The Azure Mountain

Chapter 123: History Will Write About Me

In the city gate tunnel, Zhang Zhuo stood leading his horse.

He looked at Chen Ji, his eyes bright and piercing: "You have a method to find the Liu family people? If you can find them out, this official... this official..."

Zhang Zhuo originally wanted to say 'this official guarantees you will establish merits and be promoted'. But on second thought, Chen Ji was a person of the Inner Court; no matter how great his power, he had no way to grant Chen Ji higher official ranks or nobility titles.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Today it was entirely because of you that I preserved my black gauze hat. If you can also find out these people, this official owes you a heaven-shakingly huge favor. In the future, if you encounter difficulties and have matters to request, as long as it is something this official can do, I will absolutely not decline."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Are there no additional conditions, such as 'must not violate principles'?"

Zhang Zhuo smilingly patted Chen Ji's shoulder: "Rest assured, this official has no principles."

Chen Ji: "..."

Zhang Zhuo smoothed the wrinkles on his Official Robe and looked at Chen Ji with bright and piercing eyes: "Tell me, what method do you have to find them out?"

Chen Ji looked at the densely packed disaster victims, saying softly: "They will jump out on their own."

At this time, a carriage drove over travel-worn and dusty from inside the city, accompanied by over a hundred yamen runners beside it.Zhang Zhuo subconsciously glanced at Chen Ji, saying absentmindedly: "This is the carriage of our Luo City Vice-Prefect Chen Liqin. Presumably, he just heard the news of the civil uprising, and thus rushed over regardless of his own safety. Cough, although this Vice-Prefect Lord of ours is a bit rigid and pedantic, he can also be considered a rare upright gentleman in officialdom."

Speaking up to here, Zhang Zhuo changed the topic, saying triumphantly: "Of course, compared to me, Lord Chen still falls far short. At least I am easier to get along with than him."

The carriage drove close.

Before the carriage stopped steadily, Chen Liqin lifted the curtain, took a coercion-demonstrating club from a yamen runner's hands, and walked over aggressively: "Lord Zhang, how is the situation now?"

Zhang Zhuo teased: "Lord Chen, if we waited for your assistance at this time, I'm afraid thousands of households of commoners in Luo City would have already suffered disaster."

Chen Liqin's expression stagnated: "After drinking wine at the Deer Call Banquet last night, I went to sleep early. I..."

Zhang Zhuo smilingly waved his hand: "No harm, no harm, the civil uprising has temporarily subsided. Lord Chen needs not blame himself. In a moment, it will be fine for Lord Chen to come and preside over the overall situation of distributing porridge."

Chen Liqin breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Zhuo sized up Chen Liqin: "Where is Lord Chen coming from?"

Chen Liqin's face darkened: "Today is the day for Morning Roll Call at Zhixing Academy. I sent Wenzong and Wenxiao over early in the morning, and also took the opportunity to pay a visit to Mr. Wang, asking him to be stricter when disciplining my dog sons. Who could have expected, on the first day entering the academy, that kid Chen Ji caused me to lose all face..."

Zhang Zhuo was momentarily stunned. He subconsciously wanted to glance at Chen Ji, but forcefully held it back.

Today is the day Chen Ji starts school!

Wang Daosheng's rule is taking attendance exactly at Mao-shi, but right now it is already three quarters past Mao-shi!

Yet he heard Chen Liqin continue to speak: "Lord Zhang, yesterday you even said Chen Ji agreed to Prince Jing. At that time I thought, as long as he could single-mindedly devote himself to his studies, I wouldn't fuss over the rest. But this son is simply stubbornly foolish and hopelessly incurable!"

Zhang Zhuo opened his mouth, but couldn't speak for a long time. After a long while, he hesitated: "Could that kid Chen Ji have something more important to do?"

Chen Liqin sneered: "What more important thing? I originally thought he was sleeping in; that would still be excusable. After all, a youth's disposition of being playful and liking to sleep is understandable. But I even made a special trip to the medical clinic, only to find he fundamentally wasn't inside."

"Did Physician Yao say where he went?"

The more Chen Liqin spoke, the angrier he became: "Physician Yao refused to say, and his two senior brothers also refused to say. But presumably, this son went to the gambling den again and didn't return all night. What 'turning over a new leaf', in my view, he is a dog that can't change its habit of eating shit!"

Seeing him speaking more and more unpleasantly, Zhang Zhuo also instantly felt a slight surge of anger: "As a father, why do you always suspect your own child? Back then when someone said Chen Ji was a gambler, did you ever investigate seriously?"

Chen Liqin was puzzled: "The gambling den came to our door with Promissory Notes written in black and white, could it be fake?"

Zhang Zhuo's eyes widened: "So you believed it just because you saw the Promissory Notes? If someone came to falsely accuse the child of my family, I would definitely break the sandpot and ask to the bottom, and bring the truth to light. Lord Chen, fortunately you are a Vice-Prefect and not an Assistant Prefect, otherwise over these years, how many unjust, false, and wrongfully judged cases would our Luo City prefectural office have?!"

Chen Liqin glared back angrily: "You!"

A voice interrupted their quarrel: "Two Lords, we had better speak of proper business first."

This voice was as calm as a basin of cold water, poured head-on over the two men's heads.

Zhang Zhuo turned his head.

He saw that Chen Ji was still wearing the bamboo hat and covering his face, leaving only a pair of eyes without the slightest ripple.

He was somewhat worried, but didn't know how to open his mouth to comfort him.

However, Chen Ji merely analyzed: "Two Lords, hurry and arrange the matter of distributing porridge. Not mentioning whether delaying too long will cause further incidents, from observing those commoners, they truly have reached the point where the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dying. If they still can't get anything to eat, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on."

For some unknown reason, Zhang Zhuo suddenly had a feeling in his heart that this medical clinic apprentice had truly severed all those blood ties and familial affections of the Chen clan completely.

Like a blade of wild grass on the barren plains, not caring where it came from, not caring where it goes, growing wildly. Yet his action of Step Forward Bravely last night was like a heavy rain in August, majestic and forceful.

Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji: "This is?"

Zhang Zhuo pointed at Chen Ji: "Subduing the civil uprising is all thanks to this colleague from the Secret Spy Division. At such a young age, he possesses the demeanor of a great general."

Wearing his red Official Robe, Chen Liqin surveyed Chen Ji up and down, frowning slightly: "Secret Spy Division?"

Zhang Zhuo said grumpily: "Lord Chen, you truly ought to thank him properly. If it weren't for him acting as a hostage all alone outside the city last night to hold off the disaster victims, the black gauze hats on both your head and mine wouldn't be preserved right now."

Chen Liqin said calmly: "This official will not wallow in the mire with the Eunuch Faction just because they occasionally do a good deed. Lord Zhang, this humble official advises you to stay far away from the Eunuch Faction as well."

Zhang Zhuo laughed out of anger: "Lord Chen, sooner or later you will suffer a nasty fall because of your own pedantry!"

Having said that, he turned, waved his hand, and hailed the yamen runners from the prefectural office: "What are you all staring blankly for? Hurry up and borrow iron pots from the nearby commoners' homes to boil porridge!"

...

...

Sixteen large Iron Pots were set up outside the city. The white rice porridge bubbled and rolled in the pots, emitting a thick, dense fragrance. The disaster victims stretched their necks and stood on tiptoes to look, one after another.

However, in front of the porridge sheds, a row of yamen runners linking arms blocked them completely; nothing could be seen.

Behind the human wall, Chen Liqin inspected every single pot.

He rolled up the long sleeves of his Official Robe with his left hand, and held a chopstick with his right hand, inserting it straight into the thick porridge. Only after confirming that the inserted chopstick did not fall over did he set his mind at ease.

Zhang Zhuo twitched his mouth dismissively: "Lord Chen, it's already good enough that these disaster victims have a mouthful of watery porridge to eat. At this time, what are you still talking about the rules of 'inserting a chopstick and it doesn't fall' and 'wrapping it in a towel and it doesn't seep out' for?"

Chen Liqin said solemnly: "Lord Zhang, 'inserting a chopstick and it doesn't fall' and 'two meals a day' are the ironclad laws of the imperial court for distributing porridge. You and I serve the imperial court, and naturally ought to abide by them. Without rules, a circle cannot be formed. If everyone can disregard the rules, ultimately the only ones who benefit will be the Elite Nobility, and the only ones who get hurt will be the commoners."

"Isn't your Chen family Elite Nobility?" Zhang Zhuo ridiculed: "Do you know, if we distribute porridge like you do, the grain Luo City can dispatch will last at most fifteen days. What will they eat and drink after fifteen days? If you truly had ability, then according to the law, confiscate all the farm acreage in the hands of the prominent families and distribute them to the commoners. When that time comes, why would the commoners need you to distribute porridge?"

Chen Liqin waved his hand: "Lord Zhang, in terms of sophistry I am inferior to you. I only act according to rules and laws."

As the two were arguing, they saw Chen Ji returning carrying a sack of sand and soil, and grab a handful of sand, about to throw it into the pot.

"What are you doing?" Chen Liqin grabbed Chen Ji's wrist, glaring angrily: "This is porridge boiled for the disaster victims. By throwing sand into it, aren't you deliberately trampling on people?"

Chen Ji looked up at him, breaking free from his wrist without saying a word, wanting to continue throwing sand into the pot.

But Chen Liqin shouted angrily: "Men, stop him for me!"

Several yamen runners holding coercion-demonstrating clubs blocked Chen Ji's way. Jin Zhu then led the secret spies to block in front of Chen Ji, smilingly saying: "What are you doing? We preserved the black gauze hats of the two Lords, yet the two Lords use coercion-demonstrating clubs to greet us?"

Chen Liqin said suppressing his anger: "Not mentioning the business of black gauze hats, these disaster victims are miserable enough already. Why must you mix sand into the porridge to spoil it and trample on them?"

Jin Zhu hesitated for a moment and turned to look at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji explained: "Among these disaster victims are mixed the Liu family's death warriors. If we don't pick them out, sooner or later another civil uprising will occur. But there are so many disaster victims; from the exterior, it is fundamentally impossible to distinguish who is a disaster victim and who is a death warrior."

"What does this have to do with you mixing sand?"

Holding the hemp sack, Chen Ji grabbed a handful of sand and said: "Those disaster victims have even gnawed the tree bark clean; how would they care whether there is sand in the porridge? But those death warriors are different. They are not hungry, so they will be exceptionally mindful of the sand in the porridge. Perhaps they might even proactively jump out, taking the opportunity to incite a civil uprising again."

Chen Liqin shook his head: "This action is not in accordance with our Great Ning's laws. Distributing porridge is distributing porridge, the rules cannot be broken. Moreover, if the disaster victims are led to believe that the imperial court officials mixed sand into the grain in order to embezzle the disaster relief grain, we will not be able to explain it clearly."

Seeing him insist, Chen Ji threw the hemp sack to the side: "Then there is another method. There are many broadleaf hollies along the roadsides in Luo City. Have the yamen runners pick them and throw them into the pots to increase the bitterness of the white porridge."

When humans are extremely hungry, the arcuate nucleus and neurons in the lateral area of the brain become exceptionally active. At this time, human sensitivity to sweetness increases, and tolerance to bitterness and sourness strengthens.

This is also the reason why everyone feels food is more fragrant and sweet when hungry.

Therefore, adding broadleaf holly to elevate the bitterness can also be considered a method, but it is not as direct and effective as sand.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Zhuo: "Lord Zhang, let the yamen runners go pick some broadleaf holly."

But after Zhang Zhuo pondered for a moment, he actually directly grabbed the hemp sack, grabbing handfuls of sand and soil and throwing them into the pots: "What dog fart rules? Going to pick broadleaf holly at this time, when will we be done waiting? Those who accomplish great things do not fixate on minor details. If problems occur, I will bear them on my shoulders alone!"

Chen Liqin flicked his sleeves and stood to the side: "Lord Zhang certainly has boldness, but failing to cherish your feathers like this, how do we know how the history books will condemn you in writing?"

In front of the large pots, the hand Zhang Zhuo was using to throw sand suddenly stopped. After several breaths, he once again grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into the pot, then picked up a coercion-demonstrating club to stir the white porridge in the pot: "Let history write about me as it pleases, I, Zhang, have a clear conscience."

(End of Chapter)