Chapter Ninety-Four: The Campaign

At that moment, Zhang Chengwei replied, “This humble minister believes the Minister of State may well be right. In fact, I have also heard of the matter he mentioned.”

At that, everyone, including Zhao Xinglong, could not help but freeze. It was the first time they had discovered that these sworn enemies actually agreed on something.

After their surprise, Zhao Xinglong went on, “Then what does my loyal subject think should be done?”

Zhang Chengwei said, “I have also heard everyone’s opinions just now, and in truth each has its shortcomings. In my foolish view, perhaps we might do it this way: the northern kingdom of Old Liao is now riding high in military momentum. Once it has destroyed countries such as Haijin and Dangxia, its armies will surely continue southward to threaten our realm, and the western barrier must also be preserved. Yet we still do not know the strength of the enemy in the west. Therefore, I suggest that we first dispatch a force of one hundred thousand men to provide relief. As for how to continue the campaign thereafter, we may wait until the generals at the front have assessed the situation and reported back before making the final decision.”

By then, even Minister of State Qian found it unbelievable. He had spent the entire night preparing eloquent arguments, fearing that Zhang Chengwei would oppose him. Yet now Zhang Chengwei had not only failed to resist with force, he had even shown a somewhat neutral, even favorable, stance. Though this left Qian Minister of State puzzled, he did not care to think further. For him, so long as Zhang Chengwei did not oppose the dispatch of troops, that was enough.

Fearing any further complications, Qian Minister of State immediately stepped forward and said, “What the Grand Chancellor has said is excellent. I was indeed somewhat short-sighted before. I now beg Your Majesty not to hesitate any longer, lest the situation become beyond remedy!”

Then Qian’s followers all stepped forward in succession, saying, “We concur!”

Seeing this, Zhao Xinglong turned again to Zhang Chengwei. “And you, my loyal subject Zhang?”

Zhang Chengwei stepped forward at once and said, “I also concur!”

Seeing this, Zhang Chengwei’s own faction likewise expressed its support.

Thus Zhao Xinglong said, “Since that is so, I grant permission to send troops westward. But who shall command them?”

Just as everyone hesitated, Qian Minister of State stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, my son Qian Gao may serve as general.”

That remark caused an uproar in the court. To openly recommend one’s own child was simply too much. Even Zhang Chengwei was somewhat taken aback, and he had forgotten to think who should be recommended, since he had assumed it would certainly be Grand General Feng Yucai and had made no preparations. So now he could only remain silent.

Before anyone else had recovered, one man stepped out at once and cursed, “Minister of State, you have some nerve. Do you truly think the court is your own household? Recommending whoever you please, not fearing ridicule!”

The crowd looked over, and sure enough, it was Grand General Feng Yucai speaking. As had been mentioned before, General Feng was approaching forty, and in his youth had already won glorious renown on the battlefield.

In former years, when countries such as Dangxia and Haijin invaded Great Prosperity and harassed the borderlands, it was almost always General Feng Yucai who drove the enemy out of Great Prosperity’s territory. He often even counterattacked into enemy lands and successfully annexed portions of their territory, striking fear into neighboring states.

Because of this, the neighboring countries called him the Tiger Might General. With him present, for nearly ten years no nation had dared seriously entertain the idea of invading Great Prosperity. Thus he held immense prestige within the army and was known as the foremost figure in the military. In other words, his words represented the stance of the armed forces.

He was also upright and unswayed by favoritism, looking down upon treacherous ministers. He often, without regard for occasion, openly rebuked and cursed those people and matters he despised. Though a man of loyalty and passion, he was not welcomed by the powerful. It was only because his prestige in the army was too great that no one had ever been able to move against him.

Now that he had stood up in opposition, Qian Minister of State could not help but furrow his brow, yet he quickly said, “Does the Grand General wish for the court’s army to remain forever under your sole control, and so fear giving others a chance?”

With that, the atmosphere in the hall turned tense. A ruler fears nothing more than being unable to control the army, and then seeing imperial authority slip away, which may very likely lead to the loss of the realm itself. For Qian Minister of State to say such a thing now showed that, all for the sake of giving Young Master Qian a chance to lead troops, he would stop at nothing.

Zhao Xinglong was also stunned by Qian’s words, because if the matter were allowed to escalate, drawing displeasure from the military or arousing the emperor’s suspicion, it would be extremely unfavorable to the current situation. After all, when enemies encircled them on every side, there could be no disorder within.

Yet Zhang Chengwei also had not expected Qian Minister of State’s ambition to be so great, actually intending to meddle in the military and expand his power there. That could never be allowed.

Still, Zhang Chengwei could not say much at this moment. After some thought, he chose silence, deciding that waiting for a proper opening to play peacemaker would likely be more advantageous for controlling the situation.

Meanwhile, Qian Minister of State and Grand General Feng Yucai actually began arguing fiercely. The core of the dispute was that Qian accused Feng of wanting to turn the court’s army into his private force, so that if others gained the chance to distinguish themselves in battle, the army would return to the court’s control and he would no longer be able to threaten the throne.

Feng Yucai, in turn, said that he had never sought personal gain when serving the court and had merely wanted to do more for the realm. But Young Master Qian, he said, had never once displayed any known military talent, and allowing him to command troops would only make people uneasy.

Yet this issue also struck a sore spot for Zhao Xinglong. Though he had long admired Feng Yucai’s abilities, the army now did indeed seem to be gradually turning into Feng’s private force in his eyes, and that had become an unresolved knot in his heart.

Hearing Qian Minister of State speak thus, and thinking first of preserving imperial authority, he actually felt inclined to give Young Master Qian a chance.

After some consideration, he turned to Grand Chancellor Zhang Chengwei and asked, “My loyal subject Zhang, what do you think should be done?”

When Zhang Chengwei heard Zhao Xinglong ask this, he also guessed at the thoughts in the emperor’s heart. And recalling the message Zhang Desen had sent back, which said that this operation mainly targeted the Terrors armed with cold weapons, while the Terrors of the Ormei Empire would surely do their utmost to help Qian Minister of State clear away obstacles, he stepped out of the ranks and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the northern Old Liao Kingdom is powerful and also relatively close to the capital, so Grand General Feng may be indispensable there. As for the west, which is at present farther away, we may follow my earlier suggestion and first dispatch one hundred thousand troops. At the same time, let us also give Qian Gao one chance by appointing him deputy military strategist. As for the rest, let General Feng Yucai choose the men. When there are new developments along the western border, we may then make further decisions.”

Zhao Xinglong was very satisfied with Zhang Chengwei’s words at this time. After praising him inwardly, he said, “Do any of my loyal subjects have anything further to say?”

By then, no one had much more to say. Grand General Feng Yucai had also guessed something of Zhao Xinglong’s intentions, and so he could not say anything else. Qian Minister of State was of course pleased and likewise had nothing to add. Thus there was no more to discuss, and the court session was adjourned.

After the audience, Zhang Chengwei hurried back somewhat impatiently to find Zhang Desen, wanting to ask as soon as possible what Zhang Desen thought of the current situation. If Zhang Desen had not yet returned to the western capital, they would need to discuss matters by communicator.

Zhang Desen had originally wanted to fly the ship down directly to where Zhao Chengming was leading the returning fleet and rendezvous with him. But after thinking it over, he felt the situation was probably becoming tense, and the special forces had to be formed as quickly as possible, in case of emergency.

So he sent messages to both sides at once. In essence, he said that he had brought back a batch of special forces equipment and intended to form a special operations unit, and wanted to do so as quickly as possible. Therefore, the equipment had to be transported back to the western capital first, and everyone should remain in contact via communicators.

Once he had brought the equipment back to the western capital and unloaded it all from the ship, he would immediately fly the ship back to land on the vessel led by Zhao Chengming’s group, take back the roughly ninety retainers he had identified during the operation to destroy the Terrors’ mountain stronghold as having the makings of special forces troops, including Zhao Chengming and Zhou Yongli, and begin training them at once.

Naturally, Elder Liu and the others agreed after hearing this, and since the Liu family’s fleet was already on the return voyage along the Long River, there should not be any trouble, so they all consented.

Before Zhang Desen came to pick him up by ship, Zhao Chengming had also handed over command of the fleet to his subordinate Wu Jieming, after which he waited for Zhang Desen to use the ship to bring him and the chosen prospects for the special forces back to the western capital in several batches, carrying out this work every night.

When Zhang Desen returned to the base within the Liu residence in the western capital and brought the escape pod back into the large ship, everyone came except for Grand Chancellor Zhang Chengwei, who had remained away because he had been racking his brains over how to respond at the next day’s court session. Elder Liu, his daughter, and the others were all there.

After many months apart, Liu Yuting saw Zhang Desen again. Overjoyed and not caring who was around, she threw her arms around him. Zhang Desen comforted her with a few words and then immediately set to work.

After dawn, once the morning court session had ended, Zhang Chengwei also came to the Liu residence. In fact, Zhang Desen had originally intended to go directly to the Grand Chancellor’s residence, but Zhang Chengwei was equally eager to see the special forces equipment, so he still came straight to the Liu residence. Zhang Desen simply recounted the events he had witnessed this time in the base within the Liu residence.

Some parts were also introduced by Li Longfang, and there were many things everyone heard for the first time, leaving them all greatly astonished.

Afterward, Zhang Desen also began working hard to train them.

He named the special operations unit the Flying Dragon Special Warfare Team, because in his original universe he had been the captain of the Flying Dragon Special Warfare Team, and calling this unit by that name made him feel as if he were back home.

The Flying Dragon Special Warfare Team was divided by Zhang Desen into three squads. The captain of the first squad was Li Longfang. The captain of the second squad was Zhao Chengming. The captain of the third squad was, of course, Zhou Yongli.

The original headcount had been ninety. Now, aside from Zhang Desen and his own chosen bodyguard, Zhang Guicheng, the three squads numbered a total of ninety-six men for the time being. Once the organization was complete, Zhang Desen began subjecting these special forces trainees to rigorous training according to his own special forces regimen.

While Zhang Desen was busy training, the son of General Feng Yucai, Feng Qiwei, also successfully took command and set out on campaign. As for Young Master Qian, he was only made a deputy military strategist, not even a full strategist.

Qian Minister of State was not entirely satisfied, but could only console himself with the thought that getting even a little was better than nothing.

That day, even the emperor of Great Prosperity, Zhao Xinglong, personally came to see them off. Although Grand General Feng Yucai remained deeply dissatisfied, matters had come to this point, and he could not say much more. He could only harbor dark resentment toward Qian Minister of State and the others in silence.

Feng Qiwei and his forces departed by river.

While Qian Minister of State had restrained himself in Zhao Xinglong’s presence, once he set out, his true nature was laid bare. He brought out the private band he had secretly kept, and since they were traveling by ship on campaign, he paid no attention to military discipline at all. All day long he thought only of eating, drinking, and revelry. To anyone who did not know better, it would almost seem as though he were taking his companions out on an armed excursion for sightseeing and pleasure.

Moreover, along the way he constantly caused trouble in various places. Under the guise of raising military funds, he even extorted money on a massive scale, leaving local authorities furious yet unable to speak out.

Naturally, this brought him into repeated conflict with Feng Qiwei and his men, nearly triggering an outright clash. In the end, Feng Qiwei had no choice but to submit a memorial to the emperor of Great Prosperity, Zhao Xinglong, voicing his grievances.