The Longest Day in Chang’an: A Race Against Time - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Shen Zheng (16:00-16:59) Part 1
Translator: DragonRider
The time to light lamps hadn’t arrived yet, but residents of Chang’an, supporting old family members and carrying young children, had already flooded into the streets crowded with oxcarts and mule-carts decorated with colorful ribbons. Sizheng, 14th of the first lunar month, Tianbao Year 3.

West Market, Chang’an County, Chang’an.

A sudden change blindsided everybody.

Two Lubi soldiers roughly brought Zhang Xiaojing to the ground, tied his wrists up with a length of leather rope and stuffed an anesthetic pill into his mouth. Zhang Xiaojing was incapacitated and couldn’t even talk. Cui Qi’s right hand was holding the hilt of his saber during the whole process, eyes fixed on Zhang Xiaojing, ready to take action at any moment, as if he would kill Zhang Xiaojing right away if he dared to resist.

A few quarters ago, this man was still on the verge of breaking down, pitifully counting on Zhang Xiaojing to save his life, but now he looked like a totally different person. Zhang Xiaojing was unable to speak, but he could still move his neck. He raised his head and with his only eye, he glared at Cui Qi who immediately turned his head aside, but whose lips were slightly twitching — deep down in his heart, he was not as composed as the look he had been trying hard to assume.

Obsequious smile on their faces, a couple of members of the Indecent were transfixed with perplexity, wondering what exactly was going on. Wasn’t this officer a hero? How come he became a prisoner in the blink of an eye?

It wasn’t that Zhang Xiaojing hadn’t thought of the possibility that people of the Jing’an Department might get rid of him after he got the job done. He just hadn’t expected that they couldn’t even wait a little while longer.

Those on the opposite bank of the river were also confused by this scene. The river was so broad that they couldn’t see distinctly what was happening. They just saw that a couple of people helped Zhang Xiaojing get ashore and then brought him to the ground. Xu Bin had little sight. He anxiously pulled Yao Runeng’s sleeves and asked him to look carefully. Trying his best to widen his eyes, Yao Runeng vaguely saw that two soldiers escorted Zhang Xiaojing away, followed by a general. The group of people walked past a wharf, took a turn and then disappeared from view.

“They’re Lubi soldiers… ”

Yao Runeng mumbled. There were two white strips on the soldiers’ shoulder pads. He saw them clearly.

Upon hearing that they were Lubi soldiers, Xu Bin was totally confused, “That’s impossible! Why did they catch their own man? Was there some kind of misunderstanding?” He paced up and down on the riverbank and wanted to cross the river to find out but accidentally slipped and nearly fell off the bank into the river. Fortunately he grabbed Yao Runeng’s arm and managed to regain his footing.

Yao Runeng was undergoing a fierce inward struggle. Innocent and upright as he was, this young man was not a fool. The Jing’an Department’s attitude towards Zhang Xiaojing had always been ambiguous. They admired his competence in dealing with various issues, but were also on guard against his identity as a convict condemned to death. Even Li Bi, who had been in support of this proposal all the time, was wary of Zhang Xiaojing, not to mention He Zhizhang. Otherwise Li Bi wouldn’t have sent Yao Runeng to spy on him.

Lubi Army was an army directly subordinate to the Jing’an Department, which meant Li Bi was the only one Cui Qi answered to. Yao Runeng speculated that his superiors probably didn’t want outsiders to know the Jing’an Department needed the help of a convict condemned to death, so they decided to eliminate the influence as soon as the job was done — but this was just shameless!

Zhang Xiaojing had just risked life and limb and saved half of the Chang’an. How could they treat a hero like this?

Yao Runeng jerked the tail of his robe and walked towards the slope beside him step by step. Li Bi and his handmaid were standing on the top of the slope, looking in the direction of the opposite riverbank as well. He took a deep breath and made up his mind to ask Li Bi why he did this.

Questioning the decision of one’s superior in public was a crazy thing to do. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to stay in Chang’an any longer. But Yao Runeng felt as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat, and as if a flame inside was scorching his chest. Having noticed what Yao Runeng was doing, Xu Bin hesitated briefly and then followed him.

Hearing footsteps, Li Bi looked in the direction of them with severe eyes. Xu Bin hurriedly stopped on the spot and gave Yao Runeng a pull. But at this moment, Yao Runeng had already taken a big step forward, face full of anger that he could no longer subdue.

“Si–Sicheng Li,” Xu Bin decided to soften the tense atmosphere first.

After sizing them up, Li Bi said coldly, “If it is Zhang Xiaojing’s issue that you want to ask about, I’m also wondering who gave the order to Cui Qi.”

Yao Runeng and Xu Bin was instantly stunned. Li Bi wasn’t the one who gave the order?

Then who was it? Among all people in the Jing’an Department, Sicheng Li and the Chief of the Jin’an Department, but Supervisor He had already returned to his dwelling for rehabilitation, which meant by no means could he have had enough time to respond to the fast-changing situation here. Did Cui Qi act on his own? He certainly didn’t dare.

With a sepulchral face, Li Bi waved his hand, “This is not the right place to talk. Let’s go back to the Jing’an Department.”

At this moment, residents of the West Market as well as foreign merchants were gathering around from all directions, discussing animatedly. What happened a moment ago caused such a disturbance that even spectators who came here to watch lamps were attracted here. Petty officials of the Bureau of West Market tried their best to maintain order but were badly short-handed. Under the circumstances, this place was indeed not the right place to talk.

The Jing’an Department was only a block away from the West Market. When Li Bi and the others walked past the street corner, they saw that a large group of servants were clearing bodies of those Wolf Guards. Like a boar, Mageer’s fat body was placed on a flatbed cart, eyes wide open. A couple of commoners spat at him disgustedly but didn’t dare to approach, scattering salt around with willow twigs.

These elite solders from the grasslands were now lying on the street of Chang’an like garbage, detested by residents. Yao Runeng had no sympathy for them, but he thought that it would be such an irony if the hero who killed these Turks also ended up like them.

Unexpectedly, he recalled the words that Zhang Xiaojing had once said to him, “In Chang’an, if you don’t become a monster like it, you’ll be devoured by it.”

Li Bi was very unhappy, “Jiedu Wang’s daughter is still unaccounted for. If outsiders see how slack you are, how will they think of us?”

After the Wolf Guards were wiped out, the abduction of Wang Yunxiu became the most pressing case that the Jing’an Department had to crack. Wang Zhongsi was a very important official in the Imperial Court. If something happened to his family member, it would be a terrible blow to the Crown Prince, which was why in no circumstances would Li Bi let this happen.

Xu Bin hurried over, kicked the corner of the table and urged them to keep their spirits up. Those petty officials had no choice but to opened their bags and sat back onto the chairs, but many of them believed that it was totally unnecessary to continue, that she must have been blasted to pieces during the explosion in the Changming Fang.

Li Bi ignored these people. With a preoccupied face, he walked past the huge sand table of Chang’an City to his desk on which placed seven or eight document cases made of different materials. In those cases were reports, registers and paperwork delivered to him from various agencies. The most sumptuous one was the one coated with purple-grained brocade, which was used to contain official documents. It had always been empty, but now there was a silver-edged envelope in it.

Tanqi was sure that the case was empty when they left. She picked up the delivery note beside the case and took a look. As expected, it was delivered here not long ago.

Li Bi opened the envelope, read the letter inside and involuntarily sneered, “They sent the answer here before I set out to find out.” Then he tossed it to Xu Bin who caught it and ran over it. The letter was from the Praetorian Guards Department, saying that since the imperial city was facing the threat of being attacked by extremists, they decided to temporarily second Lubi officer Cui Qi to help seize related suspects for intensive investigation, that they specially sent this letter to inform the Jing’an Department.

In outsiders’ sight, this was merely a simple notification, but in the eyes of those who were familiar with the official circle, this letter was very meaningful.

The Jing’an Department had jurisdiction over the area in and outside Chang’an, while the Praetorian Guards Department was responsible for the security of the periphery of the imperial city. Their duties didn’t overlap, and there was also no affiliation between the two agencies. No matter how much damage those Turks had caused, this issue was still within the jurisdiction of the Jing’an Department.

But since those Wolf Guards crossed the border line of the Guangde Huaiyuan, everything changed.

They became a direct threat to the imperial city once they crossed the border line. The case immediately became a major case which might result in “disturbance of the Emperor”, so the Praetorian Guards Department had right to conduct investigation into it immediately. With “conducting investigation into the case” as a perfect excuse, they could second anybody they wanted to. Anyone who refused to cooperate with them would be deemed “treasonous”.

As a result, if the Praetorian Guards Department requested Cui Qi to arrest Zhang Xiaojing, though it was beyond their authority, as a petty assistant general, he had no choice but to obey.

But Cui Qi was not totally innocent. Obviously, he could have informed the Jing’an Department in advance, so that Li Bi would have made some preparation. But he covertly carried out a raid, seized Zhang Xiaojing and sent him directly to the Praetorian Guards Department, which was synonymous with betrayal.

Yao Runeng wasn’t surprised by Cui Qi’s betrayal. After a string of his gross misjudgements, including his letting Cao Poyan escape in the West Market, he had been in dismay all along. Wolf Guards crossing the border line was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Cui Qi believed that he would no doubt end up dead if he continued to stay in the Jing’an Department, so he might as well side with the Praetorian Guards Department, since he at least could claim the credit for switching sides.

Uninterested in the whereabouts of Cui Qi, Li Bi tapped on the surface of the desk with his fingers, “Why did the Praetorian Guards Department arrest Zhang Xiaojing?”

This was the core question. The Praetorian Guards Department risked stepping on the Jing’an Department’s toes, overstepped their authority to arrest Zhang Xiaojing. They did this for what?

Nobody replied. This issue involved partisan wrangle. Yao Runeng’s rank was too low, and Xu Bin was muddle-headed. Neither of them was able to offer any constructive suggestions. Quietly standing on the side, Tanqi rested her chin on her fingertips, her beautiful eyes fixed on the sand table. She suddenly gave a gentle cough, stretched out her long fingers and, as if unconsciously, pointed at the position of Pingkang Fang in the sand table.

Li Bi’s eyes lit up. Tanqi was his family handmaid, so she didn’t dare to speak on this kind of occasion, but the hint she gave was explicit enough. There were not only brothels but also the dwelling of a very important person — the Right Prime Minister, Li Linfu.

One of the most famous political wrangles of the current dynasty was the confrontation between Li Linfu and the East Palace. This Prime Minister, whose power was only second to that of the Emperor, had always harbored hostility towards the East Palace. It was just that this hostility never went public. Staying in the dark, he had always been eyeing on the Jing’an Department, trying to find their misconduct which he could use as a weapon to attack the East Palace. He was the most dangerous enemy of the Crown Prince in the Imperial Court.

The interval between the Praetorian Guards Department dispatching their men and the arrest of Zhang Xiaojing was very short. The enemy had managed to instantly find the opponent’s flaw and hit the vital part with a single blow. This required remarkable discernment and extremely effective execution, which those military personnel working in the Praetorian Guards Department certainly didn’t possess. There must be an old hand behind this, and the Right Prime Minister was the only one who had both the authority and the capability to do this.

With this train of thought, the enemy’s motive abruptly became distinct.

If Zhang Xiaojing fell into Li Linfu’s hands, his identity alone could be used by Li Linfu to cause a lot of damage to the opponent’s reputation: Why did you insist on appointing a convict condemned to death? How could you be so sure he was trustworthy? Those Wolf Guards managed to reach the periphery of the imperial city. Was it because of his incompetence or his connivance? If you had designated someone else who was loyal to the Emperor, could these disturbances have been avoided? You were not a hundred-percent sure that this operation would be a success, but you still chose to risk it. Did you or not take the safety of His Majesty seriously?

Picturing the scene of Li Linfu querying his leadership with all these questions, Li Bi involuntarily snorted. Just like Li Heng had reminded him in the Pure Land Academy, He Zhizhang was like their shelter from storm. Once he left, the enemies immediately launched attacks, both covert ones and overt ones.

This operation of cracking down on Turkish Wolf Guards had an ambiguous ending. It could be deemed a success, since all the suspects were killed. It could also be deemed a failure, since these grasslands savages approached the imperial city, causing disturbance of the Emperor. The Jing’an Department failed to nip it in the bud, which was also misconduct.

In another word, whether the Jing’an Department “protected His Majesty” or “committed misconduct” would be determined by the side that had more power in the Imperial Court. Since the Right Prime Minister had Zhang Xiaojing, the East Palace had been reduced to a passive position.

No wonder Prime Minister Li took action so quick.