History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 171 Sengzhi's Hatred
Swish swish swish——

Several skilled rope-wielding men regarded Zhao Zhi as a formidable enemy and surrounded and intercepted her. With a whistle, a barrage of ropes was hurled at Zhao Zhi!
This situation is critical!
Her personal guards were entangled by the remaining Gaoche people, and shouts rose from all sides: "Chief Secretary, be careful—"

"Save the Chief Clerk—"

Zhao Zhi had no choice but to abandon her bow. In the instant the iron bow was snatched away and flung away, she still spurred her mount to gallop faster. During the process, she grabbed the horse's neck and tilted her head to avoid a noose that came down towards her head.

She landed on each foot once, then flipped back onto the horse's back from the other side. Zhao Zhi's disheveled long hair overlapped with the flowing mane, and the horse's hooves moved even faster, pawing the ground like a phantom.

Ma Tong knew that he had to lead his commander out of this encirclement filled with ropes!
Another whistle blew.

Another wave of ropes sweeping across the sky and enveloping the wind!
"Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" Zhao Zhi's mount was caught in the lasso. With a neigh and a scream, the warhorse's life ended in the battle. Its neck snapped, and it crashed heavily to the ground, its hooves in the air.

Zhao Zhi burst out and leaped up from the splashing mud!
With one elbow, she knocked a rider off his horse. Instead of riding on his horse, she rolled down even faster. Amidst the chaotic shouts, Zhao Zhi landed on the belly of another enemy rider. She kicked hard, instantly tearing the horse's soft belly.

"This guy's crazy!"

The people of Gaoche who witnessed this scene were horrified and felt like vomiting!

Zhao Zhi, covered in blood, ran out clutching the horse's intestines, then grabbed an unfortunate cart driver and dragged him along.

"call--"

Use corpses as shields!

After smashing the third enemy to death, she retrieved her iron bow and stole the enemy's horse, finally breaking free of the ropes. However, the horse was fierce and wouldn't let her ride it. Zhao Zhi shouted angrily, her five fingers like knives piercing through the horse's eye sockets.

Disobey or die!
The archer arrived, his body soaked in blood. "Ride my horse!"

Zhao Zhi responded with "Good," and after mounting her horse, she began to rescue the soldiers around her. Any Gaoche man hit by her iron bow was either killed or seriously injured.

"Find the main tent!" Zhao Zhi, not forgetting her purpose, rode first towards the back of the felt tent. The military order spread rapidly like a heavy stone striking water, and riders of Xianbei soldiers followed in a fan shape, rushing towards the densest part of the felt tent.

The Gaoche people have a good lifestyle, but this becomes a fatal flaw when battle comes! This habit is that they mark their own horses, and even if there are horses nearby, the Gaoche people will never ride them if they do not belong to them.

So even when the battle line reached the felt tent area, many Gaoche people were still running around aimlessly. When they called their horses with whistles, they attracted the swords and arrows of the Xianbei soldiers.

Zhao Zhi clashed head-on with an enemy rider. Just as the two riders were about to collide, she kicked onto the horse's back and leaped away!

Punch!

flutter--

The enemy fell straight off his horse.

Zhao Zhi, with her keen eyesight, had just spotted an elderly woman hiding in the tent. She was covered in blood, and in the old man's eyes, she looked like a ghost as she entered the tent.

"What is your leader's name? Where is the main tent?"

The old man shook his head.

Zhao Zhi swung her bow, and blood and flesh splattered inside the felt tent.

There were always those who were cowardly and afraid of death. They pointed out the direction of the main tent to the vanguard of the Wei army and said the name of their leader, "Yuan Heshu Zhe".

"Yuan Heshu Zhe." Zhao Zhi uttered this name and immediately ordered all the remaining warriors with strength to follow her in pursuit of the fleeing Shu Zhe, while the rest annihilated all the Gaoche rebels. A military officer asked, "What should be done with those who surrendered?"

"Keep the livestock, not the people!"

Zhao Zhi led her trusted men northward in pursuit. Yuan Heshu's hesitation made his escape too late. His trusted men, who were covering him, tried to create confusion and tracks, but Zhao Zhi always managed to overcome the obstacles and keep close behind Yuan Heshu.

They continued until both horses were too exhausted to run any further, and then they began to test their stamina.

Finally, Yuan Heshu collapsed by a small pond. As he watched Zhao Zhi and several Xianbei soldiers approach, he resigned himself to his fate, pleading only, "Let me have a drink of water, let me have one last drink of water."

Zhao Zhi remained indifferent, then drew her bow and pulled back the string.

"Zhao Changshi's arrows never miss!" After this battle, the soldiers of Rouxuan Town all praised Zhao Zhi in this way.

In Wei Yao's previous life, Yuan Heshu was first defeated and fled to Rouran, and then surrendered to Wei again. In this life, he was beheaded, and along with the heads of several other members of the Yuan He clan who had rebelled, they were sent to Luoyang.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Fu, the General Who Conquers the North appointed by the imperial court, led his army out of Luoyang and headed north to suppress the rebellious Gaoche tribe. When this army entered central Bingzhou, Zhao Zhi and Governor Yuan returned to Pingcheng.

The crowds outside the governor's mansion were no longer blocking the way. The case of the Luoyang bandits had been largely solved. Yuan Chuntuo had sent a total of twenty-three warriors, more than half of whom had died, and six were being held in the dungeon. On the night Yuan Zhi returned to the city, another citywide manhunt was launched, and it was almost certain that the remaining warriors were no longer in Pingcheng.

Clerk Gou guessed correctly.

The warriors who escaped Pingcheng dared not linger in Hengzhou any longer; they rushed back to Luoyang to report back.

Zhenbao Temple.

When Sengzhi learned the devastating news that his elder brother's family had disappeared in the outskirts of Pingcheng, it was already late autumn. "Disappeared? My elder brother is the Marquis of Wushi, and my elder sister-in-law is a noblewoman of the Huangfu clan. How many men would they have brought with them to the capital! Even if so many people were to hide, it would be difficult to completely conceal their whereabouts. How could they have vanished as soon as they left Pingcheng?"

Yuan Chun Tuo sympathized with Seng Zhi. Although she was also angry that so many warriors she had sent had almost all died in Pingcheng, she still advised him: "You must not go to Pingcheng. The royal family and meritorious officials in the old capital are mostly crude and uncouth warriors. They are audacious and reckless and do not care about the law at all!"

Monk Zhi silently shed tears.

More leaves fell from above their heads. Sengzhi stretched out her hand, and the leaves landed beside her hand, tumbling in the wind all the way to the base of the wall.

Sengzhi, his voice filled with increasing sorrow, said, “How could I possibly take revenge? I am filled with regret and remorse. In truth, I had a bad feeling long ago. Several times I dreamt of my brother’s family lying in the river, or of them covered in blood. I hoped my premonition would not come true, but alas… they are gone, and no one is there to recite the scriptures for their salvation. Madam, you say I have helped so many people with their salvation, why can’t I help my own brother, sister-in-law, and niece? Is Buddha punishing me?”

Yuan Chun Tuo listened while wiping away tears. Every word the other person spoke was heartbreaking, and it was truly devastating to hear it. "Buddha will not punish you; Buddha will only punish those who have committed heinous crimes! Seng Zhi, I will continue to help you. Here's what I'll do: I'll go find my elder brother and see if he has any ideas."

"Your Madam's elder brother, the Prince of Rencheng?"

Yuan Chun Tuo nodded.

After Yuan Chuntuo left the nunnery, Seng Zhi returned to the Buddhist hall.

She looked down at the scriptures, but her eyes and heart were not filled with the scriptures; there was only hatred that made her want to devour people!

"What a waste of my time! Yuan Chun Tuo, you stupid woman! Do I need you to tell me that my brother's family suffered a calamity? I want the murderer, I want to know who is so bold as to harm a noble family granted titles by the court! And you actually tell me that the murder of my brother's family may be related to a family with the surname Wei who is under the protection of the court?"

"Ha—ha—" Sengzhi was so frustrated that he almost couldn't breathe!

(End of this chapter)