Green Mountain
Chapter 313 - 253, Siege Day One

Chapter 313: 253, Siege Day One

The first day of the siege.

The crowing of roosters started as a long line had already formed outside the porridge stall on Qiu Ci Street.

In the line, singers and dancers wrapped themselves in thick camel hair blankets showing only their cheeks, servants, pimps, and guests stood in line, holding ceramic bowls, waiting for the line to slowly move forward.

The border army soldiers, not in armor, wrapped in grey headscarves, carried long iron ladles to serve the thin porridge to the queued-up citizens.

Qi Zhenzhuo carried his bowl back from the porridge stall early, lifted the cotton curtain, clattered up the wooden stairs to the second floor, and knocked on Li Xuan’s door.

Li Xuan, inside the room, put on his clothes and opened the door, puzzled, "What’s the hurry for?"

Qi Zhenzhuo handed the ceramic bowl to Li Xuan, angrily said, "Brother-in-law, look, the porridge the border army made is so thin, a full bowl has only about a dozen grains of corn, drinking this is no different than drinking water!"

Li Xuan looked down into the bowl, his heart sank at once, only to see the thin porridge was clear to the bottom, bland as pot washing water.

He held the bowl and hurried out the door without fully dressing.

Qi Zhenzhuo grabbed him, "Brother-in-law, where are you going?"

Li Xuan grabbed his collar, lowered his voice, and said, "Hurry and take people to buy grain later, spare no expense to get food back, even if it’s one tael of silver per catty!"

Qi Zhenzhuo was stunned, "One tael per catty? That’s a hundredfold increase! Brother-in-law, with that price, the silver we brought won’t buy much grain, and even if we buy some, it won’t be enough for the Yulin Army to eat!"

Li Xuan angrily said, "The grain merchants have all been conscripted by the border army for grain, those merchants don’t even have the chance to hoard strangeness. Now with the army serving porridge like this, all of Guyuan City is starving, being able to buy any grain is a blessing! It’s a minor issue for us to endure hunger, but if His Highness has to suffer with us, we might as well die to apologize! Spend all the silver, let’s secure His Highness’ safety first!"

He pushed Qi Zhenzhuo harshly and ran up to the third floor, knocking on the Crown Prince’s door.

The Crown Prince opened the door, "Lord Li, what’s the matter?"

Li Xuan said gravely, "Your Highness, look at this porridge, I fear in half a month people will resort to eating their children, if the Jing Dynasty army besieges the city for a month... it’s unthinkable."

The Crown Prince looked at the porridge in his hands, furrowed his brows, "Quickly dispatch the Yulin Army soldiers to search for grain, give a reward of hundred taels of silver to anyone who can find ten stone of grain, and promote anyone who can bring back a hundred stones of grain when we return to the capital! Also, call Mr. Chen and the others up, we need to immediately discuss a new strategy!"

Lord Li left in a hurry.

The Crown Prince paced back and forth in the room, pondering how to resolve the food crisis, considering who among his entourage could handle this matter.

Chen Liqin? Chen Liqin wouldn’t work, this Mr. Chen still places hope on the border army, only acting by the book, lacking the capability to ’act out of norms’ during a crisis.

Li Xuan? Li Xuan wouldn’t work either, although this Grand Official can fight a hundred foes in chaos, he isn’t a ’capable official’.

Qi Zhenzhuo? Merely a frivolous son from the Qi family here to gain experience, given face in normal times, but can’t be trusted with important tasks now.

Chen Ji...

The Crown Prince pondered for a while and finally went next door to knock.

Thud thud thud.

Thud thud thud.

The Crown Prince knocked for a long time, but no one opened the door.

At this time, Li Xuan led Chen Liqin, Chen Wenzong, and Qi Zhenzhuo upstairs, the Crown Prince asked with curiosity, "Where did Chen Ji go?"

Chen Wenzong bowed and replied, "To report to Your Highness, I saw my younger brother leave with Eldest Young Master Zhang and Second Miss Zhang before the rooster crowed, I asked him where he was going, he said to fetch porridge."

Qi Zhenzhuo paused, "I also went to fetch porridge, but didn’t see him."

After saying this, he muttered quietly, "This kid wouldn’t have run off again seeing that we’re about to run out of food, would he?"

Looking at each other, the Crown Prince said calmly, "Let’s not worry about Chen Ji for now, let’s all come inside and discuss strategies."

...

...

Taohuai Square, Zhang’s Grain and Oil Shop was a mess.

The shelves in the store were knocked down by the border army who came to seize grain last night, leaving several holes in the mud walls and floor, baskets scattered everywhere.

It seems that the border army, seeing no response when they knocked on the door, directly climbed over the courtyard wall to take what they could. Salt jars, vegetable oil, flour, sesame, green beans, vinegar, anything edible was taken, even the dried radishes on the roof were not spared.

At this moment, Zhang Zheng, Zhang Xia, and Xiao Man quietly stood around a stone well, waiting.

Thirty minutes later, Chen Ji climbed out of the well, gripping the hemp rope, Zhang Zheng stepped forward, reached out his hand, and pulled him up.

Chen Ji dusted off his body and said in a low voice, "The grain is still there. The cellar is large, with walls coated in lime, there’s no need to worry about the grain going moldy for a while. There’s corn, millet, rice, some wind-dried cured meat, and pickles stored inside, it’s enough for us to eat."

After saying this, he unslung his cloth bag from his back and handed it to Xiao Man, "Pack up, this is our food for the next few days. We can’t cook here to avoid arousing the neighbors’ suspicion."

This year, selling illicit salt violates the ban, and if caught, one would be exiled three thousand miles to perform labor. Hence, the small salt peddlers turn to drying the illicit salt in meat and vegetables for a more concealed sale. With these items, there is no shortage of salt.

Chen Ji lamented, "Just now, on the way here, I saw the porridge in the porridge sheds was so thin. For now, it’s still fine, but in another ten days to half a month, I fear many people will starve to death."

Xiao Man clutched the cloth bag tightly in her arms: "Young Master, please don’t take pity and give away all the grain. These two thousand bushels of grain may seem plenty, but if given away, they cannot keep the entire city’s populace alive."

Chen Ji helplessly replied: "Don’t worry, even in saving lives, we can’t rely on this bit of grain. Don’t hold the cloth bag so tight; otherwise, people will know there’s something valuable in it."

Zhang Zheng sat on the stone edge of the well, feeling emotional: "The Yulin Army and the Crown Prince are also carefree; they managed to sleep last night. If I were Li Xuan, I would have gone from house to house buying grain all night. However, Chen Ji, if you want to get close to the Crown Prince, now is the best opportunity."

Chen Ji’s expression remained unflustered: "Let them starve for a while first."

Thud thud thud. There was a knocking sound.

The four looked together at the tightly closed door of the grain and oil shop, from the outside came yelling voices: "Shopkeeper? Shopkeeper! Do you still have any grain in the shop?"

Zhang Xia whispered, "That’s the voice of Qi Zhenzhuo, they’re here to buy grain."

Moments later, Qi Zhenzhuo, seeing no response, went to knock on the door of the next shop.

But the neighboring clerk irritably said: "No more, no more, the border army took everything last night, go somewhere else if you want to buy grain, don’t bother us!"

Qi Zhenzhuo angrily retorted: "If you have none, just say so; why can’t you speak properly? Believe it or not, I’ll smash your shop!"

As he spoke, his voice gradually faded away, as if he was being dragged off by other members of the Yulin Army.

In the backyard of the grain and oil shop, Zhang Zheng scornfully said near the well: "Buying grain like this, the pickled vegetables will have already gone cold. The most important thing right now is to go door to door to the neighbors and buy any remaining grain for a high price, perhaps even finding some hidden reserves. Places like grain shops have already been plundered clean by the border army!"

Xiao Man gave him a sidelong glance: "Eldest Young Master Zhang likes to criticize after the fact; you didn’t mention buying grain earlier."

Zhang Zheng chuckled: "Isn’t that why Xiao Man is here? Why would we need me?"

Xiao Man was slightly taken aback; the sudden flattery from Zhang Zheng, instead of arguing, took her a bit by surprise.

Chen Ji dusted off the white lime powder sticking to his clothes: "Let’s go, ignore them."

The group quietly left the grain and oil shop while it was still not fully light.

Along the way, every household seemed bleak. Steamed bun shops, breakfast stalls, noodle vendors, all had their shutters closed. The rough porridge stalls outside each had long queues of people who seemed as if their vitality had been sucked out by specters, showing no signs of life.

Street vendors still set up their stalls, but no one paid them any mind.

At this moment, two men brushed past them.

After a few steps, Zhang Xia suddenly said ah softly and turned back: "Luocheng people?"

Chen Ji furrowed his brow and followed Zhang Xia’s gaze, only to see two robust men in winter, wearing thin clothes, striding swiftly.

Zhang Zheng thought for a moment: "Could they be merchants or escort masters who came from Luocheng to conduct business?"

Zhang Xia closed her eyes to recall: "I’m not sure. The last time I saw him was at last year’s Lantern Festival light fair in Luocheng, near Wenfeng Tower. He was holding a little girl in his arms, with two skyward buns tied with a red ribbon, and she held a colorful pinwheel in her hand..."

"Another one, I saw him twice, both times at East Market. The first time, he came out of a silk fabric shop just as I was about to enter; the second time, I was riding Zaozao, he was driving the Liu Family carriage coming toward me..."

Silk fabric, Lantern Festival, carriage, the Liu Family.

Chen Ji always felt something was off but couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly was wrong for the time being.

Zhang Zheng speculated curiously: "Could they indeed be businessmen here for trade? Luocheng is the first station for silk transit to the Western Regions, many businessmen stop there before heading to Taiyuan Prefecture."

"That’s not right," Chen Ji frowned, "he didn’t have a bowl in his hand, leaving home so early without going to get porridge must mean there’s something more important to be done."

Chen Ji set foot to follow those two robust men, feeling subconsciously that there was a shocking secret hidden among them.

However, as soon as they turned a street corner, Chen Ji suddenly turned back, leading Zhang Zheng and the others into a broker shop that had just removed its shutter.

Across from the shop, a scar-faced middle-aged man brushed past the two men, seemingly placing something into the hands of the two men.

Zhang Xia turned to look; the scar-faced middle-aged man was none other than Old Wu, the one suspected of poisoning thirty-four members of the Chen family, a Vice General of the border army!

Chen Ji felt a sudden chill in his heart; thirty-four members of the Chen family, a Vice General from the border army, the men from Luocheng, what connection was there among these?

No, no, also including the cotton gloves sent by Prince Jing to the border army, the border soldiers who wished to avenge Prince Jing... Guyuan seemed like a colossal maze, and this intricate maze had only one exit.

In the vast Guyuan City, very few could remain alive to reach that exit.

He said softly, "You guys take the grain back first; I’ll follow Old Wu to see where he’s going. Perhaps Old Wu is the key link maintaining the border army’s connections and the key to unraveling this mystery."

After speaking, Chen Ji turned and left the shop.

As he passed a stall outside the door, he picked up a bamboo hat and put it on his head. When the stall owner was about to shout out, he saw twenty copper coins clink clanking down on the booth.

By the time the stall owner looked up again to find Chen Ji, he had already disappeared.