Chapter 362 Nighttime Capture of the City Gate
Huang Ren and his companions were flogged at the entrance of the yamen, a sight witnessed by the people. The news spread throughout the city in an instant, and all rumors about the imperial court secretly executing Lord Pu and poisoning displaced people disappeared.
Zhuiying obtained important information in Nanhai County and immediately returned to report it.
"Princess, I suspect that the man surnamed Pu is still alive. The people from the state government have gathered the local militia from various places."
"The city gates are being strictly checked, suspicious persons are being detained, soldiers are being recruited intensified, and soldiers from various city defense battalions are being gathered into the city. They are planning a rebellion."
The people of Nanhai County were spreading rumors that Pu Heshou had been murdered by the imperial court, and they were indignant on his behalf.
"It's highly likely he's not dead."
“Princess, they have troops, and most of the people in Panyu County are their people. If you stay here, you will be in danger. Why don’t we escort you out of the city first, and wait for the imperial court to send troops to suppress the rebellion, and then we can discuss this further?”
Yun Zhaoxue never intended to run away from the beginning. "We went to great lengths to clean up the rebels in Panyu County in order to take control of Panyu County, not to escape."
"But we have no troops at our disposal. To transfer troops from elsewhere, we need a secret order from the imperial court, which is simply not in time."
"I know, but I want to take a gamble."
Even if you can't beat her, you still have space; no matter what, you won't die.
Zhuiying wanted to cry, "Gamble? You're not only gambling with your own life, but also with the lives of your subordinates!"
He didn't want to die in Lingnan. He wanted to find the young master and the Xiao family army one day, fight together, and avenge the prince.
If Yun Zhaoxue and the Xiao family suffer any losses, how will they explain it to the Crown Prince?
"Are you scared? You're such a coward, even less timid than your two young masters, who both support me."
"Of course I'm afraid. I'm afraid something will happen to you, the two young masters, and the princess. If the prince knew, he would definitely not let you take any risks."
“If Lingnan falls into chaos, it’s hard to guarantee that other places won’t take advantage of the chaos to rise up in rebellion.”
“That makes sense, but…”
"No buts, Zhu Feng also agrees with me doing this."
"real?"
"If you don't believe me, go ask him."
Yun Zhaoxue sent the people away and then studied the maps of Panyu County and Nanhai County inside the house.
There are also the various neighborhoods within the city of Panyu County, corresponding to the different residential groups and the streets where the indigenous people mainly gathered.
A county typically has a garrison of about two thousand men. If they are recruited from the civilian population, they can only gather a maximum of three to five thousand.
If no one causes trouble, she is confident she can hold out.
To repel external threats, one must first secure internal stability.
Let's take the opportunity to kill a few more before tonight.
He took out a list from the drawer, circled a few people in red pen, and put an X next to them.
He handed the list to Zhu Feng, who took it and, without asking any questions, went straight down to carry out the orders.
After finishing all that, she went out on the street as usual, and the people secretly watching her didn't notice anything unusual about her.
After watching for a while, he disappeared into the alley.
At midnight, darkness fell, the gates of Panyu County were tightly closed, and the number of soldiers guarding the city was twice that of usual.
Supervisor Liu, who only came to supervise occasionally, began pacing back and forth on the city wall from evening onwards.
He kept reminding the soldiers to be on their toes and not to slack off.
The soldier yawned, exhausted. "Ha!"
I'm so sleepy. Everyone else is sleeping with their wives at this hour, while they're stuck here in the cold wind. It's so uncomfortable.
They leaned against the wall and fell asleep, completely ignoring their parents' instructions.
Those below were already asleep.
Some people were leaning against the wall, while others were sitting down and sleeping against it.
A dark figure rushed over, kicked them to the ground, and shouted angrily, "Get up, all of you get up! No sleeping!"
Someone asked, "Sir, has something important happened today?"
Supervisor Liu looked down from the city wall and said in a deep voice, "This is an order from above. Just carry it out. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, or you'll be punished according to military law. Get up! Be alert!"
"yes!"
Several dark figures slowly moved towards the city gate from downstairs.
Several men were leaning against the wall, half asleep, when a few dark figures chopped them on the back of the neck with a single blow, knocking them unconscious. They then dragged them to a corner, changed their clothes, and disguised them as soldiers guarding the city, before climbing onto the city wall.
Supervisor Liu kicked all the soldiers on the city wall awake. When he looked back, he saw that the soldiers he had woken up earlier had their heads hanging down, their faces almost buried in their chests, and some of them were yawning incessantly.
He was enraged, untied his riding whip from his waist, and lashed it at a nearby soldier. "Crack!"
The soldier's body tensed instantly from the blow, then trembled a few times, "Hiss!"
"A bunch of useless trash. They can even fall asleep while guarding the city gate. What use are you?"
Tonight's events concern his life and future, so he dares not be careless. A bunch of ragtag soldiers are useless. When he becomes a great general, he will kill them. These good-for-nothings are just a waste of rice.
Supervisor Liu lashed out with his whip in rows, and some people instinctively picked up their spears to block the whip.
"Still dare to resist? Put down your spear."
"Oh." He released it without hesitation, and the spear clattered to the ground.
"Bang!"
"You... good-for-nothing! Idiot!" Supervisor Liu kicked him and lashed him twice with his whip.
He took the two lashes and was very indignant. "I did everything you said, why did you still lash me twice?"
"You idiot! Want to get beaten up again?"
He's so stupid, calling him a pig is an insult to pigs.
Commander Liu raised his whip again, and the soldier, terrified, covered his head, crying, "No, I won't do it again, please don't hit me."
After he finished scolding them, he was about to go down from the city wall to check on the people below when suddenly two dark figures darted out.
A punch was thrown at him, "Bang!"
The blow struck him squarely in the face; bang! Supervisor Liu was forced back.
Another dark figure swept his leg forward, tripping him. Another quickly pounced on him, holding a knife to his neck. "Don't move!"
Zhu Feng fixed his bowstring and ordered him to tie the man up.
The soldiers who had been beaten secretly hoped that Commander Liu would suffer misfortune, cursing him to trip and fall while walking or choke to death while drinking water.
Unexpectedly, retribution came so quickly. They doubted their eyesight and rubbed their hands, still seeing several dark shadows.
Seeing that Supervisor Liu had been arrested, he stood there dumbfounded, still holding the rusty spear in his hand.
Countless questions flooded my mind.
What's going on?
What happened?
Who is it?
The city gate guards were mostly composed of poor people, refugees, criminals, or old, disabled, and sick soldiers who had been eliminated from the battlefield. Wars broke out frequently on the continent, and uprisings or battles were held from time to time. No one dared to join the army, and the quality of the soldiers varied greatly.
Even if a few skilled or dutiful individuals can remain in a stagnant environment, their ambitions will be wasted, and their reactions will become sluggish over time.
They came to kill them.
He was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He dropped his weapon and ran, rushing down the city wall. "Mom! It's a ghost! Run!"
Zhu Feng and Zhui Ying blocked the entrance to the stairs.
The person rushing towards them leaned back and braked suddenly.
The people rushing from behind couldn't brake in time and knocked the people in front of them flying.
Before they even had to lift a finger, their own people knocked them down.
He lay on the ground, clutching the spot where he had been hit, groaning, "Ouch, ouch, my back! My back! It hurts so much..."
"Shut up, all of you!"
The next day, as dawn broke, a group of people arrived outside the city.
The leader asked in confusion, "Liu Hongye, why don't you open the city gates and let us in?"
Liu Hongye is the name of Supervisor Liu.
Chief Wang Cheng asked, "Who comes here?"
"Your grandfather, Qi Dasheng."
"Your grandma, the grass on my grandpa's grave is taller than you."
"Enough with the nonsense, open the city gates immediately! This general is going into the city to punish the traitors!"
Qi Dasheng was a military commander stationed in Guangzhou Prefecture. He was usually stationed in Nanhai County, and even Supervisor Liu had to listen to him.
"Catching thieves is the business of the government. General Qi, please return."
Qi Dasheng looked at the person beside him: "We are here to suppress the bandits on the orders of Lord Pu. If even the prefecture can't handle it, how can a small county government possibly manage it?"
Wang Cheng asked in surprise, "Lord Pu? Isn't he dead? Did you go to the underworld, or did he return as a ghost to give you a message in your dream? I think it was your own idea, Qi Dasheng. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"He's not dead, he's still alive! A series of murders have occurred in Panyu County. A group of ruthless people have killed several people, causing panic among the people. We are ordered to enter the city to apprehend the thieves. Open the city gates immediately!"
“A murder case is handled by the county government. The princess has ordered that it not be opened! You shall all return to Nanhai County immediately, or it will be considered treason!”
Wang Cheng waved his hand, and rows of archers appeared on the city wall, drawing their bows and aiming their arrows at the people below. The people below panicked; they had come to rebel.
Has their plot been discovered?
They planned to occupy nearby cities and expand their power under the pretext of punishing bandits.
Following the example of last year's rebellion in Jiangnan, the rebels quickly raised an army of one million, rapidly occupied Lingnan, and then expanded northward to establish their own independent regime.
I didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly.
The imperial court wanted to deal with the Great Jing in the north. Lingnan was far from the north and the emperor was far away. It would take more than a month for the army to march south. Moreover, they could not leave the north. Jiangnan was at a disadvantage because it was too close to the northern army.
Their plan had barely begun when it was discovered by the imperial court. If the court sent troops to suppress them, their mere three thousand-plus men would surely be hacked to pieces.
At the same time, the people inside the city were also clamoring for the city gates to be opened.
"Open the city gates! Open the city gates! We need to get out immediately..."
“Princess, look down there? Most of them are foreigners.”
The open space under the city wall was almost packed with people, and more people kept pouring into this street.
Zhuiying was furious. "It's one thing for the barbarians to collude with them, but now all the common people are blindly following suit. What exactly are they trying to do?"
Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.
People from other tribes were killed without consequence.
He really didn't want to kill the people of Great Zhou.
"Open the city gates!"
Dressed in a soldier's uniform, Zhuiying shouted, "A group of fierce-looking people have gathered on the other side of the city gate. We're not letting you out for your own safety. Go back quickly and wait until they leave before opening the city gate."
"We're in a hurry to get out of the city and catch the boat, otherwise we'll miss it."
"If the city gates are opened, you will all lose your lives. Is catching this ship more important, or are your lives more important?"
People on some continents, upon hearing that there was danger outside and that the city gates could not be opened, turned around and ran away in fear.
A large number of foreigners were still blocking the gate, and a small number of them wanted to break through the barricades blocking the city gate and open it themselves.
Zhu Feng led thirty men, who stood in three rows guarding the city gate. Their aura was cold and their bodies exuded a murderous aura.
They were all guards and secret agents of the Xiao family, veterans of battles, people who had survived the bloodshed of war.
Holding a knife in one hand and a crossbow in the other, they aimed at the barbarians, and as they approached, a volley of arrows struck their feet.
Zhu Feng said, "Anyone who crosses this line will be killed without mercy!"
One of them raised his arm and shouted, "They have fewer people, we have more. Don't be afraid, let's rush over and open the gate to welcome our army into the city."
On the city wall, an arrow flew down and pierced his neck.
Then, a volley of arrows was fired, hitting the shoulders of the barbarians in the front row and successfully halting their advance.
"The traitor has colluded with the barbarians to rebel. All citizens of the Great Zhou, listen to my command and follow me to capture the traitor. One tael of silver will be awarded for each barbarian killed."
The soldiers guarding the city wall were ecstatic when they heard about the one or two taels of silver; they wished they could come down from the city walls and fight.
A wealthy foreign merchant said, "Whoever opens the city gate, I'll give him a hundred taels!"
Lu Zheng arrived with a dozen or so constables. As he pushed through the crowd, he slashed the foreign merchant's neck with his knife. "Pfft!"
He told the people, “Don’t listen to them. If the people of the Great Zhou open this door, they are traitors and sinners in history!”
The barbarians occupied our land and houses, and drove us into the streets to beg for food. It was the princess who saved us. Together we killed them and reclaimed our land and houses.”
The barbarians offered 100 taels of silver to open the city gates, but the people remained unmoved.
They only realized belatedly what the barbarians had done on their own land.
Their thinking is still rooted in the past: foreigners come to do business, and it's a win-win situation.
But nowadays, the barbarians not only want to do business, but also want to occupy their land. They will fight tooth and nail to drive them out.
"kill!"
...
At this time, outside the city wall.
Qi Dasheng was undecided and kept looking at Pu Heshou, who was dressed in armor and had turned into a deputy general beside him. "Sir, judging from the sounds inside, it sounds like a fight has broken out. What should we do now?"
"Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back! Order the army to attack the city!" the lieutenant shouted.
The city gates of Panyu County have been eroded and rotten by rainwater over the years. If they are not replaced or reinforced, they are as fragile as tofu and can be broken open by manpower without battering rams.
Qi Dasheng waved his hand, and the soldiers at the back of the column pushed up a siege engine.
This siege cone was not a large siege vehicle specifically used by the army for attacking cities. It was simply made by fixing a thick wooden stick, one end of which was shaped into a cone, onto a two-wheeled cart.
"Attack the city!"
Wang Cheng shouted, "Release the arrows!"
The soldiers on the city wall had been waiting with their bows drawn for a long time. Upon hearing the order, they released their bows, but some of them were too shaky to draw their bows fully.
Some arrows were released and fell limply to the city wall; others didn't even reach the rebels before embedding themselves diagonally in the ground; a few were better, grazing the heads or sides of the rebels.
They had only practiced a few times before, and when they saw the dense crowd below, their hands trembled with fear, making it even harder for them to shoot accurately.
The rebels below, on high alert, prepared to deflect the arrows with their weapons as they were being shot. However, the arrows never reached them, and the group burst into laughter, "Hahaha!!!"
"They're just a bunch of good-for-nothings. Charge forward, charge, kill! Take the head of one of the men on the city wall, and you'll get a first-class merit, ten taels of silver, and a promotion."
Wang Cheng panicked. He was just a captain, good at getting by on ordinary days, but not so good on a real battlefield. He looked to Yun Zhaoxue for help, "Princess, what do we do now?"
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