The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 445- 447

Chapter 445: You Can’t Go to Jiangzhou

Ling Zhang was escorted back to the military encampment. During the more than two hours when they’d been in the wood, the armed conflict between the rebel forces in Jiangzhou and the army sent by the imperial court had come to an end.

It was easy to imagine how furious Wang Xiangxin was at this moment, given that not only had he not seen the people or the gold he’d been expecting all this time, but he had also lost a lot of men after falling prey to the trap set by General Zhongwu.

“Young Master, your wound is very deep and was soaked by rain too. Before making a full recovery, you must not use this arm again lest the wound be reopened.”

Qiu Bing meticulously cleaned Ling Zhang’s wound, applied some medicine to it, dressed it and eventually gave him some advice in a serious tone.

“I see. You guys should get yourselves examined as well. Some of you are injured and should get the wounds bandaged right away. Those of you who are unharmed may have some rest. When the rain stops, send some men back to the county seat to get our baggage. We won’t be going back to that residence anytime soon.”

Looking at the cut on his arm, Ling Zhang made arrangements for them to deal with what needed to be done next.

As he was wounded, the General Zhongwu soon came to check on him. Knowing that Ling Zhang had merely hurt his arm and the wound had been dressed, he gave a gasp of relief.

“It never crossed my mind Shan Congyi would carry with him something powerful enough to blast such a huge crater in the ground. I’d never seen anything like that before either, and I don’t have a clue what it was. If all the armies of the Wan Kingdom are equipped with that kind of things, our country would be in dire danger.”

After hearing what had happened in the wood, the General Zhongwu was very worried.

“It was a small black iron ball. I didn’t have enough time to see its contents. Seeing as Shan Congyi used it as a last resort, it must be very rare and precious to him. He wouldn’t have used it had he had another choice. It’s impossible for the Wan Kingdom to equip its every army with that kind of weapons, but we still need to ascertain what it was.”

Before the General Zhongwu’s arrival, Ling Zhang had had Yao Yi write a letter for him, the contents of which included information about that iron ball. When the rain stopped, he’d have the letter delivered to the capital city, telling Yuwen Tong to send someone to the Wan Kingdom to look into it immediately.

…

In Jiangzhou.

The rebels fled back to the checkpoint, shut the gates as a matter of urgency and finally got themselves a respite. The rebel army had lost more than half of its troops during this fight! Originally they’d planned to go out of the checkpoint, distract the army of the imperial court with a feint, and then lure them away to create an opportunity for Shan Congyi to transport the gold to the checkpoint. They hadn’t bargained on falling victim to the enemy’s subterfuge. The army of the imperial court had not only routed them like a knife through butter but also kept them from retreating to the checkpoint. Worse still, they hadn’t got a single one of the gold ingots that those people of the Wan Kingdom were supposed to deliver to them!

Wang Xiangxin, the mastermind who’d orchestrated this attack launched by the rebel forces, was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot. He’d lost so many men during this fight! And he’d failed to get the gold of the Wan Kingdom too!

“Lord Commander, it’s said that when we were fighting out there, there was a turmoil going on in the wood beside Xiaofeng Village as well. That loud explosion we heard during the fight was from that very wood. Considering the ground quaked for a long moment, do you think it’s possible that the explosion was caused by… the thing Shan Congyi mentioned in that letter? That’s also the reason why I suspect Shan Congyi and his men were intercepted.

This time around Xiao Jiangyue clearly had made some preparations. He’d anticipated that we would go out of our checkpoint to harass them, but he’d been laying low all along, pretending to be unaware of it. It seems that Shan Congyi’s plan to transport gold through this checkpoint had come to Xiao Jiangyue’s knowledge some time ago. As things stand, I’m afraid those gold ingots have also fallen into the hands of Xiao Jiangyue. I wonder if Shan Congyi is alive or not, and whether he has more gold to offer us.”

The speaker was a lieutenant of Wang Xiangxin’s, who was very much in Wang Xiangxin’s confidence. On one knee, he anxiously looked at his commander standing in the shadows.

“The Wan Kingdom was at war with the Great Yue for several consecutive years. I’m afraid their exchequer has long since been depleted. This time Shan Congyi managed to bring some gold here, but it’s very unlikely he could do the same thing again. Even if he could, there’s no way the amount would be the same. On top of that, there’s also the problem of finding the right time to open up another gap in the enemy line for him. Right now we don’t even know whether Shan Congyi still draws breath or not. It’s inadvisable to continue to pin our faith on the Wan Kingdom.”

Wang Xiangxin made a reply in a sinister tone in which there was manifest anger he was unable to conceal. “There’s no doubt Xiao Jiangyue had been in Xishan County previously, but he suddenly showed up in this place. They must have got wind of it some time ago. Judging from the deployment of the troops sent by the imperial court, they probably wouldn’t stay at their checkpoint for long. We don’t have much time. We must force our way through that checkpoint in Haizhou and take Haizhou as soon as possible. Jiangzhou is poor in natural resources. We could easily get trapped and killed like fish in a barrel if we stay here too long.”

“But we need the cooperation of the Luohai Kingdom to take Haizhou. It won’t be easy for us to do it without their help, given that currently most of our men are stationed at the four checkpoints.”

His lieutenant was deeply concerned. This time they had not only failed to get the gold but also lost so many men. It was definitely a heavy blow. “In addition, if by any chance the failure of the Wan Kingdom’s plan comes to the knowledge of the Luohai Kingdom–”

“Which is why we must figure out a way to have the Luohai Kingdom cooperate with us and take action before that happens,” interrupted Wang Xiangxin in a fierce tone.

His trusted lieutenant knew that they didn’t really have a choice. If they continued to wait, they would very likely end up being wiped out by the army of the imperial court. “Should I go to–”

“No. You’re to stay here keeping watch on the movement of Xiao Jiangyue’s men. I’ll personally pay a visit to Haizhou.”

“That’s… Yes, Commander!” answered Wang Xiangxin’s lieutenant, lowering his head. Then he looked up only to find that Wang Xiangxin was gone. At the prospect of cleaning up the mess on his own, his face crumpled up.

Wang Xiangxin quietly left. The disguise he was wearing was the work of an army physician serving in the rebel forces. He returned to the infirmary, walked into the innermost room and sat down, an ugly look on his face.

“Lord Commander.” A voice was suddenly heard, but the door of the room remained motionless. The speaker must’ve been hiding in this room for some time.

However, Wang Xiangxin had got used to it. “How did it go? Have your men managed to sneak into the encampment of the imperial court’s army? Did they find anything?”

“Sneak into it? That encampment was cloaked in some kind of weird concealment formation. My men got caught immediately after entering. And, when your men were fighting on the front lines, three of my men died in this place. It would seem some killers have infiltrated into your headquarters before any of our men could sneak into the enemy’s encampment, and these killers are capable of accurately identifying my men!”

The speaker walked out of the darkness. He was wearing a skintight black outfit, with eerie black totemic markings on his face, emanating a cold air. His long-fingered hands were very pale, his voice rather wintry. It was as though he were not a living person at all.

“What? Some people slipped in here?” Wang Xiangxin was taken aback.

“Who else knows so much about my men other than you, Lord Commander?” asked the man, staring fixedly at Wang Xiangxin with skeptical eyes.

Wang Xiangxin felt an overwhelming surge of anger but, surprisingly, smiled, “You’re suspecting me? We’ve been in cooperation for so many years. It’s me who’s taken care of your and your men’s needs. I’ve always trusted you and even put my life in your hands. And now you’re suspecting me?”

Seeing this, the man said, “There’s no need to sulk about it, Lord Commander. If it’s not you, then it would mean someone more formidable has come to Jiangzhou, and they’re targeting my men. Or maybe they’re trying to force you out of hiding. Either way, their ultimate target is you.”

Wang Xiangxin’s countenance became extremely sullen. The failure he’d suffered earlier this day had caused his temper to fray some time before, and now, the combat effectiveness of the elite force under his command, who had never disappointed him before, seemed to be on the decline. They had not only failed to infiltrate into the enemy’s encampment but also allowed some killers to sneak into their own checkpoint.

“These people have such an intimate knowledge of your team, and you don’t have a clue who they might be?!”

The man lowered his eyes. After a while, he replied in a malevolent tone of voice, “Our foes are all in Jianghu, but we haven’t shown our faces for many years and they all believe we died a long time ago. These killers’ identities are a mystery to us. Their killing style is quick and clean. They’re even more experienced in killing and more adept at hiding than us. These people have been given specialized training in assassination. In the past few years, nobody has heard of anyone like them in Jianghu.”

Wang Xiangxin pondered over it for quite a while before a thought occurred to him, sending a chill down his spine. “Are you saying that these people are probably not from Jianghu but from the imperial court? That Yuwen Tong sent them here?!”

“Exactly.”

Astounded, Wang Xiangxin sprung to his feet immediately. “We need to change our disguise and go to Jinhai County straight away!”

…

“I’m sure Wang Xiangxin is on tenterhooks. Right now he has to either go to Haizhou or gather his men as quickly as he could, force his way out of Jiangzhou and then take Cangzhou in one fell swoop. Unfortunately for him, in order to defend the four checkpoints, his men are divided. Besides, he almost certainly doesn’t dare take the risk at this point in time. It’s more likely that he’ll go to Haizhou, which is his escape route. In addition, Haizhou is a coastal prefecture and has excellent transport links that facilitate maritime trade. Without the gold from the Wan Kingdom, they’ll have to figure out another way to get funded. I wonder what the situation is like in Haizhou.”

Ling Zhang started talking almost immediately after sitting down. According to their plan, they and the Haizhou garrison would outflank Jiangzhou, launch their offensive at the same time, and destroy the rebel forces under Wang Xiangxin’s command once and for all.

“Messengers from Haizhou have to detour to Yanzhou first before they could deliver secret intelligence reports to us, so it’ll take more time,” said the General Zhongwu.

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and said, “If we could get into Jiangzhou, the delivery of messages between us and Haizhou would be much easier. Jincang County and Jinhai County in Jiangzhou are the only two counties between this place and Haizhou. Sneaking into Jiangzhou would allow us to stay informed about the latest development of the situation.”

Yao Yi’s heart jumped at these words and with that he looked at Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang, who was absorbed in thought, didn’t notice the look in Yao Yi’s eyes, but the General Zhongwu did, so he said, “You’ve got a point, Childe Ling. How about I have some of my men sneak into Jiangzhou?”

“Um?” Ling Zhang looked up at him. “Your men?”

Ling Zhang intended to go there personally. He was in the dark about the current situation in Jiangzhou, so he wanted to go and see it for himself.

“Ahem.” Yao Yi felt obliged to remind him, “Childe Ling, His Majesty made it very clear you’re not to enter Jiangzhou.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

‘I almost forgot this.’ He silently glanced at Yao Yi.

Yao Yi didn’t avert his eyes and looked back at him.

The General Zhongwu said, “I also want to visit Jiangzhou to acquaint myself with the defense there in preparation for our joint operation with Haizhou.”

Ling Zhang’s eyebrows contracted slightly. The General Zhongwu was the commander-in-chief. If he left, who could deputize for him?

“Pity this army needs me here. It’s impractical for me to leave,” added the General Zhongwu after a brief moment.

Ling Zhang looked at him confusedly. What did he mean?

For some unknown reason, Yao Yi was on the alert, gazing unblinkingly at the General Zhongwu.

Chapter 446: A Letter from Yuwen Tong- Ling Zhang’s Entry into Jiangzhou

“General, under no circumstances will I let Childe Ling go to Jiangzhou, not over my dead body,” Yao Yi hastily demurred before the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) could make the suggestion.

Ling Zhang, “…”

The General Zhongwu, “…”

Yao Yi looked at him, determination written all over his face.

The General Zhongwu gave a little cough and said, “You’re overthinking it, Captain Yao. I’m not the kind of person who has no sense of perspective.”

‘Is that so?’ Yao Yi didn’t believe him at all. ‘Just now this guy was clearly about to suggest Childe Ling go to Jiangzhou. If Childe Ling goes there and His Majesty finds out, I’d definitely wind up being flayed alive!’

“Have a good rest, Childe Ling. I’ll go and make sure things go well in this encampment. I’ve sent some men to Taowang Village to handle the clean-up already, so there’s no need for you to concern yourself with it,” said the General Zhongwu, rising to his feet.

Ling Zhang thanked him and had Yao Yi walk him out. After they both left, Ling Zhang started contemplating. He couldn’t go to Jiangzhou and thus was unable to get up-to-date messages from Haizhou. There was no telling when the secret intelligence reports would arrive. He hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too long.

…

The gold ingots that the Wan Kingdom had wanted smuggled into Jiangzhou were hidden among common goods. The General Zhongwu sent some men to open those goods strewn all over the ground in the wood, carefully extract the gold ingots and put them together in one place. It took almost a whole day to have all the ingots gathered.

There were a lot of them. Ling Zhang went out to take a look and then told the General Zhongwu to keep the gold under constant watch and wait for further notice from the capital city to decide what to do with it. He’d sent a letter to the capital city, but he had no idea when he’d receive Yuwen Tong’s reply.

While he was thinking about this, a letter from the capital city was delivered to him. It’d never occurred to him that the reply would come so soon.

“Childe Ling, here’s a letter for you from His Majesty.”

It was Yao Yi who brought the letter to his room. Ling Zhang, who was still recovering from his arm injury, had Yao Yi open the letter for him. He thought that the contents of it were no different from those of any of the previous ones, but unexpectedly, there was some surprising information contained in it.

The Luohai Kingdom had secretly sent some soldiers into Haizhou by sea and colluded with some pirates, intending to have all the soldiers pose as pirates and attack the Haizhou garrison. Some members of the Millennium Pavilion had accidentally found out about this matter on their way to the island to scout out the lay of the land. They’d sent a message to the man assigned to Haizhou by Yuwen Tong, who then had relayed it to the capital city. According to their observations, there’d been a lot of soldiers. The Luohai Kingdom had sent large numbers of troop reinforcements to Jiangzhou. Although Yuwen Tong had taken precautions some time before, they couldn’t take any risks when it came to the safety of Haizhou, so eventually Yuwen Tong had decided to go there to handle it personally.

Yuwen Tong had departed for Haizhou when this letter had been sent. He’d embarked on a ship in Taizhou which was bound for Haizhou. Judging from how long it’d taken for this letter to arrive, he must’ve entered Haizhou already, but he was probably still in the northern part of Haizhou, and it’d take him some more time to get to the southern part. In the letter, he told Ling Zhang to go to Haizhou to rendezvous with him after settling the matter of Shan Congyi.

Delighted, Ling Zhang reread the letter. “How’s everything going in the capital city? Whom did he put in charge before leaving?”

“Currently, General Jiang Ke and General Jiang Xi as well as the two prime ministers, Chu Liangyan and Old Master Ji, are in charge in the capital city. His Majesty’s great-uncle and Yuwen Feng are supervising the handling of state affairs. The Shadow Battalion are doing their best to covertly keeping all important targets under surveillance.”

The three sides were acting as checks and balances on each other and superintending each other’s work. At the same time, members of the Shadow Battalion were keeping watch on the overall situation.

Yuwen Tong had traveled south covertly. The six above-mentioned people were the only ones in the capital city who were aware of Yuwen Tong’s departure. In other words, Yuwen Tong couldn’t be absent for too long.

Ling Zhang immediately stood up. “We need to hurry and go to Haizhou by way of Jiangzhou. My decision is final.”

Yao Yi hesitated for a while before it occurred to him that even Yuwen Tong himself was now in Haizhou, that with them protecting Ling Zhang, no harm would come to him, so he raised no objections.

“By the way, Childe Ling, there’s another letter delivered here with this secret letter from His Majesty. It’s for you from your father,” said Yao Yi, producing another letter and handing it to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang opened and read it, a gleam of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

…

Ling Zhang decided to travel to Haizhou via Jiangzhou.

“Childe Ling, I know a secluded place where you can enter Jiangzhou secretly without risking being spotted by the many soldiers guarding the checkpoint. I’ll have two squads of picked men escort you into Jiangzhou. After you gain entry into Jiangzhou, one squad will keep on the move in Jincang County and Jinhai County, delivering messages for us.”

Ling Zhang gave it some thought and then said, “I have Captain Yao and twenty-four bodyguards, and they’re more than enough to keep me safe. It would make us more vulnerable to the attention of others if there are too many of us, so instruct your men to stay in Jiangzhou after they follow me into Jiangzhou.”

The General Zhongwu did some thinking and then agreed. After that, he led Ling Zhang to a map and informed him of the secret route. “Go in from this spot, detour around two hills and you’ll find yourself in a village of Jincang County that is close to Jinhai County. Most of Wang Xiangxin’s men are stationed at the four checkpoints, so the security in these places are probably not tight, but you should still stay alert. And, about how to get into Haizhou, I’m afraid you’ll have to figure out a way by yourself. There’s no shortcut that could lead you into Haizhou from Jiangzhou, not to my knowledge.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “I understand. I’ve already come up with an idea of how to enter Haizhou. Be so kind as to stay here and keep the situation under control, General.”

The tips in that letter from his father had come as a godsend for him.

“Please take good care of yourself during the journey, Childe Ling. Always be extra careful and put your safety first. On no account should you take any risks,” cautioned the General Zhongwu.

After taking his leave of the general, Ling Zhang, along with his bodyguards and the two teams of seasoned men who’d disguised themselves, departed.

The secret route that they were talking was very close to Yanzhou. It was actually a defile known to very few. It went through lofty mountains and high ranges, and normally only hunters would set foot on it. When the General Zhongwu’s men had been fighting the rebel forces, some rebels had escaped by taking this route, which was why the general knew about its existence. At that time all members of the rebel army in Cangzhou had been local residents. They’d been from all walks of life, and there’d been a lot of hunters among them.

This defile was rough, and Ling Zhang’s arm was injured. Both placing strain on the wound and perspiring heavily were detrimental to the healing process. Qiu Bing changed his dressing several times during the journey. Every time he’d seen Ling Zhang’s wound, he’d knitted his brows.

“You shouldn’t have departed so soon, Childe Ling. Your wound is healing very slow,” sighed Qiu Bing, holding Ling Zhang’s arm, looking at the wound.

The others also appeared grave. The wound on Ling Zhang’s arm had been caused by a piece of pointed stone sent flying by the explosion. Given how awful it looked, it might become a troublesome issue if it didn’t heal in a couple of days.

“Young Master, it’s best if you have a few days’ rest in Jincang County after we get there,” suggested Jiang Yu. “I don’t think His Majesty would want you to travel with such haste had he known about this. If your injury worsens, we’d have trouble justifying ourselves in front of His Majesty.”

Ling Zhang also knew that this was not a good time to play the hero, considering his arm injury. “I see. We’ll rest for a couple of days after we get there.”

“What about you? How are you feeling?” Ling Zhang inquired of Jiang Yu.

These people either had kung fu skills or worked out regularly, so their constitutions were all pretty strong. Jiang Yu was a relatively weak one.

“Thank you for your concern, Young Master. I’m fine,” said Jiang Yu calmly. Though his kung fu skills were not superb and he didn’t exercise on a daily basis, he had some fighting skills and practiced swordplay from time to time, so he was physically fitter than the next person.

Ling Zhang nodded. “Well, then let’s resume our journey. Tonight we sleep in the open. We should arrive by dusk tomorrow.”

“We’ll be traveling until the dusk of tomorrow?” muttered Qiu Bing on the side, meticulously cleaning and dressing Ling Zhang’s wound. “Had I not had the divine vulnerary given by Mr. Mu on me, you would soon have to kiss your arm goodbye.”

Ling Zhang was resigned. He was the one who was suffering the pain, and he wanted his wound to heal more than anybody else did.

“Okay. Stop nagging. Let’s get going.”

Qiu Bing inwardly gave a snort and then followed closely in Ling Zhang’s wake, keeping a close eye on him. Thanks to Qiu Bing’s intensive care and Mr. Mu’s effective medicine, Ling Zhang’s army injury didn’t worsen. It was healing, though at a rather slow pace.

They slept out in a dense wood on a hill that night, and the next day, at sundown, they finally walked out of the mountainous area covered with thick vegetation. At the foot of the hill was a village.

“Please stay here and have some rest, Childe Ling. I’ll go and check out the lay of the land,” said Yao Yi.

Ling Zhang inclined his head and the rest of the group stopped to rest. Yao Yi, along with a couple of men, went downhill to carry out a reconnaissance of the area.

…

At the same time. In Haizhou.

A merchant ship that had been camouflaged was traveling south from northern Haizhou along the seashore. Yuwen Tong disguised as a businessman, along with his subordinates, were on this ship. The ship was going at a moderate speed, allowing him enough time to observe the activities on the sea and the general situation on the coast.

“Have there been any particular events in this area lately?” Yuwen Tong asked the owner of the merchant ship.

The shipowner was a native of Haizhou. Some of his family members worked for the government, so he knew that Yuwen Tong’s rank was very high, that Yuwen Tong had come to Haizhou to perform an important mission. His elders had cautioned him that he must honestly answer every question Yuwen Tong asked him.

“It’s been pretty uneventful recently. Winter is coming, so fishing activities are becoming fewer. Those that are still traveling on the sea as usual are mainly merchant ships,” answered the shipowner. After thinking back carefully for a few moments, he added, “But… Although I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I heard some others mention that two days ago, in that area…”

The shipowner pointed in the direction of the open sea and continued, “Some people chanced upon a fleet of merchant ships which were going south. Judging from their style, they seemed to be from the Luohai Kingdom. The strange part was that those merchant ships were sailing straight south. Those people seemed to have no inclination to get ashore whatsoever, as though they were heading for a particular destination. On top of that, they would very likely encounter pirates if they traveled along that shipping route. Some locals came across them and kindly cautioned them about it, but those people took no heed. They didn’t even acknowledge the locals.”

With a faintly cold look in his eyes, Yuwen Tong asked, “Anything else? Did anybody mention the approximate number of those merchant ships?”

“Emm… No. But unless I’m very much mistaken, there were more than twenty of them,” said the shipowner. “Given the scale of their fleet, they would surely be stopped by the navy when they reach the south. You may go to the jurisdiction of the navy and ask them. They probably know the details.”

Those people of the Luohai Kingdom would by no means let the navy spot them. It was very likely they had gone into hiding already, along with those pirates.

Yuwen Tong gave it some thought and said, “Is there anything else you could tell me apart from this? The trade situation, local people’s livelihood – tell me everything you know.”

The shipowner was startled. This man was also interested in these things? Was he really an imperial commissioner from the capital city or something? Did he have orders from the emperor to come here to observe the people’s living conditions?

Chapter 447: You Want to Get Your Ass Kicked?

Before long, Yao Yi returned. “Childe Ling, there’s no sign of the Jiangzhou rebel army. The small village at the foot of this hill is a village of huntsmen. There are around ten households in it, and all of them hunt wild animals for a living. Both the nearest village and the nearest town are pretty far away, so we may stay in this village for a couple of days if you want.”

“Let’s go down there to take a look,” said Ling Zhang, rising to his feet.

The village at the foot of the hill was very quiet. The villagers were taken aback by the arrival of Ling Zhang and the others. Ling Zhang didn’t reveal his identity. He just purchased a house from a local family with money, and then sent Jiang Yu’s bodyguard to talk to the villagers and reassure them.

This village was quite isolated. He could have the two squads of seasoned men sent by the General Zhongwu (AKA the General of Loyalty and Valor) stay here performing the task of relaying messages. As a result, it was very necessary to set the villagers’ minds at ease.

Jiang Yu’s bodyguard had been to Jincang County and Jinhai County before, and he had some acquaintance with local people’s accent, habits and customs, so it was not difficult for him to communicate with the villagers. Moreover, Jiang Yu was with him. Jiang Yu could be a very mild and reasonable man when he wanted to.

There were not many residents in this village, but every household had one or two strong men who were excellent hunters. The villagers used to live in other villages. It was because of their dealings with each other during hunt activities that they’d settled down in this place which eventually became a village of hunters. Therefore, the hunter who’d been the first to build a house in this place had become the village head. As these people were faced with wild beasts on a frequent basis all the year around, there was a ferocious air about every one of them, and they were also very observant. As they could tell Ling Zhang and his men were no milksop, and these strangers treated them with due respect and had bought a house of theirs at an exorbitant price, they were fairly polite to Jiang Yu and his bodyguard.

Because of the effective communication between the two sides, the fuss caused by Ling Zhang’s and his men’s moving into the village gradually subsided. Ling Zhang enjoined his men and the two squads not to walk around in the village unless they had to, lest they disturb the villagers.

“Childe Ling, the hunters here said that they have to climb over that mound ahead to go out, that what with the poor transportation, barely anybody would come here. They know about the matter of the Jiangzhou rebel army, but the rebels have never shown up in this area. The nearest town, however, fell victim to the rebellion. All young and middle-aged men were press-ganged into the rebel army, leaving only old, weak, ill or disabled ones. The situation in the town is not very good, so the villagers here stocked up the supplies that they couldn’t produce by themselves and never went to that town again. Wild animals are basically their only source of food.”

After coming back, Jiang Yu and his bodyguard reported to Ling Zhang the information they’d got from some local hunters living in the village.

Ling Zhang had just taken a bath. Qiu Bing redressed his wound and advised him to have a good rest. After hearing Jiang Yu’s words, Ling Zhang asked, “How long has it been since they last entered that town?”

“About seven or eight days,” answered Jiang Yu.

“Is that the only way to get out of this village?” Ling Zhang asked another question.

Jiang Yu replied with an inclination of the head, “All the other areas are difficult to get through. This place is surrounded by mountains, after all. This village exists only because this part of the valley is a gentle slope suitable for building houses. A while ago I made some inquiries and also looked in that direction. The mound they mentioned is not very high. The path is much more walkable than the defile we’ve traveled along in the past two days. Beyond that mound is a road leading straight to the nearest village. We may go to the town by way of that village, but if we’re to go to Haizhou, we’ll have to turn right after climbing over that mound. The village head told me that there’s a defile trod by only herb gatherers, which leads to a village in Jinhai County. If we go through that village, we’ll find a broad road leading straight to Haizhou.”

This was good news. It meant that they didn’t have to pass that town or alarm any of the rebels.

But now that they’d decided to stay in this village for a couple of days, Ling Zhang believed he should send Yao Yi and some others to that town and nearby villages to check out the lay of the land, see how the local people had been doing, and for good measure make some inquiries about the recent movements of the Jiangzhou rebel army.

Yao Yi picked a couple of men and set off that very night. Wang Dashan and some others had deployed a concealment formation on the periphery of the village to as a defensive measure. They’d also specially informed the villagers of it, telling them that they would have to find one of Ling Zhang’s men to lead the way for them before going in or out of the village.

Though guiding the villagers through the formation would take some time, they believed there was no harm in being extra careful.

Feeling that he couldn’t just stay indoors and do nothing during his several-day rest cure, Ling Zhang called the village head in and asked him at length about the path leading to Haizhou. The village head and some other villagers would sometimes go to a town in Jinhai County to buy grain, and they were all very familiar with the path, so he drew a road map for Ling Zhang.

The village head was a smart man. From what Ling Zhang was doing, he divined that Ling Zhang was no common person, but he didn’t ask any questions. He never pried or tried to strike up relationships with Ling Zhang’s men. Also, he was well respected in the village and all villagers were very obedient to him. By tacit agreement, the two sides always stayed out of each other’s business and never disturbed each other.

Ling Zhang, who appreciated the village head’s social savvy very much and didn’t want to put him in a difficult position, let him go after getting the information he needed.

“Your route back to the encampment should be the same one that we took to come here. We’ve traveled along it once already and are now acquainted with it. Given your fast speed, you can get back to the encampment from here in a day and a half. The other squad are to find somewhere near a town in Jinhai County and hide there. I’ll have the messages from Haizhou delivered to you. After getting the messages, you’re to immediately go back to the encampment to relay them.”

After making arrangements for the two squads of picked soldiers to do what they were supposed to do, Ling Zhang instructed Wang Dashan and a couple of picked soldiers to go out of the village to scout out the lay of the land of the areas along the route the village head had told him a moment before, and see if they could find a suitable hideout.

The next afternoon, Wang Dashan and the others returned and drew a detailed map with all the paths they’d confirmed marked on it. Also, they’d found a suitable hiding place.

“We’ll indeed be not far away from that town if we get out of this village along this route. There are many roads in that area, along with quite some village paths. We may stay away from those main roads and take one of the village paths to get to the checkpoint between Jiangzhou and Haizhou, and then figure out a way to get through the checkpoint,” said Wang Dashan.

Ling Zhang nodded. “Okay, then. It seems we’ve got ourselves a tentative plan.”

The next morning, Yao Yi and the others came back.

“Childe Ling, the rebel army are press-ganging people in nearby towns again. They lost a lot of men during the fighting against the army of the imperial court a few days ago and are now very anxious to recruit new soldiers to regain strength.”

Ling Zhang knitted his brows. Almost all male residents in this prefecture that hadn’t been press-ganged into the rebel army yet were either old or weak or ill or disabled. If those rebels kept doing that, Jiangzhou would definitely be decimated.

Yao Yi continued, “Judging from what I’ve heard during the trip, Jiangzhou residents are having more and more complaints against Wang Xiangxin, but Wang Xiangxin has been working hand in glove with the local yamen and running roughshod over them, so they have nobody to air their grievances to, and neither do they have the power to stick up for themselves.”

Ling Zhang thought about it for a brief moment before he said, “We set off early tomorrow morning. My arm’s a lot better now. The situation brooks no delay. Wang Xiangxin has probably reached the checkpoint in Haizhou already. We need to get there as soon as possible to find out how things stand.”

Yao Yi looked at Qiu Bing, who was decocting medicinal herbs in the corridor outside. On sensing Yao Yi’s gaze, Qiu Bing flicked a backward glance at him and said, “The way I see it, it’s best if Young Master stays here to have a rest cure, but Young Master wouldn’t heed my words, so I might as well just keep my mouth shut.”

After saying this, he twisted his head around to look at the boiling pot, sulky-faced.

Yao Yi turned his head to look at Ling Zhang, who said with a calm expression, “It’s not like we’re still in the palace or something. Since we’re out here on a mission, I can’t let this minor injury of mine hinder us from getting the job done. Yuwen… Your master will get to the destination soon. We have to go there to rendezvous with him as quick as we can.”

Ling Zhang was so used to referring to Yuwen Tong by his full name that he almost said his name again from force of habit. He secretly introspected about it for a moment.

Qiu Bing outside the room muttered, “You just couldn’t wait to see him. There’s no shame in admitting it.”

Ling Zhang lapsed into silence. After a while, he failed to restrain himself. “What is it you’re muttering out there, Qiu Bing? You want to get your ass kicked?!”

Qiu Bing shut his mouth immediately, not daring look back, staring at the stove over which a medicine pot was boiling.

“Ahem, Childe Ling, Qiu Bing is just worried about you,” said Yao Yi in a timely manner.

Ling Zhang was fully aware that Qiu Bing didn’t want him to do anything that might exacerbate his arm injury, but he really couldn’t bear staying in this place for another day.

Apart from anything else, he really missed Yuwen Tong very much. In the first few days of the journey, he’d been too busy to think of Yuwen Tong, but these two days, he had a lot of leisure, and the knowledge that Yuwen Tong would soon get there was like a fire burning inside his chest, rendering all his efforts to calm himself down useless. He couldn’t help but keep thinking of Yuwen Tong. This wound was nothing compared with the ordeal of missing him. Even shortening the separation by merely a single moment would be good enough for him.

On top of that, there was no doubt Yuwen Tong wouldn’t be reading the last letter he’d written him anytime soon, so he had to tell Yuwen Tong in person about what had happened in Cangzhou as well as the matter of Shan Congyi.

Wang Xiangxin would sure as hell do whatever he could to get in touch with the Luohai Kingdom. All these were pressing issues, and he couldn’t afford to waste any time.

…

Meanwhile. In Haizhou.

On this day, the merchant ship Yuwen Tong was on arrived in Pingtao City which was a port city in southern Haizhou and also the city nearest to the checkpoint on the boundary between Haizhou and Jiangzhou. Thanks to the frequent maritime trading activities conducted here, it was one of the most prosperous cities in Haizhou. Also, if the Luohai Kingdom was to invade, this city would be the perfect landing site for its troops.

The closest navy base was located on a nearby island. This place was not far away from the island that the Millennium Pavilion had selected, which was why they had discovered the secret intrusion of the Luohai Kingdom.

If the Luohai Kingdom’s army were to blindside the navy force of the Great Wen, they would first have to get ashore without alarming the navy, and the best way for them to do that was to make a detour around the “death zone” that the island of the Millennium Pavilion lay within, disembark in the south and then covertly move north.

Yuwen Tong had some time before sent a letter to Haizhou. The Haizhou garrison and the Haizhou navy had been forewarned and taken precautions, so they wouldn’t really be blindsided by the Luohai Kingdom.

The main reason why Yuwen Tong had come was that he wanted to put an end to the unrest in Jiangzhou as soon as possible and then bring Ling Zhang back to the capital city.

“Sire, this is a detailed chart of the nearby waters.”

In a military encampment near Pingtao City, the commander of the Haizhou garrison, the Haizhou governor, and the commander of the Haizhou navy all gathered in the main tent. The commander of the Haizhou navy unrolled a detailed chart to show it to Yuwen Tong.

“In this vast sea area hide the pirates. Their hideouts are far away from one another, and they normally fend for themselves, which makes it very difficult to finish them once and for all. Fighting them is like fighting a guerrilla war. This time around, my scouts discovered that these pirates seem to be planning to form an alliance, presumably because they’ve taken bribes from the Luohai Kingdom.”