Chapter 19: There Is Only One Lord Chancellor in Great Chen… Part 1

Jin Hong had been wasting away in the capital for half a month.

Every morning, he stood like an iron pillar at the gates of the Ministry of Revenue. His faded old military robe had been washed until it was nearly white, and the captain’s medallion at his waist was buffed bright from constant handling.

A man who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood was currently being toyed with like a dog.

“Captain Jin, haven’t you given up yet?”

The gate clerk weighed a heavy string of copper coins in his hand, his face twisted with disdain. “You think this pittance is enough to see the Minister?”

Jin Hong’s fists creaked as he clenched them. His tiger-like eyes bulged with rage. If they were at the frontier, he could have shattered this bastard’s jaw with a single blow.

But this was the capital, not the border.

“Soldier, don’t waste your energy,” Supervisor Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue said as he strolled out of the yamen. “The treasury released the pension funds for last year long ago. Your Northern Frontier Army probably embezzled it yourselves, and now you’ve come to cause a scene at our Ministry?”

“Bullshit!”

Jin Hong’s eyes glared wide, looking like a literal tiger descending a mountain. “My brothers are honorable men! Not a single copper was touched!”

The clerk recoiled, startled, before sneering in an affected tone. “Aren’t you martial types all the same? Too stupid to study, so you can only sell your lives as soldiers… and then you even skim off the money meant for the dead.”

Supervisor Zhang used his pinky to pick at his ear. “Why are you shouting? This is the entrance to the Ministry of Revenue. Don’t go acting like a common convict-soldier here!”

Jin Hong took a deep breath, forcing his fury down. He gritted his teeth and said, “Sir, the men’s pension funds cannot be delayed any longer. They froze to death guarding the city walls last winter. Their widows and orphans are waiting for this money to survive the winter…”

“Oh, look at him crying for sympathy,” the clerk interrupted with a mocking laugh. “Don’t you soldiers always say something about being ‘wrapped in horsehide’? If they’re dead, they’re dead. Why so much whining?”

Supervisor Zhang said impatiently, “That’s enough. Go back. If you cause any more trouble, I’ll have the City Guard clear you out.”

The veins in Jin Hong’s eyes were bloodshot and terrifying.

Last winter, three hundred soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army had defended the city walls in the freezing snow. Their frozen corpses had been stacked to form a human wall, their hands still gripping their blades even in death.

The surviving brothers had pooled their travel expenses to send him to the capital to claim the blood money they were owed. It wasn’t for the living—it was a lifeline for those widows and orphans.

He reached his limit. He lunged forward and grabbed Supervisor Zhang by the collar, hoisting him into the air like a small chick.

“How… how dare you!” Zhang’s face turned a purplish-red, his legs kicking wildly in the air. “Do you dare assault an official of the court?!”

The clerk added fuel to the fire, screaming at the top of his lungs, “He’s revolting! Someone, help! A soldier is beating a court official!”

Jin Hong laughed from sheer rage, throwing all caution to the wind. “I’m hitting you specifically! Today, you’ll give me those pensions whether you want to or not. If you don’t—”

He tightened his grip, causing Zhang’s eyes to roll back. “I’ll snap your neck!”

The commotion inside the yamen brought the other officials running. Seven or eight bailiffs rushed out with heavy wooden staves, but when they saw the mountain-like Jin Hong holding Supervisor Zhang with one hand, none of them dared to step forward.

More and more officials emerged, standing on the steps and pointing fingers.

“Quick… pull this madman off…”

Zhang squeezed the words out through the gaps in his teeth. His swollen, purple face was filled with shame. Being held up like a trophy by a mere soldier in front of all his colleagues was the ultimate humiliation.

Finally, five or six bailiffs worked up the courage to pounce, some grabbing Jin Hong’s waist while others pulled at his arms.

But Jin Hong was like a bronze pillar rooted into the earth. No matter how much strength they exerted, he didn’t budge an inch.

One bailiff grew desperate and swung his staff with all his might at the back of Jin Hong’s knee.

With a sharp crack, the wooden staff actually snapped in two!

“Get off me!”

Jin Hong roared. His muscles bulged as he violently threw the bailiffs off. There was a loud rip of fabric.

Supervisor Zhang’s official robes were torn wide open, exposing half his shoulder. His white silk undershirt fluttered in the wind, making him look like a plucked chicken.

The crowd of onlookers erupted in laughter. Shamed and furious, Zhang pointed at Jin Hong and screamed, “Beat him!! Beat this low-born wretch until he begs for mercy!!”

The bailiffs swarmed him, their clubs raining down like hail.

The men striking him were stunned. The man had taken over twenty blows, yet his back felt harder than an iron plate!

“You weaklings haven’t eaten?”

Jin Hong spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and managed a wide, savage grin. “The girls back in Bingzhou punch harder than you!”

This completely stripped Zhang of any remaining face. His expression became monstrous as he lunged forward, grabbing Jin Hong’s hair. “Kneel and confess your sins!!”

The staves began to target Jin Hong’s knees relentlessly. Blood wound its way down his trouser legs, spreading into a dark red stain on the bluestone pavement.

The surrounding crowd gasped.

Zhang’s arrogance flared. He pressed down on Jin Hong’s head with all his might, trying to shove him into the dirt like a dying dog.

Jin Hong’s throat worked, his eyes blood-red. His bones trembled, his wounds tore open, and his knees were just about to buckle—

At that critical moment, the booming thrum of a gong exploded like thunder, making everyone’s ears ring.