Chapter 250: Levying Grain

In the city of Guyuan, black ashes danced in the air like a heavy black goose feather snow had fallen. Chen Ji crouched low in the saddle, tilting his head to avoid the smoke and haze blown towards him by the wind, and to prevent it from getting into his eyes.

The Yulin Army chased behind him, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t close the distance.

Qi Wei looked at Chen Ji in front of him and cursed, saying, "Why is he riding so fast? Just to show off!"

Li Xuan gripped the reins and glared at him fiercely. "Less talk! You were just shaking hands and speaking at the hall face to face, and you've already forgotten this?"

Qi Wei muttered with a stiff neck, "I admit he's a man, but I just can't stand seeing him like this. Brother-in-law, him coming and going alone means he just thinks we'll drag him down, I don't believe you can't see it!"

Li Xuan said calmly, "If you want people to look up to you, then show them skills worth looking up to. Him walking in front is to open the way for the Yulin Army, to prevent us from being ambushed in the middle. The most important part of the sharp arrow formation is the lead soldier, and the most dangerous part is also the lead soldier. You don't know good from evil."

Qi Wei said disdainfully, "Thirty percent of my Yulin Army are regular soldiers, we don't need him to open the way."

At this time, Chen Ji didn't pay attention to the noise behind him. His gaze was fixed on both sides of the road.

The Jing Dynasty spies made their move when the large group of Yulin Army soldiers and horses left the Capital Governor's Mansion. If there were follow-up plans, they would probably ambush the Crown Prince on his way back, kidnap him, order the border army, and trap the border army in a difficult situation.

If they wanted to make a move, they would certainly ambush at the narrowest part of the road they had to pass, Auntie Teacher Street!

Now!

The next moment, from the small alleys on both sides of Auntie Teacher Street, someone suddenly pulled up tripping ropes. Bowmen and crossbowmen flipped out from behind the roofs on both sides and aimed their bows and arrows at Chen Ji!

Qi Wei's eyes were sharp, and he exclaimed, "Be careful!"

As soon as the words were spoken, he saw Zaozi leap forcefully, clearing the tripping ropes high in the air. When Zaozi leaped to his highest point, Chen Ji borrowed the force to leap into mid-air.

As he left the saddle, he drew his knife with the momentum. The snow-bright long knife reflected the distant firelight, like a flowing fire waving, cutting through the incoming feather arrows in the air.

The sound of metal striking was endless. When Qi Wei looked again, Chen Ji had already lightly landed on the roof on the right side, stepping on the tiles towards the ambush soldiers, covering and killing.

Li Xuan roared angrily, "Follow me and kill up to the roof!"

Qi Wei picked up the horse spear hanging beside the saddle and threw it forcefully.

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

Qi Wei laughed ferociously, "You damn guys, you really think my old Yulin Army is a soft persimmon!"

The Yulin Army only had the name of the Imperial Guard, but they were treated poorly everywhere in the capital. None of the three major camps dared to show the Yulin Army any respect. In front of the three major camps, the Yulin Army was just a bunch of dandy sons who had bought their way into the army through connections, not worth mentioning.

But in terms of the quantity of regular soldiers, the Yulin Army was the largest.

After Qi Wei held his sword and chopped down an ambush soldier on the rooftop, he proudly turned his head to look at Chen Ji on the opposite side, only to find that the other party had already killed four bowmen and crossbowmen, handed over the battlefield to the Yulin Army who had ascended to the roof, and then continued to run forward.

He only saw Chen Ji running faster and faster, and in a flash, he caught up with the horse that hadn't stopped, Zaozi, and leaped down.

Qi Wei watched with wide eyes as Chen Ji landed steadily in the saddle, smoothly and neatly put his knife back into its sheath, and disappeared at the end of Auntie Teacher Street without looking back.

He asked Li Xuan beside him, "Brother-in-law, what realm is he in?"

Li Xuan blocked a hidden arrow for Qi Wei while answering steadily, "Just stepped into the Xiantian realm, not yet ascended to the first level."

Qi Wei's eyes widened, "Then how does he look so fierce?"

Li Xuan thought for a moment, "Exquisite knife technique, making up for the insufficient realm."

Qi Wei hesitated for a while and asked, "Then compared to him..."

Li Xuan blocked another cold arrow for Qi Wei and shouted angrily, "Focus on killing the enemy, don't talk nonsense!"

When Chen Ji arrived at the Capital Governor's Mansion, the entire mansion had already fallen into a sea of fire. The Chen family and the Yulin Army stood stunned outside the mansion, not knowing what to do for a time.

They watched as the beams of the house cracked in the fire, and the roof tilted downwards.

Chen Ji pulled the reins to stop his horse and stood there. His gaze swept over the faces of Chen Liqin, Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Liang shi, Wang Gui, and others, and then he asked loudly, "How did the fire start?"

The Yulin Army didn't answer, nor did Chen Liqin. Only Chen Wenzong answered, "The fire should have started from the Capital Governor's Mansion's armory and side rooms first. The fire spread extremely fast, accompanied by explosion roars. It should be someone who had already buried fierce fire oil inside before we took over the Capital Governor's Mansion!"

Chen Ji's heart sank. If fierce fire oil had been buried in advance, the border army's granary and armory would certainly not be preserved. In this era, there was simply no means to extinguish fire using fierce fire oil.

An isolated city without grain was finished.

The Jing Dynasty's Tian Ce Army only needed to surround it for a month, and the border army wouldn't even have the strength to fight. Guyuan City would break itself.

Chen Ji asked, "Did anyone see who set the fire?"

He looked around, but no one answered.

At this time, the Yulin Army protecting the Crown Prince rushed over. The Crown Prince looked at the Capital Governor's Mansion in shock, "The Baihu Festival Hall is all burned down, how do we explain this to the border army?"

Li Xuan said in a condensed voice, "Your Highness doesn't need to explain anything to them. Except for the border army, no one can set fire inside the Capital Governor's Mansion quietly and without a sound. The border army should give us an explanation!"

Ashes rolled in the air, everyone was silent, only the crackling sound of the flames inside the Capital Governor's Mansion remained.

The Crown Prince looked at Li Xuan, "Lord Li, what do we do now?"

Li Xuan hesitated, "This..."

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

They were already in a difficult situation.

The Crown Prince sighed, "In the seventeenth year of An Zheng, Crown Prince Zhaowu died for his country at Chongli Pass. It seems I am to become the second Crown Prince to die for his country. Thinking about it, I must be able to leave my name in history."

Li Xuan urged his horse forward, anxiously saying, "Your Highness, please follow this humble servant!"

However, at this moment, Chen Ji said calmly, "Your Highness, it's not yet time to die for the country, no need to say discouraging words first."

Chen Liqin pushed through the crowd, "Chen Ji, don't be rude to His Highness!"

Chen Ji ignored him and continued, "Regardless of whether Guyuan City can be defended, the urgent matter now is to find out all the Jing Dynasty spies and investigate who is in collusion within the border army. Without getting rid of these people, Guyuan will be lost."

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "My esteemed brother Chen Ji is right to remind me, it is I who have lost my composure. Even if I really have to die in this Guyuan City, I must also take some Jing Dynasty thieves with me to accompany me."

After saying that, he suddenly said loudly, "Esteemed brother Chen Ji, I appoint you as the Right Division Guard, and together with Lord Li, lead five hundred Yulin Army soldiers to investigate the whereabouts of the Jing Dynasty thieves within three days. Are you willing?"

Chen Ji flipped off his horse, cupped his fist, and said, "This humble servant is willing."

The Crown Prince asked in a deep voice, "If you cannot investigate the whereabouts of the Jing Dynasty thieves?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Bring your head to see me."

The Crown Prince laughed, "You are indeed a person of temperament... However, there is no need to bring your head to see me. If you cannot investigate, we will likely have to be buried together in this Guyuan border."

The Chen family watched this scene from a distance, feeling a mix of emotions. Wang Gui's heart was especially turbulent. He hadn't expected this illegitimate son to transform and become a favored person by the Crown Prince, holding an official position of rank six.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, the Capital Governor's Mansion is no longer inhabitable. Do you want to move to the border army camp? The Jing Dynasty spies among the border army should only be a minority, no need to worry."

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

Li Xuan said doubtfully, "Your Highness?"

The Crown Prince smiled and pointed at Chen Ji, "We will learn from Chen Ji and live at the Longmen Inn."

At the hour of ugly, Little Five was just dozing at the counter when he was woken up by the sound of dense footsteps coming from outside the door.

The next moment, someone lifted the cotton curtain, and dozens of people swarmed into the room, startling Little Five. He drew a kitchen knife from his waist and shouted, "Boss, save me!"

The Crown Prince laughed heartily, "Shopkeeper, no need to panic, we are here to stay at the inn."

Little Five looked at the dense crowd behind the Crown Prince, his surprise unwavering, "Not for the matter just now, coming to find trouble! I'm telling you, just now it was all the boss who told me to chop you all, it has nothing to do with me..."

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

The boss walked past him and cupped his hand towards the Crown Prince, saying, "This guest, this inn has a total of sixty-six rooms. Currently, there is one Heaven Character room, ten Earth Character rooms, and seventeen Person Character rooms left. I'm afraid there are not enough rooms for so many of you."

The Crown Prince answered, "No problem, live in as many rooms as there are. The excess people can go to other inns."

The boss smiled and said, "You have several hundred soldiers and horses with you, I'm afraid you want to book several inns..."

Just as he was speaking, there was another noisy sound from outside the door.

The Crown Prince turned his head at the sound and asked Li Xuan in a low voice, "What's happening outside the door?"

Li Xuan quickly walked out and returned quickly, leaning into the Crown Prince's ear and saying, "Zhou You is leading the border army armored soldiers, collecting grain door to door, saying that all grain must be handed over, otherwise it will be treated as plotting rebellion."

The Crown Prince frowned, "The border army is also in a desperate situation, otherwise they wouldn't even collect grain at night. However, if they collect all the grain, how will the common people in the city live?"

As they spoke, several border army armored soldiers squeezed into the inn's main hall, ignored the Yulin Army soldiers who seemed to be spread out, and came to the boss, saying politely, "Second Master, there is an order from above to collect all the grain. I won't make things difficult for you. I will only collect eighty percent of the grain here at the Longmen Inn, but you also don't make things difficult for me. If it weren't a dire emergency, I wouldn't come to disturb you."

The boss was silent for a moment, then finally gave Little Five a look, "Go, lead the masters of the various armies to move the grain."

Li Xuan suddenly said, "Wait!"

The border army armored soldiers turned their heads to look, "What's wrong?"

Li Xuan showed his forbidden army waist token and said, "The grain in this inn does not need to be collected, Your Highness wants to stay here and needs it."

The border army armored soldiers showed a look of difficulty and dared not speak.

Just at this moment, the cotton curtain was lifted again, and Zhou You walked into the hall with a cold laugh, "The forbidden army's waist token may not be useful in my border army. Lord Li, please put it away, I will definitely take the grain."

Qi Wei said angrily, "If you collect the grain, what do we eat?"

Zhou You slowly and reasonably said, "Porridge stalls will be set up in every workshop. At that time, you can go to the porridge stalls to get porridge. Your Highness, it's not that this humble servant is deliberately slighting you, but General Hu and I must also live and eat the same as the border army soldiers. However thin the porridge they drink, we must drink the same thin porridge. You are also the same."

Li Xuan said in a cold voice, "I don't believe it."

Zhou You sneered and laughed, "Of course, the old masters from the capital won't believe that we can live and eat the same as the soldiers, but you can come to my border army camp every day to watch. If I, Zhou You, eat one more grain of rice than others, my head will fall to the ground!"