NOVPUBNoble families suspected that Chen Xi was purging them, but Chen Xi was completely unaware of this. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t have been interested. Chen Xi wanted noble families to naturally fade away under a balanced social system. Of course, if Chen Xi did what he was supposed to do, Humble Family, small households, and commoners would still be no match for the noble families, and there wouldn’t be anything to say.
Chen Xi had always seen himself as a guide, while he defined Liu Bei as an enforcer or arbitrator. It was for this reason that he consistently inculcated the principle of impartiality in Liu Bei. Of course, Chen Xi knew true impartiality was impossible to achieve, as there would always be preferences. What he wanted was for Liu Bei to embrace the idea, and he never had the intention of holding Liu Bei to the standards of a saint.
After waking up, it was already past the Wei Hour, but the scorching summer sun was still maddening, especially over this wild plain covered with weeds. After casually eating some dry food and drinking plenty of water, Chen Xi and Hua Xiong waited for the sunset in the shadow of their tent.
"Based on yesterday’s pace, how many days will it take to reach Donglai Harbor?" Chen Xi asked Hua Xiong.
When Chen Xi said this, Zhuge Liang’s face clearly showed much distress. There was no helping it; he had never suffered like this before. Not to mention back at the Zhuge Family, even in Chen Xi’s inner courtyard, he was accustomed to a comfortable environment with Red Sleeve adding fragrance. Although he could only look and not touch, all his needs were taken care of by others. Unlike now, he didn’t even have bath water, and due to lack of experience, he hadn’t prepared a change of clothes, making wearing the same ones increasingly uncomfortable.
"About three to four days," estimated Hua Xiong after considering the pace and distance.
"That’s good," Chen Xi said, looking at the dust on his clothes and sighing. He realized what it really meant to be travel-worn; life for the ancients was indeed not easy.
In the following three days, Chen Xi and Zhuge Liang were terribly jostled, but they eventually reached their destination. Upon arriving in Donglai, Chen Xi casually bought new clothes to wear and then hurried to Donglai Harbor’s naval military camp with Zhuge Liang.
Given the time, it was already night, and Xun Yan had imposed a curfew. However, Chen Xi’s approach of breaking into a ready-made clothing store, grabbing clothes, and throwing money to the shopkeeper was not something anyone could blame on the shopkeeper.
"Military camp ahead, halt!" When Hua Xiong arrived at the naval military camp with Chen Xi, it was already the third quarter of the Wei Hour. If not for the long daylight hours of summer, it would have been pitch black by then.
"Bang!" An arrow shot just a few meters in front of Hua Xiong, who intended to advance further, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"General Jianwei Hua Xiong, under Lord Liu Xuande of the General of the East, requests an urgent audience with the Naval Chief, Gan Xingba," said Hua Xiong as he threw his command talisman seal ribbon towards the other side.
"General, please wait. I will report immediately," a figure appeared behind the caltrops in the darkness. He looked at Hua Xiong warily, then leaped over the caltrops, picked up the command talisman, gave Hua Xiong a fist salute, and rushed towards the camp.
"Report, Chief!" A loud cry came from outside Gan Ning’s tent. As Gan Ning, who was perusing military books, looked up at the shadow outside, he frowned, "What matter requires reporting to me?"
"Chief, General Jianwei Hua Xiong, under Lord Liu Xuande of the General of the East, requests an urgent audience with you," the messenger replied loudly.
"Zijian? How could he have come here?" Noticing the seal ribbon and the talisman the messenger was holding, Gan Ning knew it was Hua Xiong in person, so he gestured, and the Great Broadsword and chains hanging in the tent flew towards him. "Notify Taishi Ziyi and Mi Zifang. It seems we may truly have an urgent matter."
Gan Ning’s style always had a hint of bandit and ruffian flair to it, but it was undeniable that his intuition for battle opportunities and situations was extremely sharp.
"Order all soldiers in the Water Village to don their armor, and the supply ships to reload provisions—dry food and fresh water. Each person should carry enough for five days and await orders at any moment," Gan Ning commanded after sending the messenger to inform Taishi Ci and Mi Fang. He strode out of his Central Army Tent and directed his orders at Gan Lan.
"Understood!" Gan Lan responded with a salute.
Gan Ning quickly appeared ashore, mounted his great horse, and galloped out of the Water Village while muttering to himself about whom they might be fighting this time.
A burst of rapid hoofbeats followed as Gan Ning leaped off his horse outside the village, turning to salute Hua Xiong, "Zijian, who are we fighting this time? My newly recruited three thousand brothers are just itching to chop someone down, all geared up and ready. Just name the target, and we’ll shoulder to shoulder do the job," he said, laughing arrogantly.
"We do have people to chop this time, and it might be a bit tricky!" Hua Xiong, riled up by Gan Ning’s outlaw aura, also showed a bit of bandit spirit, "Yeah, this is a big deal. The strategist has come in person." He gestured towards someone behind him.
"Greetings to the strategist!" Gan Ning quickly paid his respects to Chen Xi, as a large part of the joy he found in his current situation was thanks to him, "I wonder what brings the strategist here." When speaking this time, Gan Ning visibly attempted to assume the bearing of a general, but sadly, his habitual bandit demeanor made it an awkward fit.
"We’re going to rescue the Lu family, and it’s very likely we’ll have to clash with Sunx Bofu—the opponent is strong, and almost all of your Water Village men will probably need to be called to action," Chen Xi explained the situation to Gan Ning succinctly.
Upon hearing this, Gan Ning was visibly eager for action. He was the type of person who was better suited for charging into battle and seizing territories, rather than holding and defending one. He wouldn’t mind dealing with water pirates, bandits, or marauders on a daily basis, but asking him to stay in one place was genuinely not a good fit for him.
"However, let me make it clear. I’m here without official orders because Lord Xuande is not present, so I could only bring this." Chen Xi said, taking out Liu Bei’s shorter sword and waving it slightly.
"What’s this?" Gan Ning asked, puzzled. To tell the truth, since he had joined Liu Bei, he had never seen the Paired Swords of Yin and Yang in Liu Bei’s possession.
"The Lord’s sword," Hua Xiong sighed, "You can mobilize troops with this. Ziyi knows about it, but it’s unlikely you’ve seen this sword before."
"Ha, don’t worry, I can do without it, there’s no need for such formalities to call up troops. The command given to me by Lord Xuande is that, upon receiving the Cao Army’s prisoners and sending them off to Yiizhou, I am free to manage all naval affairs as before, with the power to make autonomous decisions," Gan Ning waved it off, "When the time comes, I’ll just lead out with the Cao Army prisoners. It might slow down the march, but that’s within the scope of my decision-making powers."
"Alright," Chen Xi said after a moment of silence. "I’ll accompany you, though. Even though this doesn’t count as going AWOL, it’s better if I follow along. The situation is quite complicated."
"Good, Zijian, do you want to come along?" Gan Ning asked.
"No, I need to return to Lord Xuande for a second round of orders. I am, in a way, absent without leave," Hua Xiong sighed, then waved at Gan Ning, "Take good care of the strategist."(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
