Chapter 49: Undercurrents Surge, the Childhood Sweetheart General Must Play the Hero and Save the Beauty~...
A layer of sweat seeped from the tip of his nose when illuminated by the candle.
The cleaver gleamed, but the hand holding it trembled.
The two young gatekeepers stared at each other, passing the knife between them. The timid one handed it to the slightly bolder one, but neither was willing to make the move.
Outside the bungalow, the bandits' henchmen were lazily shouting:
"Are you done yet? Stop dawdling over cutting off a hand!"
In the sound of rain, further away, the calls of henchmen could be heard.
"You idiot! Are you going to play this card or not?!"
"Trying to call back your souls? Come out, come out, come out! You wait until you win this round, or I'll make sure you lose so much you can't even afford underwear..."
It turned out that the bandits were holding cards and were relaxing after looting.
Judging from the two young men in front of him, Ying Xi believed they were farmers who had just been kidnapped and brought to the mountain, whom she thought could be trained into bandits.
In an instant, Ying Xi's mind cleared: it turned out that with so many people on the mountain, shirking responsibility and being lazy was the norm in every organization, and the mountain stronghold was no exception. With so many people on the mountain, some bandits would not want to work and would delegate tasks to their subordinates.
The bandit leader Dong Gu's shrewdness also became the biggest weakness of the bandit stronghold!
Yingxi leaned closer and grasped Zhuzhao's right hand again.
The emperor's original intention was to escape with his teacher when he saw that things were going badly.
However, in Zhuzhao's heart, it turned into worry and dependence, with the student wanting to share his hardships.
System notification: The host's behavior is proactive and complies with the rules of the Romance System; a reward will be given!
Charm +500, Imperial Tutor's Favorability +5, +5, +5, +5...
The numbers in front of me kept changing.
Where Yingxi couldn't see, Zhuzhao tried to get Yingxi away, his conviction growing stronger and his mind sharper than ever before.
The Imperial Tutor asked in a hoarse voice, "Which village down the mountain are you farmers from?"
He was, after all, a high-ranking official who had seen the world.
Despite being about to have his limbs severed, Zhu Zhao remained calm and chatted with people, which frightened the two young men so much that they almost dropped their kitchen knives.
Neither of them dared to utter a sound.
Zhu Zhao continued, “The imperial court will surely eradicate the bandits of Luoshan. If one of us dies, another official will take his place. Duke Xie Qianli of Yingguo is currently leading five thousand Longwu soldiers to garrison Luoxian. He will definitely send troops. Have you all thought it through, whether you will join forces with them or turn back from the wrong path?”
No wonder he was the chief envoy who negotiated and captured more than a dozen bandit strongholds!
After Zhuzhao finished speaking, the two farmers wavered, and their hands became even more unsteady on their knives.
The Heluo region was once the main battlefield for suppressing the rebellion, and countless rumors about the Xie family, father and son, circulated there.
The rumors say that Xie Qianli was not portrayed as having three heads and six arms, but he was certainly strong enough to lift a cauldron, so why couldn't he wipe out the bandit stronghold?
The two farmers looked at each other in bewilderment:
"this……"
"Sir, have you been to our village?"
Outside the bungalow, Wai Ba Zi couldn't wait any longer. He walked into the house cursing as he went: "Damn it, killing a chicken is such a small thing, and I have to do it myself!"
Seeing that things were turning around, Ying Xi quickly said, "We just came back from Changzhuang Village, and there have been exchanges between the villages!"
As luck would have it, the two men were farmers from Changzhuang Village.
The young man on the left exclaimed, "Brother Shuangzhu, the sir is from our village! My name is Sanjinzi. Have you seen my mother and grandmother yet?"
The bandit from Luoshan, with cards in both hands and a machete at his waist, cursed a few times when he saw that the two men hadn't made a move yet.
Both of them are in the probationary period before becoming bandits; one thought can lead to enlightenment, and another to damnation.
The two pillars gripped the hilts of their knives tightly.
He looked at the bandits, then at Zhuzhao's right hand, his eyes bloodshot and red. Shuangzhu couldn't decide which faction to join.
Zhu Zhao, with his photographic memory, provoked Shuangzhu, saying, "Shuangzhu, your wife and child are still alive. They cried before me to save your life. Your wife wore a dark blue dress, a peach-colored skirt with swastika patterns, and a velvet flower. Your son is only two weeks old and has a cowlick on his forehead..."
His wife only dressed like this when meeting guests.
These two officials weren't trying to intimidate anyone.
In an instant, it was as if a long-lost relative had appeared before my eyes, just as I had described.
Shuangzhu's arms suddenly trembled, and the blades in his hands flashed.
He can't be a bandit! His wife and children will never be able to hold their heads high again! He'd rather die standing!
"Jinzi, let's fight those bandits!"
Shuangzhu swung his sword horizontally, aiming straight for the bandit's neck. Blood splattered everywhere, and Yingxi closed her eyes, her face covered in blood foam.
Sweetie screamed in her head in fright.
Just as the bandit was about to scream in agony, San Jinzi, his blood boiling, quickly covered the bandit's mouth from behind. The bandit whimpered a few times and collapsed.
The two farmers, panting heavily, threw down their knives.
With a thud, he knelt down before the two men, Zhu Zhao and his companion: "Sir, my wife—" "How are my grandmother and mother?"
The situation does not allow for reminiscing.
The fact that Waibazi has not returned for so long will surely arouse the suspicion of other bandits.
Zhu Zhao immediately ordered, "Untie the ropes!"
Once the ropes were untied, the two felt much lighter, and sure enough, there was some activity from the mountain bandits again.
San Jinzi picked up a kitchen knife, and Shuang Zhu grabbed a cleaver, ready to fight to the death, when Ying Xi said, "Charge out! First, open the seedling shed—"
The seedling house is open!
Bright light shone into the narrow cave entrance.
With a swift movement, the rope snapped, and the three gold coins were given every stick they could find, turning their two-person team into a dozen.
A dozen men rushed into the courtyard and began beating the bandits indiscriminately.
The bandits, unable to withstand the wailing, were driven to desperation by the innocent civilians, who then slit their own throats.
The Yangzifang area was isolated, and the upheaval, from its inception to its conclusion, did not alert bandits in other areas. Everyone's eyes were bloodshot.
But even if they escaped from the seedling house, how could they escape from Luoshan, where bandits gathered?
Shuangzhu and the others were once again at a loss.
Setting down their weapons and clubs, the group faced the messenger and said, "We have suffered under the persecution of Dong Gu and his band of thieves for a long time. When will the troops from the foot of the mountain arrive? What will happen to the mountain next? Messenger, please, please save us..."
***
Night fell.
In the shady corner of Luoshan Mountain, Xie Qianli and Lian Qing tied their horses to trees. They then hiked up the mountain, making their way in the shadows.
Lian Qing wiped the water from his face, crouched down, and the two silently hid behind cover. They observed the distant bandit stronghold, its lights glowing orange-yellow.
The rain had just stopped, and occasionally owls could be heard calling in the mountains and forests, their calls consisting of three long and two short hoots.
That was the Dragon Martial Army's code. Report your location, and reinforcements will lie in ambush nearby, scattered like stars in the sky.
Lian Qing suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves. Two fierce bandits rode past on horseback from afar.
The horse's saddlebags were bulging and full, carrying many things.
Whom would bandits give gifts to?
Lian Qing and Xie Qianli each fired an arrow, piercing the bandit's throat, rendering him speechless.
Lian Qing stopped the horse, took out a token from his satchel, and took several steps back, saying, "Hand, hand..."
He wasn't afraid of losing a limb.
He feared it might be the severed limb of the emperor or his tutor.
Xie Qianli suddenly became so gloomy that he couldn't look directly at the person. Inside the box of tokens was a bloodstained letter in kraft paper, which was Dong Gu's extortion of the emperor.
"You little emperor, listen to my decree! Your envoy who offered amnesty had his hand chopped off by me! Quickly send him 100,000 taels of silver to buy his life!"
Signed: Written by Mr. Dong after he was drunk
How arrogant!
They dared to ask the emperor for a ransom.
This role wasn't prominent in the Qingniu Army back then.
The rebellion was inevitably quelled, and this person had nowhere to go, allowing his savage nature to run rampant.
Lian Qing was shocked: "This hand belongs to Master Zhuzhao?"
Xie Qianli felt heavy-hearted. He picked up the hand and examined it closely. The severed limb had a lifeless bluish-white color.
Xie Qianli frowned: "No. The hand belongs to someone else."
"Your Majesty—"
Feeling intensely oppressed by the gaze, Lian Qing finally thought for a moment and reached out to touch it. The severed limb was long and slender, but there were still thick calluses on his palm from the hilt of the knife. This was the hand of a martial artist.
Lian Qing: "It's fake! His Majesty and the gentleman are still safe!"
This is the happiest thing Lian Qing has heard today.
Xie Qianli, holding the letter, analyzed it with great order:
"The fact that His Majesty was able to substitute one thing for another and deceive the mountain bandits shows that His Majesty is temporarily in the upper hand."
"There was no movement inside the village; they are trapped in the mountain village and have not yet escaped danger."
"The letter had just been sent out when the bandit leader Dong Gu was still drunk."
Xie Qianli's fingers twirled the pages heavily!
His tone was icy: "To capture the thief, capture the king; to kill Dong Gu, kill him."
When General Xie gave the order, Lian Qing naturally responded without hesitation.
Lian Qing was simply confused about how to kill the bandit leader: "Should we lead the brothers in and charge in? Fight our way out to save the emperor?"
Xie Qianli replied, "Assassination."
It is obvious that if the drunken and cunning chieftain could be beheaded, the Luoshan stronghold would be leaderless.
At that time, whether the remaining bandits are killed or recruited into the government will not be a problem.
However, the Longwu Army is more adept at two-army standoffs and city assaults, employing a more expansive and decisive style of warfare, which distinguishes them from spies.
Although former commander Xie Ji also believed that more elite soldiers could be selected from the army to form a team specifically for carrying out missions such as infiltration and assassination.
However, due to various limitations and the fear of arousing the emperor's suspicion, the matter has been shelved until now.
Lian Qing, fearless, gripped his knife and said, "No problem, let's do it! I'll charge with the general!"
The surge of adrenaline had barely reached his head when a faint rustling sound came from the bushes in the dense forest.
rustling sounds...
There had clearly been no wind at all. Lian Qing's ears twitched; thinking it was a bandit sentry, she drew her sword: "Who goes there?!"
The arc of the blade illuminated the land beneath their feet.
Lian Qing couldn't even see who the figure was. The other person was very close to him at first, then moved away, and finally retreated to a distance of more than ten steps from the two of them.
Lian Qing assumed a fighting stance but didn't dare to draw his knife.
He glanced at his own general out of the corner of his eye and saw that Xie Qianli not only remained unmoved but also had his hands behind his back.
The dark figure bowed deeply from afar, showing utmost respect to the Duke of England.
Lian Qing raised an eyebrow.
The dim moonlight illuminated Xie Qianli, who still stood tall, draped in the darkness of the night.
But suddenly Lian Qing felt a sense of fear. He dared not ask, since General Xie always acted with integrity. He wondered who this person was.
Lian Qing could only remain motionless, holding the knife like a block of wood, and observe the situation.
The dark figure opposite them simply placed an envelope down, pushed it forward, and without exchanging any words with them, leaped away!
Lian Qing stared in astonishment at the ethereal figure, and only approached when he was certain that the dark figure was far away.
He cautiously picked up the object from the ground and opened it; the back of the paper was covered with crisscrossing lines.
“It’s a map,” Lian Qing unfolded it for Xie Qianli, murmuring, “General, the map shows… the approximate terrain of the bandit camp…”
***
After the fierce battle at Yangzifang, Ying Xi herself was given weapons, and the villagers stripped the bandits of their clothes and quickly put them on to make it easier to pass through the bandit stronghold.
Strike first to gain the upper hand.
Zhu Zhao arranged for Shuang Zhu to cut off the hand of a bandit whose hand shape resembled his own, and then have Shuang Zhu take that hand to the scribe to report back.
Shuangzhu and Sanjinzi usually worked as laborers for Waibazi and his gang. When they came to the calligraphers, the calligraphers just assumed that Waibazi and his gang were gambling again and had no suspicions at all.
Fortunately, San Jinzi was literate and remembered Dong Gu's ransom order. He returned and reported to his superior, saying, "The envoy's life is worth 100,000."
The two men also found out that "Dong Gu went mad after getting drunk and wrote a letter to the emperor with an imperial edict. He drank while having a calligrapher write it for him, and in the end, he even splashed ink all over the calligrapher's face."
Ying Xi suppressed her cold sneer.
Before my eyes, a ruthless and arrogant desperado was once again vividly presented.
With the number of troops they have, they simply cannot force their way down the mountain.
However, Dong Gu's drunkenness, coupled with the surrender of Shuangzhu and others, the latter's knowledge of the bandit stronghold, and the farmers' eagerness to return home... these conditions were enough to give Ying Xi the courage to take the risk.
If the bandit leader dies, the bandits in Luoshan are too numerous and complex to gain any real power without someone to lead them.
When the imperial court leads its army to surround the bandit stronghold in Luoshan, it will surely be able to rescue all the people!
Ying Xi made her decision, pulled Zhu Zhao's hand from behind, and wrote the word "kill" heavily in the Imperial Tutor's palm.
Zhu Zhao was tickled and felt both itchy and painful, making her restless and her heart flutter. She had no time to think about anything else.
Zhu Zhao said to the villagers, "We must take advantage of the darkness and join forces to behead that scoundrel Dong Gu."
Shuangzhu and the others looked at each other, realizing that the only option now was to fight desperately, and they all nodded in agreement.
"We will follow the arrangements of the two envoys!"
Ying Xi secretly ordered Xie Qianli to mobilize troops, and the Longwu Army immediately stood by at the foot of the mountain.
Wild geese carry messages, soaring into the sky.
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