Chapter 71 - 71 Chapter 71. Tacit Understanding
71 Chapter 71. Tacit Understanding
“Jiang Wu, take a team and block the back door. Don’t let anyone go.”
“Come on, hit the door.”
Wang Ziyao looked arrogantly at the tightly shut Yamen. How could a mere Yamen stop their well-trained city guards? He feared that old Qin and the others would escape from the back door, so he sent a group to block the door in the backyard.
After receiving Wang Ziyao’s order, the soldiers all got into action. Some were ready to roll the wood, some ran to block the back door, and some raised their knives and shouted, “Kill! Kill! Kill!” to scare the people in the government office. It was very earth-shaking, so the people were frightened that they ran home and closed the doors for fear of being killed by mistake.
Prince Yao was pleased with himself. The guards who had broken through the door could not stop his Army. As long as they killed the man and dismembered his body, he and his brother-in-law would have the final say.
They could be called traitors, bandits, or enemies. After all, the dead could not testify.
“The official in the government office is the Grand Secretary of the cabinet, the Emperor’s teacher, Elder Qin. I’ll let you off for not knowing if you all retreat now. If you insist on attacking the government office and disturbing the Emperor’s teacher, I’ll sentence you all to be beheaded. If anything happens to the Emperor’s teacher, your entire family will be exterminated if the Emperor blames you.”
Li Wu jumped onto the roof at old Qin’s order and shouted at the soldiers below. The soldiers were only following orders. When Wang Ziyao sent his troops, he said traitors had attacked the government office and held Sir Guo hostage. They were a little confused when he suddenly heard Li Wu’s words.
Was he a traitor or the Emperor’s teacher? If the traitors were caught, they would be rewarded for their contributions, but if the Emperor’s teacher and the others were caught, they would be guilty of a great crime.
“Don’t believe him, everyone. Why would the Emperor’s teacher come to a small city like Jin? He’s the traitor! Quickly rush into the magistrate’s office and rescue Lord Guo. Capture the traitor and save Lord Guo, and you’ll be heavily rewarded. Anyone who dares to retreat will be dealt with by military law.”
Seeing that Li Wu’s words had shaken the soldiers’ morale, Wang Ziyao quickly shouted and swung the trident in his hand to cut down a soldier trying to retreat.
Killing one to warn the others, no one dared to retreat.
“Use the rolling wood to hit the door.”
Wang Ziyao ordered the soldiers gloomily. He was afraid that old Qin would kill the Guo family after all.
“Ka ka ka …”
Over a dozen soldiers carried the heavy rolling wood and ran to the mansion’s gate. Just as the rolling wood was about to hit the gate, Su Qing was about to light a Molotov cocktail and throw it out when they heard the sound of something breaking through the air. Two arrows were shot down from the sky with a sharp wind.
Wang Ziyao reacted quickly. He turned around and hid under the stirrups, but only his head was hidden, and his legs were exposed. With a whoosh, an arrow trembled and pierced his thigh. He dodged the arrow shot at his head but not his leg. The piercing pain made him tremble all over. He immediately shouted to the soldiers,
“Shoot him down!”
However, he fell off his horse before he could finish his order. His body twitched, and he spat out black blood. His face turned blue, and his eyes popped out of his eye sockets in pain.
Wang Ziyao’s death threw the soldiers into chaos. The poisoned arrows had frightened the soldiers. The soldiers who had hit the door still carried the rolling wood, at a loss. Their commander was dead. Would they still slam the door?
The infantrymen at the back quickly raised their shields to form a wall. The Deputy General hid behind the shield and ordered,
“Quick, find the Archer and shoot him down.”
Hearing his shout, Su Qing found a target, lit a Molotov cocktail, and threw it toward the scream. The soldier holding the shield was caught in the flames and instinctively threw the shield away to put out the fire on his body. The Molotov cocktail fell behind the shield and shattered. The fire ignited, and gasoline splashed everywhere.
Ji Shuisheng seized the opportunity and shot an arrow at the Deputy General’s heart.
The Deputy general looked at the arrow in his chest in disbelief. He widened his eyes in fear. Blood dripped from his nose. He fell backward and died the same way as Wang Ziyao.
Su Qing and Ji Shuisheng cooperated well and caught the other party off guard.
The two conscripts had been shot to death, and the city protection Army had no leader.
Su Qing lit another Molotov cocktail and threw it at the rolling wood. The bottle shattered on the wood, and the fire ignited the wood like a fire dragon. The soldiers around him were instantly on fire, throwing the wood away and running for their lives. Some were jumping, some were slapping the fire, some were rolling, and some were screaming. It was a mess.
The city protection Army had been so aggressive that they had thrown away their helmets and armors just a moment ago. Those soldiers had no one to command them anyway. Who would they work for now that their commander was dead?
The soldiers didn’t dare to stay in front of the Yamen. They only hated that their parents didn’t give them a leg, so they ran faster than rabbits.
Su Qing glanced in Ji Shuisheng’s direction. Not bad; what an accurate shot.
Ji Shuisheng kept his bow and looked at Su Qing. What did she throw? After burning those people to the point where they were wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves, he looked at Su Qing and gave her a thumbs-up. Su Qing’s lips curled up gradually, but she immediately returned to her cold and indifferent expression.
Li Wu was full of admiration for Su Qing and Ji Shuisheng. They were still preparing, but Ji Shuisheng had already taken the initiative to strike first. His archery skills were outstanding, and he shot both arrows simultaneously without missing a target. Speed was the most crucial thing in war, and his reaction was too fast.
The best Archer in the current dynasty was Wan Yulin of the Wan family Army. He was called the best because he could shoot both arrows with 100% accuracy. This young man could catch up to the General’s archery skills at a young age, and he would surpass them in time.
Everyone thought that there would be a fierce battle, but in the end, before they could even make a move, Su Qing and Ji Shuisheng had already repelled the city protection Army. Most importantly, there were few casualties, so it would be easy to report to the higher-ups.
Old Qin sat firmly in the main hall. After all, he was an important figure who had experienced great storms and was unafraid. Seeing that the old man had won and personally welcomed Su Qing and Ji Shuisheng, those bailiffs feared Su Qing. In front of her, they were like mice that had seen a cat, not daring even to breathe.
In his heart, he was secretly glad that he had made the right bet. If he were to become enemies with Su Qing and the others, wouldn’t he be like the city guards outside who didn’t even know how they died?
The battle in the backyard ended even faster. The Deputy General led a team of people to block the back door. The back alley could only accommodate two people walking side by side. Qiu Yongkang and Li Daniu shot the two people walking in front. Seeing that they were poisoned to death, the Deputy general was so scared that he turned around and ran away. Once he ran away, who would work for him? They all ran away.
The city guards were arrogant and despotic. They threw away their helmets and armor and fled like rats, not even taking the rolling wood and scaling ladder.
Could such an Army protect the people? They ran faster than rabbits when they encountered danger.
After defeating the city guards, Su Qing dismissed the bailiffs and constables.
“All of you, back off.”
Su Qing’s tone was unquestionable when she gave the order. They left quickly when they heard her order the bailiffs to go respectfully. They feared that the female devil would be angry if they were slow and would not give them the antidote.
“Lady Su, thank you for helping me resolve the crisis.”
Old master Qin waited for the Yamen runners to leave before he smiled and told Su Qing she must have something to say to him.