Changning’s Imperial Army - Chapter 127

Chapter 127 – Yes and No

Shen Leng stood on the boat and kept thinking about a problem – how should he face Zhuang Yong? Mu Xiaofeng was definitely not included in Zhuang Yong’s plans. And when Zhuang Yong asked Shen Leng yesterday, ultimately, Shen Leng did not tell him he was going to take action on him.

In Shen Leng’s eyes, if it was time to take action, one should not hesitate. If he were to let go of such a rare opportunity, he would definitely regret it in the future. When he made the decision to kill Mu Xiaofeng, he did not consider whether the imperial court was stable or not, and all the more he did not worry about what His Majesty would think.

He’s my enemy – why do I have to consider what others think about it?

That day by the river bank, Mu Xiaofeng got someone to call Shen Leng and Master Cha over. Mu Xiaofeng had an evil look in his eyes when he looked at Master Cha. Hence, from that day onwards, Shen Leng had been thinking about how he should seek revenge and when he should do it.

If Mu Xiaofeng was targeting Shen Leng himself, he would have prioritized the overall situation and conditions and would have endured silently and patiently instead. But since he was going to attack Master Cha and Mr. Shen, he could not wait.

What prompted Shen Leng into making such a decision was the information extorted from the Guan Tang Kou assassins at the brick kiln. More than 200 assassins were headed for their residence to kill Mr. Shen and abduct Master Cha. At that moment, Shen Leng was burning with rage.

When the boat arrived at Ningwu, they were only less than half a day behind the main forces. Shen Leng instructed Hei Yan and the rest to go over to Taihu Yanping Island first, while he returned to the troops on his own. Wang Gendong was furious. The troops were there but the commander-in-chief was missing. How could that happen?

Yang Qibao and Gu Le were akin to two little children who were being wrongfully punished; they stood there without saying a word. It was pointless depending on both of them to provide any information. Besides, they had absolutely no idea that Shen Leng went to kill Mu Xiaofeng. If they knew about it, both their jaws would be broken.

“Fine, fine. Don’t ask them anymore.”

Shen Leng walked over with a cheeky look on his face. He rearranged his general uniform that he just changed into. “I had something to attend to at the last minute and made a trip home. I needed to leave some instructions for them.”

Wang Gendong sighed. “General, are you referring to Mr. Shen and young lady Cha’er?”

“That’s right.”

Wang Gendong sighed once more. “I have a habit – I will inspect the cargo hold every now and then. Hence, previously, I was chatting with Mr. Shen and young lady Cha’er in the cargo hold, and even drank some tea. It was the white tea from Hujian – the one we bought during our last mission to the south. I bought some of it too.”

Shen Leng laughed, “Well, this is very embarrassing.”

Wang Gendong said, “Hence, in order not to make it too embarrassing, I ordered everyone not to enter the cargo hold.”

Shen Leng pulled Wang Gendong to one side and told him in detail about how he took a battalion with him to kill more than 200 assassins from Guan Tang Kou. He did not hide anything, of course, except for the part where he killed Mu Xiaofeng.

Because he could not hide the fact that he took a battalion with him, and furthermore, there was no need for him to hide it.

And before that, Shen Leng used his position to arrange for Mr. Shen and Master Cha to board the cargo hold of a Xiong Niu ship. Even if the Guan Tang Kou assassins made their way to their residence, it would be for nothing. Besides, Shen Leng never had the intention to give them the chance to do so anyway.

“Then in that case, why didn’t you bring Yao Qibao and the rest back with you, general?”

“Oh…some friends from Changan city helped me, so I got them to send them off.”

Shen Leng got up, “If there’s nothing else, go help out then. Make the necessary preparations. Yang Qibao, go to the official port with your men and take a look and replenish more of what we need. Put them under the commander’s tab will do.”

Yang QIbao curled his lips upwards. “Alright.”

Shen Leng shook his head, “Look at how happy you are. You’ve only been with me for a few days and yet you’ve learned how to trick the commander. You used to be his trusted aide…”

Yang Qibao chuckled, “Hehehehe…”

Shen Leng sighed. “How inappropriate! Be more careful next time, don’t laugh that happily. Control yourself a little.”

Yang Qibao responded, “Understood.”

Wang Gendong truly did not know what to say. He was an inflexible, fair and honest man. Otherwise, he would not have beaten Chen Ran up when Shen Leng just became a squad leader. He would not do anything that violated the rules. Just like the time when Mu Xiaofeng wanted to stop him from saving Shen Leng, he stood his ground and went over by himself to assist Shen Leng and men, killing the water bandits resolutely. He had his own set of rules and judgement that he followed.

Precisely because of that, Shen Leng once pondered – if there were any secrets, he could tell Yang Qibao and Gu Le; needless to say, Chen Ran as well, and even Du Weiming. He could also tell Wang Kuohai. Even if those people were to get all their teeth knocked out, they would not reveal it no matter what.

Wang Gendong was different, he would report it to Zhuang Yong immediately.

“Umm…I’ll drink some tea too.”

Shen Leng turned around and walked away. Wang Gendong looked at how Shen Leng lacked the air of a commander-in-chief and it made him feel rather helpless. However, he really liked Shen Leng’s character. He was not such a person, and yet he liked people who were like that. Just like that time when…

Wang Gendong shook his head. His eyes were slightly red. It had been more than a decade, and yet he still could not forget it.

During that summer, he wore the combat uniform together with his younger cousin from his father’s side. The initial training was rather tough that it made Wang Gendong feel as though he could no longer withstand it. On the other hand, his cousin, who was not as physically fit as him, kept laughing. Every single day, he was as bright as the sun. His cousin even said that in the future, he would become a great general. He also remembered that he had asked his cousin that once he really became a great general, what was the one thing he would like to do most. After his cousin pondered earnestly, he said that he would visit Liu Laoliu’s stall at the entrance of the street to buy some pig trotters to see if he dared to give him less than he paid for.

What an ambitious person.

However, his cousin could not survive. He did not die in a battle; instead, he died of an illness. In truth, on the first day they enlisted in the military, his cousin’s rather weak body was unable to withstand the training. However, he was unwilling to give up, For the sake of not falling behind, he went for additional training sessions alone in the drill ground.

Whenever Wang Gendong saw Shen Leng, he would feel as though he was his cousin, training all by himself, be it heavy rain or wind.

“Must become a great general.”

Wang Gendong muttered to himself before he lifted his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes.

Shen Leng turned his head around, “General Wang, did you say something?”

Wang Gendong shook his head. “Oh, it’s nothing. When the people from Garrison B are here, I will call for you.”

Shen Leng cupped his fist, turned around and left.

He found the Xiong Niu ship and entered the cargo hold. Shen Leng thought that he went to the wrong place.

Master Cha and Mr. Shen were actually eating hotpot.

After seeing Shen Leng, Master Cha laughed. “Esteemed customer, please head inside. Would you like a towel to wipe your face?”

Shen Leng asked, “Red or white soup?”

“White.”

“Mandarin ducks pot (Note: Hotpot with a divider, containing spicy soup on one side and mild soup on the other) is the bare minimum.”

Shen Leng sat down and started to eat. He took big mouthfuls of food and looked extremely happy. Hence, Mr. Shen and Master Cha knew that something must have happened.

“Did you kill Mu Xiaofeng?”

“Yes.”

“Muddlehead!”

Mr. Shen was completely taken aback. “Was killing Mu Xiaofeng something difficult to do? It never was from the start. Why do you think I’ve been holding you back, refusing to allow you to take action? It’s because even though this person was an idiot and deserved to die, he played a critical role and was very influential in the Navy. Once he dies, His Majesty will have no choice but to investigate the Navy thoroughly, and he will have no choice but to appease Mu Zhaotong. His Majesty’s plans will be affected because of your impulsive act.”

He looked at Shen Leng. His eyes were wide opened. “Don’t tell me you did not think about that?”

Shen Leng put down his bowl and chopsticks. He sat upright. “I did think about it, but I still wanted to kill him.”

“You muddlehead! Idiot!”

Mr. Shen raised his voice abruptly, “Why? Why did you not wait? Wait for a while more before you took action? Right now, Mu Xiaofeng is that one person who will trigger a series of changes. By killing him, do you know how big of a chaos it will create!”

“I know.”

Shen Leng laughed.”

“And you’re still laughing!”

Mr. Shen felt as though he was about to explode.

Master Cha reached her hand out and tugged on Mr. Shen’s sleeve. Mr. Shen turned around and looked at her. Thereafter, he took a deep breath, “Leng, why did you do that?”

“Because I still want to keep seeing you act like that, lecturing me frequently, and I want to see Master Cha’s clumsy self preparing a hotpot like this.”

He used his pair of chopsticks to pick up a piece of white gourd that had not been sliced. “I want to be able to see three generations of white gourd sliced by Master Cha anytime…I want to be able to see you pretend to sleep as you lay on the chair every time I come home. Our family is different from other people’s family. From the very beginning, there has always been the three of us. In the future, perhaps we will even have another baby. I still want to see you struggle as you carry our baby clumsily.”

Master Cha added, “When sir carries the baby, it must take a dump!”

She waved her fist.

Shen Leng was speechless.

Shen Leng took a deep breath once more. “Why are you saying these?”

“Mu Xiaofeng wanted to kill both of you. There were more than 200 Guan Tang Kou assassins who were about to attack you.”

“Didn’t we already leave?”

‘I did not want you to be on the run again.”

Shen Leng said earnestly, “Actually, sir, up until now, I still don’t understand why you looked for me and chose to guide me, and why you had such high expectations of me. You made me feel that if I don’t climb the ranks within the military, my future will be miserable. I don’t understand, but I still did what you told me to. You said that once I become Class A Fifth pin, I will be able to bring my wife with me. I was very happy; Master Cha was very happy too. I worked very hard for this goal…but sir, I can absolutely not care about being a Class A Fifth pin official. As long as I’m not in the military uniform, can’t I take Master Cha and you with me anywhere?”

“You did not say anything, so I did not ask either. Naturally, the goals you set for me were for my own good. All I have to do is to follow and work towards them. If you are not satisfied, I will run with all my might…but what I’ve always wanted was never a high official position and a generous salary. I’ve always wanted the three of us to be together, never separated; safe and sound. I want to be able to see you and Master Cha when I walk in through the door, and be able to see my child in the future. It’s as simple as such.”

“Hence, I did not think about the imperial court or His Majesty. I only wanted to think about the both of you.”

Shen Leng picked up his chopsticks. “Let’s eat.”

Mr. Shen stared blankly as he looked at Shen Leng. For some reason he suddenly started tearing up.

“Leng, did I make life very difficult for you all these years?”

“Sir, you finally came to your senses?”

“But I guess I did not make it difficult enough for you, because you are still this impetuous and impulsive…just like how you were when you jumped into Nanping River at that time.”

“Oh, sir, are you touched?”

“Not at all.”

Mr. Shen took lifted his chopsticks before putting them down again. “I want to drink some wine.”

Shen Leng replied, “We have everything, except wine.”

Mr. Shen looked up, refusing to let his tears fall. He thought about what Cen Zheng said the day he left the courtyard – that whether or not Shen Leng was the child, he was very envious of him, because he produced an outstanding disciple. He was extremely proud and answered that he produced two outstanding disciples, not just one.

Right now, Mr. Shen felt even more proud, even though he knew that the way Shen Leng handled things was not safe, very rash and impulsive, and that the consequences could be very dire.

“Use tea as a substitute for wine.”

Master Cha passed a cup of tea to Mr. Shen. The latter took it and said in an extremely solemn manner, “Cheers to the both of you.”

Shen Leng and Master Cha stared blankly at the same time. Shen Leng raised his cup of tea before putting it down again. “Sir, do you really not intend to tell me certain things?”

Mr. Shen shook his head. “I don’t.”

Shen Leng raised his cup of tea and clinked it against Master Cha’s and Mr. Shen’s. “Why?”

Mr. Shen answered, “If it’s you, I will tell you in the future. If it’s not you, I will never tell you.”