Chapter 71
According to Song Qingyuan's plan, they deliberately created noises in various places in the capital over the past few days, sometimes exploring the canal docks, and sometimes appearing near the North City Arsenal. Each time, they deliberately left some clues, causing the Second Prince's men to be like frightened birds, running around in a panic.
The Second Prince, Shen Yanhong, had indeed been fooled. He concluded that Shen Yanzhi had run out of tricks and was making a last-ditch effort.
While he was laughing at Shen Yanzhi's stupidity in his heart, he had to strengthen the defense of all warehouses, especially Luanshigang, his largest private salt storage point. He even increased the number of manpower by three times, and surrounded it with three layers of defense inside and outside, like an iron barrel.
He thought he was as strong as a rock, but he didn't know that the more he did so, the more he exposed his weaknesses.
The leader of the secret guards, "Eagle", made a gesture, and the people behind him immediately stopped and disappeared into the darkness.
He crawled behind a huge rock, took out a small monocular telescope, and observed the brightly lit kiln warehouse not far away.
"Boss, there are more guards than expected, more than a hundred of them, and they all look like good fighters from the military." A secret guard beside him said in a low voice.
"As expected." Ying's tone was calm. "The prince has ordered that this place be turned into a sea of fire tonight. Proceed according to the plan."
"yes!"
Several shadows dispersed again, like drops of ink blending into the darkness, silently slithering in different directions. They chose not to storm, but instead, using their familiarity with the terrain and their advanced stealth skills, they circled around to the back of the warehouse.
There are steep mountain walls there, and the defense is the weakest.
Several ropes with iron claws were thrown onto the cliff, and the secret guards climbed up silently like geckos. The entire process did not make a single unnecessary sound.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Stone Hill, another team of secret guards had already dealt with all the sentries. They changed into guard uniforms, held their badges, and swaggered towards a remote warehouse where hay and tung oil were stored.
"Password!" A patrol captain stopped them.
"The wind dries everything out." The leading secret guard answered expressionlessly, his voice hoarse, a deliberate imitation.
"Be careful with the candles," the squad leader muttered, waving his hand impatiently. "Hurry up and come back! We've got orders from above. Not even a fly can fly in tonight!"
"yes."
The secret guards entered the warehouse unimpeded. Half a quarter of an hour later, several rockets soaked in tung oil were fired from the top of the warehouse, with a deadly roar, towards the roof of the main warehouse. The roof was covered with thick tarpaulin and hay to prevent moisture.
"boom!"
The flames shot up almost instantly, and with the help of the evening breeze, the fire spread at an incredible speed. The dry wooden structure crackled in the flames, like a sonata of death.
"The fire is breaking out! Hurry up and put it out!"
Only then did the warehouse guards react. Suddenly, shouts, the sound of gongs and drums, and the clashing of buckets filled the air, and the entire rocky hill fell into complete chaos.
However, it was all too late.
Fire thrives on wind, and wind fuels fire. Even worse, the guards sent to fetch water were horrified to discover that the only nearby well had been blocked with boulders, and the spare water tanks were filled not with water but with low-quality liquor!
Water and wine, only one word difference, but at this moment it is the difference between heaven and hell.
When the first bucket of "water" was poured onto the fire, it not only failed to extinguish the fire, but with a "boom" sound, the fire became even more fierce. Blue flames shot up into the sky, carrying a strong smell of alcohol.
"It's wine! There's wine in the water jar!"
The desperate roar was drowned in the raging flames.
The Second Prince's Mansion.
Shen Yanhong was leisurely sipping the newly-tributed Rain-Predawn Longjing tea. When he heard his subordinates report that Shen Yanzhi's troops had come up empty-handed again at the West City Wharf, the smile on his face became even more smug.
"I've always said that Shen Yanzhi is just a reckless warrior who knows how to fight. He's still a little naive when it comes to these conspiracies and tricks." He put down his teacup, feeling relieved. "Let him run wild for a few more days.
When the price of salt in the capital doubles again and the people complain, I will come forward to "stabilize the price of salt". In front of the emperor, all the credit will be mine. As for him, Shen Yanzhi, a prince who can't even stabilize the people's livelihood in the capital, hehe..."
Just when he was feeling proud and complacent, a butler rushed in, his face as pale as paper, his lips trembling, and his words were incoherent: "Your Highness... Your Highness... It's not good!"
"What are you panicking about! Is the sky falling?" Shen Yanhong scolded unhappily.
"It's worse than... worse than the sky falling..." The housekeeper knelt on the ground with a plop, crying, "East... East Suburb, the warehouse in Luanshigang... there's a fire!"
"What?" Shen Yanhong stood up suddenly, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang", shattering into pieces.
"The fire... the fire is so big, it's impossible to control! The whole... the whole kiln is on fire! All the salt we stored... all... all..."
Before the housekeeper finished speaking, Shen Yanhong's eyes went dark, his body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.
Inside, he had spent most of his father-in-law's family's wealth and mobilized countless connections to hoard 300,000 dan of illegal salt! That was his greatest asset to force Shen Yanzhi to death, control the lifeline of the capital, and launch an attack on the throne!
"Fire...how did the fire start?" He grabbed the butler by the collar, his eyes red, like a beast about to eat people. "Are all the hundreds of guards dead?!"
"Someone…someone set the fire! They blocked the well and replaced the water in the tank with soju…Your Highness, we…we've fallen prey to a scheme!"
"Chen Yanzhi!" Shen Yanhong squeezed out these three words between his teeth, veins popping out on his forehead. He was no fool, and instantly understood everything. The talk of a headless fly, of running around everywhere, was all just a trick! The other party's true target, from the very beginning, was only the rocky hill!
He had been fooled! He had been fooled around by his sixth brother, the one he had always looked down upon!
"puff--"
A mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out of Shen Yanhong's mouth, spilling onto the precious carpet. He felt a piercing pain in his chest, and his vision was filled with stars. The plan he had painstakingly laid was gone in a single night.
Not only did he fail to save Shen Yanzhi, but he also lost all his property.
Not only did I lose the wife, but I also lost my army!
"Prepare the horses! Go to the rocky hill!" He roared, pushed the butler aside, and stumbled out. He wanted to see with his own eyes, he wanted to see how his hard work turned to ashes.
That night, the flames in the eastern suburbs of the capital were as bright as daylight, startling countless people.
The instigator was currently playing chess leisurely in the study of Prince Yan's Mansion.
Shen Yanzhi played the black pieces, and Song Qingyuan played the white pieces. On the chessboard, the black dragon was cut off by the white pieces, and was surrounded by them, seemingly in danger.
"Lin Feng is back." Shen Yanzhi put down a piece, his voice flat, as if he was talking about a trivial matter.
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