Changning’s Imperial Army - Chapter 90

Chapter 90 – The Biggest Hope

After Shen Leng was done making the necessary arrangements, he stared at Zhao Feng’s corpse and spaced out for a while. After that, he felt somewhat angry. “Indeed, I’m not a calculating person after all. If I were, I would have handled it better.”

Chen Ran asked, “Meaning?”

Shen Leng said, “This is the evidence. If I did not kill him and sent him back to the Navy’s camp before handing him over to the commander, in the future it will definitely be of use to us. Even though it’s not that we don’t have any evidence at all, but it’s not as convincing as having a live person.”

Somebody was injured within the ten-man squad. Even though it was not serious, an infection was inevitable during a long and difficult journey. Naturally, Shen Leng was not willing to allow anything to happen to any of his subordinates. Hence, after pondering for a while, he decided to change their strategy.

“Ma Sheng!” Shen Leng called out.

One soldier quickly ran over to him. “Yes, military officer.”

Shen Leng said, “Zheng Cheng is hurt. Even though we brought some medication with us, I’m still worried that something bad might happen. I want you to do something – send Zheng Cheng back to the Navy’s camp.”

“Ah?!”

Ma Sheng was evidently taken by surprise. “You want me to go back? But military officer, this time you only brought a few of us with you. If you send two of us back, what if…”

“There are no what ifs. Not only do I want you to take Zheng Cheng back to treat his injury, there is another thing that is rather important.”

Shen Leng pointed to the corpses of Guan Tang Kou’s men. “In a while, after daybreak, I will send some people to buy two big boxes and limestone. Cut off the heads of these people and cover them with limestone. Hire an escort and get him to send the boxes back to the Navy. They have to be personally given to the commander, as well as those repeating crossbows.”

Shen Leng continued, “There’s a possibility that these repeating crossbows can make a big case. By then, we cannot be passive.”

Ma Sheng nodded. “Alright, understood.”

Shen Leng gave the other men some instructions, and decided to delay their journey by half a day. He got his men to bury those corpses, place the heads into the boxes and covered them with limestone. They also tossed the repeating crossbows into the boxes. It was already winter – the temperature was very low. It was highly possible that nobody would detect anything suspicious as the boxes made their way back to the Navy’s camp. Furthermore, the limestone concealed the stench. The escorts would not open it either, due to the rules put in place. Even though as of now, those things were useless. But in the event they were needed, it would help greatly.

The next day, at noon, two of Shen Leng’s subordinates changed into Guan Tang Kou’s clothes. They hired some escorts to send the two boxes back to the Navy. They followed the escorts back to the Navy – it was safer that way.

After everything had been arranged, the sky was starting to darken. They were being held up four hours longer than they expected. Shen Leng found out where the black market was, and sold Guan Tang Kou’s horses there. Selling more than a hundred horses fetched them a good amount of money. He immediately split the money equally and distributed it to everyone. As for the weapons, Shen Leng was worried that it would land into the hands of bad people. Hence, he broke all of them before burying them.

This was Dongchi; news spread fast within the county town. Soon, it reached Li Xiaoran.

After Shen Leng made the sale, he got his men to return to the woods to rest and reorganize. He brought Yang Qibao and Gu Le with him to follow the man from the black market. Before nightfall, that person got to a manor. After he waited for a while, he was called in.

Shen Leng and his two men looked at each other. After that, they looked for a restaurant in the town not far from the manor and casually ordered a few dishes. If he dabbled in the black market, he would definitely pass by the restaurant.

After waiting for slightly less than an hour, indeed, that person hastily made his way towards the restaurant. Shen Leng got up; Yang Qibao and Gu Le followed closely behind.

After they left the town, there was nobody on the main interconnecting road. The three of them gave chase and immediately grabbed him and flung him into the woods at the side of the road.

That fella was a man in his thirties. He looked very frightened; clearly, he did not expect Shen Leng to follow him. After Gu Le tied him to a big tree, he went completely pale.

Shen Leng asked, “Why are you going to that manor?”

“Why…why do I have to ask you for permission to go anywhere?”

Shen Leng asked again, “The manor must belong to the crown prince, Li Xiao Ran, am I right? Is Li Xiaoran in the manor now?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Shen Leng sounded somewhat regretful, “I really don’t want to specialize in extorting a confession.”

Gu Le punched that fella in the nose, causing blood to gush out immediately. Shen Leng was taken by surprise…previously, he did not get to now Gu Le on a deeper level. After all, he was not one of his subordinates, but Yang Qibao’s second-in-command. He was a merciless person, extremely ruthless. The way he handled things was even more ruthless. He was also ruthless when it came to killing people. At the very core, he had a wolf-like fortitude. Shen Leng was very curious as to what kind of things he had experienced, for him to become like that.

“In the future, leave extorting confessions to me, military officer.”

Gu Le smiled at Shen Leng. That smile struck fear into people.

He turned around and faced the black market horse peddler. “You have reported to Li Xiaoran, right? From the looks of it, Li Xiaoran must have given you instructions prior to this. He must have told you to keep a lookout for unusual things or people. And of course, we are not ordinary people.”

He drew out a knife. “I used to be an executioner for a period of time, the kind that specializes in beheading people. I’ve done my research over a long period of time on how to behead a person. If I cut here, it is the most efficient and requires the least amount of strength. The head will roll right onto the ground.”

Gu Le pressed against the nape of the horse peddler. “Right here.”

The horse peddler could not help but tremble. His adam’s apple was quivering; he struggled to swallow his saliva. “I really do not know what you are asking about. I am only but an ordinary civilian, doing some small business…”

“Do you think an ordinary civilian dares to peddle horses?”

Gu Le held his knife against the horse peddler’s neck. The blade of the knife was very sharp – he did not have to exert any force on it to cut his neck. He leaned into his ear and said, “What we are selling to you are not worn out old horses or mules. If you have peddled horses for a long time, naturally, you can tell that these are battle horses. However, you had the guts to buy them. I’m guessing you’re definitely buying it on behalf of the crown prince.”

“That year, that crown prince almost made it. And now, he is recruiting soldiers and buying horses in secret. It is abundantly clear what his motives are. If we were to report this to the Ministry of Justice, you and your family will be executed.”

The horse peddler’s face turned green. His body started to tremble vigorously. “Don’t spout nonsense. I am only but a horse peddler. I don’t understand what you are saying at all. I am only…I am only a businessman.”

“You can act like you don’t know – whether you truly don’t know or you’re pretending, it does not matter. If the fact that the crown prince is peddling horses gets out, I cannot guarantee whether or not he dies. After all, he is part of the royal family. As for you, without a doubt, you and your family will be exterminated. Even if the imperial court spares you, the crown prince would not.”

Gu Le lifted his knife and ripped off a piece of cloth from his clothes to dress his wound. “Tell us the truth, and we won’t bring it out into the open. If you don’t say anything, the imperial court will not know, and neither will the crown prince. After we leave, you can pretend nothing happened. This is a good option for you.”

The horse peddler’s lips turned a little purple. Evidently, he was extremely terrified.

“Think about it – in truth, you only have four options. First option – we kill you because we cannot get any information from you. Second option – we don’t kill you, but the crown prince will. Third option – someone from the imperial court will kill you…and the last option.”

Gu Le looked him in the eye. “I said it earlier on.”

“Who exactly are you people, and what exactly do you want?!”

The horse peddler glared at Gu Le with bloodshot eyes. He wished he could strangle Gu Le to death.

“You don’t have to know.”

Gu Le asked, “Is the crown prince in the manor?”

“Yes…yes!”

The horse peddler gritted his teeth and nodded his head.

“What did he say to you people?”

“He told us to pay extra attention to the Navy soldiers who are in military uniform. Not just me – all the crown prince’s subordinates that were hidden amongst the peddlers and common folks have been keeping an eye. Once any of the soldiers enter Dongchi, they will inform him immediately.”

Upon hearing that, Shen Leng understood clearly. He had thought about that before, hence he was not taken by surprise.

He was more curious about what kind of person Gu Le was.

He was a man who looked like he was 26 or 27 years old; he came from a very ordinary family. He used to be an executioner for two years. However, Great Ning was too peaceful and stable – he did not have to behead anyone during those two years. However, Shen Leng believed what Gu Le said earlier was true; he truly researched the most efficient and effective way to behead someone.

Naturally gifted?

A person as such seemed to be more suited to be working for the Commandant of Justice, wearing black clothes, lurking in the dark, instead of being a soldier.

“What else? Regardless of whether it’s related to the Navy or not, tell us everything that happened in the manor during the past two days, as well as the people who went there,” asked Gu Le.

In any case, the horse peddler had already threw caution to the wind at this moment. He pondered for a bit before saying, “There’s a visitor from Changan city, named Mr. Yuan. He said that he was sent by the great scholar. He’s been here since a few days ago. Oh, right…the crown prince is probably looking for you people because of what happened to the Qingya magistrate.”

Gu Le laughed. “You sure are smart.”

The horse peddler said, “Naturally, you were the ones behind it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be asking these questions.”

“One of the great scholar’s men is here.”

Shen Leng looked at the horse peddler. “Based on your status, there’s no way you could have known all these things.”

“I…I am rather close to one of the servant girls there. She…she told me about it.”

Gu Le laughed, “From the looks of it, the crown prince has another reason to kill you.”

Shen Leng asked, “Do you know where Mr. Yuan lives?”

“He lives in the manor, but a different one – it is on the other side of the lotus pond that is next to where His Highness lives. However, it is not that close on foot.”

“You sure know it very well.”

“His Highness’ guests are arranged to stay there.”

Gu Le looked at Shen Leng. “Any other questions?”

Shen Leng shook his head. Gu Le raised his knife; that horse peddler immediately turned pale.

Shen Leng grabbed Gu Le’s wrist. “You want to kill him?”

Gu Le stared blankly for a moment. “Don’t tell me I shouldn’t?”

Shen Leng shook his head. “You said it before – he knew what would happen if he told Li Xiaoran about this. Li Xiaoran will not let him live. Let him go.”

Gu Le said, “But…”

Shen Leng frowned slightly. “Hmm?”

Gu Le sighed. He cut off the ropes. “Scram.”

That horse peddler ran immediately, leaving behind a rather pungent stench of excrement.

“Gu Le.”

Shen Leng looked at Gu Le. “Do you intend to follow me?”

“Yes!”

Gu Le’s reply was simple and direct. “I need to follow you, military officer. No second thoughts.”

“Why?”

Shen Leng looked into his eyes. “Isn’t being in the garrison squad good?”

“Why?”

Gu Le repeated what he said and forced a smile. “Hope.”

Just that one word.

“What hope?” asked Shen Leng.

Gu Le looked into Shen Leng’s eyes and answered, “I know that I come from a humble background, all I can do to change my fate is to do a good job. However, do you think that becoming an executioner in the county yamen will allow me to make a name for myself? No, it can never happen. No matter how well I behead people, it’s of no use. Hence, I joined the Navy. The Navy does not care about our background. I think that I can do it.”

“But military officer, you know why we joined the garrison squad. It’s because we were bullied and hence lost hope…I know I’m not an ordinary person. I am able to have the kind of focus and ruthlessness that other people are incapable of having. I am ferocious to my enemies, as well as myself, but where is my opportunity to advance?”

Gu Le took a deep breath. “Those big figures do not care to use people like me. Neither do I have the means to curry favor with them. But as for you…I see that you are my biggest hope.”