Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 153 Revenge
Pei Yuan killed the two assassin leaders and took their weapons in his hands.

He did not chase the assassins who were frightened away outside the door, but took this opportunity to find a suitable hiding corner.

The swordsmen who were about to enter the door retreated for a distance, and finally moved forward again under the pressure of bows and arrows.

But at this time, the situation has changed.

The Jinyiwei who were suppressed in various rooms finally figured out the location of these people and fought back.

Those who carried crossbows with them began to fight back through the gaps in doors and windows; those who did not have long-range weapons, under the orders of several military officers, threw all sorts of debris from the room to attract the attention of the assassins.

Pei Yuan waited and listened quietly in the darkness for a while.

After the assassins' attacks missed, they were gradually thrown into disarray by the Jinyiwei's independent counterattack.

The armed forces in Pei Yuan's hands have experienced many brutal battles along the way and have become extremely vigilant.

Not to mention the bows and crossbows in the room, Ji Xin's musketeers even carried muskets with them.

Compared with the lively counterattacks elsewhere, the yard where they lived became the quietest.

Because a musket will produce a large amount of smoke when it is fired, firing a musket in a room is simply asking for trouble.

The Jinyiwei of the musket team, each of them loaded with gunpowder and lead, were on high alert.

While listening to the noise outside, be ready to fight back at any time.

In the scattered confrontations and tests, the assassin outside suddenly shouted, "What is that?"

On Pei Yuan's side, the swordsmen were tentatively moving forward, and coupled with the fact that the assassins had to distract themselves to suppress the Jinyiwei elsewhere, the archery had become much less frequent.

Pei Yuan took advantage of his new advantageous position and glanced outside.

Suddenly, a vivid dog-like black shadow appeared beside the misty half-moon in the sky.

Then the dog-like black shadow suddenly opened its mouth and swallowed the moon.

The people below, whether they were the assassins or the Jinyiwei who were secretly observing, all exclaimed in amazement.

The moonlight tonight is already weak, and it is only by the reflection of layers of snow that it can slightly illuminate the surroundings.

The dog-like black shadow swallowed the moon, and the surroundings suddenly became dark.

Just when everyone was in a state of noise and panic, the screams of the assassins suddenly became louder.

Then, the house where they were standing began to shake violently.

A large number of tiles fell from the roof with a crash. The wooden beams fell apart after being shaken for a moment. The assassins who were shooting arrows on the roof to suppress the Jinyiwei also fell down along with the crossbeams, tiles and thatch.

A few people with good skills were able to protect themselves, but the others were caught off guard and fell from the roof, and were hit by the falling beams and tiles. Some were left with bruises and some died.

Then the shaking wall of the room cracked rapidly, and the broken wall smashed inwards mercilessly.

As wailing sounds rang out, the assassins standing on other rooftops also jumped down in panic.

The suppression of the Jinyiwei in various courtyards immediately became ineffective.

The musket team led by Ji Xin had been on high alert. At this moment, they reacted immediately, rushed out of the door, and started firing at any assassin within sight.

Then they dropped the muskets in their hands, took the new muskets filled with ammunition handed to them from behind, and scattered to occupy advantageous terrain.

The first wave of counterattack by the Jinyiwei caused far more panic than any substantial results.

A small number of assassins were shot down directly, and the rest became timid and hurriedly looked for cover.

Then, the bedroom doors were kicked open from the inside, and the Jinyiwei armed with crossbows and embroidered spring swords rushed out quickly.

In particular, Cui Bohou's soldiers, already dressed in heavy armor, surrounded the assassins aggressively.

The leaders of the assassins, seeing that there was no hope, did not dare to stay for long and shouted, "Go! Follow me!"

As he said this, he threw something with a lit fuse into the sky.

The thing exploded in the sky, blasting out bright and beautiful fireworks.

Pei Yuan also saw it from inside the room.

He shouted quickly, "Don't chase too deep, come back and guard the silver."

At this time they were no longer as poor as when they first came. Now the Hundred Households Office still had the commercial taxes of 80,000 taels of silver that they had brought with them.

If the Jinyiwei were led away or attracted too much attention, and something happened to the silver, Pei Yuan would suffer a great loss.

Not to mention going to Huai'an to speculate in nuts, you can happily make hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

I'm afraid Pei Yuan will immediately abandon everyone and run away in the middle of the night.

Pei Yuan shouted loudly through the wall, "Chen Toutie! Cheng Leixiang! The two of you, hurry up and take your guards to guard the silver!"

Pei Yuan hid in the house, and the crossbow arrows could do nothing to him for a while.

Wanting to rush in and engage in hand-to-hand combat is exactly Pei Yuan’s strong point.

It can be said that we are already in an invincible position, and the most important thing now is how to reduce the losses.

These assassins were well prepared, not only with bows and arrows, but also with at least two crossbows.

Judging from the situation, maybe these things have been prepared long ago and are waiting for me in Yangzhou.

It was pitch black outside now, even the moonlight was obscured.

If the Jinyiwei went out to chase and were ambushed by the enemy, a vicious chain reaction would most likely occur.

Before arriving in Huai'an, Pei Yuan had to avoid any loss, whether it was money or soldiers.

Pei Yuan's cowardly attitude of refusing to go out left the assassins helpless for a while.

Then Mei Qinniang said angrily, "Pei Yuan! I will come to find you sooner or later!"

Pei Yuan said nothing and continued to hide in a despicable manner.

Not even a harsh word.

After a while, two huge arrows shot into the room in anger and stuck not far from Pei Yuan.

At this time, a variety of shouts were heard outside, "Retreat! Retreat! Go first!"

It was quiet around Pei Yuan, but he was trying to distinguish those sounds carefully.

Based on Pei Yuan's experience in the market over the years, there are at least four accents.

The people who came to assassinate him this time might have gathered from multiple places, and there was also a high possibility that they had no unified command.

It would be great if we could catch one or two alive.

Pei Yuan thought about it and looked outside quietly.

Chen Toutie had already led a large group of Jinyiwei into the courtyard.

Chen Toutie commanded the soldiers to seize important positions in the courtyard. He threw away his weapon and rushed forward, shouting, "Sir! It's me! It's Chen Toutie!"

Pei Yuan stuck his head out and saw it, then he drew back and shouted, "Why do I need you to come? Didn't I ask you to look after the silver carriage?"

Chen Toutie shouted, "Cheng Leixiang has taken people there."

"He also told me to take care of my Lord first. My Lord, the situation is chaotic right now, and we have to be on guard against those gangsters." Pei Yuan felt a little relieved.

Cheng Leixiang is experienced in the underworld, and he is much more useful than Chen Toutie when faced with such a chaotic raid in the middle of the night.

Moreover, the situation is complicated now, and Pei Yuan really can't say for sure whether there are any assassins hiding among those gangsters.

In this situation, Pei Yuan really didn't know who to trust except his own three general banners.

Pei Yuan ordered in a deep voice, "Then you stay outside and have Tan Tai Fang Tu search everywhere. Don't go too far from the Hundred Households Office. Oh, and find someone to call Si Kong Sui over."

After Chen Toutie gave his orders, he quickly sent someone to find Sikong Sui.

He looked around and yelled again, "Can you tell what's going on? Go light more torches."

Pei Yuan heard this but did not stop him.

The situation is unclear now, and lighting the torches will indeed easily expose our position.

But Pei Yuan himself was the assassin's main target, so there was nothing to hide.

Moreover, Pei Yuan himself was hiding in the dark corner of the house. After lighting the torch, the ones in danger were the Jinyiwei who were guarding everywhere, so Pei Yuan was actually much safer.

Not long after, Sikong Sui came hurriedly, and with him came Cui Bohou, who was wearing a large armor.

When the two men arrived in the yard, they were shocked to see the scattered huge arrows nailed to the wall of the house.

Looking at the doors and windows that were smashed by the giant arrows and the arrows densely stuck in the door and window frames, both of them could guess what kind of violent attack had just taken place here.

The two men stopped in the courtyard and shouted towards the room, "We are late, please forgive us!"

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He threw the knife in his hand away with a clang, and then walked out of the house.

He was stabbed while he was sleeping, and now he walked out naked with half his body covered in blood.

Pei Yuan's gaze was as sharp as a knife, cutting through Sikong Sui and Cui Bohou.

Seeing Pei Yuan being so unscrupulous and appearing in front of so many Jinyiwei without even wearing clothes, the two knew that he was extremely angry.

Even though Sikong Sui was knowledgeable and experienced, he still felt a little embarrassed when he saw Pei Yuan come out in such a tough and rude manner.

Pei Yuan looked at Sikong Sui and asked word by word, "Sikong Sui, who do you think did this tonight?"

Sikong Sui paused for a moment, adjusted to the oppressive atmosphere, and then whispered, "Sir, they must be those who want to stop you from transporting the commercial taxes to the north."

Seeing that Sikong Sui did not evade the question, Pei Yuan said coldly, "I heard at least several accents. Those assassins came from all directions, and they must be going all directions now!"

"I want revenge now! You should understand what I mean, right?"

Sikong Sui's sweat couldn't help but flow out from his back.

Cui Bohou knelt down immediately and said through gritted teeth, "I am at fault for this matter! I am willing to accept the punishment!"

Sikong Sui now knew that there was no room for avoidance.

I could only kneel on the ground and say, "I was negligent and didn't expect this to happen."

The matter is very clear.

No matter where those assassins came from.

There is definitely something wrong with the centurion station where they are stationed.

Otherwise, those assassins would not have been able to sneak in quietly, and not only could they have deployed defenses everywhere, but also used a large number of bows and crossbows to suppress the Jinyiwei stationed inside.

It was at the suggestion of Cui Bohou that Pei Yuan and the team escorting the silver carriage moved into the Hundred Households Residence in Yangzhou City.

The person in charge of finding the Hundred Households Office was Sikong Sui himself!
Whether they did it intentionally or unintentionally, they must be responsible for this matter.

Pei Yuan did not let them stand up. He looked at them coldly and asked, "Tell me the truth, did you two do anything wrong?"

Pei Yuan's attention was mainly on Cui Bohou.

Although this old fellow Sikong Sui had mediocre skills and looked slick, he had been in life-threatening friendship with me several times after all.

Pei Yuan believed that this guy would not deliberately try to trick him.

Moreover, I have repeatedly made it clear to him that once we arrive in Huai'an, I will let him and Tan Tai Fangtu leave this mess.

Things have come to this point, there is no reason for Sikong Sui to do this.

Cui Bohou also knew that he was suspected, and quickly defended himself, "Sir, I have absolutely no intention of harming you. When we, the Jinyiwei, are on duty in Jiangnan, we often find a temporary residence in the garrison when we encounter complicated and troublesome situations."

"First, these places are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Second, the area around them is relatively open, so it is easy for people to come and go. Third, it is also convenient to find someone to help each other at critical moments."

"So I suggest you go to Yangzhou City and find a garrison to stay in. I am making this suggestion to you sincerely."

Pei Yuan heard this and asked Sikong Sui, "Do you think so too?"

Sikong Sui listened and replied, "That's exactly what I think. Most of the soldiers in the various guards have specific places to stay, but we, the Jinyiwei, face complex problems and often need to run around. Sometimes, we also need to escort serious criminals who have committed major crimes. Therefore, it is common for us to stay in the garrisons of those guards."

Pei Yuan's anger subsided a little, and he said in a deep voice, "Since this is a common occurrence in the Jinyiwei, it is understandable that they made a prediction in advance. This matter..."

Pei Yuan's eyes continued to put pressure on him, and he said slowly, "I choose to believe you two."

Sikong Sui and Cui Bohou both breathed a sigh of relief.

Sikong Sui was fine, as he had been subjected to mental violence by Pei Yuan many times.

But Cui Bohou was under great psychological pressure.

Even if Pei Yuan said he trusted him, who knew what he was thinking? He might have offended his immediate superior.

He is already in his thirties and has encountered many setbacks since joining the army, but he is not an unworldly person.

Pei Yuan's gaze shifted to Sikong Sui, "You speak."

Si Kong Sui, who was able to withstand pressure, immediately became nervous, "What do you want to say?"

Pei Yuan stared at Sikong Sui, "Tell me, which garrison is this?"

At this point, Sikong Sui would no longer hide anything and hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the captain, this is nominally the base of Huben Zuowei. Huben Zuowei is a garrison stationed in Nanjing. In order to make it easier to make money and come to Yangzhou for leisure, they set up a 100-household garrison here. In fact, Nanjing has no defense that needs them. The people in charge of Huben Zuowei don't want to stay in the barracks, so they basically come to Yangzhou for leisure."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan remained silent for a long time.

Sikong Sui looked up at Pei Yuan several times, searching his mind for the things about Huben Zuowei, but there was nothing much to say.

Pei Yuan looked at Sikong Sui, then at Cui Bohou.

He suppressed his anger and asked, "What do you think we should do about tonight?"

Sikong Sui could already sense the weight of these words.

His throat moved, and after a long while he gritted his teeth and said, "Leave this matter to me. I will definitely give Captain Pei an explanation."

Pei Yuan stared at Sikong Sui and asked, "How do you want to explain?"

Sikong had already said his idle words, and he did not hesitate any longer, "I will fetch the head of the commander of the left guard of the Tiger Guards for Qian Hu!"

Pei Yuan looked at Sikong Sui and said without hesitation, "Not enough!"

(End of this chapter)