Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 1248 - 36: Seeing Ghosts in Broad Daylight Is Quite Normal
Of course, to put it back into context, this really isn’t the Navy’s problem; such an unspoken "rule" is nothing new.
The "Old Han" mentioned by Zhai Peng is the local magistrate.
Since ancient times, it has been customary for local regions to provide provisions when a large army passes through.
If you don’t proactively offer your "gesture," are you going to wait for those soldiers to lose their patience and take action themselves?
How to allocate the "gesture" that locals present to the soldiers under your command, when to distribute, and how much—these are also forms of knowledge.
The official "military manuals" never cover this part, which is why there’s heritage in the "generals’ lineage" and idioms about "theories without action."
From this perspective, the old general’s approach is entirely understandable.
Receive the gold and silver, bring them out to boost morale when needed. The beauties are not enjoyed alone either but shared with the young heroes in the army... No one could find fault with such tactics, deserving of praise with a thumbs-up saying, the general loves his soldiers like his own children and plans wisely.
But the issue is, this is the third year of the Ming Country.
Just when someone began to act on impulse, Wei Liuyun stepped forward, saluted Zhai Peng, and loudly said, "Reporting to Officer! This does not conform to military regulations!"
Zhai Peng laughed indifferently, "You are too rigid, don’t you know that when a commander is out in the field, they are not bound by orders? This is a kind gesture from the locals; if you blatantly refuse it now, what if something happens later on, how will you handle it?"
Everyone was well aware of what the old general meant by "something happening."
At its core, it boils down to four words—harass the locals.
If you don’t accept the goodwill of others, are you planning to dress in disguise and go out eating beef noodles on the sly?
The logic is there, but Wei Liuyun had no intention of backing down, saying loudly, "If we soldiers make any missteps, military law is there to handle it. The general openly accepts bribes and shares in the spoils with us. How does that reflect on the new military code?"
The old general’s face slightly changed, but he did not immediately erupt, only saying calmly, "No need to elevate things to this level. If you have any objections, you can report them to superiors when we return to Tianmen."
Wei Liuyun glanced at Wang Yunxiao standing beside him, remained silent for a moment, then said, "General Zhai, I need to verify your key."
As he finished speaking, a strange silence fell over the scene.
The old general’s expression drastically changed, exclaiming in anger, "Wei Liuyun! What do you plan to do?"
"Enforcing military law."
Seeing his demeanor, Wei Liuyun confirmed his own suspicions, immediately pulled out his sidearm, aiming it at his chest, and said to Wang Yunxiao, "I’ll take care of things here, you go back to the ship and sound the Level 3 alarm."
Wang Yunxiao coughed and said, "Perhaps you’d better go back. I’m not too familiar with these procedures."
"Alright."
Without hesitation, Wei Liuyun turned and left.
"Don’t let anyone leave the scene, including these women."
"Wei Liuyun!"
The old general, enraged, ordered fiercely, "Arrest him for me!"
Wang Yunxiao darted to the door, blocking the way and raising a hand to stop two approaching guards, smiling, "Everyone calm down, let’s not get hostile."
"Wang Yunxiao! Are you joining that kid in making trouble?"
"It’s not me causing trouble."
Wang Yunxiao explained calmly, "You’re unwilling to produce your key to verify your identity, Wei Liuyun naturally has enough reason to suspect you."
Zhai Peng roared furiously, "What qualifications does he, a mere staff officer, have to check my key?"
Having said this, he saw an expression of "I thought so" appearing on Wang Yunxiao’s face, instantly feeling a sense of unease.
A young officer who came along with Wang Yunxiao couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "What’s the key?"
"I don’t know either."
Wang Yunxiao shrugged, "But you should remember what method Wei Liuyun cultivates, right?"
"Advisor..."
The young officer who asked was momentarily stunned, then instantly realized, pulling out a gun aimed at Zhai Peng and his guards, saying, "Don’t move, put your guns down!"
The girls, at this time, came to their senses and erupted into panicked screams.
"Be quiet! Squat down! Hands on your head!"
"This is rebellion! Absolute insubordination!"
Zhai Peng seethed with rage, standing up slowly, growling, "Are you planning a mutiny?"
"It’s not us who are rebelling, it’s your own issue."
Wang Yunxiao stated solemnly, "Old General, there’s no need for such a tough performance, recognition might err, but logic won’t."
"There’s no such thing as a key on our ship, could it be that you’re unaware of this; are you truly the commander of our detachment?"
Upon these words, Zhai Peng’s face changed dramatically.
"Why would you suspect me?"
"To start with, your actions are incorrect; you just receive whatever’s offered? Being new here, without even clarifying whose payroll you’re on, yet mingling so boldly with the local magistrates, this truly lacks wisdom."
Wang Yunxiao thought to himself, thank goodness I glanced at the newspaper today, otherwise, I wouldn’t have known Lu State is already in this condition.
It’s normal for a mere soldier like me not to know such things; but as a commander, how could you lack this sensitivity? 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Either there’s a problem with your stance, or there’s a problem with you as a person.
Such changes wouldn’t deceive even Wang Yunxiao, let alone Wei Liuyun who cultivates the Advisor Dharma Gate.
Two sentences and you’ve been caught.
Zhai Peng squinted his eyes, glaring at Wang Yunxiao.
"It makes no sense."
"Everyone knows who I am, and I know who I am, why do you suspect..."
"This is normal."
Wang Yunxiao nodded, "In our place, it’s entirely normal for suddenly a familiar person to appear beside you or for a stranger you can’t recall to go missing."
This is called a Temporal Tide.
The sudden change of a detachment commander out of thin air—this seemingly absurd event is totally possible in an environment disturbed by temporal tides, but ordinary people lacking related experience would find it hard to detect.
In his mind, he still retained concise personal information about this old general, including the memory of several meetings with him and feeling appreciated by him.
But this information doesn’t prove anything.
Perception can be warped, but logic cannot.
Even if Zhai Peng himself had realized the problem and tried to mask it in every possible way—like those web novel protagonists who experience soul transfer to other worlds—either claiming amnesia or quickly roping in a loyal force.
For instance, distributing beauties to seemingly naive youthful officers.
If it were someone else, they might have been overwhelmed with gratitude.
But this time, he unluckily encountered tough characters—such rough tactics aroused Wei Liuyun’s suspicion.
Including myself!
Wang Yunxiao thought, I too need to sternly criticize such vulgar behavior.
I’m someone who’s about to get married and will not be swayed by mere beauty.
No matter how pretty those girls are, it won’t work!
It’s definitely not because this place is called Penglai.
It’s purely because of my noble character!
A loud crash, and the entire ceiling collapsed instantly.
The old general, having spent a lifetime on the battlefield, never considered yielding even in adversity.
Besides, he didn’t believe this refined young man in front of him could stop him.
And then...
On the third day after reaching Penglai Port, the detachment suffered an unexpected massive hit.
Detachment Commander General Zhai Peng lost his ability to command due to suffering a critical health condition.
After communicating with the flagship, Wei Liuyun replaced the old general as the acting commander of the detachment.
Wang Yunxiao was temporarily promoted to staff officer of the command.
A promotion at rocket speed.
Standing inside the command room of the armored cruiser "Xuyang," Wang Yunxiao looked at the new epaulet on his shoulder, feeling overwhelmed with emotions.
He now understood why the Transport Ship needed to carry so many officers and soldiers for operations along with the fleet.
These were all within the planned non-combatant attrition.
After a round of emergency general knowledge tests, seventy-six commanding officers and soldiers, including Commander Zhai Peng, were disarmed, and the personnel from the Transport Ship immediately took their original positions.
