Caohe Blood Curtain
On the third day of March, the morning fog in Tongzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was like gauze.
Dozens of deep-draft canal boats slowly approached the third wharf, controlled by the family of Prince Jing's concubine, through the mist. Their sails were tattered, and they appeared to be no different from any other merchant caravan. However, the sailors on deck walked steadily, their eyes sharp, and faint traces of reinforcement were visible on the sides.
Outside the docks, the capital's garrison soldiers had changed into civilian clothes and were guarding key thoroughfares. Zhou Zhen personally took command, his palms slightly damp with nervousness. Further afield, in houses and warehouses, elite troops from the Imperial City Division and skilled border troops dispatched by Wei Zheng lay in wait.
On the top floor of a three-story warehouse across from the dock, Cao Jin and Fu Yu, representing the emperor and empress respectively, stood by the window, silently gazing out at the river. The air was thick with invisible smoke.
At the hour of noon, the leading canal boat docked. A man dressed in brocade robes, resembling a steward, quickly disembarked and spoke quietly with the Chief Secretary of Prince Jing's residence, who had been waiting on shore. The two exchanged a token (the other half of the dragon-patterned jade ring!), and the Chief Secretary nodded slightly and waved his hand, signaling the unloading of the cargo.
The Imperial Guards disguised as coolies and the Imperial City Agents were about to move forward when something strange happened!
The manager in brocade robe caught a glimpse of the traces of official boots on the waist of a "coolie" from the corner of his eye. His face suddenly changed and he blew a sharp whistle!
"Officers! There's an ambush!"
In an instant, the wooden planks of the ship's side collapsed, revealing a dense mass of private soldiers armed with powerful crossbows! A rain of arrows, like locusts, instantly covered the front of the dock!
"ah!"
"Shield! Raise your shield!"
Screams and roars rang out simultaneously, and the guards and agents who were caught off guard fell to the ground, and their blood instantly dyed the bluestone slabs red.
"Kill!" Zhou Zhen's eyes were bloodshot, and he drew his sword and roared. The lurking soldiers of the capital garrison surged out from all directions like a tide, charging towards the dock.
The private soldiers on the canal boats were well-trained and quickly formed a battle array, using the cabins and cargo as cover and putting up a stubborn resistance. Even more alarming was the fact that some of the private soldiers were equipped with the Flying Tiger Battalion's standard bows and crossbows, offering ferocious firepower!
The entire Third Pier instantly transformed into a bloodbath. The clash of swords, the clashing of crossbows, the shouts of the dying, and the wails of the dying intertwined, shattering the morning tranquility of the canal.
Cao Jin saw it clearly from the top floor, his face livid. "Prince Jing has secretly hidden armor and crossbows. He deserves death! Send the signal, have the outsiders press forward, and leave no one behind!"
Just as the fierce battle was in full swing at the dock, a team of about a hundred elite soldiers, guarding an inconspicuous green-covered carriage, quietly rushed out from a secret path behind the dock, trying to escape in the chaos - it was Prince Jing Xiao Jinghong!
"Prince Jing is trying to escape!" Fu Yu's eyes were sharp, and he immediately ordered a guard beside him, "Send a signal to General Wei's men to intercept him!"
A whistling arrow rose into the air with a sharp sound.
The elite border troops who had been lying in ambush on the road responded immediately and pierced Prince Jing's convoy like a sharp knife!
"Protect the prince!" the leader of Prince Jing's guards shouted fiercely, leading his troops to fight desperately. These guards were all top-notch fighters, and the battle instantly became fierce.
The curtain of the green-covered carriage opened, and Prince Jing, Xiao Jinghong, emerged. He was about fifty years old, his face gaunt, yet now, his plan exposed, he looked a bit ferocious. He glanced at the distant dock, where the sounds of killing were deafening, then at the border troops blocking his way, a glint of desperate madness in his eyes.
"Xiao Jingche! Lu Qinglan! You're going too far!" He roared, and suddenly pulled out a tinderbox and a black clay pot from his arms—it turned out to be a flaming oil pot! He actually wanted to burn himself!
"Stop him!" the border army captain shouted.
Several crossbow bolts simultaneously fired at Prince Jing. One arrow accurately struck his arm holding the tinder, sending it crashing to the ground. Others struck the clay pot, shattering it and splattering black incendiary oil all over Prince Jing, but he remained unignited.
The border soldiers rushed forward and pinned him to the ground.
"Let me go! The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. Give me a quick death!" Prince Jing struggled hard, like a mad tiger.
The captain said coldly, "Your Majesty, your life or death is decided by His Majesty and His Majesty."
The battle at the docks was drawing to a close. Encircled by overwhelming superior forces, the remaining private soldiers were completely annihilated, and the few who surrendered were bound and taken into custody. The canal ships were seized one by one, and their cabins were searched for a large quantity of standard military equipment, armor, and even several boxes of gold ingots and tokens from the Northern Di royal court!
The dust had settled, and the rising sun had completely dispelled the morning mist. The Tongzhou wharf was littered with corpses, the water of the Caohe River had been dyed a faint red, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of blood and gunpowder.
Cao Jin and Fu Yu walked down from the warehouse. Gazing at the horrific scene before them, Cao Jin took a deep breath and said to Fu Yu, "We must immediately escort the traitor Prince Jing to the palace to face the emperor. I'll need to take care of the aftermath here. Please report this to the Empress."
Fu Yu nodded slightly. "Master Cao, please do as you wish. Your Majesty will arrange for personnel to assist in clearing the battlefield and counting the spoils."
The two men's eyes met briefly, and they both understood that although their common enemy had fallen, the last layer of window paper between the emperor and the empress was about to be completely broken with the arrest of Prince Jing.
A bloody curtain had just begun to descend over the Caohe River, and a storm within the Forbidden City was just beginning to brew.
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