Chapter Ninety-One: The Duke of England's Zhang Family

The Zhang family of the Duke of England had long been not only one of the most powerful meritorious houses in Great Qian, but also the nation’s most loyal, righteous, and valiant pillar.

More than two hundred years ago, when the founding sovereign of Great Qian, Emperor Taizu, had just settled the realm, the first Duke of England had been one of his left and right hands, earning countless feats of merit and ultimately dying in the Battle of Whitewater River as Taizu’s stand-in.

Fifty years ago, when the court crushed the great rebellion of the Fragrant Worship Sect, the ninth Duke of England, Zhang Mo, together with more than a dozen younger members of the Zhang clan, fought to the death in the pivotal Battle of Zhuxian Town, never retreating and battling until the very last moment, using flesh and blood to withstand the sect’s frenzied counterattack head-on.

Only then did reinforcements arrive from several directions at once, utterly shattering the momentum of the sect’s main force and allowing the court to seize the initiative in the war.

In that battle, of the nineteen male members of the Zhang family, all except the youngest son, Zhang Wen, who was not yet fifteen and was secretly preserved by Zhang Mo, perished in a heroic death at Zhuxian Town.

Thus, although the Zhang family was not among the very highest nobility, it was the house most favored by the throne, and most trusted by it.

This was also why the Duke of England’s line had firmly held the command of the Western Mountain Garrison in the capital for more than fifty years, controlling the security of more than half of the imperial city.

And this young lord of the Duke of England’s residence before him was precisely Zhang Wen’s legitimate eldest grandson, the first in line to inherit the Dukedom of England in the future!

As Li Yuanjing carefully sorted through the information in his mind about the Duke of England’s Zhang family, a trace of a smile could not help curving at the corners of his mouth.

His previous stratagem of showing off his literary talents had, in fact, already proved more effective than he had imagined.

To think he had actually lured in a top-tier powerhouse born with a silver spoon in his mouth!

However...

Although what this young lord was saying now was very favorable to him, Li Yuanjing understood all too well the risks hidden within it.

Still, something was better than nothing. Li Yuanjing quickly steadied himself and said in a low voice to Zhang Kun, "Keep this matter from spreading for now. From here on, everything remains as it was before. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

...

"Brother Yuanjing, have you already heard the good news? Ah, my dear brother, Dong and I actually wanted to tell you just now, but there was never a chance..."

When Li Yuanjing returned to the room, Xue, the great benefactor, and Lord Dong had clearly already prepared themselves mentally. Xue hurriedly rose with a flattering smile to greet him.

Lord Dong even stood up at once, chiming in with deft and ingratiating words from the side.

How could Li Yuanjing fail to understand what the two of them were thinking?

He smiled and said, "My two elder brothers flatter me. I was only lucky, that is all. Come, come, let us drink. Drink."

Seeing that Li Yuanjing had brushed the topic aside so casually, with not the slightest trace of youthful impatience, Xue and Lord Dong were both momentarily stunned.

Had they been in Li Yuanjing’s place at his age, receiving such news, their eyes would have been sky-high by now; how could they still be as composed as he was?

This made Xue and Lord Dong quickly understand as well.

Young as Li Yuanjing was, this fellow’s ambitions were surely not small.

They swiftly adjusted their attitude and began lavishing praise on Li Yuanjing in earnest.

Li Yuanjing naturally took it all in, though he showed little reaction.

After a few more cups, once the atmosphere had gradually softened, Li Yuanjing deliberately feigned confusion and said, "Two elder brothers, I heard that the young lord has always been in the capital. Why has he suddenly come to our godforsaken little county town?"

"Brother Yuanjing, you don’t know this, but isn’t it all because of those rebel bandits?" By then Xue, the great benefactor, had quite a bit of liquor in him and also wanted to show off before Li Yuanjing and Lord Dong, so he said at once, "A few years ago, our Great Qian army had already defeated the main force of those bandits and driven the last remnants deep into the mountains and forests in the southern part of the Central Plains.

"Who would have thought that in recent years the Central Plains would be hit by one disaster after another, and that so-called King of Rebellion would actually rise from the ashes again, gathering even more troops than before, claiming to number as many as five hundred thousand!

"A few days ago, that so-called King of Rebellion even declared that he would first seize our Qi Prefecture, then march north to the capital!

"How could the court possibly allow those bastards to act so recklessly?

"The young lord was likely ordered to take charge here in Qi Prefecture in such a crisis."

"Probably not only that!" Lord Dong took a heavy swig of wine and said, "What Lord Xue just said is likely only one part of it. I have heard that the unrest in Yicheng County a few days ago was the doing of the remnants of the Fragrant Worship Sect!

"Over the years, although the Fragrant Worship Sect has been beaten down by the court until it could not find its bearings, its foundation still remains.

"I suspect

"that the young lord coming to Qi Prefecture to guard against those rebel bandits is only one of the reasons.

"Another reason is likely to thoroughly root out the Fragrant Worship Sect within our Qi Prefecture, to prevent the sect from joining forces with the rebel army and throwing our whole prefecture into chaos and peril.

"After all, if our Qi Prefecture were lost, then the capital itself would be directly exposed to the blade of those rebel bandits."

"This..."

"Brother Dong, is it, is it really that serious?"

As soon as Lord Dong said this, even Xue, the great benefactor, could not help drawing in a sharp breath and hurriedly pressed him further.

Lord Dong shook his head with a laugh.

"Lord Xue, I was only speaking offhandedly. It was just my wild guess. You needn’t take it too seriously."

"This..."

Xue hurriedly smiled, drained his cup of wine in one gulp, and said no more, clearly falling into thought.

At this point, Li Yuanjing naturally had taken in every expression on Xue and Lord Dong’s faces.

By now, although the rhythm of the conversation had always been controlled by Xue, Li Yuanjing could still sense it.

Xue was full of the arrogance of the traditional landlord class. Not to mention Li Yuanjing, he did not even think much of Lord Dong.

And Lord Dong, though always humble, clearly possessed far greater military knowledge and discernment than Xue.

Very likely, this Lord Dong came from a military background.

In particular, Li Yuanjing also noticed several crucial details.

He had originally assumed that Lord Dong’s continued humility came from fear that the matter of Biaozi might offend him, and that he needed to curry favor with Xue, this so-called mediator and peacemaker.

However.

Through their conversation, Li Yuanjing discovered that Lord Dong’s flattery toward Xue was habitual.

In other words, even if Lord Dong had stronger troops and greater momentum, he still had to yield somewhat to Xue.

And another thing.

Lord Dong, who should have been a rather important figure in the Fragrant Worship Sect, was actually discussing the sect’s affairs so openly?

What was more, after he brought up the Fragrant Worship Sect, the one who grew tense was not Lord Dong, but Xue?

What was going on here?

Could it be that Xue, this old pumpkin head, was actually the big figure in the Fragrant Worship Sect?

Had his earlier guesses about Lord Dong all been wrong?

But the reason Li Yuanjing was being all smiles and ceremony with these two was precisely to learn more about the overall situation. At this moment, of course, he could not allow the atmosphere to grow so cold that nothing important would be revealed.

He immediately raised his cup and laughed. "Come, come, my two elder brothers. These are matters for the great men to worry about; what do they have to do with common folk like us? Here, let me drink to both of you."

Seeing Li Yuanjing down a full cup at once, Xue, the great benefactor, also came to himself, realizing he had shown too much emotion. He quickly emptied his own cup and laughed. "Look at my brain. I’ve only had this much, and already my head won’t turn. Come, Lord Dong, bottoms up."

At this point, Lord Dong also seemed to have achieved whatever purpose he had in probing them. He hurriedly joined in with a smile and drank as well.

But just as the mood between them was about to recover, and Li Yuanjing was preparing to use one clue to draw out more detailed information,

outside,

there suddenly came Zhang Kun’s panicked cry:

"Master, master, hurry and prepare yourselves! Young Lord Zhang Zhiji of the Duke of England’s residence has arrived, and he’s already at the entrance to our village..."

"What?"

In the office room, the three of them instantly erupted.