The Duke's Followers Are Everywhere

Hearing Zhou Mengyan say this, Zhang Shi was somewhat surprised.

He immediately realized that Zhou Mengyan had not accepted his allegiance solely because Ruan Fei had vouched for him. Zhou Mengyan had an ulterior motive of his own!

And that motive…

Was to use him to stand against his wife!

“Looks like this Zhou Mengyan isn’t a fool, after all!”

“No, that’s not the right way to think about it. Under normal circumstances, he may not be stupid, but when it comes to a woman like Ruan Fei, that might not be the case!”

After quickly running through these thoughts, Zhang Shi put on an excited expression and said, “Big Brother, I’ve said it before: if you ever have a command for me, I will obey without hesitation!”

“As long as you need me, I’ll do anything!”

“Big Brother, tell me your plans.”

Zhou Mengyan’s anger finally turned to delight. He reached out and patted Zhang Shi on the shoulder.

“Good, good, good! Brother Zhang Shi, those are exactly the words I’ve been waiting to hear!”

“In that case, I won’t beat around the bush.”

“You’ve already been appointed Vice Commander by me. Although the decree from the Yunjing court has yet to arrive, you are already one in name. By rights, you should take charge of the entire navy. In this entire camp, you rank second only to me!”

“So, I intend to use that as an excuse to place all the naval officers under Madam’s command—those who are loyal to her—under your authority, Brother Zhang Shi.”

“You’ll keep an eye on them. That way…”

“They won’t be able to make waves alongside Madam!”

Zhang Shi suddenly understood. So this was Zhou Mengyan’s plan.

He agreed without the slightest hesitation. “Rest assured, Big Brother. They’re only a few naval officers—twenty or thirty of them at most. I can manage them easily!”

“You must keep them under control!” Zhou Mengyan stressed. “These men are the backbone of my navy. It is only because they are loyal to her that Madam has the power to challenge me. Otherwise…”

“She’s merely a woman. Why would I ever have taken her seriously?”

Zhang Shi nodded. “Don’t worry, Big Brother.”

“Leave this matter to me. I guarantee that I’ll completely eliminate Madam’s influence for you.”

Zhou Mengyan immediately assigned Zhang Shi a personal guard detail. Naturally, he also provided him with a tent and everything else he needed.

Once Zhang Shi arrived, however, he did not act immediately.

Instead, he ordered his guards to bring Shitou in. Then he waved them away, leaving only himself and Shitou inside the tent.

“You scum! If you’re going to kill me, then get on with it!”

“Your grandfather won’t even frown, no matter what you do! If I so much as crease my brow, then I’m your father!”

Shitou truly was a tough man. Even in such circumstances, he did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. He glared coldly at Zhang Shi and shouted at him.

Zhang Shi was not angered. He merely drawled, “Well, well, I didn’t expect such a tough man to come out of the various camps along the Yangtze defense line. You’re quite an oddity.”

“You seem rather like one of Ren Tianye’s men!”

“Don’t tell me Ren Tianye sent you here?”

With a single sentence, Zhang Shi struck the softest spot in Shitou’s heart. Shitou instantly flew into a rage.

“Zhang Shi, you treacherous dog! Don’t you dare look down on people! Every camp along the Yangtze defense line is filled with heroes!”

“And I wasn’t sent by Ren Tianye. But I’ve always admired Lord Duke. Ever since Lord Duke came here, the entire Yunjing has been peaceful. We common soldiers have been looking forward to his arrival more than you can imagine!”

“But you, you treacherous dog…”

“You clearly served under Lord Duke and received such great kindness from him, yet you came crawling to Zhou Mengyan and surrendered to Yunjing. You truly are despicable!”

“You make me sick!”

“Isn’t that what you want? To torture me, Shitou?”

“Come on, then!”

“Who’s afraid of whom?”

Shitou cursed even more fiercely, but Zhang Shi was inwardly delighted.

He had known it! Lord Duke’s policies were so popular that soldiers everywhere, from north to south, welcomed him with open arms. Never mind anywhere else—just look at how many benefits Wang Ming had gained, and how many times that had made him lose his bets!

So what if this was the Yangtze defense line?

Anyone from Yunjing ought to have soldiers and civilians who admired Lord Duke!

And now…

He had found one.

Zhang Shi had already decided to keep Shitou, but he did not act rashly. Instead, he continued testing him.

He said indifferently, “Oh? From the sound of you, you seem to admire Ren Tianye quite a lot. What, do you think the moment Ren Tianye arrives, justice will descend from the heavens?”

“Heh. You’re a soldier of Yunjing, yet you side with Ren Tianye. What do you call that?”

“How is that any different from me, Zhang Shi, pledging allegiance to Grand Commander Zhou Mengyan?”

“The two of us are birds of a feather, and now you want to mock me for taking fifty steps when you’ve taken a hundred?”

“How laughable. Truly laughable!”

Zhang Shi had to admit that he had grown rapidly after arriving in Yunjing. He was already able to grasp the mind of a personal guard like Shitou with ease.

His words immediately turned Shitou’s face bright red.

Then Shitou seemed to throw caution to the wind and shouted, “Fine, fine! I’m going to die soon anyway, so there’s nothing left for me to fear!”

“Zhang Shi, you treacherous dog, I’m nothing like you!”

“I support Lord Duke because he is benevolent and righteous. Ever since he came to Yunjing, he swept away those love-struck fools and gave ordinary people like us a normal life. Who knows how many brothers in the camps admire Lord Duke and yearn to follow him?”

“Having one more man like me doesn’t matter!”

“But you? You clearly served under Lord Duke and lived the good life countless brothers can only dream of, yet you chose to surrender to Yunjing!”

“What right do you have to claim that you’re like me?”

“How are you worthy of standing beside me?”

“You’re not worthy!”

“You treacherous dog!”

Shitou’s voice rang out so loudly that he seemed completely unconcerned about being overheard. Instead, his words further confirmed what Zhang Shi had been thinking.

Excellent, excellent! So there were plenty of “our own people” in this military camp. If he could win them over, then Zhang Shi would be able to establish a firm footing under Zhou Mengyan.

With that thought, a smile appeared on his face.

A genuine smile from the heart.

Surrendering to Zhou Mengyan was only the first step. Throwing the military camps along the Yangtze defense line into chaos was the second. But to accomplish that second step, he needed a team of his own!

And now…

The first suitable candidate had appeared!

A man who was unafraid of death, who dared to curse anyone who pledged allegiance to Zhou Mengyan for the sake of his loyalty to Lord Duke, and who even dared to loudly voice his support for Lord Duke…

If that wasn’t the perfect choice, what was?

Zhang Shi immediately put on a faint smile and said, “Shitou, I didn’t expect you to have so much courage. In that case, this general will take you under his command. From now on, follow me faithfully.”

“I can assure you that once Lord Duke takes the Yangtze defense line, I’ll make certain that you receive great credit.”

“Isn’t following Lord Duke and establishing great merit what you’ve always dreamed of? When the time comes, I’ll personally recommend you to Lord Duke. How does that sound?”

Shitou was completely stunned.

“W-what?”

“Didn’t hear me?” Zhang Shi said. “I said I’d recommend you to Lord Duke. Or are you not willing?”

“No, that’s not it…” Shitou had heard everything perfectly clearly. But Zhang Shi’s abrupt change of tack had left him utterly bewildered, and he couldn’t immediately grasp what Zhang Shi was implying. “I—I mean, I was saying…”

“Didn’t you surrender to Zhou Mengyan?”

“Didn’t you betray Lord Duke? I heard you with my own ears, shouting that you were going to take down Ren Tianye. How… how does it feel like you, you…”

……