Chapter 250: Levying Grain

In Shíyuán City, black ash danced in the air like a heavy snowfall of black goose feathers. Chén Jì lay low in the saddle, turning his head to avoid the windblown smoke and haze, so it wouldn't get in his eyes.

The Yǔlín Army was chasing behind him, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't close the distance.

Qí Shēn looked at Chén Jì in front, cursing and saying, "What's he riding so fast for, just showing off!"

Lǐ Xuán held the reins tightly and glared at him fiercely. "Say less. We just shook hands and made peace in front of the hall, and you've already forgotten?"

Qí Shēn stiffened his neck and muttered, "I admit he's a man, but I just can't stand his attitude. Brother-in-law, the meaning of him coming and going alone isn't just that he thinks we'll drag him down. I don't believe you can't see that!"

Lǐ Xuán said calmly, "If you want people to look up to you, then show the ability to be looked up to. He's riding in front to open the way for the Yǔlín Army, to prevent us from falling into an ambush. The most important part of an arrowhead formation is the leading soldier, and the most dangerous part is also the leading soldier. You don't know what's good for you."

Qí Shēn said disdainfully, "Thirty percent of my Yǔlín Army are regular soldiers. We don't need him to open the way."

At this moment, Chén Jì didn't pay attention to the noise behind him. His gaze was fixed on both sides of the dirt road.

The Jǐng Dynasty spies chose to strike when the large group of Yǔlín Army personnel left the Governor's Office. If there were follow-up attacks, they would likely ambush the Crown Prince on his return route and kidnap him to order the border army, trapping them in a dilemma.

If they wanted to make a move, they would certainly ambush at the narrowest point of the necessary route, Āntàishī Street!

Exactly now!

The next moment, someone in the small alleys on both sides of Āntàishī Street suddenly pulled up tripwires. Bowmen flipped out from behind the roofs on both sides and aimed their bows and arrows at Chén Jì!

Qí Shēn's eyes were sharp, and he exclaimed, "Be careful!"

As soon as he spoke, he saw Zǎozǎo leap powerfully, soaring over the tripwire. When Zǎozǎo leaped to the highest point, Chén Jì used the momentum to leap into mid-air.

As he left the saddle, he smoothly drew his knife. The snow-bright long knife reflected the distant firelight, like a streak of flowing fire waving up, slashing at the incoming feather arrows in the air.

The sound of metal striking metal was endless. By the time Qí Shēn looked again, Chén Jì had already landed lightly on the roof on the right side, stepping on the tiles and rushing towards the ambushing soldiers to kill them.

Lǐ Xuán roared angrily, "Follow me and kill onto the roof!"

Qí Shēn picked up the horse spear hanging beside the saddle and threw it forcefully.

The long horse spear stabbed straight into the mud wall of the house. One by one, the Yǔlín Army stepped on the long pole of the horse spear, flipped onto the roof, and fought with the ambushing soldiers.

Qí Shēn laughed fiercely, "Damn you all, you really think my Yǔlín Army is a soft persimmon!"

The Yǔlín Army had the name of Imperial Guards but suffered grievances everywhere in the capital. None of the three major camps dared to give the Yǔlín Army face. In front of the three major camps, the Yǔlín Army, although a group of pampered young masters who had bought their official positions, was not worth mentioning.

But clearly, in terms of the number of regular soldiers, the Yǔlín Army was the largest.

After Qí Shēn slashed down an ambushing soldier on the roof with his sword, he proudly turned his head to look at Chén Jì on the opposite side. However, he found that the other had already killed four bowmen and handed over the battlefield to the Yǔlín Army who had ascended to the roof. He himself continued to run forward.

He only saw Chén Jì run faster and faster, in a flash catching up with the non-stop Zǎozǎo, leaping down.

Qí Shēn watched with wide eyes as Chén Jì landed steadily on the saddle, sheathed his knife simply and neatly, and disappeared at the end of Āntàishī Street without looking back.

He asked Lǐ Xuán beside him, "Brother-in-law, what realm is he in?"

Lǐ Xuán blocked a dark arrow for Qí Shēn while answering steadily, "He just stepped into the Innate Realm. He hasn't even ascended to the first layer yet."

Qí Shēn's eyes widened. "Then how does he look so fierce?"

Lǐ Xuán thought for a moment. "His knife technique is exquisite, covering up the lack of realm."

Qí Shēn hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then if I compare myself to him..."

Lǐ Xuán blocked another cold arrow for Qí Shēn and shouted angrily, "Focus on killing the enemy, don't talk nonsense!"

When Chén Jì arrived in front of the Governor's Office, the entire Governor's Office had already turned into a sea of fire. The Chén family members and the Yǔlín Army stood outside the mansion stunned, not knowing what to do for a while.

They watched as the roof beams cracked in the fire and the roof collapsed downwards.

Chén Jì pulled the reins, stopped his horse, and stood there. His gaze swept across the faces of Chén Lìqín, Chén Wénzōng, Chén Wénxiào, Lady Liáng, Wáng Guì, and others, then he asked loudly, "How did the fire start?"

The Yǔlín Army didn't answer. Chén Lìqín also didn't answer. Only Chén Wénzōng answered, "The fire should have started from the Governor's Office armory and side rooms first. The fire spread extremely quickly, and there were also sounds of explosions. Someone must have buried fierce fire oil inside before we took over the Governor's Office!"

Chén Jì's heart sank. If fierce fire oil was buried in advance, then the border army's granary and armory certainly couldn't be saved. In this era, there were simply no means to extinguish fierce fire oil fires.

A city without grain is an isolated city, finished.

The Jǐng Dynasty's Tiāncè Army only needed to surround it for a month. The border army wouldn't even have the energy to fight, and Shíyuán City would fall without a fight.

Chén Jì asked, "Did anyone see who set the fire?"

He looked around, but no one answered.

At this moment, the Yǔlín Army protecting the Crown Prince rushed over. The Crown Prince looked at the Governor's Office in shock. "The Báihǔ Festival Hall is all burned down. How am I going to explain this to the border army?"

Lǐ Xuán said in a low voice, "Your Highness doesn't need to explain anything to them. Except for the border army, no one can set fire in the Governor's Office so quietly without a sound. The border army should give us an explanation!"

The ashes in the air rolled, everyone was silent, only the crackling sounds of the flames inside the Governor's Office remained.

The Crown Prince looked at Lǐ Xuán. "Lord Lǐ, what should we do now?"

Lǐ Xuán hesitated. "This..."

He originally wanted to say that they should immediately use the secret passage of the City God Temple to leave, but he also knew that the Crown Prince would absolutely not agree.

It was already a difficult situation.

The Crown Prince sighed. "In the seventeenth year of Ān Zhèng, Crown Prince Zhào Wǔ died for his country at Chónglí Pass. It seems I am to become the second Crown Prince to die for his country. Presumably, my name can remain in history."

Lǐ Xuán urged his horse forward and said anxiously, "Your Highness, please follow your humble official!"

However, at this moment, Chén Jì said calmly, "Your Highness, it's not yet at the level of dying for the country. There's no need to say discouraging words first."

Chén Lìqín pushed through the crowd. "Chén Jì, you are not allowed to be rude to His Highness!"

Chén Jì ignored him and continued, "Regardless of whether Shíyuán City can or cannot hold, the urgent matter is to find out all the Jǐng Dynasty spies and investigate who the internal response in the border army is. If these people are not removed, Shíyuán will certainly be lost."

The Crown Prince smiled slightly. "Wise Brother Chén Jì's reminder is correct. I have lost my composure. Even if I really have to die in Shíyuán City, I must also pull some Jǐng Dynasty thieves to be buried with me."

Saying that, he suddenly said loudly, "Wise Brother Chén Jì, I will temporarily appoint you as Right Division Guard, jointly leading five hundred Yǔlín Army with Lord Lǐ, to investigate the whereabouts of the Jǐng Dynasty thieves within three days. Are you willing?"

Chén Jì dismounted and cupped his fists. "Your humble official is willing."

The Crown Prince asked in a deep voice, "What if you don't find the whereabouts of the Jǐng Dynasty thieves?"

Chén Jì said calmly, "Bring my head to see you."

The Crown Prince laughed heartily. "You are also a person of temperament... However, there's no need to bring your head to see me. If you don't find them, I'm afraid we'll have to be buried together in this Shíyuán border."

The Chén family members watched this scene from afar with mixed feelings. Wáng Guì's heart was even more turbulent. He didn't expect this illegitimate son to transform and actually become a favored person by the Crown Prince, with an official rank of positive sixth grade.

Chén Jì thought for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, the Governor's Office is no longer habitable. Do you want to move into the border army camp? There should only be a minority of Jǐng Dynasty spies among the border army, so there's no need to worry."

The Crown Prince shook his head. "We will not live in the border army camp."

Lǐ Xuán was puzzled. "Your Highness?"

The Crown Prince smiled and pointed at Chén Jì. "We will learn from Chén Jì and also live at the Lóngmén Inn."

At the hour of Chǒu (1 AM - 3 AM), Little Five was just dozing on the counter when he was woken up by the dense sound of footsteps outside the door.

The next moment, someone lifted the cotton cloth curtain, and dozens of people flooded into the doorway. Little Five was so scared that he drew out the kitchen knife from behind his waist and shouted loudly, "Boss, save me!"

The Crown Prince said amusedly, "Shopkeeper, no need to panic. We are here to stay at the inn."

Little Five looked at the dense crowd behind the Crown Prince, surprised and doubtful. "I didn't come to find trouble with you about the matter just now! I told you all, just now the boss told me to chop you all. It has nothing to do with me..."

Before he finished speaking, Little Five received a slap on the back of his head.

The boss walked past him and cupped his hands towards the Crown Prince. "This guest official, this inn has a total of sixty-six rooms. Currently, there is still one Heavenly room, ten Earthly rooms, and seventeen Human rooms left. I'm afraid it won't be enough for so many of you."

The Crown Prince replied, "No harm. We'll take as many rooms as there are. The remaining people will go to other inns to ask again."

The boss smiled. "You're bringing several hundred people and horses. I'm afraid you'll have to book several inns..."

Just as he was speaking, there was more noise from outside the door.

The Crown Prince turned his head at the sound and asked Lǐ Xuán in a low voice, "What's going on outside the door?"

Lǐ Xuán quickly went out and quickly came back, bending down to whisper in the Crown Prince's ear, "Zhōu Yǒu is bringing border army armored soldiers to collect grain door-to-door. He says all grain must be handed over, otherwise it will be treated as plotting rebellion."

The Crown Prince furrowed his brows. "The border army is also forced urgently, otherwise they wouldn't even collect grain at night. But if they collect all the grain, how will the common people in the city live?"

As he spoke, several border army armored soldiers drilled into the inn's main hall. Ignoring the Yǔlín Army as if they weren't there, they came to the boss and politely said, "Second Master, there is an order from above to collect all grain. I won't make things difficult for you. I will only collect eighty percent from the Lóngmén Inn, but please don't make things difficult for me either. If it wasn't absolutely urgent, I wouldn't come to bother you."

The boss was silent for a moment, then finally gave Little Five a wink. "Go, lead the army masters to move the grain."

Lǐ Xuán suddenly said, "Wait!"

The border army armored soldiers turned back and looked. "What?"

Lǐ Xuán showed his Imperial Army waist token and said, "The grain in this inn does not need to be collected. His Highness wants to stay here, reserve it for His Highness."

The border army armored soldiers looked troubled and didn't dare to speak.

Just at this moment, the cotton cloth curtain was lifted again, and Zhōu Yǒu walked into the hall with a cold laugh. "The Imperial Army waist token may not be of much use in my border army. Lord Lǐ should put it away. I am certainly taking the grain."

Qí Shēn said angrily, "If you take the grain, what do we eat?"

Zhōu Yǒu said slowly and methodically, "Porridge sheds will be set up in each ward. At that time, you can go to the porridge sheds to get porridge. Your Highness, it's not that your humble official is intentionally slighting you, but General Hú and I also have to eat and live the same as the border army soldiers. However thin the porridge they drink, we have to drink the same thin porridge. You are also the same."

Lǐ Xuán said coldly, "I don't believe it."

Zhōu Yǒu sneered, "Officials from the capital naturally don't believe that we can eat and live the same as the soldiers, but you can come and stare at my border army camp every day. If I, Zhōu Yǒu, eat one more grain of rice than others, my head will fall to the ground!"