The Longest Day in Chang’an: A Race Against Time - Chapter 84 - Haizheng (22:00-22:59) Part 3

Chapter 84: Haizheng (22:00-22:59) Part 3
Translator: DragonRider
Entering Guangde Fang through either of the two gates was clearly not an option. The two of them, leading the mules, detoured to the side of Guangde Fang. Zhang Xiaojing remembered that there was a water channel leading to the back garden of Jing’an Department at this place. But on their arrival, they found that the water channel was also guarded. Over ten soldiers were standing on the banks, allowing nobody to approach.

From this position, they could get a better view of the main hall of Jing’an Department. It was still ablaze. Thick smoke was billowing out of the two side-halls as well, which threw Zhang Xiaojing into deep worry that evidence found in Changming Fang might have been burnt to ashes.

The main watchtower survived. There were a couple of obtrusive purple lanterns hanging on it, but the disposition of them was disorderly. He could tell with half an eye that it was the work of a layman. ‘It seems that Yao Runeng is no longer there.’

“Let’s get our entry by climbing over the wall!”

Es suggested in a genteel manner and rolled up his sleeves, itching to have a try. The intensity of his interest in climbing over walls was second to only that of his reverence for the Nestorian God. However, Zhang Xiaojing shook his head in disapproval. Those soldiers near the water channel were a manifest indication that other areas of Jing’an Department were also heavily guarded. If they precipitously intruded into it, they would only end up alarming the enemies.

In his sight, this new Jing’an Department was also an enemy that he had to keep an eye on at all times.

It suddenly occurred to Zhang Xiaojing that there should be a ladder between the thatch-roofed hut in Cibei Temple and Jing’an Department, so they quietly drew back from the water channel and detoured to a Fang corner formed by two Fang walls near the Cibei Temple.

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At this corner, piles of black bricks angled towards the inside. In order to highlight Buddhism features, the upper edge was decorated with flange of bodhi patterns, which not only provided a foil for the extensiveness of Buddha dharma but also made it easier for people to climb. More importantly, there was nobody on guard on the other side of the wall. It seemed that Jing’an Department did not list Cibei Temple as a target to be guarded against.

Es uttered “God bless me”, spat at his hands and was just about to climb up the wall when Zhang Xiaojing suddenly pressed on his shoulder. “Deacon Es, it might be dangerous in Guangde Fang. There’s no need for you to get involved in this. All you need to do is help me get over the wall.”

Due to the injury, he was unable to use his full strength and needed Es to give him a pull. But even Zhang Xiaojing himself had no idea what might happen next, so he believed that it was unnecessary to drag Es into this matter.

Es asked in a displeased tone of voice, “Is commandant implying that I’m not young and handsome enough to be helpful?”

Not in the mood for correcting his wording, Zhang Xiaojing shook his head. “I’m not a commandant any longer, only a convict condemned to death. If you’re seen being with me, not only will you not be able to carry forward Nestorianism, but also you’ll be incriminated.” Es held up two fingers and pointed at his own eyes, saying, “I once washed my eyes with autumn water. In Chang’an City, there’s nothing I cannot see through. According to my judgement, following commandant is definitely the right thing to do.”

Zhang Xiaojing had no idea how Es had come to be so confident, but time was short, and he couldn’t afford to waste a single moment, so he replied blandly, “As long as you’re willing to take responsibility for your own choice.” Then he also started climbing the wall.

It took some doing for the two of them to get into Cibei Temple. At this time, there was a deathly hush in the temple and not a single lighted candle to be seen. Zhang Xiaojing cautiously went through the Buddhist complex, detoured around a Buddhist tower and arrived at the thatch-roofed hut.

The thatch-roofed hut was empty, but there were traces of rummage both inside and outside the hut. On the ground was an oily, upended wooden plate, which was the very one that Tanqi had used to serve deep-fried dough for him and Li Bi a couple of hours ago.

The searchers should have left already. There was nobody lying in ambush near the hut. Zhang Xiaojing walked to the yard wall and found that, as expected, the ladder had been detached from the wall and taken away.

There had been only a couple of people who were aware of the existence of this hut. This place being searched indicated that either Yao Runeng or Xu Bin had been captured by enemies and forced into disclosing this secret. Zhang Xiaojing crouched down beside the Free Life Pond and saw the big hole in the ice surface as well as dozens of wet footprints nearby, believing that there had probably been a fight in this place, but he didn’t know who had been involved in it.

Having seen these traces, Zhang Xiaojing felt that the leader of this new Jing’an Department was not only incompetent but also uncommonly malicious, that this person had long schemed to counteract all efforts and arrangements Li Bi had made during his term of office.

The yard wall between the thatch-roofed hut and Jing’an Department was not easy to climb over. Fortunately, Es was a master of grotto-running. Taking advantage of a cypress nearby, he successfully jumped onto the top of the wall and then dropped a length of rope to pull Zhang Xiaojing up.

Softly landing on his feet raising a small cloud of dust, Zhang Xiaojing returned to Jing’an Department once again.

The last time he had been in Jing’an Department was at noon on that day. He Zhizhang had just left in indignation after having a fierce quarrel with Li Bi. Li Bi, who was in sole charge of the department, sent him to Pingkangli to conduct investigation. At that time, all elite staff members of Jing’an Department were at work. The watchtower network, the Lubi Army and the Great Art of Documents were all functioning with high efficiency, which Zhang Xiaojing found were amazingly helpful, as if he had a team of a thousand people at his back.

However, after merely twelve hours, this place had been reduced to flaming ruins. Both buildings and people he was familiar with had gone. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiaojing didn’t have the time to grieve for them. Without any delay, he headed straight for the evidence chamber.

The evidence chamber was in a storehouse near the left side-hall. Inside it stored various items found on scenes of all kinds of events, which might prove useful in the future. This was also the place where Cao Poyan’s necklace had been restored. Zhang Xiaojing and Es cautiously moved along the edge of the scene of the fire. Enduring scorching heat, they made it through the side of the main hall and, along a dilapidated corridor, arrived at the left side-hall.

The fire in the left side-hall was no less fierce than that in the main hall. The files and documents stored in this place were extremely easy to burn. Since the left side-hall was also on fire, it was very unlikely that this place could survive.

When Zhang Xiaojing and Es arrived, the fire was still very big with continuous cracks. By the light of the fire, they could faintly see that the evidence chamber was shrouded in thick smoke, which made the fate of the items stored inside the chamber unmistakably obvious.

It seemed that Jing’an Department had given up their attempt at putting out the fire. All staff members had been evacuated, leaving the houses to burn. But Zhang Xiaojing was not reconciled to the situation. He looked around and suddenly observed that there was a corpse lying on the ground not far away.

The man must have died a miserable death. The cape made of Huohuan cloth (Fireproof material used in feudal China) on him and the Mada (A firefighting tool with a bundle of hemp stems tied on the top of a long wooden handle) in his hand suggested that he was probably among the first batch of guards who had arrived at the scene to perform firefighting. Judging from the footprints on him, it was very likely that he had been stamped to death by crowds of people running for their lives.

Zhang Xiaojing removed the fireproof cape from the body and put it on, then picked up the Mada and held it tightly with his hands. This Mada was actually a long wooden pole with a large bundle of hemp stems and strips of material tied to the top of it. People could dip it into water or mud and then use it to put out fire.

Zhang Xiaojing informed Es, “If I don’t make it, you are to double back and leave this city as soon as possible.” Not knowing what to say, Es observed that he would pray for him. To the voice of Es’ pray, Zhang Xiaojing undid his pants belt, peed onto the top of the Mada, adjusted his fireproof cape, took the Mada, lowered his head and charged into the fire.

Even the ground was burning hot. Though wearing leather boots, Zhang Xiaojing still felt as if he was stepping on needle tips. He identified the approximate direction of the evidence chamber and made a sprint for it.

Near a corner of the outer part of the left side-hall, the evidence chamber was disconnected with the inner part of the side-hall, so Zhang Xiaojing did not have to venture into the depths of the hall risking being buried under collapsed roofs or walls, which could be deemed as a silver lining. He kept waving the Mada to force hot air and smoke aside. Sometimes, when the smoke was too thick, he would cover his mouth and nose with urine-soaked strips of sackcloth. Compared with the suffocating smoke, the foul smell of pee did not feel so bad.

Finally, he made it to the doorway. Zhang Xiaojing saw that there were fierce flames everywhere in the chamber. The wooden frame of the chamber, though still complete, was on the verge of collapse. Given the few and primitive equipment he had in hand, it was impossible for him to make a passage into the chamber. He made several attempts to enter, all of which failed due to the heat waves.

Bamboo ware was flammable. Zhang Xiaojing feared that those documents and files made of bamboo slips had been the first batch of items to be burnt to ashes. Even if he somehow managed to get in, it was very likely that his efforts would end up in vain. Though unreconciled to the situation, Zhang Xiaojing had no alternative but to double back. Suddenly, when he was halfway to the outside, a long, blood-curdling squeak emanated from this left side-hall.

“Damn it!” Zhang Xiaojing came to realize that it was the sound of the main crossbeam breaking, which meant that the whole building would soon collapse, and when it did, there would be flaming wood blocks falling everywhere, which was the most dangerous scenario a firefighter could expect.

He flicked a glance at the distance and saw that there were at least thirty paces between him and the safe area. In the knowledge that it was impossible to cover that distance alive with a sprint, Zhang Xiaojing made a prompt decision. He directly lay prostrate beside a parterre opposite the left side-hall and then erected the Mada. If by any chance any large parts of the building fell in his direction, they would at least hit the Mada first and then land slightly sideways instead of landing on his head.

He had just finished taking this precaution when the roof of the left side-hall, with an almighty bang, lost the support of the main crossbeam’s ribs and sloping bracing struts, broke apart and collapsed to the crackling of lumber. Numerous flaming blocks of wood were flying in all directions. One of the burning rafters warped under the pressure and, after several spins in mid-air like the fire-stick of a Qiuci entertainer, landed smack beside the parterre…

Zhang Luo was one of the curators of the Ministry of Mining. On this night, unlike his colleagues who were out there on the streets enjoying the festival, he had to keep a close watch on those large-size festive lanterns in various parts of the city.

Generally, business owners could hire craftsmen to build their own large-size festive lantern holder, but only artisans licensed by the Ministry of Mining were qualified to build large-size lantern holders. When there was an accident concerning a large-size lantern holder, both the artisans who built it and the officials who granted the permission would be implicated in it.

Unlike other things, large-size festive lantern holders were obtrusive and always in the limelight. If anything went wrong with them, nobody would be able to cover it up. On top of this, status-conscious business owners in Chang’an, heedless of the high expenses, were rather keen on having lantern competitions. Over the years, the sizes of festive lantern holders they built had been getting larger and larger, and the designs and styles had also been getting increasingly diverse, which had repeatedly doubled the risk of accidents. Zhang Luo, in his nervousness, had specially dispatched a dozen petty officials to patrol the streets lest anything go awry.

This was not the only matter that had been making him feel under pressure.

Apart from commoners, the imperial family would also prepare festive lanterns, and they must be presentable enough, or in other words, extravagant enough. Under no circumstances should they be overshadowed by lanterns of commoners. Only in this way would the imperial dignity be embodied.

The procurement of materials and the making of the festive lanterns of the imperial family had been put in the charge of specially-assigned personnel, but Zhang Luo was responsible for the daily maintenance and miscellaneous chores, such as replacing candles and refueling. In other words, though staff members of the Ministry of Mining had had no part in the making of these festive lanterns, they would be held responsible if any accidents happened. Unfair as Zhang Luo felt this was, he didn’t dare to complain. All he could do was keep his eyes peeled and pay extra attention.

He didn’t know whose idea it was, but on this year’s Lantern Festival, a giant lantern pavilion over fifty meters high had been constructed on the square in front of the Xingqing Palace. Indeed, it looked magnificent, but what the emperor was unaware of was that a great many people had to be assigned to maintain it. Leaving aside all other troublesome matters, a large team of people had to climb on to the lantern pavilion in advance and stand by to make sure that all lanterns on such a gigantic lantern pavilion were lit at the same time when the fourth night-watch, the time for “Ba-lantern”, arrived!

All matters concerning the lighting of lanterns on the giant lantern pavilion, from the allocation of required materials to the selection of lantern operators, were in the sole charge of Zhang Luo. This was a thankless task. If anything went awry, the leader and those councilors of the Ministry of Mining would shift responsibility onto others. Inferior curators who were relatively better at finessing things — Feng Dalun, for instance — had made excuses and evaded being assigned this task. As a result, eventually, Zhang Luo, who was not fortunate enough to have any powerful backers, had been given this arduous but fruitless assignment.