Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"This humble general, Zhang Dayong, pays his respects to the Duke of Zhenguo."

"I was unaware that the Duke of Zhenguo was coming to my Suzhou military camp. I apologize for not being able to greet him properly."

Zhang Dayong, the deputy general of the Suzhou camp, knelt respectfully inside the main tent, cold sweat pouring down his face, not daring to even lift his head.

Shen Lang sat at his desk, not even raising his head to look at Zhang Dayong, focused intently on reading the military manual.

The atmosphere inside the tent was unusually quiet, with only the sound of the military manuals being turned over repeatedly echoing in the air.

Standing beside Shen Lang, Xiang Muqingqiu, a centurion of the Jingwei Division, was quite impressed with the scene before her.

"This groom, acting like a member of the royal family, is quite composed and steady. If I were him, I would have been completely taken aback. Haha."

In fact, it took a lot of effort for Mu Qingqiu to persuade Jiang Mengxuan to follow Shen Lang and participate in such a big case.

Jiang Mengxuan was worried that Mu Qingqiu might follow Shen Lang and something might happen during the investigation.

After all, it's always uncomfortable to have other women around your man, and no one can guarantee that feelings won't develop along the way.

Fortunately, Mu Qingqiu spoke very sincerely, saying that she only wanted to familiarize herself with the Jingwei Division's case-handling procedures and would absolutely not have any relationship with Shen Lang. Only then did she obtain permission to come to Suzhou with Shen Lang.

Just as Zhang Dayong felt his knees were about to go numb from kneeling, Shen Lang slowly spoke up: "Where is Chang Benchu, the commander of the Suzhou camp? Why isn't he here to greet you?"

Zhang Dayong immediately replied, "Reporting to the Duke of Zhenguo..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Lang interrupted him, saying, "There is no Duke of Zhenguo here, only an Inspector appointed by the Imperial Court."

Zhang Dayong quickly corrected himself: "Yes, Lord Shen, General Chang has had some family matters to attend to recently and has returned to Suzhou Prefecture."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Qingqiu's mocking voice rang out from inside the tent: "Something's wrong at home? What a coincidence. Of all times, nothing's wrong, but of all times, the imperial envoy has to arrive, and then something happens?"

Zhang Dayong hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Lord Shen, Lord Chang really did have to return to his residence on business. He has been away from the camp for almost half a month."

"Half a month?"

Shen Lang immediately closed the military manual: "The military law of the Great Chu stipulates that no one in the army may leave their post without authorization unless there is an urgent matter, especially the commander-in-chief, who must set an example."

What could have happened at Chang Benchu's home that he hadn't returned to camp for half a month? If something had happened to the camp, could he bear the responsibility?

Zhang Dayong replied truthfully, "Lord Shen, I only know that General Chang's family has encountered some changes. It seems that his young master is sick and needs care."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang's eyes narrowed.

Mu Qingqiu, standing to the side, exchanged glances with him and said, "I say, Duke Zhenguo, it seems that the intelligence from the Jingwei Division is really useful. It seems that Chang Benchu's youngest son is indeed ill."

Shen Lang rolled his eyes at her expressionlessly: "Nonsense, Chang Benchu ​​is in the military camp, why would I come here to make things difficult?"

Then, Shen Lang raised his hand and said, "Get up and talk. Don't kneel."

"Thank you, Lord Shen."

Zhang Dayong gritted his teeth and, supporting his aching and numb legs, got up from the ground.

Before he could even catch his breath, the first thing the officer asked was, "The Suzhou camp has a total of 23,000 regular troops. Tell me honestly, how many of them are actually listed in the roster right now?"

Zhang Dayong was taken aback, and stammered, "To be honest, Lord Shen, General Chang personally supervised the military register matters, and we have never been involved in them at all."

"You, a deputy general in the army, don't even know the authenticity of the numbers in the troop register? Do you think I'm new to the army?!"

Shen Lang slammed the military manual hard into Zhang Dayong's face.

Zhang Dayong was so frightened that he knelt on the ground again: "Lord Shen, please calm down, this humble general really doesn't know! Besides, this humble general can't even read many characters, how could he understand the intricacies of this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Qingqiu took out a piece of white paper with the word "death" written on it and handed it to him.

"Come on, say it, what's the pronunciation of this word?"

"Uh……"

Zhang Dayong was completely dumbfounded. He looked left and right, but couldn't figure out what was going on.

Finally, he put his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it to cover up his embarrassment.

"As expected, he's not afraid of death. It seems I was right; this guy can't read at all."

Mu Qingqiu slammed the paper down on Shen Lang's desk, her face flushed.

"Even soldiers in the Imperial Guard who have only been in the army for a month or two can recognize one or two hundred characters."

But this guy, a dignified deputy battalion commander, doesn't even know the word "death." Shouldn't he be dragged out and beheaded?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dayong was utterly terrified and immediately began to beg for mercy: "Oh, Lord Shen! My family has been fishermen for three generations..."

Illiteracy is no excuse for death! I beg you, have mercy and spare this humble servant this once!

Shen Lang was speechless upon hearing this: "If you don't understand, can you stop talking nonsense?"

In the old army, if even one standing battalion had 30% of its officers and soldiers who could read and understand intelligence, they were already considered elite troops.

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Dayong with disdain and said, "Alright, alright, stop kneeling. Immediately give the order to have all the officers and soldiers in the army assemble at the drill ground. I will personally inspect the troops."

"Yes, yes, yes, I obey. I'll do it right away."

Zhang Dayong dared not be negligent in the slightest and decisively fled the main camp as if scrambling and crawling.

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

Mu Qingqiu couldn't figure out Shen Lang's actions at all.

Shen Lang opened his canteen and took a sip of the grape wine that Jiang Mengxuan had packed for him before he left.

"You'll see when you see it. To completely clean up this mess in Suzhou, we'll have to rely on the troops in this camp."

"Are you planning a rebellion?"

Mu Qingqiu blurted out something out of the blue.

"Am I fucking rebelling against myself because I've been living too comfortably?"

Shen Lang was speechless. He really didn't know what was going on in this woman's head.

"Haha, I was just saying it casually, don't take it to heart."

Mu Qingqiu realized she had said the wrong thing and gave an awkward smile.

"Alright, stop laughing. Just watch what I'm about to do."

To gain a foothold in the Jingwei Division, the most important thing isn't how smart you are, but whether your methods are appropriate.

"Don't worry, I can still try my best to get the position of Commander of the Jingwei Division."

He's definitely more reliable than that fatso Jiang Shangxian, but I'll still need you to give him a promotion.

Strangely enough, Jiang Shangxian, that lecherous fellow, would flirt with everyone he saw, but when he saw Mu Qingqiu, he acted as if he had seen a ghost, and the two barely interacted.

Perhaps Mu Qingqiu possesses the same temperament as Chu Wanrou, which prevents Jiang Shangxian from acting recklessly.

However, no matter what, Shen Lang sometimes really envied Mu Qingqiu and Jiang Shangxian, who were so carefree and innocent, at least they had no worries.

……

Outside the outer city of Suzhou, outside the Chang residence, a swift rider galloped up.

On horseback was a scholar in his early thirties. Before the horse could come to a complete stop, he dismounted and strode towards the gate of the mansion.

"Stop! Who is it!"

Two servants at the door immediately stopped him.

"Get out of the way!"

Without saying a word, Xiushi shook off the servants and rushed into the mansion.

"Someone has trespassed into the Chang residence!"

The servants behind him immediately chased after him while shouting, which quickly attracted a large number of people.

However, Xiushi walked swiftly and they couldn't catch up with him. He soon arrived at the main hall of the Chang residence.

"Young Master Chen, please wait."

As soon as the scholar stepped into the hall, an official in his early fifties blocked his way.

"Mr. Chen, my general is not available to receive guests. Please come another day."

"Another day, another day! I'm afraid I'll have to come to pay my respects to General Chang!"

Xiushi roared, his face full of anger.

The servants behind him surrounded him, ready to seize him at any moment.

"How dare you be so rude! This is General Chen Anning, Mr. Chen! Step back now!"

The official roared, and the servants retreated.

After they left, Chen Anning looked worried: "Steward Sun, please take me to see the General quickly, or all will be lost!"

Steward Sun frowned: "Has something happened at the Suzhou camp?"

"Ok!"

Chen Anning nodded vigorously.

"The imperial envoy, the current emperor, Duke Shen Lang, has arrived in Suzhou. Please take me to see the general immediately!"

"Ah? Come with me to see the general."

Upon hearing this, Steward Sun dared not be negligent and immediately led Chen Anning into the inner room.