Chapter 9 - Restrict and Despair

Before daybreak, Shen Leng had already gotten out of bed. He drew some water from the well and washed up, before going to the morning market in the nearby village to buy some vegetables and meat. Ever since the day he joined them, he had taken on the responsibility of managing their finances. Both Mr. Shen and Shen Cha Yan were extremely pleased with this arrangement. After all, one of them was too lazy to manage finances, and the other one had not a single clue when it came to managing finances.

After he went back to the Daoist temple, he started cooking. He fried some eggs and shredded meat, and cooked some noodles. Very soon, the aromatic smell of food came wafting through the air from the kitchen.

Mr. Shen stretched and went out of the door. Following his daily routine, he watered the pine tree that was right outside the kitchen. This pine tree was something that he cherished most in this place. After all, he personally planted it at that time.

Shen Cha Yan wore a set of baggy clothes and walked into the kitchen with messy hair. “Idiot, what are we having for breakfast?”

Shen Leng stuck out his lips, pointing towards the noodles that he had just finished cooking, “Noodles.”

“Ok.”

Shen Cha Yan did not seem to be interested, but she knew that Shen Leng made it especially for her because he knew that she liked noodles. Naturally, she did not express that. When she turned around, she smiled slightly. The young lady’s smile was as lovely as spring sunshine.

“Senior Sister, I have something to ask you.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“You can call me……forget it, call me whatever you want.”

“Ok, Master Cha. I have something to ask you.”

Shen Cha Yan’s eyes lit up. “I like the sound of that. Go on, what do you want to ask?”

“What is sir’s name?”

“His name? Hoho……hehe……hahaha……”

Shen Leng did not understand why Shen Cha Yan laughed. After she had laughed to her heart’s content, she turned around and walked off. “Ask him yourself.”

Naturally, Mr. Shen who was just outside had heard their exchange clearly. He coughed twice and said, “Don’t talk about others behind their back. It's one of the rules a gentleman live by.”

Shen Cha Yan replied, “Got it, Mr. Xiao Song (Note: ‘Song’ means pine in chinese).

Shen Leng stared blankly for a few seconds. “Mr. Xiao Song? Shen Xiao Song?”

He looked at the pine tree and thought to himself: No wonder.

Shen Cha Yan, who was initially giggling, suddenly thought of something and gradually became more serious……when Mr. Shen planted that pine tree in the Daoist temple back then, as a teenager whose name was still Xiao Song, what kind of Daoist forward-looking strength of character did he possess? And yet, twelve years ago, how dismal was it for him to carry Shen Leng, who was still an infant then, out of the Daoist temple in the night, as he lamented that the heavens was the one who decided his fate, and not him?

Hence, the significance of the pine tree to Mr. Shen had more layers to it than the simple fact that he was the one who personally planted it. The strength of character he had once hoped to possess had disappeared without a trace after that night. All he was left with was this pine tree.

Shen Cha Yan stood there for quite a while, after which she drew some water to water the tree. After she was done, she went back into the house and took her soft pillow. She walked over to Shen Leng and roughly measured his height with her hands, before stooping down to test the altitude of the dive. After that, under the dumbfounded gazes of Mr. Shen and Shen Leng, she tied the pillow on the tree. She grabbed Shen Leng and took him to the door before pushing him hard. Shen Leng stumbled and knocked against the pine tree, right where the pillow was tied. Shen Cha Yan smiled with her eyes squinted, looking very elated.

Shen Leng was dumbfounded.

“You have already chopped off the threshold.”

“So? It’s none of your business.”

Master Cha, who was in good spirits, walked into the house with her hands clasped behind. She thought to herself about how all three of them, including that idiot, suffered bitter fate. With the three of them together, things could only move in the opposite direction. They should not continue to lead an ill-fated life no matter what.

Shen Leng assumed that she did it on a whim, that the whole plan to tie a pillow to the tree was only devised at that moment. However, he did not expect that over the next three years, Master Cha would repeatedly catapult him into the pillow on the tree from time to time. She changed the position of the pillow as Shen Leng grew taller and taller. She was also worried that the rope would affect the tree growth, hence, she would release the rope and tie it again from time to time.

Shen Leng felt that Master Cha was a loving person, even though he had never taken the initiative to knock himself against the tree over the next three years……

Three years flew by in a blink of an eye. Shen Leng’s everyday schedule was extremely tight, and somewhat cruel. Three years ago, Mr. Shen and Shen Cha Yan had constantly used all their might to squeeze in more things into Shen Leng, the proverbial pocket; even when things were falling out, they refused to stop.

One day, under the sunset, the three of them were having their dinner beneath the pine tree. It was simple yet exquisite. Over the past three years, Shen Leng had greatly improved his culinary skills.

“Make a trip there tomorrow, the both of you.”

Mr. Shen looked a little more weary than he used to be, although it had only been three years. He had more gray hairs now, compared to the Mr. Shen that Shen Leng was once familiar with back in the day. He also had more wrinkles now. Initially he thought that he would have finished writing the book of military tactics three years ago. He had never expected that he would continue making changes and rewriting it, to the point it was still uncompleted three years later.

“What are we supposed to do?” asked Shen Cha Yan as she was taking more food for herself.

“Break the commandment against killing.”

Mr. Shen’s reply was very ordinary. However, Shen Leng and Shen Cha Yan could hear that his voice was slightly trembling. No matter what, telling two fifteen year olds to kill someone was extremely pressuring. He was even under a lot more pressure than the two of them, who had to hear that.

“Over the past three years, Great Ning’s Navy that is patrolling Jiangnan’s Weaving Repository has finally taken shape. By and large, the water bandits on the Nanping River had been destroyed. However, the Navy’s ships were too big to enter the narrow water channels. Even though the water bandits could no longer be as rampant as they used to be, they still exist in great numbers.

“Both of you make a trip there tomorrow. You have to walk slightly over 9 miles from here to upstream. You will get to the river fork of the Nanping River. After you enter it, you have to walk approximately four miles before you get to a reed marshland. It’s the hideout of a group of water bandits. They are somewhat related to Shen Leng……a subordinate of Mr. Meng, or otherwise known as Bai Litu, the second-in-command, did not die. He recruited a bunch of people and continued to commit crimes. There are about 70 to 80 people. It’s about time you two put your abilities to the test.”

Mr. Shen tried his best to say it as matter-of-factly as possible as he did not want the two children to be too anxious. However, even he himself was already anxious.

“Alright.”

That was all Shen Cha Yan said, before she continued eating.

Shen Leng put down his bowl and chopsticks, and returned to the house. He took out the small hunting knife’s scabbard that he had hidden in the closet and carefully wiped it clean. Shen Cha Yan frowned slightly and asked, “Is this your choice of weapon tomorrow?”

Shen Leng nodded and answered earnestly, “Yes.”

Even though he had only said one word, it sounded particularly confident.

Shen Cha Yan slammed her bowl against the table, causing Mr. Shen to be startled.

“You trained so hard over the past three years and have learned how to use all kinds of weapons - knives and swords for close combat and bow and arrows for long-range combat; including the repeating crossbow, which you’re pretty decent at. Why do you have to insist on using a scabbard?”

Shen Leng lifted the scabbard in the direction in which the sun was setting. “Because I like it.”

He did not reveal what he was actually thinking……he wondered how Meng Changan had been doing over the last three years. He had entered the Yanta Academy of Classical Learning at the young age of six to study and train. It had already been nine years, hence, it meant that he had six years ahead of him, and should be a lot stronger in comparison……chances were, the small hunting knife should be well taken care of in his hands.

One had to be at least sixteen years old in order to be recruited into Great Ning’s military forces. If everything went smoothly, Meng Changan would be recruited into the military at the age of sixteen. This year was his final year at the Yanta Academy of Classical Learning. Based on his personality, he seemed like the type who excelled in everything.

Even though Shen Cha Yan was unhappy, she still proceeded to finish her last mouthful of rice. She did not leave a single grain of rice behind. She put down her bowl and sat upright, before asking Mr. Shen earnestly, “Initially, you did not want to talk about the Four Depositories Military Repository. However, at this juncture, you don’t have a choice. Leng the fool is not from a military family - it’s impossible for him to enter the military directly. He will be able to join the military starting next year, what do you plan to do?”

“Why didn’t we leave the Nanping River?” Mr. Shen answered her with another question.

“I don’t know.”

“And neither do I.”

Mr. Shen laughed, “Even though the military officers from the Great Ning’s Four Depositories Military Repository scout for talents from all over the country, they still give priority to children from military families. For a person like Shen Leng, who’s from an unknown origin, even if he were to be scouted, they will still filter him out when he gets into the Four Depositories Military Repository.”

“Let’s not talk about Great Ning’s Four Borders Military Forces; even children who do not belong to military families cannot enter the resident military forces in each prefecture as well. This is a rule established by the founding emperor of Great Ning - nobody dares to break it easily. This is the reason why we have been staying in Nanping River the whole time instead of leaving. It’s because there is no such limitation in the Navy.”

“When the Navy first got established, His Majesty was trying to say that we should not stick to a certain type of talent. The military personnel who got transferred over from all over the country had trained for three years, but they were still a lot less skillful compared to the local fishermen when it came to swimming. Hence, instead, the main strength of the Navy lies in their recruitment of the brave citizens up and down the Nanping River over the past three years. I had received some news yesterday - the Ministry of War had issued a letter, that the brave citizens who were recruited into the Navy can officially be included in the Great Ning’s Military Forces formation.”

Shen Cha Yan frowned slightly, “Sir, you’re thinking of getting Leng the fool to join the Navy? He has no future there! In order to open up new territories, and accomplish goals, he has to join the Four Borders elite troops. The Navy is merely deployed to the Nanping River, and their only purpose is to destroy water bandits. To put it crudely, no matter how outstanding Leng the fool is, he could only become a military officer at the very most.”

“Little Cha, you have underestimated His Majesty’s great aspirations……did you really think that the only reason why His Majesty established the Navy was only to get rid of water bandits? If their only purpose is to exterminate water bandits, why did they build such huge battleships for the Water Patrol? Eventually these battleships are to be sent out to the sea……The past emperors of Great Ning had already established the strongest military force possible on land. Conquering the distant seas is His Majesty’s major plan.

Mr. Shen continued, “Let’s not talk about the farther areas; the Qiuli Empire, situated just outside the waters of Nanjiang, is known to be a very small country - they have a population of less than ten million people. However, their Navy’s tyrannical power was strong enough to intrude Great Ning’s coastal border regions, which did not have decent battleships - even the fishermen could not defend them. Because of this matter, His Majesty was extremely vexed.”

Mr. Shen looked at Shen Leng. “Naturally, joining the Navy is a route that I had chosen for you. You can decide for yourself too - if you insist on going to the Four Borders, I will try my best to help you.”

Shen Cha Yan said, “I still feel that it’s better for him to join the elite troops of the Four Borders. The Navy venturing to the distant seas? It’s not realistic.”

Shen Leng sat there the whole time, not uttering a single word. He was deep in thought for quite a while. Suddenly, he laughed, “Great Ning’s Four Borders elite troops on land are almost unequalled. There is indeed no meaning for me to join them. If I could lead the Navy and venture out of the four seas, that would be so f*cking awesome.”

Shen Cha Yan knocked on Shen Leng’s head. “Where did you learn how to be so vulgar?”

Shen Leng rubbed his head with a foolish smile on his face, “I don’t think it’s vulgar. In fact it’s worse for me to be all genteel and soft-spoken once I join the military.”

Mr. Shen got up and went back to his room. Thereafter, he took out the book of military tactics that he had taken years to complete, and gave it to Shen Leng. “Ground warfare, naval warfare - everything I could think of is written in there. From today onwards, your main focus is to study everything in it and join the Nanping River Navy a year from now.”

Shen Leng took the book of military tactics and took a look. He could not see a single word in it. However, there were four words on the cover that were clearly written.

“Jin Jue Military Tactics?”

He looked at Mr. Shen and asked, “Why ‘jin’ and ‘jue’?”

“In combat, ‘jin’ means restrict - it refers to forcing the enemy into becoming passive and under your control in every aspect; ‘jue’ means despair - it refers to making your enemy go into despair, forcing them into a corner with no way out.

Mr. Shen said proudly, “Everywhere in the world, there are innumerable famous generals. But who truly possesses the ability to completely prohibit something or someone?”