Chapter 337: Try this king’s strategy?
"I am waiting for good news from my fourth brother. Goodbye."
Looking at Jun Tianyi's departing figure, King Kang gritted his teeth, clenched his fist and hammered hard on the table.
How can one not be angry when a guilty minister holds the evidence against him?
"My Lord, do you really want to do as he says?"
"What else can I do? Are you really asking me to give all my savings to Prince Ning and ask him to save me?"
He would never use this method unless it was absolutely necessary.
Compared to giving money to Prince Ning, it seems more cost-effective to hire a killer at a high price. Of course, he doesn't have to do the hiring himself, and even if the assassination fails, it can't be traced back to him.
He admitted that some of Jun Tianyi's words touched his heart.
They knew very well how the emperor treated them, but they just maintained superficial politeness. In fact, he gave them no military or political power. They were not even qualified to participate in politics. Even if some of them had talents, the emperor would not want to use them.
It is precisely because of this that they are trampled on at will by Song Yunchu, the king of a different surname!
"The most powerful assassin organization in the martial arts world today is the Blood Demon Sect. Their assassins are highly skilled, but they charge a high price."
King Kang pondered for a moment, then instructed his followers, "When it's late at night, disguise yourself and take 30,000 taels of silver to find the leader of the Blood Demon Sect. Tell them that this is just a deposit, and if they can succeed, they will give you another 50,000 taels later."
Putting aside the matter of enfeoffing a king of a different surname, when Song Yunchu was still the prime minister of Song, he did not take these orthodox princes seriously. Sometimes when they met in the palace, he was even unwilling to perform the proper etiquette.
Jun Tianyi asked him if he had any resentment towards Song Yunchu? Of course he did, but the degree of resentment was not worth the risk of going against Song Yunchu.
But Jun Tianyi used the matter of him selling the Worry-Free Pill to threaten him, forcing him to make a choice.
Either assassinate Song Yunchu according to Jun Tianyi's instructions, or surrender to Song Yunchu and use the profits from the Worry-Free Pill as a bribe.
He had to choose the lesser of two evils. He might not be able to succeed if he chose the former, but at least he would not feel aggrieved. If he chose the latter, he would think about it carefully and feel really ashamed. Why should he, a prince with orthodox royal blood, be a dog for a king of a different surname?
Even if he could get through this hurdle himself, his wife and children would still look down on him.
He decided to take a gamble and see how capable the assassins from the Blood Demon Sect were.
…
The next morning, Song Yunchu talked about the Worry-Free Pill with Jun Liluo in the imperial study.
"I interrogated the vendors separately, and their confessions were exactly the same. They were hired by a mysterious person to sell Worry-Free Pills at various locations in the black market. Many of them didn't even have any business experience and were just street beggars."
"They were desperate and were willing to do any job. The mysterious man told them that it didn't matter how much they sold, but they had to sell every day. He didn't teach them how to avoid the authorities or how to cover up. It seemed that letting them sell these things was intended to expose them and get them arrested."
Listening to Song Yunchu's story, Jun Liluo felt it was a little strange. "So this person's purpose is not to make money from this thing, but just to cause trouble?"
"That should be the case." Song Yunchu nodded. "After the previous emperor cracked down on this thing, it disappeared for several years. Now it appears again... It shows that some people are still producing it. I am a little worried that there may be a lot of such businesses outside the imperial city, especially in those remote towns. As the saying goes, the emperor is far away from the mountains. If the secret is concealed well, it is possible that the news will not be transmitted for a year or two."
"Then issue another order to conduct a strict investigation across the country." Jun Liluo looked at the beige pills on the table and said coldly, "Those who dare to do such a business must be backed by powerful people. These suppliers deserve death and should be sentenced to death."
"After taking too much Worry-Free Pills, the symptoms will be very obvious. As long as we can catch those who are sick and follow the clues, clues will emerge little by little."
Song Yunchu said, handing the tea in his hand to Jun Liluo, "Calm down."
Jun Liluo took the tea and turned to look at her. "Did anyone try to harm you during your two days of traveling?"
"Not yet." Song Yunchu sighed, "To be honest, I really hope that assassins will come. If they don't come, I will feel bored all the way."
Jun Liluo found it a little funny, "Only you dare to say that."
"We have made all the necessary preparations. If they don't take any action, all my efforts will be in vain." Song Yunchu said calmly.
Jun Liluo looked at her profile, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.
She is always so confident, no wonder she succeeds in everything she does.
After lunch today, Song Yunchu did not return home, but accompanied Jun Liluo to read some memorials. During the period, the two took a nap together and played a few games of chess. It was not until sunset that Song Yunchu left the palace.
In the evening, the number of pedestrians on the long street gradually decreases, and it is far from being as lively as during the day.
There were eight guards surrounding Song Yunchu's carriage.
The sound of wheels rolling was heard in his ears, and Song Yunchu was still bored and reading books to pass the time, until a sound of breaking air was heard outside the carriage.
"call out"
"call out"
Sharp arrows pierced through the air currents and attacked the Yulin soldiers surrounding the carriage.
When everyone sensed the danger, they immediately jumped off their horses and drew their swords to fight back.
The long street was very empty, with plenty of space to dodge. Everyone dodged flexibly, and their movements were so fast that the assassins on the roof were surprised.
Are all of Prince Ning’s guards so powerful?
Hundreds of arrows failed to kill a single person.
Only two people had their shoulders pierced by arrows.
"This arrow is not as fast as Chu Yuni's dart, how could you still get hurt? I will punish you by making you run around Prince Ning's mansion twenty times when you go back tonight!"
Inside the carriage, Song Yunchu listened to Zhong Nanyue's scolding outside, raised his eyebrows slightly, and took a candied date from the small table to eat.
A strict teacher produces good students, a fierce general produces powerful soldiers, let her punish him as she pleases.
Because the horse pulling the carriage was shot, the carriage stopped in the middle of the road. The guards were always moving around the carriage and soon used up all the assassins' arrows.
The assassins abandoned their crossbows, drew their swords and jumped down from the roof.
"There are thirty people on the other side." Chu Yuni said to the people beside her at the back of the carriage, "That's three times as many as us. They should be very confident, right?"
"Then I want to see how long their confidence can last." Zhong Nanyue sneered, "First, let's see how good their skills are."
As soon as she finished speaking, she moved her feet and her figure flashed away.
Song Yunchu listened to the sound of swords clashing outside the carriage and lifted the curtain to see the battle situation.
An assassin who was close to the window ran forward and thrust his sword into the window.
Song Yunchu raised her folding fan and tapped the sword lightly. The opponent's palm shook and the weapon slipped out of his hand. He looked at her in surprise.
Zhong Nanyue's figure flashed between the two of them, leaving a bloody mark on the assassin's neck.
"We agreed that you wouldn't interfere. You have to leave them to us to practice." Zhong Nanyue reminded Song Yunchu.
"This is my instinctive reaction." Song Yunchu took another candied date from the small table, "Don't worry, I won't interfere next time, unless you can't stand it anymore."
Zhong Nanyue responded with “How could I not be able to withstand it?” and then she shook her body and continued to chop people.
Song Yunchu stuck his head out of the carriage and continued to watch the battle, holding a bunch of candied date pits in his hand, ready to launch a sneak attack on the assassin at any time.
She had to make sure her people were absolutely safe.
Of course, if they could all bear it, she wouldn't have to do anything.
During this time, several assassins tried to approach her, but all failed.
Song Yunchu watched the excitement for a while, and then reminded: "Prepare to set up the formation."
After receiving her instructions, everyone reached into their sleeves and took out the ropes with hooks...
…
"Your Majesty, the assassination attempt by the Blood Demon Sect has failed."
Inside the lavishly decorated house, King Kang listened to his men's reports and tightened his grip on the teacup.
Although I guessed that this might be the result, I was still disappointed when I heard the news.
The price asked by the Blood Demon Sect was one thousand taels of silver per person per attack. Thirty assassins cost thirty thousand taels, and all of it was wasted.
"Is Prince Ning injured?"
King Kang thought that it would be good if he could leave some wounds on Song Yunchu.
But his subordinate's answer disappointed him again, "Prince Ning is fine. Not only is he not injured, but the people around him are also fine."
"Say that again?!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down..."
King Kang smashed the teacup in his hand to the ground. "Thirty people can't handle such a small group of people? How dare the Blood Demon Sect call itself the number one killer organization in the martial arts world!"
"Your Highness, Prince Ning is a top-notch expert. If he was in his prime, it would not be difficult for him to lead the people around him to kill thirty people. Although this operation failed, does it mean that his strength has not been weakened? It is not an exaggeration to say that he is deceiving the emperor. Otherwise, how could he defeat thirty assassins with only eight guards?"
King Kang's expression softened a little after hearing this, and then he sneered: "Yes, let's see how he explains it later. If he can't come up with a good excuse this time, his reputation, which he has worked so hard to build up, will be ruined again."
…
At the next morning court, all officials reported on government affairs as usual. Until no official reported anything, Jun Liluo was about to announce the resignation of the court when someone mentioned the assassination of Song Yunchu.
"Your Majesty, I heard that Prince Ning was assassinated on his way back to his palace yesterday evening. Afterwards, an official counted the number of assassins and found a total of 30 people. Prince Ning had been injured before and had not yet recovered. He was accompanied by only eight people. With a small number of people against a large number, no one on Prince Ning's side was killed. It's really amazing."
The person who spoke looked at Song Yunchu and said, "Could it be that after two days of recuperation, His Royal Highness Prince Ning's injuries have healed and he has returned to his original peak state?"
Minister Huo at the side took over the conversation, "The vitality is seriously damaged, and it will be healed in two days. I wonder what magic medicine His Royal Highness Prince Ning used?"
"General Ye has already explored my strength. My injuries have not healed, and I haven't found any panacea. I understand that my colleagues must be curious about my assassination, and they are afraid that I am feigning illness to deceive the king. But I have to tell you that I don't need to deal with those thirty assassins. I have studied a formation in my spare time, which is quite interesting to use to defeat the enemy. Do you want to see it?"
Song Yunchu said, looking at the person on the dragon throne, "Your Majesty, are you interested in taking a look?"
Jun Liluo said leisurely: "Hearing what you said, I am also very curious, so please come and take a look with me."
"The demonstration can be performed in the open space under the stairs outside the palace. Your Majesty and the others, please move over."
Soon, everyone followed Song Yunchu to an open area. Song Yunchu had already asked Zhong Nanyue and others to wait nearby.
"This formation requires tacit cooperation. The eight men on my side are already here. We still need thirty soldiers to pretend to be enemies and attack us. Both sides can show mercy and try not to cause heavy losses."
As Song Yunchu spoke, he looked at General Ye and said, "I heard that General Ye is strict in training his soldiers and has many talented soldiers under him. Why don't you pick thirty people to try out my strategy?"
General Ye snorted inwardly when he heard this, but did not back down. "Just follow what King Ning said."
Soon, the thirty soldiers under General Ye also arrived.
In order to simulate the assassination scene, Song Yunchu asked someone to pull a carriage and got in it himself.
"Among the thirty soldiers, if anyone can get on the carriage, I will give him half a year's salary as a reward."
As soon as Song Yunchu said this, the thirty soldiers were eager to try.
Zhong Nanyue and Chu Yuni stood on both sides of the carriage windows respectively, Bai Zhu and Hong Lian stood at the driver's seat, and the other four secret guards of Prince Ning's Mansion stood at the back of the carriage.
To prevent casualties, everyone used wooden swords painted red. If the paint touched a fatal part, it would be considered "killed in action."
"Let's get started."
At Song Yunchu's command, the battle was about to break out.
Thirty soldiers were divided into four directions to surround the carriage.
Thirty people against eight people. At first glance, it sounds like the latter has no advantage, but when the actual drill started, everyone was amazed.
The four men guarding the coachman and the window seemed to have greased their feet. Although the area they could move in was not large, they were able to dodge left and right flexibly and almost managed to dodge and resist every attack.
In particular, Zhong Nanyue's speed was so fast that it was dazzling. In just a few blinks of an eye, she smeared the necks of one soldier after another with the paint on the wooden sword.
"You're dead, get out!"
"And you, you've got paint all over your neck, do you understand the rules?"
"If this wasn't a wooden sword, you would have died right there. Why are you still trying to challenge me? Get out!"
Everyone: “…”
This little girl speaks very rudely.
But the rules are indeed like this: if the red paint is smeared on the neck, you have to leave the stage.
Perhaps because Zhong Nanyue was so agile, many soldiers instinctively chose to avoid her window and ran towards the coachman and the window on the other side.
Zhong Nanyue refused to give in and continued to move among the crowd, launching attack again and again.
Many people tried to fight back, but she was like a loach, impossible to catch. If you insisted on attacking her, you would be "killed" by her if you were not careful.
Unconsciously, many people's goal changed from "getting on the carriage" to "avoiding Zhong Nanyue".
As a bystander, General Ye's brows were already furrowed.
The soldiers who were originally scattered in all directions were unconsciously guided to gather together. Song Yunchu leaned against the car window and saw that the other side was in chaos and had no order, so he said, "Deploy the formation."
Everyone in Prince Ning's Mansion immediately took out a black string with a hook from their sleeves, and threw it into the air in pairs.
The hooks were intertwined, pulling the thin ropes together, and then everyone stretched out their arms and pulled open the silk nets hidden in the ropes, forming four black nets!
The soldiers gathered together before they could dodge and were covered by black nets from above their heads. No one knew what the nets were made of, but they were very uncomfortable. Some people instinctively wanted to tear them apart, but their hands were cut by the fine nets and they suddenly felt dizzy.
It turned out that the fine net was coated with drugs, and once the skin was cut, the drugs would enter the human body.
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
Thirty people against eight people, and they were completely wiped out in a short time...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
