39. Transfer of Military Power
"Beat them to death!"
Chai Shun shook his head: If I could kill someone, I would have done it long ago.
"You dare refuse me?" Lei Sheng thought the head was shaking at him.
"How could I?" Chai Shun said through gritted teeth with a forced smile. "Please, sir."
He led the man to the general's tent. This was not the temporary camp by the Shule River. The general's tent was larger than the one there, but it was still quite simple.
Inside the tent, as usual, were chairs missing armrests, tables with broken legs, and wolf-skin mattresses...
Lei Sheng squinted and looked around suspiciously, saying, "Don't lie to me. He's a dignified First-Rank General of the Cavalry, sleeping in a place like this?"
Chai Shun's patience was about to run out. "This is indeed the general's tent in the camp. Most of the time, the general sleeps in the temporary camp in front of the battle lines. The camp over there has not been dismantled. You can stay there when you patrol in the future."
Lei Sheng thought it was understandable that the place was simple, since people didn't sleep there often; a temporary camp would definitely be luxurious. But when he went to the temporary camp and saw the drafty general's tent, he realized that Xiao Pingchuan had indeed never slept in a good place.
"Sir, is there anything else you need to explain?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't mean anything by it. This is just a handover between two armies. Please feel free to ask me any questions, and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."
If Lei Sheng were an experienced general, he should have asked Sha Tuo about his combat habits and the Black Flag Army's previous defensive measures.
However, there was no war in Liangzhou, and he had always been a hands-off manager, so he didn't know much and didn't know what to ask for a moment.
"Do you have any questions?" he asked his lieutenant.
The deputy general was a young master from a prominent family who had come along to gain military merit. He knew nothing about military matters and could only shake his head when asked.
“In that case, we’ve finished our business.” Chai Shun pulled out a handover document from his pocket. “Please stamp this document, sir.”
Lei Sheng did as instructed.
Chai Shun carefully put away the handover documents. "Sir, you must be tired from your long journey. You should rest first."
After saying that, he grabbed Xu Youcai and left, not giving Lei Sheng a chance to speak at all.
After walking a distance, Xu Youcai asked, "You really let him sleep in the general's tent?"
"Let him sleep if he likes it. Later, go and secretly replace the general's wolf-skin rug with it. We can't let him get away with this."
"become."
In the evening, there should have been a welcoming banquet. But Chai Shun was too lazy to bother, so he simply made an excuse that the Black Flag Army had been without food for many days and was really unable to do so, so the welcoming banquet was skipped.
The next morning, before dawn, Chai Shun came to Lei Sheng's tent and woke him up, saying he had some things to tell him.
Yesterday, Lei Sheng announced that he now had command of the Black Flag Army and that they should go to Ningyuan, the capital of the capital, to rest and recuperate.
Ningyuan is quite a distance from the Shule River; it would take about a day and a night to travel at full speed.
Chai Shun didn't say anything about it, only that the Shatuo had been causing trouble for the past two years and that they couldn't let their guard down. As for whether Lei Sheng listened to him, he didn't know.
"Lord Lei!" Chai Shun shouted from outside the tent.
After shouting for a long time, only dragging sounds came from inside the tent.
"Lord Lei."
"What are you yelling for? What are you yelling for!" Lei Sheng lifted the tent flap. He was used to a comfortable life, and last night the tent was cold and hard, and he didn't sleep well all night.
"Lord Lei, there are some things in the camp that I need to discuss with you."
Lei Sheng glanced at him coldly and said impatiently, "Yes, yes, what's there to agree about? I think the Shule River is perfectly fine, what's there to agree about?"
"Just doing my duty, sir." Chai Shun clasped his hands in greeting.
Lei Sheng took a deep breath. "Let's go. We can talk about what we need to say as we walk."
"Yes, sir, please follow me."
As they spoke, Chai Shun led the man out of the camp: "The lord already knows about the granaries, cooks, and weapons battalions in the camp, so I won't go into detail. I'd like to show you the fortifications outside the camp..."
"Those barricades?"
"Not entirely. We have a river here, and the Shatuo have become quite adept at swimming over the years; they can even cross water while holding their breath. So, General..."
Lei Sheng rolled his eyes at him.
Chai Shunli ignored him and continued, "We specially trained a group of people who are good at water. They usually stay by the river and can immediately notify the camp if there is any disturbance. I will take Lord Lei to get acquainted with these brothers."
"What do you mean?" Lei Sheng stopped in his tracks. "Aren't you taking these people with you?"
Chai Shun suspected that he couldn't understand human language, so he explained, "They are our first line of defense against the Shatuo. We have to keep them here, otherwise no one will even notice when the Shatuo attack the camp gates."
"Hmph, who are you trying to scare? They're just guards, aren't they? Anyone with eyes can see. Take them all away, don't leave a single one behind. Who knows what kind of tricks you might pull in private?"
"Sir, our general has instructed that the river guard must not be withdrawn."
"I said we'd leave, so you use your brain! Who's in charge now?"
"grown ups....."
"Alright, shut up. You can keep me if you want, but it's hard to say whether I'll live or die."
Chai Shun gritted his teeth, "Then I'll take them all with me, but Lord Lei, if anything goes wrong with the Shule River in the future, you'll have to be careful."
Lei Sheng sneered, "You should take care of yourselves first. Speaking of which, the Black Flag Army's supplies will all come from Liangzhou from now on. In my opinion, you don't lack food at all, so I won't spend any more money."
Chai Shun took a deep breath. "You jest, sir."
"I'm not joking. Just wait and see. When I'm in a better mood, I might be willing to allocate some grain from my jurisdiction to you. Oh right, I heard you were starving before. Now that you're back in the city to rest, you have plenty of free time. Go beg for food; it's your old trade anyway."
At this point, Chai Shun had nothing more to say. "In that case, sir, please explore on your own. We will set off early tomorrow morning. Before tomorrow, sir, please feel free to ask any questions you may have, especially regarding the Shatuo. We will not wait for you after that."
Lei Sheng waved his hand, "Go back."
After Chai Shun left, the man next to Lei Sheng approached and said, "Sir, did we really let them leave so easily? Years ago, Xiao Pingchuan used his military power to yell at you all the time."
After being reminded by him, Lei Sheng suddenly realized that it was not worth it to let the person go so easily.
Now that he holds great power and the Black Flag Army is at his command, why can't he vent his anger?
"So what's your idea?"
The man's eyes darted around. "We definitely can't beat these stinking beggars if we fight. Why don't we have them demonstrate how to defend themselves, like crossing a river or chasing after an enemy?"
Lei Sheng laughed heartily, "That's good. Go and gather them all by the river. While the weather is cool in the morning, let them put on a show for me first."
The weather is more than just cool.
Although it was still late autumn, the temperature in the North had already dropped below zero, and thin ice had begun to form on the riverbanks.
"Remember to call our people to come and watch the fun," Lei Sheng added, watching the man's departing figure.
Soon, the Black Flag Army's first corps responsible for today's guard patrols assembled. The 1,500 men stood silently, straighter than spears. In contrast, the Liangzhou Army was dawdling and stood sloppily, unable to muster even 200 men in half a day.
Chai Shun was not the military commander; he had come along specifically to see what kind of trouble Lei Sheng was up to this time.
On the way, they heard that Lei Sheng wanted them to swim back and forth in the water, euphemistically calling it teaching the Liangzhou army how to cross the river.
Commander Zhao Chuncheng felt sorry for his soldiers and didn't want to listen to Lei Sheng, but Chai Shun stopped him, saying that the general was still trapped in the capital and if they caused trouble, it might implicate the general.
Zhao Chuncheng then reluctantly agreed.
Lei Sheng walked slowly in front of the army with his hands behind his back, head held high and chest out, his steps light and unsteady, looking like a smug little man.
"Black Flag Army, Black Flag Army, heh, how impressive, but you still fell into my hands." He mocked, "Go swim a couple of laps and let me see if you've been slacking off in your training."
"As for the time," he glanced at the river, "it'll be about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. If it goes over time, there's no need to eat, so as not to waste food."
The Shule River is over 4,000 feet wide, and it would take about the time it takes to burn an incense stick to swim back and forth. Lei Sheng is clearly trying to make everyone go hungry.
Even though every Black Flag soldier knew they were being blatantly harassed, no one spoke or moved, demonstrating the strict military discipline.
Zhao Chuncheng, on the other hand, had a murderous look on his face, and seeing that he was about to lash out again, Chai Shun quickly held him down.
"Brothers, swim the same way you normally do today. Treat it as training. I'll swim with you all," he shouted. "Get in the water!"
"yes!"
A resounding "Yes!" shattered the sky, startling Lei Sheng and causing the Liangzhou soldiers, who had been standing haphazardly, to immediately straighten up.
Thump, thump.
The Black Flag Army entered the water one after another.
The water was wide and sparkling, and the people who entered the water quickly glided silently to the distance like silver fish.
On the shore, Zhao Chuncheng stared intently at Lei Sheng with a dark expression.
Lei Sheng touched his nose and moved aside.
Soon, the time it takes to drink a cup of tea was up, and no one returned.
Lei Sheng chuckled, "Alright, we've saved a lot of food today."
Zhao Chuncheng drew his knife in a flash, swung his arm in a wide arc, and almost sliced off his nose.
"You! What are you doing!" Lei Sheng was so frightened that he hurriedly backed away, lost his balance, and sat down on the ground with a thud.
Zhao Chuncheng looked at him coldly and said four words: "Exercise."
After a while, people began to climb out of the water one after another.
It was cold, and steam rose from the air as soon as people got ashore. Everyone stomped their feet to keep warm, but Lei Sheng stubbornly refused to let them go. He endured the freezing weather until everyone was ashore, and then he rambled on and on about a lot of nonsense before finally telling everyone to disperse.
Chai Shun and Zhao Chuncheng were so angry they wanted to chop him up with a knife.
"We can't just let him get away with this," Zhao Chuncheng said.
Chai Shun, his clothes still dripping wet, said in a sinister tone, "I didn't say I wouldn't deal with him. Go, call Kui Lang, gather all the best fighters, and this afternoon the two armies will have a friendly spar. Beat him to a pulp."
Zhao Chuncheng nodded excitedly.
In the afternoon, Lei Sheng was forcibly taken to the martial arts arena.
When he arrived, he found that his men were completely surrounded in the middle, with the Black Flag Army like hungry wolves all around.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"We've heard that the Liangzhou army is incredibly brave, so we've come to learn from them," said a Black Flag Army soldier who looked unfamiliar.
"Who do you think you are? Tell your General Chai to come out and speak."
"General Chai has caught a cold and is bedridden."
"What about the others? What about the other managers?"
The soldier chuckled, "I don't know." He raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers, let's go! Don't break any arms or legs, don't cause any internal injuries. We all know what we're doing."
After saying that, he let out a strange cry and pounced on Lei Sheng, punching him in the stomach. It hurt, but no injury could be seen.
"I'd say you've got some nerve, coming here to act tough in my backyard. Don't you even know we're vegetarians?" he said as he began to strike hard.
For a time, the training ground was filled with cries of pain. The two armies were exchanging blows, but the Liangzhou army was the only one being beaten.
The key was that the Black Flag Army would run away after the attack, disappearing from the camp and hiding, leaving Lei Sheng with absolutely no leverage.
Lei Sheng wanted to vent his anger but had nowhere to vent it, and he didn't dare to drag Chai Shun over, for fear of getting beaten up again.
I was in soreness and pain all night and couldn't sleep. I finally made it to dawn and when I opened my eyes, good heavens, the entire camp was bare, not a single tent was left.
The Black Flag Army camp vanished completely overnight, even the pits they dug for cooking were filled in.
Lei Sheng: ......
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