ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 45 – Cheers
After Shen Leng returned to the barracks, he sat down and pondered. Zhuang Yong’s attitude was clearly suspicious. Indeed, Mr. Shen and Zhuang Yong shared a good rapport. However, their relationship was not so good to the extent that he would choose to ruin his relations with Mu Xiaofeng over it.

For him to do his utmost to support him, it was clearly not simply because of personal relations.

Shen Leng shook his head and smiled bitterly. How troublesome…

As for the internal conflict within the Navy itself, on the surface it seemed as though Zhuang Yong was suppressing Mu Xiaofeng, however…on a larger scale, it was a battle between His Majesty and the Great Scholar and the officials under him. That was also to say that every emperor of Great Ning was powerful enough. Otherwise, the resistance of the civil officials would be deafening every single time there was an external threat.

It’s a good thing.

Shen Leng consoled himself. He was a Class A Seventh pin official now.

Come to think of it, he was only a small, small military official who was leading only a hundred odd men. Nonetheless, he was still a registered official according to the MInistry of Appointments. His salary came from Great Ning itself, and had increased multifold.

However, things were not easy to deal with…Zhuang Yong could not bare to expel Mu Xiaofeng’s battalion from the Navy, and yet he was worried that Mu Xiaofeng would continue to create trouble. Those three hundred odd soldiers were extremely tough and formidable, like murderous dictators on the battlefield. It would be troublesome to leave them in the hands of Mu Xiaofeng.

Hence, Zhuang Yong thought of a way – he decided to split the battalion up; a group of them was given to Shen Leng, because he knew that Shen Leng was the last person who would team up with Mu Xiaofeng, so he could rest assured leaving them in Shen Leng’s hands. And furthermore, Shen Leng would be worried that these people would still be under Mu Xiaofeng’s control. Hence, he would do his utmost to train them. It was all part of his plan…

“Old fox.”

Shen Leng muttered to himself and laid on his bed. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling…he did not have time to space out. He was thinking about Master Cha.

Not long after Shen Leng had left, the military officer Li Yong was brought into Zhuang Yong’s tent by two soldiers. Zhuang Yong looked at Li Yong, whose arms were tied behind his back and the rope was looped around his neck, and sighed. He gestured for his men to leave.

Zhuang Yong went over and personally undid the ropes around Li Yong’s body. He patted him on the shoulder. “You were the soldier I personally selected back then. At that time, you were a battalion commander of the imperial guards in the capital. I fought two battles with you before. I have always remembered how you looked when you took off your armor and killed your opponents. Thereafter, I told His Majesty that you have the makings of a brave general.”

Li Yong was immediately taken aback.

Zhuang Yong paced about as he spoke, “Do you know why I wanted to bring you with me into the Navy? It’s because I felt that I owe you. At that time, we were tasked with stalling the main troops of the enemy to buy enough time for our main forces to cut off their return route. We had less men compared to our enemy. The enemy attacked us twelve times, and out of these twelve times, you led the troops to counter attack five times in total. I remember it very clearly.”

Li Yong’s eyes were red. His nose started aching.

Zhuang Yong walked back to his table and sat down. “However, simply because Great General Pei Tingshan’s relative is in the military, he forcefully took credit for most of your military merits. Initially when Pei Tingshan had a huge achievement, His Majesty was indeed prejudiced towards him. Hence, I could not protect what was yours. If I managed to do it, you would have become a Class A Fifth pin official at the very least.”

“General!”

Li Yong’s tears could not help but roll down his cheeks. “I’ve never hated you, general. I know that you have always trusted me completely and taken care of me in every possible way.”

Zhuang Yong lamented, “Right now, I still trust you completely…When His Majesty got me to set up the Navy, the first person I wanted to bring with me was you. I wanted to repay you all that I owe to you. In the Navy, whenever you accumulated any military merits, I would promote you immediately. Thereafter, Mu Xiaofeng came along. He specifically wanted you to be his subordinate because he knew that you were good at leading the troops, and that you knew how to fight battles. On the other hand, what could he do?”

“When he ambushed the water bandits, weren’t you the one who gave him pointers? He took credit for it and now he is a Class B Fourth pin official…I thought that you hate people like that the most. I can’t believe that you became someone like that too.”

Li Yong suddenly lifted his head. “General, that’s because I have thoroughly understood! Back then on the battlefield, he took credit for what I had done. That was because he had the support of Great General Pei Tingshan! Is this fair? But what could I have done? After that, I understood. If you want to make a name for yourself, you can’t fight your way up. You need to have the support of a big figure.”

“General, you are fair and just. I know that if I follow you, sooner or later, I will make a name for myself. However, I am already in my forties. How many more years can I keep fighting on the battlefield? Mu Xiaofeng’s father is the Great Scholar. He is way above everyone else! General, this is a choice I have made for myself. Regardless of how you want to deal with me, I have no complaints. All I can blame is the life that fate has given me.”

“What a pity.”

Zhuang Yong shook his head. “If nothing bad happens, in the future, after Mu Xiaofeng leaves, I wanted to make you my second-in-command.”

Li Yong was taken back. His voice started to become hoarse. “General…”

He could not continue the rest of his sentence.

Zhuang Yong was silent for a while before saying, “However, I know that there’s no turning back for the both of us. Even if I pretend nothing happened and allowed you to go back to being a military officer, your loyalty is not with me. When a person makes his choice, there’s no way he can change it.”

Li Yong gritted his teeth without saying anything. This was because he knew what was going to happen.

“General, what do you plan to do?”

Li Yong lifted his chin slightly. He had a prideful look on his face that others could not fathom. “Based solely on my transgressions today, it is not enough to sentence me to death.”

Zhuang Yong remained silent.

All of a sudden, Li Yong started laughing out loud, rocking back and forth. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I know that you have always treated me well, and that you always tell me that you owe me. But in actual fact, I feel that I owe you too. Ever since I decided to help Mu Xiaofeng, I have been feeling miserable. I’ve let you down. Hence, today, how can I put you on the spot? Let me give you a justification…”

Suddenly, with a big stride forward, he took down Zhuang Yong’s peidao that was hanging on the rack. He unsheathed the sword and pointed it at Zhuang Yong, “General, I will repay your great kindness in the next life!”

Li Yong ran to the entrance of the tent and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Zhuang Yong, die!”

His voice erupted throughout the entire camp. The soldier outside the tent immediately rushed over. Li Yong charged out of the tent and kicked him to the ground. Thereafter, he bellowed towards the sky, “The ways of the world is unfair! I want to have a clean slate by killing!”

There was no such thing as attaining a clean slate by killing – clearly, only through death, one could start over with a clean slate. However, was he able to have a clean state?

The troops started to aim their repeating crossbows and fired. When Zhuang Yong rushed out of the tent, Li Yong had already collapsed to the ground. There were quite a number of arrows piercing his back.

More and more soldiers ran over. All of them looked on expressionlessly, wondering what happened to the military officer, Li Yong.

A new recruit said in a cold voice, “Since he dared to assassinate the general, he deserved to die!”

He gestured and a few people went over and carried Li Yong’s corpse towards the tent and got Zhuang Yong to ascertain whether he was alive or dead. Zhuang Yong did not bother looking; he gestured to them and said, “Bury him at the back.”

After he said that, Zhuang Yong entered the tent. His rear view looked despondent.

A huge commotion ensued in the camp immediately. The news got out instantly, that the military officer Li Yong tried to assassinate the general in the main tent, and got killed off personally by General Zhuang Yong himself!

 

“Truly a pitiful person. He was rather decent at leading the troops too.”

“Exactly, who knew he would have such a plight? He can only blame himself for bringing the troops out of the camp on his own accord. It’s a very major offense. I guess the general wanted to expel him from the Navy, so he struck out of anger.”

“You people are looking at this too superficially. Don’t tell me you can’t tell that Li Yong is one of Mu Xiaofeng’s pawns? How could General Zhuang Yong forgive him? It’s also his fault for being unable to adapt to circumstances.”

“I see, then he really deserved to die.”

“Just a sacrificial victim. How pitiful.”

Shen Leng stood in the crowd. Hearing what those people were saying made him feel very upset…he had a bitter taste in his mouth. However, he felt that the person who must be feeling the most bitter was that person after all. His reputation was ruined and got cursed at. This decision he made would cause everyone to criticize and blame him from now on.

Shen Leng turned around; he walked as he pondered. Working for someone like Zhuang Yong was worth it.

On the other side, Mu Xiaofeng gritted his teeth as he looked at the few people carrying Li Yong’s corpse, walking farther and farther away. He clenched his fish tightly…

“Zhuang Yong, you are ruthless. It took me so much effort to rope Li Yong in, and you actually used such a despicable method to kill him. In the future, it’s going to be difficult for you to convince the masses.”

He turned around and stormed off. His eyes were filled with hatred and resentment.

The few soldiers carrying Li Yong’s corpse continued to walk to the back; they walked out of the back door and out of the Navy’s camp. Thereafter, they tossed Li Yong’s corpse into the carriage and headed to the wasteland at the back.

The people gathered in the camp started dispersing. They were sighing sorrowfully.

After the carriage left the Navy’s camp, it kept going. After about a mile, it stopped. There was another carriage waiting at the side of the road. The few soldiers carried Li Yong from their carriage and moved him to the other one.

The leader instructed the coachman, “The anesthetic injected into his body will wear off tomorrow morning. When he’s awake, tell him that the general had already made arrangements in Changan city. After he gets back, he should gather his family and leave. The money in the carriage is enough for his family to spend for the rest of their lives. In the future, the general will continue to provide financial assistance to him. And lastly, tell him…if the opportunity arises, the general will bring him back into the military.”

 

The coachman responded and swung the horsewhip. The carriage set out slowly.

In the main tent within the Navy camp, Zhuang Yong slowly walked over to his table. He supported himself against the table and stood there. His face was very pale…he let Li Yong go, but he was not happy at all.

Li Yong was originally a person with a very bright future. He was good at martial arts; ferocious when it came to combat, and was unafraid of death. He was the perfect example of a great soldier, and yet he chose to rely on Mu Xiaofeng. Zhuang Yong was sorrowful.

He felt sorrowful for Li Yong, and also himself.

Because for a very, very long time, he would have a bad name…nobody, apart from a few people, would know that Li Yong did not die. Almost everyone in the Navy would be spreading gossip within the camp.

The curtains were pushed aside from the outside. Shen Leng carried a pot of wine and some food and entered. “I can’t sleep. General, will you accompany me to drink some wine?”

Zhuang Yong turned around. “We are in the military camp, how can we drink as we please…at the very least, you should close the curtains!”

Shen Leng grunted and closed the curtains. He walked over to the table and put down the pot of wine, roasted chicken and a bag of shelled peanuts. “How nice, I have the general to break the rules with me, unrestrained.”

Zhuang Yong glared at him. “You could tell?”

Shen Leng shrugged. “You don’t even have the heart to expel the battalion, how would you have the heart to kill Li Yong?”

Zhuang Yong poured a cup of wine and drank it all in one go. He felt warmth in his heart. Ultimately, there was still someone who understood him.

“Huh?”

He suddenly thought of something. “Where did you get the wine from? You are not allowed to hide any wine within the barracks. And it’s already in the middle of the night, you couldn’t possibly go out to buy any.”

“Oh…”

Shen Leng was somewhat embarrassed and smiled. “I took the wine from your study. Yes, I may have taken it, and even though nobody saw, it’s definitely not considered stolen…after all, I took your wine to accompany you to drink…”

Zhuang Yong placed his hand on his chest. “Can you get any more shameless than this?”

Shen Leng answered, “At least I did not take the food from your study. I took it from the kitchen.”

Zhuang Yong responded, “I might ruin my great reputation.”

Shen Leng replied, “Don’t worry, general. I have already closed the curtains. Cheers?”

He waved the wine cup.

Zhuang Yong responded, “Ahem…alright, cheers.”