Chapter 265: The Ningzhou City Garrison Revolted
Han Chong's words made Qi Yanzhou and Ye Chutang's faces change.
With so many people going there, it was obvious that something had happened.
And it’s not a small matter.
Ye Chutang immediately stood up from Qi Yanzhou's legs, "Azhou, go and take a look."
After Qi Yanzhou responded to Han Chong, he led the National Protection Army away.
Sun Chu immediately climbed up the tree and looked into the distance.
After seeing clearly what happened, his face became solemn and he jumped down from the tree.
He looked at Ye Chutang who was about to ask, and uttered two words.
"Soldiers and bandits."
Although those officers and soldiers were not wearing official uniforms, they worked in perfect harmony and acted in a well-organized manner, so they were definitely not ordinary bandits.
Ye Chutang knew that in times of chaos, soldiers and officers would often pretend to be bandits and burn, kill and loot.
If they are bolder, they will gather their own troops and claim to be the king.
But she didn't expect that the consequences of the drought had just become apparent when some soldiers turned into bandits.
"A rabbit doesn't eat grass near its burrow. These soldiers and bandits should not be from the nearby counties and towns."
Sun Chu nodded in agreement. "The officers and soldiers in the county town don't have the guts to do that. They are the garrison troops of the prefecture and county. Moreover, they should not be the garrison troops of Haixi County, but Ningzhou."
The exile team is now in Haixi County, and after two more days they will enter the territory of Ningzhou.
A journey of one hundred and twenty to thirty miles would take three or four hours on an ordinary horse.
There is more than enough time to run back and forth in a day and steal some money.
Ye Chutang looked in the direction of the accident and said, "It seems that Ningzhou City is not going to be easy."
Sun Chu nodded in agreement. "There are towering and steep mountains to the east and west of Ningzhou City. We can't get over them at all. If we want to continue north, we can't bypass Ningzhou City."
"Do you have any property in Ningzhou?"
"Yes, I own some businesses in the prefectures and counties north of the capital, including gambling houses and restaurants."
Ye Chutang withdrew his gaze and looked at Sun Chu.
"You go to Ningzhou City first and find out what's going on in the city."
Sun Chu raised an eyebrow, "Does this mission count as points?"
"Such a simple thing still needs to be counted for one point?"
"Ningzhou City must be under martial law now. Anyone entering the city must be checked. It is not easy to get useful information."
Ye Chutang did not respond to this, but mentioned the first task she gave to Sun Chu.
"It's been more than a month since I gave you Night Fury. Have you taken down the Bingzhou garrison?"
"Ahem, it's almost there."
Sun Chu did not expect that the Bingzhou garrison would be so stubborn.
After using both soft and hard tactics, coercion and inducement, the garrison commander's attitude finally softened.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that Qi Yanzhou’s reputation is growing.
Ye Chutang looked at Sun Chu, who looked embarrassed, and offered him some benefits.
"I don't know how to gamble, but I know how to cook. How about ten recipes for medicinal food?"
Sun Chu's eyes lit up and he nodded rapidly.
"Of course, I will leave for Ningzhou City immediately after Qi Yanzhou has dealt with these soldiers and bandits."
Ye Chutang threw out another bait.
“I also make cosmetics.”
Sun Chu looked at Ye Chutang as if he were looking at a gold ingot, his eyes almost dying with laughter.
"If we do business together, we will definitely be able to control the economic lifeline of Beichen Country."
"If you don't cooperate, I can do it myself."
"Since we're from the same hometown, please let me take part in it."
"It depends on your performance."
Sun quickly assured, "Don't worry, I will definitely show my positive attitude. If you say east, I will never go west."
Compared to leading troops to fight, he prefers making money!
at this time.
Qi Yanzhou has already led the National Protection Army to support Han Chong.
Han Chong called Qi Yanzhou over not to ask him for help, but to let him intercept and capture the person.
There were hundreds of soldiers and bandits, but he only brought ten of his men with him and was unable to handle the situation.
The officers and soldiers were no match for the National Protection Army at all.
Before the time of an incense stick had passed, they were all captured.
The family that was robbed by the police was a wealthy merchant family with more than 20 people.
The wealthy businessman also hired a bodyguard to escort him.
But twenty escorts are no match for hundreds of officers and soldiers.
When Han Chong and his men arrived, all the escorts had been killed.
The officers and soldiers not only robbed the wealthy businessman of his money, but also attempted to commit indecent acts against his young and beautiful women.
The danger is now over.
The women tried to cover themselves with their torn clothes and cried together.
Han Chong came up to a bearded man and tore off his disguise.
The beard stuck so tightly to his face that it took away the flesh and blood.
"ah!"
As soon as he screamed, a bloody sword was placed across his neck.
"Whose soldier are you?"
The man was so frightened that he forgot the pain and quickly retorted.
"What soldier? I'm a bandit!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Yanzhou picked up the knife on the ground and cut off the man's right hand.
Blood gushed out from the severed wrist and screams rang out again.
"If you have the guts, kill me!"
Qi Yanzhou looked at the man who was screaming but carefully avoiding the sword at his neck and sneered.
"It's easy to die. All you have to do is push your neck to the left."
If the man had the courage to die, he would have committed suicide long before he was caught.
Qi Yanzhou fiddled with the severed hand on the ground, turning the palm upwards so that he could observe it.
He looked at the man, whose face turned pale from blood loss, and said, "There are thick calluses on your palms and base of the thumb over the years, formed from daily drills in the military camp. Tell me, whose soldier are you?"
The man remained silent.
Qi Yanzhou lost his patience and said to all the captured officers and soldiers: "I will spare the life of the first person to confess, and kill the rest on the spot!"
After that, he gave a time limit.
"I will only give you ten seconds to think about it. Ten, nine..."
As the numbers decreased, everyone became nervous, with struggle evident on their faces.
Everyone wants to be the only one alive.
But no one dared to bet that Qi Yanzhou would kill the others and only save his own life.
If the general finds out about the betrayal, the whole family will be implicated!
Qi Yanzhou quickly counted to "one", but no one let go.
He gave Han Chong a wink.
Han Chong understood and directly wiped the disguised man's neck.
After killing the people, he said: "National Defense Army, listen up, every time you count to three, kill one person!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Three, two, one."
The moment the words fell, the head and neck separated.
As more and more heads rolled to the ground, the smell of blood in the air became stronger and stronger.
The officer waiting to die turned pale as paper, and his body trembled more and more violently.
Finally, someone couldn't stand the torture of fear anymore and spoke.
"I say! We are..."
Before he could finish his words, someone else spoke first.
"The Ningzhou garrison rebelled!"
Everyone rushed to tell the news they knew, wanting to be the only lucky one to survive.
If he were the only one alive, General Su would not know that he had betrayed him!
He can live in anonymity.
Then wait for the right time to reunite with your family.
Qi Yanzhou captured the information he wanted amid the noisy noise.
Then let Han Chong kill all the officials.
The last soldier who was killed glared at Qi Yanzhou, "How dare you go back on your word!"
Qi Yanzhou sneered, "I never keep my word with scum!"
The officers and soldiers were shocked before they could even finish listening.
Qi Yanzhou looked at the bodies scattered all over the ground and said to Han Chong, "Drag the bodies to the woods and bury them, and clean up the scene."
The weather is still very hot now, and piles of corpses exposed to the air can easily cause epidemics.
Han Chong immediately arranged for his men to deal with the officer's body.
He asked Qi Yanzhou, "Master Qi, how should we deal with these murdered escorts?"
Qi Yanzhou looked at the middle-aged man who was stripped down to his underwear.
"Where are you from? Where are you going?"
The head of the family was still in fear and didn't hear what Qi Yanzhou said at all. He just felt that his aura was terrifying.
The woman next to him calmed down a little and quickly knelt down to reply.
"Your Excellency, we came from Tazhou City and are going to the capital to seek refuge with our relatives."
Ningzhou City used to be Ulu County and then Tazhou City.
After passing Tazhou City, you will arrive at Tianshan County.
Qi Yanzhou thought that Haixi County was far away from Tacheng, and it was impossible to take the escort's body back to his hometown to rest in peace, so he asked Han Chong to bury the escort separately.
After giving the order, his eyes fell on the woman.
"Write down the information of these escorts. When I pass through Tacheng, I will go to the escort company to report it."
The woman quickly asked her maid to prepare writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.
After she finished writing the information about the escort, she picked up the box containing the gold ingots from the ground, wiped the blood stains with her sleeve, and handed it to Qi Yanzhou along with the paper.
"Your grace in saving my life is something that our family will never forget. Please accept this as a small token of our gratitude."
Qi Yanzhou didn't hesitate and asked Han Chong to accept it.
"If you don't want to get yourself killed, keep everything you've heard and seen today to yourself!"
The Ningzhou garrison not only rebelled, but also turned into bandits.
This matter is too serious to be publicized.
If people knew that Su Chengzong had rebelled, the garrison troops with the same ability and status as him might also rebel.
Time and again, the Beichen Kingdom was in complete chaos!
The woman asked her whole family to swear on their own lives and those of their nine clans that they would not tell anyone a single word.
After swearing the oath, she took out two silver notes worth five hundred taels from the hem of her clothes.
"Sir, these are the funeral expenses for the escort. Please pass them to the escort company."
Qi Yanzhou accepted the banknote and asked curiously, "You are obviously a wealthy family, why did you leave Tazhou City?"
Generally speaking, those who leave their homes are poor people who cannot survive.
Rich people usually flee when the place they are staying in becomes chaotic and their property and safety cannot be guaranteed.
The woman did not dare to hide anything and said frankly: "Tazhou City is beginning to be short of water, and it is adjacent to Tianshan County. There is a high possibility of war, so our whole family left."
"Why do you think there's going to be a war?"
Although the woman didn't know Qi Yanzhou, she guessed something from the way Han Chong addressed him.
She pursed her lips and told Qi Yanzhou some unreliable news.
"I heard that the neighboring country will launch a large-scale attack on Beichen Country in winter."
This is the real reason why they moved their family.
There is ongoing unrest in Beichen now.
If the neighboring country attacks in one fell swoop, even if it cannot destroy Beichen, it will be able to capture the border town.
At that time, the capital city, which had the strictest defenses, was the safest place.
Qi Yanzhou asked: "Where did the news come from?"
"I don't know, it's just hearsay."
"Pack up and leave quickly."
After saying that, Qi Yanzhou returned to the place where the exile team was resting.
He stood downwind on purpose to prevent the bloody smell on his body from disturbing Ye Chutang.
But Ye Chutang had a sensitive nose and frowned slightly because of the smoke.
She took a step back and asked, "Are those soldiers and bandits the Ningzhou City garrison?"
After seeing Ye Chutang's actions, Qi Yanzhou also took a step back.
"Yes, the garrison in Ningzhou City rebelled."
Ye Chutang was not surprised at all, "Rebellion means to encircle the land and become the king?"
Qi Yanzhou nodded, "Yes."
He told Ye Chutang the news he had just heard.
The garrison in Ningzhou City rebelled seven days ago.
General Su Chengzong secretly controlled the families and relatives of the prefect and the governor, forcing them to obey.
Therefore, Ningzhou City looks normal on the surface.
After Su Chengzong took control of Ningzhou City, he ordered his soldiers to pretend to be bandits and rob not only the surrounding states and counties, but also the people in his own territory.
The purpose was to have enough money to recruit soldiers when the rebellion was made public one day.
Who doesn’t want the supreme position?
Of course, Su Chengzong is not stupid either.
He specifically instructed his men who came to Haixi County to avoid the route of exile to avoid meeting Qi Yanzhou.
As long as he doesn't alert the enemy, he can just wait for the exile team to enter Ningzhou City and capture them in one fell swoop!
As a result, the team of soldiers who were robbing accidentally heard the news about the "fat sheep".
Then he was blinded by gold, silver and money and forgot Su Chengzong's instructions.
As a result, they ran into the exile team and were completely wiped out!
After hearing the news from Ningzhou City, Ye Chutang said with emotion: "Fortunately, Xi Ze and Ah Man left early."
Otherwise, even if you can leave Ningzhou City, it will take a lot of effort.
Qi Yanzhou looked towards the direction of Ningzhou City, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Su Chengzong has already been prepared for us. It will not be easy to take over Ningzhou City."
“It’s not easy, but we can do it!”
"Of course, but it will delay our progress to Tianshan County."
Ye Chutang said nonchalantly: "We are not in a hurry anyway, so it is more important to proceed step by step."
The more soldiers and horses you conquer, the easier it will be to start a rebellion in the future.
Qi Yanzhou nodded in agreement.
"Atang is right, but we can't defeat Su Chengzong with just over a hundred of us."
"Call for help?"
"Well, call for help."
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he said to Han Chong: "We won't travel today, let's rest here for a night."
Han Chong knew that Qi Yanzhou had made arrangements, so he agreed without asking any questions.
"good!"
"I'm going out for a while and will be back soon."
Qi Yanzhou went to find Nan Xiao.
Just like before, Nan Xiao led his men to follow the exile team at a close distance.
He also saw the soldiers and bandits robbing wealthy businessmen before.
However, since the National Protection Army could handle it, he did not show up.
When Nan Xiao saw Qi Yanzhou walking towards him quickly, he knew there was a mission.
"Master, is there something wrong with those soldiers and bandits?"
Qi Yanzhou kept his words short and only told Nan Xiao the most important news.
Nan Xiao was surprised.
He didn't expect that Su Chengzong, who only had 60,000 soldiers and horses, would dare to enclose land and become king!
"Master, Su Chengzong will soon know that you killed his people. Ningzhou City will be in trouble."
When the soldiers and bandits robbed the wealthy businessmen, other refugees saw it.
The refugees only saw the bandits being killed by the officers escorting the exiled prisoners, but they did not know that these bandits were soldiers in disguise.
They will certainly publicize that their master has eliminated harm for the people.
Qi Yanzhou looked at Nan Xiao, who had a worried look on his face, and patted his shoulder soothingly.
"I'm not leaving today. You go to Haixi County in person and tell General Qin the news that Su Chengzong has rebelled. See if he is willing to send troops to suppress the rebels."
They had passed through Haixi County before, but only stayed there for one night before leaving, and had little interaction with local officials.
But he knew that Qin Ke, the leader of the garrison in Haixi County, was just like General Zhang in Jizhou City. He did not take sides and only cared about his own little piece of land.
Therefore, he was not sure that Qin Ke would send troops.
Nan Xiao asked worriedly, "Master, if General Qin knew that Su Chengzong had rebelled, would he also follow suit and raise his own troops?"
"No, Qin Ke knows very well that Jizhou City has been taken by me, and he has no ambitions."
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he asked Nan Xiao to prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote two letters.
One was to Qin Ke and the other to Ma Weiyuan.
Ma Weiyuan is a descendant of Qi's army's trusted confidants.
Once, the emperor sent Qi Yanzhou to suppress a group of bandits who were roaming around and committing crimes.
Ma Weiyuan happened to be chasing this group of bandits.
When he was ambushed and injured, Qi Yanzhou saved his life.
"Lord Chen, if there is ever a day in the future when you need me, I will come to you with my life!"
The two rarely contacted each other, and only exchanged simple greetings in a letter at the end of the year.
It took Ma Weiyuan nearly five years to rise from an eighth-rank captain to a fourth-rank lieutenant general with the title of general.
He is now working in Wuhai County.
Wuhai County is located due northeast of Beichen State, nearly five hundred miles away from Ningzhou City.
The cavalry can arrive in three days, and the infantry in five days.
Qi Yanzhou handed the letter to Nan Xiao and said, "Let Hai Dongqing deliver the letter to Ma Weiyuan."
"Yes, Master."
"Rest here for three days before setting off again."
It takes two days to get from here to Ningzhou City, which is enough time for Ma Weiyuan's advance troops to arrive.
Nan Xiao knew the relationship between Qi Yanzhou and Ma Weiyuan, but he was still a little worried.
"Master, will General Ma send troops?"
He believed that if Ma Weiyuan were allowed to come to Ningzhou City by himself, he would not hesitate, even if it meant losing his life.
But it’s hard to say if he leads troops privately.
This is a serious crime of confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan!
Qi Yanzhou said affirmatively: "He will come, and the emperor will not blame him."
Because compared to sending troops privately, treason and claiming kingship is more serious.
Nan Xiao was relieved to see that Qi Yanzhou was very confident.
"I will do it immediately."
Qi Yanzhou returned to the exile team and called Wu Chenggang.
"Is there any suitable place to stay nearby?"
Wu Chenggang took out the map and looked at it again and again, then shook his head, "Master Qi, there are no villages or water sources nearby, so it's not suitable to stay here."
"Within thirty miles?"
"have."
Wu Chenggang pointed at the map and said, "There is a village here with only a few families. The villagers make a living by collecting herbs. They are all very friendly. When I was escorting a prisoner before, I encountered a rainstorm and went to this village to avoid the rain."
But the village was not on the route of exile.
It takes a whole day to go there and back.
Qi Yanzhou said without much hesitation: "Let's stay here for two days."
Although Wu Chenggang didn't understand why Qi Yanzhou wanted to stay, he immediately gave orders and set off for the village later.
Qi Yanzhou asked Nan Xiao's men to stay behind and wait for him to come back.
The exile team rested until half past the 3:00 p.m. and prepared to set off.
Sun Chu packed his luggage and said goodbye to Ye Chutang.
"See you in Ningzhou City!"
Ye Chutang gave Sun Chu a bottle of poison and said, "Be careful and stay safe."
"Don't worry, I still have the ability to escape."
After saying this, Sun Chu jumped on his horse and soon disappeared.
The exile team set out for the village.
Qi Yanzhou thought that things were not peaceful recently, so he asked Han Chong to send someone to the village to find out the situation.
We went there on horseback, very quickly.
The team had only walked for half an hour when the person who came to inquire about the news turned back.
The man didn't look well.
Han Chong asked, "But what happened?"
"The village was massacred, and even the elderly, the weak, women and children were not spared."
"How long have the villagers been dead? Have you figured out who did it?"
"The villagers must have died yesterday. Due to the high temperature, their bodies have begun to decay. The wounds are neat and smooth. They were basically killed by a single blow from a machete. Their homes were also turned upside down."
After hearing the description from his men, Han Chong guessed that it was Su Chengzong's men who did it.
Those scum who take human life lightly must be eliminated!
He told Qi Yanzhou the information his men had obtained.
"Master Qi, are you still going?"
Qi Yanzhou clenched his hands hanging by his sides into fists, his face extremely gloomy.
He didn't answer and looked at Ye Chutang.
"Atang, you decide."
Ye Chutang thought that there were not many villagers and they had no other place to rest, so he said: "Let someone bury the villagers first, and then clean up the village."
"Yes, Madam Qi."
Han Chong took the order and left, sending fifty men to the village.
Thirty people cleaned up, and twenty people went to find water.
The exile team walked until the sun set before they reached the village entrance.
The village, which should have been filled with curling smoke from cooking fires, was now filled with a faint smell of blood, which made Ye Chutang feel heavy.
She is indifferent to deaths caused by fighting and hates one-sided massacres.
Han Chong's men had already buried the villagers and had simply cleaned up each household.
There are only eight households in this village.
In order to facilitate the drying and storage of medicinal materials, the houses are built very large.
But every household didn't have any decent belongings, which showed that they were not living very well.
Ye Chutang guessed that the soldiers and bandits came to massacre the village for the medicinal materials!
Qi Yanzhou saw that she was in a bad mood and said, "Su Chengzong will definitely die!"
Ye Chutang nodded, "I hope nothing unexpected happens."
The Qi family was allocated the largest farmhouse.
Pushing the door open, one can clearly see dark bloodstains absorbed by the soil.
The smell of blood was diluted by the lingering fragrance of herbs.
The racks and large winnowing baskets for drying herbs were destroyed and piled up in the corner by the National Protection Army.
After Qi Yanzhou inspected the farmhouse, he allocated the rooms.
"I'll go find Han Chong and ask about the water source."
If there is no water source, we cannot cook and can only eat dry food with pickles.
Soon, he came back.
"There is a spring in the hills behind the village. Villagers use bamboo as pipes to bring the spring to the end of the village."
Although the amount of water is not large, it is enough for daily use.
After Qi Yanzhou finished speaking, he took out two buckets from the kitchen and went to fetch water.
Aunt Xu saw that Ye Chutang looked unhappy and asked, "Madam, what would you like to eat?"
Due to insufficient water supply, cooking was seldom done during exile.
Therefore, there are not many dishes in stock.
Ye Chutang glanced at the basket and said, "Auntie, keep it simple. Make a pot of broth and cook noodles."
"Okay, He'er and I will go get ready."
Others went to put away the luggage and clean up the house and yard.
Ye Chutang went to the backyard to take a look.
The neat vegetable garden was ruthlessly trampled upon, and there were few good vegetables left.
She picked some good ones.
"I'll avenge you for eating your food."
After saying this in her heart, she returned to the front yard and helped Aunt Xu cook.
When the meat soup noodles were ready, it was completely dark.
After dinner, everyone rushed to the end of the village to fetch water for a shower.
Except for Ye Chutang who could sneak into the space to wash up, everyone else just wiped themselves simply these two days, and their bodies were very sticky.
After taking a shower, Ye Chutang lay down on the hard wooden bed to rest.
When Qi Yanzhou came in, he saw her tossing and turning, and hurried forward to ask.
"Atang, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ye Chutang sat up, frowned and said, "I feel a little panicked for some reason. I always feel that something bad is going to happen."
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