Qian Tong was now enjoying a carefree life. He was the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards and Cavalry, known as the Horse Marshal. This was an appointment made by Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji before he abdicated.
During Cai Jing's reign, Qian Tong was his right-hand man. After Cai Jing's fall, the emperor did not pursue Cai Jing's accomplices. So Qian Tong transformed himself and continued to serve as his commander.
As the commander of the imperial cavalry, Qian Tong had only ever been to the city walls for inspection once. Most of his time, he was either in brothels or entertaining guests at home. Qian Tong's other position also included overseeing the selection of imperial guards nationwide, a lucrative position bestowed upon him by Cai Jing.
At this moment, Qian Tong was drinking at home with his concubine, whom he had redeemed from a brothel.
Qian Tong's family had a tigress. Back home, she was known as Aunt Liehuo, and she had a fiery temper. Qian Tong wouldn't have dared take a concubine home even if he had ten of the courage. He usually kept her at his own house. Today, Aunt Liehuo happened to be back home, so he finally mustered the courage to bring his concubine along to accompany him for drinks.
This concubine was originally a prostitute, a wanton and lecherous woman. She sat in Qian Tong's arms and fed him wine. Qian Tong was so lustful that he touched the concubine's body in a dishonest way.
At this time, the housekeeper came running in hurriedly: "Master, there are guests outside."
Qian Tong was a little unhappy that his interest was disturbed: "Who is it? Let him go."
"He said he was the commander-in-chief. His name was Wu Ge, and he brought a few soldiers with him."
Qian Tong was furious when he heard this. He and Wu Ge were not on good terms. Wu Ge had come with his soldiers, clearly looking for trouble.
He pushed his concubine away and said, "Wu Ge? What is he doing here with his soldiers? Is he looking for death?" He was the commander of the imperial guards, with countless soldiers under his command. How dare Wu Ge bring his soldiers to his mansion?
"Who is shouting here?" As he was speaking, Wu Ge came in with several guards.
Qian Tong was about to explode when he saw something startling. He recognized the figure behind Wu Ge as the imperial guard, the emperor's closest attendant. Wu Ge must have come on the emperor's orders, so he immediately lost his temper. He smiled and said, "So it's General Wu. What does General Wu have to offer me?"
"In compliance with the Emperor's order, Sir Qian is requested to come over." Wu Ge said in a businesslike manner.
Qian Tong was secretly delighted. With the Jin thieves marching south, the Emperor would surely summon him to the palace to offer some words of encouragement, telling him to defend the capital well. Then, he would surely feign loyalty and valor, swearing allegiance to the death. He might even be so pleased that the Emperor would give him a promotion.
Qian Tong then laughed and said, "Then I'll have to trouble General Wu."
Qian Tong followed Wu Ge out of the mansion. As soon as he reached the door, he saw a large group of guards rushing into his house, driving his family out of the house, and then the guards sealed the door and surrounded the mansion.
Qian Tong was horrified: "What does this mean?"
Wu Ge smiled and said, "I am here by order of the Emperor to search and confiscate the Qian Mansion."
Qian Tong panicked, and a guard had already put iron shackles on his head from behind.
Qian Tong, as the commander of the cavalry, was quite skilled in martial arts. Seeing things were getting worse, Qian Tong ducked to avoid the guards' iron shackles and tried to escape.
So the guards drew their swords and surrounded Qian Tong, and Qian Tong fought with the guards with his bare hands.
Although Qian Tong's kung fu was quite good, none of these imperial guards were without exceptional martial arts skills. Qian Tong and the guards fought, but Wu Ge didn't intervene. He wanted to see how capable Qian Tong was.
A guard swung his sword, but Qian Tong dodged it with a twitch. With a casual grab, he caught the guard's wrist. The guard, in pain, let go of the sword, and Qian Tong grabbed it and used it to block the other guard.
With his weapon in hand, Qian Tong instantly parried the attacks of several guards. He rolled over and rushed to the northeast corner, trying to escape.
Wu Ge flew up and stood in front of Qian Tong. Wu Ge had a smile on his face. As soon as Qian Tong made a move, he realized that this person was no match for him.
Qian Tong's kung fu skills were quite good, otherwise it would not have been so easy for him to climb to the position of commander of the cavalry. He was just like Jiang Menshen, who was hollowed out by alcohol and sex.
Wu Ge had long noticed that his lower body was weak, so he drew his sword and attacked his lower body.
Qian Tong saw Wu Ge attacking his lower body with a sharp sword technique. He couldn't help but feel a little panicked. He kept retreating, and the guards behind him had already attacked him.
Qian Tong didn't dare to fight, he waved his sword to block Wu Ge and swung his backhand sword to chop Wu Ge's head. Wu Ge had already seen where he was coming from, so he blocked it with his sword and kicked Qian Tong hard in the chest.
Qian Tong was kicked and sent flying, his sword falling to the ground. With a yelp, he landed in front of several guards. They rushed forward, placing their swords on Qian Tong's neck, while another guard secured him with iron shackles.
Qian Tong was a military commander after all, not as weak as Cai You and the others. Since he had been captured, he had no choice but to accept defeat. He was silently escorted by the guards to the prison.
Qian Tong didn't protest. It seemed he knew the crimes he had committed. He could never earn so much in his entire life from his salary alone, including the unpaid salary, bribes, eight mansions, and his own shopping street. Any one of them would have been enough to get him killed.
Countless people had already gathered outside the Qian Mansion, and they were talking about it. It seemed that the emperor had started to target his ministers again.
Imperial Palace, Purple Palace.
"The Emperor has arrived, and all the ministers are here to attend the morning meeting!"
Zhao Huan knew that today's morning court session would not be peaceful. Reports of defeat on the front lines were pouring in like snowflakes, and all the civil and military officials were discussing the matter. Most people were leaning towards peace.
"Long live our emperor, long live our emperor!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
