worry, Old Zheng said... God will protect me." Jia Chuan was halfway through his words when the two teams came to him. As they drew their knives, Chen Mo's knife and Gao Yuntian's iron ruler were already in their hands. Jia Chuan's last four words were uttered amid the sounds of fighting, so he was the only one who heard them.

Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian did not dismount because the people arranged by Wu Bing in the crowd rushed forward first.

Chen Mo looked around and said, "Dismount! Gao Yuntian, you and I will protect Jia Chuan in the middle, and someone will lead the way."

Jia Chuan dismounted obediently, then drew the knife from the saddle and protected his chest with it, looking very serious.

Chen Mo's Xiuchun knife is in front, and Chen Mo's iron ruler is behind. Those who are not stabbed in the path will be filmed later. Jia Chuan only needs to be careful not to hurt himself with the knife in his hand.

The people arranged by Wu Bing were all very skilled, which made Jia Chuan feel the deep fatherly love of Dapang, and he also benefited from it on behalf of Zhu Zhanji.

The two teams had more than a dozen people in total. Before they came, they only knew that they had to kill one person, who had two guards. This was very easy for them. The leader was called Zhang Xing, who was a middle-level leader of the Han Palace. He was specifically responsible for the dispatch of the guards of the Han Palace and was a subordinate of Wei Da. In addition to the guards, he was also in charge of the death squads raised by the Han Palace.

The men he brought with him today were all assassins, because Veda told him seriously, "This time, we must succeed and not fail."

Zhang Xing tentatively asked if they could prepare for a day or two and then take action after everything was ready.

Wei Da waved his hand and said, "The King of Han is furious. The sooner we succeed, the better. Besides, Jia Chuan only has two guards at the moment, and the others are all at the house, so it will be easier to succeed. You don't have to worry about anything else. This is the King of Han's territory, and the King of Han is the law. If someone kills someone in the street, the King of Han will hold the county government accountable!"

With the order from above, Zhang Xing naturally did not dare to neglect it. When Jia Chuan accepted the bribe from Hao Wen, Zhang Xing had already figured out the route from the yamen to Jia Chuan's residence, and was leading people to survey the route halfway and prepare for an ambush.

Zhang Xing did not expect Jia Chuan to leave early. He made preparations in advance so that it would be easier to succeed later. However, just as he was preparing, someone came to report that Jia Chuan had left the provincial government office and was heading towards the house.

Zhang Xing saw that there was no time to make secret arrangements. The people he wanted to ambush were already scattered nearby, so he simply gathered them together and attacked directly! It would only take a few moves.

Then, the scene of him leading the team towards them appeared. Because they were preparing, they were all wearing the same black uniform. At this time, Zhang Xing was the first to tear off his outer shirt...

To quickly resolve the battle, Zhang Xing divided his men into two teams, and the battle plan he came up with was to quickly surround the enemy after getting in close. He stayed in the middle of the left side, making it easier for Jia Chuan to die at his hands, which was considered a credit...

Unfortunately, just as he was about to get close, several people rushed out from the crowd before the people on horseback dismounted. Zhang Xing knew... he was in trouble and it was impossible to surround them. He thought to himself: If there is enough time, it would be safer to attack from both sides.

Jia Chuan followed Chen Mo and frowned as he watched the melee on both sides. The melee had caused the pedestrians on the street to run away to watch. The people arranged by Wu Bing seemed to be no worse than Chen Mo in skills. In addition, there were Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian, especially Gao Yuntian's iron ruler, which was a very deterrent existence. He would make the opponent subconsciously want to choose the Embroidered Spring Knife.

The wailing sound made Zhang Xing feel cold on his back, especially when he met Jia Chuan's eyes. Just one glance gave him a bad feeling.

It was precisely because he was distracted that he was stabbed on the arm. Seeing that the iron bar was about to reach him, he hurriedly retreated. As he retreated, the others also retreated. Gao Yuntian's iron bar could be taken into account on both sides. Seeing that if he continued to retreat like this, these people would probably run away, Jia Chuan hurriedly shouted:

"Others can be let go, but not this one!" Jia Chuan pointed his knife at Zhang Xing and said, "Gao Yuntian, break his legs!"

Gao Yuntian pushed hard on his feet and rushed directly in front of Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing was afraid and panicked. He relied on muscle memory to resist the first two blows. Gao Yuntian's iron bar made his palm numb. He suddenly realized that there was no way to retreat, so he might as well fight hard. He held the knife in one hand and pressed the back of the knife with the other hand, and shouted loudly: "Kill!" Then the force of the shout pushed Gao Yuntian's iron bar away.

His shout of "kill" was not just for himself, he was ordering his assassins to attack with all their might. Since Gao Yuntian could be held back by him, there must be a gap around Jia Chuan, and this was the opportunity!
The assassins were very obedient. They fought hard to break through the barrier and rushed towards Jia Chuan regardless of their injuries.

Jia Chuan calmly held the knife in his hand and swung it at anyone who came up to him. He managed to fend off a few attacks. If anyone who rushed up to him dodged his knife, they would be stabbed by someone else if they tried to move forward.

The current situation was very different from what Zhang Xing had imagined, with several people being surrounded. Jia Chuan's side was like a tide swallowing up the gravel on Zhang Xing's side.

But there was no one behind Jia Chuan; everyone was standing in front of him. Chen Mo was extremely anxious. Leaving the rear defense empty was a big taboo. However, the opponent he was facing was quite skilled. Many of Wu Bing's men were already injured, and they were only able to fight one-on-one. He couldn't help but ask loudly, "Gao Yuntian! When can you retreat?"

"Do you want to leave someone alive?"

Judging from Gao Yuntian's tone, he was also very anxious.

"It doesn't matter whether I live or die!" Jia Chuan shouted.

Just this one sentence not only boosted Gao Yuntian's morale, but also scared Zhang Xing to death. He was able to hold on only because he saw that Gao Yuntian wanted to take him alive. If he didn't care about life or death, he would have no power to resist at all.

Jia Chuan grasped this mentality. Although he was sure that this person must be a small leader in the palace and a living person would be more useful, at a critical moment of life and death, his own life was more important.

Zhang Xing knew he had lost today, so he shouted, "Retreat!"

Unfortunately, it was too late. Gao Yuntian's iron bar picked up Zhang Xing's knife and hit him in the face at the same time Zhang Xing made this noise.

Zhang Xing fell down.

The death squad is obedient. Since the leader has said to retreat, it would be wrong not to run away. As for the leader's life or death, what does it have to do with them?
If Zhang Xing hadn't shouted this, even if he really died, these people would not retreat. They were cold-blooded and only knew how to follow orders.

"Don't chase!" Jia Chuan shouted and quickly came to Zhang Xing.

Gao Yuntian gasped and said, "Don't worry, he's not dead. He just fainted. I stopped using all my strength."

Jia Chuan nodded with satisfaction, then immediately turned to Chen Mo and said, "Take him out of the city immediately and hand him over to the Jinyiwei to escort him to the capital. I will have a secret letter later."

Chen Mo didn't ask any more questions. He turned around and ran to lead the horse over. He jumped on the horse. Gao Yuntian threw Zhang Xing in front of Chen Mo, and Chen Mo urged the horse to gallop towards the city gate.

Although the two have not been together for a long time, they have already developed a tacit understanding between them that does not require much explanation.

Chen Mo knew that once the news reached the palace, it would be difficult to leave the city. Jia Chuan knew that there was a tunnel in his house leading to the outside of the city. He did not use this covert method, but deliberately let the palace know that "I sent your people away."

Gao Yuntian was still in shock. He asked in confusion, "Could it be that your portraits have been scattered throughout the palace? You're not wearing official uniform, so how will they know which one is you?"

Jia Chuan was too lazy to pay attention to him. Is there any need to ask? He looked at Wu Bing and the others, clasped his fists and said:

"We are all in great need of you today. Those who are injured should go to the palace immediately while the palace hasn't reacted. Don't delay your injuries. For the rest of you, do you recognize the person who was taken away just now? Is he someone from the Han Palace?"

Someone immediately answered, "I recognize him. He's a leader in the palace, in charge of the guards. His name is Zhang Xing."

Jia Chuan's eyes lit up, and then he squatted down and began to strip the clothes of the dead warrior on the ground. Gao Yuntian knew that he was looking for some traces and stepped forward to help.

Soon, the black tights on the injured and the dead were taken off, and Jia Chuan carefully looked at every part of the dead body.

Fortunately, the onlookers were far away and no one dared to approach. Jia Chuan was also quite quick, so he quickly stood up and said, "Keep one of these weapons and clothes, and send the rest to the mansion as quickly as possible. Once you return, don't come out again! The rest of you, take these wounded and dead, and follow me to the Prince of Han's Palace."

Gao Yuntian said anxiously, "Are you crazy? I can't even hide, but you're still delivering yourself to me!"

Jia Chuan looked towards the street corner and said, "Don't you understand 'the darkest part is the darkest part'? Besides, I'm not afraid!"

Gao Yuntian followed Jia Chuan's gaze and saw Gao Yunduo and a few others rushing towards him quickly.

Gao Yuntian breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly felt that this sister was really good! At this time, Chen Mo was not here, and if he was alone, this trip...

"I'm late!" Gao Yunduo came to Jia Chuan, looked him up and down, and stomped her feet in anger.

"It's not too late. The highlight is coming later. You have to protect me." Jia Chuan said to Gao Yunduo with a smile.

(End of this chapter)