Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 5 Idol
"How do you know they have helpers coming?" Zhu Zhanji asked, sticking his head out.

Although Jia Chuan breathed a sigh of relief at this time, his heart was still in a knot. He stared at the darkness outside the temple gate, not daring to blink, and did not hear what Zhu Zhanji said at all.

The old eunuch immediately became unhappy and shouted, "The prince is asking you!"

"Don't yell at him, Boss. He's so engrossed right now that he probably can't hear what I'm saying."

Jia Chuan was breathing rapidly, listening to the noise outside with his ears perked up. He felt that the other side did not have many people, and they were exposed everywhere without being on guard. Dong Shuben was shooting an arrow from behind, and the chances of him being successful were very high, so it should be over soon.

Sure enough, a moment later, Dong Shuben's voice came from outside: "Is there anyone else?"

Jia Chuan subconsciously reached out to support his forehead, but he couldn't control the strength of his remaining hand, and the Earth God fell to the ground again.

Jia Chuan was startled, but fortunately the battle outside seemed to have ended.

Jia Chuan patted his chest to comfort himself, then squatted down, nudged Captain Xia and said, "It should be resolved. You should leave quickly. I'm afraid it will be..."

Before he could finish his words, Jia Chuan stopped moving. He seemed to sense something and reached out to test Xia Qianhu's nose. Then he sat down on the ground, pointed at Xia Qianhu and looked at Zhu Zhanji, saying in a trembling voice, "He, he's dead."

Zhu Zhanji stood up suddenly, as if his wound was pulled, and sat down again with a muffled groan. However, the old eunuch rushed over, felt his breath and pulse, and then began to sob. Another middle-aged eunuch also crawled over, did the same action as the old eunuch, and cried with him.

Jia Chuan heard despair in their cries, and he wondered: Is the love so deep?
The intellectual gritted his teeth and scolded, "What's the point of crying?! We still have hundreds of miles to go. Captain Xia... you've done your duty."

Only then did Jia Chuan realize that the two people were crying for him, thinking that there was no one to protect him on the road ahead.

At this time, Dong Shuben arrived outside the temple gate and called out, "Jia Chuan!"

Jia Chuan took a deep breath, stood up and walked out of the temple.

"There are twelve people in total. They have all been tied up. Seven are dead and five are injured. Oh, there is one more, which makes thirteen. Quickly tie him up and don't disturb the Crown Prince." Dong Shuben gathered his loose hair, turned around, took a deep breath, and said to Jia Chuan seriously, "Take me to see the Crown Prince quickly."

Jia Chuan took a deep breath and said, "Old Dong, you're going to be promoted."

"If you don't make a big mistake, your ancestors will be in great trouble. How can you expect to get promoted?"

"Yes, if it's just about tonight, it's hard to say, but what if there's an additional task of escorting the Crown Prince back to the capital?"

……

Dong Shuben knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered the temple gate without caring who was the prince. Zhu Zhanji only said, "Get up." Dong Shuben stood up and began to make arrangements in a chatty manner, which could be said to be proactive and prudent.

Zhu Zhanji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had met a capable person. Only Jia Chuan knew that Dong Shuben was extremely nervous.

Dong Shuben first ordered his men to take Zhu Zhanji and the others back to the dilapidated houses of the Inspection Office, boiled water to clean their wounds, and then prepared some delicious food. He also had to watch his men properly arrange the living and dead people they had kidnapped. Only then did he find the time to pull Jia Chuan to a deserted place and whispered, "What are you doing?"
"What should we do if the reinforcements you mentioned really arrive? We only have so many people, and a few were just injured. Prince, it doesn't look like the prince can leave right away..."

Jia Chuan patted Dong Shuben and said, "Just now, the old eunuch said that the prince was rushing back to Beijing from Nanjing, the capital. Think carefully, what could have made the prince so anxious? So anxious that he didn't bring enough people and didn't have a grand ceremony?"

Dong Shuben's body was trembling a little. He licked his dry mouth and uttered a long "hmm" but could not utter a word.

"You don't have to guess blindly. It's something we can't know right now, so don't ask. Asking would be a sin. The King of Han's fiefdom is in Le'an, Shandong. I'm just guessing this. The Crown Prince might have been ambushed by the King of Han when he passed through Shandong. Most of the people around him died in the battle, and they all had wounds, which shows how tragic the situation was. However, we're not in Shandong anymore. We're close to the capital. The King of Han is just a spent force. No matter how powerful he is, he won't dare to move forward, unless..."

"Unless you find some ignorant people in the martial arts world who only care about money to come and hunt you down."

Jia Chuan nodded and said:

"This is how I see what happened tonight. There are many roads leading into the capital. As long as you're willing to take a detour, no matter how powerful the King of Han is, he can't block all of them. Although the prince and his entourage were ambushed, the ambush site might not have been the most heavily guarded, which is why the prince escaped. The King of Han also couldn't catch up with the prince immediately, so he split up his troops. Coincidentally, the people from the Prince of Han's mansion were the first to find the prince's whereabouts tonight. They knew who they were chasing, so just now in the temple, their men stood in front of the prince but didn't dare to take action."

"Hmph! Whoever takes action will not have a good ending. How could the King of Han let this person live?"

"But they won't withdraw, so I think someone must have gone to report it. They just need to keep watch here. When they arrive, they'll just say they want the prince's head for silver, and the prince must be killed. Then they can take advantage of your unpreparedness and kill all the people from the Inspection Office. By then, the prince will be dead, and they can eventually cover it up by saying it was a rebellion by bandits."

Dong Shuben rubbed his face in fear.

"Now that there's no one to instigate the situation, even if those people come, they'll have nowhere to exchange silver. They can only watch in secret. So the difficulty isn't tonight, but the next two days. Once they contact someone who can deliver the message, the Crown Prince will be fat meat, and those people will be hungry wolves. But fortunately, our outfit can intimidate people, so they won't dare to act rashly. As long as we can wait until the Crown Prince agrees to find someone to protect him, this hurdle will be over."

"What do you mean? It's already like this, why doesn't the prince quickly send someone over? The prince can't act rashly tonight. We can send someone to Cangzhou to get reinforcements. With the army escorting him tomorrow, the prince will naturally be safe."

"Then you can make your proposal to the Crown Prince and see if he agrees."

"what?"

"If this were possible, the Crown Prince would have contacted you long ago and together they would have apprehended the people from the Han Palace. Why did he hide in the temple without informing you in advance?"

Dong Shuben frowned.

"It must be that along the way, the Crown Prince couldn't tell friend from foe. It's not that he didn't want to, it's that he didn't dare. I don't understand why someone would give up their good life and insist on fighting for such a position. Alas, now that this has been done, there's no turning back. Naturally, all available methods will be used."

……

Zhu Zhanji and his three companions were placed in Dong Shuben's room. It wasn't much better, just a large bunk bed where one person slept.

At this time, the four of them were sitting on the big bunk bed leaning against the wall. When their wounds were cleaned, they were in great pain. Although they had eaten some food, their faces were still pale.

After Dong Shuben had settled the matters outside, he took Jia Chuan into the house. He tried hard to stand behind Jia Chuan, and Jia Chuan thought so too. The two exchanged positions twice, and there was no way to retreat. Dong Shuben had to stand still and tell him about the arrangements outside, and then he mustered up the courage to ask whether he should send someone to Cangzhou to mobilize troops now.

Zhu Zhanji refused firmly.

"Cangzhou is not enough, let's go to Bazhou and transfer troops there."

Dong Shuben turned around and looked at Jia Chuan, wanting him to say something, but Jia Chuan just shrugged his shoulders. At this moment, a patrol soldier came to report that some suspicious people appeared in the forest.

Dong Shuben opened his mouth and looked at Jia Chuan nervously.

Jia Chuan hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Let's see if there are many people here. I don't think they will bring any useless people. Let's..."

Jia Chuan didn't say anything else. The people in the Inspection Office had been idle for several years. If something like what happened just now happened in a normal Inspection Office, it would have been resolved long ago. In recent years, everyone knew how to trap wild boars and rabbits, but they didn't know how to fight against people. If a large number of people came, many people in the Inspection Office would probably lose their lives, and even so, they might not be able to ensure the protection of the prince.

"Let's put out all the candles. I don't think those people will be able to find the one they're looking for, and they won't dare to provoke us easily." Jia Chuan suggested: "We are familiar with this mountain road. Let's set off before dawn. By the time they find out, the prince will have already left the mountain."

Dong Shuben thought it made sense, but he still resisted giving the order immediately and looked at Zhu Zhanji first.

Zhu Zhanji hesitated for a moment. If he could catch all these people tonight, perhaps the journey in the next two days would be easier. But what if he failed and ended up destroying himself?
When Zhu Zhanji hesitated, the intellectual advised: "Your Highness, this place is still a few days away from the capital. If we can leave the disaster here, the road ahead will be easier..."

"What if we can't stay? I have a shoulder wound, you have a stomach wound, and the captain doesn't need to be injured. We're already running out of energy after traveling this fast. Haishou has a leg injury, and Xia Zhi is... relying solely on the people from the Inspection Division, huh? If any of them jumps in front of us, the flying knife in Haishou's hand will only delay my seeing Grandpa for a few breaths."

"Look carefully at the number of people. They are in the light, and we are in the dark. They are not familiar with this place, but the people from the Inspection Office are very familiar with it. Taking advantage of the darkness and the presence of the archers, we should be able to do it."

The intellectual had a firm gaze, and although he leaned against the wall and his breath was a little weak, he still had an imposing aura.

Zhu Zhanji lowered his head in thought for a moment, then looked up at Jia Chuan, who was standing outside the bunk bed, and asked, "Do you think what Kuang Zhong said is right?"

Jia Chuan blinked and was stunned.

He might not know any other names, but Zhong was his idol. He was also unlucky. Although he was known as one of the three "honest officials" in history together with Bao Gong and Hai Rui, his fame in that life was far less than that of the other two.

Jia Chuan knew Kuang Zhong because he had read "Jingshi Tongyan" and "Xingshi Hengyan". Some of the cases in the books were solved by Kuang Zhong. Kuang Zhong served as the prefect of Suzhou for nine years. No one was willing to go to Suzhou at that time, and the previous prefect left behind a pile of unfinished cases. "They could not be resolved for many years, and many prisoners died in confinement."

When Kuang Zhong first took office, he re-examined the backlog of cases. In just one year, he "interrogated more than 1,120 prisoners of varying severity, preventing officials from committing crimes and freeing the people from suffering grievances." People said he was Bao Longtu reincarnated, which shows that people in the Ming Dynasty also knew Bao Zheng and highly respected him.

Jia Chuan was stunned for a moment and looked up to think. He remembered reading Kuang Zhong's profile. He was appointed to Suzhou during the Xuande period. Xuande had not yet been announced. How could Kuang Zhong be with Zhu Zhanji?
Seeing Jia Chuan looking up with his head in deep thought, Zhu Zhanji thought he was pondering Kuang Zhong's suggestion, so he did not ask any more questions.

In fact, Jia Chuan was trying hard to recall Kuang Zhong's life. He remembered that Kuang Zhong did not take the imperial examination, but was just a clerk in the county government, and then... Oh, yes, he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites as a doctor. Such a promotion was entirely due to Zhu Yuanzhang's use of three methods to select officials: imperial examinations, recommendation of talents, and selection of clerks.

Jia Chuan was proud of his erudition for two seconds, and when he looked at Kuang Zhong again, his respect was very obvious. He didn't dare to look directly at Kuang Zhong, and after looking at him for a few times, he lowered his head. He had a plan in his mind. At this time, Kuang Zhong looked to be in his early forties and should have been a doctor in the Ministry of Rites.

Kuang Zhong saw Jia Chuan looking at him and asked hurriedly, "Do you have any different opinions?"

Jia Chuan quickly waved his hands and bowed, saying, "No, no, I think..."

Jia Chuan looked at Zhu Zhanji, as if asking: "What should I call him?" In fact, he wanted to see if his inference was correct.

"Kuang Zhong is a doctor in the Ministry of Rites." Zhu Zhanji sat in the inner seat of the big bunk bed, leaning against the wall and speaking with his eyes closed.

Jia Chuan took a deep breath and couldn't help laughing.

Kuang Zhong was puzzled and asked, "What makes you laugh?"

Jia Chuan quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, I just think that what Doctor Kuang said is absolutely right. I am not very knowledgeable and it is inevitable that I have not thought things through. With Doctor Kuang here, why worry about the prince's safe arrival in the capital?"

Zhu Zhanji opened his eyes. This clerk from the Inspection Office, who had never flattered him before, was actually flattering Kuang Zhong in this way. He snorted and said, "If it were useful, I wouldn't be in this situation."

Kuang Zhong wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, he only let out a sigh.

Jia Chuan was perceptive and said quickly:
"I don't know what happened before, but what Doctor Kuang said just now makes perfect sense. Those people are probably searching all over the mountains and plains for the contact. They will definitely search far away from the Inspection Office at first, and then they will gather together to discuss. If we can secretly eliminate them one by one while they are searching separately, it will be beneficial to Your Highness's future..."

"That's not what you said just now." Zhu Zhanji looked at Jia Chuan with a squint.

"Yes, I was just considering the patrol inspection department's... actual combat capabilities, and forgot we could strike from behind." Jia Chuan chuckled and continued, "We definitely know this forest better than those people do. We know where to hide, where there are ditches, and where it's best to strike from behind... Taking advantage of the cover of night is perfect. Once we've dealt with these people, we'll rush to Cangzhou, or dispatch troops from the nearby garrisons to escort Your Highness..."

Kuang Zhong waved his hand and said, "Cangzhou is not an option. His Highness just said that we can only mobilize troops in Bazhou."

Jia Chuan turned his head and glanced at Dong Shuben behind him. He had done his best. It seemed that the prince had been betrayed along the way and did not dare to trust anyone easily. He could only do so after arriving in Bazhou. If so, Dong Shuben would have to escort him to Bazhou with his head on his shoulders.

(End of this chapter)