Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 6 Escort
Zhu Zhanji said in a deep voice, "Go down and discuss our strategy against the enemy. Be quick and make sure it's foolproof! Are you the Inspector General?"

Zhu Zhanji looked at Dong Shuben.

Dong Shuben stepped forward and bowed in response.

"I'll listen to you all in a moment... What's your name?"

Zhu Zhanji looked at Jia Chuan again.

"Jia Chuan!"

Zhu Zhanji nodded and said, "All arrangements will be handled by Jia Chuan later."

Even if Zhu Zhanji hadn't said anything, Dong Shuben would have planned the same thing. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything. After paying his respects, he pulled Jia Chuan to leave. Jia Chuan stopped at the door and turned around and said, "After we're gone, put out the candles and go to another room to rest. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Kuang Zhong immediately understood and nodded heavily.

Everyone in the Inspection Office knows which room the prince is in. The newcomers are from the martial arts world, which is just Jia Chuan's guess at the moment. What if they are also from the Prince of Han's Palace... There are more than 40 people in the Inspection Office, and many of them have walked into the trap during the operation. Therefore, if there is any accident, changing rooms can delay death a little longer than the sharp knife in Haishou's hand.

……

After watching the archer shoot the last man, Jia Chuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

If the number of people coming was not in the single digits, Jia Chuan didn't think that this bunch of losers could complete the mission without any casualties.

All the people from the Inspection Office, except Dong Shuben and five others who stayed outside the house to protect the prince, the other forty-odd people were all dispatched.

There were not many viable roads in the dense forest. Jia Chuan arranged archers to ambush on some sections of the road, and the rest of the people were the "medicine leads". He just needed to beat drums and gongs to notify those people. However, this was the time when the people were looking for clues separately, and the moon that had just appeared was covered by dark clouds again. In such a strange and pitch-black place, these people acted alone, which gave Jia Chuan and his men an opportunity to take advantage of.

A total of nine people came, five of whom fell into the mountain stream while shouting because of Jia Chuan and his men, and the remaining four were lured by Jia Chuan and his men to the ambush place of archers and shot to death.

Mission accomplished, the forty-plus men were exhausted. Jia Chuan wanted to order a few to check around to see if there were any more thieves who had slipped through the net, but thinking about how hard it was for his colleagues to survive to this day, and how precious his own life was, he decided to just leave it at that. Even if there were still some who had slipped through the net, what would it matter? Running back to report the news would take time, and waiting for the order to arrive would take another time. From this place, past Cangzhou to Bazhou, if they traveled overnight, they could reach it in two days. By the time the people from the Han Palace had negotiated a price with the thieves and everything was settled, the prince would be safe.

What's more, these "green forest heroes" are not stupid. Seeing the court escort, they can understand something. Cangzhou is very close to the capital. The King of Han does have connections in the army, but Jia Chuan feels that fighting fiercely and winning people's hearts are two different professions, and the King of Han obviously did not get a double degree. Therefore, Jia Chuan wanted to take a gamble and bet that the King of Han would run out of tricks after passing Shandong.

Of course, the most important confidence is that history is there. Zhu Zhanji became the emperor. Jia Chuan secretly prayed that his appearance did not change the gears of history.

……

When Jia Chuan brought his men back, Dong Shuben let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground. Jia Chuan didn't have time to comfort him. Instead, he asked which room the prince was in and went straight in.

"...Your Highness, please set off immediately tonight and do not wait until dawn."

The candles were lit again in the house. Jia Chuan came in and said that he had dealt with all the invading enemies he had seen, and then he said this.

Under the dim candlelight, Zhu Zhanji's expression was uncertain.

On the one hand, he was glad that he had escaped another hurdle, but on the other hand, he was still worried about the road ahead. Moreover, the injuries on his body had never healed because he had not had enough rest. He had to endure the pain and move forward every day, which was quite painful. Not to mention that the things in the capital could not wait for him to recover, even his good second uncle would not give him time to recover.

Seeing that Zhu Zhanji hadn't spoken, Jia Chuan explained:

"There was quite a commotion just now. If they still have people outside the forest, they probably won't dare to do anything now. They're all workers, uh, just following orders. When they encounter something like this, they always have to report it to their superiors. I think we should take this opportunity to hurry on. By the time they have a plan, Your Highness might be dozens of miles away, making it difficult for them to catch up."

The old eunuch said with a pale face: "Your Highness is injured..."

Kuang Zhong hurriedly said: "Save your life first!"

Zhu Zhanji took a deep breath and said, "Our horses are all released outside the forest. How many horses does the Inspection Office have?"

Dong Shuben was standing outside the door. Upon hearing this, he hurried in and bowed, saying, "We have six horses, for delivering messages and for daily groceries, and two donkeys..."

Zhu Zhanji said: "Donkeys are useless."

Jia Chuan added:
"You can't ride horses in the forest. Your Highness and Doctor Kuang can ride on horses, and have someone lead them. Once we're out of the forest, have someone ride as fast as possible to Cangzhou City to buy a carriage. Your Highness can sit there more comfortably. Without resting at night, we can reach Bazhou in another day..."

"How many treasure notes do you have?"

Jia Chuan was stunned.

Speaking of the Great Ming Treasure Notes, Jia Chuan was full of complaints. Although he had only been here for three years, he had dealt with treasure notes a lot. This thing was one foot high and six inches wide, green in color, with a dragon-patterned floral frame on the outside, and the words "Great Ming Treasure Notes" written on it. On both sides were eight seal characters "Great Ming Treasure Notes, circulated throughout the world". In the middle were several strings of copper coins. In order to prevent counterfeiting by the public, there was a warning at the bottom: "Counterfeiters will be beheaded, and those who report them will be rewarded with 25 taels of silver."

This was the system left by Zhu Yuanzhang: "Use banknotes for large sums, coins for small sums, and both banknotes and coins." The use of gold and silver in trade was forbidden, and Jia Chuan was puzzled. If they weren't allowed to use them, what on earth was the reward silver? Forget about the gold standard, the silver standard, or the reserve requirement, because Jia Chuan couldn't understand it either. All the gold and silver were exchanged by the court, but the people couldn't use the treasure notes to exchange for gold and silver. How could the treasure notes actually maintain their value?
He heard from Dong Shuben that in the early years of Hongwu, one string of banknotes was worth one string of coins, one thousand copper coins, and one ounce of silver. But in the 23rd year of Hongwu, one string of banknotes could only be exchanged for 250 copper coins, and four years later it was 160 copper coins... In the 20th year of Yongle, the court actually issued an edict that those who refused to use banknotes would be punished, and even their entire family would be exiled.

In the past three years, Jia Chuan has deeply felt the power of inflation and currency depreciation. Sometimes, a roll of treasure notes cannot buy things larger than it. But he remembers that in film and television dramas, no matter what dynasty, silver is used in addition to copper coins, right?

"Your Highness, not to mention that the entire Inspection Office cannot gather enough treasure notes to buy a carriage, even if it could, it would be a big bundle and difficult to carry. It would not be as useful as some gold and silver jewelry. But we have to trade it secretly. I hope Your Highness will not punish me in the future." Jia Chuan said in embarrassment.

Zhu Zhanji could understand, but they were lucky to be able to survive the journey. Captain Xia even lost his Embroidered Spring Sword, and he only had a jade pendant left, but how could he pawn this jade pendant?

"Your Highness, please bear with the hardship. We can reach Bazhou in two days." Kuang Zhong sat up straight and looked at Zhu Zhanji and said, "Even though we don't have a carriage, we are lucky to have horses. If we only had donkeys, we would be worried."

Zhu Zhanji thought for a moment and said, "Let's set off immediately!"

Jia Chuan sighed inwardly: The ambush arranged by Zhu Gaoxu was really just a little off. Zhu Zhanji lost everything except his life.

Jia Chuan took a deep breath and wanted to ask how to escort them. There were only six horses in total, and these four people took up four of them. At most, there could be two people escorting them. It was impossible to let dozens of people compete with the horses for speed, right?
He didn't want to go. It was not good to get too close to the royal family, especially at this critical time in history when history books were making up stories. His intelligence would become the fundamental reason for his death. Dong Shu was different. His insensitivity could save his life!

But how can I not go?
Just when Jia Chuan was about to speak to exaggerate that there was no danger on the way out, the old eunuch who was sitting next to Zhu Zhanji against the wall suddenly fell down. Zhu Zhanji was startled and subconsciously tested his breath. Then he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and leaned heavily against the wall.

Before Kuang Zhong could react, Haishou had already pounced on him, touched him again and again, and then lay on the old eunuch's body and sobbed.

Kuang Zhong then realized that the eunuch who had followed the prince for many years was exhausted.

Jia Chuan widened his eyes. Doesn’t this free up another horse?

Originally, Jia Chuan thought that it would be better for him to die than for his fellow Taoist to die, so he strongly recommended Dong Shuben to protect him and arrange for an archer to follow him. His reason was very sufficient. Dong Shuben was the most suitable person to mobilize troops in Bazhou, and archers were always better than him, who ran faster than a rabbit but had no skills at all.

But now he has three people accompanying him. Even if he emphasizes the benefits of bringing an extra archer, Zhu Zhanji will not let him go. He can't escape.

For the first time, Jia Chuan felt that his brain was working well but it caused trouble!
……

Zhu Zhanji and the other two changed into the inspection uniforms. After getting on their horses, Zhu Zhanji still instructed that his captain and Captain Xia must be buried properly.

Jia Chuan was leading the two horses with a depressed look on his face, thinking about the possibility of dying this time.

But Zhu Zhanji thought that his listless look was a sign of affection and righteousness. He was so heartbroken after only meeting him a few times. Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but increase his trust and appreciation for Jia Chuan.

Dong Shuben didn't have so many thoughts, or rather, his brain didn't allow him to think of anything else at the moment.

He woodenly relayed Zhu Zhanji's instructions to the deputy inspector, mainly to bury the dead and take good care of the living. Then he took enough dry food and clean water, as well as some medicinal herbs. He packed these things into two bundles and hung them on both ends of the saddle. He checked them several times before leaving, for fear that he would not bring enough and the prince would starve.

Among the thirty archers, Dong Shuben selected Shunzi and asked him to bring his bow and quiver. Zhu Zhanji turned around and said, "Bring an extra set."

After Shunzi had carried three bows and arrows and a quiver, the group slowly set off.

……

The rising sun casts a translucent halo over the mountains and forests.

Dong Shuben and Jia Chuan knew the shortcut out of the forest best. The injured people were sitting on horses, and Jia Chuan and the other three each led two horses and silently left the forest.

In the early morning, all six people were on horseback, and the horses were trotting towards Cangzhou.

……

As Jia Chuan rode on his horse, he considered countless possibilities: how to deal with a surprise attack from behind? How to escape from an interception from the front? How to deal with a sudden drop from the sky?

Of course, he only cared about how to be himself. As for how to protect the prince? He felt that if he didn't have the skills, he shouldn't take on such a job. Besides, in history, Zhu Zhanji had become the emperor. Uh... if this was a parallel world...

Jia Chuan did not follow up on this idea, but he figured out why a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, who had no academic qualifications, could be promoted to the position of prefect of Suzhou. It must be because of his meritorious service in protecting the emperor this time.

At noon, the sun shone scorchingly on the heads of several people. Kuang Zhong suggested that Matthew rest for a quarter of an hour, and Zhu Zhanji agreed.

Jia Chuan endured the pain on the inside of his legs and kept shaking his legs after getting off the horse. Zhu Zhanji was very unhappy about this and said, "You need to go to the barracks to gain some experience in the future."

Jia Chuan's waist and flesh pains suddenly disappeared. He took the pancake handed to him by Dong Shuben, and seeing Dong Shuben's sympathetic eyes, he first greeted Zhu Zhanji as his ancestor in his mind, and then thought about how to answer correctly so that the prince would give up this idea.

(End of this chapter)