"Sir!"
Even though his body was already extremely weak, as he walked into Yuan Xingchi's room, Ping Zheng sheng instinctively straightened his chest. This was perhaps his last bit of defiance.
"I heard you haven't been feeling well. Is that true?"
Glancing at Ping Zheng sheng's pale face, devoid of any color, Yuan Xingchi asked slowly.
"It's nothing serious, just a minor issue. Thank you for your concern, sir!"
"You still don't look very well. I think you should go back and rest. I'll have the military doctor come to see you later. Take a few doses of medicine and recuperate. As for other matters, I think it's best to wait until you're better!"
Knowing full well that this man was playing games with him, Yuan Xingchi couldn't be bothered to expose him and simply went along with his pretense.
After all, he wasn't the one who should be anxious at this moment.
"I've come today to ask for a favor, sir!"
Seeing the disdain flashing in Yuan Xingchi's eyes, Ping Zheng sheng could only lower his head again.
"Don't worry about the medicinal supplies. Even if the ship is short on doctors and medicine, I'll find a way to get them!"
"Sir, you misunderstand. I'm not talking about that matter!"
Ping Zheng sheng knew very well that Yuan Xingchi was deliberately humiliating him at this moment, but he had no choice but to bow his head.
If this continued, the entire Ping family would likely be annihilated before long!
Gritting his teeth, Ping Zheng sheng finally took another step back and knelt on one knee.
"What are you doing? Get up, get up! Speak when you're standing!"
Seeing Ping Zheng sheng finally kneel, Yuan Xingchi's face finally showed a hint of a smile. Although his words were polite, he remained seated firmly in his chair, showing no intention of getting up.
"I implore you, sir, to save my Ping family from hardship. Now that the Heavenly Dynasty has achieved a great victory, the news of my Ping family's allegiance will surely spread far and wide. I ask for your permission for my warriors to return to the family to relay the message and immediately rally the family's warriors to serve the Heavenly Dynasty!"
Since Yuan Xingchi wouldn't get up, Ping Zheng sheng could only kneel and plead.
The thought of the Ping family perishing under his watch caused Ping Zheng sheng's tears to flow like a breached dam.
"So that's what it is. Why didn't you say so earlier? If you had said so earlier, I would have let you go long ago! If anything like this happens again, just tell me directly. There's no need to be so tearful!"
Listening to Yuan Xingchi's rambling nonsense, Ping Zheng sheng felt an urge to strangle him.
However, when he thought of the iron armor on those Song soldiers and the invincible warships they were on, the anger that had just risen completely vanished.
"Sir, you agree?"
Seeing that Yuan Xingchi still seemed inclined to continue speaking, Ping Zheng sheng quickly interrupted him.
"Agree, of course, I agree! I just don't know how many people you plan to send back this time?"
"Just to report back. One or two are enough..."
Although he still felt a little uneasy, Ping Zheng sheng quickly said.
"I've already arranged for a ship to be prepared for you. After you leave here, you can go and receive it. As for what you should do and what you shouldn't do, I believe you know what's best!"
Seeing the sweat constantly dripping from Ping Zheng sheng's forehead, Yuan Xingchi slowly stood up and reached out to help him up from the ground.
"Thank you, sir!"
Even though he wished he could bite Yuan Xingchi to death right then and there, Ping Zheng sheng still put on a grateful expression.
"You don't need to thank me for this. Now, we're all in the same boat. We rise together and fall together. There's probably no need for me to say anything more, is there?"
Seeing that he had achieved his goal of intimidating him, Yuan Xingchi didn't continue to make things difficult for him and said slowly.
"Rest assured, sir. My Ping family is willing to serve you diligently!"
"Originally, you should have gone back to make these arrangements yourself, but since you are unwell, you can recuperate here for now. I'll have someone bring you some medicinal herbs later!"
"Thank you, sir. Then I..."
At this point, Ping Zheng sheng had no interest in medicinal herbs or tonics. He clasped his hands in greeting to Yuan Xingchi again.
"Alright, since you're in such a hurry, then go and take care of your business!"
"Yes!"
After quickly responding, Ping Zheng sheng hurriedly turned and left Yuan Xingchi's room.
"You want to play mind games with me? You should see if you have the ability!"
Watching Ping Zheng sheng's receding back, Yuan Xingchi said dismissively.
"Sir, should we send some men to follow his men? In case they..."
Seeing Ping Zheng sheng leave Yuan Xingchi's room, Li Bao quickly walked in and asked in a low voice.
"Don't worry. That fellow is a smart man. At this point, even if they had a hundred mouths, they couldn't explain themselves. For them to break free from our control, unless they want their entire family to be buried with them!"
"Then, should we land now or..."
After listening to Yuan Xingchi's words, Li Bao didn't dwell on the matter any further. He changed the subject and asked again.
"There's no rush to land. Our ship's supplies are still quite sufficient. With so many large ships, it would be a waste not to bully those Japanese people properly! Tell the soldiers that we'll go all out and destroy all the Japanese warships on Tsukushi Island!"
Even though they had been sailing at sea for nearly a month, the merchant ships behind them were all loaded with provisions.
"You mean to take them all in one fell swoop?"
Hearing Yuan Xingchi's suggestion, Li Bao's interest was immediately piqued.
"That's right. Send all their broken ships to the bottom of the sea. Then, we can decide how and where we fight!"
"Sir, your plan is excellent! Let's do as you say. I'll go down and make arrangements now!"
Although doing so would give those Japanese more time to prepare, Li Bao didn't take it to heart at all.
While the southern soldiers were generally shorter and their physical conditioning might not be as good as the elite western troops, they were still far superior to these monkey-like Japanese.