Wu Zheng, 14th of the first lunar month, Tianbao Year 3.

Guangde Fang, Chang'an County, Chang'an.

Standing at the center of the hall of Jing'an Department, He Zhizhang with a copper square seal in hand seemed calm and peaceful. Li Bi, standing opposite to He Zhizhang, kept shooting flying arrows at the other with his sharp glances, but this could not even exert the slightest effect on this old man.

All others inside the hall pretended to be busy with their work, daring not to make any sound with their heads bowed.

At this time, the messenger outside ran into the hall. He first glanced at Li Bi then at the seal in He Zhizhang's hand. With some hesitation, he greeted He Zhizhang with his hands folded and reported in a gruff voice, "The watchtower of Huaiyuan Fang reports that they have Commandant Zhang under control and are sending him back now."

He lowered his voice on purpose; however, what he said was still heard clearly by all present in the hall.

This was the exact effect that He Zhizhang wanted. He nodded satisfactorily and said to Li Bi in a serious tone, "Changyuan, do not blame me for holding you back with the power of this Department seal. But you are too impetuous. How dare you appoint a man sentenced to death as Jing'an Commandant? A person who committed an unforgivable crime of a.s.sa.s.sinating his superior! If words get around, the impeaching paper from censors could bury you alive!"

Li Bi, with horsetail whisk in hand, snorted, "Tomorrow? Maybe there is no tomorrow for Chang'an."

"Alas, Chang Yuan…… of course I know you have the gut to shoulder your responsibilities but what about those who serve at Lan Tai (Palace Library)? And what about the Prime Ministers? Even if they were well aware of your plan, they wouldn't care." He Zhizhang emphasized on this, "Why do you think I come back in such a hurry? Because Prime Minister Li has heard some news about the failure of this operation and tried to take command of Jing'an Department! For now, I still can overpower him. But if he knows that you have bet the fate of Chang'an on a man sentenced to death, there will be a great clamor. By that time, even I cannot withstand all the pressure."

Seeing Li Bi keep his mouth shut, He Zhizhang changed his tone and said gently, "On the court, there are traps all around. Any carelessness can lead to a fiasco. I'm already 86 and care no more. But you are young and you must value your life and future!"

He Zhizhang explained many things in one breath, opening his heart to Li Bi, who, however was not a bit swayed and refuted, "Every lecture you give here just makes the Turks get one step closer to success." Li Bi took a glance at the corner of the hall and the water in the silver hourgla.s.s was still dropping down pitilessly.

He Zhizhang talked back, "I never said that we should give up on catching those Turks. I just hear that man's resentment to the government even shows between lines. How could you trust him like this?"

"I do not trust him, but now he is the best……no, the only option we have."

"Chang'an is the hub where talents of the whole country gathered. And not even one of them can compete with a man sentenced to death!" He Zhizhang changed his tone again and sounded very harsh, "You have made one mistake that places so heavy pressure on Jing'an Department. And now, the current circ.u.mstances cannot afford another mistake of yours."

At this time, Li Bi stepped forward and said with determination, "You just want to keep the command of Jing'an Department, but I want the safety of Chang'an!"

Right at this moment, the messenger stepped into the hall for the second time and reported with his gruff voice, "Report, Jing'an Commandant Zhang Xiaojing and others have arrived at the gate."

With a wave of his sleeve, He Zhizhang said, "No need to send him in. Just take back his ident.i.ty card and escort him back to Chang'an County."

Then Li Bi suddenly shouted, "Wait a moment!"

"Changyuan!" The dissatisfaction was obvious in He Zhizhang's tone. However, Li Bi continued, "Just now smoke rose from West Market and Huaiyuan Fang, which definitely implies vital progress. So why not call him in to explain the matter before drawing any conclusion?" He Zhizhang knew for sure that Li Bi was stalling, but he also knew that this was a critical time, so he, with a slight sigh, waved his hand to call in Zhang Xiaojing.

But at the same time, he arranged four Lubi Sergeants to stand by. As soon as Zhang Xiaojing finished his debriefing, they could arrest him on the spot.

He Zhizhang seldom intervened in the operation of the Department; but if Li Bi crossed the line, he would turn himself into a halter to drag this young man back. Certainly, they had to capture Wolf Guards, but only under the circ.u.mstances of leaving no excuse to their political opponents to attack Jing'an Department.

All of this was for the safety of THAT person.

With some clop-clop, Zhang Xiaojing entered the hall brashly without any should-be shock of a person who had gone throw a sudden discharge. He first winked at Tan Qi and then set his curious sights on that old man with white hair and beard.

This old man had a grand reputation in this country. Being a master at poems and calligraphy, he had been well known for over twenty years during Kaiyuan and Tianbao Years. Just ten days ago, He Zhizhang declared that he had resigned from office and planned to return to his hometown. Before he left, the emperor held a special farewell banquet at Qingmen and all officers came to see him off, which was kind of a front-page cultural event in Chang'an. And Zhang Xiaojing could never expect to find that this should-be retired man had sneaked back to the capital city and took up the post as the Chief of Jing'an Department, which had no connection with literature.

Now he was in his eighties and when he resigned from office, he was already at the position of third ranked Yinqing Imperial Minister of State and also the Princ.i.p.al Supervisor of Palace Library– this was why others called him Supervisor He to show their respect. He was more than sufficient to fill in the post of the Chief of Jing'an Department. Obviously, the person who arranged this position for He Zhizhang did not expect him to accomplish something big but hoped that his experience and reputation would allow his deputy Li Bi to do what he had to do, without any hinderance from other parties.

Zhang Xiaojing smiled suddenly for the appearance of He Zhizhang dispersed the haze existing in his mind for so long.

The defense responsibility of Chang'an was allocated to Jinwu Guards, Jingzhao Office, Censorate, Jianmen Guards and other official inst.i.tutes. Overlaps of responsibilities brought about numerous conflicts. And Jing'an Department popped out from just nowhere and was above all other official inst.i.tutes. Without powerful man behind its back, there was no way it could achieve anything.

He Zhizhang, besides being the Yinqing Imperial Minister of State and the Princ.i.p.al Supervisor of Palace Library, he also held the post of the Crown Prince Guest. And Li Bi served the Eastern Palace as a literary officer. So, the person behind Jing'an Department was quite obvious.

Now the Crown Prince was not living in the Eastern Palace, but one could be enlightened to some extent by the arrangement of the t.i.tles of these aides and staff.

He Zhizhang caught the rude sights of Zhang Xiaojing, but he said nothing to condemn him. Instead, he just sat in repose with his eyes closed.

Li Bi walked forward and asked Zhang Xiaojing to debrief. Zhang Xiaojing, after rubbing his jaw, told them the entire story. Li Bi changed into a solemn face and asked, "So, the Turk has got the map?"

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This was the only clue they had. If they lost it, Jing'an Department had no other options but to search all over the city.

Zhang Xiaojing replied, "I'm not sure yet. But I have arranged Yao Runeng to block up the area around the temple of Zoroastrianism and to investigate door to door……" Without letting him finish his lines, He Zhizhang suddenly opened his eyes and asked sharply, "How dare you! Do you know how big a riot can be brought about by blocking up the temple of Zoroastrianism?"

"I don't know and I don't care. My job is just to capture Wolf Guards of Turk." Zhang Xiaojing answered, being neither humble or pushy.

"Then did you catch them?"

"If you guys always call me in for asking these boring questions, then I definitely can't catch them."

Li Bi was a bit pleased. There was always some irony in Zhang Xiaojing's words. And now it was the old man He Zhizhang's turn to suffer it.

He Zhizhang frowned because this man was too rude. He raised his seal and planned to ask someone to take Zhang Xiaojing down and crane him for twenty times. Right at this time, the messenger came in for the third time.

"Report, the Da Sabao (someone similar to the bishop) of Zoroastrianism asks to see you."

People in the hall who were familiar with official circles couldn't help but feel shocked and worried. Most of the Hu people living in Chang'an were followers of Zoroastrianism. If disputes and conflicts happened, the believers alone could cause a big riot, and that was why the government was always prudent when it came to Zoroastrianism.

Da Sabao was in charge of the temples in and around the capital and could exert a great influence on the society. The goal of his sudden visit was definitely to ask for a reasonable explanation for the matter.

He Zhizhang gave a cold sneer. This innocent prisoner not only blew up the only lead they had but also stirred up so much trouble. He shot a glance at Li Bi and said, "Changyuan, this is the second mistake you make today."

With that said, He Zhizhang turned to the guards, "Tie him up and take him away!"

Li Bi, with dodging eyes, stood there embarra.s.sedly. If Zhang Xiaojing really provoked the Zoroastrians, he had no way to take him under his wings even if he wanted to. After receiving this order, four wolf- or tiger-like guards bound Zhang Xiaojing down and then planned to push him out of the hall. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched grating sound of wooden leg rubbing the ground. When all people looked at the direction where the noise came from, they only saw that Xu Bin stood up with fear in his eyes. With all officials around him sitting on heels, Xu Bin was just like a big frog in a small pond.

He Zhizhang just squinted at him.

Facing the pressure given out by the Chief of Jing'an Department, Xu Bin was like treading on eggs. He wanted to defend for his friend but the tension made his stutter even worse. With sweats all over his forehead, he still couldn't manage to say even one word. After struggling for a long time, he finally gave up on talking; instead, he walked in a fast pace out of the crowd and to the side of Zhang Xiaojing – Xu Bin didn't think too much but it was him who recommended Zhang Xiaojing, his friend, to Jing'an Department, so it had to be him to escort his friend out.

Supervisor He was such a big shot, so he shouldn't hold grudge against me for such a tiny little thing……Xu Bin thought that as he held Zhang Xiaojing's arm with his right hand and meanwhile apologized in a low voice, "I'm sorry." Zhang Xiaojing, with hands tied up behind his back, stayed calm and collected. For a man who had been sentenced to death, this was not the worst situation – he just went back to jail to wait for the day when his death sentence would be executed, just like before.

But giving him the hope of living and then in a flash smas.h.i.+ng it into pieces – this was even more cruel than killing him directly.

He Zhizhang had lost all interest in this fraud who definitely had come to a dead end and what he was pondering over now was how to deal with Da Sabao. When he thought this thing a little bit deeper, he found that it was so strange for since when the Zoroastrians became so well-informed. This thing just happened and then the Da Sabao asked to see them – Could it be someone who had been waiting to pick a hole in Jing'an Department?

Whenever it came to plots and schemes on court, the old man's mind became sharp and active.

But unexpectedly, it was like that Zhang Xiaojing could read his mind and said with a smile, "Supervisor He, do not guess blindly. I let Yao Runeng break this news to him."