ATPnovel Chapter 48 Gunshots at the Gate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard
Chapter 48 Gunshots at the Gate of the Embroidered Uniform Guard
Dongchang Hutong runs east-west and has only two gates.
To the north was the Northern Garrison Command Office, and to the south was the Southern Garrison Command Office.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was notorious, and no good person would go there for no reason, so the alley was deserted.
Chang Yuan stood at the entrance of the alley, with no one in front of him and a bustling crowd behind him.
The Imperial Guard squad didn't see anything wrong with this; on the contrary, they were smugly thinking: "We Imperial Guards are so powerful!"
Well, it's actually a good thing that intelligence agencies are quiet.
Chang Yuan's gaze fell on the entrance of Dongchang Hutong, where a ragged beggar sat in the sun, searching for lice on his body.
Gao Su noticed Chang Yuan's gaze and followed it to the beggar.
But he didn't see anything wrong.
So he looked at Chang Yuan for instructions: Is there something wrong with the beggar?
Chang Yuan's eyes twitched slightly, and he blinked twice quickly: Something's wrong!
Gao Su: Arrest?
Chang Yuan: No rush.
How can we arrest them now?
Their elite cavalry squad consisted of only four people. Three of them were carrying valuables, leaving only Han Ye as the sole free fighter.
The arrest operation is not a one-on-one battle; it must be at least two against one, so that the target is unable to attend to both sides.
Otherwise, the target could easily escape, and the mission would fail.
Most importantly, Chang Yuan's mission was to escort goods, not to arrest unidentified individuals.
That's called neglecting one's proper duties and creating unnecessary trouble.
Chang Yuan led his team into the deserted Dongchang Hutong. The sound of their footsteps was reflected by the walls on both sides, easily spreading throughout the entire hutong and attracting the attention of the guards from the two government offices.
Many eyes were cast upon Chang Yuan, some from visible posts, but many more from hidden sentries.
The hostility in their eyes subsided only when they saw the ivory tags on Chang Yuan and his companions' waists, but their vigilance remained.
Upon arriving at the gates of the two government offices, Chang Yuan was surprised to find that the gates of the Jinyiwei headquarters, the North and South Garrison Offices, did not even have stone lions, but only two elite guards hidden in the shadows.
It was so discreet that it made one wonder if this was really the headquarters of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Only after confirming that Chang Yuan was heading towards the South Office did the guard ask, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"
Chang Yuan replied, "I am Chang Yuan, the captain of the Henan Provincial Thousand-Household Office of the Eastern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I am here on orders to escort the sealed goods to the Southern Garrison Office."
After saying that, he took out his tooth tag and waist tag from his waist, and then took out his driver's license document from his waist, and handed them to the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper carefully checked the hidden marks and cipher text on the driver's sticker, and also compared the information on the tooth tag and waist tag.
Then he said to Chang Yuan, "Brothers, please wait a moment while I check with the internal affairs department."
After saying that, the gatekeeper turned and entered the main gate of the South Town Government Office. In the small pavilion inside the courtyard, he picked up the microphone: "Hello, please take over the internal affairs for me."
Li Hui asked curiously, "Captain Gao, what's that?"
Gao Su shook his head: "I don't know, I've never seen it."
Chang Yuan said, "It should be a telephone call."
"Telephone?"
Another security guard looked at Chang Yuan in surprise: "Brother, you know about telephones? That's amazing! We only found out about this new gadget after it was installed these past two days."
Chang Yuan laughed and said, "I'm very curious about new things, so I was able to guess."
The gatekeeper clicked his tongue in amazement: "That's impressive."
As they were talking, the security guard who had been on the phone returned and handed Chang Yuan his driver's pass, documents, waist tag, and tooth tag: "Please come in."
Chang Yuan took the items, shook hands with the gatekeeper, and discreetly handed him two silver coins.
The gatekeeper's smile instantly became ten times more sincere: "After you go in, follow the central path forward, go through two gates, then turn left, and you'll find the person who will receive you."
Chang Yuan replied with a smile, "Thanks, brother."
"You're welcome."
Everything went smoothly after that. Chang Yuan found the clerk to take over the duties, as well as the chief officer in charge of witnessing the handover.
Both parties jointly inspected the seals, mud seals, wax seals, and lead seals, then signed the receipt and handover documents, completing the escort mission.
After the clerk finished handing over the items, he led his men away. However, the flag officer said to Chang Yuan, "The Vice Commissioner has instructed you not to return immediately, but to stay in the capital for two days and await the Commander's summons."
Chang Yuan immediately nodded: "Yes, sir."
"But I've heard that prices in the capital are soaring..."
The flag officer smiled and said, "Go to the Jinyiwei training ground in Bailiu Township, South City. You can stay there with your waist token and receipt. Three meals a day will be provided."
"Although the taste is definitely not good, the portion size will definitely be enough to fill you up."
"Thanks for your guidance, brother."
Chang Yuan stepped forward, cupped his hands in thanks, and casually handed over three silver dollars. The chief officer of the Southern Garrison Command smiled brightly instantly.
"Brother, you're quite astute. There's no problem finding lodging at the Jinyiwei training ground in Bailiu Township. For meals, we can go to Duosheng Temple, which isn't far away. The monks there come from Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Brother, you're from Henan Province, you should know the sign for the Great Xiangguo Temple, right?"
Chang Yuan stared in disbelief: "Roast pork, vegetarian rice with lard, and vegetarian noodles with pork intestines... They brought all of these to the capital?"
The captain nodded with a smile: "That's right."
Chang Yuan grinned in astonishment: "Wishtoday! Aren't these monks afraid of getting beaten to death?"
The flag officer said, "They're really not afraid. This is the capital, right under the emperor's nose. Who dares to call for their attack?"
"Since violence was not an option, many monks went to debate scriptures, but they were defeated dozens of times by monks from Kaifeng. One by one, their Buddhist hearts were broken, and they left in disgrace."
"Now that no one is causing trouble anymore, you can eat as much as you like without worry."
Chang Yuan thanked him again, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, brother. I will definitely need your help again in the future."
"Of course, of course!"
After leaving the South Garrison Office, Chang Yuan followed the same procedure to enter the North Garrison Office, where he delivered a private letter for the Commander to a Vice Commissioner Liu.
Chang Yuan was very careful and respectful when delivering the letter, because the commander was sharing his network with him and paving the way for him at headquarters. If he made a small mistake in the future, someone would speak up for him.
Not much, just a single sentence can sometimes turn the tide of life and death.
After delivering the letter and leaving the gate of the Northern Garrison, Chang Yuan gathered his men and headed back to the alleyway they had come from.
The atmosphere in Dongchang Hutong was oppressive, and no one in the group spoke.
However, Gao Su and Han Ye noticed that Chang Yuan had quietly unhooked the holster of his revolver, and his right hand was already on the handle, ready to draw his gun at any moment.
The two immediately remembered the beggar that Chang Yuan had mentioned before they entered the alley.
They then placed their hands on their weapons and became extremely vigilant.
As Chang Yuan stepped out of the alley, he glanced around and confirmed that the beggar was still there, and that strange feeling of wanting to acquire things hadn't changed.
He casually turned left, and just as he was about to pass the beggar, he suddenly raised his hand, drew his revolver, and pointed it at the unsuspecting beggar.
Following his movement, Gao Su simultaneously raised his revolver and took out his waist badge with his left hand: "When the Embroidered Uniform Guard is on duty, don't make a mistake!"
Han Ye was even more decisive, drawing his short gun with the muzzle attached and lunging forward with his arms outstretched, completely disregarding the enemy's possible counterattack.
Qiu Yixin reacted slightly slowly, but he drew his weapon in time and formed a triangular formation with Gao Su and Chang Yuan.
Only Li Hui was completely stunned and stood there dumbfounded.
Chang Yuan's sudden action caught not only the beggar off guard, but also all the pedestrians on the road, who stood frozen in place, afraid to move.
Suddenly, someone shouted, "The Imperial Guards are arresting people! The Imperial Guards are going to kill people!"
Just as he was about to shout a second time, Chang Yuan suddenly turned his head, raised his hand, and shot him in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
This person also has that smell...
Seeing this, Gao Su shouted, "Kill anyone who shouts or screams! Kill anyone who dares to run away!"