Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 78 Arrival in Jinan

Chen Mo finally understood why Jia Chuan valued this man so much. Wherever Gao Yuntian passed by with the iron bar in his hand, there would be wailing, and if he was lucky, red and white objects would fly. Such a scene would scare even his own people, not to mention what the enemy would think.

But Gao Yuntian's iron bar also has disadvantages, because the iron bar is too heavy, the force cannot be sustained, and these people are better than those in the dense forest, so they can always resist a few times. In this way, after knocking down seven or eight people, Gao Yuntian can't move anymore and needs to slow down, so he is entangled by the two people like Chen Mo.

After hearing Chen Mo and Gao Yuntian shouting similar words in the car, Jia Chuan knew that the intruder this time would be difficult to deal with. He forced himself to stay calm and carefully analyze the current situation.

He seemed to be the safest hiding in the carriage, but those people would do everything they could to attack the carriage. Right now, they were lying quite steady because the newcomers hadn't had a chance to startle the horses. If that happened, the three of them wouldn't be able to get off the carriage even if they wanted to. And wherever he was, that was the center. He only needed to follow Gao Yunduo, and Gao Yunduo's sword would not be raised in vain. Once Gao Yunduo flew up...

Thinking of this, Jia Chuan whispered, "The three of us get off the car, and you two follow Yuanyuan. Don't go anywhere. Then no one will do anything to you, and if anyone does, you'll be killed by Yuanyuan."

After saying that, Jia Chuan got off the car first.

Shunzi and Old Zheng had no objection. They followed Jia Chuan out of the car, walked to the back of the car with their bodies bent, and stood beside Dong Yuanyuan.

Dong Yuanyuan was looking at them with her head tilted, lost in thought, when she suddenly felt someone approaching. She subconsciously tried to bump into them, but when she saw it was Shunzi and Old Zheng, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I want to go up and help, but I can't see how I can defeat them. They have swords in their hands, and even though I have thick skin, I can't seem to withstand a few blows."

Shunzi said in a trembling voice: "Let's just stand here. Jia Chuan said that no one will care about us."

Dong Yuanyuan nodded heavily: "What Big Brother said is right."

Old Zheng's face was pale and his voice was trembling as he asked, "How long does it usually take?"

"Ah? What do you mean?" Shunzi and Dong Yuanyuan turned their heads and asked Old Zheng.

……

Over there, Jia Chuan saw Gao Yunduo. Before he could explain his intentions, Gao Yunduo couldn't wait any longer and said, "Follow me!"

Jia Chuan thought so too, but the fact was, he couldn't keep up. Gao Yunduo used the force to leap into the air, and in the blink of an eye, she was next to Chen Mo. Chen Mo was struggling to cope with it, but Gao Yunduo's sword instantly freed Chen Mo. Then Gao Yunduo's sword was like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and the long sword entangled the two long swords. Suddenly, with a pull, the two men collided with each other. Gao Yunduo let go and pierced through one of them, then drew her sword and pounced on the other side, still shouting, "Protect Jia Chuan!"

Is this a case of entrusting an orphan to someone else?
Jia Chuan sighed lightly and did not follow. Instead, he took the opportunity to look at the situation. The carriage was surrounded tightly. Many Jinyiwei people were injured, but they still defended the north side. Gao Yuntian protected the west side by himself. Although he was dealing with two people at the moment, Jia Chuan had seen this kind of scene. Gao Yuntian was gathering his strength. Looking at Gao Yunduo again, he was running in the southeast direction with great momentum. Not only did he help several Jinyiwei get rid of the current difficulties, but he also sent away several enemies who had no time to react. Blood splattered in the air in arcs, not much inferior to Gao Yuntian before.

Looking at the south direction, that was the direction they were going to pass. There were the least people here, like a gap. There were only two Jinyiwei flags fighting with the two men, but it looked like Li Shun at that time. He could obviously kill his opponent, but he was reluctant to do it.

Jia Chuan squinted his eyes and looked at the gap. At this time, Chen Mo came over and whispered, "The Gao brothers and sisters are really amazing. I..."

"They still have some people."

"Ah?" Chen Mo was shocked and looked around quickly.

"South is the direction we're heading. They've left a gap in this direction, probably hoping I'll panic and escape through here. They have an ambush ahead."

Jia Chuan's calmness infected Chen Mo. He took a deep breath, looked carefully, and then understood: "They are determined to win!"

"You have a bow and arrow?"

"Ok!"

"Shunzi hasn't practiced archery in a long time. Do you have any good archers among your men? Use them and quickly eliminate everyone here. The next ones might be the real trouble."

"you……"

"Don't worry about me. The people here don't have time to see me right now. If you still have extra swords, get one for me and Old Zheng Yuanyuan. If things really get serious, maybe we can delay it a little."

Chen Mo nodded and walked towards another carriage.

Jia Chuan stood with his hands behind his back not far from the carriage, looking straight ahead. No one came forward. Everyone was busy and no one had a hand free.

……

Shunzi raised his bow and arrow again, his heart pounding. He heard Dong Yuanyuan's gentle encouragement: "Shoot them to death!"

When the attackers see someone raising a bow and arrow, they start to want to escape. Once they run away, they become a moving target. If they don't run, as long as the archers come forward, they will have nowhere to escape.

Jia Chuan took advantage of the chaos and ran to whisper a few words to Gao Yuntian, Gao Yunduo and Chen Mo respectively. The three of them were not in the same direction. After conveying the message, Jia Chuan was exhausted and out of breath.

Force the invaders to the gap in the south, making them feel that this is the only way out.

Gao Yuntian and Gao Yunduo blocked the roads to the north and west like chickens. Although those people were all skilled, no one dared to fight at this time. In addition, they were no match for the Gao brothers and sisters, so they subconsciously only thought of escaping. This made it convenient for the Gao brothers and sisters. Soon, more than a dozen people were killed everywhere. Chen Mo commanded the archers to block the road to the east, forcing those who escaped by chance to flee to the south.

But there was a main road to the south and woods on both sides. Jia Chuan held a long knife and watched the escapees rushing towards the mountains and woods on both sides. No one dared to take the main road.

Chen Mo had naturally seen it too. After the Gao brothers and sisters returned to Jia Chuan's side without anyone to pursue them, Chen Mo quickly retreated in front of Jia Chuan and said, "There must be a trap ahead on this road."

"Don't leave any of them behind!"

After Jia Chuan finished speaking in a cold voice, Shunzi and the others also heard it. Their hands immediately became nimble and their feet moved forward unconsciously.

Only five or six out of the more than forty people escaped. Gao Yuntian and Gao Yunduo stared at them closely. When there were only two left, they shouted at the archers to retreat and rushed forward.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief and turned to ask Jia Chuan, "What do you think the trap ahead will be?"

Jia Chuan had no experience in this area, so he shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Chen Mo said, "The swords used by this group of people are all good swords, and their skills are not weak. Since they have good swords... I always thought they would have bows and arrows, but why didn't they use them?"

Jia Chuan immediately understood what Chen Mo meant and looked at the mountains and forests on both sides in front of him. The sun had already set and it would not be long before the light would not be as strong, making it more difficult to discover anything.

Jia Chuan walked to the tripwire. This rope was buried in the soil. In fact, if you look closely, you can see that the soil is different. However, the people Chen Mo sent out to explore the way were riding on horses, so it was difficult to identify them. The people ambushing on both sides must have waited for the Jinyiwei scouts to pass before they would take their positions. What does this mean?
This shows that they are not ordinary assassins, these people know a lot.

Could the King of Han arrange such a scene in his current situation?
If he could, it would make Zhu Zhanji seem incompetent. In this regard, Jia Chuan still trusted Zhu Zhanji. At the same time, he really looked down on Zhu Gaoxu, so he inferred that this ambush was not arranged by Zhu Gaoxu, but the weapons used by those people might have been provided by him.

Jia Chuan knew that in this era, it was not easy to get so many weapons.

Seeing Jia Chuan holding the rope in a daze, Chen Mo thought he was thinking about something, so he did not disturb him, but instead ordered the Jinyiwei to clean up the battlefield.

Dong Yuanyuan squatted next to Jia Chuan and asked with concern: "Are they here to kill you?"

Jia Chuan nodded.

"Why would such a powerful person want to kill you?"

Jia Chuan smiled. He felt that honest and straightforward people could sometimes hit the nail on the head.

Yes, why kill him if he is so capable? If he is the King of Han's men, they can just wait until he arrives in Le'an, close the gates and let the dogs go. If they can't do it in their own territory, how can they do it elsewhere?

"Using a powerful person to kill Big Brother is naturally because Big Brother is powerful enough." Jia Chuan took the opportunity to brag a little, making himself feel good, and then said: "You didn't act rashly today, Big Brother is still very relieved."

"Today is different from that night. Big Brother is not in danger, and I can't defeat them. Am I going to die?"

"But you knew that night that you couldn't defeat the black-clad swordsman..."

"After that night, I understood. It's better for me not to approach someone with a sword." Dong Yuanyuan tilted her head and thought for a moment before asking, "Will this kind of thing happen again in the future?"

Jia Chuan suddenly felt guilty. Before he could think of a response, Dong Yuanyuan said, "If it happens again, I'll learn swordplay from you."

"You are not afraid?"

"Don't worry! Big brother is going to do great things. Brother Shunzi said we can't help much. If I can find a place where I can help, I will be so happy. I am useful! Mother said that the reason she still feeds me is because I am useful. If one day I am no longer useful..."

"Don't worry if it's useless, big brother will take care of it!"

Dong Yuanyuan smiled so much that she looked like a dumpling: "Brother Shunzi will support me, and Big Brother will support Brother Shunzi, that's all."

"Okay!" Jia Chuan stood up and looked around. Except for Old Zheng who was sitting blankly on the ground next to the carriage, Gao Yuntian and Gao Yunduo, brother and sister, did not come back.

Jia Chuan immediately called Chen Mo and asked him to send someone into the woods to look for them. There were only two people on the run, and one should have been taken by each of them. The situation should have ended long ago. How come they hadn't come back for so long?

Chen Mo immediately found two uninjured people and went to search the mountains and forests on both sides.

Jia Chuan originally wanted to comfort Old Zheng. He had been examining the dead all his life, and suddenly faced with the battle between life and death, he must have been unable to adapt for a while. But Jia Chuan was not in the mood at the moment. He just walked over and patted Old Zheng without saying anything.

Just when Jia Chuan was getting impatient and decided to go into the woods himself with a knife to search, one of the Jinyiwei who had been sent out earlier came back and said that the Gao brothers and sisters had discovered an ambush in the woods ahead. There were archers hiding in the trees, and there were also hidden crossbows with mechanisms set up. It would take some time to kill those people and disarm the mechanisms.

Jia Chuan hurriedly asked, "Are they injured?"

The man shook his head and said, "I don't know." Chen Mo said, "It's normal for martial artists to have some injuries. I have medicine. As long as it's not fatal, it's not a big deal."

Jia Chuan didn't say anything.

Chen Mo stepped forward and whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be blaming yourself again."

Jia Chuan sighed.

"I just don't like you being like this. What do you mean by errand? If you don't do it, someone else will. You have a job, and so do I. The Gao brothers and sisters have benefited from you, so naturally they share the glory and disgrace. I think they are very happy. Otherwise, where would they display their martial arts skills? Who are their teachers? Can you introduce them to me? I see Gao Yuntian is very good at using the iron ruler."

"Is it still okay to learn when you're almost eighty?"

"Why not? It's not like I don't have a foundation."

"Can I learn without any foundation?"

……

Jia Chuan had this idea in mind. He also knew Gao Yuntian's prestige, but how much hard work had he earned to gain such prestige? Jia Chuan forgot to think about it.

After the Gao brothers and sisters came back and said that the road ahead was clear, everyone set off again. Jia Chuan did not take the carriage again, but rode on horseback to Gao Yuntian and asked Gao Yuntian if he could start a class.
Gao Yuntian said angrily: "Ten or twenty years earlier, I would have accepted you, but not now, it's too late."

Jia Chuan was not discouraged and tried various ways to beg Gao Yuntian, but Gao Yuntian still refused to give in even when they arrived at the post station.

So, when Gao Yunduo had the chance to be alone with Jia Chuan again, she no longer mentioned Ximen Qing, but talked about the hard work of practicing martial arts. After listening to her, Jia Chuan felt that one should not be too competitive, and learning to give up may be a good virtue. It is better to focus on his profession.

Gao Yunduo heard from her brother that Jia Chuan was shameless, persistent, and unyielding... but she could convince him with just a few words, and she couldn't help but feel secretly happy.

……

On the last day, the group traveled very smoothly.

But Chen Mo was in a bad mood. He was upset that he hadn't been able to leave anyone alive. If...

Jia Chuan advised him:

"How could there be so many ifs? Leaving them behind wouldn't necessarily be of any use. Furthermore, wanting to keep them alive and letting them escape would be the worst mistake. The people behind the scenes don't know what we're capable of, so they don't dare come easily. They can't know both themselves and the enemy, right? Besides, when we were in Dongzhao County, we did leave behind a skilled black-clad swordsman, but so what? He died within a few hours. I don't believe they died of their wounds. These people..."

Jia Chuan wanted to say that they all had "faith", but he felt that the word was a bit tarnished. However, no matter what brainwashed them, at least they felt it was worth it, and that was enough. It was also a worthy death.

Jia Chuan sighed.

Chen Mo said: "This is still outside. When we get to Jinan or Le'an..."

"They chose to strike on the road because they couldn't do it in the city. I was thinking last night, if they had made such a big scene and really had to do it in the city, wouldn't they have alerted the soldiers? If they weren't careful, their entire army would have been wiped out. When I say annihilated, I mean even their base would have been wiped out. This isn't a chaotic time. If only a few people came to kill me, Brother Gao could have taken care of it alone, and maybe even saved some lives."

Chen Mo thought it made sense.

Jia Chuan added, "The Prince of Han doesn't have the energy and manpower to do this right now. If he does, it must be something the Emperor has left for him. I don't think the Emperor would do that. If the Prince of Han really did leave something behind, he wouldn't use it all on me."

After hearing this, Chen Mo thought for a moment and then asked in surprise: "You mean, they were not sent by the King of Han?"

Jia Chuan hummed and said, "They should be in the same group as the black-clad swordsman from Dongzhao County. One obvious characteristic of this group is that they all have some skills. The King of Han's men... may be numerous, but they have no rules, and no one knows who is in charge."

Chen Mo was shocked. He didn't expect that Jia Chuan had offended so many people. He turned around and looked at the people he brought with him, thinking about how to deal with it next.

Jia Chuan smiled and said, "Don't be alarmed, Brother Chen. These people only dare to attack in the wilderness. If they really enter the city, they may not dare to move. Even if they do, their losses this time will be heavy..."

"They thought they would definitely take your life this time." Gao Yuntian interjected.

"Yes, the bodies and weapons of these people were left at the scene. Brother Chen also sent someone to report the news. Someone will go to investigate soon. Even if there are no survivors, they should be able to find some clues. After entering the city, especially when we reach Le'an, that will be the real trouble."

Chen Mo said with a gloomy face, "The Prince of Han refused to leave Nanjing until Emperor Taizong moved the capital to Beijing, when he was driven to Le'an. I don't think his roots are that deep. We all hold official positions. He is just a vassal prince and has no right to interfere in government affairs. He can't do anything to us openly."

"But I have to be able to do something to him." Jia Chuan muttered.

Chen Mo had heard about Jia Chuan's mission from Xu Gong, Gao Yuntian had heard about it from Jia Chuan himself, but Shunzi and Old Zheng were the only ones who didn't know the truth.

Shunzi didn't care, but Old Zheng was different. He had been silent since the incident yesterday and rested at the post station at night. Jia Chuan tried to intervene psychologically, but Old Zheng always used the fact that Jia Chuan didn't tell him the truth in advance and only said that he was out to investigate the case as a handle, and refused to listen to Jia Chuan's further nonsense.

In the end, it was Dong Yuanyuan who stepped in and calmed Old Zheng down with just one sentence: "You've lived in Dongzhao County your whole life. Now Big Brother is taking you out to see the world, and he's even providing you with food and shelter. What's there to be unhappy about? Even if you don't survive what happens, you'll die wherever you die."

Old Zheng thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he was not so angry anymore.

……

As dusk was about to fall, the outline of Jinan's city walls became faintly visible.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief, but Jia Chuan was worried.

They entered the city at the moment the city gates were closed.

Jia Chuan didn't worry about what happened after that. He just had to follow Chen Mo. Chen Mo didn't know the directions, but there was someone waiting there when he entered the city gate.

Jia Chuan followed Chen Mo, and Chen Mo followed that man. After it was completely dark, they arrived at a house.

The man went forward and knocked on the door, then led everyone into the yard.

This house is about the same size as the house of Yu County Magistrate in Dongzhao County. In addition to the left and right wing rooms in the front yard, there is also a back house. No matter how many rooms there are in the backyard, they are reserved for Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan. Everyone else has to squeeze into the front yard.

The servants in the house have been arranged, including a few maids and cooks, but no servants. The Jinyiwei are enough, and these servants all live in the backyard.

After some arrangements and cleaning, hot meals were placed on the table. The Jinyiwei in the front yard gathered in the back room to eat, Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan ate in the back yard, and the rest of the people ate in the main hall in the front yard.

There are two rooms in the main house, east and west. Jia Chuan and Gao Yuntian sleep in the east room, Shunzi and Lao Zhengtou sleep in the west room, Chen Mo and a centurion live in the east wing, another two centurions live in the west wing, and the rest of the people live in the back room.

This was arranged by Chen Mo. He also arranged a series of things including deployment and duty. Jia Chuan didn't even ask about it. He was only thinking about reporting to the new unit tomorrow. He didn't know what the people in the unit would think of him as an airborne soldier.

In Jia Chuan's opinion, no matter how successful he was, he still longed for a harmonious working environment that would not force him to show his hand...

Since when did he feel that he had sharp claws?
Jia Chuan couldn't help but gasp when he thought of this. Gao Yuntian asked, "Are you burned?"

Jia Chuan said, "I will report to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow. Chen Mo will follow me. You guys clean up the house. There's no need to buy anything new. We will stay in Le'an for a while."

None of them spoke.

Jia Chuan could see that everyone was worried about something. Ultimately, they were all worried about him. What was the next step? He only knew that he had to work hard on the case. In Zhu Zhanji's words: If there was a case involving him, investigate him directly. If there was no case, they would make up one and investigate him.

But Jia Chuan knew that with Zhu Gaoxu's temperament, it was impossible for him to stay peacefully in his fiefdom. With a master with such a temperament, how could the people under him be clean?

So Jia Chuan was not worried about having no cases to investigate him, but how to investigate so that he could create sparks with the King of Han without getting burned himself.

Several people were eating in silence when they suddenly heard some noise in the yard. Chen Mo got up and went out, but soon came back with someone following him.

Jia Chuan stood up subconsciously, and Chen Mo introduced him: "Censor Zhang Zheng."

Shunzi and Lao Zheng had just stood up, but as if they had agreed, their legs went weak and they sat down again.

Jia Chuan hurried forward and saluted.

Zhang Zheng was in his forties, with a serious expression that was intimidating without anger. The lines on his face and the "川" (crow's-shaped) furrow between his brows seemed to be carved into his face. He simply gave Jia Chuan a slight support as he saluted, and said, "You guys eat first. I'll wait a moment."

"We're done eating!" Gao Yuntian stood up and answered, then pulled Shunzi and Lao Zheng out of the house.

Chen Mo coughed lightly and also walked out.

Jia Chuan quickly asked Zhang Zheng to sit in the first seat and sat aside himself.

This surprised Zhang Zheng a little. He thought he would meet an arrogant young man, or a young man who pretended to be familiar and casual without distinguishing between the young and the old. He didn't expect that he actually knew some etiquette.

It's no wonder Zhang Zheng thought this way. Who wouldn't be flattered after gaining the emperor's favor? Especially a young man who is inexperienced in the ways of the world. Moreover, the emperor's favor is not just praise, but actual consideration for him.

Zhang Zheng had received a secret letter from the emperor a few days earlier, in which the emperor said that Jia Chuan was here to clean up the illegal activities in Le'an Prefecture. Zhang Zheng knew that this was aimed at the King of Han.

(End of this chapter)