ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 49 – Because My Last Name Is Bai
As far as Master Cha was concerned, Shen Leng leaving for half a year was an extremely unbearable thing. However, after their trip to Changan city, Master Cha seemed to have become a lot more mature. That was because she understood that if she were to impede Shen Leng, it would put him in greater danger.

Mr. Shen and her stood by the river bank as they saw the Navy’s battleships start to gradually set out on their journey. Her eyes were slightly red. She lifted her hand and wiped her tears away. “The wind is very strong.”

Mr. Shen nodded. “Yeah, it’s very strong.”

However, there was no wind.

“Over the next six months, I don’t want to deliver vegetables to the Navy’s camp.”

“Then don’t.”

Mr. Shen patted Master Cha on the shoulder. “Head back first. It’s only half a year. Didn’t you tell me you’ve always wanted an actual sword? I will get Uncle Chen to be in charge of delivering the vegetables, and hire two helpers. As for you and me, we will make a trip to Mount Ting Tai. I will ask for a sword for you.”

Master Cha replied, “Ask for a sword? From who?”

Mr. Shen replied, “When I was in Yunxiao city, I had a friend. I lived in the city and he lived on Mount Ting Tai. Every month, I would have a sword fight with him. He said that if I ever win him, he will give me his sword…”

“Sir, did you win him?”

“No.”

“So this time you are planning to defeat him?”

“I can’t win him, but I can force him to give it to me.”

Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes. He thought about the arrogant fella. “His name is Chu Jianlian. He is someone who treated his sword like his own brother, family and even companion. In his eyes, there is nothing more important than his sword.”

Master Cha found it hard to comprehend. “Since he values the sword so much, why do you have to forcefully put him on the spot?”

“He will give it to you.”

Mr. Shen turned around. “Precisely because he values the sword too highly, he will not let it go to waste, without an owner.”

“Chu Jianlian?”

Master Cha repeated the name over and over again, but realized that it was the first time Mr. Shen mentioned him.

The two of them left the river bank and went back to their small courtyard. Mr. Shen passed sufficient money to Uncle Chen and hired two helpers for him to accompany him to deliver vegetables every morning. He paid pretty well, hence it was not difficult for him to hire people.

Uncle Chen asked when they would be back, and Mr. Shen told him that they would be back in three months, or half a year at most.

Yunxiao city was not a very big city. When the former emperor, Li Chengyuan, ascended the throne, he sent his biological younger brother, Li Chengtang, who posed the biggest threat to him, to Yunxiao city. That was because it was secluded enough, and it was far away from the hustle and bustle.

Yun Xiao city was located in the southwest of Fusui division of Great Ning. It was a mountain city that was extremely removed from the external world. If one were to walk three full days and nights, they might not be able to find a village. It was a paradise for wolves, tigers and panthers.

However, the second biggest city was located in Fusui division too. It was approximately 466 miles away from Yunxiao city, a city named Yin Ye. It was the capital of Great Chu of the former dynasty. Great Chu lasted for over seven hundred years – its capital became Great Ning’s division prefecture.

The previous dynasty had its glory days too. Even though they were not comparable to Great Ning’s, it was a huge colossus that made empires all around pledge allegiance to them.

In truth, Master Cha knew that the reason why Mr. Shen brought her to Mount Tai Ting was because he was afraid that she would miss Leng too much. Since Leng was going to be gone for half a year, Mr. Shen decided to bring her there to relieve her boredom.

The morning sun shone onto the river, as the battleships cruised along it. Shen Leng stood on the deck and looked at the scenery. He seemed to have seen Master Cha in the ripples of the river.

Chen Ran walked over and stood next to him. He leaned against the ship and took a deep breath. “Leng, is the sea vast?”

“I heard it is very vast. It seems endless, as far as the eye can see.”

“Oh, it’s water all around.”

Shen Leng narrowed his eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“My father has never seen the sea before.”

“In that case, in the future, let’s bring Uncle Chen there.”

Chen Ran was overwhelmed with emotions. “Someone said before that there are three places we have to go before we die to broaden our mind. The first one is the sea, the second one is the desert, and the third one is the prairie.”

Shen Leng looked at Chen Ran’s chest. “You don’t have to look at those three places. Your chest is rather wide too (Note: broadening one’s mind in chinese can be literally translated to widening one’s chest).”

Chen Ran was rather distressed. His chest was indeed rather big. Even if he were to go through higher intensity training, the two hills on his chest would still be there. It made him less masculine.

Li Tuming walked over to Chen Ran and stood next to him. He looked at the river and said, “No wonder poets talked about how the flowers by the riverside looked redder than fire under the sunrise. It’s so beautiful.”

Chen Ran said, “Sunrise…”

Li Tuming stared blankly for a moment. He looked disdainfully at Chen Ran. “Filthy.”

Chen Ran said earnestly, “ Actually, everyone has misunderstood its meaning. It should be referring to boys and girls’ first awakening of love and become each other’s sunshine. It’s their first time after all, the scene should be like that…sunrise, riverside flowers, red fire. Don’t you think this is what it means?”

Shen Leng kicked him in the butt. “I will tell Uncle Chen about this.”

 

Chen Ran replied, “My father will not get it.”

Shen Leng retorted, “Still more successful than you.”

At this moment, a soldier yelled out loud, “The military officer is here!”

Shen Leng and his men stood respectfully. The military officer, Wang Gendong, walked over. He coughed a few times to dispel the awkwardness in the air. After all, he had previously deducted the rations of Shen Leng and his squad and even slapped Chen Ran. He initially thought that Shen Leng would look for him to argue over this matter, but Shen Leng did not do anything about it.

“What are you talking about?”

Wang Gendong casually looked for something to talk about.

Li Tuming was somewhat anxious. He subconsciously answered, “The sun rising above the horizon!”

“Huh?”

Wang Gendong was dumbfounded. He thought that he had misheard him. More often than not, soldiers were rough men who would make vulgar jokes. However, he had never seen Shen Leng and his men behave that way before.

“He got scared, hence his speech is incoherent.”

Chen Ran quickly came to Li Tuming’s rescue. “Oh we were just having a mindless casual conversation. Is anything the matter, military officer?”

Wang Gendong looked at Shen Leng. “I want to have a word with you.”

Shen Leng grunted and followed Wang Gendong, as they walked towards the end of the ship. Wang Gendong found it hard to bring the matter up. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke, “Last time, I deducted your rations…”

 

Shen Leng shook his head. “It was my mistake.”

Wang Gendong stopped in his tracks. He had previously heard from other people that Shen Leng was an arrogant and obstinate fella. He did not expect him to behave in this manner.

“That is already in the past. There is another reason why I wanted to talk to you, but it’s not very important…I just wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

Shen Leng was dumbstruck. “Military officer, you came to our rescue all alone and yet we haven’t thanked you.”

Wang Gendong shook his head. “Do you know why the general promoted me to become a military officer? It’s because I saved all of you. In the entire ship, I was the only person who went. The general said that it was something a soldier of Great Ning should do – not abandoning their comrades. Of course, there’s another reason. I’m sure you know that too.”

Shen Leng grunted. “I think I can guess it…it’s because my feud with Mu Xiaofeng had implicated you.”

Wang Gendong said, “Truth to be told, Mu Xiaofeng had came to me before. He tried to enlist my help to get rid of you, but I rejected him…when you fought against the water bandits with your squad, I disobeyed his orders and helped you. By promoting me, the general was trying to tell me that I should be honest and righteous and not get led astray by other people.”

 

His words were somewhat in a mess, just like Wang Gendong’s current state of mine.

He realized that subconsciously, he was being implicated into this matter. Originally, it had absolutely nothing to do with him, but he was suddenly dragged into it. This made him feel uneasy. Even if he got promoted to become a military officer, he was still uneasy.

“You should be careful. Not long ago, Mu Xiaofeng made a trip to Garrison B.”

 

After Wang Gendong finished his words, he left. His last sentence was what he wanted to say to Shen Leng the most.

The six battleships cruised along Nanping River and entered the Grand Canal, as they headed south. They should be safe and sound over the next hundreds of miles. The Grand Canal was cut by Great Chu of the previous dynasty with all their might and power. Everyone said that it was a waste of manpower and resources. However, all the current emperor had to say about it was that…it benefited the future generations greatly.

Next to the Grand Canal, there was a mountain named Mount Kui Meng. The river course was uninterrupted from north to south. The biggest group of water bandits on the Grand Canal hid within Mount Kui Meng. The waterways were complicated. There were no local Navy forces, hence, the water bandits were able to become unbridled. They had constructed their own camp there, and they had at least 500 to 600 members.

Even so, the water bandits did not dare to plunder in broad daylight. Great Ning’s troops everywhere could easily defeat them. As long as they were on land, they did not dare to act unbridledly.

In each of the nineteen divisions in Great Ning, there were troops stationed there to defend them. However, it was impossible for the soldiers to manage all nineteen cantons in each division. Hence, in every canton and even county, there were side soldiers. These soldiers were trained by the local government office. They were different from combat soldiers. Nonetheless, their weapons and armor were stronger than that of the Navy’s.

This group of water bandits called themselves Lian Yunzhai. The first-in-command was He Lian. The second-in-command was Bai Zhanyun. That was how Lian Yunzhai got their name.

At this moment, in the main hall of the camp, first-in-command He Lian was rather guarded against a few guests. He also looked cautiously at the box of silver right before him. The guests were very meticulous – they did not give him official silver ingots, but silver pieces. In that way, there was no way for the government to track them down.

However, he did not dare to agree to what his guest suggested. Even though the box of silver was extremely tempting.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Nie.”

He Lian laughed and stood up. “Money is truly the hardest thing to resist in this world. It is indeed very difficult for me to come to this decision. But after thinking about it, I feel that the safety of my hundreds of brothers and subordinates is my utmost priority. You want us to kill Nanping River’s Navy’s battalion commander. Even if we did not fail the mission and succeed in killing him, we will not be able to withstand the Navy’s revenge. Do you know why Lian Yunzhai has always been so stable? It’s because I have a clear view of things. I will never venture into Nanping River.”

Nie Yuan nodded. “I guessed as much that you will act this way. Indeed, I have put you on the spot. After all, the people I want you to kill are not ordinary people. Even though the battalion commander is merely a Seventh pin official, it implicated the dignity of the Navy. It’s impossible for them not to take revenge. Hence, I prepared a way out for the great general and brothers. Think about it – even if Nanping River’s Navy will not attack you right now, do you think they won’t do it in the future?”

Nie Yuan smiled. “I’m afraid that you might survive today, but you might not survive tomorrow. Sooner or later, the Navy will come for you. I can guarantee you…after you’ve killed Shen Leng, all the members of Lian Yunzhai would be accepted into Garrison B. Or became a soldier in other places. You will transform from bandits to military soldiers just like that. After the mission is completed, we will reward you with more silver. Everyone will not have to be a water bandit, and not worry about the finances for the rest of their lives. Isn’t it good?”

He Lian could not help but ridicule, “You talk big, and it sounds really good. However, I’m afraid that after it’s completed, the first thing you’ll do is to take out Lian Yunzhai.”

Nie Yuan asked, “Has the first-in-command decided not to accept my good will?”

He Lian gestured. “Send the guests off.”

Nie Yuan suddenly asked, “If Lian Yunzhai does not have their first-in-command, will Lian Yunzhai still be Lian Yunzhai?”

He Lian’s eyebrows twitched. “Are you not leaving?”

Nie Yuan suddenly took a step forward. As He Lian did not respond, he drew out his peidao. He was extremely swift. He pierced his sword into He Lian’s chest. Thereafter, Nie Yuan hit the shaft of the sword hard. It pierced through his body and sent it flying upon impact.

Behind He Lian, the second-in-command, Bai Zhanyun grabbed the sword and slashed across He Lian’s legs. He Lian clutched his chest and fell to the ground, kneeling. He turned around and looked at Bai Zhanyun. With his last ounce of strength, he asked, “Why?”

Bai Zhanyun looked rather guilty. He knelt down, holding He Lian’s body and whispered into his ear. “Because my last name is Bai.”