The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 111 Night Battle Begins, Witness Dies
Although a small portion of the soldiers on the ship had not yet disembarked, Quan Xu did not wait for them.

He subtly gave the attack instructions to the men on both sides, waiting until he was sure the soldiers understood his meaning.

Quan Xu immediately drew his sword and charged out first.

As soon as he made his move, the soldiers on both sides naturally followed suit, drawing their swords and charging forward. Some of the faster ones even got ahead of Quan Xu.

The soldiers of the Jining Garrison on the other side were clearly not prepared for the fact that the men brought by Prince Su would start fighting at the slightest provocation.

Therefore, when they saw Quan Xu leading his men charging over, they could only hastily prepare for battle.

However, the two sides were only about ten feet apart.

So before they could even draw their weapons and get into position, Quan Xu and his men had already charged in front of them.

Outnumbered, they countered with surprise attacks and hasty responses.

More importantly, the elite troops of the Beijing Garrison were used to deal with the local garrison forces.

Quan Xu then broke through their obstruction with overwhelming force in a single encounter.

Quan Xu thought that if he broke through their lines and scattered them all, they would scatter and flee.

But this time, he was clearly wrong.

After being scattered by him, the soldiers of the garrison were scattered in various places, but they still managed to gather in groups of three or five and fight tenaciously.

He seems to have a reckless spirit.

Quan Xu's original plan was to disperse these people and then lead his team up the mountain to fight for Lai Shangrong.

But the enemy in front of him now clearly wasn't trying to stall for time or prevent him from easily making his way up the mountain.

In light of this, Quan Xu was naturally furious and said to his soldiers:

"Don't hold back, kill them all."

Although these men looked like desperate criminals, they were at a disadvantage in many ways and were quickly wiped out by the soldiers of the Beijing garrison.

Only five or six were captured alive.

Quan Xu looked at the five or six people and said, "Leave a few people behind and take them to the boat. The rest of you, come with me up the mountain."

After saying this, Quan Xu prepared to continue his journey. At this moment, one of his junior officers suddenly ran up to him and whispered something to him:
"General Quan, something's not right with these people."

Quan Xu asked, "Is something wrong?"

The young officer said, "When I was fighting with them just now, I vaguely heard what they were saying, which sounded somewhat like the language of the Japanese."

"Moreover, the way they fight also looks like that of the Japanese."

After he said that, Quan Xu suddenly realized that the fight between these people just now was indeed a bit awkward.

He quickly asked, "Are you sure they are Japanese slaves?"

The young officer said, "I'm not sure yet, but we can verify it."

Quan Xu asked, "How do we verify it?"

The young man said, "We can tell just by pulling down their pants."

Quan Xu waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down quickly.

Without saying a word, the young man picked up the nearest corpse and quickly pulled down its pants.

He pointed to the waist of the corpse and said to Quan Xu, "General, please look. Japanese people are used to wearing cloth to cover their crotches. These people are obviously Japanese."

Seeing that he spoke logically and persuasively, Quan Xu believed him.

Then he ordered all the soldiers: "Listen up, everyone, whether they are dead or alive, strip them all down to their pants."

The soldiers who were far away had no idea what was happening, but they did not hesitate at all when given Quan Xu's order and all of them pulled down the enemy's pants.

Even the prisoners who struggled desperately were stripped naked.

After the pants were pulled down, Quan Xu, using the torchlight, discovered that all of these dozens of people were wearing loincloths.

Dozens of Japanese soldiers, dressed in the uniforms of the Jining Garrison, appeared here, and Quan Xu felt that things were getting serious.

As a young nobleman who grew up in the capital, Quan Xu had never met the Japanese, but he was still clear about the imperial court's strategy towards them.

From the beginning of the dynasty, the Japanese invaders frequently raided the coastal areas.

After the retired emperor ascended the throne, he intensified his crackdown on the Japanese invaders, which finally calmed them down in recent years.

However, the imperial court's attitude towards the Japanese remained unchanged: apart from a few maritime trade offices, no Japanese were allowed to be present on the imperial court's territory.

Therefore, the appearance of so many Japanese pirates in Shandong, the heartland of the dynasty, is no small matter.

Quan Xu thought that he had to report this matter to Prince Su immediately.

He asked the young general who had discovered the Japanese, "Do you know anything about the Japanese?"

The young officer said, "I grew up by the sea in Shandong. My father was a soldier in the anti-Japanese guerrilla force, so I know quite a bit about the Japanese."

Quan Xu said, "In that case, you should take the prisoners you captured to the ship and hand them over to Prince Su."

The young general was overjoyed and immediately accepted the order, leading the prisoners back the way they came.

After they left, Quan Xu addressed all the soldiers:
"There may still be Japanese invaders on the mountain. Everyone should be careful after going up the mountain. If anyone resists, kill them without mercy."

After saying that, Quan Xu once again took the lead and set off towards the small hill.

The fighting down the mountain was so intense that it was impossible for the people on the mountain not to see it.

So, when Quan Xu eliminated the Japanese soldiers disguised as guards and headed up the mountain...

Those who were searching all over the mountain also found them immediately.

When these people saw Quan Xu leading his men charging up, they did not fight to the death like the Japanese slaves had done before. Instead, they threw down their torches and fled in the opposite direction.

When Quan Xu saw that they were about to escape, he didn't care about anything else and led his men to chase after them.

Although the hill was small, it was pitch black, and the people who were fleeing were scattered in all directions.

In the end, after chasing for a long time, they only managed to catch a dozen or so people.

It wasn't that Quan Xu and his team lacked the ability to capture more people, but rather that his main mission upon arriving on the mountain was to find Lai Shangrong.

So after those people ran far away, Quan Xu stopped his soldiers from chasing them and withdrew them all.

They led a group of people, just like the others, and searched the hills for the person.

However, Quan Xu and his group did not blindly search for it. Instead, based on the information Tu Chengyu gave them, they found a cave on the side of the hill facing the canal, which was the specific address mentioned in Lai Shangrong's letter.

Quan Xu and his men quickly found the cave and discovered signs that someone had been there, but they couldn't find any trace of Lai Shangrong.

Could it be that those people found it and stole it before they could?

But I just saw those people searching all over the mountains and fields. If they found them, what are they still looking for?

Quan Xu couldn't figure it out, so he could only send someone to the ship to report the news to Tu Chengyu, while also ordering his men to expand the search area to see if Lai Shangrong had run off somewhere else. However, before Quan Xu could deploy all his men, he heard that Prince Su had sent someone.

The eunuch who came to deliver Tu Chengyu's order said to Quan Xu, "His Highness has ordered General Quan to withdraw his troops and return to the ship."

Quan Xu panicked upon hearing this. Lai Shangrong hadn't been found yet, and if they went back like this, wouldn't the mission have failed?

He quickly said, "Sir, please go back and tell the Prince that I will find Lai Shangrong within half an hour. If I cannot find him, I am willing to accept punishment."

The young eunuch showed no response to Quan Xu's pleas, only saying, "His Highness's order is for you, General, to immediately withdraw your troops."

After saying this, the little eunuch didn't give Quan Xu a chance to speak and turned to leave.

Quan Xu and his soldiers were left standing there, bewildered.

After a while, a soldier next to him said, "General Quan, what should we do now?"

At this very moment, a fierce struggle was raging in Quan Xu's mind.

He considered disregarding Prince Su's orders and continuing the search despite the difficulties. He thought that if he found the person eventually, he might be able to atone for his sins.

But he was also worried about what would happen if he couldn't find it in the end; that would be adding insult to injury.

After thinking for a long time, he still didn't have the courage to disobey, and could only reluctantly give the order:
"Tell everyone to call it a day."

After giving the order, he walked down the hill dejectedly.

After dawdling for a while, he arrived at the canal and found that Prince Su's ship had also docked.

Quan Xu knew he had messed things up, but he had no intention of avoiding it. He went straight to Prince Su's ship and requested an audience.

As soon as Quan Xu requested an audience, Tu Chengyu immediately allowed him to board the ship.

Once on the ship, he saw Prince Su and others gathered on the deck, talking about something.

Upon seeing this, Quan Xu quickly went over to pay his respects.

Tu Chengyu saw Quan Xu arrive and said, "You've come at the right time. Let's see who this person is?"

Upon hearing this, Quan Xu walked over and craned his neck to look inside, only to find a corpse lying in the middle.

The body was fully clothed and its face was clean, except for a long wound on its neck.

Although Quan Xu looked like him, he didn't recognize him at all.

He then asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, this humble servant does not recognize this person."

Tu Chengyu seemed to know that Quan Xu didn't recognize him, and after hearing his words, he explained:
"Is this person Lai Shangrong?"

"Ah!" Quan Xu exclaimed in surprise after hearing this. He said, "How could Lai Shangrong be dead?"

Tu Chengyu said, "They killed them."

Since he was murdered, it means that Lai Shangrong must have been found by someone else first. So, how did Lai Shangrong's body end up here?

Quan Xu, steeling himself, asked again, "Your Highness, how was Lai Shangrong's body found?"

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I have to praise Su Xuanbao. If it weren't for him, Lai Shangrong might have gotten away."

After listening, Quan Xu turned to look at Su Xuanbao, who was standing to the side. He hadn't expected that it was Su Xuanbao who had brought the person here.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's praise, Su Xuanbao quickly replied, "Your Highness, I was just lucky."

Tu Chengyu didn't care about luck or anything like that. He said, "What's yours is yours, no need to be modest and refuse. Also, tell Quan Xu what happened."

Upon hearing this, Su Xuanbao walked over to Quan Xu and whispered the whole story to him.

After listening, Quan Xu learned the whole story.

It turns out that when Su Xuanbao arrived with his cavalry, the enemy was already there.

At that time, the enemy had too many people, and Su Xuanbao only had thirty cavalrymen, so he did not dare to make any rash moves and secretly kept an eye on them from the shadows.

Then, under Su Xuanbao's watchful eye, the enemy searched the entire hillside but could not find Lai Shangrong.

When the enemy found no one on the hill, they expanded their search area and discovered Lai Shangrong's trail in a small ravine.

Just then, Tu Chengyu's fleet arrived.

The enemy searching the mountain had not yet captured Lai Shangrong, so they sent dozens of Japanese soldiers disguised as soldiers of the garrison to try to delay Quan Xu's advance.

However, Quan Xu dealt with the Japanese who blocked the road very decisively, which disrupted the enemy's plans and forced them to flee immediately after capturing Lai Shangrong.

The enemy fled in a panic, and the people on the mountain were scattered by Quan Xu's men, so there weren't many people left to escort Lai Shangrong.

This situation gave Su Xuanbao, who had been secretly keeping watch, an opportunity to make his move.

He hid on the enemy's escape route, waiting for them to get close before charging out, intending to snatch Lai Shangrong back from the enemy.

However, there were also ruthless individuals among the enemy. The moment that person saw Su Xuanbao's cavalry appear, he turned back and killed Lai Shangrong on the spot.

After killing Lai Shangrong, this man attempted suicide. Fortunately, Su Xuanbao arrived in time and captured him alive.

So in the end, Su Xuanbao only brought back Lai Shangrong's body and an enemy whose identity was unknown.

Quan Xu and Su Xuanbao were talking to each other about what had just happened, while Tu Chengyu and Quan Wenwei were also busy.

The two of them returned to their room in the back warehouse, preparing to interrogate the person Su Xuanbao had captured.

The fact that this person could so decisively kill Lai Shangrong and then dare to commit suicide on the spot suggests that he must be someone of considerable importance; at the very least, he must know a great deal.

Back in his room, Tu Chengyu had someone bring him up.

This man was fair-skinned and plump. Although he was dressed in short clothes, one could tell at a glance that he was a scholar.

After he was brought in, he initially struggled a bit, but when he saw Tu Chengyu and Quan Wenwei sitting behind the table, he gave up struggling and obediently knelt on the ground.

Seeing his reaction, Tu Chengyu asked, "It seems you know who I am?"

Upon hearing this, the man shook his head and said, "I have never met you before, young master, and I do not know you."

Hearing that he denied it, Tu Chengyu didn't argue with him and asked, "Since you don't know me, then tell me who you are so I can get to know you."

When this person heard Tu Chengyu's question, he did not answer immediately, but instead kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long while, just as Tu Chengyu was getting impatient, he finally spoke:
"I am a staff member under Prefect Ma of Jining."

Upon hearing that it was Ma Yizhen's advisor, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered someone and asked:

"What's your name?"

The man replied, "My name is Feng Dewen."

As soon as he said his name, Tu Chengyu smiled.

He thought to himself that he was right, it really was this person.

(End of this chapter)