Chapter 50
There were unusual movements below the city wall, the sound of horse hooves approaching in the distance, and the north wind blew the remaining flags on the city wall.
The hug was very short, as if Xie Zheng pulled her into his arms just to release the force that had pulled her up.
Before Fan Changyu could come to her senses, Xie Zheng had already let her go and said in a very cold voice, "Stay on the tower, don't go down."
After he finished giving these instructions, he picked up a long-handled knife, grabbed a rope with an eagle-claw hook, and slid down the tower like a swooping eagle.
Fan Changyu climbed up, put his hands on the parapet and looked down, only to see him following Yuan Qing with a knife in hand.
Many of the rebellious peasants were secret sentries deployed by Yuan Qing. These people wore the same clothes as ordinary peasants and jumped around in the crowd to create chaos. Thousands of people stood together in a mess, and because of the constant running away, the crowd was squeezed and Xie Zheng's advance was blocked.
Fan Changyu stood on the tower and could see Sui Yuanqing's movements clearly. She pointed in a direction and shouted to Xie Zheng, "That idiot ran to the southwest!"
Xie Zheng heard Fan Changyu's signal, stepped on the shoulders of the farmers who were huddled together and jumped up, heading southwest to follow Yuan Qing.
Seeing this, the assassins hiding among the farmers swarmed over to intercept Xie Zheng. Xie Zheng forced several assassins back with a knife. Some assassins relied on the fact that they were wearing the same short and brown clothes as the farmers and pretended to be farmers. They shouted, "The man wearing the green ghost mask killed people!"
"I am not one of those people who just climbed onto the tower! Why are you swinging your sword at me?"
Some farmers who didn't know what was going on saw Xie Zheng fighting with the men in short brown clothes and thought he was killing ordinary people. In anger, they picked up their weapons and rushed over to surround Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng could still be quite powerful when attacking a group of assassins, but when facing a group of farmers who were tricked into coming forward, he had to hold back and was dragged down for a while, unable to extricate himself, and had to let Sui Yuanqing be escorted to the edge of the crowd by his followers.
The two looked at each other across the crowd, and Sui Yuanqing looked at Xie Zheng with a provocative smile.
Under the green ghost mask, Xie Zheng's eyes were icy cold.
When Fan Changyu saw Sui Yuanqing escaping in such a shameless way from the tower, he was so angry that he punched the parapet.
The already dilapidated parapet collapsed a little more because of her punch.
Fan Changyu was stunned. He looked at the wall from which mud was falling, then looked at his own hands, and glanced at Captain Wang and the county magistrate who were staring at him in amazement. He decisively took several steps back and stayed away from the wall.
But you must not ask for compensation!
-
He Jingyuan had led a large army to block the only official road outside the gate of Qingping County. Seeing the county residents surrounding the city in chaos, he did not know what was going on for a moment.
Seeing the soldiers in the uniforms of the Jizhou army mixed in the crowd, his old eyelids drooped: "Why are the soldiers from Jizhou Prefecture here?"
He ordered his personal guards beside him: "Send flags to let the soldiers from the Jizhou Prefecture who are mixed in the crowd come over."
The sound of fighting on the battlefield is deafening, but shouting cannot be heard. Attack, defense, advance and retreat all depend on flag signals.
After receiving He Jingyuan's order, the personal guards hurriedly took two small flags and waved flags to the soldiers from the Luzhou Prefecture who had already arrived outside the crowd. The other side saw them but did not come over. Instead, they ran very quickly in the opposite direction.
The guard raised his eyes to look at He Jingyuan: "General, look at this..."
He Jingyuan said in a deep voice: "They are not soldiers from our Jizhou Prefecture. They might be in the same group as the unnumbered army that Wen Chang went to encircle and suppress. Capture them!"
A young general led dozens of men to chase after Sui Yuanqing and his group who were escaping.
The assassins in the crowd hugged the farmers to stop the pursuing soldiers, while shouting: "The soldiers are killing people!"
"The government just doesn't take the lives of us people seriously!"
"We can rebel against this unjust court if we want to!"
Some assassins took advantage of the chaos and stabbed to death several soldiers who were chasing Yuan Qing. The remaining soldiers thought that their companions were killed by the rebellious people. In a rage, they did not hesitate to swing their swords at the people who kept blocking their way.
When the people saw that the officers and soldiers began to kill people indiscriminately, some of them retreated into the crowd out of fear, while others, in anger, directly raised hoes and rakes to fight the officers and soldiers for their lives.
He Jingyuan frowned as he watched the two groups of people making a fuss.
Another general under his command also gnashed his teeth and stepped out to say, "Sir, I will lead a thousand soldiers to suppress the rioters and support Captain Hu!"
As He Jingyuan was pondering, he suddenly saw a man in black rushing out from the crowd. He was holding a halberd, had a slender figure, and a green ghost mask on his face. He spoke to him in a rough voice, "The man who escaped in Jizhou military uniform is Sui Yuanqing, the second son of Prince Changxin. His people are pretending to be rebels and mixing in the crowd to stir up trouble."
He Jingyuan thought to himself that it was no wonder. He looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help asking, "Who is this strong man?"
Xie Zheng said coldly: "I am just a commoner, unworthy of being nominated in front of the adults."
As he said this, his eyes were already on the young general who had just spoken, "Lend me your bow and horse."
The young general felt a weight on his collar and was pulled off his horse. After staggering for a few steps to steady himself, he looked up and saw that the man had ridden away.
The young general was dissatisfied and shouted, "How dare you..."
When his eyes fell on He Jingyuan, he couldn't help but choke back his words and lowered his head in shame.
The opponent seized his horse within five steps, but he had no power to fight back. It was obvious that he was inferior to the opponent in skills.
He Jingyuan did not say anything to accuse Xie Zheng. He stared at Xie Zheng for a while with a complicated expression, and then ordered his soldiers: "Blow the horns and form a battle line."
The anti-democracy forces are in chaos, and the only way to minimize casualties is to suppress them first.
The sound of horns was blown, and the soldiers with shields lined up in the front, hitting the thick shields with their swords. At the same time, thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, and the sound seemed to overturn the clouds. The scene was quite impressive and successfully suppressed all the anti-people present.
The farmers pointed their farm tools at the soldiers holding swords and shields, but their expressions were terrified and they involuntarily shrank back.
He Jingyuan said, "I am He Jingyuan, the governor of Jizhou. You are all citizens of my jurisdiction. Why are you rebelling?"
When the people heard that he was the one leading the army, although they were still holding up their farm tools, they began to talk quietly, their expressions were no longer sharp, and some even sobbed softly.
After a while, someone put down his farm tools, knelt on the ground, and said miserably: "Master He, you have to make the decision for us!"
After the first group of people knelt down, the people behind them also dropped their farm tools and knelt down one after another, crying: "We are also forced into no choice!"
Even though there were still some who were unwilling to accept it, they also understood that the situation was hopeless. Farmers who only knew how to wield hoes would not stand a good chance against a well-trained army. Rebellion was a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of all nine generations of their clan. It would be better for them to admit their mistakes now, seek some mercy, and then let the matter go without any punishment.
For a moment, the entire area below the city wall was filled with the cries of the people. Some were complaining sincerely, while others were pretending to be so because they were afraid of being punished.
But no matter what, the riot was quelled.
The county commander sat paralyzed on the tower, gasping for breath. Thinking of how he had almost lost his life by the knife, his fat face was still trembling. He said to Captain Wang, "Captain Wang, you saved my life. I will definitely reward you in return."
Captain Wang was stabbed countless times, and he pushed aside a dead soldier with blood all over his body. He wiped the blood off the face of a young captain with his sleeve, and said with red eyes and a grin, "It's all my duty. If you want to reward me, just give more compensation money to the families of these children."
He looked at the dead young constable: "This is Xiaowu, the youngest constable in the yamen, and the most filial. He has an 80-year-old blind grandmother at home. Every month when he gets his salary, he goes to the butcher shop to buy a piece of meat and cooks it into meat paste for the grandmother. The one next to him is Li Da. His wife is still pregnant and will give birth in two months. The pillar of the family is gone, and the whole family doesn't know what to do..."
When he got to the latter part, it felt like there was cotton stuck in Captain Wang's throat and he couldn't utter a single word. He just covered his eyes with his bloody hands.
Fan Changyu looked at the dead constables with his lips tightly pursed.
She looked down from the tower, but could no longer see Xie Zheng and Sui Yuanqing's group.
-
When He Jingyuan sent people to chase them, Sui Yuanqing and several bodyguards had already fled in the direction they had planned.
The assassins were dragging the pursuing officers and soldiers behind them. Mu Shi protected Yuan Qing while running and fired an arrow into the sky. However, the thousand men ambushed at Banpo were nowhere to be seen coming to support them.
Seeing that the pursuers were getting more and more numerous, and that most of their soldiers had been killed or wounded, Mu Shi was unable to hold back the officers and soldiers. He was about to fire a second arrow, but Sui Yuanqing said, "No need to fire."
He curled his lips coldly, suppressing his anger: "The one who led the troops here was He Jingyuan, not Wei Xuan. After all, he is a famous general of Dayin. I think he has discovered the 1,000 troops we ambushed at Banpo."
Mu Shi realized the current situation, his heart sank, and he said, "I will definitely protect the prince at all costs and bring him back to Chongzhou."
Sui Yuanqing just smiled nonchalantly and even slowed down his running speed. The cavalrymen behind him caught up with him, shooting arrows at them while urging their horses to get closer.
When Sui Yuanqing dodged the arrowhead, he intercepted an arrow. When the warhorse galloped past him, he grabbed the reins and jumped on the horse.
The cavalryman on horseback was startled and quickly swung his sword to look at him, but he dodged by leaning back, and the arrow in his hand went straight into the cavalryman's neck.
The cavalryman died on the spot, and he threw the dead cavalryman down.
Mu Shi had also seized the warhorse of another cavalryman and chased after him. He smiled at Yuan Qing in a scoundrelly manner and said, "If you want to go back to Chongzhou, four legs are still faster than two legs."
After they seized the war horses, they no longer paid any attention to the officers and soldiers from Jizhou behind them.
“Whoosh!”
A white feather arrow with the sound of breaking through the air almost passed by Yuan Qing's ear, and stabbed deeply into the frozen soil a few feet ahead, and the white feather at the tail of the arrow trembled slightly.
Everyone was shocked. If that arrow was aimed at Sui Yuanqing, the arrow head would probably enter from the back and the tail would exit from the chest.
Sui Yuanqing looked at the arrow that fell not far away and couldn't help but put away the frivolous look on his face and turned around to look at the person who shot the arrow.
The official road had been trampled into a muddy mess, and there was still a thin layer of snow on the treetops in the forests on both sides. The man wearing the green ghost mask stood at the end of the official road, with his long-handled sword casually stuck in the ground and a large bow in his hand.
He had an arrow on his bowstring, but he didn't aim deliberately. The eyes under the mask were cold and unfocused.
After just one encounter, Sui Yuanqing's face looked extremely ugly.
He shouted, "Run in different directions!"
The followers who had seized the horses didn't understand why, but they immediately scattered and ran away.
Xie Zheng raised the corner of his mouth coldly, loosened the bowstring in his hand, and the moment the arrowhead flew out, the second arrow was already on his bowstring.
He moved incredibly fast, and in a moment his arrows flew out like a torrential rain of meteors. In a moment, he had shot out more than a dozen arrows, and all of Yuan Qing's personal guards fell off their horses.
Sui Yuanqing watched his guards on both sides being shot by arrows and falling off their horses. He had no time to care about the person who shot the arrows behind him. He just gritted his teeth and ran forward, squeezing the horse's belly and keeping his body as low as possible on the horse's back.
The quiver on Xie Zheng's horse was empty. When he was chasing after him, he passed by a cavalryman who was lying on the ground. He reached back and took out the opponent's quiver. He twisted the tail of the arrow with one hand and threw the quiver away.
Among Yuan Qing's personal guards, only Mu Shi was left riding behind him. Mu Shi looked back, his eyes bloodshot, and shouted, "Prince, be careful!"
Sui Yuanqing glanced back after hearing the sound, and was also shocked. The man wearing the green ghost mask twisted nearly ten arrows in his hand, placed them on the bow and arranged them in a fan shape. The moment he loosened the string, the arrows rushed towards Sui Yuanqing like locusts.
It is no exaggeration to say that Sui Yuanqing was frightened at this moment. He had never seen such outstanding archery skills in his life. He wondered who was under the green ghost mask.
He had no choice but to turn around on horseback and try to block the flying arrow with his sword, but his horse was shot in the leg and fell to the ground with a cry. Yuan Qing was also thrown out and rolled on the ground for several times before the force was released.
The sound of horse hooves was approaching, only a few feet away. However, the man in the green ghost mask was in no hurry to urge his horse forward. Instead, he pulled the reins and let the horse move forward at a leisurely pace.
Sui Yuanqing's face turned ashen. Wasn't this the same way a cat teasing its prey like a mouse, what he had done to the little maid in the county magistrate's mansion on the city wall before?
What is the relationship between this man with the green ghost mask and that little maid?
When he grabbed the little maid and wanted to leave, the little maid seemed to be calling his name?
Mu Shi was afraid that Xie Zheng would harm Sui Yuanqing, so he rushed over with a spear in hand and shouted, "Don't hurt my general!"
Xie Zheng grabbed the handle of the gun that was stabbing at him, twisted it, and then pushed it upward. Mu Shi was directly dragged off the horse by the handle of the gun. Because he held the gun too tightly, a layer of skin was almost torn off the palm of his hand. He let go in great pain.
Xie Zheng used the weapon that Mu Shi had handed to him, sat firmly on his horse, and put the silver spear against Sui Yuanqing's throat, with a hint of mockery in his tone: "Prince of Changxin, Sui Yuanqing?"
Sui Yuanqing's teeth tasted a faint blood, and veins bulged on his forehead. After a moment, he endured the humiliation and laughed, "It's my son, right?"
Below this official road is the surging Nujiang River, which never freezes even in the coldest months of winter due to the fast-flowing water.
Sui Yuanqing glanced at him calmly, and the whole person showed a relaxed attitude under the tip of Xie Zheng's gun: "Who are you? If you want to take my life, you can't be so afraid to say your name."
Xie Zheng did not answer. If the soldiers caught Sui Yuanqing, they would not take his life at this time. The best plan would be to take him to the battlefield in Chongzhou to negotiate terms with Prince Changxin.
Sui Yuanqing asked this deliberately to trick people.
Seeing that he was not hooked, Sui Yuanqing suddenly asked with a sly smile, "Who is that little maid on the tower? She is so white, and it feels so sweet to kiss her."
Xie Zheng's eyes were cold, as if he was waiting for the moment when Yuan Qing was careless. He pushed away the spear at his throat and plunged into the river.
Xie Zheng reacted very quickly and fired a shot at him horizontally, hitting his waist. With Yuan Qing groaning, the next moment the whole person had sunk into the surging river, leaving only a pool of blood on the water.
The author has something to say:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
