Chapter 97 Natural and Man-Made Disasters
Feng Jimin sat on a chair, two green umbrellas blocking the harsh sunlight in front of him. He lowered his eyes to look at Jiang Qiaosheng, then shifted his gaze to Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu.
"Miss Wen, nice to meet you again." He politely nodded to Wen Yao and looked at Zhao Xuanxu: "Your Highness Prince Yan, I have long heard of your great name."
Zhao Xuanxu had never seen Feng Jimin, and didn't know who this strange-looking man was, but he had heard Jiang Qiaosheng shout many times that he wanted to kill Feng Jimin and blow him up.
Zhao Xuanxu glanced at them lightly with his phoenix eyes, and after seeing the reactions of Wen Yao and Jiang Qiaosheng, he immediately guessed Feng Jimin's identity.
He was somewhat indifferent and said nothing.
"Yaoyao." The lighthearted look on Jiang Qiaosheng's face vanished, and a gloomy expression filled her eyes. She stared at the white-haired mouse, her face brimming with murderous intent. She slowly said to Wen Yao, "Go and do your thing."
After saying that, he raised his palm and struck Feng Jimin in the face, not caring whether it would attract the patrol troops.
Wen Yao didn't stop her.
Jiang Qiaosheng had taken the antidote for "Ghost Light Line" not long ago, and now he wouldn't have a relapse. Feng Jimin didn't have many people around him, and he had to protect a disabled master. Jiang Qiaosheng and Xue Ke were watching over him, so if a fight really happened, it would be at least a 50-50 fight, and nothing would happen.
Wen Yao patted Xue Ke on the shoulder and warned him, "Keep a close eye on him. If anything goes wrong, let me handle it."
Xue Ke nodded, Wen Yao turned around and pulled Zhao Xuanxu, who was standing aside and looked like he was eager to watch the fun, away.
In Jiang Qiaosheng's absence, Zhao Xuanxu was visibly in high spirits. He leaned close to Wen Yao's ear and asked, "Who was the one who poisoned Jiang Qiaosheng just now?"
"Red Pavilion Elder, the banker behind the Red Pavilion." Wen Yao said succinctly: "He seems to be a psychopath, his brain is not normal."
She had been to Yangzhou City several times and had a rough impression of its layout. As she spoke, she continued walking, pulling Zhao Xuanxu along through alleys and taking shortcuts. In just a few minutes, they arrived at the prefectural residence.
Wen Yao hid in the dark, looking at the door in front of him which was not closed, and the guards standing at the door who were dressed exactly like the Gaoyou Lake soldiers.
She tilted her head slightly and asked Zhao Xuanxu, "Where is the Yangzhou prefect now?"
Zhao Xuanxu bent down, his chin resting on the top of her head. He narrowed his eyes slightly, enjoying the precious time they had together. He sounded quite happy, "He was beheaded and displayed to the public."
"That's tragic." Wen Yao looked at the heavily guarded mansion in front of him, and really wanted to see who was the leader of the rebels and who could control the rebels.
She took a detour and climbed in from the courtyard behind the prefectural compound. Inside the walls was a normal residence, though there were rebel patrols, with guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, strictly guarding the area. Anyone else would have been discovered the moment they entered.
But today, it happened that it was Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu who came. They strolled through the courtyard and soon came upon a house. Wen Yao heard voices from afar, so he pulled Zhao Xuanxu along and squatted on the roof, peeling back the tiles. As the tiles were removed, the voices from within emanated clearly.
"...I told you Prince Yan was a lunatic. How could I possibly know what he was thinking?"
The speaker spoke with great force and energy.
Zhao Xuanxu was suddenly called, but he didn't react. His five fingers gently clasped the back of Wen Yao's hand and rubbed it carefully.
"So what should we do now? Everyone says the Prince of Yan will arrive in Taizhou first, and our men are already in Taizhou, ready to deal with him. There are only a few thousand people left in Yangzhou City. How can we withstand the powerful troops and generals under the Prince of Yan's command?" There were two voices breathing. As soon as the first person finished speaking, the other person spoke immediately.
The man paced back and forth repeatedly. Even though he was trying to keep his voice down, his frantic anxiety was palpable. "Our only option now is to retreat to Taizhou quickly. The carriages and horses are already waiting at the south city gate. We can't delay any longer, we must leave immediately!"
Hearing this, another man sneered and said, "Why are you so anxious? The court wanted Prince Yan to go to Yangzhou via Taizhou, but he changed his mind without following the arrangements of the gentlemen. Once the news reaches Bianliang City, Prince Yan will be convicted. There are nearly 10,000 people in Taizhou now, led by Left General Gao Shaoshan to attack the city. Taizhou has abundant troops and food, and the city is defending the city with heavy walls. It cannot be taken in a short time. Even if the court sends food, it will not allow them to continue to attack like this! Once their food is exhausted, the Taizhou garrison can come out in full force to wipe out the court troops. So we must not retreat now. We must hold Prince Yan back and not let him go back to support."
After a passionate outburst, the man's voice softened again: "Brother, I know you're anxious, but please wait a little longer! The Qiu family received news a few days ago that they can send reinforcements via Gaoyou Lake tonight!"
Hmm? What Qiu family? Which Qiu family? The Qiu family in Suzhou?
Those two words hit Wen Yao's heart like two heavy hammers. She shuddered and turned to look at Zhao Xuanxu.
"His Highness is doing well. Wait until he has his plans in place. If things don't work out, there's no need for us to get entangled with Prince Yan! We can just head west to Suzhou." The man made the final decision: "The Qiu family's ships will be arriving soon. They'll surround us from both sides. Even Prince Yan will suffer!"
At this point, the two people below fell silent. A rustling noise came from the room, as if they had taken out a stack of paper and were burning it.
Wen Yao was quite shocked and overwhelmed by the huge amount of information hidden in the conversation between the two. He stared at Zhao Xuanxu for a long time before slowly blinking.
Zhao Xuanxu got quite close, and as soon as Wen Yao turned her head, the tip of his tall nose rubbed against the tip of Wen Yao's nose.
Wen Yao sorted out the current situation on the field in his mind.
Two of these individuals were members of the rebel army, and also members of the King of Qin's army. The King of Qin had connections with the Qiu family, who had been involved in the rebellion in the eastern Huainan region. Does this mean the King of Qin was secretly inciting the rebellion and then leading his troops out of the capital to suppress it?
Is this a rebellion to force the emperor to abdicate, or is it to force the emperor to rebel?
Northern Liao is ready to strike, the Western Dynasty has yet to form an alliance, and with natural disasters and man-made disasters, the King of Qin really knows how to choose the right time to rebel.
Wen Yao lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on Zhao Xuanxu's crimson lips, and said in a low voice, "It seems your brother, the King of Qin, is planning a rebellion."
Zhao Xuanxu's eye sockets were deep, his features striking and alluring. He seemed to be completely bewildered, his gaze fixed intently on Wen Yao. In such a crucial moment, he didn't even know if he'd heard what Wen Yao said. He casually responded, lowering his head to lean forward and kissing Wen Yao.
Wen Yao half-knelt steadily on the roof and raised his hand to push him back: "Get rid of these two people first."
Zhao Xuanxu felt extremely regretful. He pursed his lips deliberately and slowly let go of his hand under Wen Yao's gaze.
Wen Yao landed silently, and taking advantage of the gap between shifts in the courtyard, he knocked out the guard outside with a knife. Zhao Xuanxu came down, stretched out his hand and pushed the door open and walked into the room.
The two unlucky guys were busy standing in front of the brazier. When they looked up, their eyes widened unexpectedly. Before they could even scream, Zhao Xuanxu grabbed their necks with one hand each and twisted them. Their necks were broken at a strange angle and slid down like dead fish.
Wen Yao pulled the curtain off the table, picked up the two men, and tied them to the beams by their arms. Then, like two gray shadows, he and Zhao Xuanxu passed by the patrolmen below and climbed into the back alley outside the courtyard.
Zhao Xuanxu landed steadily on the ground, put his hands on Wen Yao's waist, touched her face and leaned over to kiss her.
The King of Yan obviously didn't care whether the King of Qin and the Qiu family of Suzhou rebelled against his father. He was very foolish and unreasonable.
Wen Yao let him catch her and kissed her twice, then she reached out and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him away. "The King of Qin has connections with the Qiu family. The Qiu family is in Suzhou, they have large ships, and they have money. The swords and bows these people carry were all made in a unified way, which required a lot of silver. Perhaps this silver was also provided to the King of Qin by the Qiu family."
It was no wonder that the King of Qin had connections with Miss Qiu. The Qiu family, a mere merchant family, participated in the fight for the throne and even in the rebellion. Wen Yao was amazed at their audacity.
"I just don't know how Feng Jimin got involved and what role he plays in this."
There was still no clue about Xin Man's affairs, and now these things popped up one after another. Wen Yao frowned and looked up at the sky. "And Jiang Qiaosheng, it's been so long, why hasn't Xue Ke brought her back yet?"
Zhao Xuanxu kissed his girlfriend, feeling satisfied and relaxed. He twisted Wen Yao's hair in his hands and rubbed it, absent-minded and nonchalant: "At least there was no signal flare... If you're worried, go look for it."
"Forget it, let's get out of the city first." Wen Yao hesitated for a moment and said, "Since there are pursuers coming from behind, let's go back first."
Although he had only met Feng Jimin twice, Wen Yao had an inexplicable feeling that he wouldn't kill Jiang Qiaosheng. Only if Jiang Qiaosheng lived could his blood be of use. If Jiang Qiaosheng were dead, Wen Yao would never let him live. The Red Pavilion was complex and difficult to clean up, and because of this, Feng Jimin would always reveal his true intentions, and it was impossible for him to leave no trace.
The two of them took another detour out of the city. Wen Yao came across a shop selling sesame cakes on the street and bought some cakes for the old beggar. Then they left the ghost market and returned to the nearly dry riverbank.
Less than half a day after entering the city, the army had bypassed the numerous traps and ambushes according to their previous intelligence and settled down in the dense forest not far from Yangzhou City.
Several generals were discussing the siege in the tent. When Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu came in one after another, they immediately stood up and surrounded them.
"Your Highness, Commander Wen."
Wen Yao briefly recounted what he had just heard, concealing the connection between King Qin and the Qiu family, and only said that the mob had large ships and reinforcements were behind and would arrive in Yangzhou City soon.
"How could this be so? Where on earth did they get their ship and news from?" Several generals were all shocked.
But after all, they were all experienced soldiers. After a brief shock, they immediately calmed down and thought about countermeasures.
"I wonder what kind of troops are coming, and how many there are," a general pondered. "They might be trying to surround us from behind, or they might be trying to trap us here and deplete our supplies."
He said this, but his expression did not show any nervousness at all.
They had all fought alongside Zhao Xuanxu on the Sichuan battlefield, a battle that had seen countless deaths. They were brave warriors who braved the enemy and drank blood, and would not fear even if they knew they were being pursued.
"Your Highness, why don't we attack the city immediately?" someone suggested. "First, knock down those inside, wait for them to come to us, then lure the enemy deeper and wipe them out together!"
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow.
So reckless?
"There are 10,000 people in Yangzhou City." Zhao Xuanxu walked to the side from behind the curtain, picked up the teapot, poured tea, and handed it to Wen Yao after removing the foam. "How long will the siege take?"
The generals exchanged glances, clasped their hands, and said, "They are merely refugees. They are nothing to be feared even with swords. The city gates are quite tall, and they can be taken in two hours at most."
"Too slow." Zhao Xuanxu raised his long, slanted eyes, glanced at the sun outside, and said, "In an hour, we'll see the rebels' leaders."
The generals did not dare to raise any objection and nodded in agreement.
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