Chapter 31: with translation of chapter title

The surviving fire dragon boat drifted downstream, and at the time when the sky grew bright, it finally reached the ferry outside Jiangling Prefecture.

As soon as the boat docked, Zheng Ping immediately sent someone with the token, rushing to the Tongfu Inn south of the city.

Wang Jin and his party did not enter the city; their clothes were tattered, their bodies covered in blood, and the boat still carried the wounded and corpses. To march into the city in such a state was too conspicuous.

They merely found a secluded riverbank near the ferry, where they temporarily rested, treated their wounds, and gathered the bodies of their fallen comrades.

Under the effect of the 【Gold Sore Medicine】, Lieutenant Li's arm had stopped bleeding; although it still hurt, it was no longer serious. Gazing at his fallen brothers, his tiger eyes brimmed with tears as he recorded their names one by one.

"Sir, I will personally settle their families," he said to Wang Jin, his voice hoarse.

"The consolation money will come from me, paid at three times the standard for fallen Imperial Guards," Wang Jin said in a deep voice. "Tell their families that they are heroes."

"Thank you, sir!" Lieutenant Li clasped his fists firmly.

Within less than half an hour, the shopkeeper of the Tongfu Inn, under the escort of a team of Zheng family guards, came scrambling to the riverbank.

Upon seeing the blood-soaked Wang Jin and the shattered fire dragon boat, his face instantly turned ashen, devoid of color.

Wang Jin was the person explicitly ordered by the master to ensure safety, yet such a lapse has occurred under his watch, and he does not know what punishment he will face.

He did not know Wang Jin's plan, nor that he himself was meant to be the bait, luring out those hidden wolves to be wiped out in one sweep.

"Shopkeeper Qian, there's no need to panic; this is not your fault, and I will later write to Brother Zheng to explain the situation."

Only then did Shopkeeper Qian gradually calm down, and he began to flatter Wang Jin.

"Good, good, Secretary Wang is truly enlightened; I have long heard from the Capital that, though Secretary Wang is only of the age of the weak crown, he can conceive what the elders of the court cannot, and though holding a sixth-rank office, he submits memorials on state affairs, his thoughts ranging like a heavenly steed—truly a national talent!"

"All right, all right, Shopkeeper Qian, no need for flattery; there are still many things here that need your help, please prepare some clothing and food for us, and after we have rested, we will enter the city."

"Furthermore, I also need you to help cremate the fallen Imperial Guard brothers who accompanied me on this journey; since I cannot safely bring their persons back, I wish their ashes to return to the earth."

"As for the brothers of the Zheng family who died, please also help me prepare a consolation payment; I know the Zheng family is not short of this money, but they died for me, and if I do nothing, my heart will not be at ease; when I return to the Capital, I will also send this money to the Zheng family's shops."

"This, this is absolutely out of the question; how could I let you spend money?" Shopkeeper Qian immediately refused, wanting to say more.

Wang Jin cut him off directly: "No need for more words; my mind is made up. I will likewise inform Brother Zheng of these matters; please, Shopkeeper Qian, go ahead and arrange them."

"Ah," Shopkeeper Qian opened his mouth, merely sighed, said nothing more, clasped his hands toward Wang Jin, turned and went down to make the arrangements.

Needless to say, the efficiency of those of family background is truly swift; within less than an hour, several Imperial Guards had already been placed into ash urns, while the others had cleaned their wounds, applied medicine, and changed into clean clothes.

After finishing these, Wang Jin then led Lieutenant Li and the remaining guards, carrying the ashes of the fallen, and under the Zheng family's arrangement, Era Name Transition Jiangling Prefecture, took up residence in a safe manor.

After washing away the blood and donning fresh fifth-rank official robes, Wang Jin's demeanor underwent another transformation. If before he was a sharp-edged scholar, now his brow bore a solemn gravity and authority forged by blood and fire.

He did not rest, but directly took his official credentials and the emperor's edict, heading to the mansion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Jiannan Circuit to seek an audience with Zhang Jianzhi.

Zhang Jianzhi, the foremost contributor to the Shenlong Coup, now the Prince of Hanyang, imperial chancellor, and supreme commander of southwestern military affairs, did not give him the cold shoulder.

In the mansion's council hall, Wang Jin met this world-renowned elder.

Zhang Jianzhi's beard and hair were all white, yet his spirit was keen; his eyes, though cloudy, occasionally flashed with a glint of light. Seated in the chief position, unmoving like a mountain, he naturally bore the dignity of long holding high office.

"Are you Wang Jin?" Zhang Jianzhi looked at the edict in his hand, then lifted his gaze to the young man before him; his voice carried anger without being angry.

"Your servant, Secretary Wang Jin, the Pacification Envoy of Annan, pays his respects to the Prince of Hanyang." Wang Jin was neither humble nor arrogant, bowing respectfully.

"Pacification Envoy of Annan..." Zhang Jianzhi slowly chewed these words, a complex shade crossing his eyes, "His Majesty, on the contrary, has placed great hopes in you."

He naturally knew Wang Jin's background, and also knew he was recommended by Li Duozo. Regarding this suddenly emerged young man, his heart was filled with scrutiny.

"Your Majesty's great kindness, I, your servant, would sacrifice my life to the last bone, yet have no way to repay."

"What a fine 'sacrifice my life to the last bone'!" Zhang Jianzhi snorted coldly, "I heard your journey here was not peaceful."

Obviously, the huge commotion at Yu Liang Ferry could not be hidden from this local hegemon.

" mere clowns, not worth mentioning. Thank you for your concern, Prince." Wang Jin replied calmly.

Zhang Jianzhi's eyebrows twitched slightly. He had expected this young man to pour out his grievances and seek aid from him, his nominal superior. Yet he did not expect the other to be so light and breezy, as if that bloody battle were merely an insignificant episode.

"Good, you have gall." Zhang Jianzhi nodded, raising his evaluation of Wang Jin by one notch.

He no longer probed, picking up a military report from the desk and tossing it over.

"Since you are the Pacification Envoy, take a look at this. This is an eight-hundred-mile urgent military report just sent this morning from the Yaozhou region."

Wang Jin took the military report, opened it, and his pupils shrank sharply.

The content therein was far more severe than he had anticipated!

The rebel leader Meng Zhenian was not merely inciting some barbarian tribes; he secretly contacted the local chieftain of the seventy-two caves surrounding Yaozhou, under the banner of "execute corrupt officials, purge the court," forming an alliance whose forces were claimed to number one hundred thousand!

Now the rebels have seized all of Yaozhou, their spear pointing straight at the heart of the Jiannan Circuit—Chengdu Prefecture!

Its momentum has already become a prairie fire!