Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 115 Killing Demons
Liyang, parade ground.

"rush!!"

Dugu Jie gave the order, the war drums sounded, the county soldiers raised the ladders in their hands, and under the protection of the shield bearers, they ran wildly forward. When they reached a high wall, the county soldiers began to set up the ladders, and the shield bearers naturally raised their shields and began to climb.

On the edge of the fence in the distance, there were several soldiers' heads hanging.

Each of the six teams of county soldiers in Liyang now has different training subjects, and they are training separately in different places.

Dugu Jie walked back and forth between the teams, urging them to practice.

The parade ground was filled with deafening shouts and cries of killing, but because it was far away from residential areas, there was no disturbance to the residents.

Compared with their initial state, the county soldiers have indeed undergone earth-shaking changes. They are no longer as idle as before, and they charge forward with ladders time and time again, and they really look impressive and decent.

Even standing here, they stood straight, looking excited and thrilled, not as half-dead as before.

When Liu Taozi appeared at the gate of the parade ground riding on a green lion and leading everyone, Dugu Jie excitedly went to greet them.

Dugu Jie walked quickly to Liu Taozi, bowed and greeted him, "Mr. Liu!"

Liu Taozi nodded, and then looked at the county soldiers who were training in front.

At this moment, they could finally be called soldiers. They all wore new military uniforms and were fully armed. Those above the rank of squad leader were all wearing light armor, so officers and soldiers could be distinguished at a glance.

Dugu Jie stood beside Taozi with his hands on his hips. He turned around, looked at everyone, and proudly prepared to show his results to Taozi.

"gather!!"

He gave the order, and immediately the soldiers raised the flags and beat the war drums, with the sounds being short and loud.

When the war drums sounded, everyone who was training hurriedly stopped and began to look for the location of the general flag and the war drum. After finding the target, the captain quickly reorganized his soldiers and began to run towards this side.

The speed of gathering was not very fast. The captain was shouting and cursing loudly, and the soldiers were running unsteadily. Occasionally, they bumped into the people in front of them and were whipped by the captain. The voices of the captains were mixed with each other, and it was extremely chaotic. After a moment of noise, the six teams finally lined up in front of Liu Taozi and others. It couldn't be said to be very neat, but it could be seen that it was a formation.

Dugu Jie's face looked very ugly at this moment, and he no longer had the pride he had just now.

He glanced at Liu Taozi, his face somewhat embarrassed, "It wasn't like this before. We gathered quickly before, but now we have changed positions and suddenly gave the order."

"Mr. Dugu, there is no need to say more."

"They might kill people?"

"Yes, I found the prisoners who were previously involved in the rebellion and ordered them to execute them. They have already seen blood."

Liu Taozi nodded.

"To be able to train them to this level within ten days, Lord Dugu is truly a talented general."

Hearing Liu Taozi's words, Dugu Jie felt mixed emotions. He hadn't heard such praise for many years since leaving the army, and he had taken a lot of blame.

Liu Taozi rode forward and looked at the army in front of him.

"I am the county magistrate Liu Taozi!!"

"It was me who asked Lord Dugu to train you!!!"

Liu Taozi's voice was so loud that Dugu Jie couldn't help but look at him a few more times. It would be a pity if he wasn't used as a messenger with such a loud voice.

The county soldiers looked at the tall and strong man on the warhorse, and at this moment they looked at each other with excitement in their eyes.

Liu Taozi looked at everyone and said, "Train for a thousand days, use the troops for a moment!!"

"Everyone has been training for ten days, today is the time to see the results!!"

"Today I will personally lead the army to suppress the rebellion!! If we succeed, it will prove that the county soldiers are still useful!! From now on, two meals a day, winter clothes and weapons will be distributed as they were in the past ten days!!"

"If things don't work out, then we won't practice anymore, just like the past stories!!"

The county soldiers were immediately in an uproar. They exchanged glances and whispered to each other. Dugu Jie also frowned. When Liu Taozi asked him to quell the rebellion, he knew it must be for some big event. Now he said he wanted to quell the rebellion, but what kind of rebellion was he going to quell?

Liu Taozi looked at Dugu Jie who was standing beside him. He took out Lou Rui's handwriting.

"Here is the letter from the governor, ordering me to take charge of all the political and military affairs in Liyang!!"

"Where is the county lieutenant Dugu Jie?!"

"The general is here!!"

"I order you to assist me in commanding the army and go to Chongguang Temple immediately! The thieves and monks in Chongguang Temple have secretly forged armor, made bows and crossbows, set up flags, bought drums and gold, and deceived the ignorant people by saying: The dead are wearing black clothes!!"

"The evidence is irrefutable! There is no doubt that they are plotting a rebellion! Send troops to defeat them immediately!!"

If the person standing in front of him was Zhao Kai, he would definitely ask questions, but this person was Dugu Jie. After hearing the military order, he instinctively did not refute or question. He just saluted coldly, "I obey your order!!"

He looked at the people behind him, "Form a military formation! Move out one by one!"

The county soldiers had no idea what was going on. They quickly formed up according to the training they had done in the past few days. Dugu Jie began to loudly give various orders. Teams of soldiers went out from the gate of the parade ground. Dugu Jie, who was riding on a horse, was directing them forward.

Yao Xiong was very excited. He gripped the hilt of the knife tightly. "Brother! Please be the vanguard!"

"You will follow me later!"

"only!!"

Tian Zili looked confused. He quickly said, "Brother, did the governor really ask you to quell the rebellion?"

Liu Taozi glanced at him, he said nothing, but Tian Zili knew everything. He was not afraid, he suddenly laughed, and drew out his knife fiercely, "Who cares about that! Today I will follow my brother and kill these evil monks!!!"

Marching is indeed not an easy task. After leaving the parade ground, the formation of these county soldiers became chaotic again. Liu Taozi was driving in the middle of the team, while Dugu Jie needed to run back and forth to make sure the people in front did not run too fast and that the people behind could keep up.

Dugu Jie seemed to have returned to the time when he first started training the army. He became extremely irritable and yelled loudly. The county soldiers marched towards Chongguang Temple in a disorderly manner.

Along the way, the people in the city were all frightened and hid in their houses, not daring to go out.

The entire main road became very empty. The county soldiers passed through the south city and finally arrived in front of Chongguang Temple.

Chongguang Temple is backed by the city wall and has tall walls on three sides. At this moment, Chongguang Temple is still as quiet and deserted as before.

"Dugu Jie! Send people to surround the entire Chongguang Temple. If anyone lets anyone escape, they will be punished by military law!!"

"only!!"

"Li Sheng, take Team A and Team B to the left!"

"Zhao Sanlang! Take Team C and Team D to the right side!!"

"Don't let anyone escape!!"

Dugu Jie issued an order, leaving the county soldiers from the Wu and Ji teams at the front.

The noise outside finally alerted the Chongguang Temple, and someone climbed up the wall. "Mr. Liu! What do you want to do?!"

Liu Taozi was unmoved. He slowly got off the horse. Yao Xiong immediately ran over with armor and put the armor on Liu Taozi personally. The armor was really good and looked very thick and strong. Dugu Jie could see that this was the armor that only the knights in the prefect's family had.

Liu Taozi put on heavy armor and then took out his Huating sword. He raised the sword and slowly aimed it at the Chongguang Temple in front of him.

"attack!!!"

The heavy sound of war drums sounded and the flags were raised. At this moment, the county soldiers carried ladders and rushed towards the courtyard wall in front of them.

When the Hu monk saw the scene, he screamed in fear.

Soon, a large number of monks appeared on the courtyard wall. They stood on the wall, at a loss, and just shouted.

These monks were trained to bully the common people, not to fight against government soldiers, and they had never had any experience in defending a city. They never thought that anyone would come to stage a siege for them.

The ladders were leaning against the courtyard wall, and even higher than the wall. The county soldiers held on to the ladders tightly, but the courtyard wall was different from the one they used for training. Perhaps they did not control their center of gravity well, and the ladders suddenly fell to the side. The county soldier tried hard to hold it up, but failed, and the ladders next to it were also knocked over. The two sides had not even fought, and the county soldiers had already suffered casualties.

Dugu Jie’s face was dark, and he was roaring hysterically at this moment, “Set up! How did I teach you?!”

The swordsman and shieldman began to climb with a large shield in hand.

A swordsman with a shield was climbing and suddenly stepped on empty air and fell directly from above.

There were more casualties.
Fortunately, their opponents were not elite.

Several monks were trying hard to push open the ladder, but perhaps because they were pushing in the wrong direction or something else, two of them lost their grip and fell off the courtyard wall with screams. They fell in front of the county soldiers and never moved again.

Another monk was about to pick up something and throw it down, but he pushed his companion down with his elbow.

The two sides haven't even fought yet, but both have suffered casualties.

Finally, some county soldiers climbed up the courtyard wall. Several monks plucked up their courage, raised their wooden sticks and started to smash them. The county soldiers were soon beaten with blood all over their heads and fell off the courtyard wall. The sounds of fighting could be heard from three sides.

Liu Taozi looked at the people around him, Yao Xiong, Tian Zilie and others, all of whom were wearing armor at this moment, and looked particularly extraordinary.

Liu Taozi rushed towards the courtyard wall himself, and the others hurriedly followed.

Liu Taozi was climbing the ladder. His speed was not slow. He was much faster than Yao Xiong and others. If he didn't have the heavy armor on his body, it would be hard to tell how fast he could be.

In just a moment, Liu Taozi stood on the wall. He pushed away the two county soldiers in front of him. The Huating sword flashed with cold light in his hand. With the sound of breaking through the air, two heads suddenly flew up. The headless corpses spurted blood and fell heavily. Liu Taozi pounced into the monks, slashing left and right.

Liu Taozi was more ferocious in foot combat than in cavalry combat, like a tiger rushing into a flock of sheep. Monks fell in front of him one after another. He rushed forward so fiercely that he actually cut a bloody path through the crowd. The monks wailed and kept falling from both sides of Taozi. The morale of the county soldiers was greatly boosted. They roared and rushed forward with Taozi. The three walls of the courtyard were occupied by the county soldiers.

The monks began to retreat.

The Hu monk in the distance was still shouting, "We have the Queen Mother's protection! We have the Queen Mother's protection!!"

"Whoosh!"

No one knew who shot the arrow, but the Hu monk fell down immediately.

For the county soldiers, the Empress Dowager was too far away, but the meat soup they could eat every day was very close.

Liu Taozi and others drove the monks off the courtyard wall and then opened the door. Dugu Jie walked in from the main gate on his war horse. Everyone mounted their horses again and began the chase.

Dugu Jie divided the army into three groups. One group was responsible for guarding the courtyard to prevent anyone from escaping, another group was responsible for chasing and killing, and the last group was responsible for providing support.

The monks had completely lost their fighting spirit at this moment. Liu Taozi rode on the green lion and began to chase and kill them everywhere. The whole Chongguang Temple was filled with shouts and screams, and blood was everywhere. Liu Taozi led more than ten riders and killed their way from the main gate to the main hall. The other teams also attacked in all directions. People were screaming everywhere, some were crying, some were begging for mercy, and some were cursing, but no one was chanting scriptures.

The usually arrogant and evil monk fell to the ground, staggered around, and cried and begged. A ruthless knife hit his body, causing him to scream.

The evil monks hid and fled everywhere, with no thought of resisting at all. Facing the organized county soldiers, running away like this would only mean sending themselves to death and would be completely useless.

Liu Taozi rode on his warhorse and charged back and forth in Chongguang Temple five or six times. The Green Lion was a little tired and seemed to be gasping for breath. Liu Taozi had already turned into a bloody man. Yao Xiong and others were not much better off. They were all "demons" covered in blood.

They fought their way back to the main hall again, and saw corpses everywhere. Chongguang Temple had the most complete drainage ditch, so the place was once again like the South City, with blood flowing like a river.

Liu Taozi frowned and looked at Dugu Jie who was running towards him from a distance. "How is it? Did you find him?"

Dugu Jie said with a straight face, "We haven't found them. There is no resistance in Chongguang Temple anymore. I don't know where the abbot and his cronies are hiding. We can't find them at all."

Liu Taozi narrowed her eyes and said, "Secretly."

Dugu Jie was stunned. He didn't know what he remembered, and he became irritable. "I hate secret passages the most. I'm going to find them right now!!"

Dugujie turned and left.

Liu Taozi looked around vigilantly, he rode his horse forward a little, and came to the Buddha statues in the main hall. Suddenly, Liu Taozi jumped off his horse, he walked forward, and looked at the huge Buddha statue in front of him. He walked around the Buddha statue several times and came to the back of the statue. He vaguely saw cracks. Taozi gently tapped various parts of the Buddha statue with his hands, and suddenly.

"Bang!!"

Liu Taozi punched the Buddha statue in front of him, and a dent appeared on it. Everyone was stunned. Liu Taozi hit it hard and found that there was a secret door behind the Buddha statue, which was knocked open by Taozi.

Behind the secret door, you can see a corridor leading to the underground, with torches hanging on both sides, burning.

"Someone come here!!"

Tian Zili shouted.

Liu Taozi jumped down first, and everyone followed.

A foul smell rushed towards them from the tunnel, and everyone could not help but cover their mouths and noses. The torches on both sides were swaying, and the light inside the tunnel was not so clear. Both sides were reinforced, similar to a mine, but there were some water stains on the ground. Walking here, you can step on something from time to time, some are soft, some are hard. Everyone can't see it, and they are not willing to look. Yao Xiong looked down and muttered, "Human head."

After walking more than a hundred steps, the secret passage suddenly became wider. Liu Taozi originally had to bend over to move forward, but here, he could straighten his body slightly.

On the left, several torches seemed to be extinguished, and it was pitch black with only rustling sounds. Yao Xiong took the removed torch, strode forward, and raised it up suddenly.

Under the light of the torches, there were many pairs of frightened eyes.

There were many wooden stakes driven into the ground, and people were locked on the stakes with iron chains.

They were all women of all ages. They didn't even have a piece of cloth to cover their bodies. There were iron chains around their necks. The chains were very short, so they couldn't even stand up. They lay on the ground like dogs. Beside them were piles of bones. Corpses of various sizes were thrown everywhere at random, and all kinds of dirty things were piled up together, making it impossible to look directly at them.

The women opened their mouths, but only whimpering sounds came out. They had no tongues and could not make any sound.

Some even have no ears, eyes or nose, and are just twitching.

There was no light in their eyes, only unspeakable fear.

Yao Xiong shuddered and felt his scalp tingling. He raised the torch and walked forward. The road was full of locked people, not only women, but also men behind them, all of whom had the same fate. Yao Xiong would break many bones and step on dirty things with every step. After walking for a long time, he didn't dare to go forward. He looked back at Liu Taozi with fear in his eyes. This reckless Hu felt some unspeakable terror for the first time.

Liu Taozi looked at the people in front of him calmly, the veins on his hand holding the sword bulging because he was holding it too tightly.

"Zili, take these people out. Yao Xiong, follow me!!"

Liu Taozi and Yao Xiong continued to chase forward. As they walked forward, they saw many golden treasures, including gold, jewels, and even calligraphy and paintings. These indescribable treasures were piled up casually on both sides, and there were traces of being moved and scattered. These traces made it convenient for Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi and Yao Xiong followed the scattered jewels and gold, speeding up their pace, and chasing faster and faster.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, they arrived at the end of the tunnel. Liu Taozi knocked open the wooden board above him, then jumped out and looked around.

This is a residential house in the south city. The door of the house was open and some things were scattered on the ground. Liu Taozi hurried out, but saw that the traces led all the way to the county government office.

At this moment, Ayan was leading a few old monks, staggering towards the county government office, with their arms bulging.

Ayan looked particularly embarrassed, with anger all over his face.

"We must report this to the Queen Mother. We must report this to the Queen Mother. This demon has gone mad. This demon."

At this moment, several old monks no longer cared about the dignity of a master and followed Ayana, running very fast.

They didn't even dare to look back. The road was quiet and deserted. The people were frightened by the noise of the county soldiers and dared not go out. They locked their doors. Ayan just ran towards the county government office.

"This is definitely not Lou Rui's order! Absolutely not! Lou Rui would never do this!"

A Yan said that again and again, and when he saw the tall county government mansion in the distance, his eyes were filled with excitement and he almost cried.

But behind him, there was the sound of heavy running.

Ayan turned around and saw a violent demon running towards him. The demon threw away his armor while running, and as the armor fell to the ground, his speed became faster and faster.

Ayanna let out a scream, dropped what she was holding, and ran away.

Ran around the corner.

There were more than ten people coming towards us.

Shi Yao, holding a sharp sword, led the county officials and blocked the intersection.

(End of this chapter)