Chapter 41 - This Was What He Wanted

Shen Leng had a frightening grasp of time. Most of the soldiers did not notice it, but Du Weiming and Wang Kuohai did. Before nightfall, they had arrived outside a town named Fu Chou Bao. They could see the smoke rising from the chimneys in that town.

Shen Leng got them to stand guard before they took off their equipment to rest. All of the soldiers heaved a sigh of relief. They carried the load and trekked for more than nine miles. Everyone was almost at their limit.

“Squad leader.”

Du Weiming leaned in and said in a low voice, “If we keep walking at this pace, we will only reach the water bandits’ camp the day after tomorrow. That’s too slow…If Battalion Commander Wang were to use this as a reason to punish us, there is nothing we can say to refute it. The items we’re carrying are too heavy, should we lighten the load?”

“No.”

Shen Leng did not hesitate in his reply. “I feel that we did not bring enough. If not for the fact that you could not carry more, I would have made each of you carry a shield as well.”

As of now, Wang Kuohai was the only one carrying an enormous shield. It was approximately a meter and a half. It was extremely heavy.

Du Weiming did not know what Shen Leng was thinking, but from his tone, he had a premonition that it was something out of the ordinary. It seemed as though it was not as simple as a recon mission.

Shen Leng’s rank was too low - he was not qualified enough to attain a map. Maps were considered valuable items in Great Ning. It was extremely classified in the military. Only a general was in possession of it.

However, before they got there, Shen Leng had specially taken a look at the map in Zhuang Yong’s tent. He was able to perfectly recreate the image of it in his head when he closed his eyes.

“This is the place.”

Shen Leng suddenly muttered under his breath.

Du Weiming stared blankly for a moment. “What?”

Shen Leng broke a wooden stick and called out to them to gather. He drew the map on the sandy ground. The soldiers could not understand it. Even Du Weiming was confused.

“Here.”

Shen Leng used the wooden stick to indicate a dot on a specific location on the map. “If the water bandits have gotten wind of the news that the Navy is going to attack them, and if they also know about our recon mission, this would be the perfect site for them to lay an ambush. We are only about three miles away from the water bandits’ camp. We can relax a little. Because according to theory, we have already recon the area once. We are definitely not in danger.”

“On this side, it is one of Nanping River’s branches called the Gutou River. If we want to get to the water bandits’ camp, we have to go through the shrubs. Near the river bank or the marsh, it would be difficult for people to get out once they are trapped within it. If we get ambushed here, our only option is to flee towards the forest on the other side. The water bandits have another group of people lying in ambush there as well. They do not even have to engage in close combat - all they have to do is shoot their arrows at us and we’ll be dead.”

Du Weiming finally understood what was happening. Mu Xiaofeng wanted to get rid of Shen Leng. And he was going to be a casualty.

Instinctively, he looked at everyone. They were all fantasizing about being commended for their merits. In that way, they were able to head down to the southern coastal border region to see the world, while at the same time being rewarded. They were completely unaware of their impending death. They were about to die!

“There are more than a hundred water bandits. This was the information provided by the recon team. However, I feel that there are more than that. The water bandits have their spies in the neighboring towns. If not, they wouldn’t have successfully evaded the Navy. Hence, there is a possibility that there are at least two hundred of them. There are only twelve of us…”

Du Weiming looked at Shen Leng. “If you are certain that we will get ambushed, why don’t, why don’t we head back?”

“Head back?”

Shen Leng slowly stood up and sighed in exasperation. “I don’t know if what I’ll say next is fitting. Listen anyway…why did all of you join the military? I’m sure the majority of you did not join the military just for the sake of becoming a military family, right? In fact everyone is making a gamble that this will change our fate. And by gambling, the majority of us will see what we can pawn to win the most. If we can take down the Water Tiger, Zhao Dengke, and his men, we will make a name for ourselves in the Navy.”

Du Weiming replied, “This is impossible! Twelve VS. two hundred. We have no chance of victory.”

“How are we going to fight them?”

Shen Leng looked at all of them. “Let me finish up the bad news first…if we are really going to be ambushed, we do not have any external assistance. Even the recon team nearby will not be able to rush here in time. Hence, if we want to win this battle, there is one thing we must do.”

“What is it?” asked Chen Ran out of curiosity.

“Not let people know where we are. Even the recon team of the Navy does not know where we are.”

Shen Leng tossed the wooden stick in his hand to the ground, “Just like ghosts.”

At the same time, at the place where Shen Leng predicted, within the forest, Zhao Dengke, whose nickname was Water Tiger, was already waiting there with his men. He was a man who looked like he was in his thirties. He had formerly studied for a few years before. He was a lot more scheming and intelligent compared to the other water bandits. He had even spent a huge amount of money on a few books on the art of war and studied them every day.

“First-in-command, is that person trustworthy?” asked the second-in-command, Wang Gouzi, who was feeling rather doubtful.

“Not trustworthy. The Navy’s ultimate goal is to get rid of us. Their objective of getting us to lay an ambush here is to make use of us to get rid of some people.”

“Then why did we come here? Shouldn’t we take the opportunity to leave?”

“Unfortunately, we can’t leave this time. If nothing bad happens, our every move will be under the scrutiny of the Navy’s recon team. Apart from the Navy soldiers that are coming here, I’m afraid there are others who are keeping guard elsewhere. If we show signs of wanting to escape, they will come after us immediately.”

The third-in-command Han She went pale. “Either way, we will die without a doubt, right?”

“That is not necessarily the case.”

Zhao Dengke looked around; only the second-in-command and third-in-command were next to him. He lowered his voice and saiad, “We will do as that person says. When we are in the midst of fighting, it would be chaotic. When it is chaotic, we will get a chance to escape. We cannot guarantee the safety of our brothers…the two of you remember this - let our brothers take the lead when we attack them. After all, it is only a ten-man squad. They will not chicken out. After they start attacking them, we will take the opportunity to leave.”

Zhao Dengke said, “Over the past few years, haven’t you understood the Navy’s attitude towards us? If they really want to exterminate every single one of us, it is impossible for us to survive till now. They were merely using us to train their troops…because I see this clearly, I had already started making preparations two years ago. I placed our silver in a bank in Huaiyuan city. After we escape, we will collect our money and flee far, far away.”

“We will listen to you, first-in-command.”

“We are done leading such terrible lives.”

“Yes, we will listen to you.”

“Get the brothers to make preparations.”

Zhao Dengke instructed, “One third of our men will be in the shrubs and lie in ambush. We will force the ten-man squad to flee towards the forest. The rest shall wait in the forest. Shoot the arrows at them first before our brothers attack them from both sides. Number three, hide a speedboat in the reed marsh for us to use when we are fleeing. Number two, take our money from the village and put it in the boat for us to use on the road. Once we get to Huaiyuan city, we will split the silver. Each one of us will get at least a thousand taels. It will be enough for us to start from scratch.”

“Yes!”

The few of them answered and went separate ways.

Hukou’s crossing.

Mu Xiaofeng leaned against the chair as he sampled the good wine sent over by his father from Changan city. It was brewed in the Western border; the wine was amber in color and it had a fragrant flavor.

“They must be almost there, right?” asked Mu Xiaofeng.

Mu Jiu lowered his head and answered, “According to how much time has passed, it’s about time. Young master, you shouldn’t make an appearance this time. It would be troublesome to come up with an explanation for Zhuang Yong.”

“Once Shen Leng is dead, what else is there to be worried about?”

Mu Xiaofeng put down the cup of wine. “Is there no news from the scouting team?”

After he asked that question, one of his trusted aides came running in. He looked rather anxious. “General, Shen Leng and his squad has disappeared…our people and the scouts did not keep an eye on them. Just before last night, they arrived at Fu Chou Bao to rest and reorganize. Thereafter, they disappeared. We tried to look for their footprints to track them down, but there weren’t any. They got rid of them intentionally.”

“Trash!”

Mu Xiaofeng stood up abruptly. “Mu Jiu, bring some people and head there.”

Mu Jiu grunted. “Young master, please do not be anxious. They can’t escape. Zhao Dengke’s men are already lying in ambush. Once they appear, they will attack them. I will bring some people and head there to find out what exactly is happening.”

“Go, quickly.”

Mu Xiaofeng started raging. He was dying to kick the table and flip it over.

Mu Jiu turned around and left. He called out to six to seven trusted aides and left with them.

“Start the boat!”

Mu Xiaofeng yelled at them, “Full speed!”

At this moment, Shen Leng and company had almost arrived at the predicted ambush site. They laid on the high hill. Shen Leng took out his field glasses and looked afar. In general, only a high-ranking military officer was given a pair of field glasses. It was impossible for someone of his rank to have access to it. However, he did not receive this from the military. Mr. Shen gave it to him.

“It’s right there.”

Shen Leng pointed to the shrubs on the other side. “Let’s walk a little and go around it.”

“And after that?”

“We will go to the water bandits’ camp.”

Shen Leng stood up and instructed, “Use the shortest possible time to get over to the narrowest river channel on the other side. If we are a little slower, the water bandits would catch up with us and shoot us to death. We just have to be faster than them. After we have passed the river channel, we will charge into their camp.”

“I’m afraid the camp is already empty. What’s the point of us going there?”

“I told you before, just do as I say. You don’t have to ask why.”

Shen Leng looked at Du Weiming, “I know what you’re thinking. If you don’t dare to take the gamble, then go be an army deserter.”

Du Weiming gritted his teeth. He did not dare to take the gamble but he was more afraid of becoming an army deserter. He did not even know where his parents were - only General Zhuang Yong knew about it. This was his weak spot.

“I dare!”

He gritted his teeth and gestured. “My men, follow me!”

Shen Leng charged down the hill with them, and went straight into a river channel. Even though their equipment were heavy, the wooden planks that were tied to their bodies proved to be useful. Swimming was one of the segments of their training sessions. Moreover, they grew up by the river, hence they were all rather good at swimming.

Not long after they entered the river channel, they were discovered by the water bandits. Zhao Dengke looked over and was so furious that he went pale. “This bunch of bastards. Give chase! There are only about ten of them or so. Each one of their lives is worth ten taels of silver. Don’t let a single one of them go!”

The water bandits who were hiding in ambush within the shrubs came charging out. The whole group of them chased after Shen Leng and his men. Shen Leng dragged Wang Kuohai along with him and swam forward. After all, he was really huge and he was carrying an enormous shield as well. Finally, they got to the river bank on the other side. The twelve of them started scampered off as quick as they could and ran with all their might. They did not look back at all.

Zhao Dengke was so mad that he felt his beard was going to explode at any moment. This was completely unexpected. If he chose to run away at this moment, the Navy would not let him go. Hence, he had no choice but to lead his men and gave chase.

Shen Leng turned around and looked. He started laughing, “They can’t run three miles, but we can!”

At this moment, everyone realized that their arduous training was not for nothing. At the very least, the water bandits did not run as fast as them, and they could not run as far as they could.

This was probably the strangest thing that happened ever since the Navy was formed. On the surface it seemed as though more than a hundred water bandits were chasing ten odd soldiers. However, in reality, it was as though they were being dragged. Each one of them was exhausted as they gasped for air.

This was what Shen Leng wanted.