Chapter Fourteen: The Scout Qin Cheng

  Li Mingfeng's mind was in a mess. If he said no, it was obvious that the other party would not let him return to Guangzhou alive. Should he agree? Don't be kidding, even if his brain was squeezed by a door, he wouldn't agree to such an absurd deal.

  What if we pretend to agree first, stabilize these people, and then make a move after returning to Guangzhou? This Sima Ping is obviously not a good person to fool around with, he will definitely have a follow-up plan.

  "Director Sima, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. I think this time you've invited me here is also a form of coercion. If I don't agree, I'm afraid you won't let me leave alive." Li Mingfeng decided to get straight to the point and take action accordingly.

  "Brother, you are also a Han Chinese, it is your duty to contribute some strength to the great cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. I was too rash in inviting you this time, it was my fault as an elder brother. If you can really get 10,000 rifles and 100 cannons from the foreigners to help King Pingjing conquer the world, then I am willing to accept punishment, whether it is death or dismemberment, it's all up to you." When Sima Ping said this, he indeed had a heroic spirit.

  Li Mingfeng didn't care about his heroic aura or majestic aura at this time, what he cared most about was how to keep his life safe: "After listening to Big Brother's words, Mingfeng suddenly realized. As a Han person, how could Mingfeng not want to drive out the Tartars and restore China? Even if it meant giving up his own life, Mingfeng wouldn't mind. In the past, he had no way in, so he could only rely on foreigners, leading foreigners into Guangzhou, which was also aimed at striking at the Qing dynasty."

  Li Mingfeng's words were quite stern and righteous, he secretly glanced at Sima Ping, seeing that although his expression was somewhat moved, he still remained calm and silent. It seems that this guy is not easier to deal with than Bai Gui, the old fox.

  "What Li Mingfeng said, probably even Sima's elder brother couldn't fully believe, but Luo knew the horse's strength, and after a long time, he would see people's hearts. Sooner or later, big brother will know about my good intentions. Big brother asked me to go to the foreigner's place to borrow firearms, I didn't dare refuse, it's just that there is one thing I hope the adults understand." Gradually, Li Mingfeng saw Sima Ping looking at him with a slightly softer gaze.

  In his heart, he was secretly delighted, but on the surface, he continued to speak: "There is an ancient saying that goes 'those who are not of my kind must have a different mind.' This is what our ancestors taught us. Although foreigners may not have heard this phrase, they also understand its logic. My brother, although I work under the foreigner's account, I haven't gained much trust from them. In other words, even if the foreigners trusted me completely, what reason would there be for me to obtain 10,000 guns from their hands? Is it really as big brother said, telling the foreigners that after several years, when the Pingjing King has eliminated the Manchu and restored the Han, and the dust has settled, we will then pay the installment for purchasing firearms?"

  Li Mingfeng thought for half a day and still decided to stand from Sima Ping's perspective to analyze it for him, so that he could feel that this matter was not easy to do, and also make Sima Ping relax his vigilance towards himself, and even more, to probe into how Sima Ping specifically considered it, and find out where his bottom line lay.

  Indeed, Sima Ping also knew the difficulties of this transaction. After listening to Li Mingfeng's reasonable analysis, he immediately furrowed his brow. After a long time of contemplation, Sima Ping finally sighed: "Since that's the case, I'll go back and raise funds, but our army is poor and cannot afford too much military expenditure. Brother, you must think of ways to help us get past this hurdle. In the future, when the King of Peace ascends to the throne, you will not be able to escape becoming a marquis with a fief of ten thousand households."

  Li Mingfeng didn't want to be the Marquis of that big country, but he still had to say what was on his face: "Don't worry, Big Brother Sima, as long as you can come up with 10,000 taels of silver, I'll figure out a way to get 20,000 taels worth of firearms."

  Simapeng was overjoyed after hearing this and, without regard for the late hour, bid farewell to his host and set off immediately on horseback for Guangxi.

  As soon as he left, Li Mingfeng was in trouble. This mansion had more than a hundred Heavenly Gate Society members holding hands, and they wouldn't let Li Mingfeng out at all.

  Two days passed, and Sima Ping still hadn't returned, but Li Mingfeng was on the verge of getting sick. On this day, Li Mingfeng was lying in bed reading a historical book, when he came to the part where Xiang Yu killed himself at Wujiang River. Just then, the door creaked open and someone slipped inside through the narrow opening.

  The newcomer was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, who only saw him sizing up the room for half a day before coming to Li Mingfeng and paying his respects: "Your subordinate has seen you, sir."

  Li Mingfeng was stunned for half a day before saying: "Who are you? Why do you recognize me?"

  That man looked around for a while before saying in a low voice: "I am supposedly one of the leaders of this rebellion, but actually I am an imperial spy. A few days ago, I received a secret order from above to come and rescue you."

  Li Mingfeng carefully observed the man for half a day, secretly pondering whether this was a trap. What if he came to probe himself? He must not fall into his trap.

  It seemed that he had seen Li Mingfeng's confusion, and the man took out a seal from his bosom and handed it to Li Mingfeng. After carefully examining it for half a day, he still couldn't figure out what it was about. He didn't understand this thing at all, nor did he know what words were engraved on it. Li Mingfeng didn't want to show weakness, and estimated that the man wouldn't be foolish enough to use a fake thing to deceive himself. An ordinary person would never think that he was completely ignorant of this thing. He didn't ask again, and handed the seal back.

  Li Mingfeng believed this person a bit, one reason was that in ancient times, the seal was difficult to forge in a short period of time, which could basically confirm that the person had the seal that proved the identity of the spy. Another reason was that Li Mingfeng thought that during the Qing dynasty's rebellion, it was impossible for a single spy not to be planted, and sending a spy to rescue himself was completely reasonable.

  After considering for half a day, Li Mingfeng still decided to take the risk and follow the scout to escape. But how could they get out of this heavily surrounded mansion? And even if they managed to get out, wouldn't they be caught again when someone came to deliver food and found them missing?

  The scout apparently understood Li Mingfeng's concerns and took out several objects from his bosom: "Sir, these are for your disguise. As long as you escape the city, those rebels won't be able to find you again. I have some power among these rebels, now I'll take you out of here."

  Li Mingfeng had long been driven to the brink of madness, and since he decided to follow along, he no longer hesitated. He hastily changed out of his clothes and put on the long gown brought by the scout, which was worn by a candidate in the imperial examination, and then donned a fake queue that came from who-knows-where, and wore a square cap, and behold, Li Mingfeng had transformed into a Qing dynasty scholar.

  "This is a rare sight for someone as young as you, I've never seen anyone like this before." The scout's words were smooth.

  "Ah, how should I address this big brother?" Li Mingfeng decided to still try to win him over, after all, his life was now in someone else's hands.

  "His name is Qin Cheng, currently serving as an external delegate commander. Later on, he won't be able to achieve anything without the support of a superior." This Qin Cheng was merely following orders from above, instructing him to rescue Li Mingfeng. In reality, he didn't even know who Li Mingfeng was. However, someone who could make his superiors risk losing their intelligence network must either be an imperial court official or the son of a high-ranking official. Convinced of this point, Qin Cheng naturally tried his best to curry favor with Li Mingfeng.

  Li Mingfeng and he exchanged a few more pleasantries, then finished dressing and packed up their belongings. The two of them slipped out quietly, with Qin Cheng walking ahead and Li Mingfeng following at a distance. Whenever they encountered members of the Heavenly Earth Society, Li Mingfeng would hide, leaving Qin Cheng to handle things upfront.

  This place is really a motley crew, without any vigilance at all. Only two guards were met on the way out of the mansion with just two people.