Chapter 177: The Unique Shame of Seeking Favor (Continued)

Censor-in-Chief Hu, who had just taken a beating from society the moment he left the Zhao family's presence, had not yet seen the end of his misfortunes, but neither was he directly silenced by murder as Adjutant Moqi had feared—their party was first stripped clean, then thrown directly into the Zhiluo city jail, where darkness descended upon them.

But unexpectedly, Hu Mingzhong, who had come with a single-minded attitude of getting things done, was not discouraged by this head-on blow. Or rather, after only a moment, he pulled himself together, instead comforting those around him in the prison, and actively discussed the situation with Moqi Xie, whose social experience was clearly richer, studying how to escape their predicament.

This bearing truly shook Moqi Xie, and he greatly revised his opinion of this young Censor-in-Chief, even vaguely elevating the man to half the status of Junior Academician Lin—they had to know, they were genuinely in mortal danger right now.

In fact, to be fair, although the Great Song dynasty had the flaw of valuing civil over military, its imperial examination system was not as rigid as the eight-legged essay selection of the Ming and Qing, and it was constantly being reformed (six major debates in total) to seek the best possible selection of talent.

Overall, it did indeed achieve this; throughout the Song dynasty, the general quality of outstanding civil officials was always beyond reproach.

Of course, a fundamental reason for this was that Confucian thought still had vitality in those years, with various schools of thought flourishing, and it had not yet entered the irreversible dead end of later times.

Returning to the present, since Hu Yin and Moqi Xie could endure these physical pains and settle their minds to think and discuss, they quickly reached a conclusion after just one meal:

That this matter was either Qu Duan having investigated their itinerary in advance and deliberately using this method to administer a show of force, in which case, as long as they held out and matched wits with him, everyone actually had no real danger to their lives; or that Commander Xue was indeed a military strongman spoiled by the chaotic times, in which case there was real danger, but if they endured a little, someone should soon come to rescue them, and they could use the incident as a pretext to make a move.

As for the reason for this judgment, it was actually quite simple… although they were trapped in the prison, covered in filth, with lice and rats running wild, unexpectedly, among the prison meals delivered, the portion given to Hu Yin was unusually clean.

What did this indicate?

It indicated that there was definitely someone with a purpose watching in the city.

And sure enough, after only about four or five meals in the prison, with no idea whether it was morning or afternoon outside, suddenly, countless armored soldiers crowded into the jail, escorting three people.

One of them was clearly a civil official, who came directly before the cell door and, before it was even opened, made a deep bow, calling himself a subordinate official—this was County Magistrate Huang of Zhiluo city. The other two military officers in armor both had pale faces, and the slightly shorter and stouter of the two, upon smelling the foul stench in the cell after the door was opened, simply stepped forward two paces, entered the cell, and knelt before Hu Yin to apologize.

Moqi Xie, sharp-eyed, recognized this man as someone from Commander Xue's side… so it was now clear who had been protecting them.

However, just as the County Magistrate stepped further into the foul-smelling cell, preparing to personally help Hu Mingzhong up, this Censor-in-Chief of the Great Song refused the Magistrate's assistance, then stood up on his own, exchanged a glance with Moqi Xie, and, holding his hands behind his back, asked directly:

"Which of you is under General Qu?"

"Wu Jie, Military Commander of the Jingyuan Circuit, Acting Prefect of Huaide Army, Military Supervisor of the Jingyuan Circuit, pays respects to the Censor-in-Chief!"

That general, standing outside the cell, tall and sturdy with a sallow complexion, upon hearing this, quickly stepped forward, trying to enter the cell, but because it was cramped inside and two newcomers had already squeezed in, he had to stop outside the cell door, cupping his hands and reporting his official position and name.

"Is Qu Duan rebelling, and did he send you to kill me?" Hu Mingzhong, reeking of sour filth, still stood with his hands behind his back, facing them proudly. "General Wu, I am a court minister; I can be killed but not humiliated… please point me southeast, let me face the Eastern Capital and die."

Wu Jie and the other two were all frozen in place… they felt they understood every word the high official from the Eastern Capital said, but put together, it was as absurd as the Heavenly Texts of Emperor Zhenzong—so-called not because they didn't recognize them, but because they dared not understand.

"We share the same sentiment."

Seeing no one speak, Moqi Xie also faced them proudly. "Emperor Taizong said, 'At home, practice filial piety and love; on official salary, fulfill loyalty and integrity.' I, Moqi, though down-and-out for half my life, having once been valued by His Majesty and entrusted with a heavy responsibility in the Bureau of Military Affairs, and now serving as an imperial envoy, how could I lose my integrity? If you want to kill, kill quickly; from the Censor-in-Chief down, not one of us will act as a jackal's accomplice!"

Wu Jie, hearing this, still dared not speak… he now understood those words, but still dared not say a single word, so he could only look to the County Magistrate for help.

And the County Magistrate was also sweating profusely; unfortunately, only he could speak here, so he stammered for a long time before finally steeling himself to explain first:

"Censor-in-Chief may have some misunderstanding… that thief Xue was originally a rogue bandit recruited by Wang Xie when he was in Hedong. In the old days, he was a dog-skin peddler, utterly lawless. After this retreat, Wang Xie ran fast, abandoning most of his troops, so he had no choice but to follow Wang Shu, the Grand Coordinator, and Qu Duan, the Commander-in-Chief, here… The day before yesterday, without distinguishing right from wrong or conducting any verification, he committed such absurd and rebellious acts. Because he had troops, we dared not forcefully dissuade him, fearing that if things went wrong, we would endanger the lives of the Censor-in-Chief and his party. Fortunately, there is Commander Han here, who understands matters. I asked Commander Han to stabilize that thief Xue and protect the Censor-in-Chief, then urgently sent a letter across the river to Luojiao city to seek help from Military Supervisor Wu… hence today's events."

Hu Yin, upon hearing this, only imitated the Zhao family's manner, showing no expression on his face while speaking fierce words: "County Magistrate, why deceive me? From Chang'an to the Eastern Capital, everyone knows Qu Duan is going to rebel and no one can control him. Adjutant Moqi and I came this time precisely to cede the Huanqing Circuit and Fuzhou to him, so that he wouldn't imitate Liu Yu of Jinan in proclaiming himself a false emperor, and to see if we could rescue Wang Shu, the Grand Coordinator, whom he has detained…"

County Magistrate Huang, hearing this halfway, was utterly terrified and directly tugged at Hu Yin's sleeve, facing him: "Censor-in-Chief! Do not jest!"

"Who is jesting with you?!" Moqi Xie also changed color, facing him. "Everyone knows Qu Duan is rebelling. First, he refused orders to go into battle; after the battle, he detained the Grand Coordinator and annexed troops from various places. Later, when the rebel Liu Yu proclaimed himself emperor, he used the overall situation in northern Shaanxi to pressure Grand Secretary Yuwen into killing the Grand Coordinator… his rebellious intent is clear, known to all. How can you be unaware?"

The County Magistrate grew even more terrified, but again looked at Wu Jie outside the cell door.

Wu Jie was stunned. Instinctively, he wanted to defend his superior, whom he had followed for many years, but for some reason, when he opened his mouth, he had nothing to say.

Not only that, but Moqi Xie's words directly matched the incident when, after Qu Duan had detained the Grand Coordinator Wang, one day the special envoy of Grand Secretary Yuwen's staff had suddenly left the front line in a sorry state, and also matched a recent event… Had that bastard Qu Duan really once thought of killing the Grand Coordinator?!

"Speak, Military Supervisor Wu?!" The County Magistrate stared wide-eyed outside the cell, almost pleading.

Wu Jie, dazed, could only steel himself to answer: "I really don't know about the matter between the Grand Coordinator and Commander-in-Chief Qu, but yesterday, before I received the message from here, I learned one thing—it was said that at the Diaoyin Mountain camp, Commander-in-Chief Qu had the Grand Coordinator leave his seal behind, then escorted him out… But who is Liu Yu? I just came over from Xiangle in Ningzhou less than ten days ago; I truly am not clear about the front-line stories. Is he some front-line general…"

Wu Jie's voice grew softer and softer, and when he finally stopped, the cell fell into dead silence. In the end, it was County Magistrate Huang who broke the silence; his body swayed, almost falling, but Hu Yin, being young, was quicker and caught him.

As for the kneeling Commander Han, he too could barely hold on, his body visibly shaking on the ground.

"Military Supervisor Wu, if you truly don't know, let me tell you clearly." In the narrow, cramped cell, full of sweat and stench, Moqi Xie stood with his hands behind his back, facing him coldly through the bars. "After the Yan'an battle, your Commander-in-Chief Qu took the opportunity to detain Grand Coordinator Wang Shu and annex troops from various places. Not only that, but the other day, he also spoke to the staff sent by Grand Secretary Yuwen, requesting that the Grand Secretary execute the Grand Coordinator Wang Shu in the army on charges of losing the battle… The court has never heard of a Commander-in-Chief killing a Grand Coordinator, and therefore believes that Commander-in-Chief Qu's rebellious posture is already clear. So they sent us two here, only to ask for the return of the Grand Coordinator Wang. But unexpectedly, as soon as we arrived, we received a show of force from your Commander-in-Chief Qu, which then forced us to resolve to die."

"Censor-in-Chief, the military situation at the front is chaotic; I truly am not in the know. This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me!" Before Wu Jie could speak, County Magistrate Huang, still in Hu Yin's arms, tugged at the other's inner robe and wept. "Think of me, failing the examinations repeatedly, relying on Grand Tutor Cai's reform of the imperial examinations, working hard as a National University student for several years just to get a proper appointment here. I have been diligent for years; how could I ever have thought of aiding a rebellion?"

"Nor does it involve me." Just as Wu Jie was about to speak again, Commander Han on the ground finally hurriedly spoke up in his own defense. "What that thief Xue did, even if it was a show of force ordered by Qu Duan, was only their own collusion… It has absolutely nothing to do with me. I beg the Censor-in-Chief to judge clearly, and I also beg County Magistrate Huang to bear witness for me."

Wu Jie finally got a chance to speak, but his mind was still in a daze. After a long while, he carefully cupped his hands and said: "I only came to rescue people after receiving an urgent letter from County Magistrate Huang… If the Censor-in-Chief does not believe me, I will go now and kill that thief Xue Feng, bring his head here, to prove my innocence."

"Pity that Commander Xue, thinking he was helping someone deliver a show of force as a pledge of allegiance, instead brought about his own death." Moqi Xie sneered even more coldly.

"Enough. We are the fish on the chopping block." Hu Yin finally spoke again, releasing the County Magistrate and facing outside the cell through the bars. "Military Supervisor Wu, please go and tell Commander-in-Chief Qu: since the Grand Coordinator Wang has already left, my mission here is useless. Therefore, if he is truly sincere, please do not humiliate us. Just give me the Grand Coordinator Wang's seal and let us go."

Wu Jie's scalp went numb. He stood there, unable to advance or retreat. But with County Magistrate Huang and Commander Han both present, no one could hide that he was Qu Duan's trusted general, one of those who had risen with Qu Duan over the years… He couldn't even deny it.

After standing for a long time, Wu Jie could only mumble and leave. But after a few steps, he realized his mistake and turned back to carefully bow: "Regardless, please, Censor-in-Chief, leave the cell for now, wash up and eat, change back into your official robes, and rest a while at the county office…"

Hu Yin shook his head repeatedly: "With the situation still unclear, if I leave this cell and enjoy these things, I fear that when I return to the Eastern Capital, I won't be able to explain myself clearly…"

"Explain what clearly?" Poor Wu Jie, known for his fierce bravery in the Western Army, was now as cautious and fearful as a startled rabbit.

"What else could it be?" Moqi Xie sat directly back down on the filthy ground of the cell, sneering loudly. "Going out now to enjoy a few days would be simple, but later, if someone points this out, saying we bent the knee to a rebel and lost the court's dignity, we would have no defense… So, Military Supervisor Wu, go ahead. As for us, until this matter with Commander-in-Chief Qu is settled, we dare not leave this cell."

"I'm not going out either." County Magistrate Huang thought for a moment, wiped his tears, and then also sat down.

As for Commander Han, he simply rolled over and lay down, which was simpler.

Wu Jie stood alone outside the cell, looking at the crowded prison, and for some reason, for a moment, he too wanted to go inside.