Chapter 776: Reunion with an Old Friend, A Night of Terror

Marquis Anyuan, Liu Sheng, requisitioned the large houses of wealthy families as his headquarters, while the commanders and officers below each took civilian homes for themselves. The lower-ranking officers, such as the thousand-household and hundred-household leaders, were not so fortunate—they could only share a tarpaulin shelter with a dozen or so people, avoiding the need to crowd together with hundreds of soldiers to stay dry. At that moment, inside one such shelter, staring at the rain pouring down from the tarpaulin above, a hundred-household leader couldn’t help but complain.
“In previous years, by November, the rain here would already be scarce. This year is truly bizarre—this rain has lasted for two days straight, and even when it stops for a while, the sky remains overcast. Can we really set off tomorrow?”
“Since the imperial astronomer accompanying the army says the rain will stop, shut up and stop talking nonsense! We have to board the ship again tomorrow. We’re not afraid of anything else, but… Hey, look who that is!”
The people under the shelter looked up and saw someone dressed in a coir raincoat and bamboo hat approaching them. When that person reached the shelter, they took off their hat and smiled at them, leaving everyone slightly stunned. It wasn’t until one of them, with a good memory, slapped his hand and exclaimed in surprise and joy, “Brother Peng!” that the others realized who it was.
“Brother Peng! It’s been years since we last saw you! We heard you had gone to Jiaozhou Prefecture, but given our status, it wasn’t appropriate for us to go to the government office or headquarters to see you. Who would have thought you’d show up today!”
“We heard that not only did Brother Peng get married again, but you also have a son! Though it’s a bit late, we still need to congratulate you! As for a gift, I’m afraid we’ll have to give it to you once we return alive.”
“We’re not just congratulating you on having a son, but also on your promotion, Sir Peng! Back then, you refused the military position recommended by the Duke of Yingguo. Now, after returning to the capital, you’ve risen steadily—true luck that can’t be stopped!”
The sound of rain hitting the tarpaulin was quite loud, but the laughter and jokes among the people below grew louder still. Amidst it all, Peng Thirteen also felt relaxed. While dealing with his noisy former comrades, he took a bowl of water handed to him and drank it in one gulp before wiping his mouth.

“I’m not avoiding you; I heard that as soon as Marshal Liu arrived, he ordered reorganization of the navy, so I couldn’t just leave casually. After all, this isn’t the time of the Duke of Britain anymore. As for congratulating me on getting married and having children, I accept that. But don’t talk about promotions or wealth—I’ve always wanted to live a simple life alone. Now, I just hope my family of three can live a modestly comfortable life. Everything else doesn’t matter! As for gifts, I’ll go to each of your homes to collect them when I return. How dare you say no?”
When Peng Shisan followed Duke of Britain Zhang Fu on the campaign to Jiaozhi, he mostly traveled by sealed boats, and over time, he became familiar with these people. During his first naval battle, still an inexperienced sailor, he almost fell into the water, but a flag officer pulled him back, saving him from disaster. As more naval battles ensued, with their help, he learned to swim. Coupled with his bold and unrestrained nature, he quickly became close to them all. After some more joking around, someone sighed.
“Speaking of which, we’ve all married and had children here. We no longer think about going back. We just hope this place can become more stable. Who would have thought that war would break out so quickly? If Lord Chen were still here, even in war we would have more confidence. But now… sigh, the more I talk, the angrier I get!”
The speaker wore a slightly worn navy uniform and had many stains on his headband. He was thin and didn’t look like an officer who ate military rations at all—more like a sickly man who could be blown over by a gust of wind. Yet Peng Shisan knew you can’t judge a book by its cover. This unimpressive-looking man had once taken the lead in a naval battle, fighting from the bow to the stern, with countless scars all over his body—truly one of the most fierce fighters. Hearing such gloomy words, he immediately became alert.
“What, is Commander Chen not as good as his father?”
“Although Lord Chen wasn’t Han, he was top-notch in both leading troops and treating subordinates. He was kind-hearted too. If his subordinates joked around, he wasn’t annoyed but rather amused. After each battle, he would gather all the officers together to explain the strategies of using the navy. In battle, he rarely monopolized power. As long as our suggestions were reasonable, he would almost always listen. But Young Lord Chen is different. He’s arrogant and usually has a stern expression. He does things in a mysterious and sneaky way, which makes people lose motivation! We just can’t understand why there’s such a big difference between the father and son!”

Qian Baihu started speaking first, and the others quickly joined in. By the end, a short-ranking officer couldn’t help but sneer and say, “If it were just these matters, it would be fine. Before leaving Jiaozhou Prefecture, I heard some unfavorable rumors as well. Lord Chen used to serve under the Duke of Yingguo and was an old acquaintance of Marquis Anyuan. He originally planned to come and pay his respects, but later the Chen family spread word that Lord Chen was seriously ill… Nonsense! I even visited him during the Dragon Boat Festival—he was in excellent health, able to eat two cows!”
Hearing this, Peng Shisan, who had only intended to ask questions to ease Zhang Yue’s concerns, now frowned, sensing something strange. With the army set to set off the next day, doubts were one thing, but what worried him was the possibility of actual problems. After much deliberation, he struggled with whether to rush back and report these matters or stay to investigate further. Just then, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside in the rain.
“They just let some enemies slip in, and after a brief battle with war elephants, the commander ordered the navy to send several teams to patrol the area! Commander Chen has ordered four teams from the Yong’an boats and Jiuyuan boats to act quickly—if you fail, you’ll suffer the consequences!”
At these words, complaints arose among those under the rain shelters. Hearing the mention of the Yong’an boats, Peng Shisan turned to look at the people around him. Sure enough, though reluctant, they all stood up. Qian Baihu shrugged and said, “The land army is set to set off early tomorrow, so they think we in the navy can rest and sleep… Pah! The men below have to take turns rowing—it’s not that easy!”
“If we were still on the original Weining boats, we wouldn’t have to take on such hard work! With Lord Chen stepping down, we’ve become second-class citizens. Though we’ve been assigned to two main battle ships, we’re essentially left aside. It really is true to the saying… ‘When the emperor changes, his ministers change too!’”
Hearing this awkward analogy, Peng Shisan finally couldn’t help but smile. He also stood up and said, “Anyway, I’m setting off with the lord tomorrow. It’s rare for us to meet, so how about I accompany you? As long as your superiors don’t examine me too closely and mistake me for a spy.”

“Brother Peng overestimates them too. All our ships are under the responsibility of hundred-household leaders or even the chief commanders. As long as nothing goes wrong, no one will pay attention to them. As for smuggling people… In Jiaozhou, how many military households have escaped each year? Every superior would love to have more people! It’s great to have you here, Brother Peng. Patrolling in the rain isn’t a joke. Just now, someone attacked the powder depot, and then there were war elephants. If there are enemies outside the county town, we still need you, a master fighter, to save the day!”
Hearing Qian Baihu’s words, everyone agreed. Immediately, Peng Shisan put on his raincoat and conical hat again and left the shelter with them. As part of the navy, they didn’t have war horses, and Peng Shisan didn’t want to draw attention by riding one either. So he joined them in getting ready before leaving the county town.
Walking in the rain was extremely difficult. The path they were on led to a little-known route to Jiaozhou Prefecture, full of uneven ground. Fortunately, the rain gradually weakened until it was just a few drops. Taking advantage of this, Peng Shisan found out many things he hadn’t understood before and gradually formed a plan in his mind.
Just then, sudden loud horse hooves were heard ahead, along with faint shouts of people. Hearing this, everyone who had relaxed their vigilance due to no encounters along the way became alert. They scattered to find hiding places, drawing their weapons. Peng Shisan also hid nearby.
Although he was skilled in archery, the dampness from the rain could ruin a good bow. He certainly wouldn’t expose his beloved bow to the rain, so he also drew his dagger from its sheath. After waiting for a while, a blood-soaked rider and horse rushed towards them at incredible speed. Dozens of steps behind them, six or seven riders were chasing. As they got closer, Peng Shisan heard a gasp beside him.
Hearing those words, his expression changed drastically. He rushed forward a few steps, avoiding the first rider, then swung his sword at the first pursuer behind him, aiming straight for the horse’s neck. Due to the darkness from the rain and it being evening, the light in the forest was extremely poor. The six or seven pursuers didn’t expect someone to suddenly appear, so they could only watch helplessly as the first horse let out a pained cry before falling to the ground, taking its rider down with it.

The last few riders, who couldn’t keep up, had no way to avoid their suddenly falling companions. The second horse almost stepped on the rider in front with its hoof, causing it to stumble heavily, followed by a third and fourth… Only the riders of the last two horses reacted quickly enough to roll off their horses in a chaotic manner. However, faced with more than a dozen people suddenly surrounding them, they realized things were bad. The two unharmed ones whistled and tried to charge through with their swords, but unexpectedly, a swift sword flash hit them head-on, pulling them into the chaos.

“Brother Peng, they’ve been safely rescued. He said they’re just lowly figures—no need to capture them alive. Save your effort. We’ll just kill the rest with our swords to avoid trouble!”

Peng Shisan slashed left and right, keeping his opponents at bay. Hearing shouts behind him, he suddenly stepped forward and charged in. The two opponents, shocked by those words, slowed down momentarily. By the time they reacted, it was too late. One was struck straight in the chest and died instantly, while the other tried to escape quickly but felt a sharp pain in his back after taking just six or seven steps before collapsing and remaining motionless.

After dealing with the two enemies, Peng Shisan didn’t bother with anything else and rushed back. Seeing Qian Baihu busy wrapping the wounds of the earlier injured man with cotton cloth brought by his subordinates, he knelt down. The man had several injuries on his arms and shoulders, his face pale, but he could still speak and seemed fairly alert, which relieved Peng Shisan a bit.

“Thank goodness I met you… I’m really lucky.”

Peng Shisan immediately snapped, “Stop talking. Though these aren’t life-threatening injuries, losing so much blood isn’t a joke!”

“Brother Peng, what should we do now? Should we report this to Commander Chen and Marshal Liu?”

Seeing the soldiers help the man up and others looking at him, Peng Shisan felt very troubled. After thinking for a while, he quietly said to Qian Baihu, “Put my raincoat and conical hat on him later. I’ll go back and prepare things first. Choose two reliable people to take him to my lord. I’ll meet you there. After you go back, give the others a heads-up to be alert. Try to get them to unite if possible, and wait for my message! Also, clean up these bodies—make sure no one finds them!”

The next day, the troops headed for Qinghua Prefecture. Liu Sheng had originally planned to rest early, but before he could go to bed that night, a messenger arrived reporting that Zhang Yue wanted to see him. Remembering how Zhang Yue had remained silent when tasks were assigned during the day, he felt amused and annoyed: “This kid really is something—why not speak in front of all the generals during the day? What’s the rush to come find me in the dead of night? Tell him to go and rest!” Before the messenger could leave with his orders, he suddenly called him back and sighed, “Never mind. I’ve seen his stubbornness before—he’s relentless. If I ignore him now, who knows what he might do later. Bring him in; I’ll meet him in the main room!” Soon, Liu Sheng met Zhang Yue in the outer room. While Zhang Yue was neatly dressed, Liu Sheng had only put on an extra robe and was still in his slippers. When Zhang Yue tried to bow, Liu Sheng waved his hand impatiently and said, “No need for this nonsense. You didn’t come all this way at this late hour just to bow—just speak up quickly!” Holding a cup of hot tea brought by a messenger, he listened casually to Zhang Yue’s words. But as he listened, he suddenly became alert, slamming the cup down beside him without caring that the scalding tea splashed onto his hand. Standing up, he stared intently at Zhang Yue, confirming once again that he wasn’t talking nonsense, before clenching his fists. “There’s really such a thing!” Zhang Yue quickly bowed and said, “My lord, please calm down. At this point, it might be better to use strategy.”