Chapter 145: The Registers Fly and the Bare Blades Appear

"It is merely currying favor with the wealthy and powerful."

Seeing Ye Chang conversing with those scions of noble families, Clerk Ding muttered behind him with a mixture of sour jealousy.

The young lady surnamed Li over there could hardly bear it; she turned her face slightly and gave him a cold glance.

Knowing that although this young lady dressed as a Daoist nun, her status was extraordinary, Clerk Ding lowered his head and remained silent. However, the young lady surnamed Li spoke up: "Clerk Ding, the *Strategies and Inquiries on Post-Disaster Emergency Relief* you mentioned earlier, I have also read it. Yet, Clerk Ding probably does not know who the questioner and who the respondent were in this dialogue, do you?"

Clerk Ding was taken aback.

Indeed, he had no idea who the questioner and respondent were in that written dialogue, and therefore he had assumed it was written by some ancient predecessor. Although this dialogue had been shelved by Li Longji and circulated through transcribed copies, the copyists each had their own motives; some feared the intent of Li Longji, while others wished to prevent Ye Chang from gaining fame, thus omitting the names of the questioner and respondent.

"I saw the original manuscript of this dialogue in Chang'an. The questioner was Bai Quan, the Magistrate of Yanshi, and the respondent was the Eleventh Young Master Ye," the young lady surnamed Li said slowly. "Eleventh Young Master Ye is modest, unlike the rumors suggest. Yet here you are, showing off your meager talent before an expert without even realizing it."

Clerk Ding's mouth widened so much that his jaw almost dropped.

He had harbored resentment against Ye Chang for blocking his path into officialdom, and thus treated Ye Chang quite poorly. He had firmly believed he was in the right, never imagining that even the reasoning he relied upon was written by someone else.

Looking at Ye Chang just now, everything he did seemed affected and pretentious; now looking at himself, he appeared in every way like a jumping clown.

For a moment, Clerk Ding did not know what to say.

After finishing, the young lady surnamed Li shook her head and turned her gaze back to Ye Chang.

Among the group of wealthy young gentlemen, Ye Chang was neither the most striking in appearance, nor the loudest in voice, nor the most refined in conversation. Yet, simply by standing there, he naturally became the focal point of everyone's attention, the center of the crowd.

He spoke to each person impartially, appearing both warm and engaging without leaving anyone out.

With her profound scholarly background and sharp eye for people, the young lady surnamed Li felt a fresh stir in her heart upon observing Ye Chang's demeanor.

Very few people heard the words of the young lady surnamed Li—aside from the young lady surnamed Cai, just a handful of others. Although Clerk Ding was dumbfounded, he secretly felt a wave of relief. Had she shouted it out, his face would have been utterly lost; not only in front of Ye Chang, but even before these colleagues, he would have no more dignity left.

On second thought, when Ye Chang had asked him to step aside just now, could it have been for this very matter?

Clerk Ding was no fool; he had simply been blinded by jealousy. Now that he understood the cause and effect, amidst his relief, a sense of guilt inevitably arose in his heart.

Had Ye Chang exposed the secret himself, Clerk Ding would only have felt resentment. But because someone else exposed it behind his back, Clerk Ding could not help but feel a secret awe and respect for Ye Chang.

Seeing Ye Chang busy on his side, the noble youths did not intrude and successively took their leave. Before departing, one of the more petty-minded ones shouted, "Eleventh Master Ye, do not forget what you promised yesterday!"

"Naturally, rest assured, gentlemen!"

Smiling and waving, Ye Chang turned around only to see Clerk Ding standing solemnly right before him.

"Now that the grain is sufficient, Registrar Ye, please give any further orders as you see fit."

Clerk Ding's current attitude gave both Ye Chang and the surrounding people a great fright.

Everyone thought their ears were playing tricks on them. Clerk Ding, who had just been speaking cryptically and threatening to wash his hands of the whole affair, had now suddenly and proactively volunteered his services.

"Well... I do have a matter..."

Ye Chang paused for a moment. In his heart, he still could not fully trust Clerk Ding and decided to dispatch him elsewhere. Hesitating for a second, he smiled and said, "I have already spoken with Magistrate Yang. Between the transport canal and the Luo River, on the east side of the city, we will select a site to build temporary wooden shelters for these disaster victims. The timber is being prepared and will soon be transported via the Luo River. Let Clerk Ding lead a few men to choose a site and stockpile the timber there, and register the incoming timber accordingly."

Clerk Ding was once again astonished. Ye Chang had already surprised him by having grain sent over immediately upon arrival, and now he had already prepared the timber for building houses for the disaster victims!

This was timber to build homes for over two thousand victims; it was no small figure.

Unable to help himself, he asked, "Registrar Ye, where does this timber come from?"

"The South Market in the city naturally has timber," Ye Chang replied.

"The South Market... is the timber sufficient?" Clerk Ding pondered and tentatively asked.

From his perspective, there was indeed plenty of timber in the South Market, but it was expensive, and using it to build houses for disaster victims seemed somewhat wasteful.

Ye Chang smiled meaningfully. "The South Market's own timber is only part of it. Another portion comes from demolition."

"Demolition?"

Clerk Ding grew even more bewildered. He widened his eyes and stared at Ye Chang, asking, "Registrar Ye, what does that mean?"

"You will know in a couple of days. Let's get to work first."

Ye Chang did not reveal his entire plan, as Clerk Ding was not worthy of his trust. Sending the clerks off to work, he looked over at the two young ladies and noticed they had not yet left.

"Does Young Master Ye have a moment to spare? If so, the two of us would still like to ask for your guidance on the Daoist arts," the young lady surnamed Li stepped forward and said upon seeing Ye Chang seemingly at leisure.

"Daoist arts... Hahahaha..."

Never expecting anyone to ask him about such a thing, Ye Chang burst into laughter.

"We are willing to take Young Master Ye as our master..." Seeing Ye Chang's expression, the young lady surnamed Li uttered these words on an impulse.

"Ah, I possess no Daoist arts, nor am I an immortal." Seeing that she spoke in earnest, Ye Chang straightened his expression and said, "The Dao of immortals is baseless and beyond my knowledge."

"Then why did Young Master Ye know that the Music Master Cao could shatter the chime?" the young lady surnamed Cai asked from the side.

Ye Chang smiled and replied, "I knew that phenomenon was caused by musical instrument resonance. Anyone familiar with this principle must be the Music Master. Coincidentally, I had heard that Music Master Cao was currently in Luoyang, so I named him. Who would have thought the temple monks were also quite familiar with Music Master Cao? I suppose it's just that coincidences make a story."

"Coincidences make a story?" Hearing this phrase, both young ladies Li and Cai found it rather novel.

Ye Chang's explanation left them somewhat disappointed. After bowing and taking their leave, the two boarded their carriage, preparing to return to the city of Luoyang.

"Elder sister, do you think... what Young Master Ye said about not understanding Daoist arts, was it true or false?"

"Who knows?" The young lady surnamed Li furrowed her delicate brows slightly.

She harbored certain matters in her heart that she had not shared with the young lady surnamed Cai, who was as close to her as a sister.

Her understanding of Ye Chang surpassed that of ordinary people; after all, her father had been paying attention to this person for a long time—while others considered him a nobody, her father evaluated him very highly.

"If this boy were older by twenty years, this old man would certainly not allow him to live another day."

Recalling her father's words, the underlying bloodshed and praise forced the young lady surnamed Li to view Ye Chang in a completely new light.

After the second round of porridge, Ye Chang received the roster delivered by the two clerks. Every disaster victim who claimed a bowl of porridge had to answer the questions posed by Ye Chang before receiving their second bowl, which made this census exceptionally detailed. There were two thousand three hundred and seventeen disaster victims in total. As Ye Chang read through the list and cross-referenced it, he began to estimate who could be employed as skilled artisans and who could only serve as heavy laborers.

The reason these people had been cast adrift and unable to return home mostly stemmed from a single common cause: after the floods breached the dikes and destroyed their original settlements, their lands were usurped by the powerful and elite—this was also a major reason why the Luoyang prefectural office could not send them back. Sending them back would spell trouble for those powerful figures, whereas lingering in Luoyang became the trouble of the imperial court and the state.

In any era, capitalists are primarily concerned with their own interests, whether they are agricultural capitalists or industrial and commercial ones. Ye Chang had come to Luoyang similarly concerned with his own interests. Among these two thousand plus disaster victims, able-bodied men and women made up the vast majority—nearly two thousand destitute laborers. The very thought made Ye Chang's mouth water.

Furthermore, now was the absolute best time to win hearts and minds. These disaster victims, living precarious lives from day to day, would feel deeply grateful to anyone providing them a livelihood. Their loyalty would far exceed that of ordinarily recruited laborers.

Thinking of this, Ye Chang smiled faintly.

His smile was captured by the young ladies Li and Cai who were looking over. The young lady surnamed Li fell into deep thought, while the young lady surnamed Cai suddenly felt a flutter of panic in her heart.

Her heart beat violently.

That same smile was also caught by a group of people among the disaster victims.

This group had not gone to collect porridge; they were scattered among the other refugees, maintaining a certain distance from one another under the hand gestures of a few leaders.

"Is this scion sent by that dog slave?"

One of the men in the group muttered in a low voice, hostility flashing through the eyes of those around him.

"Undoubtedly. If not for this fellow yesterday, that dog slave would certainly have died. Now this fellow has chased us all the way here. Look, he is carefully examining the roster—he is searching for us. Damn it, that dog slave and his father served the Tang royal house for generations, wielding Tang officials as they please, which is only natural..."

"In my view, to eliminate future troubles for our lord, we must first get rid of the dog slave's lackeys. Given the current situation, we have been driven to a desperate corner and must make a desperate gamble." Another man said, "Those high officials are surrounded by retinues and we cannot touch them, but this fellow has brought only a handful of men. Soon, when we draw close, we'll give him a knife and finish him..."

"And after finishing him?"

"The Tang people are cowardly; seeing bloodshed, these two thousand and more people will inevitably fall into chaos, and we can escape in the confusion. By the time the Tang people sort things out and realize some heads are missing, we will have long changed our identities and blended back into the city of Luoyang... We have carried the grace of our king for a decade; we must not fear death and bungle the grand cause."

After whispering among themselves, several men made up their minds and looked toward the one who had called the Tang people cowardly: "Wu Re, you are the most resourceful. Tell us how to assassinate this fellow. Though he has few men with him, you've witnessed how formidable that vicious monk is."

Everyone's eyes involuntarily turned toward Shanzhi, who remained closely by Ye Chang's side. Believing that dealing with the disaster victims was an act of great merit, the monk stayed glued to his post. Though he understood nothing of the figures and registers Ye Chang was reviewing, he still watched with great relish.

"Those two young ladies over there, did you see them? Just now, the two young ladies were talking and laughing with that dog slave's lackey. Those two young ladies are exceptionally fair and refined, yet the attendants around them are merely ordinary followers. Let a few of us go over there and pretend to harass them; that dog slave's lackey will surely dispatch men to intervene. Once his side has fewer men, we will make our move. If the vicious monk leaves, well and good; if he does not leave, four or five of us will go and entangle him..."

Wu Re's plan won nods of approval from everyone, and they immediately began vying for the task: "I'll take men to harass those two young ladies!"

As a result of the competition, Wu Re himself won the plum assignment. They moved slowly through the crowd, pretending to head toward the porridge distribution. When they drew closer to the two Daoist nuns, Wu Re gave a hand signal to a subordinate, who immediately darted forward and knelt right before the carriage of the two female Daoists.

"Have mercy, I beg the two immortals to have mercy..."

The kneeling subordinate wailed wildly while rolling his eyes. The attendants of ladies Li and Cai blocked him. The young lady surnamed Li furrowed her brow and shook her head, but the young lady surnamed Cai had already stood up from inside the carriage.

"Weren't you given porridge just a moment ago? Have you not eaten your fill?" the young lady surnamed Cai asked gently.

"I ate my fill, but I am still lacking something," the kneeling man shouted. "I thought about it, and what I lack is a woman... Two immortals of great compassion, I beg you to bestow your favors..."

How could such filthy and foul language enter the ears of two Daoist nuns? Though kind-hearted, the young lady surnamed Cai was consumed by shame and anger, her face turning beet red, while the young lady surnamed Li immediately grabbed her arm.

Something is wrong!

This man is surely not a genuine disaster victim. If he were, how could he dare be so rude? He suddenly spouts such obscenities—his purpose... is not directed at the two of us!

With her profound scholarly background, almost the moment she pulled the young lady surnamed Cai backward, the young lady surnamed Li figured it all out. Raising her eyebrows and letting her thoughts race, she wondered: if the true target is not us, who could it be?

Compared to usual, the only difference today was the presence of Ye Chang.

Today, Ye Chang had come among the disaster victims; this was the sole difference from their previous visits to distribute porridge!

"Eleventh Ye!" the young lady surnamed Li cried out loudly.

Over there, Ye Chang also put down his book and looked over in astonishment.

In this gathering place of disaster victims, soldiers and bailiffs always maintained order, so such ruffians should never have appeared. The moment this play unfolded, Ye Chang felt something was amiss.

Beside him, Shanzhi opened his eyes wide with anger and strode toward that direction, evidently utterly disgusted by such shameless behavior in front of young ladies.

At that moment, the cry of the young lady surnamed Li reached him.

Ye Chang's first thought was that the young lady surnamed Li was calling for his help. Just as he was about to urge Shanzhi over, he heard the young lady surnamed Li's second shout: "Look out!"

"Look out!"

Ye Chang's heart tightened violently. Why look out?

Having encountered numerous assassination attempts by now, almost without thinking, he retreated back toward the midst of his attendants.

Then the surrounding area dissolved into chaos. The moment he moved, he noticed that a dozen or so disaster victims who had been lingering around like onlookers suddenly flashed blades. The glittering weapons frightened the genuine refugees into immediate screams and cries.

"Damn it!" Ye Chang cursed inwardly, discarding the register in his hand and drawing the sword from his waist.

Relieving disaster victims could actually bring him such trouble... His luck was truly wretched to the extreme.

By now, Shanzhi had been cut off. Several assassins entangled him, not seeking to injure him, but simply preventing him from retreating to Ye Chang's side in time.

And right beside Ye Chang, there remained only Wuguli, the Kunlun slave.