The incident involved six groups of people, and the whole area of Jiangnan is now aware of it!
His Highness's pursuit has become increasingly blatant; the words "ambush" and "ambush" now seem like a joke!
But even as things had developed this way, the King of Chu was still ordering a pursuit, showing a determination to fight the people of the Mobei Merchant Guild to the bitter end.
Despite Ling Changshi and others' earnest advice, Gu Yufan remained stubbornly fixated on his own ideas.
He still couldn't understand how these people managed to escape from one robbery after another!
He was no longer listening to their advice. Seeing that they wouldn't listen, he turned and handed his privately made military tally to the steward, whispering, "This time, mobilize a thousand men! I don't care what the cost, you must kill all the Wen family businessmen outside the northern desert!"
Many people in the Jiangnan region have already guessed that the ambush and killing along the way is related to him. If he just lets the Wen family and their group return to Mobei, where will he, the King of Chu, put his face?
Therefore, after Qi Chenglang and others successfully resisted the assassination attempts time and time again, the nature of the King of Chu's desire to kill them had completely changed.
So this time, he not only sent out these thousand private soldiers, but also used his connections to find people in the martial arts world, promising them great rewards, and making sure that these people would wipe out the Wen family business!
Qi Chenglang and the others rested in Jinzhou for about three days. During these three days, they not only restocked their supplies, but also waited for Zhang Yuankai's return.
To Qi Chenglang's disappointment, the Emperor did not send the Imperial Guards to protect him this time.
Zhang Yuankai said in a low voice, "His Majesty means that we are now using the name of the Mobei Trading Company, and using the Imperial Guard for protection would attract too much attention."
This is practically announcing to everyone that behind the Wen family business is the six-year-old Prince Wen!
Under Qi Chenglang's disappointed gaze, Zhang Yuankai said in a low voice, "Although the Emperor did not send the Imperial Guards, he sent the secret guards to follow us secretly."
Every emperor in the Sang Dynasty has a private army called the Dark Guard, who only obey the emperor's orders. Their number is unknown, but Qi Chenglang knows that each member of the Dark Guard is a master who can take on ten men!
Hearing Zhang Yuankai say this, Qi Chenglang's eyes lit up: "In that case, let's get ready and leave Jinzhou before the city gates close, then head back to Mobei!"
He had a premonition that the King of Chu's assassination attempts would become even more frenzied before they entered the northern desert!
"Oh, right," Zhang Yuankai said in a low voice, "His Majesty received a secret letter from the northern desert. The young prince was ambushed and has gone blind..."
Qi Chenglang and Shen Yu'an were so shocked that they stood up from their chairs. Qi Chenglang, in particular, felt that he had difficulty breathing, his throat tightened, and he couldn't make a sound.
The little prince's eyes, which were like stars, have become blind?
It was Shen Yu'an who regained her composure first, and said with difficulty, "How could they have been ambushed? Wasn't Imperial Physician Qin still there? Did Imperial Physician Qin say that the young prince's blindness was temporary, or...?"
The details were probably not revealed in the secret letter to the Emperor, and Zhang Yuankai knew even less.
"His Majesty said that Imperial Physician Qin diagnosed His Highness's blindness as related to a blood clot in his brain. Once the blood clot is cleared, he should be able to see again." He leaned forward and whispered, "Consort De contacted the largest security escort agency in the capital to deliver a lot of medicine to His Highness."
Qi Chenglang instantly understood the Emperor's arrangement. This escort agency was using the pretext of protecting medicinal herbs, but in reality, it was to protect them!
Zhang Yuankai continued, "As for the mastermind behind the abduction and murder, after the young prince woke up, he identified Li Yanping as the culprit!"
I see!
Qi Chenglang and Shen Yu'an exchanged a glance, and all their previous questions about where Li Yanping had gone were answered at that moment.
What followed was anger, extreme anger!
Qi Chenglang couldn't even hold back, crushing the corner of the table into tiny pieces with his hand. As he slowly opened his hand, the pieces were blown away by the wind and scattered to every corner of the room.
Shen Yu'an was the first to react: "The King of Chu has gone mad!"
They must be crazy. If they weren't crazy, why would they go to such lengths to hunt down a merchant guild?
After a while, Qi Chenglang felt that his tinnitus had improved slightly, and he asked with difficulty, "Since Your Highness has identified Li Yanping, have Chief Secretary Xie and the others captured Li Yanping? Why would he attempt to ambush Your Highness?"
It doesn't make sense that someone would attempt to assassinate a prince just because of a failed salt permit transaction!
Zhang Yuankai sneered, "This matter will probably remain unsolved, because Li Yanping and the others were bitten so badly by wolves that they were unrecognizable. If it weren't for His Highness pointing them out, even Li Yanping's mother probably wouldn't recognize who they were."
Although I feel heavy-hearted and heartbroken at this moment, I also find it strangely funny.
"The Emperor sent someone to tell me that Prefect Liu and Prefect Qi are already investigating the case, and it's not just Changzhou that's involved; several other prefectures are also implicated. When I return this time, the northern desert will definitely be more chaotic than before."
Qi Chenglang and his group didn't care whether the northern desert was in chaos or not. As long as they could capture the remnants of Li Ji Trading Company, what did it matter if they turned the northern desert upside down?
He said calmly, "We can't wait any longer! We'll leave tonight."
Who knows when the King of Chu's men will appear? Rather than living in fear like this, it would be better to go back to the northern desert as soon as possible!
They had to admit that the young prince's abduction and murder had stirred up the deepest killing intent in their hearts.
The group urged the merchants to prepare their goods and left the city gates in batches before they closed. They then gathered on the official road and headed towards the northern desert.
Just as Dingzhou was within reach, countless arrows suddenly rained down from the sky, blocking their path.
Several bodyguards were injured and fell off their horses, their cries of pain mingling with the neighing of their steeds.
This is the first time someone has been injured so soon after they met!
Qi Chenglang led his assault squad to attack the archers as usual.
Shen Yu'an said, "Set up the formation!"
Whether they were bodyguards or bodyguards, they quickly formed a battle formation as soon as Shen Yu'an's voice rang out, spreading outwards little by little.
Before long, they discovered something amiss. This time, the assassins included not only well-trained soldiers from the military camp, but also highly skilled assassins from the martial arts world.
People in the military camp were afraid of being exposed, so if they were defeated, they would definitely commit suicide.
But it's different for people in the underworld. They just do things for money, and if they get caught, the sentence will be carefully considered. It's not necessarily death!
Shen Yu'an and the others didn't even exchange glances, yet they were perfectly in sync. They would kill private soldiers without hesitation, but would avoid silencing members of the martial arts world if possible.
The battle raged from late Xu hour to 3:45 PM, with everyone on the battlefield blinded by rage, turning the official road into a living hell.
Even the shopkeepers who had been hiding in the carriage were forced to get off after seeing this hell on earth. If they didn't know how to use swords, they kicked with their feet. If one person couldn't do it, several people would attack together. Even if they died, they would drag the other side down with them!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
