The troops spent a day resting and reorganizing by the Grand Canal. The country magistrate and deputy rushed over – how was it possible for them to be unfazed and calm when something this big happened within their jurisdiction? This was the first time that many local soldiers got massacred ever since Great Ning was founded. If His Majesty got wind of the situation, everybody knew how he was going to react.

Shen Leng sat by the river and looked at the people from afar. Their faces were pale as they exchanged conventional greetings with one another. He could not help but shake his head.

“What’s wrong?” asked Chen Ran.

“I’m afraid everyone in Ningwu country will have to be removed from office.”

“So pitiful.”

“Not pitiful.”

Shen Leng shook his head. “Do you think they didn’t know where Lian Yunzhai was? Do you think they didn’t know about the evil doings of the water bandits? They knew everything, except that they felt that eliminating Lian Yunzhai came at too high a cost, they did not bear to lose their local soldiers, but they were afraid that if they lost, they would lose face. This was a trivial matter; it was a bigger deal to protect their official position. Hence, they’d rather pretend they did not see anything. It was a mutual understanding between the county yamen and the water bandits – one tried not to appear in broad daylight, and the other pretended that everything was going well to the best of their abilities.”

Chen Ran did not think that deeply. He extended his arms. “At least we helped them get rid of those evil forces.”

Shen Leng lifted his head abruptly. He saw a black figure flashed past before disappearing on the other side across the Grand Canal, under a tree.

Nie Yuan swiftly entered the forest by the river bank. He leaned against a tree and closed his eyes…Shen Leng, this feud is no longer only between you and Mu Xiaofeng. Next time, you definitely won’t be so lucky.

He leapt forward and very soon, he disappeared within the forest.

Chen Ran followed Shen Leng’s gaze and looked across the Grand Canal, but did not see anything. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Shen Leng shook his head.

Li Tuming cupped the five taels of silver in his hands and ran to Shen Leng. He looked extremely elated. “Battalion commander, look! Silver!”

Chen Ran twitched his mouth. “Look at how small-minded you are.”

Li Tuming sat down. He used his sleeve to carefully polish the silver ingot. “What do you know? This is my first time being rewarded with silver. We still haven’t received our reward from the last time we got rid of the water bandits. Hence, this is officially the first time. If my parents knew about this, I’m sure they would be very happy. I am a qualified soldier too.”

Chen Ran laughed. “If you follow the battalion commander, in the future, you will accumulate a lot of meritorious deeds.”

Li Tuming nodded with all his might. Thereafter, he quickly fell to his knees. “Battalion commander, I would like to formally apologize for deliberately targeting you in the past. I assure you that I am dead set on following you and I will do a good job!”

Shen Leng quickly supported him up. “If my life shortened because of you kneeling before me, I will deduct your credit.”

Li Tuming laughed embarrassingly. “Battalion commander, you are different from those people. Everyone was saying that we are the only battalion that split our merits that fairly. Normally the battalion commander takes more of a credit. However, you take care of us instead. We truly respect you.”

Chen Ran said, “It only took five taels to make you this happy. How are you going to become a marquis in the future?”

Li Tuming shook his head hard. “I dare not think about it. I will be satisfied just by being a good soldier like the battalion commander, and making my parents proud and hold their heads up high in the village. As for being a marquis…it’s too far-fetched.”

Shen Leng said, “Don’t be in a rush to deny yourself. You might succeed in the future.”

Li Tuming chuckled. “That’s also true. If I become a marquis, I will be the most prominent figure in my village.”

Chen Ran responded, “Your village…”

Li Tuming polished the silver ingots till it was clean and sparkly, and passed them to Shen Leng. “Battalion Commander, for you!”

Shen Leng frowned slightly. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Li Tuming replied, “It’s…nothing much. I simply don’t know how to thank you. After much consideration, I decided to give my first reward to you. It is…it is the most valuable gift.”

Shen Leng replied, “When we’re back, bring it home and give them to your parents instead. In the future when I visit your home, treat me to some wine will do.”

Li Tuming became very excited. “Don’t lie to me, ok? You must pay us a visit!”

Shen Leng grunted. “I will definitely pay you a visit.”

At this moment, the bugle horn that called for everyone to assemble sounded. The troops started to assemble and soon after, they finished getting into formation by the river bank. Cen Zheng looked at Bai Xiu and whispered something to him. Thereafter, Bai Xiu walked over to the troops, while Cen Zheng headed straight for a Xiong Niu battleship.

Bai Xiu walked over and stood right in front of the soldiers. He muttered to himself before he said, “Today we showed off our might in this battle. At the same time, it revealed a lot of our flaws. Don’t be too conceited. Remember that they were nothing but a mob. In the future, the sea will be your battlefield. Save for pride and complacency for the day we stick our war flag into areas outside of territorial waters. Move all the supplied onto the ships and return to the ship to take a rest. Without any military orders, you are not allowed to leave the ship. Dismiss!”

“Yes!” answered all the soldiers in unison.

Under the command of the military officers and battalion commanders, they moved all the supplied onto the ships. Very soon, the dock returned to its peaceful state.

When Bai Xiu returned to the ship, he saw Cen Zheng staring blankly in a daze. He walked over and asked him, “General, what are you thinking about?”

“There is something fishy with regards to this incident.”

Cen Zheng turned around and looked at Bai Xiu. “Lian Yunzhai had never been this brazen before. They did not even dare to enter the Grand Canal in broad daylight, why would they suddenly attack the dock? Don’t tell me they don’t know that they will definitely die in doing so? I feel that there is a need to continue investigating this matter. And since this matter has already reached this stage, we need to eliminate it at the roots…what do you think?”

Bai Xiu answered, “You just have to give orders. I will make arrangements.”

Cen Zheng responded, “I want to send people to Lian Yunzhai to take a look. Judging from the number of water bandits that got eliminated, I think we have wiped out the majority of them. However, it’s impossible for them not to have anyone back in their camp to hold the fort down. Before they get hold of the news, send a regiment over to eliminate them entirely, and destroy their camp. Or else it would be utilized by other people with ill intentions.”

Bai Xiu replied, “I will make arrangements. Which regiment do you want to send?”

“We don’t need that many people…allocate two Fei Yu ships to Shen Leng and get him to take his people aboard all four Fei Yu ships to go over and take a look at Lian Yunzhai. They must arrive before dusk and complete the task through the night. Before noon tomorrow, they have to return and join the rest of us.”

“Shen Leng, right?”

Light flashed across Bai Xiu’s eyes as he looked at Cen Zheng. Thereafter, he nodded. “Alright.”

He asked Cen Zheng, ‘General, didn’t you say that you don’t like him?”

Cen Zheng looked calm and as he replied, “Perhaps you have forgotten – a commander in the military must abstain from acting impetuously. I don’t like him, but I cannot deny his strong capability…run along. I want to take a rest for a bit. It was too exhausting dealing with the local officials of Ningwu county.”

Bai Xiu grunted. “I will go now.”

Half an hour later, Shen Leng and his troops had already gathered. They boarded the four Fei Yu ships by the river bank.

Bai Xiu said to Shen Leng smilingly, “Didn’t I say before – the general is a very fair and earnest person. He did not truly want to rebuke you. Instead, he has higher expectations of you compared to the other people. Run along. Take your man there and come back as soon as possible. We still have to rush to the southern border.”

Shen Leng accepted the order and felt his heart tremble when he looked at Bai Xiu’s smiling face. There was nothing wrong with Cen Zheng’s order. He could not find a fault in anyone, but it did not mean that there was no problem.

The four Fei Yu ships left the dock and entered a branch of river channel in the Grand Canal. The fiery red Great Ning war flag fluttered in the air. The soldiers were very excited and relaxed at the same time. It appeared to be an effortless mission, where they were able to casually accumulate meritorious deeds.

The atmosphere on the Fei Yu ships was cheerful and lively. Shen Leng stood on the prow of the ship and was deep in thought.

Du Weiming walked over to Shen Leng and whispered into his ear, “Are you suspicious of General Cen?”

Shen Leng shook his head. “I’m not exactly suspicious of him, but I know something is definitely amiss. It does not make sense for Cen Zheng to take care of us. Earlier in the battle at the dock, our battalion had taken all the credit for it. Other people were anxiously waiting for their turn to destroy Lian Yunzhai to attain some credit from it. However, Cen Zheng passed the mission to us instead…it doesn’t add up.”

Du Weiming grunted. “However, I guess that the trip the Lian Yunzhai should be smooth sailing. We have already killed five to six hundred water bandits, which is a huge majority of them. If there is anybody left, it’s probably only a few people.”

“It’s better to be careful.”

Shen Leng pondered hard for a while before saying, “When we get there, take ten-man squads with you to provide assistance. I will take Chen Ran and Wang Kuohai with me. Additionally, tonight, we will not enter the water bandits’ camp. We will simply seal off the waterways. Tomorrow when the sun rises, we will attack.”

Du Weiming responded, “If we do it that way, it would delay us joining with the rest of the main troops. Cen Zheng might reprimand you for it.”

Shen Leng replied, “That’s not important. The lives of our brothers are what’s important.”

Du Weiming felt warm on the inside. “Why don’t you get Wang Kuohai to take the men to provide assistance. I will go with you instead.”

Shen Leng replied, “You are more flexible in your thoughts compared to Wang Kuohai. It’s better for you to stay behind.”

Du Weiming did not push for it any further. When Shen Leng said that he was more flexible in his thoughts as compared to Wang Kuohai, it made him feel good and happy. Being able to be acknowledged by Shen Leng was a very encouraging thing…However, when he thought about Zhuang Yong’s instructions, he felt guilty. He felt sorry towards Shen Leng.

“Battalion commander!”

“Yeah? What’s the matter?”

“I…nothing.”

Ultimately, Du Weiming did not have the guts to say it. He turned around and stood at the side. He held onto the shaft of the sword. Veins started popping at the back of his hand.

Shen Leng turned around and looked at Du Weiming. He smiled, but did not say anything.

For the sake of safety, Shen Leng did not approach Lian Yunzhai in the day. Most likely, Lian Yunzhai had snitches in the nearby hamlet. He waited for nightfall before bringing his troops closer to Lian Yunzhai and stopped their ships there. He watched the waterways attentively and arranged for his men to take turns to go on night duty.

Du Weiming and Li Tuming and their men were the first batch of people on night duty. The rest of the troops rested. Shen Leng knew that Li Tuming was a little negligent, hence he instructed him a couple more times. Du Weiming laughed and assured him that with him around, he would be fine, before taking their men and left.

Shen Leng instructed them once again not to leave the camp. When he returned to his tent, he took out the map. He borrowed the faint light to scrutinize it. The map was something that was extremely valuable and precious. Furthermore, the map did not only depict a canton or a division – it was a map of half of Great Ning. It stretched from Jiangnan all the way to the south coastal border region.

Even though the map was not necessarily thorough and detailed, the general topography was not wrong. Ever since Great Ning was founded, the Ministry of Works had sent a large number of manpower to survey and draft out the map. It had already been hundreds of years, but it was still constantly being refined.

At the same time, a few men in black walked out of where Lian Yunzhai was. The leader was Nie Yuan himself. He guessed that the Navy soldiers would attack Lian Yunzhai in the night. Hence, he went back to rake in the silver. He got the remaining dozens of people set up a trap and left immediately after.

The experiences he accumulated over a long period of time allowed him to sense danger ahead of time. He hid in the forest with his men and observed for a while before noticing the mast by the river channel.

“Indeed, the Navy wants to eliminate every single one of us,” said a man in black in a soft voice.

Nie Yuan laughed grimly. “A few of our brothers died in the hands of the Navy. Before we leave, we have to teach them a lesson and see who’s the leader. Kill him when you find him.”