The Empire will continue to win

Inside the hall.

The music was melodious.

Li Shaoquan, dressed in a gray silk long gown, stood with his back to himself. He was only in his early thirties, and with his many years of military service, his back was as straight as a pine tree.

Standing beside him was a capable and composed guard, also dressed in civilian clothes, with two pistols at his waist, who smiled and nodded.

"This humble servant pays his respects to Commander Li."

"It's Mo Qing, please have a seat!"

"Commander, how could a mere warrant officer like myself dare to trouble you? I am deeply humbled."

"Once we meet, we'll get to know each other better, so you don't need to be so polite. Besides, there's a difference between the mainland and the sea, so I'm not your superior."

After exchanging pleasantries, they each took their seats.

Li Shaoquan's gaze fell on Zhang Zongcang, who was following behind Shen Moqing. He saw that the man had a fierce face, a burly figure, and his military uniform was bulging. He had a revolver on each side of his belt.

"Who is this?"

Shen Moqing quickly introduced, "This is my elder brother. We fought our way back from Korea together. Elder brother, this is the commander of the First Division of the Army."

"This humble servant Zhang Zongcang greets Commander." Zhang Zongcang also quickly knelt on one knee.

"Sit down, and have some wine."

Takei Motoko quickly took the wine pot from the maid and, while pouring the wine, noticed that Zhang Zongcang's eyes were burning hot.

Good looks are great!

Being lustful means having opportunities.

So she deliberately looked up and met Zhang Zongcang's gaze, smiled, and then stepped aside, standing respectfully with her hands at her sides.

.........

"All of you, get out. Don't come in without my permission." Li Shaoquan waved his hand.

"Yes."

The butler, musicians, dancers, wine girls, and a whole bunch of people bowed in unison and left the house.

Motoko Takei felt a little regretful.

A naval warrant officer and a division commander of the Imperial Guard met alone; the content of their conversation was certainly classified, but unfortunately, we can't hear it.

That's right.

Hefenglou was actually a spy den disguised as a business of pleasure; to be precise, it was the location of the Eastern Sang Empire's naval spy agency stationed in the capital.

Code name: Mei Agency.

.........

Shen Moqing glanced at the slender figure from behind and thought to himself, "Such a tall and graceful woman? She's definitely from Tokyo Skytree."

"What are you looking at?"

"I observed that this woman was tall and slender, standing out like a crane among chickens."

"Haha, heroes have always been fond of beauties, and you're still young, so it's understandable. However, this Steward Yuanzi only sells his art, not his body, so it won't be easy for you to get close to him."

"A female butler?"

"She's a young brothel madam."

Such is often the case at dinner parties: the host and guests first chat about trivial matters to create a pleasant atmosphere before discussing serious business.

Standing beside Li Shaoquan, the composed plainclothes guard walked to the door, whispered a few instructions, something like, "Be careful not to let anyone get close," and then came back in.

Shen Moqing smiled and nodded at him.

"My name is Wang Shizhen."

"So it's you, Brother Wang. My apologies for not recognizing you."

"Excellent, another outstanding individual." Shen Moqing's heart stirred with the thought of recruiting him, but to poach someone openly, one always needs a reason.

.........

After taking a bite of fish, Li Shaoquan asked, "What's your opinion on the current situation, Mo Qing?"

This statement is ambiguous!

Is the question asking about the situation within the country's court, or about the border war situation?

Shen Moqing smiled and said, "This humble servant believes that the situation is very favorable."

"Brother Moqing, you don't consider me one of your own," Li Shaoquan said, taking a sip of sake from a square pine cup.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Zhang Zongcang remained silent and simply buried his head in his wine.

Since I can't understand it anyway, I might as well not listen.

"This Brother Zhang certainly has a good appetite."

"My older brother can eat two catties of beef and a catty of village wine."

"What a brave warrior! I'll give you all this wine and meat," Li Shaoquan praised, then suddenly changed the subject, "Mo Qing, what do you think of the Type 30 rifle?"

"Reliable and robust, but outdated in design."

Do you know what a repeating rifle is?

"I've heard that Europe has begun small-scale deployments, but I've never seen the actual equipment."

"Can your gun factory design and finalize a fully automatic rifle as soon as possible?"

"This humble servant dares not make any promises, but if Your Excellency requires it, this humble servant will do my utmost."

"Okay~"

Li Shaoquan slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Since we've come this far, I'll be frank. I urgently need to equip my men with a repeating rifle. It needs to be fast, reliable, and available in sufficient quantities."

"how long?"

"Two months."

"So urgent?"

"The situation in Liaodong is not optimistic. The First Division will have to set off to support the front line sooner or later. I only hope that the winter blizzard can delay the enemy for some time. Ideally, the decisive battle should be postponed until next spring."

Shen Moqing stared at Li Shaoquan, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, speaking passionately: "For the empire, for the court, for the nation, I am willing to accept the mission of firing repeating guns. However, I am but a lowly person with little influence. I urge the commander to advise the court to provide my gun factory with more funding and resources."

"Those who know me say I am worried, those who do not know me ask what I seek. Brother Moqing, to speak frankly, there are too many officials who hold positions without doing their jobs, and too few who are truly dedicated to the affairs of the state. You may not know this yet, but Motianling has already fallen."

"So fast?"

"Nogi Maresuke is a madman. He uses suicide squads in every battle, and his Second Division suffered over 70% casualties. Mo Qing, do you know what that means?"

"This humble servant knows that an army capable of withstanding 70% casualties without mutiny is truly an iron army!"

"Yeah, Steel Army~"

Li Shaoquan nodded slowly, clearly agreeing with the assessment.

"Mo Qing, you are a survivor of the Battle of Busan, so you understand my worries. I'll say something taboo, but there are very few clear-headed people in the capital these days."

"This humble servant dares to ask you a question, sir."

"There's no need to address him as 'sir,' you can address him as 'brother.'"

"Brother Li, is that the Empress Dowager?"

"No!" Li Shaoquan immediately denied the guess. "It wasn't the Empress Dowager who said anything to me, but rather I just received my third brother's will!"

Third brother?

A suicide note?

"Yes, my third brother Hezhang is under the command of Ronglu, the military governor of Fengtian. During the Battle of Niuzhuang, he was seriously wounded. His injuries were too severe to be cured, so he sent me a last letter. He repeatedly reminded me that the enemy's bayonet charge was unusually brave and told me to be careful."

That's it!

National enmity, family hatred.

"I am willing to do my utmost to procure weapons for my elder brother."

"After the war, when rewards are distributed, I will do my best to commend you to the court." Li Shaoquan's eyes were burning. "Since my third brother has died tragically, I have no other wish but to annihilate the Second Division and to have Nogi Maresuke skinned alive."

"I feel the same way. During the Battle of Busan, my comrades fell one by one before my eyes, and I felt the same way. Brother Li, I am, after all, a naval officer and not very familiar with army tactics. At that time, could you please have Wang Shizhen come to my factory for a few days to oversee the design of the new rifle and offer some practical suggestions?"

"Alright. Military affairs are busy, I'll take my leave now!"

"Yes."

Shen Moqing immediately stood up, stood at attention, and saluted.

Li Shaoquan casually returned the salute and then hurriedly left.

.........

A short while later.

The wooden sliding door of the Kyushu Hall opened again.

Takei Motoko smiled radiantly: "Young master, Lord Li has instructed that all your expenses at the Wafuu Pavilion tonight will be paid for by him."

A group of women dressed in brightly colored kimonos followed in and bowed in unison.

"Please take good care of me."

Zhang Zongcang's eyes widened immediately.

Shen Moqing noticed this and whispered in his ear, "Brother, you can do whatever you want, but you absolutely must not reveal military secrets. These women are from an enemy country."

"Don't worry, second brother, I promise I won't use my mouth, I'll keep my mouth shut."

Old Zhang was overjoyed. At that moment, a hungry Shandong man felt as if he were in a basket of steamed buns, feasting heartily.

Meanwhile, Takei Motoko had been secretly keeping an eye on Shen Moqing.

Sudden.

Loud singing came from the next private room, and the melody was so familiar.

"Lightning Ironclads Move Forward".

Imperial Navy anthem.

"Yuanzi, who's next door?"

"Ah, it's from the Naval Petty Officer School."

"Help me across."

"Yes."

Motoko Takei was worried about not finding an opportunity to get close to him.

Because the singing was too noisy, the guests in the third-floor private rooms loudly condemned it, but when they found out it was a gathering of naval cadets, they immediately lost their temper.

"Never mind, never mind."

"There's no need to bother with a bunch of little punks."

"Exactly, they might not even graduate."

The guests' anger vanished instantly, and they went back to their rooms to drink. It wasn't that they were afraid of these cadets whose average age was only fifteen, but rather that there was no need to.

They came from a distinguished family, were young and ambitious, and were all students.

What harm is there in winning?

It only makes them laugh.