Chapter 80 A Great Victory

When the first round of arrows fell, hundreds of men in black suddenly rushed out from the woods on both sides, with their faces covered and their heads wrapped in black scarves, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.

These people acted quickly and were all very agile. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the group of male soldiers.

They raised their knives and slashed, blood splattered, and the heads of the male soldiers rolled to the ground one after another.

Liu Lanhua was stunned.

Where on earth did this group of people come from? The sisters in the village didn't have their coordinated movements and quick and agile skills.

She couldn't guess their identities for a moment, but she knew that the enemy of her enemy was her friend, and it was impossible for her to stand idly by while her friends were working.

So Liu Lanhua immediately found a stone and hid her second aunt behind it. She then grabbed a knife from the corpse and joined the battle.

Wang Ba was sitting on his warhorse. Seeing his men in chaos, he immediately shouted at them, trying to rally them so that they could launch a powerful defense and counterattack.

However, these male soldiers were so afraid of death that they ignored his orders and only wanted to escape.

The captured women were so frightened by the bloody scene that almost resembled a massacre that they were scared out of their wits. Even though no one was holding the ropes that bound them, they dared not move. They just hugged each other in fear and trembled.

I thought to myself that these people dared to kill even officers and soldiers, so they must be bandits. They might capture them and humiliate and persecute them!

However, there were also some brave and clever ones who took advantage of the chaos, picked up the knife on the ground, cut the rope on their hands, and then went to help other women cut the ropes on their hands.

However, their speed in cutting the ropes was even faster than the speed at which the Jinwu Guards eliminated the male soldiers. In less than a quarter of an hour, nearly a hundred male soldiers were killed or wounded, and only a few were left.

Mei Junrong rushed to the front with a long sword in her hand. No matter who it was, as long as they touched her sword, they would be chopped to the ground.

The male soldier was so frightened by her that his courage was broken. His hands were so weak that he couldn't even hold the weapon. He threw his knife to the ground, knelt down and begged for mercy, crying bitterly.

However, his tears could not move Mei Junrong at all. She swung her long knife and ruthlessly took his life.

This head is her military achievement, no one can stop her.

Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, the others directly grabbed the woman next to them, put the knife to her neck, and shouted at Mei Junrong: "Let me go! Otherwise I will kill her!"

Threatening her? Mei Junrong didn't expect that at this time, they still had the courage to provoke her.

She narrowed her eyes, reached for her waist with her left hand, and suddenly pulled out a musket. With a bang, the bullet shot out and blew a bloody hole in the male soldier's chest.

The male soldier's eyes widened, his expression frozen at the moment of shock at the sight of the musket.

He died without even uttering a final scream.

"ah--!"

Fortunately, the woman who was held hostage shouted for him.

The order Mei Junrong received was not to reveal the identity of the Jinwu Guard, so he did not choose to use muskets in this operation.

The shot just now was also a last resort. However, if the bodies are destroyed, no one will be able to tell at whose hands they died.

While Mei Junrong was still thinking about how to deal with the corpses, the male soldiers had already been wiped out by the Jinwu Guards.

On the other side, Wang Ba, who had initially tried to call on his men to fight back, saw that the situation was not good, and immediately rode his horse towards Laoya Mountain.

Liu Lanhua had been staring at Wang Ba, and upon seeing this, she immediately shouted, "This man is the governor's confidant, we can't let him get away, catch him quickly!"

She hurriedly chased after it, but her two legs could not catch up with four legs, so she could only sigh as she watched the dust go away.

Turning around, he saw that the group of people in black were standing still. The leader of the people in black was not in a hurry at all. He looked at Wang Ba's figure going away leisurely, his eyes curved and a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Don't worry, no one can escape."

Wang Ba rode his horse forward at full speed, cracking the whip in his hand. He looked behind him from time to time, fearing that the group of men in black would catch up with him.

It's like seeing a ghost. How could a group of such powerful killers suddenly appear?

Moreover, looking at their well-trained appearance, they don't look like unorganized bandits at all, but rather like soldiers who have undergone rigorous training.

Wang Ba thought wildly but couldn't guess the identity of this group of people.

I won’t guess anymore. It’s more important to hurry to Laoya Mountain and ask for help from the army there. As long as we catch this group of people in black, we will know who sent them.

Wang Ba looked back again and found that no one was chasing him. It seemed that he had escaped and left the men in black behind.

Thinking of this, his tense nerves relaxed and his body softened. Then, his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge.

He looked up at the Laoya Mountain in front of him, which was already very close, and felt extremely relieved. As long as he reached Laoya Mountain, he would be safe.

At this moment, a tripwire suddenly appeared on the flat ground in front of him. He froze and his scalp went numb with fear.

Yes, please rein in the horse!

However, it was too late. The next moment, the warhorse neighed in pain, fell forward with a bang, and he was thrown out.

There was a teeth-grinding sound of bones cracking, and Wang Ba twitched violently due to the severe pain in his leg, but he didn't care whether the bones were broken or not. He struggled to stand up and continued running.

However, as soon as he turned around, he felt a chill on his neck. Glancing down, he saw a sharp steel knife placed on his neck.

Then, his gaze moved upwards, and the tall and silent figure of Zhu Dafeng was reflected in his frightened eyes.

"Why are you arresting these women? Where do you want to send them?"

Should I tell the truth or make up a lie? Wang Ba hesitated for a moment, and Zhu Dafeng raised his knife and chopped off his right arm, splattering warm blood on his face.

Wang Ba screamed like a pig being slaughtered, his face covered with snot and tears, it was so painful!

He was trembling all over, looking at Zhu Dafeng with pleading eyes, "I, I say, don't kill me! It was Zhao Zhuo. Zhao Zhuo wanted to rebel. He not only contacted the King of Xiqi privately, but also hired Xiqi cavalry. As soon as that Xiqi general arrived in Yuzhou, he asked Zhao Zhuo to find some women to reward his men. Zhao Zhuo didn't dare to make this public, so he asked me to capture these women under the pretext of arresting rebels to comfort the army."

Zhu Dafeng originally thought that these officers and soldiers just wanted to kill innocent people to gain credit, but he didn't expect that they had such a heartless idea.

After hearing Wang Ba's words, she was so angry that her blood boiled, and her calm eyes instantly filled with murderous intent, but she still suppressed it because there was an important question she hadn't asked.

"Where are these Xiqi soldiers now?"

"Right, right at Old Crow Mountain."

After Wang Ba finished speaking, he looked at her cautiously and pleaded in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, I was actually forced to do this. I am a good person and I don't want to do these dirty things at all. But I know Zhao Zhuo's secret. If I don't do what he says, I will die. I didn't touch any of those women. Please, please forgive me!"

Zhu Dafeng looked down at him without saying a word. Instead, he swung the knife in his hand and stabbed it hard into his chest. Blood splattered and the tip of the knife pierced through Wang Ba's back. Wang Ba died at that moment.

Then, Zhu Dafeng cut off Wang Ba's head, grabbed his hair, twisted the head in his hand, and turned to look at his men.

"Let's go and meet General Mei."

————

On the way to Yuzhou City, a group of people walked forward in a mighty procession.

At the front of the team was Xie Qinjian, who led the Yuzhou officers and soldiers to clear the way, followed by the soldiers of the Jinwu Guard, while Zhao Mingyue's carriage was guarded in the middle of the team.

Zhao Mingyue was sitting in the carriage, looking at the map of Yuzhou, while Xue Qi was sitting next to her, discussing something in a low voice with Lu Qibai.

In just one night, Lu Qibai was already impressed by Xue Qi's personal charm and trusted her very much. He answered all her questions and told her everything he knew.

At this moment, there was a knock on the carriage wall, and a letter was handed in from the window. "Princess, news from General Mei."

Zhao Mingyue took the letter, but before she could even open it, Lu Qibai poked his head over. "How was it? Did they succeed? Is my eldest sister okay?"

Zhao Mingyue couldn't answer any of the questions, so she ignored them. She opened the envelope and took a quick look at it, her expression becoming serious.

Seeing her ugly expression, Lu Qibai was so anxious that he wanted to grab the letter from her, but he still remembered that she was a princess and did not dare to do anything.

She asked anxiously, "Did you make a mistake? Princess, please say something!"

Zhao Mingyue didn't look at her, but handed the letter to Xue Qi. "Master, things are difficult. There is a Xiqi army in Yuzhou."

She stroked her chin in thought, "I suspect Zhao Zhuo has made sufficient preparations for rebellion. Perhaps all he needs is a reason to rebel."

And she, Zhao Mingyue, could just give him this reason, allowing him to legitimately raise the banner of opposing Chi and supporting the king.

After reading the letter, Xue Qi's expression turned serious. He lowered his eyes and thought for a while before speaking, "Princess, I don't want Mei Junrong to return to the team for the time being."

Zhao Mingyue frowned, "Master, what do you mean...?"

Xue Qi said calmly, "Now that we've got this information, let's not waste time. Let her quickly find a way to lead people to explore Laoya Mountain. Before we take action, we must find out how many troops Zhao Zhuo currently has."

"This mission is too dangerous." Zhao Mingyue looked hesitant.

No one knows what the situation is in Laoya Mountain, or whether only the Xiqi soldiers are stationed there. Once exposed, Mei Junrong will surely die.

"No, what are you talking about? I don't understand. Is my elder sister okay?" Lu Qibai was confused by what he heard and could no longer bear it, so he snatched the letter from Xue Qi's hand.

She eagerly read the contents of the letter, but the more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong. What was written on it?

It's full of words with chaotic word order that can't form a sentence, just like the random writing of a foreigner who just learned Chinese.

Xue Qi broke away from his previous thoughts, smiled, and explained in a gentle voice: "To prevent the information from being leaked, this letter is written in cipher. Let me explain it to you——"

Mei Junrong said in the letter that they had completely wiped out the group of officers and soldiers and successfully rescued the two hundred women who were wrongly accused.

However, since the soldiers were killed, these women, accused of treason, could no longer return home. To be on the safe side, Mei Junrong planned to place them in Zhu Dafeng's village.

But not everyone was willing to obey orders. Although Zhu Dafeng had tried his best to explain the pros and cons and tried to convince them, half of them still could not accept becoming traitors.

They were very emotional, crying and making a fuss, and all they wanted was to go home.

But letting them go home would mean sending them to their deaths. Their families would doubt their innocence, and the government would torture them to extract confessions in order to investigate the murderers of the officers and soldiers.

But if they were forced to stay, they were afraid that they would cause trouble. If they escaped and told the government the location of Zhu Dafeng's stronghold, it would harm the sisters in the stronghold.

Mei Junrong didn't know what to do, so he could only write a letter to ask the princess for her opinion.

In addition, Zhu Dafeng learned the news about the Xiqi soldiers from Wang Ba.

But compared to how to place those women, Zhao Mingyue was more concerned about Xiqi Bing, as this matter was related to whether her plan could succeed.

Lu Qibai was more concerned about the group of women, after all, they would be settled in her village.

After hearing what Xue Qi said, she immediately said angrily: "What's there to consider? Those who want to stay can stay, and those who want to go home can just go home!"

She was of course happy to be able to absorb fresh blood and expand the village's influence. However, if she took in people who were hostile to them, the risk would be too great.

Xue Qi shook his head. "That won't work. If we let them go, the soldiers might get information from them and trace it back to your village, or even the princess."

Lu Qibai held his forehead with his hand in pain, "How can saving someone be so troublesome? What should I do? Should I just kill them?"