Chapter 107: He is so miserable in the midst of war!
Early that morning, Liu Niang was sorting the teacups for the guests one by one. When she saw one of them, her expression suddenly changed. She exclaimed in shame, "How could I be so careless?!"
Tiezhu walked over and took the cup from her hand, his heart tightening. Two distinct cracks ran down the inside of the white porcelain cup, and numerous smaller cracks extended from the sides of the nearly straight-through crack. It was hard to imagine the terrible torture this cup had endured; it looked as if it would shatter at any moment.
Tiezhu comforted his wife, saying, "The general has always been cheerful and generous. He won't blame us for this little mistake." Having said that, he still felt bad and walked out the door, thinking of catching up with Suozhu, who had left home not long ago, and asking him to apologize to Shen Changfeng on his behalf.
Liu Niang was restless at home and had to find something to do to distract herself.
Seeing that the sun was shining brightly, she walked back to the guest room, thinking about washing and hanging the quilt out to dry.
Not long after, Liu Niang ran out in a panic, holding a piece of paper in one hand and a purse in the other. She could not read the words, so she asked a literate neighbor to help her read the letter. Only then did she know that when Shen Changfeng stayed overnight to handle government affairs, he did not notice that the candlelight had burned a corner of the quilt. He felt very sorry, so he left some money and asked Liu Niang and others to exchange it for a new one and took the damaged quilt away.
After hearing what was said in the letter, the old lady slowed down her weaving of the bamboo basket.
Liu Niang felt even more guilty and said, "General, what a fool! What's the big deal? I have to catch up with Suo Zhu and return the silver to him!"
The old lady sighed softly, turned the unfinished bamboo basket over to another direction, and continued weaving. She said, "Go and take the pillow and the bamboo mat to the general."
Liu Niang was puzzled, "Huh?"
The old lady said, "If you return the silver, the general will definitely not accept it. It's better to give in to his wishes and replace it with a new one. Besides, I see the general looks much better today. When I asked him, he said he slept very well, and it didn't seem like a polite remark. Didn't Suozhu say that the general is a light sleeper and doesn't sleep much? If these quilts can help him get more good sleep, that would be good too."
Liu Niang thought about it and agreed, so she said, "Then I'll take those chicken and duck eggs with me!"
The old lady didn't say anything else. She just waited for Liu Niang to leave and reminded her, "Go south."
Liu Niang turned around and was about to ask why when Tiezhu came back from the corner of the alley. Liu Niang asked him what was wrong.
Tiezhu said, "I heard from people outside that the general led his men on an inspection tour to the south."
Liu Niang uttered a "ha!" and turned back in surprise and wonder, "Mom, when did you leave? And did you even know the general had changed his route?"
The old lady saw through it but didn't say anything. She smiled and shook her head. She saw it clearly yesterday. As soon as Lin Meizhu arrived, Shen Changfeng held the small teacup and drank from it five, six, seven, or eight times. The teacup didn't refill itself! It was worth him drinking from it over and over again! He was so confused and disorganized. She was old, not stupid, so how could she not see it!
She was not clear about the love-hate relationship between the two, but she could see that Lin Meizhu seemed to have no intention of renewing their past relationship, so she vaguely passed over the topic with "good things are coming", but she didn't expect that Shen Changfeng would get angry when he heard it!
What Shen Changfeng wanted was not the quilt, but the person who had used the quilt.
He is so miserable!
If the person who is deeply in love knew what the old lady was thinking, he would definitely think she was biased.
He continued to go south because he wanted to inspect, inspect! Inspect!
Looking back, the battle to sweep Black Wind Stronghold was a grueling and brutal one, with nearly 30% of the men killed, all because the Black Wind Stronghold possessed a wide variety of firearms and gunpowder. Such fine gunpowder would be difficult for ordinary bandits to produce; it was likely a regulation of the government's Arms Bureau. If there was collusion between officials and bandits, Black Wind Stronghold was undoubtedly the prime suspect.
Recently, several remnants of the Black Wind Stronghold have been active again at the border of Henan and Hubei provinces, threatening to revive their forces. This inspection is naturally a preventative measure.
It's just that when Shen Changfeng was investigating the bandit situation, he happened to be assigned the route to Jingzhou, and happened to pass through Jiangling County. Things are so coincidental that he returned to Xiaolianzi Lane.
He didn't look away until he confirmed twice that the former courtyard had been occupied by someone else.
Shen Changfeng laughed at himself, but he couldn't hide his disappointment. He thought to himself: Not only has the residence changed, but even Huishengtang has moved away. She was still worried that he would get entangled. It was obvious that she must have moved to Xiangyang.
He was wearing a bamboo hat, so the neighbors didn't recognize him. As he walked out of the street, he suddenly heard a surprised voice behind him: "General!"
The man quickly chased after him and said, "It's really you!"
Shen Changfeng turned around and raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling that this person was very different from his impression. Chang Yuan was no longer as thin and frail as before. His eyes were much more energetic, just like an ordinary farmer. His skin was slightly tanned and his body seemed much stronger. At first glance, he felt inexplicably familiar.
Chang Yuan smiled and said, "I knew you would come back!"
It was rare for Shen Changfeng to lose his temper. He felt that everyone looked down on him, as if they all thought he would kneel down and beg Lin Meizhu to reconcile with him! This was too much of an underestimation! Besides, was Lin Meizhu the type to agree just because he begged her?
Chang Yuan took off his straw hat and fanned himself with his hands on his waist. He looked behind him and asked, "General, you came back alone? Qingsong Chenyue and the others..."
Before he could finish his words, Shen Changfeng suddenly turned around and walked away. Chang Yuan said, "Hey!" and hurriedly chased after him, saying, "General, don't go. I still want to talk to you...where is the Jade Lion now..."
Shen Changfeng stopped and invited Chang Yuan to have a meal.
Walking out of the restaurant, Shen Changfeng weighed his increasingly thin wallet and felt a little regretful: I should have asked Qin Yan for more earlier.
He had to force himself to accept it, otherwise he would be starving now.
The military expenses of the Fu Bo Army came from the income from the military farms of the garrisons themselves. The shortfall had to be allocated by the court from the local treasury. However, there was often no exact timeframe for this, and once the memorial was submitted, the only response was "wait."
When Shen Changfeng headed south, he left half his troops in Nanyang, and the rest followed him everywhere. According to regulations, local officials were to assist the Fu Bo Army, but not all of them were as dedicated as Qin Yan, who even used his personal funds to support them. He had two or three hundred men under his command, and while the prefects and county magistrates didn't say so, they were actually worried they might refuse to leave. After all, the banditry wasn't imminent, but the threat of famine was real.
If things continued like this, Shen Changfeng suspected that he would have to go back to his old ways with his brothers. He had no choice but to capture more bandit leaders and bring them to the government office to pay for their food and lodging.
Shen Changfeng learned from Chang Yuan that Lin... Zhaoye Yushi now has a private residence in Xiangyang and Fancheng, plus the Xiangyang government office, for a total of three homes, and he has not found out about the rest.
Shen Changfeng didn't go to Xiangyang, but he did take a stroll through Fancheng before heading north. Sure enough, he saw two Huishengtang pharmacies in the city. The staff were busy coming and going, and from what passersby said, it seemed they were about to open a new pharmacy and were short-staffed.
Shen Changfeng didn't enter the medicine hall, of course not because Lin Meizhu was not there.
It would have been fine if they hadn't seen each other, but that unexpected encounter in Nanyang had rekindled his gnawing longing. Day after day, from the initial restlessness and irritability to the final insomnia and loss of appetite. He felt like he was addicted, like he had a disease; the moment he closed his eyes, he thought of her. She was his addiction, and also his drug.
Every night, he stroked her used pillow and quilt to quench his thirst, covered his face with the thin quilt, and carefully searched for and savored her lingering fragrance with each breath, in order to ease the pain of longing for her. However, that effect was often only momentary. After the effect of the drug wore off, the addiction worsened, and he fell into deeper struggle and pain.
I miss her so much, I really miss her, I really want to see her again.
Fortunately, the bandits were active more frequently and he became very busy, running around day and night, always on the alert. Finally, he had a chance to take a break from thinking about her.
At first, Shen Changfeng followed the court's order to deter and suppress these large and small bandit gangs, but he soon found something wrong. All the people he sent out either came back empty-handed or were ambushed. These bandits were more clever and fierce than before, and their spies and infiltrators were so widespread that it was alarming.
Shen Changfeng started to get serious.
He transferred most of the troops remaining in Nanyang to the south, discussed battle plans with local officials, and mobilized civilians to cooperate in the operation. However, after the news was released, his actions were very puzzling.
For example, he suddenly ordered his soldiers to launch a surprise attack late at night. After the army camp was assembled, they waited and waited, but he still didn't give the order to fight. When those panicked officials, both high and low, rushed back to the camp in the dark, they were "invited" to the military tent by several soldiers who were ready for battle. Shen Changfeng sat on the imperial chair with a big sword, holding his sword and drinking strong liquor, and he had a friendly and open conversation with these people. The content of the conversation was nothing more than "How many children do you have? How are your parents? Are your wife and children here? Take care of yourselves, be careful when going out, and the Fu Bo Army can visit you often when necessary."
After Shen Changfeng's cordial greetings, the capture plan went much more smoothly.
Furthermore, Shen Changfeng often played by unpredictable means, leaving no one able to predict his next move. He clearly didn't have many soldiers, yet he dared to fight even when the enemy outnumbered him several times over. Most frighteningly, he could win, for he had no moral principles at all. He laid traps, feigned defeat, and sowed discord among the bandits... His string of underhanded tactics left the bandits utterly devastated, so much so that the mere sight of the Fu Bo Army's crimson banners forced them to flee, unable to distinguish who was the true villain.
Shen Changfeng also learned from the captured bandits that the King of Chu had been secretly recruiting soldiers in recent years under the pretext of the court's permission to restore the guard regulations. Judging from the evidence in his hands, the number of people has reached 50,000, and his wolfish ambition is obvious.
Shen Changfeng had evidence, but he was in trouble at this time - he had no one in the court who could have a say. It was not that he had no connections, but that he had no connections that he could truly trust.
The King of Chu's reckless behavior hadn't been going on overnight. Someone must have tried to submit a petition before, but it was obvious they'd been stopped. For the King of Chu to be able to achieve this, he must have many accomplices within the court. Acting rashly would only expose himself. After much deliberation, he decided on a candidate, and with the intention of giving it a try, he wrote a letter to that person.
Shen Changfeng's bandit suppression campaign also obviously angered the King of Chu. Different voices began to appear in the court, impeaching him for starting a war, wasting people's money and resources, and accusing him of being greedy and reckless without considering the consequences.
Shen Changfeng took a different approach, seizing the opportunity to submit a letter of apology to the court and, along with it, several memorials praising the Qinglong Emperor's merits. His rhetoric was dazzling, his flattery resounding, yet it seemed so natural, vivid, and genuine, like a rare sycophant. Some cabinet ministers, convinced that the emperor would appreciate such flattery, unwittingly approved the memorial.
Later, we learned that Shen Changfeng had his own agenda in this, and he mentioned it seemingly unintentionally because the birthday of the King of Chu was approaching, and he was worried that bandits would take advantage of the festival to cause trouble and upset the people, so he sent troops frequently and caused misunderstandings, and begged for mercy.
As soon as the memorial was handed in, the King of Chu and his men panicked. This was because the words "King of Chu" and "bandit" were placed close together on the memorial, and the King of Chu was afraid the Emperor would think something of it.
As the saying goes, "What you fear will come true." After reading the memorial, the emperor suddenly ordered an envoy to go to the Prince of Chu's palace with gifts to celebrate his birthday. You know, it was still two months away from the Prince of Chu's birthday!
In fact, the King of Chu and others were guilty, and it would take about a few days for the envoys to travel from the capital to the vassal state.
Thinking that the emperor had sent someone to warn him, the King of Chu decided to speed up his pace and make final preparations for his grand undertaking, collecting food and fodder and winning over the hearts of the people.
Many officials suffered retaliation for refusing the King of Chu's invitation. For a time, officials from all over the country felt insecure.
Shen Changfeng wanted to join in the fun at the banquet, but he didn't receive an invitation.
Shen Changfeng was grateful and returned the favor by causing trouble for the King of Chu as a gift.
One day, after the Fu Bo Army had cleared out the Black Wind Village's lair, they were returning to camp. On the way, they encountered two groups of people arguing with each other, and they lay down behind the bushes in the mountain stream to watch the fight with great interest.
The two teams met head-on in the middle of the mountain road. A clerk who looked like a waiter on the east side got off the carriage first and bowed to the green-curtained sedan chair on the other side with a very respectful attitude. Many people recognized that the waiter was Zhang Yixin, the aide to the King of Chu.
I don't know what the person in the sedan chair said, but Zhang Yixin's face suddenly turned cold. The black-clad attendants behind him quickly blocked the sedan chair's path. The several police officers on the side of the sedan chair also turned serious and pressed the hilts of their swords in unison.
Seeing a man in white stepping out of the sedan chair, Zhang Yixin's expression eased slightly. However, upon hearing what was said, he quickly turned ruthless again and shouted, "You must leave today! You must leave even if you don't want to!"
The men brought by Zhang Yixin drew their swords and knives with a "swish", and then whistling sounds were heard in the mountains and forests. Several teams of cavalry swooped down from high places, and their shouts shook the sky.
The Fu Bo Army was stunned. The King of Chu hadn't even bothered to pretend, actually seizing a civilian official in broad daylight! Judging from this situation, if the official in white refused to submit, he would surely die. The cause of death was undoubtedly an unfortunate ambush by bandits.
Shen Changfeng sat high on his horse, stopped at the top of a hill and watched for a moment. Seeing that the King of Chu's men were gradually gaining the upper hand, he ordered his men to put away the flags. His men knew this meant they were going to take charge, so they all put on their face coverings.
Shen Changfeng looked at one end of the mountain path from a distance and raised his left palm. The guards closest to him tensed up and prepared to attack. When they saw the person in front of them clearly, they suddenly retracted their five fingers, drew their swords, and rushed down to the back of the mountain path.
The sounds of fighting on the mountain road became more and more brutal. Shen Changfeng pointed at the two sides of the slope with two fingers, and four guards swooped down on each side and quickly swept to the flanks.
Shen Changfeng pulled up his face veil, and a sharp cold light flashed in his upturned phoenix eyes. At a certain moment, he clamped his horse's belly and rushed towards the gap in front with the rest of the soldiers like a hunting beast.
The robe of the man in white on the mountain path was stained crimson. Several guards fell down beside him. The man in white fought and retreated, but he was outnumbered and soon fell into a disadvantage. Seeing that a big knife was about to chop him from behind, Shen Changfeng urged his horse forward, raised the blade high to block it, turned his wrist and lifted it up with vertical force, and the opponent's head fell to the ground, as cleanly and neatly as chopping melons and vegetables.
The man in white also killed a guard who was fighting with him on the spot. His face was splattered with blood and he sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
Shen Changfeng sat on the horse's back, leaned down slightly, and stretched out his hand towards him.
The man in white held his hand and helped him stand up, saying, "Thank you."
Shen Changfeng was startled. He could recognize this voice even if it turned into ashes.
It’s the seventh day!
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