"Giddy up!"
On the official road leading to Ye City, two swift horses, one black and one white, galloped side by side like two flashes of lightning.
"Whoa!" Zhao Yun reined in his horse and looked up; the city gate of Ye City was right before him.
A moment later, Zhang Chen also rode up on his horse and laughed, "Zilong's horsemanship is truly exceptional, indeed a cut above the rest! I can't compare!"
Zhao Yun smiled, "Lord, you are not bad either. I observe this horse is very divine and handsome, it must be a fine steed from Dayuan. That Lord can ride this horse shows extraordinary horsemanship!"
"That's right, this horse is named 'Jueying (Shadow Runner)', it is indeed a famous horse from Dayuan, a gift from a friend," Zhang Chen said with a smile. "Zilong's horse is also extraordinary."
"Lord, you jest. This 'Night-Shining Jade Lion' was a gift from my master and has been with me for many years."
"Indeed, a fine horse for a hero, good, good! Hahahaha!" Zhang Chen laughed heartily several times. "Let's go, into the city!"
With that, the two spurred their horses into the city.
Inside the Military Camp in Ye City, Qu Yi, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and other Generals were gathered in the tent, along with Ju Shou and Guo Jia. Everyone had furrowed brows and worried expressions.
"Report!" Suddenly, a Soldier walked into the tent from outside.
"How is it? Have you found Lord?" Qu Yi asked anxiously.
"Reporting to General, we have searched within a thirty-mile radius, but... we have not found any trace of Lord..."
"Useless!" Qu Yi roared angrily. "Go, keep searching for me. If you don't find him, none of you come back to see me!"
"No, I will go find Lord myself!" Zhang He said, and stood up to leave the tent.
"Junyi General, please calm down," Guo Jia said. "Lord is a fortunate man and will surely be fine. Didn't the men sent out say they found the bodies of those Soldiers? Since Lord was not among them, it means Lord must have escaped. I am more curious to know who had such audacity to dare ambush Lord on his way back!"
"Hmph! If I find out who it is, I will make him pay!" Qu Yi said resentfully, slamming his hand on the table.
"Lord! Lord is back! General, Lord is back!"
Suddenly, a Soldier's shout came from outside the tent. Everyone was startled and quickly rushed out of the tent.
Outside the tent, Zhang Chen was walking towards the main tent with Zhao Yun.
"Lord! It's really Lord!" Everyone was overjoyed and hurried forward to bow, saying, "Greetings, Lord."
"Everyone, quickly dispense with the formalities!" Zhang Chen quickly told everyone to rise, and then they all entered the main tent together.
Upon entering the tent, Zhang Chen immediately introduced everyone, saying, "Everyone, let me introduce you. This General, surnamed Zhao, given name Yun, courtesy name Zilong, is from Changshan Zhending. This time, thanks to his timely assistance, otherwise, I would have almost not been able to return to Ye City!"
Upon hearing this, everyone bowed to Zhao Yun in unison, saying, "Thank you, General Zhao, for rescuing Lord."
Zhao Yun returned the bow, saying, "You are too kind. This is due to Lord's immense good fortune and his destiny as a blessed man."
"General Zhao has agreed to stay in Ji Province and work with us," Zhang Chen said, then took out the imperial edict. "His Majesty has issued a decree, appointing me as General Pingbei (Pacifying-the-North General), Governor of Ji Province, and granting me full military and political authority over Ji Province. Everyone, the future prosperity of Ji Province will depend entirely on all of you."
"We will definitely do our best!"
Everyone responded in unison. Then Ju Shou said, "Lord, this matter was reported back to Ji Province several days ago, and we have all been eagerly awaiting Lord's return. We did not expect Lord to encounter such a thing on the way. It is all my fault for not being thorough in my considerations, leading to Lord's peril. I am guilty."
"Subordinate (Zhang He) is guilty," everyone also responded in unison.
"Ah, how does this concern you?" Zhang Chen said. "The incident happened suddenly, even I could not have predicted it, let alone you. There is no need for self-blame. Am I not perfectly fine now?"
Qu Yi then said, "Lord, who exactly did this? Zhang He will go and capture him immediately and present him to Lord."
Zhang Chen said calmly, "It was Liu Bei, the Magistrate of Pingyuan, and his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei!"
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi was immediately startled, "What! It was them!"
"Brother Qu, do you know them?" Zhang He asked from the side. "What is the background of these people?"
"I have only met them a few times. Last year, during the campaign against the Yellow Turban, his three brothers came to Guangzong to seek refuge with General Huangfu and fought against the rebels together," Qu Yi said. "But as far as I know, that Liu Bei has always been benevolent and righteous. He has no previous enmity with Lord, so why would he do such a thing out of the blue?"
"He was acting on a secret order from Liu Yan," Zhang Chen said resentfully. "That Liu Yan was unhappy that I obtained the position of Governor of Ji Province. Failing to slander me in the imperial court, he instructed Liu Bei to ambush me on my way back!"
"Outrageous!" Gao Lan couldn't help but exclaim angrily. "This old man is so malicious!"
Qu Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Zhang He remembers that before Liu Bei and the others came to Guangzong, they were subordinates of Liu Yan. At that time, that Liu Yan was still the Prefect of You Province, and Liu Bei and the others served under him."
Zhang Chen nodded, saying, "That's right, if not for this connection, why would he obey orders?"
Qu Yi immediately said, "Hmph, please give the order, Lord! Zhang He will immediately rush to Pingyuan and capture Liu Bei and the others!"
"There's no need," Zhang Chen shook his head. "Pingyuan is under the jurisdiction of Ji Province. Since they failed to succeed, how could they possibly remain in Pingyuan? They must have already abandoned their posts and left by now."
"Damn it! Are we just going to let it go?"
A glint of sharpness flashed in Zhang Chen's eyes, "Liu Bei is no ordinary person. We will inevitably have dealings with him in the future. Let's remember today's grudge for now, and we will surely repay it in the future!"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he looked at Ju Shou again and said, "Gongyu, since the matter of my assumption of the role of Prefect has already been transmitted to Ji Province, issue an edict in my name to all the commanderies, stating that from today onwards, all military and political affairs of Ji Province shall originate from the State Advisor's Office."
Ju Shou said, "Lord, rest assured, Yuan Hao has already gone to handle this matter. The edict will be sent to all the commanderies within the next few days. In addition, Yuan Hao has also compiled statistics on the population, finances, and garrison, etc., of each commandery, awaiting Lord's review."
"Okay," Zhang Chen nodded with satisfaction.
Tian Feng is indeed a capable official, his work is reliable!
Zhang Chen continued, "As I am new to the position of Prefect, I am not yet very familiar with the situation of officials in the various commanderies of Ji Province. The number of talented individuals and the number of incompetent ones need to be verified one by one. Gongyu, I will entrust this matter to you. Remember, when verifying officials, focus on the following three points: Firstly, loyalty to the Emperor and appeasement of the people's livelihood. Secondly, encouraging farming and sericulture, and not disrupting agricultural seasons. Thirdly, educating the populace and guiding them towards goodness. Evaluate based on these three points: those who possess all three will be classified as Grade A, those with two will be Grade B, those with one will be Grade C, and those with none will be classified as the lowest grade. Those in the lowest grade shall be dismissed from office, and their crimes shall be thoroughly investigated!"
"Subordinate obeys."
"Qu Yi, quickly compile statistics on the troops, weapons, grain, and other matters within the borders of Ji Province, and report them to me."
"Zhang He receives the order."
"Zilong, you will be temporarily serving as a Deputy General for the next few days. After a few days, when Gongyu has finished verifying the officials, I will reassign positions for everyone. Since I have been promoted, I will naturally not treat you unfairly."
"Thank you, Lord."
"Hahahaha! Let's return to the mansion!"
Zhang Chen said, and strode out of the tent.