Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: Connections

Keep in step?

Shen Hao mulled over these four words, and quickly figured it out in his heart. No wonder this man was able to end up as Chief Officer of Fengri City Thousand Households Station—with just this knack for going with the flow, you can’t help but be impressed.

"I understand what Lord Kuang means. Tomorrow I’ll have Wang Yiming report to you, and we’ll do everything according to your wishes first."

So he just wants to use this Black Banner Battalion’s show of force to help solidify his own position in the Thousand Households Station? Of course Shen Hao would help with that—it’s just a lift of a finger. Besides, this move could even help Tang Qingyuan from another angle.

Saw Tang Qingyuan and Kuang Shengyuan get off the carriage together today—Tang Qingyuan must be getting ready to throw his lot in with Kuang Shengyuan, finally wising up for once.

Seeing that Shen Hao was so tactful, Kuang Shengyuan’s smile only grew wider. He raised his wine cup and clinked it with Shen Hao’s, downing it together, and the atmosphere grew even more lively than before.

The drinking went on until mid-9 p.m. Both host and guests parted in high spirits.

Saying they’d go the same way, Tang Qingyuan got in Kuang Shengyuan’s carriage and left first, while Shen Hao saw them off outside the restaurant together with Zhang and Gan.

As soon as the carriage left, Gan Lin grinned and said, "Looks like Tang Qingyuan is planning to ride Kuang Shengyuan’s coattails, huh? Getting so chummy, could that old fox be up to something?"

Zhang Qian chimed in, "No idea if he actually is up to something, but his luck’s not bad anyway. Kuang Shengyuan is just at the point of needing people, and Tang Qingyuan hasn’t stirred up any trouble before, so he might just catch Kuang Shengyuan’s eye."

"Old Zhang makes sense. Still, I thought he’d try to go through Shen and look for a way in with Lord Jiang, but I didn’t expect him to latch onto Kuang Shengyuan instead."

"Lord Jiang would take a liking to Tang Qingyuan? Give me a break."

Zhang and Gan both didn’t think much of Tang Qingyuan, and Shen Hao knew it, but didn’t comment, only led them to a teahouse in the city. This spot was owned by Ghost Gate, one of Wang Jian’s operations, with excellent privacy and good tea—Shen Hao had been here twice before.

"How’d you know we had something to tell you?" Zhang Qian was curious—he and Gan Lin hadn’t dropped any hints, so how did Shen know everything?

"What’s so hard to guess? When have the two of you ever not gone to the Flower House after drinking? You didn’t even mention it this time—of course that means there’s something to say."

Zhang and Gan couldn’t help but admit he was sharp.

"Your eye is getting keener and keener. But is this place really safe? How about setting up an array?"

Shen Hao nodded at the suggestion. Even though he trusted the place, he still tossed out a Magic Disc to shield the private room, waiting for Zhang and Gan to continue.

"News from the Border Army."

Zhang Qian’s first sentence made Shen Hao perk up instantly.

He hadn’t expected the news from the Border Army to come so soon, but here it was.

"What’d they say?"

"We asked a friend from Beach Stone—on the second day of the twelfth month, someone did use Beach Stone’s Teleportation Array, three people in total. The record said ’Magical Artifact spot-check’, but the Border Army’s Supply Battalion never got any notice about it."

"Also, we showed the two sketches you gave us to someone over at Beach Stone. Of the three who used the array that day, two looked a lot like the people in your sketches."

Shen Hao: "Is the info reliable?"

"Don’t worry—it’s rock solid."

Zhang Qian and Gan Lin’s words were reassuring, but it left Shen Hao deep in thought. He wasn’t doubting—but rather calculating.

After a while, Shen Hao probed, "Can you tell me who your contact is in the Border Army?"

"Why?" Gan Lin frowned slightly.

Shen Hao explained, "Brothers, you’re not planning to stop here, are you? Just get halfway and drop it? I have to keep digging, don’t I? How can we pass up any openings?"

"Keep digging? You’re just a mere Hundred Households—how far can you reach? Just hand it over and be done with it." Zhang Qian took a sip of tea. He wasn’t as wary as Gan Lin—he saw Shen Hao as one of their own, nothing to worry about.

"That’s what I thought at first. But today, the Commander’s Office and the Governor’s Office issued a joint notice—hidden in that resource allocation document to the Black Banner Battalion, there’s a clause..."

Since it wasn’t a secret, Shen Hao directly told Zhang and Gan about that tucked-away clause in the official document.

Once Shen Hao finished, Zhang Qian and Gan Lin caught on immediately, giving Shen Hao a sympathetic look. What a huge scapegoat to carry. The higher ups didn’t want to bear it themselves, so they were dumping it right on Shen Hao’s little shoulders. And by the look of it, he couldn’t shake it off.

Gan Lin hesitated a moment before saying, "You put it like that, and there’s nothing more for us to say. But you’d better watch your step—don’t let too many leaks drag us in, or we’ll have no faces left to show."

"Rest assured, big brothers. Don’t you know what kind of man I am?"

That was true enough. Shen Hao had always left a good impression on Zhang and Gan.

"Our contact is a Deputy General at Hai Xia, named Wu Kai. He used to serve under Lord Jiang like us—consider us old colleagues, and he’s decent. He commands a Vanguard Battalion and a Mixed Battalion at Hai Xia, knows a lot of people..."

Shen Hao listened carefully, making mental notes.

Wu Kai—that name sounded familiar, and thinking back, he remembered. The last time at Xiaochuan Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea, setting an ambush for Ma San, he’d worked with Wu Kai—back then, Wu Kai had even sent an extra Vanguard Battalion to help them out.

So, he still owed Wu Kai a favor. Didn’t expect to circle back again.

"Any chance you could introduce us properly?"

"We’ll figure something out. Your identity is sensitive, so you can’t go openly. Wait for us to set something up."

"Then I’ll be counting on you, big brothers." As Shen Hao spoke, he didn’t hesitate—a silver note went down in front of each of them, ten thousand taels apiece, all from the Black Water Plan’s budget. Consider it informant money.

Zhang Qian and Gan Lin didn’t stand on ceremony, pocketing them straight away. That’s what they liked about working with Shen Hao—never stingy, always giving out big returns.

"This is for you two to have some fun with. When there’s more progress, I’ll ask Lord Jiang to reward you both." Shen Hao really meant it—just a bit of silver wasn’t much as payment. If Zhang and Gan hadn’t kept helping him out all this time, he wouldn’t have gotten anywhere with this. If there’s further progress, he was planning to ask for some real benefits for them, like elixirs.

"Haha, Shen, we’ll remember you said that!"

...

Once they finished talking, Zhang Qian and Gan Lin got up to leave. Shen Hao stayed and finished his tea, emptying his mind for a moment, then got up to head home as well.

Once he arrived home, he went straight to his study—tomorrow morning he had to go to the Governor’s Office and see Jiang Cheng, so he needed to get everything in order for taking on his next burden.