Finest Servant

Chapter 369 Cunning and Endurance

Yesterday, as Li Tai was leaving, he had handed over 10,000 elite troops to Lin Wanrong, who were now stationed at the foot of Grand Prime Minister Temple's back mountain. Li Tai knew that people like Du Xiuyuan had been personally nurtured by Lin Wanrong. They had fought bravely against the White Lotus cult in Shandong, demonstrating remarkable valor, so he specifically left Du Xiuyuan's unit for Lin Wanrong to command. Had this been yesterday morning, Lord Lin would surely have mocked Li Tai's old man as overly cautious. Only now could he truly appreciate the uniqueness and shrewdness of this illustrious General of Great Hua in handling affairs.

In a hurry to reach the base of Grand Prime Minister Temple's back mountain, before he had even approached the camp, he heard voices shouting in joyous surprise, “General Lin? Isn’t that General Lin? Brothers, General Lin is back, General Lin is back!"

Lin Wanrong looked up to see several familiar faces. He vaguely remembered that these men were the scholarly soldiers that Du Xiuyuan had brought from Hangzhou when he had been in command in Chuzhou. They had all grown into brave and robust warriors, resembling the lads from the north.

Du Xiuyuan's troops, formed from those who had fought a bloody battle against the White Lotus by Weishan Lake, had witnessed General Lin's awe-inspiring power just a few days ago during a military exercise. He had defeated Su Mubai in one fell swoop, a victory they had all seen. Hearing that General Lin had returned, the crowd had already gathered to greet him. Lin Wanrong chuckled and greeted them all when Xu Zhen hurriedly rushed out from the camp, loudly exclaiming, “General Lin, you’ve arrived!”

Lin Wanrong nodded and smilingly asked, “Xu Zhen, did you receive the letter I sent yesterday?”

“We received it, we received it,” Xu Zhen nodded repeatedly, then asked, puzzled, “General, where did you find such a young child to deliver the message? He looked only four or five years old. If it weren’t for Brother Du's recognition of your handwriting, we might have driven him away.”

A child? Lin Wanrong looked at Xu Zhen, confused, “Are your eyes deceiving you, boy? That was clearly a beautiful woman of heavenly grace and charm, not a child.”

“No way!” Xu Zhen shook his head repeatedly, “Not just me, many brothers in the camp saw it. It was a four or five-year-old child, not a beautiful woman.”

Could it be the illegitimate child of Fairy Sister? General Lin's face displayed a lascivious grin. Regardless of who delivered it, as long as the letter reached Du Xiuyuan's hands in time, that was what mattered: “Did you do as I instructed you?!”

Xu Zhen glanced around and lowered his voice, “When we first saw the letter, we weren't sure, but Brother Du said, 'General Lin's actions are always mysterious and unpredictable. It’s better to believe it than not.' So I took three thousand brothers to the location you specified in the letter. Meanwhile, we intentionally acted carelessly and left a small gap.”

“So someone took advantage of the gap and slipped out quietly?” Lin Wanrong chuckled, a triumphant look on his face.

Xu Zhen smiled broadly, “Naturally! Catching them is not easy, but letting them escape is all too simple. Last night, under cover of darkness, they 'slipped away unnoticed' from our encirclement. Brother Du took some elite brothers and quietly followed them.”

Du Xiuyuan was sharp and efficient, making him trustworthy. Lin Wanrong nodded. On one side, there was an assassination attempt on the Emperor’s life, and on the other, the military pay was stolen. If someone told him these two incidents were unrelated, he would never believe it. If he could find those Dongyin culprits and trace the clues, he did not believe he could not uncover the whole truth.

"General, who exactly are those people you let us release?" Xu Zhen asked curiously. He had never faced the people of Dongying and naturally did not know who they were.

"They are a band of scoundrels plotting against our great nation," Lin Wanrong chuckled. "Where is Brother Du now? Take me to see him."

Xu Zhen gladly agreed, leading out two swift horses from the camp. The two mounted their horses and galloped off, heading straight for the city. Lin Wanrong's brows furrowed; could it be that those Dongying people were hiding in the city? Those fellows seemed to be well-versed in the art of war.

Once inside the city, Xu Zhen unexpectedly headed for the densely populated western part, where taverns and shops lined both sides of the street, and pedestrians bustled about. The calls of merchants rose and fell, and the scene was one of bustling prosperity.

"It's right there." Xu Zhen suddenly stopped, pointing to a house ahead and speaking softly.

Following the direction of his finger, Lin Wanrong saw a row of residential courtyards, with Xu Zhen pointing at the one in the middle. The gate was not tall, and spring couplets still hung from the beams, with the large doors tightly shut and no sounds coming from within. Lin Wanrong looked around but saw nothing unusual among the bustling crowd. If those Dongying people were really hiding in that courtyard, there must be guards outside, but where was Du Xiuyuan hidden?

"General, let's go upstairs and have a couple of drinks," Xu Zhen grinned, pointing to a nearby tavern. The tavern was four or five stories high and faced the small courtyard. Business was booming. A bright idea flashed in Lin Wanrong's mind; Du Xiuyuan had chosen a good location.

The two went upstairs, and Xu Zhen, without calling for the waiter, went straight to the private room on the top floor. He knocked softly, and Du Xiuyuan opened the door, exclaiming joyfully, "General Lin, you've arrived?"

"You've worked hard, Brother Du," Lin Wanrong chuckled, and the three of them entered. The private room was simple in the furnished, but its window faced the small courtyard across.

"How is it, Brother Du?" Seeing the courtyard's silence without even a shadow, Lin Wanrong's brows furrowed, and he asked softly.

"We disguised ourselves and tracked them here last night, witnessing them enter the courtyard. Our brothers have been guarding the front and back doors, and we haven't seen them leave. I've also inquired about the courtyard; it was sold just a few days ago, and the previous owner has returned to Shanxi to retire," Du Xiuyuan explained the situation. He was a cautious man and had not detected any guards around. Even the private room in the tavern was changed frequently to avoid startling the suspects.

"Have you seen them inside the courtyard? Has anyone come looking for them?" Lin Wanrong asked urgently.

Du Xiuyuan shook his head: "We haven't seen anything. After they went in, it's like they died in there; not a single sound."

"Have you seen any cooking smoke? Or them going to the toilet?"

Du Xiuyuan shook his head repeatedly. Lin Wanrong could not help but frown; this was far from what he had expected. Damn it, could it be that these Dongying people were made of wood, needing neither food nor drink, never leaving the house?

"General Lin, who exactly are these people? Last night when we were trailing them, we saw that they were very cautious and their formation was tight; they appeared to be battle-hardened veterans," Du Xiuyuan voiced his doubt, and Xu Zhen also stared at General Lin, a question he had asked once before but to which General Lin had evaded answering.

Lin Wanrong sighed slightly, "They are from Dongying!"

"Dongying?" Du Xiuyuan and Xu Zhen exclaimed in unison, "How could they be in our Great Hua?"

"I don't know, perhaps their intentions are noble, spreading culture, exchanging goods and ideas, maybe they came to Great Hua to pay their respects," General Lin said with a joking smile.

"Exchanging goods and ideas with Great Hua? You must be joking, General Lin. They live on a tiny speck of land that can't even grow enough grains, what can they exchange with our Great Hua?" Du Xiuyuan shook his head and snorted, "I have several close friends in the naval forces at Fuzhou and Mawei, and they tell me that these Dongyin pirates [TL: Another term is “Wokou”] frequently invade our southeastern coastal borders, plundering, and committing all sorts of atrocities. The problem of the Dongyin pirates is becoming as serious as the northern barbarians; if not handled properly, I fear it will cause endless trouble."

Brother Du's perspective was indeed unique and far-sighted, seeing that Dongying was an island nation, lacking resources and plagued by natural disasters; their dream of expansion onto the mainland would never be extinguished. Lin Wanrong looked at Du Xiuyuan intently and said earnestly, "Brother Du, listen to me, send word to your friends in the navy: If the Dongyin pirates come, beat them mercilessly. Don't talk about morals or benevolence; kill and cut them down, spare not a single one. Show the spirit and might of our Great Hua."

"Agreed," Du Xiuyuan clapped his hands loudly, "I will write to Brother Qi Xian tomorrow. If the Dongyin pirates invade again, we must strike back fiercely and enhance the prestige of our Great Hua."

Lin Wanrong smiled slightly, while Xu Zhen glanced at the small courtyard across the street and said with concern, "I heard that the people of Dongying are crafty and greedy. They have been hiding here for so long without coming out; could they have already dug a tunnel and escaped?"

"That's unlikely," Lin Wanrong paused and shook his head, "Brother Du already mentioned that the property has just changed hands, and it would be impossible to dig a tunnel in just a few days. Moreover, the house is in a bustling area with many watchful eyes, and it's a quadrangle dwelling; a tunnel would easily be discovered. The Dongyin people have been in the capital for only a few days; it's impossible for them to have everything prepared."

"What should we do now?" Xu Zhen asked anxiously.

Lin Wanrong laughed, "In Dongying, they have a technique called 'Ninjutsu,' which essentially means enduring technique, even if it means not eating or sleeping for days. It's nothing to them. Now is their time to watch for any movement outside, and if they notice anything unusual, they will leave immediately."

Xu Zhen nodded quietly, "Ninjutsu? Then we shall endure as well!"

"Endure? We should eat, drink, play, and have fun as we like," General Lin laughed, "My method is called 'Play Technique,' [wan shu 玩术] specifically designed to counter 'Ninjutsu.'" [TL: In Chinese, Ninjutsu is called ren shu 忍术]

Xu Zhen chuckled, his gaze falling on the door across the street. He paused, then said with excitement in a low voice, "General, someone is coming."

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