Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 21 Shun Army Cavalry
Zhu Cilang borrowed the money he used to "reward the army" last night, so how could he have any money left? But this did not affect his decision to take the boat.

Of course, there was no problem with the deposit for the Cao Gang's shipping. He was even more generous and gave away the remaining change as rewards after paying the deposit.

Once on board, the rest of the matter would be easy. It would be nothing more than for him, the Crown Prince, to requisition civilian ships, or visit important commercial towns along the way and withdraw some silver from the county treasury or the banknote office.

Now, his biggest threat is the Shun Army in the north, and all other things have to be put on hold.

Chen Fu was temporarily left outside by Zhu Cilang, leading ten Night Soldier to scout and provide cover in the surrounding area. As long as a large group of people appeared within fifteen miles to the north and west, he would be the first to know.

Chang Denggui was in the camp at the time, and Li Banghua had him stay behind to prevent any unexpected incidents. However, Zhu Cilang planned to have him lead his troops out to relieve Chen Fu's men in the latter half of the night.

Under the guidance of Li Banghua, the group soon saw Linjiazhai in the distance. At this time, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and gusts of cool wind blew with water vapor, causing the soldiers who had just been caught in the rain to shiver.

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by a large number of people entering the village, Zhu Cilang directly divided the people into three groups. Li Banghua first entered the village with a few people around him to confirm safety again. Then he led the remaining half of his personal guards into the village, and finally the rear team led by Zhou Shixian.

"Lin Family Village" was built on a large scale, with a solid and neat outer wall. Every few meters on the wall, there were stone piles, with heads sticking out from them, looking at this unusual group of people in surprise.

Li Banghua was standing outside the village gate at this time. Beside him, besides the dozen or so soldiers wearing servants' robes he brought with him, there was also a middle-aged man with a square face and a thick beard. He stood with his hands behind his back and his head held high. This was the head of the Lin Family Village.

Not only that, on both sides of the village's newly opened gate, there were more than forty strong men holding white-handled black iron spears standing in line as the gate. They looked very imposing, like a high-ranking gate and a large courtyard, and seemed unfathomable.

Zhu Cilang dismounted and walked about fifty steps in front of the village. He was wearing a very delicate silk dress, but he did not look like the dandy young man as planned. Instead, his every move and gesture exuded nobility.

He had specifically instructed Li Banghua to conceal his identity as much as possible before boarding the ship. Li Banghua only claimed to be the steward of a nobleman in the capital, traveling south with his young master.

This wasn't surprising; at least they weren't the first. Ever since Li Jiantai's eastern expedition in January, some of the capital's dignitaries had already begun migrating south. And as Li Zicheng's army approached, more and more wealthy merchants and officials' families were migrating south, especially those from Shandong and Southern Zhili.

But the problem is, how can these elite soldiers of the Beijing camp who have killed countless people, those military horses, and Li Banghua's aura as a second-rank official be concealed?

After Zhu Cilang gave the order, they all tried their best to make themselves look less fierce and less strong, but when they stood together with the able-bodied men in the village, the difference was visible to the naked eye.

You know, a group of strong and fierce soldiers lined up in two rows, just by looking at them, they are already very powerful, and one person leading two horses while marching, which is simply showing their strength everywhere.

"Mr. Li, tell me the truth, what is the background of your young master?"

After carefully examining Zhu Cilang, Patriarch Lin began to harbor doubts, his brows furrowed even tighter. Finally, he could not help but turn his head to look at Li Banghua, and asked timidly:

"I just felt that you are not simple. Please don't use those nonsense to evade me anymore. If Linjiazhai fails to entertain you well and offends your young master, I can't bear the consequences!"

He had traveled extensively for so many years and had met many powerful people, even the local prefect, but he had never felt so uneasy. Especially after seeing the other party's servant behave so calmly and with such a fierce look in his eyes, he felt that things were not simple.

A small housekeeper in the mansion, his every move and gesture were more impressive than the county magistrate he had met. He must be a cabinet minister in the capital, or even the son of a duke, right?

Originally, after the deal was finalized, he had specifically called out the strongest and bravest forty or so young men in the village, who were not afraid of fighting for water, to show off their strength to the noble young master and reassure him. Now, it seemed ridiculous. Li Banghua saw Lin Yongan so nervous, even a little frightened, and knew that the truth would eventually be revealed. He immediately stopped pretending and said:

"Master Lin, my young master doesn't like to be disturbed. Don't say too much, and don't ask too many questions. Just follow his instructions and prepare clean clothes and ginger soup. You will definitely not be shortchanged in the silver reward. As for the rest, just pretend you didn't see anything. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," the head of the Lin family, who had just held his head high and looked majestic, immediately nodded respectfully upon hearing this.

Soon, Lin Changfeng came towards them, leading his horse and two rows of soldiers who were also leading their horses. The fierceness on his face could not be hidden. After he took a fierce look at the young men who were looking around curiously in front of the village, no one dared to look at him. They all shrank their necks and turned their heads away.

"Tsk, I thought you were some powerful family's son!" Lin Changfeng sneered and continued walking forward.

It was not a big deal for wealthy families and nobles to have one or two hundred strong and powerful servants. Lin Yongan had been to Jiangnan, where it was not uncommon for wealthy businessmen and powerful families to have thousands of servants. However, this was the first time he had seen such calm and solemn servants with indifferent expressions, all of whom were armed with swords and axes.

However, although he had already noticed that something was wrong, he was not afraid to look up. His eyes followed Zhu Cilang, who was slowly walking towards him, surrounded by several servants. The more he looked, the more he felt that he was noble and imposing.

You have to remember that Emperor Chongzhen nurtured Zhu Cilang for sixteen years. In the original history, Zhu Cilang was equally resolute even when facing Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, who commanded an army of 100,000. The inherent temperament of the Celestial Crown Prince, combined with the spirit of a battle-hardened soldier, fused together to create the Zhu Cilang he is today. How could a petty Cao Gang patriarch, who had to kowtow to the county magistrate, dare to challenge him?
Zhu Cilang and his soldiers quickly entered the village under the confused welcome of the young and strong men of Linjiazhai who originally wanted to show their strength but ended up being just a foil.

The Lin Family Village was in a state of excitement after welcoming such a distinguished guest. Lin Yongan personally ordered a sumptuous dinner to be prepared for the group, and did not mention the deposit for the ship that he had been thinking about. Even when Li Banghua offered to pay it, he rejected it.

What is this little bit of silver to the noble young master who just casually gave out three hundred taels of silver as a reward?
Zhu Cilang naturally did not attend the dinner, so the butler Li Banghua attended on his behalf.

However, he watched as all his meals were tasted by his personal bodyguard Lin Changping, who was simply the reincarnation of Zhu Bajie. He took a big bite of each dish and even argued that if the amount was too small, the poison would not be able to knock him out and he would miss out on important things.

This serious and even self-righteous look, I don’t know if he is really naive!

Zhu Cilang knew that this was Lin Changfeng's instruction, and this kid was a stubborn person, especially since the other party was testing poison on him. He was not the kind of person who was pretentious, and after making sure that the food was safe, he finished it in no time.

After running around in the wind and rain for most of the day, I'm finally hungry!

Zhu Cilang had just finished his meal when the night watchmen stationed outside Linjiazhai brought him the latest news - the person who had just been secretly monitoring them entering the village was from Lujiazhai, a Caogang gang located two or three miles away across the canal.

"Lujiazhai?" Zhu Cilang frowned, not being able to think of any connection between them.

But before he could think about it further, another military report was delivered to him. The person who came was Chen Fu's confidant. He looked panicked and panting, and seemed to be in a hurry.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang knew that the matter might not be simple, and immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Your Highness, we've spotted a group of bandit cavalry, approximately one hundred in number, entering the Lu Family Stronghold!"

　Thanks to book friends 20181107124212127 and Shao Nian Yi Mu for their rewards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)