Chapter 3: Opportunity and Danger Coexist

  "Wu Canjun, you have at most 6,000 soldiers under your command. Can you stop the raging bandits?"

  A general stared at Wu Qigong with a look of iron not becoming steel, his right fist pounding on his chest, bitter face, as if he had lost his mother, and said: "The adults let you lead the troops to attack the bandits, but you don't have to kill Yang Zhengqing! We only need to defeat the bandits, why do we have to rush to kill them?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, another general stood up.

  The general glared at Wu Qigong fiercely and said loudly: "Bandits are all fugitives, especially the bandit king Yang Xiuqing is even more unbearable. We killed Yang Zhengqing, Yang Xiuqing will not let it go easily. If because of this matter, the newly formed Jiangbei Dajiang camp has problems, you Wu Qigong die a hundred times can't escape responsibility."

  As soon as the commander started blaming Wu Qigong, everyone else followed suit, criticizing Wu Qigong for doing things wrong, completely forgetting the joy of receiving the news of their victory.

  Li Zhen looked at the commander who seemed to be scolding and cursing on the street, feeling very uneasy in his heart.

  He walked out in big strides and bowed to Qi Shan.

  Qishan asked: "Li Zhen, what else do you have to say?"

  "Your Excellency, this time it's just killing Yang Zhengqing, not killing Yang Xiuqing and Hong Xiuquan. It's nothing to worry about. A group of useless bandits is not worth considering. If Yang Xiuqing leads 100,000 bandits to attack, I am willing to resist for Your Excellency; if Yang Xiuqing sends tens of thousands of people to attack, I am willing to swallow them for Your Excellency."

  Hahaha...

  In an instant, all the generals in the tent burst out laughing loudly.

  Everyone thought Li Zhen was talking nonsense, and even thought that Li Zhen had gone mad. A small hundred-man commander, leading less than a hundred soldiers, dared to say that he would take down 100,000 bandits, which made these generals very disdainful.

  Wu Qigong's eyes flashed with an unusual color, extremely excited.

  This young man is indeed his soldier, a dashing young fellow, and has not disappointed his mentor.

  Qishan fell silent for a moment, then sighed and said: "Li Zhen, you killed Yang Zhengqing and achieved a merit. This official acknowledges that you are a meritorious person, so I won't hold it against you for speaking out of turn. Although your bravery is commendable, please step down." After a pause, Qishan continued: "The matter of Yang Zhengqing will be put on hold for now, let this official consider it for a few days. This official is tired, everyone can withdraw."

  The crowd dispersed upon hearing this.

  Wu Qigong was disheartened and prepared to turn around and leave, but was pulled back by Li Zhen.

  Qishan said in a low voice: "Why don't you withdraw?"

  Li Zhen asked calmly and composedly: "May I ask, sir, if Yang Xiuqing sends a large army to attack, how will you defend against the enemy? The generals in the army are all nominal, not daring to fight, do you want to sit back and watch the Jiangbei camp being attacked?"

  Qí shàn furrowed her brow, a thoughtful expression on her face.

  The Taiping Army is coming, who can resist the enemy?

  As for the generals under his command, Qi Shan was very familiar with them. Almost all of the generals were good at doing official business but not at doing practical things. Qi Shan furrowed his brow and asked: "Wu Qigong, if the bandits launch a surprise attack, can we win?"

  Wu Qigong thought for a moment and said: "Sir, let 'him' go into battle."

  "Him?"

  "Qishan said resolutely: 'He won't come out until the very end.'"

  Li Zhen listened to the two men speaking in a low voice, and was confused. However, Li Zhen wanted to create an opportunity for himself, so he volunteered to take action, saying loudly: "Sir, the bandits are just a mob, not a formidable force. I am willing to eliminate the bandits for you, sir, and stabilize the Jiangbei camp. If you don't believe me, I am willing to sign a military order."

  Wu Qigong had no way out and also said: "Your Excellency, I am willing to make a military order."

  Qishan hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's no need to draw up a military order. I'll trust you this time and hope you can win again. Alright, go and prepare well."

  "Ah!"

  Wu Qigong and Li Zhen turned around and walked out of the camp.

  At this time, Qi Shan's voice came again: "Li Zhen, you have a lot of guts and have made great achievements. The official lets you be the Qianzong, to assist Wu Qigong in defending against the thieves."

  "Thank you, sir!"

  Li Zhen hastily turned around and thanked him, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

  Qishan thought for a moment, then said: "You two are preparing to defend against the bandits, you must need weapons and so on. If there's anything you need, just make a list and I'll approve it."

  Li Zhen was delighted in his heart, and with Qi Shan's words, things became easier to handle.

  The two of them bowed again to Qi Shan and then turned around and left the tent.

  After returning to the camp, the two of them sat down as host and guest.

  Wu Qigong hastily said: "Yang Xiuqing's anger is not something to be trifled with, are you sure?"

  Li Zhen's expression was calm and composed, he said slowly: "General, Yang Zhengqing's matter can be easily resolved without any danger. Now Yang Xiuqing's forces are focused on the Northern Expedition, targeting Beijing, not Jiangbei Dazhan. Even if Yang Zhengqing is killed, it is impossible for a large army to come, at most two or three thousand people, which is not worth worrying about."

  This conclusion was drawn by Li Zhen based on the Taiping Army's northern expedition.

  Historically, after the Taiping Army captured Nanjing, Yang Xiuqing and other leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reached an agreement to abandon the Jiangbei Dajiang and Jiangnan Dajiang camps outside Nanjing and focus on marching north to capture Beijing. At this time, the Taiping Army was winning battle after battle in its northern campaign, with rich spoils of war, so Yang Xiuqing would not have abandoned the overall situation of the Taiping Army for the sake of Yang Zhengqing.

  Wu Qigong asked again: "Even if it's a small amount of bandits coming to kill, can we win?"

  "It's just a small matter!"

  He paused for a moment, then ordered, "Someone, bring me the map."

  In a moment, a soldier walked in with a map. Li Zhen took the map and waved his hand to let the soldier go out, then spread the map on the ground and carefully examined the map of Yangzhou.

  "What's your conclusion?" asked Wu Qigong.

  Li Zhen pointed to the map and said: "The bandits will depart from Yangzhou, and there are three roads leading to the Jiangbei camp. The first is a small path, which is not suitable for large armies; the second is by water, if they come by boat, it will consume a lot of manpower and material resources, also not suitable; the third is a flat official road. I reckon that the bandits will take the third route, we set up an ambush on the road and annihilate them."

  Wu Qigong raised an eyebrow and said, "It's not easy to ambush the bandits either!"

  Li Zhen said: "After Yang Zhengqing was killed, the news reached Yang Xiuqing's ears. Yang Xiuqing sent another general to avenge him, and it would take at least ten days for him to come and go. During this time, we can make sufficient preparations. Today, I will ambush and kill Yang Zhengqing. When the bandits come again, I will also be able to ambush and kill their new leader, achieving victory."

  Wu Qigong frowned and said: "Are you going to use your old tricks again?"

  "General, you are wise. I indeed plan to assassinate the leader of the bandits. However, this operation requires careful planning and we should strive to annihilate the bandits in one fell swoop."

  Wu Qigong gritted his teeth and said: "I have no way out now, I can only rely on you. This battle will be arranged by you."

  Wu Qigong was timid and lacked the ability to command troops, but he was not weak in strategy. He knew that he and Li Zhen were tied together on the same boat, sharing honor and loss together. Li Zhen had courage and means, so Wu Qigong assisted him as much as possible. As long as they defeated the bandits, Wu Qigong could also get a share of the reward.

  Li Zhen saw Wu Qigong delegate power and also let out a sigh of relief.

  There were more than ten days before Yang Xiuqing sent someone to avenge, enough for Li Zhen to prepare, and Li Zhen also wanted to modify the bird gun in his hand, so that he could easily snipe the leader of the bandits.

  PS: Four updates today, 10 chapters explosion tomorrow.