Chapter 497 - 188: Meritorious Service
Chapter 497: Chapter 188: Meritorious Service
It was hard to say how many years Mr. Sheng had left, but his son was still so young. In the future, the boy would have to rely on his mother and sister’s protection to grow up safely. Without them to shield him from the storm, it was questionable whether he would even reach adulthood.
In any case, Sheng Saya quickly led them to the front courtyard, where Mr. Sheng was currently taking a stroll.
Seeing the three of them approach, he chuckled and waved them over. "Come on in."
Zhao Jing and De’an paid their respects and explained the purpose of their visit. Mr. Sheng waited for them to finish before saying, "I guessed why you were here before you even arrived. Follow me to my study. You can see the details of the progress for yourselves."
All three followed him in. Mr. Sheng turned to Sheng Saya. "Weren’t you planning on taking Lian’er out for breakfast today?"
Sheng Kaolin, the little guy from before, had the nickname Lian’er.
Since ancient times, the lotus flower, or *lian*, has been called the gentleman of flowers: it rises from the mud, yet remains unstained; it is washed by pure waters, yet is not alluring.
By naming his youngest son Lian, Mr. Sheng showed the high hopes he held for him.
"It’s already so late, and he’s not even done with his run. By the time he finishes, washes up, and changes his clothes, it’ll be time for lunch. It’s too late for breakfast now. I promised I’d take him out for lunch later. Dad, I have to say, he’s curious about the outside world. You should take him out every now and then. Once he gets used to it, he won’t be so desperate to sneak out all the time. You just keep reining him in. He knows better than to throw a tantrum in front of you, but he gets this pitiful, aggrieved look on his face... It’s just heartbreaking."
"Oh, get out of here. He’s my heir. If he doesn’t learn to control his desires from a young age, what will become of him when he grows up? Besides, do you really think these are peaceful times? Your father was past fifty when he finally had this son, you know. Have a little pity for your old man... If you really feel so bad for him, why don’t you just skip your classes at the prefectural school and take him out to play every day?"
"You’re always ordering me around. Am I a maid or an old servant in this house? You have so many servants at your beck and call, yet you think of me for everything. You really are my dear father."
After sassing her father, Sheng Saya plopped down on a nearby stool.
Mr. Sheng didn’t look surprised. He simply turned to the slack-jawed De’an and said, "My apologies for the scene."
"No, no, not at all! This is perfectly normal. My family is the same way. Not a day goes by that I don’t talk back to my parents..."
After these brief pleasantries, Mr. Sheng handed two letters to them.
They took them without delay and quickly opened them.
Mr. Sheng waited until they seemed to have finished reading before he spoke.
"The last time I saw Chen Song, I sensed he was no ordinary man. This time, he has truly given me a wonderful surprise."
The bandit suppression operation did not go smoothly at first.
Before the New Year, there were three minor skirmishes as the water bandits and government soldiers tested each other’s strength.
The probing yielded no decisive results, and with the New Year approaching, both sides tacitly agreed to a ceasefire, planning to resume the fight after the holidays.
That was what most of the government soldiers believed, anyway.
But then came the unexpected.
The bandits didn’t play by the rules.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, they attacked another passenger boat filled with people rushing home for the New Year, leaving six dead and ten wounded.
This major victory emboldened the water bandits. During the New Year celebrations, they had the audacity to parade through the streets, beating gongs and drums as they openly plundered goods.
What was galling was that with so many people in the county town, not a single person dared to stop them.
In that moment, the government’s dignity and authority were utterly destroyed.
Qingshui County, led by Chen Song, contacted Zhang Lanshan in Shun’an County to plan a counter-attack.
After becoming a scholar, Zhang Lanshan learned that Cui Wei and his father had been beheaded in Guyuan County. He then returned to his ancestral home in Shun’an County to be with his beloved daughter and mourn his late wife. He tutored students to earn enough Silver Coins to get by, all while preparing for the next year’s Imperial Examination.
When the notice about bandit suppression reached Shun’an County, Zhang Lanshan went straight to the county government and persuaded the county magistrate to dispatch an elite force.
Why was he so eager?
It was because Shun’an County was situated in the southernmost part of the Prefecture. The land route to the Prefecture was too long, so nearly everyone from the county traveled by water.
As a result, the people of Shun’an County had suffered immensely from the water bandits’ scourge.
So when Chen Song extended an olive branch, Zhang Lanshan seized it without a second thought.
Chen Song’s bold and unrestrained character was charismatic, easily winning people over. In just a short time, the constables from Shun’an County had already begun to see him as their de facto leader.
Chen Song announced that he had discovered the bandits’ main lair but warned that eradicating them would be extremely dangerous.
However, it was also a rare opportunity to earn great merit. If they succeeded, their futures would be bright.
His speech roused the Shun’an County constables, and the most skilled martial artists among them decided to gamble on him.
After immense hardship, the small group snuck up to the bandits’ lair and scaled a cliff on New Year’s Eve.
The water bandits had never imagined that someone would one day manage to infiltrate their stronghold.
It was the New Year, and fresh off a major victory, they were all celebrating, completely drunk.
When Chen Song and his men arrived, they found the place littered with drunken bandits. They cut them down effortlessly, easily wiping out a gang that had plagued the region for years.
They also had a stroke of luck, finding two bandits who knew the territories of the other water bandit gangs.
Using back paths, they rendezvoused with the government soldiers and launched a surprise attack, catching the other water bandits completely off guard.
If not for the constables from the other county governments—a motley crew of varying abilities who, greedy for glory, rushed ahead recklessly and ignored commands—it would have been an unprecedented, resounding victory. As it was, the cornered water bandits managed to counter-attack and kill many of them.
A pity, a real pity. Some people are more of a hindrance than a help.