novelraw Book 15: Chapter 92
Book 15: Chapter 92
Book 15: Chapter 92
Li Chengzhi hadn’t had a free moment in days. In just a few days’ time, he had befriended numerous outlaws and discussed big business with them. Needless to say, he was in great spirits. He never felt any fatigue despite repeating the same speech and convincing the outlaws to join his cause over twenty times each day. To the contrary, he felt himself edging closer to his old peak. He could never get bored of acting mystical at a banquet and ordering people around while they addressed him as “Your Highness“. Whenever they listened to his speeches, he felt his old self again.
All the officers involved in the base’s riot were executed. Though the upper echelon gave a strict order to not overdo it, over a dozen more soldiers were executed, as well, so while it wasn’t a major acute problem, it did bring about a harmful consequence.
Whether or not the turmoil in Jiangnan would’ve been settled in one battle or a prolonged catastrophe likely hinged on the might of the imperial court’s forces. The base outside the capital was meant to be part of the vanguard in the future war against the Seven Champion White Princes, and nobody expected one of the most important units to face a problem so soon. Putting aside the bad luck it suggested for a newly formed unit to be in trouble so soon, there was also the fact that their problems put a dent in the supporters’ confidence. Perhaps the best way to describe the impact of the riot was that it was a dark cloud that nobody knew when it’d leave.
Secretary Lie, who was in charge of troop training, made a wise decision to start from the barrack outside the capital. Notwithstanding his appearance, he was truly competent at managing soldiers. As a former soldier and part of the war for the throne, he had also participated in battles in Beijiang and the Western Regions. Not only was he adept at strategy, but he was also a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Even though battles were rare ever since Emperor Yuansheng ascended, he was part of every battle.
Among the survivors who fought alongside Secretary Lie – Lie Jingchan – back then, only two remained in service. One of them had disabled legs, so he continued serving the imperial court in the capacity of an intelligence handler. The other oversaw Jinyong, but his boy-toy appearance ruined his career prospects. Among the three of them, Secretary Lie was the stalwart in training soldiers.
Due to Secretary Lie’s accomplishments on the battlefield thirty years ago, he was granted an exception and promoted to vice-general. It was during his time in the post that he learnt how to train troops. After the fall of his leader and prior to Baima being stationed at Jinyong, it was Secretary Lie who defeated the enemies at the border. Before he entered the capital, he was hailed as the last star of the former monarch.
Everybody knew that the secretary post didn’t mesh with Lie Jingchan’s personality, so it wasn’t surprising that being granted the post was one of the most frustrating things in his life. He liked the empty view of nature, not the presence of shrewd men. He accepted the role, though, because he wanted to serve, so he accepted it in case it made His Majesty look bad.
It was suffocating to argue in court and only be able to clobber a few people whilst patrolling barracks, so being able to enter the capital’s barrack was a great beginning for Secretary Lie. Without His Majesty having to say a word, nobody in the barrack dared to mention the riot the moment Secretary Lie entered.
Usually, none of Lie Jingchan’s opponents in court welcomed him, yet not a soul in court celebrated when he didn’t show up. Instead, the atmosphere was even tenser than when he was present. The mere fact that he had returned to an army barrack was enough to raise stress levels.
Growing up in the capital, Li Chengzhi was familiar with Lie Jingchan’s abilities. As a military-book fan, Li Chengzhi didn’t pass up the opportunity to ask Lie Jingchan about military administration in the past, only to be utterly destroyed, prompting him to restart his learning journey. Although he hated Lie Jingchan, he respected the man for his skills. He knew that Lie Jingchan losing his temper was no joking matter, so he opted to become a legitimate deserter rather than stay and take risks. He didn’t hold any citizenship and only managed to enter the barrack thanks to someone pulling some strings. He agreed to the arrangement in order to experience the life of a soldier, never expecting to learn as much as he did.
Li Chengzhi had done plenty of persuading soldiers to revolt, and he improved his speech every time he convinced another, which was something he took pride in. However, it was unfair to blame him for the riot in the barrack outside the capital. Yes, the riot was a notch severer due his intervention, but he wasn’t the trigger. Someone had already bribed members of the barrack. Alas, he had no choice but to flee back to the capital and hang with his new lapdogs.
The wealthy bearded merchant sitting opposite Li Chengzhi was a horse raiser from Beijiang who spent the majority of his time in the capital. “You need not fret. You can leave it to Big Beard. Should he do an unsatisfactory job, he shall down three drinks and entertain you with a dance.”
In better circumstances, Li Chengzhi would’ve heartily laughed and applauded.
“This is bad. This is bad,” muttered Li Chengzhi, probably for the fiftieth time. “This is bad.”
Big Beard grabbed his beard and jovially queried, “What is bad, Young Master?”
“Everything,” shakily replied Li Chengzhi. “My gut is telling me this is really bad.”
“Young Master,” called Big Beard, in his deep voice. “It is but just one life. Even though Ming Feizhen is someone His Majesty personally conferred a rank to, he is still as mortal as anyone else. All of us are not working together for this. Why are you starting to have cold feet?”
“It’s no big deal to kill a constable, but he’s no ordinary man. The warriors who’ve agreed to join our cause have been disabled one after another. How long has it been? We’ve already lost a third of our forces. An acquaintance of Ming Feizhen must’ve found out about our plan somehow and taken pre-emptive action. If this continues, you’ll likely be a victim soon.”
“We could not ask for more.” Big Beard flashed his fist. “Once he shows up, Big Beard will personally apprehend him on your watch. You can do as you wish with him.”
“Hmph.”
Moron, you think you can just do whatever you please with a key figure of the capital’s Liu Shan Men? Why would I recruit so many people if it was so simple?
“The moment you started contacting the criminals, you sealed your fate. We only need your corpse. Why do you think we’ve needed to keep you alive until now?”
Never in his twenty-six years of life did Li Chengzhi imagine the person he’d miss most in his situation would be the brash man with the ugly smile. He laughed aloud as he uncontrollably discharged sorrow from his eyes, then charged at the assassin.
“Fool.” The assassin sent Li Chengzhi to the ground with a stiff kick to the ribs.
In spite of the immobilising pain, Li Chengzhi, staring at the blade, questioned from the ground, “Why... don’t you just finish me?”
Li Chengzhi followed the assassin’s line of sight to see someone who shouldn’t have shown up.
“Because of me.”
The despicable smile made Li Chengzhi forget about the pain he was suffering from. “Big Beard?” After a few coughs, he said in a low voice, “You’re working together.”
All the pieces fell into place faster than Li Chengzhi imagined possible. “I should’ve foreseen this. Who’d brown nose me...?”
Big Beard’s cheeks jiggled as he cackled.
“You think I want to dance for you? You think I enjoy having you laugh at me? Why do you think a real man would wait on the joke that you are?”
Li Chengzhi questioned why he ever even thought Big Beard would’ve treated him as an ally.
“I asked them to keep you alive so that I could personally kill you.”
Following a brief silence, Li Chengzhi leapt at the assassin with his last ounce of strength to snatch the weapon. “I’m not just going to roll over and die.”
A kick landed flush on the side of Li Chengzhi’s face, making him spurt blood as he went reeling out of the window. Even though he was bleeding profusely, he continued crawling for dear life.
The assassin closed in without any urgency.
“Offer up your life to him.”
Splat!
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