Chapter 2766 Rescue
The lieutenant general chosen to lead this group of a hundred warriors this time was named Qian. The reason why Duke Zhao chose him was that, firstly, he was loyal and brave, and secondly, in addition to his bravery, he also had quick wit.
He gathered everyone together and said, "There's still some time until the Hour of the Rooster. Now we should split into two groups. One group will lie in wait at the city gate, awaiting the signal from outside. The other group will act according to the plan, aiming to complete it before the Hour of the Rooster."
"General, the personnel from the Heavenly Prison have been mobilized to put out the fire."
"Very good, who is willing to go to the prison with me?"
"I am willing to go."
The burning yard and the prison were not on the same street, nor were they even within the same jurisdiction, but they were very close, only two streets apart.
Duke Zhao and other generals had discussed this in detail and believed that burning this courtyard would be the quickest way to attract the patrolling yamen runners from the Heavenly Prison to come and put out the fire. Once that group of people were gone, they could just pretend to be Goguryeo yamen runners and go in.
The clothes were prepared in advance and taken from the government office in the small town. Although they were a bit old, the style of the clothes was the same as those in the domestic city, and there was no difference at first glance.
Brigadier General Qian and forty-nine others changed into their clothes, openly slung their swords over their shoulders, and rushed to the outside of the prison.
The prison was even more lax than they had imagined. The two yamen runners guarding the door were standing on tiptoe, looking at the fire not far away.
The fire was so big that it felt like it would burn towards us.
Lieutenant General Qian stepped forward and scolded him in official language, "What are you doing? Is this how you usually stand guard?"
The two yamen runners shrank their necks when they were scolded, and then looked at the brand new clothes on him. Except for his, the clothes of other soldiers were picked up from former yamen runners in the small town. His was made in the style of a fourth-rank official in the palace after Gao Zhi told him about it.
As expected, the other party lowered his head and dared not look at Lieutenant General Qian again. Because he had just made a mistake, he even forgot the rules of entering and leaving the Heavenly Prison and let the person in directly.
Brigadier General Qian led his men in with a serious face. What he didn't expect was that some of the jailers were also transferred to put out the fire, so there were not many guards in the jail at this time.
Lieutenant General Qian calmly glanced at the queen and his comrades. When he saw the jailer, he produced an official document and said, "The fire is difficult to control. The king is afraid it will spread here, so he sent us to escort the five princes and the envoys to another place of detention."
The jailer opened the document and saw that the seal on it was correct, and even the handwriting seemed familiar, but how could such a document be brought by someone from the palace personally?
Shouldn't his boss have given it to him?
The jailer was hesitating when Lieutenant General Qian impatiently urged, "Hurry up and fetch them! If the fire spreads and injures the Five Princes and the envoys, can you afford it?"
The jailer was shocked and asked quickly, "What about the other prisoners?"
"This is your own business. Just follow your superiors' orders. Why are you asking me?" Lieutenant General Qian said arrogantly, "I am only responsible for the safety of the five princes and the delegation."
The jailer pulled out a purse from his chest and stuffed it into Lieutenant General Qian's hand. He lowered his voice and asked, "Please give me some advice, my lord. The king is still talking about the fifth prince and the envoys. Is he thinking..."
Lieutenant General Qian glanced at him, put the money bag into his arms, and said seriously: "Some words should be kept in mind, but not spoken out loud."
The jailer's face changed. He didn't expect that the rumors on the streets recently were actually true. The emperor might really surrender to Jin State like the second prince and the fifth prince. That's why he kept the fifth prince and the delegation so that he could explain to Jin State later.
Lieutenant General Qian urged, "Hurry up, the king is waiting to see someone."
The jailer, looking dazed, took the key and went to fetch the prisoners. He first opened the door of the Fifth Prince's cell. When he looked up and saw the Fifth Prince's face, he immediately realized something was wrong and was startled. "No, no, you are not..."
Brigadier General Qian drew his sword and slashed his throat before he could finish his words.
The jailer fell down with his eyes wide open, and several jail guards were immediately killed by the soldiers.
Brigadier General Qian glanced back and when he saw that there was nothing wrong, he winked at someone and told him to take his men out to clear out the people outside.
He opened the prison door and said to the trembling Fifth Prince inside, "Fifth Prince, His Majesty sent us to rescue you."
The fifth prince's eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise, "Your Majesty sent you to rescue me?"
"Yes," Lieutenant General Qian nodded perfunctorily and asked, "Where is Lord Zhang?"
"Next door."
Lieutenant General Qian immediately turned around and went to find Zhang Hui.
The accommodation for the two of them was pretty good, as they were kept in separate cells. The other members of the envoy group were not so lucky, as they were all locked up in the innermost part of the cell.
Lieutenant General Qian released the people and was about to take them away, but the other prisoners in the prison started to make a fuss, shouting that if they were not released, they would shout louder and louder to prevent them from leaving.
Lieutenant General Qian frowned, and Zhang Hui stopped him and said, "Don't let them go. Those who are imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison are either extremely vicious people or officials who have committed heinous crimes. Letting them out will only bring disaster to the people."
He said coldly, "Isn't death the best way to silence someone? Just kill them."
The prisoners were frightened and moved away from the prison gate. Although most of them were sentenced to death, there was still a difference between dying now and dying later.
Lieutenant General Qian said, "Sir, let's go quickly. They can scream if they want. I've already killed all the jailers. Even if they scream their throats out, it will be useless. Whoever screams, I'll just chop him down."
No one dared to speak again, and they watched silently as they escorted Prince Gao Wu and the envoys away.
The streets were in chaos. Zhang Hui and Prince Gao Wu stared with wide eyes at the place where the flames were shooting into the sky.
Lieutenant General Qian subconsciously defended himself, "It's not entirely our fault."
Zhang Hui retracted his gaze and asked, "Where are we going?"
Brigadier General Qian led them to a villa of Prince Gao Er with familiarity.
Prince Gao Wu: "..."
Brigadier General Qian had no time to deal with his little emotions. After bringing the person over, he pulled Zhang Hui aside and talked to him in private.
The two of them talked for a full half hour before they concluded. Zhang Hui immediately went to find Prince Gao Wu, his hair unwashed for half a month. He grasped the newly washed Prince Gao Wu with his dirty hands and said excitedly, "Prince Gao Wu, His Majesty specially sent hundreds of warriors to rescue us. Now it's time for us to repay His Majesty."
After saying this, he lowered his voice and said, "It's time for us to make achievements."
The Fifth Prince didn't feel much about the first sentence, but he was very interested in the second sentence.
Especially when he knew that his second brother had already become a general in Jin State and had previously served as the chief military commander.
He also urgently needed an opportunity to make a contribution, so he didn't mind the sour smell on Zhang Hui.
The two of them held hands and closed the door to discuss things.
Something happened, so the update will be postponed to 9pm.
(End of this chapter)
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