Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 39: Adventure (Part 2)
By the time Tan Renhao and Liao Yingyu arrived at the banquet venue in the garden of General Bei Yuming's villa, the banquet was about to begin. They were among the last few pairs of guests to arrive.
Influenced by naval traditions, the banquet was in Western style with an open venue where guests could move around freely, chat with others, invite others to dance, or get food and drinks from the long dining table placed in front of the stairs of the villa building.
In addition, more than a dozen non-commissioned officers in white waiter uniforms were carrying plates and moving around the venue, delivering drinks to those guests who were not in a convenient position.
"Renhao, you are finally here!"
As soon as we entered the huge garden, Colonel Ji Xiaobin, dressed in a formal suit, came over.
"The Chief of Staff asked me to wait here. How is the report that General Liao asked you to complete yesterday?"
“The first draft is done.”
Tan Renhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he did not waste precious time and his hard work was not in vain.
He handed the folder to Ji Xiaobin.
"However, I haven't had time to modify some of the content yet. I don't know..."
"It's pretty good, better than nothing!"
Ji Xiaobin smiled and patted Tan Renhao on the shoulder, then glanced at Liao Yingyu next to Tan Renhao, "Have fun tonight and chat more with Xiaoyu."
Tan Renhao was stunned, then turned to look at Liao Yingyu.
"Uncle Ji has this temper!"
Liao Yingyu laughed, "I still remember it now. When I was five years old and joined the army, he was the one who loved to bully me. Even though he was old, he was not serious at all."
Tan Renhao laughed. He had also sensed it a long time ago. Even though Ji Xiaobin was almost forty years old, he usually talked and laughed with a group of young staff officers and did not have the airs of a colonel at all.
This may be related to his experience of serving in the Army Cavalry Corps.
The banquet started quickly. Since it was hosted by Pei Yuming on behalf of Marshal Sagittarius, and it was held in a family style, the speech was given by Pei Yuming's wife.
When the dance music started, pairs of guests entered the dance floor one after another.
" Why , you don't want to invite me to dance?"
Liao Yingyu was still so generous, and since she leaned against Tan Renhao, no one else asked her to dance.
Tan Renhao smiled and made a gesture of invitation, and then the two of them entered the dance floor.
However, Tan Renhao immediately noticed another person.
Liao Yingyu followed Tan Renhao's gaze to the left and then started laughing.
"You haven't forgotten what happened on graduation night?"
" No, actually I just find it weird."
Tan Renhao shrugged his shoulders and asked, "Why did Fan Peikun come to the First Fleet?"
"Do you know who his dance partner was?"
Liao Yingyu smiled and looked at Tan Renhao who was a little confused.
"She is Marshal Sagittin's youngest granddaughter, Bei Kexin."
Tan Renhao frowned slightly. The network of personal connections in the Imperial Navy was very complicated, and almost every general had a background. This was why Marshal Sajitin had asked him if he was a relative of General Tan Zhenbing.
"Do you know the relationship between General Bei Yuming and Bei Kexin?"
Tan Renhao shook his head. If he had worked in the navy for five years, he might be able to thoroughly understand the network of relationships in the Imperial Navy. However, he had only served in the Imperial Navy for less than three months.
"General Bei Yuming is Bei Kexin's uncle, and Bei Kexin's father is General Bei Yuming's brother."
Obviously, Liao Yingyu is very familiar with the interpersonal network in the Imperial Navy.
"Now, you should know why Marshal Sajitin asked General Pei Yuming to take charge of the emergency and revive the First Fleet, and gave General Pei Yuming such high hopes, right?"
Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, then immediately started laughing.
Needless to say, Sajitin trusted Bei Yuming not only because he was an outstanding general of the Imperial Navy, but also because he was the younger brother of Marshal Sajitin's son-in-law. This relationship alone was enough to allow Bei Yuming to be taken care of by the Marshal.
"So Fan Peikun is pursuing Bei Kexin for his own future?"
Tan Renhao glanced at Fan Peikun's dance partner. In terms of appearance, Bei Kexin could only be considered average. However, considering her background, any lieutenant in the Imperial Navy would probably think she was a great beauty, a great beauty who could save him ten or even twenty years of hard work.
Liao Yingyu laughed.
"Why, are you also tempted?"
"Miss Liao, I'm not the kind of person you think I am!"
Tan Renhao immediately smiled awkwardly, "However, the Fan family is so influential, does Fan Peikun still need nepotism?"
"The problem is not that simple!"
At this time, the first dance ended.
The two left the dance floor and walked to a corner of the garden.
"The Fan family is indeed one of the most powerful families in the Imperial Navy. In terms of the number of generals it has produced, it even exceeds the Yuan family. However, over the past few hundred years, the influence of the Fan family has declined a lot."
Liao Yingyu took the wine glass handed over by Tan Renhao and said, "The Yuan family made a wise choice. They gradually faded out of the navy, entered the naval military industry, and continued to maintain the family's position in the navy.
However, the Fan family was not so smart.
If Van Perquin had not used his connections, he probably wouldn't have had a chance to become a general."
Tan Renhao nodded slightly. The influence of the Fan family was indeed much less than when Marshal Fan Shien was in office. So Fan Peikun's active pursuit of Bei Kexin was most likely for his own future.
Then, he glanced at Liao Yingyu. Obviously, Fan Peikun had approached Liao Yingyu on his own initiative for the same purpose.
"Do you think I'm weird?"
Liao Yingyu did not avoid Tan Renhao's gaze at all. "Second Lieutenant, you are very lucky. I heard that you are now a popular figure under my father. Even Marshal Sagittin has begun to pay attention to you."
"Miss Liao, if you want to mock me, you don't have to be so direct."
Tan Renhao laughed awkwardly.
"Well, I won't mock you, but, Lieutenant, you still owe me a candlelight dinner at the Bonaparte Restaurant. Are you trying to shirk this?"
Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course not. As long as you can convince General Liao, I will invite you tomorrow."
Liao Yingyu rolled his eyes.
"Is that what you said?"
"Of course, a man's word is as good as his bond!"
Just when Tan Renhao was wondering how Liao Yingyu was going to persuade her father, Ji Xiaobin ran towards them quickly. Obviously, at this time, Ji Xiaobin was absolutely unwelcome.
