ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 50 – You Simply Need to Cooperate
Shen Leng arranged his belongings on the ship. Suddenly, he realized that amidst his things, there was something that did not belong in there…that piece of gold ingot.

One day before the Navy left for the south, Shen Leng specially asked for a day off so that he could make a trip home. He spent a long time talking to Master Cha and Mr. Shen. On the second day, he rushed back to the Navy’s camp and reported his attendance. At night, Master Cha had already gotten ready some things for him, such as basic necessities, and clean laundry. Master Cha must have placed the gold ingot into his belongings at that time.

Shen Leng thought about before dismissing it. When he gave the gold ingot to Master Cha, she did not seem to be very elated. Thereafter, when he was talking to little fatty Chen Ran, Chen Ran reprimanded him, calling him an idiot. He chastised him saying that nobody would give a girl a gift like he did – giving her money to get whatever she wanted. It was too insincere and it lacked sentiment.

He thought about how the blacksmith in the southern border specialized in forging gold and silver jewelry. And hence, he wanted to use the gold ingot to buy a golden hairpin for Master Cha, and some well-known local white tea leaves for Mr. Shen on his way back, when they passed by Hu Jian.

Chen Ran leaned against the ship and looked at Shen Leng, who was in a daze. “What are you thinking about?”

Shen Leng smiled. “I’m just thinking about bringing some gifts to Mr. Shen and Master Cha when we’re back. And Uncle Chen too.”

Chen Ran hit himself in the head. “If you didn’t mention it, I would have forgotten. I need to buy some things for my father. Together with your gift, I’m sure my father will be very happy.”

Shen Leng grunted. Before he could say anything, he heard someone calling out to him. Shen Leng got out of the cabin and noticed that military officer Wang Gendong and the other battalion commanders were gathered together.

“Now everyone is here.”

Wang Gendong nodded his head slightly at Shen Leng. “Earlier on, General Cen sent someone to notify me to discuss some official business. Let me pass on his message to everyone. The general said that in order to guarantee the safety of the ships, we will split the fleet into two. One of the ships will be picked to serve as the vanguard, to open up a path in front and the remaining ships will maintain a distance of nine miles away from the vanguard.”

Shen Leng suddenly thought of something and could not help but curl his lips. “I’m guessing our ship will serve as the vanguard.”

Wang Gendong was slightly dumbfounded. “How did you know that?”

Shen Leng shrugged. “It was a wild guess.”

Wang Gendong continued, “In order to be fair, the general got the military officers to draw lots. There was one red lot, and the rest were black. The ship of the military officer who drew the red lot will be the one serving as the vanguard.”

Shen Leng muttered to himself, “So military officer drew the first one, and picked the red lot?”

Wang Gendong started to suspect if Shen Leng was at the venue earlier. “Yes, you guessed it again?”

Shen Leng’s heart sighed. He thought to himself: It might seem very coincidental, but it is not coincidental at all. I’m guessing there were only red lots in the box. All they had to do was to make sure that Wang Gendong was the first one to draw the lot, and after he drew the red one, naturally, the rest of them did not have to do it. Nobody would then realize that there were no black lots in the box at all in the first place.

If that is the case, is the leading general, General Cen, untrustworthy?

Shen Leng thought about how Zhuang Yong specially went to look for him in the middle of the night ten days prior to setting out and made him guarantee that their mission to get hold of the Qiuli Empire’s battleships this time would be a success. At that time, Shen Leng wondered – how many people exactly did Zhuang Yong not trust in the Navy?

However, the people who were being sent to the south were handpicked by Zhuang Yong himself. The leading general, General Cen, was a Fifth pin Yongyi General. He was Zhuang Yong’s subordinate. Class B Fifth pin General Bai Xiu had always been at Zhuang Yong’s beck and call ever since the Navy got founded. Logically speaking, those two people should be trustworthy.

As for the other people, they did not have the power or authority to influence Cen Zheng.

Hence, either Cen Zheng or Bai Xiu was untrustworthy.

Shen Leng looked apologetically at Wang Donggen. “Since it’s already been decided, we don’t have any other option. However, I feel that you must have a more appropriate arrangement.”

Wang Gendong had been serving in the military for several years – it was impossible for him not to be able to see through Shen Leng’s abnormal behavior. Hence, he gestured to the other people and instructed, ‘Go make the necessary preparations. The duties of the vanguard are very important. We should not hold things up. Shen Leng, stay behind.”

The rest of the battalion commanders cupped their fists and bowed before leaving.

After everyone had left, Wang Gendon asked Shen Leng. “Did you sense something amiss?”

Shen Leng replied, “I had implicated everyone. There is no such thing as a coincidence. They got you to go over to draw lots, and you ended up drawing the red one. It is obvious that Mu Xiaofeng does not have the intention to let me go.”

Wang Gendong had roughly guessed that as well. He was extremely unhappy – not towards Shen Leng, but Mu Xiaofeng…that hedonistic son, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, had absolutely no regard for the safety of Great Ning Navy’s officers and soldiers. Also, he did not care about the laws of the country or even the military rules. The Navy’s mission in the southern coastal border region was such a significant thing, which concerned the future of the Navy, and yet Mu Xiaofeng dared to create trouble during such an important mission.

“But it’s not like there is no way out.”

Shen Leng continued, “There is a Fei Yu battleship on each side of the Xiong Niu battleship. Give the two Fei Yu battleships to me, my battalion will lead the way and open up a route for the Xiong Niu. If there is really a problem, don’t save me. Just make sure that nothing happens to the Xiong Niu battleship.”

“Not a chance!”

Wang Gendong’s eyebrows twitched. “In Great Ning, be it the Navy or the combat military soldiers, nobody has ever abandoned their comrades. If I cannot even protect my subordinates, I will not be qualified to be a military officer.”

“But our opponent is very strong…”

Shen Leng leaned against the side of the ship and continued, “As long as I’m not dead, Mu Xiaofeng is never going to give up. There is no need to implicate the entire regiment just because of me.”

Wang Gendong replied, “Don’t ever say things like that again. I don’t like it.”

Shen Leng grunted. “How about this, the same plan as before – my men shall be split into two and take each Fei Yu to open up a route at the front. If there are any problems, the rest of the men in the Xiong Niu will provide assistance. I’m guessing Mu Xiaofeng probably doesn’t have any other abilities. He’s probably going to continue bribing the water bandits in the Grand Canal to attack me. However, the strongest group of water bandits here is merely Lian Yunzhai. They have only a few hundred men at best. I bet no matter what they will not have the guts to directly attack our fleet. The only thing we can do is for me to take them out on my own.”

Shen Leng added, “I’m also assuming that one of Mu Xiaofeng’s experts will be hidden amongst them as well. We don’t have to be worried about the battle – you just have to make sure the Xiong Niu follows behind closely. If something happens, come to our assistance, or retreat rapidly and converge with the rest of the fleet. We cannot put the lives of our brothers in danger.”

Wang Gendong nodded. “That’s not all you thought of, right?”

Shen Leng laughed, “Of course not. General, do you have the map?”

Wang Gendong nodded. “Originally, at my rank, it’s impossible for me to get the map. However, since we’re serving as the vanguard, I asked General Cen for one. I have to return it afterwards.”

Shen Leng reached out his hand. “Let me take a look.”

Wang Gendong took out the map before opening it up and placing it on the deck. Shen Leng squatted and scrutinized it. Thereafter, he placed his finger on one of the points and said, “This is the best area to launch an ambush on us…”

“This is…”

Wang Gendong was taken aback. “How can it be? That is one of the official replenishment docks that appear every 93 miles along the Grand Canal. Official and merchant ships that pass by those docks will stop by to replenish their supplies. There are at least 300 elite local soldiers guarding each dock. The water bandits must have a lot of guts to do violence at those docks.”

“Military officer, take a look over here. On both sides of the dock, there are branches of waterways. It’s convenient to transport the supplies to the dock. It’s easy for the water bandits’ ships to get to the dock. To the best of my knowledge, even though they claim to have three hundred elite local soldiers guarding the docks, in reality, they work in shifts and take turns to rest. Hence, there are only approximately 150 soldiers at any given moment.”

Shen Leng continued, “If the water bandits hid themselves amongst the merchant ships and entered the dock, it will be hard for the soldiers to screen them. All they have to do is sneak a few dozens of people in. At night, all they have to do is to coordinate with the people on the outside and it won’t be difficult for them to take over the dock. Our ship is serving as the vanguard, so we will be the first to get to the dock to replenish our supplies. Logically speaking, we do not need to take any precautions at the official dock…”

After hearing what he said, Wang Gendong looked extremely vexed. “If what you said is true, wouldn’t we be done for once we arrive at the dock?”

“No!”

Shen Leng replied earnestly, “The water bandits are very flexible and agile in terms of operating their ships, and they are all good swimmers. Hence, if we were to battle it out with them on the Grand Canal, our ships are in fact too big and it will be extremely inconvenient for us. If the other ships do not provide us with assistance, we would be taken down easily by the water bandits’ small ships – akin to a swarm of ants biting a tiger to death. But as long as we are on land, who would the Great Ning troops be afraid of?”

Wang Gendong asked, “You already have an idea?”

Shen Leng was slightly embarrassed and laughed. “I do have one, but it’s slightly immature.”

Wang Gendong sighed and said, “You’re laughing like an old fox. Not immature enough?”

Shen Leng replied, “Military officer, if you trust me, let me tell you my plan. If you don’t trust me…”

Wang Gendong frowned. “Stop bullshitting and tell me!”

Shen Leng answered, “Ok…”

At the same time, within Lian Yunzhai.

Nie Yuan cupped his fist and said, “Now I can congratulate you, first-in-command Bai.”

The original second-in-command of Lian Yunzhai, Bai Zhanyun looked unhappy. “You handle things hastily without careful consideration. Everything that I have painstakingly built up over the years in the underworld will be destroyed by you.”

“It’s not worth mentioning.”

Nie Yun said plainly, “Roping in Mu Xiaofeng is so much more effective than you using your underworld connections. This is Great Ning and not one of those small countries. Nobody can mobilize ten thousand people within the underworld. Even if it could be done, those people would be easily crushed by Great Ning’s combat soldiers, leaving not a single trace behind.”

“Besides, the people you roped in from Lu Lin are even less useful. A decent triad needs to be acknowledged by the Great Ning imperial court. Their lifeline is in the hands of the imperial court. Who would dare to be impudent? The people of Lu Lin engage in dirty dealings. Even the other members of the family find it beneath their dignity to employ their services. Don’t tell me you’ve never thought of this before…if you are that useful, why would the clan send you the underworld and go through challenging experiences…?”

Bai Zhan Yun stood up abruptly. “Nie Yuan, you’re an outsider. You are not qualified to criticize affairs of the Bai clan and people.”

Nie Yuan sneered. “Well, abilities still play a huge part. My last name is not Bai, but I am more important than you within the Bai family, believe it or not. Don’t be so heated up, I am giving you a great opportunity. If this matter is done well, do you think the general will forget to reward you? Allowing you to leave the underworld and pursue an official career – do you think it’s a gain or a loss? As for the hundreds of people within Lian Yunzhai, if they die, so be it. It’s not worth feeling sad over.”

Bai Zhanyun’s facial expressions kept fluctuating. Ultimately, he did not say anything and slammed himself down onto the chair.

Nie Yuan scoffed disdainfully. “That’s right. We will not cross paths with each other much, why be so inflexible and stubborn? General clearly stated that there must be absolutely no room for error. If anything were to happen, the first to die will be you. Then it’ll be me…I will be in charge of this entire mission from start to end. You just have to cooperate with me.”

Bai Zhanyun was silent for a long while before he said with a cold look on his face. “In that case, Mr. Nie, please tell us what to do.”

“Official replenishment dock.”

Nie Yuan’s lips curled. “Nobody will expect us to strike at the dock.”

Bai Zhanyun was greatly taken aback. He yelled with all his might to the point his voice was hoarse, “Are you freaking crazy!”

Nie Yuan looked at him. A murderous look flashed across his eyes. “In the future, if I hear you speak to me this impolitely again, believe it or not, not only will I destroy your entire future, but also your entire clan. I don’t want to repeat myself again. This matter, I will be in charge. You will cooperate with me.”

Bai Zhanyun clenched his fist harder and harder for a long, long time before he gradually released it.

“Continue talking.”