Chapter 357 Entering the City
It was still raining heavily in Gongzhou at this time.
At the gate of the city, three or four officials were shouting at the top of their lungs. They were soaked through and had been working non-stop for several days. They were exhausted, their voices were hoarse, and they hardly had the strength to shout.
Lord Du Fangzhou was also with them. Seeing this, he became anxious and turned to look behind him.
Fifty meters away, a dozen black-armored guards riding tall horses stood quietly in the pouring rain, with a strong sense of solemnity.
The soldiers on the city gate were so frightened that they shrank their necks and dared not show their heads.
"What should we do? The Black Armor Guards are here. Can we not open the door? If the King of Yong blames us, even the county governor won't be able to handle it."
The city garrison general spat, "Opening the gate means death, not opening it means death, anyway we'll just pretend to be deaf and dumb. They didn't introduce themselves, so who would know they are the Black Armor Guards? It's the county governor who can't hold on, not us, let's wait until he comes and see."
The officials who were knocking at the gate were so angry that they said, "Open the gate! Open the gate quickly! We are officials from Gongzhou County. We just came back from rescuing people on the riverbank. Why don't you open the gate?"
The soldiers were terrified: "They are also officials of the prefecture government. What if they come to settle accounts with us later?"
The general who guarded the city got up stealthily, but he didn't dare to stick his head out. He hid behind the parapet and peeked, screaming at the top of his voice: "My lords, please be patient. I have sent someone to report to the county governor. You know that the county governor has issued a strict order that strangers are not allowed to enter the city. There is a group of people following you who don't know where they came from. What if they are spies of the enemy army? We dare not open the door."
The officials outside the city and Lord Du were very angry, but they did not dare to reveal their names without the consent of the Black Armor Guards.
Lord Du turned around to look at the black-armored guards standing proudly behind him.
Chi Yan, who was in the lead, raised his cold face.
Pull out the arrow, draw the bow, and shoot, all in one go.
whoosh!
The arrow feather was like a meteor, whistling and tearing through the rainstorm, leaving a sharp streak of water light.
In the blink of an eye, the arrow accurately hit the rope on the mast, and with a swish, the rope retracted.
The officers and soldiers hiding under the parapet watched in amazement as the Gongzhou flag slid down.
It fell right at their feet.
The general defending the city was startled.
Everyone stared in horror at the red and black arrow feathers that symbolized the Black Armor Guards of the Mu Family Army...
The soldier was so panicked that he stammered: "The black, black, black armored guards are going to attack the city!"
The general guarding the city jumped up in fear and waved his long arms on the parapet: "What a misunderstanding, what a misunderstanding, I didn't expect that the Mu family army of Prince Yong would come to visit."
After that, he kicked the soldier beside him and yelled, "You bastards, why don't you get down and open the door for the Black Armor Guards? Hurry up and welcome the Black Armor Guards into the city."
The soldiers were so frightened that they pissed and shit themselves, and tumbled down the tower while shouting, "Open the gate, open the gate quickly, and welcome the Black Armored Guards into the city."
Jiang Qifu just arrived at the city gate and saw this scene.
Feeling that his dignity was offended, he completely forgot the purpose of his visit.
Subconsciously, he cursed: "Asshole, who dares to open the door before I give the order!"
After saying this, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He was here to greet the Black Armored Guards.
But the words have been spoken and cannot be taken back, so let's wait until we can step back and talk about it.
The city guard stumbled down the tower holding the fallen city flag in his hand, "Sir, this was shot down by the Black Armored Guards."
Jiang Qifu's face turned pale instantly, but he couldn't be cowardly in front of his subordinates.
I had no choice but to make the best of it, sticking my neck out and shouting, "Who's coming?"
"Master Wu, it's us. We just came down from the river bank. The leak has been plugged. We are all wet. Please open the door and let us go home."
The person who spoke was the chief recorder Cao Li.
Jiang Qifu got angry when he heard this.
It turned out that this guy was Du's subordinate. He had kept him on out of kindness, but he actually dared to betray him.
"How dare you disobey my orders, leave the city without permission, meddle in other people's business, and even come to knock on the door. Now that you've left, don't come back!"
Flood prevention and disaster relief is called meddling in other people’s affairs?
The chief officer did nothing, and other officials took the initiative to rescue and were asked to leave the city privately?
Du Ming was already weak, and after eight days of hard work in the rain, he could no longer bear it. When he heard these words outside the door, he was so angry that he trembled all over, and fainted on the ground.
Several officials hurriedly hugged him and shouted "Master Du".
"No, we have to get into the city as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will all be wet. Not only will Lord Du fall ill, but we will also be in trouble."
Cao Li was really furious.
He stepped forward and knocked on the door vigorously: "Master Jiang, the people of Gongzhou are your subjects. Not only do you sit back and do nothing, but you also don't let me wait for rescue? Master Du would have made arrangements early in the past, and he would have personally gone down to the dam to rescue people when they were in danger! The local officials abandoned the people and caused a major disaster. If the court knew about it, they would definitely punish them severely! Please open the door quickly, Master Wu, Master Du has fainted!"
Jiang Qifu was furious when he heard this.
Ha, you still dare to mention the last name Du?
Fainted? Death is the best!
He is used to being domineering and won't tolerate anyone contradicting him in person.
"Then you and he will both die outside! He is a criminal who dares to escape from the place of exile. That is a crime upon crime. I cannot open the door and let you in."
He looked around fiercely and said, "Whoever dares to open the door will be killed immediately!"
None of the soldiers guarding the city dared to say a word.
The staff beside him was anxious and whispered: "Sir, have you forgotten why you are here? Why are you so angry about gambling? Sir Cao has a point. What if the court finds out..."
"roll."
Jiang Qifu pushed him away and said, "I, Jiang Qifu, am not afraid of anyone! Even if King Cheng comes, he should give me some face. What do a mere criminal and a black-armored guard think of me?"
He didn't notice that everyone suddenly became as quiet as chickens.
The staff did not notice anything unusual and was extremely anxious. He assisted Jiang Qiufu for money, not for his life.
He continued to try to persuade him: "My Lord, please don't be confused. The Black Armor Guards are the guards of Prince Yong. When the Black Armor Guards arrive, Prince Yong is about to arrive. A higher-ranking official can crush a person, let alone a first-rank prince."
Jiang Qifu was very brave at this moment, as he paid tens of thousands of taels of silver as tribute to King Cheng every year.
King Cheng said that after one or two years, he would give him a third-rank official position in Beijing.
What could Mu Junyan do to him?
He swung his arms vigorously, turned around, and shouted domineeringly: "Even if Prince Yong comes, I will..."
Before he could finish his words, he noticed a huge mountain falling from the sky in front of him. When he looked up, he was met with an expressionless and indifferent face.
Those stern eyes exuded a death gaze.
Jiang Qifu's legs went limp, and he knelt on the ground with a plop, and subconsciously prostrated himself: "My humble servant greets you, sir."
Everyone: …
Um?
The staff was speechless.
As a businessman, Jiang Qiufu, even though he was the richest man in Gongzhou, was accustomed to being servile in front of officials.
When facing people who are lower than themselves, they are always arrogant and beat and scold them at will, but when they see officials of higher status, they immediately act like a slave.
Chi Yan raised his head and ordered coldly, "Open the door."
Jiang Qifu came back to his senses, raised his head suddenly, and was about to speak, but when he met those cold eyes, he was suddenly speechless.
Chi Yan: "A good dog doesn't block the road!"
Then, Jiang Qifu was picked up by the collar and thrown out like a rag, falling heavily on the edge of the bluestone slab and rolling around twice before stopping.
The heavy city gate was finally opened. The black-armored guards had dismounted and were walking in with their heads held high, supporting the officials.
Because the noise had been going on for over an hour, the people in the city had already gathered around.
They were all frightened to see seven or eight officials from the provincial government, all wet and limp in the arms of the mighty black-armored guards.
Cao Li waved his hands vigorously and said to the people in a hoarse voice: "Lord Du is back, the river bank has been blocked, and we are saved."
"Master Du is back! It's really Master Du who is back!"
"Oh my God, we are saved!"
"Let us out of the city, my brother is still outside the city!"
"Let us out..."
For a moment, the people could not suppress their anxiety and anger about their loved ones, and rushed to the city gate.
The city guards didn't dare to do anything now, and quickly pulled open the wooden barriers, allowing the crazy civilians to rush out of the city.
The area outside the city was muddy and desolate.
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