My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 109: Huang's Twin Walls
Jiangling City, the general's residence.

In the spacious and luxurious main hall, bells were playing, harps were being played, and sixteen dancers in gorgeous gauze dance costumes danced with their bare white feet on a carpet made of thick white bear skins, accompanying the melodious and pleasant music.

The great general Huang Jizhong, dressed in thin casual clothes with his chest half open, hugged two pretty maids on his left and right, and sat side by side with Shusun Tong, who also had two maids leaning on his side. They enjoyed the music and dance and drank lazily, living the daily boring life of a great noble.

On the desk in front of the two men were dozens of plates, bowls, and bowls of various sizes, filled with deer, bear, sheep, chicken, dog and other kinds of meat, as well as the Chu nobles' favorite Diaohu rice. Several large plates were piled high with various fruits such as pears, dates, and oranges.

Neither of them had to do anything themselves. If they wanted to enjoy something, they just signaled with their eyes, and the maids serving on both sides would considerately feed it to their mouths.

After drinking for a while, the drunk Shusun Tong became interested. He pushed away the two maids, stood up and walked off the stage, joining the group of dancing girls, twisting his waist and hips and dancing to the music.

As soon as he joined in, the dancers' rhythm and dance moves were disrupted, and he squeezed among the dancers like a mad rat, making the general who was watching applaud and laugh.

After the dance, Shusun Tong, who was in high spirits, started to touch the dancer all over again, making her tremble and run around the room laughing. Then he smiled and swayed and sat back on the soft seat to drink with Huang Jizhong. As a Confucian scholar, he had a flexible bottom line and weak moral values. He also put his head on his waistband and ran around the world, stirring up trouble everywhere. What did Shusun Tong want? He just wanted to squeeze into the upper class and live such a shameless and vulgar life.

Seeing Shusun Tong so happy, Huang Jizhong suddenly sat up straight and clapped his hands lightly. The music and dancing stopped, and the musicians and dancers bowed and retreated quietly.

Then two twin boys about fourteen or fifteen years old, one a little weak and the other quite strong, walked into the hall side by side and respectfully stepped forward to offer wine to Shusun Tong to celebrate his birthday.

"These are the twins of my family! Son Mu is a talented writer, while son E is an outstanding warrior. They will bring honor to our family and make our ancestors famous." Huang Jizhong looked at his twins with pride and satisfaction.

Shusun Tong was an experienced man, so he naturally understood Huang Jizhong's intention. On the one hand, he wanted to show off to him, and on the other hand, he also hoped that he could take better care of him in the future. So he smiled and praised him repeatedly, and drank the wine offered by the two brothers.

When Huang Jizhong saw it, he laughed even more happily.

After the toast, the twins withdrew, not to disturb the two old men from continuing their boring merrymaking.

After drinking less than two cups, Du Jian, the usher of the mansion, came in hurriedly and bowed to Huang Jizhong and reported:

"General, the East Gate Captain Meng Xia has sent a message that the envoy of the Great Chu, the eldest son Xiang Chang, has arrived."

Huang Jizhong and Shusun Tong, who had been waiting for this moment in recent days, looked at each other quickly.

Huang Jizhong stood up suddenly, refreshed, the alcohol on his face disappeared, and he walked quickly to the hall, opened his arms and began to put on his armor with the help of his personal guards. After he was fully dressed, he mounted his horse, took the spear, and galloped out of the palace accompanied by dozens of personal guards.

As for Shusun Tong, this old hand was actually also wearing armor and holding a spear upside down. His old face, which still smelled a bit of alcohol, looked quite ferocious.

Shusun Tong is not like those rigid and dogmatic people in later generations who have no other skills except for their big talk. Although he is not as brave as the brave warriors who can rush into the battle line, he can also stab people with a spear on horseback and be invincible with his mouth when he dismounts. He is not a weak person who is not afraid of the wind.

After leaving the mansion, walking through the streets and alleys, bypassing two markets, the group soon arrived at a huge mansion. They entered through the back door in the northeast corner, passed through many houses and buildings, and came to the wide front yard. There were more than 600 tall and strong infantrymen with twisted muscles, covered in heavy armor, holding spears, halberds, halberds, hammers and other heavy weapons, standing there like wooden stakes driven into the ground, motionless, waiting quietly.

The originally magnificent and elegant mansion suddenly had a large number of ferocious warriors, which was quite out of place and made the painting look very weird.

This group of heavy-armored infantry was the most elite part of the private army of the family of General Huang Jizhong. Many of them were carefully selected from the army by him using his position to fight five or ten enemies. He fed them with plenty of meat every day, and they only obeyed his orders. They were fearless and brave, and their combat effectiveness was top-notch in the Linjiang Kingdom.

This house belonged to a wealthy businessman in the city, who was forcibly requisitioned by Huang Jizhong. In order to avoid leaking the news and being traced later, the businessman and his family disappeared.

Outside the courtyard wall is the central street of Jiangling City. Diplomatic delegations from other countries must pass through here when entering the city, whether they are going to the royal palace or the guesthouse.

The soldiers were already in position, and the foundation of the courtyard wall had been dug to the point of being shaky. They only needed Huang Jizhong's order, and the soldiers would slam into it with their shields, causing it to collapse with a loud bang. Then they would swarm out and slaughter all the envoys from the Great Chu who passed by the street.

This ambush site was selected by Huang Jizhong from five locations after much consideration. It not only facilitates the display of the strongest combat power of his army and ensures the suddenness of the raid, but also the retreat route is extremely covert, allowing one to evacuate the city in the shortest time after success.

The delegation of envoys had not arrived yet, but Huang Jizhong, standing on a pavilion in the courtyard, was already full of confidence, feeling that he had secured victory.

Seeing Shusun Tong holding the spear tightly with both hands, his old face tense and his body stiff, he couldn't help laughing: "Relax, Xiang Chang's envoys only have thirty riders, even the best soldiers and generals will be dead today. You should plan how to write the commendation document and report this good news to the King of Han and the military advisor as soon as possible."

"The commendation document has already been written, and the fast horse riders are also ready. We just need to wait for the general to show his power and eliminate that kid. Once we succeed, we will send it out immediately." Shusun Tong said with high spirits.

The two men were chatting smugly when they heard a mix of heavy footsteps and the sound of messy horse hooves from far away on the street outside the courtyard.

The six hundred soldiers in the courtyard who were standing silently with their eyes closed like statues suddenly opened their eyes and came alive. A murderous aura was released wantonly. It must be said that General Huang Jizhong was really good at commanding the army.

The guard standing on the wall to scout for information just made a "coming" gesture, then immediately looked horrified and cried out: "Oh my god, why are there so many people?"

Hearing his loud shout, Huang Jizhong was furious and wanted to kill him with a sword, fearing that he would alert the envoys who had not yet entered the ambush range. Then he saw the guard was anxious and waved at him. Huang Jizhong looked suspicious, walked over, climbed up the ladder, peeked outside, and the next moment he stood there, motionless like a clay sculpture.

Outside the wall, the steady and powerful rumbling sounds of footsteps and horse hooves became clearer and closer to the ears. It was obvious that they had entered the ambush range, but Huang Jizhong stood on the ladder in a daze and did not give any orders. The six hundred soldiers in the courtyard who were ready for a bloody battle looked at each other in confusion.

Shusun Tong was anxious, not knowing what medicine Huang Jizhong had taken wrongly. He impatiently climbed up another ladder, looked outside, and was stunned.

On the street outside the courtyard, there were thousands of infantry and hundreds of cavalry, with more than 30 unarmored, messy underwear stained with blood, and listless on horseback, closely guarding the center of the Great Chu envoys, and rushing towards the palace quickly. The leader of the thousands of troops was the East Gate Captain Meng Xia, who rode in the center of the queue, with a fierce look on his face, and vigilantly glanced towards the courtyard wall, his eyes unfamiliar and full of warnings.

Xiang Chang was surrounded by the Chu cavalry. His armor was removed and his chest was wrapped in a thick layer of white silk, which was oozing with red blood. His face was pale and he was staggering on his horse.

General Huang Jizhong and Doctor Shusun Tong, who had no idea what had happened, watched the Great Chu envoys, who were heavily guarded by Meng Xia, disappear from their sight. They climbed down the ladder and looked at each other in disbelief. Just as they were about to send someone to get information, another soldier under Meng Xia's command came running over and reported in detail the attack on the Great Chu envoys outside the East City Gate. At the end, he said:
"Captain Meng Xia asked the general, didn't you choose to start the fight inside the city? Why did you change it to outside the city gate? Since you chose to start the fight outside the city gate, he had to protect the safety of the Great Chu envoys due to his duty. I hope the general will forgive me."

Huang Jizhong's face darkened. Although Meng Xia's words were delivered by the sergeant, he still heard a strong sense of dissatisfaction in them.

As a captain guarding the city gate, Meng Xia watched helplessly as the envoys from the Great Chu were attacked and killed in front of the city gate. This dereliction of duty would surely lead to the extermination of his entire clan by King Linjiang to thank the Overlord.

The attack on the envoys was a conspiracy of General Huang Jizhong. So in Meng Xia's view, it seemed that Huang Jizhong wanted to kill his entire family in order to achieve his goal. How could Meng Xia be willing to accept that?

"The Great Chu envoys were attacked outside the city gate? Which idiot did this? There was no space outside the city gate. The Great Chu envoys were riding horses faster than rabbits. How could they be killed? How could they be cleaned up easily? Are there other forces in Jiangling City who want the Great Chu envoys to die? This is more of a hindrance than a help. You are such a bastard!"

Shusun Tong, who was standing next to him, was furious. His plan, which he had been planning for many days, was aborted. He jumped up and down and started cursing.

Listening to Shusun Tong's shouting, Huang Jizhong narrowed his eyes. As an outstanding military commander, he instinctively felt that there were many suspicious points in the attack on the Great Chu envoys. An unstoppable thought came to his mind, and he said in a cold voice:

"What a preemptive move! I really underestimated Xiang Chang."

Shusun Tong was stunned. This old man was obviously not a pushover. He immediately understood what Huang Jizhong meant and asked in surprise, "Are you saying that Xiang Chang knew it was dangerous to enter Jiangling City, so he deliberately set up a scene of attacking himself?"

"Didn't you realize that because of his actions, my Linjiang Kingdom had to send a large number of soldiers to protect him, so his personal safety was guaranteed, which completely made up for the lack of protection. In addition, the King of Linjiang had to meet him at the first opportunity to appease him, so he had the upper hand in lobbying the King of Linjiang. This move was really smart. As a Han envoy, you came here on a diplomatic mission. How much thought did you put in, how many valuable gifts did you give, and how long did you wait before you met the King of Linjiang?"

King Gongwei of Linjiang was only interested in living his own quiet life at home, so the measures he took towards the envoys from Chu and Han who came to lobby him were the same: he delayed and refused to meet them using the excuse of "I am ill".

Listening to Huang Jizhong's gloomy voice slowly narrating, Shusun Tong thought more and more that Xiang Chang's plan was brilliant, and his ruddy old face turned a little pale. He originally thought that he had been unscrupulous enough, but he didn't expect that this kid was even more outrageous than himself and didn't play by the rules at all.

"General, General, where are you?" A shrill and frightened voice suddenly sounded from the street outside the courtyard wall. Huang Jizhong was startled and felt that the voice was very familiar. Then, a man broke open the gate and stumbled in. Huang Jizhong took a look and found that it was Du Jian, the usher of his own mansion.

Du Jian had several horrible wounds on his body, blood was flowing, and his left arm was cut off at the elbow. He looked extremely miserable. Huang Jizhong's heart was pounding, his face changed drastically, and he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

When Du Jian saw Huang Jizhong in the yard, his face was filled with ecstasy. He crawled forward and shouted, "General, please return home immediately..." Immediately, blood gushed out of his seven orifices, his eyes bulged out, and he died of exhaustion.

Huang Jizhong was still unaware of this. Apparently, a major incident had occurred in his mansion. Thinking that he had brought all the elite troops out of the mansion, the mansion was at its most empty, and more than a hundred people in the clan, young and old, were all unprotected. He roared, "Go at full speed and return home as soon as possible."

As he spoke, he jumped on his warhorse, broke open the gate, whipped it, and galloped back to the mansion. The personal guards immediately followed closely.

The six hundred soldiers no longer hid their tracks at this time. They pushed down the courtyard wall and rushed out, following behind. However, they frightened the people who had just gathered on the street to watch the excitement, and they ran away in all directions.

He rushed to the mansion in one breath and saw from afar that the two doors were closed. There was no guard outside the door. Huang Jizhong's heart sank and he became more anxious.

Arriving at the gate and jumping off his horse, Huang Jizhong, who had been through many battles, sniffed and keenly smelled the strong smell of blood wafting from the mansion. From the gaps under the two doors, thick blood flowed out like a stream.

Looking closely at the two doors so close to him, Huang Jizhong felt weak all over. For a moment he didn't even have the strength to push them forward.

It was the personal guard behind him who stepped forward and poked the door with a spear. The door was actually ajar, and the hole was easily opened by the poke.

Inside the mansion, Huang Jizhong's entire family, including all guards and servants, were hacked to death on the spot. Corpses were scattered all over the yard. The remaining guards in the mansion had obviously died in battle, and most of their bodies were incomplete, which was extremely tragic. As for the two Huang family members whom he regarded as treasures, their heads were chopped off and placed neatly in front of the main hall door, like sacrifices.

On the snow-white wall beside the main hall door, a line of large characters was written on a cloth strip dipped in blood: The ones who wiped out the entire family of General Huang Jizhong were the envoys from the Yelang Kingdom!

Huang Jizhong staggered, his knees weakened, and he fell to the ground helplessly. Facing the whole family of people who had died tragically, he raised his hands to the sky and let out a howl like a badly wounded wolf...

Looking at this hellish scene, Shusun Tong felt cold all over and was filled with shock and anger.

It's obvious who did this.

When they and their companions wanted to kill the other person, it turned out that the other person had made all the necessary preparations and instead tricked them severely.

No wonder that guy dared to come on the mission with only thirty cavalrymen. It's not that he didn't bring more people, but he had already entered Jiangling City in advance and designed a conspiracy against their plan.

At this moment, Shusun Tong suddenly recalled the message from military advisor Zhang Liang: You must go all out, you only have one chance!
Shusun Tong felt bitter in his heart: Sir Military Advisor, you still underestimated this kid. He didn't even give me a chance.

"Where is that villain now? I will cut him into pieces!" Huang Jizhong's eyes were bloodshot and he looked like a madman. He roared, mounted his horse again, and led six hundred soldiers to charge towards the palace.

(End of this chapter)