Chapter 823: Forcing Able-Bodied Men
“Passable.” Zhang Lianhai’s smile was exceedingly reserved, the corners of his mouth barely lifting at all. “There’s fighting everywhere outside. Governor-General He is a busy man. How did you find the time to visit me?”
“The Andong people want to fight their way in, but it won’t be that easy.” He Chunhua’s confidence was unmistakable. “I’ve already made all the necessary arrangements. Only then did I remember I’d been away from Heishui City for too long and had grown unfamiliar with the people here. Naturally, I ought to visit them one by one.”
Zhang Lianhai gave an “Oh.”
He Chunhua’s gaze swept across Zhang Lianhai and the others behind him. “Mr. Zhang, you and your companions all have extraordinary bearing. You don’t look like members of an ordinary merchant guild. May I ask—”
Zhang Lianhai said nothing. A young attendant behind him stepped forward and declared loudly, “My master tends the lamps for the Heavenly Palace!”
The guards farther back might not have understood the significance of those words, but He Chunhua and the others immediately stiffened. He tentatively asked, “Mount Xu?”
The young attendant raised his chin. “Exactly.”
This man surnamed Zhang is actually a lamp guardian of the Heavenly Palace on Mount Xu?
He Chunhua wore an expression of undisguised astonishment.
So Naluotian was right after all!
Although Beijia bordered Yuan, the Heavenly Palace had never maintained dealings with Yuan, much less with a remote western outpost like Heishui City. For an envoy of the Heavenly Palace to suddenly appear here, there could be only one reason: the Generous Pot.
He Lingchuan voiced a suitably reasonable suspicion at just the right moment, “Seriously? What would a lamp guardian from the Heavenly Palace be doing all the way out here in Heishui City?”
He had already staked this place out several days earlier and confirmed that Zhang Lianhai and these subordinates had never seen him in Lingxu City. Only then had he dared to come here together with He Chunhua.
The Heavenly Palace’s lamp guardians were divided into several ranks, with Bai Ziqi belonging to the highest. He Lingchuan had entered and left Mount Xu several times and had seen plenty of divine attendants and lamp guardians, but Zhang Lianhai had never been among them.
It was most likely that Zhang Lianhai had already been dispatched to western Yuan by then.
Zhang Lianhai replied indifferently, “Official business.”
There was no need for him to explain his mission to these country bumpkins.
He Lingchuan folded his arms and looked at him. “You claim you’re lamp guardians. What proof do you have?”
Zhang Lianhai frowned. The young attendant immediately retorted, “Why should we have to prove anything to you?”
“Because—” He Lingchuan jerked a thumb toward the wall outside. “If you can’t prove it, then you’re going out to defend the city and fight. You don’t get to hide in here. Understand?”
Heishui City was in the middle of a war, and it needed able-bodied men who could fight.
Several dozen strong, healthy men were here. Sending them to the battlefield would be perfect.
In other words, forcing able-bodied men[1].
The He father and son had divided the roles between them. Whatever Governor-General He found inconvenient to say, his eldest son would say for him.
The attendant flared up. “You people—”
At that moment, the gatekeeper leaned over and whispered a few words into Zhang Lianhai’s ear. Zhang Lianhai raised a hand to cut the attendant off, then snapped his fingers.
Pah.
The white-and-gold candle on the table lit by itself.
The candle was pure white dusted with pale gold. At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about it, and it looked perfectly natural sitting in the hall. However, He Lingchuan recognized it immediately as standard Heavenly Palace equipment, as Bai Ziqi had one too.
Zhang Lianhai beckoned, and the candle flame transformed into a streak of red light that flew onto his fingertip. “This is my lamp spirit.” Then he pointed at He Lingchuan and said, “Who is this boy? His tongue is rather reckless.”
The lamp spirit transformed into a tiger and lunged at He Lingchuan with a roar.
He Lingchuan acted startled and sprang backward.
He Chunhua hurriedly said, “My son is unruly. I hope Mr. Zhang won’t take offense!”
Only then did the lamp spirit return, hovering beside Zhang Lianhai like a personal guard.
Everyone immediately put away whatever contempt they had been harboring.
So these really were envoys from the Heavenly Palace. No wonder they carried themselves as though everyone else were beneath them!
Zhang Lianhai decided to speak plainly, “We dislike being disturbed. Governor-General He may as well state your purpose directly.”
He Chunhua chuckled and said, “Heishui City will soon launch a counterattack, but we are still short a few sharp blades. I came specifically to ask everyone from the Heavenly Palace to lend us a hand.”
The Heavenly Palace visitors exchanged glances. Once again, the young attendant spoke. “We’ve come from afar as guests. Since when are guests expected to join the fighting?”
They had no ties to Yuan whatsoever. They were merely carrying out orders here and had no interest in either side of the conflict.
Seeing that these Heavenly Palace visitors could not even be bothered to beat around the bush, He Chunhua did not get angry. He simply continued smiling and said, “You came for the Panlong Desert, didn’t you?”
The moment he said that, several people opposite him showed subtle changes in expression.
Zhang Lianhai alone remained impassive. “What do you mean?”
He Chunhua knew further pleasantries were pointless, so he laid everything bare. “I know all of you came because of the changes in the Panlong Desert. Three days ago, red light shot into the sky from the center of the desert. Presumably, something happened at the ruins of Panlong City. If the Andong people hadn’t come to besiege Heishui City, you should already be somewhere inside the desert.”
Zhang Lianhai said nothing, effectively admitting it.
“I just received intelligence that while the Andong forces are besieging the city, they’ve also dispatched men toward the Panlong Ruins. I imagine their objective is the same as yours.” He Chunhua smiled. “If you remain trapped here in Heishui City while the Andong people get there first, what then?”
Zhang Lianhai and the others might be envoys of the Heavenly Palace, but there were too few of them.
There were more than a thousand soldiers inside Heishui City and over three thousand Andong troops outside. Against either side, they had no numerical advantage.
While Heishui City remained under siege, leaving the city really was difficult.
𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
And just as He Chunhua had said, after the red light flashed that night, they should already have departed to investigate the changes at the Panlong Ruins. Zhang Lianhai had originally planned to leave first thing the following morning. After all, this was a mission directly assigned by the Heavenly Palace. Yet, they had already been delayed by two days.
If the fighting between Andong and Heishui City continued, when would they finally be able to leave?
And if some other faction beat them there, the Heavenly Palace would certainly hold them accountable!
Zhang Lianhai lifted his eyelids slightly and looked at He Chunhua. “Governor-General He, instead of remaining in Ya Province to lead troops against the rebels, you’ve come all the way to Heishui City. Could it be that you also came for the Panlong Desert?”
He Chunhua waved a hand. “The rebellion in the south has already been suppressed. I came to Hongya Route on an errand for the royal court, only to unexpectedly run into an Andong attack. I can’t decide whether my luck is exceptionally good or exceptionally bad.”
Zhang Lianhai gave a soft chuckle. Naturally, he did not believe for a moment that He Chunhua had no designs on the Panlong Desert.
However, getting out of the city was their first priority.
From that perspective, cooperating with Heishui City was perfectly acceptable. They could make use of each other. Or rather, they needed each other.
Just then, the lamp spirit beside Zhang Lianhai suddenly gave a soft pop, throwing off a spark.
Zhang Lianhai glanced at it and paused for several breaths before finally saying, “Very well. We’ll join you. I have thirteen people here, all with some combat ability. Dealing with forty or fifty Andong soldiers won’t be a problem.”
Thirteen? At that number, He Lingchuan’s gaze shifted slightly. Didn’t Situ Han say that more than thirty people came and went from this residence?
He Chunhua was delighted. “Mr. Zhang sees the larger picture!”
After all, He Chunhua had only just returned. He was no longer the commandery administrator who knew every corner of Heishui City like the back of his hand. Otherwise, it would not have been difficult for him to notice that the number of people living in the old residence did not add up.
He Chunhua rose to his feet and said, “Then, an hour and a half from now, please come to the Hongyan Tavern[2] beside the government office. We’ll gather everyone there and discuss our strategy together. I’ll take my leave for now.”
Zhang Lianhai nodded. The same gatekeeper escorted the He father and son back out through the main gate.
After they had walked about half a kilometer, He Lingchuan turned and glanced back at the entrance to the old residence. He snorted. “They really do walk around with their noses in the air. Is everyone from the Heavenly Palace this arrogant?”
1. I guess an alternative and more apt term would be impressment, as this isn’t quite a conscription, but the word is rather uncommon. ☜
2. This is most likely either related to or is Hongyan Tower, which was mentioned a long time ago. Either way, I doubt it has much bearing on the story. ☜