The Envoy Is Appointed and Bears the Tally

Chapter 43: The Envoy Is Appointed and Bears the Tally

Just as Zhang Yu and Cai Weng were hurrying toward the garrison town ahead, he had no idea that after his departure, Taiyang Academy had not settled down because of it.

Since there was no one more suitable than Zhan Zhitong at present, the Academy's Upper Layer unanimously agreed to have him serve as envoy and travel to the Steel Claw Tribe, where he would be responsible for communication between both sides. They then submitted a memorial to the Governance Office.

Liu Fengquan, the Governance Office's newly appointed director, who had only taken office that month, did not delay in the slightest and immediately approved it.

Yet this left the students of Eastern Terrace Academy deeply dissatisfied.

After nearly two months together, they had become quite convinced by Zhang Yu, their strict teacher. They all believed that only their own teacher was the best candidate to go as envoy to the Steel Claw Tribe. But now the matter had been snatched away by someone none of them even knew. How could they possibly accept that?

More importantly, as Zhang Yu's students, they and their teacher were one body in a sense. Their teacher had been squeezed out—did they, as his students, still have the face to sit here?

Then even worse news arrived: Zhang Yu would no longer be handling Academy affairs in the future, and Zhan Zhitong might even be brought in to teach them. This was even harder for them to accept.

"We need to bring Teacher back!"

The moment this proposal was raised, most of the students immediately voiced their agreement.

Many of the students sitting here came from formidable backgrounds. At once, they gathered together and discussed how to go home and urge their families to pressure the Metropolitan Hall, drive Zhan Zhitong away, and bring their teacher back.

Because Yang Ying's identity was exceptionally sensitive, she restrained herself from joining in. Still, she grabbed An Chuer and asked, "Chuer, what do you think?"

Thinking of Zhang Yu's earlier instructions, An Chuer felt that he seemed to have foreseen this long ago. She said, "I don't think Teacher is the sort of person who yields so easily. If he chose not to fight for it this time, he probably had his own reasons."

"Reasons?" Yang Ying thought about it, and her head immediately began to ache. She felt her mind simply could not bear anything so complicated. She huffed twice and said, "I don't care. Teacher can't leave."

An Chuer asked, "Then what are you planning to do, Sister?" Though she came from humble origins, she and Yang Ying did in fact share a faint blood connection. Otherwise, she would not have been arranged to enter here.

Yang Ying said smugly, "Just wait and see."

She immediately strode out of the Academy, led her guards out of the Academy grounds, and returned to her own estate. Carrying herself with her usual vigor, she entered the courtyard and expertly kicked the door open.

She had completely forgotten her earlier words about properly protecting her younger brother. She rushed into the hall, seized her blood brother by the collar, and said, "Little Brother, give the order to bring Teacher back. What right does that Zhan Zhitong have to compare with Teacher?"

The little boy seated above was somewhat dazed. It took him a while to sort out his thoughts before he asked, "Sister, you want to replace someone?"

Yang Ying swept a hand. "That's right. That damned Zhan Zhitong—I've never even heard of him, and he wants to be your sister's teacher? Dream on! Bring Mister Zhang back and tell him to get lost!"

The little boy thought for a moment and said, "Sister, if you want me to do something, you have to tell me who decided this matter."

Yang Ying froze, then said disdainfully, "You can't even figure that out? How stupid!"

The little boy looked helpless. After thinking it over, he said, "Sister, if it was an order from the Governance Office, then it was decided by the newly arrived Mister Xu. Even as Protector, I have no way to take back Teacher's appointment order."

Yang Ying said unhappily, "You're the Protector. Can't you even issue an order?"

The little boy said awkwardly, "Sister, I can't."

Yang Ying said contemptuously, "If I'd known you were this useless, I wouldn't have come looking for you. I'll go find Uncle instead."

"What do you want me for?"

A deep, powerful voice came from not far behind her.

Yang Ying's whole body trembled as if she had been startled badly. Slowly, she turned around and saw a middle-aged man standing at the entrance to the main hall. He wore a pheasant-tail crown and black-and-red military officer's robes. His bearing was heroic and imposing, his demeanor stern, and he never smiled. At that moment, every attendant by the door was kneeling on one knee.

Her voice trembled slightly. "Uncle... Uncle..."

The heroic man walked in and said expressionlessly, "The affairs of the Metropolitan Hall are for its lords to handle. They are not for us military men to meddle in. We only govern the troops and protect the people."

He looked at Yang Ying sternly and said, "Commander Yang, you command five thousand of the Protectorate Office's personal guards. In a crisis, you must be ready at any time to step forward and protect the Protector's safety. But how many times have you visited the military camps? How many of the officers under your command do you know? Are the weapons and equipment in your guard complete? Do they drill on schedule? What is the state of their morale and fighting spirit? Have you ever asked about even these most basic matters? If you do not even know these things, what right do you have to concern yourself with other affairs? Is it your turn to interfere with Metropolitan Hall resolutions?"

The heroic man's tone grew increasingly severe. As Yang Ying was reprimanded, her head lowered further and further until she could no longer lift it.

The little boy's face had also turned pale, but he managed to retain a measure of composure and forced himself to say, "Commandant, the Commander knows her mistake."

The heroic man looked at him and clasped his hands. "This subordinate has been disrespectful and disturbed the Protector." He turned to Yang Ying. "But this matter cannot go unpunished. Commander Yang, I sentence you to ten days of confinement. Without my permission, you are not to come out. Do you understand?"

Yang Ying looked utterly dejected and answered softly, "I understand." A wave of despondency rose in her heart. It seemed that this time, she would not be able to help Teacher.

Inside the study of Zhan Residence in Auspicious Light City, Zhan Zhitong looked at the envoy's robes and ceremonial crown sent by the Protectorate Office. Yet at this moment, he felt no sense of victory at all.

He had always regarded Zhang Yu as an obstacle on his path into officialdom. Yet he had never expected that the thing he had painstakingly sought would be discarded so easily by the other party. Especially when he remembered Zhang Yu's utterly indifferent manner upon leaving, as though casually tossing a meat bone to a beggar by the roadside, it stabbed deeply into him. Everything he had done now seemed to have become meaningless.

"Why are you standing here? Have you nothing to do?" Lord Zhan appeared at the study door, glanced at him, and asked, "Still thinking about what happened during the day?"

Zhan Zhitong turned halfway toward him and said, "Father, I simply did not expect him to be a member of the Profound Residence. Does that mean I truly won against him?"

Lord Zhan snapped, "Were you doing this to defeat someone? You were doing it for yourself!"

He struck the floor with his cane, producing a sharp sound. "This time, I threw away my old face and nearly exhausted every favor I had to make this happen. But for this matter, do you know how many people we father and son will offend? You think you did not defeat Zhang Yu? Correct—you cannot compare with Zhang Yu. Even if he loses, he remains a disciple of the Profound Residence and can continue down another path. But if you lose, there will be no road back. If you do not seize this chance to climb upward and instead stand here sulking, you are only delaying your own future!"

Zhan Zhitong slowly raised his slightly lowered head and said, "Father, I understand."

Seeing that he was gradually returning to normal, Lord Zhan's tone softened as well. He comforted him, "The Profound Residence is nothing much. What do they know of the benefits of power? They speak of transcending the mortal world, yet in the hundred years since the Eastern Protectorate was established, not one person of the Profound Residence has truly attained immortality and transcended beyond. Did they not all die on the battlefield? Only those seated in the high hall have the right to speak of what comes after."

Zhan Zhitong knew it was not that simple. In that war several decades ago, the high-ranking figures of the Protectorate Office had all gone to the battlefield as well. Even his father had gone, though he had been responsible for logistics. Later, he had suffered grave injuries and fallen unconscious, only surviving by luck when he was brought back. Still, no matter what, these words gave him some comfort.

Lord Zhan could see through his son's thoughts. Earnestly and sincerely, he said, "Things are different now from before. The Turbid Tide is about to recede, and great changes are imminent. If you are only an ordinary man, you will have no ability to protect yourself. So you must find every possible way to climb higher. Once you have secured a place in the Metropolitan Hall, you will be qualified to decide the fates of others, rather than letting others decide yours. Aside from that, nothing should be allowed to distract you!"

Zhan Zhitong nodded forcefully. "Yes, Father."

Lord Zhan sat down and said, "Zhitong, let us discuss communicating with the Steel Claw Tribe. What the Protectorate Office needs is merely pacification. It wants the Southern Region of the Protectorate Office to remain stable, so it will not have to attend to both ends at once. But you must do more. You must find a way to make the Steel Claw Tribe serve our purposes, or at least win over some of them and make them act according to our wishes. Only then will the Metropolitan Hall place greater importance on your views."

At the mention of this matter, Zhan Zhitong's confidence gradually returned. He said, "Rest assured, Father. Your son will handle this properly."

Lord Zhan said, "The timing is perfect now. Zhang Yu is gone, and no one remains to get in the way. His students only understand a little superficial knowledge. The Protectorate Office can only rely on you, so no matter what you want to do, they can only choose to trust you. Oh, and..."

He looked at his son. "Has that Icha fellow been arranged for properly? Do not let anything go wrong. Why did he suddenly kneel during the day? Fortunately, no one in the hall cared about it then."

This was the man Zhan Zhitong had encountered when he secretly traveled to the Southern Region and tried to communicate with the Steel Claw Tribe. A few benefits had been enough to persuade him to come. He truly was a chieftain, but he had only seventy or eighty men under him, nowhere near as many as he claimed. Zhan Zhitong and his father both knew this perfectly well and had not exposed him.

Zhan Zhitong said, "I asked him afterward. He said he had sensed a power on those two Profound Residence cultivators similar to the gods of his tribe."

Lord Zhan thought for a moment. Matters involving such extraordinary powers were beyond his understanding as well. He said, "Set out as soon as possible. I have received word that Zhang Yu's students are somewhat restless. The sooner you get things done, the more secure our position as father and son will be."