Changning's Imperial Army

For six to seven days in a row, Shen Leng conducted high intensity training for the new recruits. All eleven men were of different physiques and had varying degrees of willpower. Even Du Weiming and w.a.n.g Kuohai felt as though they were about to reach their limit.

According to some sources, in three days, they would have to enter the battlefield. Some people were anxious, and some people were disapproving of it.

Just as always, Shen Leng put his men through the additional training session into the night before allowing them to rest. He returned to the drill ground alone and completed the homework he did back in the Daoist temple meticulously. By the time he completed it, it was already after 1 a.m..

When he was about to go back to the barracks, he saw Zhuang Yong standing under the light, waiting for him. Shen Leng hurried over to him and saluted.

“Come with me.”

Zhuang Yong walked in front. Shen Leng walked slightly slower and followed him closely behind.

“The last time I talked to you, you mentioned that we should not blindly build ships. After I went back, I thought about it for a long time and wrote a memorial to the emperor. You might not know but if it is approved by His Majesty, the huge operation that has been established for the Navy would be postponed for at least a year. Hence, I was not optimistic, because it"s impossible for His Majesty to wait that long.”

Shen Leng laughed, “Ultimately, you thought wrong?”

“How did you know?”

“It was a wild guess.”

“You think I believe that? A few days ago, Shen Xiao Song borrowed some silver from me. Coupled with the twenty taels that you borrowed, I"ve already calculated how long I have to deduct your salary for.”

Shen Leng responded, “In the future, minimize your contact with Mr. Shen!”

“Huh?”

“You were originally a very good general, but after you"ve been in contact with Mr. Shen a couple of times, you became…”

“Shameless?”

Zhuang Yong stopped in his tracks.

Shen Leng quickly stopped. “Alright, I did not make a wild guess…general, do you know where you went wrong? You overthought His Majesty"s intention, and you lack confidence in your own judgment…”

Shen Leng looked at Zhuang Yong"s face. The light was not very bright, hence he was unable to see clearly.

He decided to finish his words. “You feel that His Majesty is impatient, and you"ve served His Majesty for so many years, so you feel that he is impatient. Since you are sure that he must be truly impatient, hence it made you more anxious and impatient.”

“Don"t beat about the bush. Be more direct.”

“His Majesty is truly anxious, but think about it – This is a one-time investment on his part. Even if His Majesty is rich and imposing, the first thing on his mind is not how much money he can earn. When a qualified merchant makes an investment, the first thing on his mind is to make sure that he doesn"t make any losses before he thinks about how much he will earn…”

Zhuang Yong understood. He thought to himself: Why did I not think of a simple and obvious principle as such?

In truth, it was not that he did not think of it, but rather, he did not consider things in that direction. He knew that His Majesty"s lofty aspiration and great goal was to get rid of those annoying clowns on the southern coastal border region. This heavy responsibility had fallen upon his shoulders. He was afraid that he was unable to live up to expectations.

However, now that he thought about it – who was His Majesty? The ruler of Great Ning. The ruler of Great Ning was as good as the ruler of the world…if Great Ning"s Navy lost a battle in the southern coastal border region, how humiliating would it be for His Majesty?

Shen Leng added, “Why does His Majesty care so much about the att.i.tude of the civil officials? If the Navy loses a battle, the civil officials would immediately create chaos. He had already invested a lot in the Navy. Over the past few years, the treasury had allocated a lot of funds to the Navy, giving us whatever we want. If something bad were to happen, His Majesty would be too ashamed to talk about the Navy again.”

“Hence, even though he wanted to rush things, it was on the basis that everything is guaranteed to work.”

After finishing saying his piece, Shen Leng continued earnestly, “I feel that everything I said is worth twenty taels of silver.”

Zhuang Yong responded, “Hehe…”

Shen Leng continued, “Ten taels?”

Zhuang Yong replied, “Earlier on, the a.n.a.logy that you used.”

“What a.n.a.logy?”

“You said that His Majesty is akin to a merchant.”

Shen Leng did a facepalm. “This is why I told you to minimize contact with Mr. Shen…no. No, I was wrong. I have underestimated you. After all, you have served for so many years.”

Zhuang Yong replied, “Do you want to continue talking and see what happens?”

Shen Leng shrugged. “General, you are refined, fair and honest. You are so many times better than Mr. Shen.”

Zhuang Yong smiled, “The last time you mentioned that no matter what we should bring back a few of Qiuli Empire"s battleships for research purposes. His Majesty has already approved it. In a few days, after the battle, I plan to send some people to the southern border. Do you want to go?”

“I don"t want to.”

Shen Leng did not hesitate when he replied. “I might die.”

Zhuang Yong was slightly dumbfounded. “Do you think that I am negotiating with you?”

Shen Leng sighed. He thought to himself: Isn"t he giving Mu Xiaofeng the chance to kill me off? However, he could not say that aloud. This was because naturally, Zhuang Yong had thought about that too. Nonetheless, despite the danger, there was an opportunity too. If Shen Leng wanted to make a name for himself in the Navy as soon as possible, heading south was his best option. This was a lot more significant than staying within the Navy and going after water bandits.

Opportunity and danger went side by side. This was something Mr. Shen had taught Shen Leng a long time ago.

“I"ll go.”

Shen Leng nodded. “However, can we negotiate the matter pertaining to the twenty taels?”

Zhuang Yong stumbled. He felt his heart aching.

“In two days, lead your ten-man squad in the mission and do well. Prove to people that you have the ability to go to the south. This mission is dangerous, but I"m sure you know that there are a lot of people who are willing to take risks for the sake of their future prospects.”

“Yeah, I know. Am I going to be the leader in the south?”

“You are only but a squad leader.”

“Oh…but since you personally came to me to talk about this in private, I"m sure there are some other arrangements?”

“Yes, you sure are intelligent enough. Shen Xiaosong made the right judgment about you. I came to look for you in private is because I want you to leave the Navy to do something. Especially since the southern coastal border region is very far away. Additionally, even though Nanyue has been vanquished, they still have a number of insurgents scattered all over. n.o.body knows what will happen. There are people in the imperial court who hope for the best for the Navy, but there are also people who hope that we make a mistake and remove me as a commander. Your mission is to ensure nothing bad happens.”

His underlying meaning was that as long as he was the commander of the Navy, he would stand to benefit.

“Understood.”

Shen Leng smiled and said, “This must be the power to act arbitrarily in the face of an opportunity, right? Allowing me to act as circ.u.mstances dictate. If something happens in the south at a crucial moment, I can a.s.sume control.”

Naturally, Zhuang Yong did not nod and acknowledge what he said. As long as Shen Leng understood the meaning behind it, it was more than enough.

There were a lot of people who coveted his position as the commander of the Navy. His Majesty acceded to the Navy"s requests; the treasury had allocated a huge amount of funds towards them. Anyone who became the commander of the Navy would grin from ear to ear. This was what those people thought.

Within the military, Zhuang Yong had a lot of people he could trust. The people he brought along with him were easier to order about, compared to Shen Leng. However, he could not use them. This was because they were familiar faces, who others were guarded against.

Shen Leng was a rash fella. He was a pure and untainted person who just entered the military not long ago. Furthermore, because of his relationship with Shen Xiaosong, he decided to go with Shen Leng.

Shen Leng asked, “General, can I have the authority to do one more thing?”

“What?”

“Earlier on, I talked about the authority to act arbitrarily. I also want the authority to flee in the face of danger.”

“Scram…”

Zhuang Yong glared at Shen Leng and flapped his sleeve before leaving.

Shen Leng shrugged. He walked to one side and leaned against a wooden pile. He stood there and looked up at the moon in the sky. He thought about how far the southern coastal border was, and how it would take him half a year to go there and come back. Before he set out, he was already thinking about Master Cha…

On the second day in the morning, before the sun had risen, Shen Leng had already gotten up. He went to run a few rounds out of habit before he washed up. After he got dressed, he went to the kitchen to wait. When he saw that there were three people delivering the vegetables instead of two, he started smiling. Chen Ran could finally rest a.s.sured.

When Shen Leng was transporting the vegetables, Mr. Shen pa.s.sed him the sword that was made from the black steel. Thereafter, he made Shen Leng made a trip to exchange it with the ordinary black cord sword. The two swords looked almost identical – n.o.body would notice it.

After Shen Leng took the sword, his eyes lit up. It was very heavy, but it was something that was good enough for him.

“This is what Uncle Chen gifted you. Remember, this is a huge favor.”

After Mr. Shen said that, Uncle Chen quickly waved his hand. “No, no. What Leng did for us is truly a huge favor.”

Shen Leng hung up the sword properly before he bowed solemnly. Uncle Chen hurriedly grabbed his hand. “We don"t have to do this. Back in Yulin town, you were Chen Ran"s best friend. I have never once treated you as an outsider. You are like a son to me.”

Shen Leng nodded with all his might. “Uncle, please do not worry. As long as I"m in the Navy, I will not let anything happen to Chen Ran.”

This promise was what Uncle Chen wanted from him.

“Stupid Leng.”

“Aye!”

“Stupid Leng.”

“Aye!”

Master Cha called out to him, and Shen Leng answered. Mr. Shen shook his head and sighed. He thought to himself about how Master Cha was too candid. If it was some other girl, she would not be as disrespectful and arrogant as her.

However, this was Master Cha. She would not conceal her emotions – be it whether she liked something or hated it.

Mr. Shen was happy to see them like that. He felt as though he became younger.

“Um, in a couple of days, I have to make a long trip elsewhere.”

When she heard that, Master Cha was not as unhappy as she was previously. In fact, her eyes lit up. “When are you leaving?”

When Shen Leng saw how excited Master Cha was, he could not bear to disappoint her. “This time, I can"t bring you along. I"m heading to the south with the military. I"ll be gone for about half a year. It"s not considered long…”

Master Cha"s face stiffened. “General Zhuang is sending you there?”

Shen Leng grunted. “Acc.u.mulating merits is the only way for me to rise the ranks fast.”

Naturally, Master Cha understood what Shen Leng meant. Becoming a Cla.s.s A Fifth pin Official was easier said than done. The majority of the people in the military did not have such an opportunity in their entire lives. In the eyes of people from a humble family background, this was not any different from a fantasy.

“Alright.”

Master Cha nodded. “Half a year, starting from tomorrow. If you"re back late by even a day, I will look for someone and have a kid with him. If you come back a year and a half later, you can celebrate the birth of my child.”

Shen Leng"s eyes widened abruptly. “Can you not joke about this?”

Master Cha chuckled. “Did I ever joke with you?”

Shen Leng replied, “In order for you not to give birth to someone else"s child…”

Master Cha continued, “You better come back earlier.”

Shen Leng responded, “No, I suddenly have a bold idea…”

Mr. Shen intervened, “Ahem, no!”

Uncle Chen added, “Actually, this is nothing. At that time, I wasn"t married to Ran"s mother either…”

Mr. Shen interrupted, “You be quiet too!”

Uncle Chen replied, “Ok…”

Shen Leng laughed out loud. He suddenly noticed that after their trip to Changan city, Master Cha became a lot more mature. She knew why Shen Leng was fighting so hard for; she was the main reason and motivation behind his struggle, and not his hindrance.

Mr. Shen pulled Shen Leng aside and said in a low voice, “You need to be careful. Mu Xiaofeng cannot find an opportunity to do anything to you within the camp. But once you leave for the south, he will not let go of such a good opportunity. There is something I did not want to tell you initially, because I did not want you to worry. However, I have to remind you at this juncture. Our Daoist temple got set on fire on the night we moved here. Cha and I were lucky…”

Shen Leng had a cold look in his eyes. “We can"t keep going on like this. Even if he doesn"t look for an opportunity, I will have to look for one.”