ragginovel Chapter 586 Analysis
Chapter 586 Analysis
Chapter 586 Analysis
"Come on, come on... finish this bowl, hahahaha..."
As darkness fell, the noise of the banquet continued to rise and fall throughout the military camp.
At this time, three days had passed since the Yuan army's crushing defeat and retreat.
Over the past three days, a series of tasks, including cleaning up the battlefield, calculating gains and losses, and sending out reports of victory, have kept Feng Manlou extremely busy.
It wasn't until this afternoon that he finally had some free time to organize a celebration banquet for his soldiers, which wasn't particularly lavish.
Of course, for these border soldiers, being able to live to see the end of another battle and then drink a few bowls of wine with their brothers who had risked their lives together was already a great joy. The scale of the victory banquet was not important; rather, an overly high-class banquet would make them uncomfortable.
As for Feng Manlou, to be honest, his joy was also limited.
Over the years, with the increasing frequency of border battles, Feng Ge has won many battles, both large and small. Now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's "completely exhausted from winning."
For the high-ranking officials and ordinary people living within the Great Wall, accustomed to peaceful days, a victory in a battle was nothing more than a report of triumph or a few idle chatter sessions. The "war" they experienced was never about the clash of swords and the bloodshed on the battlefield, but rather the extra taxes imposed from time to time to cover military expenses. If they could at least criticize the right people when paying their taxes, targeting only the invaders and corrupt officials who lined their own pockets, and not including their own soldiers, they were already considered lucky.
For Feng Manlou and his border troops, "war" was a completely different thing.
Behind every victory lies life and death, bloodshed and sacrifice. Every day before victory may involve painful choices and tests that push one's body and mind to their limits.
Now that he has "won" again, in Feng Manlou's view, it's just a temporary relief and a few more good nights' sleep.
Before long, he would have to prepare for the next Yuan army invasion...
…………
At 9 PM, the night was already deep.
Many soldiers ate and drank their fill and lay down on the spot. After celebrating with his men, Feng Manlou invited Sun Yixie, Huang Donglai, and Faning to drink together in his own tent.
"As the saying goes... the wind rises and the clouds fly high." Faning was already quite drunk, so he started singing a bit too loudly.
"Alright, alright..." Feng Manlou immediately stopped him, "If you can't drink, then eat a few more bites of food."
"Hehe... Okay, I'll eat a little more..." Faning said halfway through his sentence before lying down on the ground and starting to snore a few seconds later.
"Come on, Brother Feng, let's toast you again." Sun and Huang were alright, after all, their internal strength was much stronger than Fa Ning's, so they weren't so easily drunk.
"Gentlemen, I cannot let you toast me this time." Feng Manlou said, moving out from behind the table and kneeling instead of sitting. "I have been very rude to you two before, so I should be the one toasting you."
As he spoke, he knelt down, nodded slightly, and bowed respectfully.
"Hey! Brother Feng! That's too much." Shuang Xie was a man of principle, and he couldn't afford to pretend to hesitate and take advantage of the situation. So the two of them quickly got up and went to help Feng Manlou.
Then these three hypocrites... no... three meritorious soldiers of Ming Army stood up together, their arms linked, exchanged a few words of mutual appreciation, and drank a cup together.
In their words, this is what it means to "bury the hatchet with a smile".
After finishing his drink and sitting down again, Feng Manlou stopped being polite with the two men. His tone became more casual, but also more sincere: "My two virtuous brothers..." He changed his way of addressing Sun Huang, "Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart... Even now, I still don't understand what kind of people you two are..." He paused, "What Jianghu, what Daoist sect... When I first heard about these things, I thought you were young heroes, but upon closer inspection, you seem like despicable villains; and that title of National Protector Celestial Master, it sounds a bit like a Jianghu swindler... I really don't know how to view you."
As he said this, he raised his hand and poured himself another glass of wine: "However... after the battle a few days ago, there is only one thing I am certain of, that is, you two are both 'loyal subjects of Da Ming'. With that in mind, I, Feng Manlou, will consider you as friends and brothers."
Sun and Huang followed suit, each pouring themselves a cup and downing it in one gulp.
Immediately afterwards, Sun Yixie said, "Brother Feng, this is your fault. No matter where we are, people will think that we have a big 'loyalty' character engraved on our foreheads."
"Hahaha..." Faced with this shameless nonsense, Feng Manlou also laughed. "Brother Sun, you are indeed a 'real villain,' and I like to hear you say things..." He straightened up and said, "Then today I, Feng Manlou, will also act as a villain and say a few things that I may not be able to say... Just listen to what I have to say."
Sun Huang was completely unaware of what Feng Manlou was about to say, so he didn't pay much attention and just listened with curiosity.
Unexpectedly, Feng Manlou's next words were: "Young Master, you two know each other, right?"
As soon as he said that, Sun Huang almost spat out the food he was eating.
“Brother Feng…” Huang Donglai said, glancing sideways, “That word ‘also’ you used carries a lot of information…”
Feng Manlou didn't dwell on the word "information content," but simply continued, "You don't need to play dumb. You must have all heard about the rumors of Shaoshi Mountain being breached from Faning after returning to camp, right?" He paused for half a second, then immediately added, "My suspicions about you deepened because of this rumor, and before the Yuan army withdrew, I didn't have the energy to investigate the matter thoroughly; until... when I sent the victory report to the capital this time, I had someone also send a message to the young master, and asked him to verify some things about the two of you and the Hunyuan Star Gate."
Sun Huang's gaze towards Feng Manlou changed slightly at this moment, and both of their minds began to race, almost dispelling their slight drunkenness.
“I know what you’re thinking right now…” Feng Manlou simply looked at the two of them calmly, then slowly picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and said, “With your intelligence, it shouldn’t be hard for you to guess that ‘the illegitimate son’ is a member of a fallen royal family and intends to rebel; then I, the ‘Great General of Heavenly Might,’ have actually had contact with him, so I’m probably a traitor too… right?”
"Hahaha... Brother Feng, what you said..."
Sun and Huang smiled politely on the surface, but they were both so tense that they were ready to grab their weapons at any moment.
"What are you doing?" Feng Manlou saw through them once again. "You want to fight me?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the Heavenly Might Sword hanging not far behind him and said, "Brother Sun, although your trident is powerful, it is probably still a bit inferior to my sword, which was blessed by the blood of Emperor Taizu's own son." He then looked at Huang Donglai, "And Brother Huang, your Huangmen Three Wonders and Taoist internal strength are indeed remarkable, but if I may be frank, you probably won't gain any advantage over me."
After he said those two sentences, Sun and Huang didn't dare to make any rash moves, because they both knew that what Feng Manlou said was true.
"Heh... Brother Feng." And so, Sun Yixie began his probing in his own unique way, "I thought only someone like me would betray us, but I never expected someone with thick eyebrows and big eyes like you, Feng Manlou, to betray us too..."
"Hey, hey, what kind of nonsense are you spouting now?" Unexpectedly, Feng Manlou didn't buy it at all and directly interrupted his witty remarks, "Who said I was going to rebel?"
"Didn't you say it yourself?" Huang Donglai continued, "Didn't you already hint at it just now?"
"What did I imply?" Feng Manlou said. "I asked you questions, but you didn't answer. Not only did you not answer, you also wanted to fight me. I had to calm you down first, didn't I?"
Upon hearing this, Sun and Huang were both taken aback. Then they belatedly realized that Feng Manlou's earlier statement, "I'm afraid I'm also a rebel," seemed to be a rhetorical question. It was just that Brother Feng's oppressive aura was too strong, and he seemed to have suddenly turned to the dark side, which made them a little flustered.
"Oh...I see..." Huang Donglai thought for a moment, then continued, "So, Brother Feng, are you a traitor or not?"
Feng Manlou's answer was also quite interesting: "It could be."
"Hiss—" Upon hearing this, Sun and Huang both gasped, thinking to themselves, "Are you kidding us, trying to play a trick on us with this?
However, Feng Manlou immediately gave them a very convincing explanation.
"To tell you the truth, I, Feng Manlou, have only ever sought one thing in my life: to let the common people live a few more days of peace." He tapped the table with his finger and then continued in an almost disdainful tone, "As for who becomes emperor, I don't care."
Ladies and gentlemen, just that one sentence back then was enough to warrant the extermination of his entire family, but this was only the beginning.
"Many years ago I told the young master that as long as he doesn't let the common people get caught up in the war, I don't care about the Zhu family's own affairs," Feng Manlou continued. "What I, Feng, protect is the common people of Da Ming and the vast land, not someone's throne."
"To put it even more outrageously, this throne... if I, Feng, wanted to take it, it would be as easy as taking something out of a bag; it would be as pointless as taking off my pants to fart, having someone write a proclamation, giving myself a legitimate reason, and then leading my troops back to the capital to break through the Forbidden City. That's all."
"But what happens after that? Even setting aside the fact that I usurped the throne and obtained it illegitimately, it could easily lead to chaos and uprisings throughout the land..."
"Even if I were to actually sit firmly on that throne, so what? Domestically, could I make the people's lives better? Internationally, could I ensure that the borders would never again be invaded by other countries?"
"So let whoever in the Zhu family wants to be the one be it. As for me... I was born to be born in the military and die on the battlefield, so I'll just do what I can do well and be my 'Great General of Heavenly Might'."
This man's words were terrifying; for some reason, he even made Faning's snoring sound quieter.
"Over the years, I've turned a blind eye to what my nephew has done in the Central Plains, while he's given me intelligence or connections when I need them. We've been mutually exploiting each other and living in peace."
"Of course, no matter how many people the young master controls or how many things he does in the court and in the martial arts world, the one thing he dares not do is to raise an army and start a rebellion, because he knows that if he dares to 'raise the banner,' I dare to break his banner."
At this point, Sun Huang roughly understood his position and also deeply felt that Feng Manlou's life was somewhat out of place in this era that emphasized "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher".
“However…” Feng Manlou’s tone changed at this point, “It’s just recently… it’s the little thing you two got into that made me discover something unusual about the young master.”
"Damn it... He's an openly traitor, what could possibly be wrong with him?" Sun Yixie couldn't help but complain. "Does he intend to turn himself in?"
“His unusual behavior is that when I asked him to verify your identities and some related information this time, his response went far beyond the scope of ‘misunderstanding’ or ‘unclear.’ It was more like he was deliberately distorting the truth and explicitly telling me to get rid of you…” Feng Manlou replied. “For example, he stated very definitively that the incident at Shaoshi Mountain was done by the ‘Hunyuan Interstellar Gate,’ and that you two were spies colluding with foreign countries, and that the title of ‘Guardian Heavenly Master’ was obtained through deception and fraud, etc.”
Upon hearing this, Sun and Huang vaguely sensed something, but they still listened to Brother Feng continue.
“This is the first time I’ve received such a biased reply from him…and some of the things in it completely contradict what I’ve learned from other places before,” Feng Manlou said. “Fortunately, I quickly figured it out. The letter I sent to the lord seeking confirmation only mentioned that you two were with me and why I didn’t trust you, but it didn’t mention that you had already made great contributions to my army, nor did it say that I personally confirmed that you were ‘loyal subjects of Da Ming’…Moreover, this letter was sent along with the victory report, which was ‘the fastest intelligence.’ Even if he had other channels to find out that you had now gained my trust, it would never have arrived as early as my letter…Therefore, he dared to use such blatant misleading words. So why did he mislead me?”
"Holy crap..." Huang Donglai suddenly realized something. "Could the incident at Shaoshi Mountain be related to him? Or was it actually him who led the men to do it?"
“That’s what I think too.” Feng Manlou nodded and continued, “It’s precisely because he was absolutely certain that this matter had nothing to do with you that he gave me a very clear but wrong answer.”
"So, he... after finding out we're here, he wants to use this intelligence war to 'kill someone with a borrowed knife,' so that there's no way to prove his framing, right?" Sun Yixie continued.
“But he should also know that I’m not so easily swayed or manipulated,” Feng Manlou continued. “Compared to his reply, I’m more likely to kill you based on my own judgment.”
"So he's just making empty promises, whether he has the chance or not?" Huang Donglai added.
“Very similar,” Feng Manlou said. “This is also another thing that I find very strange. Given his cautious personality, he wouldn’t do things this way, unless…”
“Unless he feels that the mutually beneficial relationship between you has come to an end…” Sun Yixie’s eyes sharpened, and the fierce competition in the fish market over the years seemed to transform into a glint in his eyes, which he conveyed to Brother Feng along with his words, “…Hmm, in other words, he is finally going to break the agreement between you and prepare to ‘raise an army’?”
“This is another thing I can’t understand,” Feng Manlou said. “‘Raising an army’ is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Tens of thousands of people, horses, weapons, armor, provisions… No matter how powerful he is, he can’t possibly manufacture and stockpile these things without letting a word out. But right now, he hasn’t let a word out.”
"Hey! Brother Feng, why are you so confused right now?" At this moment, Faning, who had been "sleeping soundly" there, suddenly sat up and said something that opened up a new way of thinking for everyone present: "He can go outside and 'borrow troops'!"
Upon hearing this, the three of them all looked at him.
The scene was a mix of surprise and embarrassment, because this guy's act of being drunk was so convincing that the other three didn't even realize it.
"You mean... he's willing to collude with foreign tribes for the throne..." However, Feng Manlou quickly caught up with the train of thought and said thoughtfully, "That's not right. What does that have to do with him framing the Hunyuan Star Gate and trying to use me to get rid of my two virtuous brothers, Sun and Huang?"
“You have to look at his framing of the Hunyuan Interstellar Gate and his use of a borrowed knife to kill someone separately.” Faning had clearly thought things through more thoroughly than the others, answering fluently. “Because the latter matter was something he only learned about because you took the initiative to write to him, so it might not actually be related to the former.” He paused. “In my opinion, the former matter might be a step in a plan he was already implementing, while the latter was just improvisation, or rather, ‘taking a chance even if there’s no guarantee.’ And also…” He glanced meaningfully at the other three, “How can you be sure who killed whom in this use of a borrowed knife to kill someone?”