Gotta Put on a Show

Ren Tianye wore a smile at the corners of his mouth, but his words poured a bucket of cold water over Zhang Shi.

“Zhang Shi, don’t get excited just yet!”

“Your plan is indeed a good one, but this duke fears it will be rather difficult to carry out.”

“After all, although Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei are both somewhat short on sense, Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan of the Yangtze Defense Line usually has a fairly clear head.”

“You’re willing to defect, so Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei will naturally be delighted. But Zhou Mengyan will certainly have his doubts and keep a close watch on you. So even if you immediately agree to Ning Wanqin’s attempt to win you over, it probably won’t have much effect.”

Zhang Shi’s heart sank at once.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the chance he had worked so hard and waited so long for!

How could there be such a glaring flaw?

He pulled a long face. “Lord Duke, then… should we abandon it?”

Ren Tianye smiled again. “What a pity that would be.”

“Lord Duke, there’s still a chance?”

“Of course!” Ren Tianye said with a smile. “If we put on a little performance to make Ning Wanqin and Ruan Fei—and especially Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan—trust you more, I believe it’s still worth a try!”

Zhang Shi was not stupid. He was merely a little slow when it came to matters of romance. He immediately understood what Ren Tianye had in mind.

“Lord Duke, I understand!”

“We put on a show that we’ve fallen out!”

“I openly defy you!”

“Or you punish me!”

“And we have to make sure Ning Wanqin sees the whole thing so it seems more believable. That way, even if Ning Wanqin returns to the Yangtze Defense Line, she’ll be able to relay everything clearly to Zhou Mengyan. Then Zhou Mengyan’s trust in me will be much greater!”

“Is that what you mean?”

Ren Tianye nodded and smiled. “Precisely. Precisely what I had in mind.”

“Then…” Zhang Shi’s mind was already racing. “Why don’t we stage a military disagreement? I’ll openly contradict you in front of everyone, and then you’ll fly into a rage and have me beaten in public…”

“To make it convincing, I think you should have me take a hundred strokes!”

At those words, Wang Ming, who had remained silent in the tent all this time, leaped to his feet.

“General Zhang Shi, you mustn’t! Absolutely not!”

“A hundred strokes! Do you know what that means?”

“And you’ll have to be beaten in front of Ning Wanqin. We certainly can’t fake it too much, so you’ll have to take every one of those hundred blows for real. Do you know what you’ll look like after a hundred strokes?”

“You know Marquis Jingyi Pei Wugou, don’t you?”

“That bastard’s martial prowess is absurdly formidable, but after taking a hundred strokes, he was in so much pain that he couldn’t even get back on his feet. That was how we managed to take Zhenjiang City so easily.”

“If you take a hundred strokes, I don’t even dare imagine what will happen to you!”

Wang Ming was sincerely trying to dissuade him, but his warning had struck Zhang Shi right where it hurt.

Zhang Shi had spent a long time plotting and had joined forces with Lu Chaosheng to sweep through nearly the entire chain of fortresses north of the Yangtze. Yet the most important of them all, Zhenjiang City, had been taken by Wang Ming.

And now he was bringing up Zhenjiang City again?

The mention only strengthened Zhang Shi’s already soaring determination. He immediately said coldly, “It’s only a hundred strokes. If a hundred aren’t enough to show my sincerity, then so be it!”

“I, Zhang Shi… can take it!”

“Lord Duke, let’s settle it this way!”

Ren Tianye did not agree from his tiger-backed chair. Instead, he smiled and said, “Zhang Shi, a hundred strokes certainly sounds painful, and I imagine they’ll hurt even more when they land, but…”

“I think it’s still too lenient.”

“It still won’t be enough to win Zhou Mengyan’s trust.”

Zhang Shi’s heart immediately gave a violent tremor.

What? A hundred strokes still weren’t enough?

Damn it, was he talking about two hundred?

At that rate, Zhang Shi really would be going to meet his maker!

Wang Ming hurriedly said, “Lord Duke, you mustn’t! A hundred strokes are already enough to kill a man. If you add more, General Zhang Shi certainly won’t be able to endure it!”

The other officers also dropped to their knees one after another.

“Lord Duke, this matter still requires discussion. General Zhang Shi has rendered great service, and he absolutely cannot be subjected to such punishment. Otherwise, he’ll be left with lifelong injuries!”

“Lord Duke, please, you mustn’t!”

“There are certainly other ways to make General Zhang Shi endure this punishment. We truly cannot bear to see it!”

…

Everyone in the tent was among Ren Tianye’s most trusted subordinates. They fell to their knees in a sea of supplication, creating a truly imposing scene.

Yet Zhang Shi suddenly shouted, “Enough! All of you, stop talking.”

“It’s only a few more than a hundred strokes!”

“I’m willing!”

“As long as I can take the Yangtze Defense Line, I wouldn’t care even if you beat me crippled!”

With a thud, he dropped to his knees before Ren Tianye.

“Lord Duke, give the order!”

“I’ll take it!”

At that moment, Zhang Shi radiated an intense, almost overwhelming longing. It was a longing for military glory—and even more, a longing to wash away the humiliation he had suffered before.

By comparison, he felt very little fear of being beaten.

Ren Tianye found himself both distressed and amused.

But there was nothing for it. For now, he still had to rub salt into Zhang Shi’s wounds.

…