Not including Qing Zhen and Luo Lan, the officers Ren Xiaosu was most familiar with in the Qing Consortium were Tang Zhou and Xu Man.
Tang Zhou was Luo Lan’s trusted aide, and Ren Xiaosu had saved his life before. Meanwhile, Xu Man, as Qing Zhen’s trusted aide, was the one who had been put in charge of consolidating the northern bandit groups.
When Ren Xiaosu saw Tang Zhou, Tang Zhou waved cheerfully at him. He also signaled to the other Razor Sharp Company soldiers to show that he was not armed.
Ren Xiaosu said with a smile, “You’re really quite bold to come over here without any weapons.”
“What’s the point of carrying a weapon?” Tang Zhou also smiled and replied, “There are so many people here, and with you around, I’d still end up dead even if I had a weapon on me.”
Zhang Xiaoman and the others watched quietly from the sidelines. They realized that Ren Xiaosu seemed to be very familiar with this person from the Qing Consortium. Moreover, the way this Qing officer spoke also suggested he understood Ren Xiaosu very well and knew how fearsome he was.
“Isn’t your Qing Consortium fighting a war in the South? Why have you suddenly come up here to the North?” Ren Xiaosu asked. The soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company perked their ears up and listened. This was what they were most concerned about as well.
Tang Zhou said, “Boss Luo has received intel from his spy in the Zong Consortium. He knows you just won a battle against the Zong Consortium in the mountain range, so he sent me here to look for you.”
“How does Fatty Luo know that I’m in the Razor Sharp Company?” Ren Xiaosu asked in turn.
Tang Zhou smiled but did not say anything. Ren Xiaosu immediately understood it to mean that the Qing Consortium also had spies in Fortress 178.
It looked like Qing Zhen and Luo Lan had done quite a bit of prep work.
Just comparing the intelligence gathering alone, Fortress 178’s efforts were not as good as the Qing Consortium’s.
Getting back to the topic, Ren Xiaosu asked again, “So what are y’all doing here?”
“Mr. Qing Zhen believes you guys are here because you want to blow up the Beiwan Bridge. However, he said that there’s more garrison troops stationed here than you think. He was worried that something would happen to you, so he sent us here to help,” Tang Zhou said.
Zhang Xiaoman felt a tingling sensation. When Ren Xiaosu went to war, he could even get outside support?!
What was the relationship between Ren Xiaosu and the Qing Consortium? The Qing Consortium was already engaged in a very tough war with the Yang Consortium in the South, but they were still willing to send some of their troops to support Ren Xiaosu?
Importantly, it was the Qing Consortium’s mechanized infantry that had come this time. They were a force that would come in handy if they were placed on the other front.
Tang Zhou added, “Boss Luo mentioned he wanted to send you a nice present to congratulate you on moving to your new home once you settled down at Mt. Kushui. However, he didn’t expect that things would turn out this way.”
When Ren Xiaosu heard this, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He took a deep breath and said, “And?”
“Boss Luo wanted me to ask you something on his behalf.” Tang Zhou took a look at Ren Xiaosu’s face and asked, “If he says that he didn’t know anything about Zong Cheng’s attack on you, would you believe him? The Qing Consortium did not have anyone inside Mt. Guan. We only had spies planted at Mt. Dingyuan.”
This had been troubling Ren Xiaosu ever since he discovered the Qing Consortium spy at Mt. Dingyuan. He would have liked to know if Luo Lan had known about this matter at that time, but there was no way to ask him that.
Even if Luo Lan had known about it, he had no obligation to inform him. So Ren Xiaosu could not possibly seek an answer from him. Although he did not ask, Luo Lan took the initiative and had Tang Zhou bring this up with him. Luo Lan was hoping to eliminate any bad feelings on Ren Xiaosu’s part by trying to be upfront about it.
Ren Xiaosu said calmly, “I’d believe him.” Since Luo Lan was so honest about it, there was no need for him to make things difficult.
Tang Zhou continued, “Boss Luo said that you and him had scrapes of death together, and you also helped the Qing Consortium on more than one occasion. After our war with the Yang Consortium ends, he’ll send someone to help you find your friends downstream. If Fortress 178 can’t wipe out the Zong Consortium by then, he’ll also come to the North to assist you.”
Nearby, Zhang Xiaoman said unhappily, “Who are you looking down on? Our Fortress 178 will definitely end the war earlier than y’all!”
Tang Zhou chuckled, “You don’t have to yell at me. Those were Boss Luo’s own words.”
Luo Lan was a very loyal fat man with a strong sense of brotherhood. Ren Xiaosu had quite an understanding of Luo Lan after having known him for so long
This was probably because Ren Xiaosu had saved Luo Lan’s life. Therefore, the way they got along was always a little different. Although Luo Lan kept claiming that he had already repaid the favor, it was still something he kept close to his heart.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly asked, “What about those troops you came with?”
“Oh,” Tang Zhou replied, “they’re under orders from Mr. Qing Zhen to help you guys attack the Beiwan Bridge. You helped the Qing Consortium a great deal with what you did at Position 313. If it weren’t for you, I’m afraid that many of our soldiers would’ve died. Mr. Qing Zhen still thinks about that now.”
Zhang Xiaoman gasped. The Qing Consortium’s mechanized infantry had suddenly left their Southern Front and headed north just so they could help Ren Xiaosu fight a battle? What the hell was with Today? Was there something wrong with the world?
Even though Zhang Xiaoman and the others knew that Ren Xiaosu was very strong, that was purely based on his combat strength. Putting aside his combat capabilities, his status shouldn’t be that different from them since he was also a normal person.
But what happened here tonight subverted their expectations.
What happened to that refugee he claimed he was?
Everyone knew that both Qing Zhen and Luo Lan were very influential in the South.
It might seem rather easy to send a group of mechanized infantry to help attack the Beiwan Bridge, but if they really wanted to destroy the Beiwan Bridge, that effort could easily cost them tens of millions of yuan to achieve.
Luo Lan was truly sincere about helping Ren Xiaosu. At the very least, he was spending cold hard cash to help.
Actually, there had to be some intentions to stir up the situation in the North as well. The outcome of the war in the South would soon be decided, and some even assessed that the Qing Consortium would annex the entire Yang Consortium within half a year.
If Fortress 178 or the Zong Consortium were to move to the South during this time, that would interfere with their plans and create many unnecessary problems.
As such, the Qing Consortium wanted to speed up the progress of the war between Fortress 178 and the Zong Consortium to stir up the entire Northwest and Southwest. That way, no one party would have the energy to meddle in each other’s affairs, which was probably what Qing Zhen wanted.But no matter what Qing Zhen’s goal was, Ren Xiaosu would still appreciate his help. Anyone was a friend as long as they helped attack the Zong Consortium. Besides, Luo Lan was genuinely sincere in helping.
After saying that, Tang Zhou prepared to bid farewell to Ren Xiaosu. “We can’t stay here for too long. After we attack the Beiwan Bridge, we still have to return to the Southern Front. Mr. Qing Zhen only gave us a fortnight to accomplish this objective.”
Ren Xiaosu said, “Please give him my thanks. When this war is over, I’ll definitely make a trip to Stronghold 111.”
“It’s good to hear you say that.” Tang Zhou chuckled. “Well then, let’s meet again at Stronghold 111!” Then Tang Zhou turned around and left.
Zhang Xiaoman finally reacted at this moment. “Hurry up and contact Commander Zhou. This is a big fucking deal!”
When they finally managed to put the call through, Zhou Yinglong’s group was probably still on their night march. As such, he sounded a little impatient. “Didn’t I tell you to reorganize yourselves at wherever you are? Don’t tell me there’s trouble again?”
“No.” Zhang Xiaoman quickly explained, “A group of the Qing mechanized infantry suddenly appeared where we are and said that Qing Zhen and Luo Lan are offering to help Ren Xiaosu blow up the Beiwan Bridge. They’re advancing towards the Beiwan River right now. What’s more, they mentioned that Qing Zhen only gave them a fortnight to complete their objective. It seems to me that they’ll be storming the target!”
Zhou Yinglong was confused by what he heard. What did this have anything to do with the Qing Consortium? What the hell was this? Just what kind of a person had Commander Zhang chosen to be his successor?
