Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 228 Counterinsurgency
Zheng Ming was first stunned, then hurriedly dodged.

"Inspector Zheng!" a soldier shouted and rushed over.

Zheng Ming was pushed away, but the fireball slammed into the soldier squarely.

With a cracking sound, a fire suddenly erupted, engulfing the soldier's entire body in flames. He screamed and began to roll on the ground.

The people around were so frightened that they backed away.

The sparks from the earthenware pot ignited the nearby leaves, and even burned two soldiers along with the flowing black oil.

The scene immediately became even more chaotic.

Zheng Ming slapped out the flames on his arm and stared in astonishment at everything before him.

"Observer, let's hurry, those people are coming."

A burning smell filled the air, and the person on the ground gradually lost his strength, yet wisps of smoke rose from his body. The fire seemed determined to engulf everything.

Upon witnessing this, the soldiers only wanted to flee immediately, because they discovered that this fire was unusual; it burned quickly and was very difficult to extinguish.

If more fireballs were to fly over, they might all perish in the flames.

It hadn't snowed for several days, and the dry leaves caught fire easily. The fear of fire and water that was deep in everyone's hearts was fully aroused at this moment. What's more, they didn't know what kind of people they were facing, or how many reinforcements were attacking the mountain.

The generals tried their best to stabilize the situation, but when they retreated to a higher position, they found that half of the men had still fled.

When Zheng Ming reached a high point, he was surprised to find that there were fires everywhere at the foot of the mountain.

"Observer, judging from this, there are at least several hundred people attacking the mountain, and we don't know where their weapons came from."

When faced with something you know nothing about, the fear is amplified.

Besides, such powerful weaponry is only available to the imperial court; I'm afraid...

Some people considered Wang Yan's identity, suggesting that perhaps the government had indeed mobilized troops. They had been hidden in the mountains, so even if there was any news, they would have no way of knowing.

If they really are troops sent by the imperial court, how could they possibly survive?

"If this continues, the whole mountain will be on fire."

The general had barely finished speaking when suddenly screams were heard from the darkness, followed by someone shouting, "An ambush! An ambush!"

Zheng Ming felt a chill run down his spine.

Then came a series of shouts.

"What are they shouting?"

The distance was too far for Zheng Ming to hear clearly, so he asked the military officer beside him.

The general shook his head.

At that moment, everyone fell silent and listened intently.

The mountain wind carried a cacophony of sounds into my ears.

"The Dragon Guard Army has been ordered to quell the rebellion..."

"Soldiers who surrender can be spared..."

"By imperial decree, the rebellion is quelled... surrendered soldiers may be spared."

The shouts grew louder and louder, finally reaching Zheng Ming's ears clearly.

"Inspector Zheng..." the general said with a look of fear, "It's the Dragon Guard... the Dragon Guard."

The Dragon Guard was an imperial guard, directly under the command of the emperor.

The Dragon Guard was stationed on both Hebei East Road and Hebei West Road, a fact known only to a few officials.

Since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu, the emperor has set up camps in various places to prevent military uprisings. These troops are rarely used in normal times, and are only dispatched by senior officials with military tallies in the event of a mutiny.

Ordinary soldiers might not realize the gravity of the situation, but an observer like Zheng Ming knew perfectly well that once the Dragon Guard arrived, there would be no turning back. No wonder they had such weaponry, no wonder they arrived so quickly—it was the Dragon Guard.

Dragon Guard Army...

Zheng Ming was drenched in cold sweat. The court's policy towards rebels was always "surrendered soldiers can be spared." Only the ringleaders were executed, while the soldiers who participated in the mutiny were scattered and reorganized into various armies. At worst, they could be sent to perform hard labor.

Who would want to die when they can live?

This is a serious crime against the nine clans.

It's over, completely over.

As Zheng Ming realized this, he indeed saw soldiers drop their weapons and begin to retreat. What were they going to do? Naturally, they were waiting for the Dragon Guard to capture them.

Zheng Ming was about to say something when he suddenly felt a chill creep over him as the general beside him drew his sword and slashed at him.

Zheng Ming, who had always been diligent in his training, instinctively dodged to the side, avoiding the attack. He then raised his own blade. The general, already flustered, was no match for Zheng Ming's swordsmanship and was immediately struck squarely.

Blood spurted from his neck, and the general fell backward to the ground.

Upon seeing this, the two generals beside Zheng Ming quickly moved aside, one of them even pleading, "Inspector Zheng, now that things have come to this, please give our brothers a way out."

"Even for the sake of everyone's support... you should still go to the court to apologize."

"Could it be... that you really intend to betray us?"

After the general said this, more and more people chose to back down.

Seeing that he was about to be abandoned by everyone, Zheng Ming roared, "It can't be the Dragon Guard Army! How could the court mobilize troops without investigating the truth? You've all been deceived."

The general said, "Inspector Zheng brought us here, saying he wanted to capture the mountain bandits. Now, Inspector, you should explain clearly who the people on the mountaintop are."

They naturally knew that Wang Yan was on the mountaintop, but at this moment they could only pin all the blame on Zheng Ming.

Zheng Ming gritted his teeth. He couldn't say it, but the general wouldn't let it go. He said, "That's Wang Yan, the eldest son of Prime Minister Wang. Is that right or wrong?"

“Wang Yan is highly regarded by the Emperor. As an official in the capital, how could he be in Daming Prefecture? There is only one possibility: he was appointed by the Emperor…”

The general's words came to an abrupt halt as a steel blade pierced through his chest. Another general emerged from behind him; this general had always followed Zheng Ming and was one of his confidants.

“This scoundrel spreads rumors during wartime, disrupting the morale of the army; he should be killed.”

“The real traitor is on the mountain. Everyone, follow Observer Zheng to hunt down the rebel.”

But it was too late for the general to say that.

The rebels were on the mountain, but the words of quelling the rebellion came from the foot of the mountain. With a little thought, it was clear that Zheng Ming and his men were deceiving everyone.

Zheng Ming knew he couldn't delay, or more unexpected things would happen. The important thing was to find Wang Yan, and only by taking Wang Yan hostage could he escape.

"Go up the mountain and arrest them!" Zheng Ming shouted, and his trusted confidants immediately responded.

Zheng Ming immediately stopped delaying and strode to the front. He no longer cared how many people would follow, nor did he have time to appease them.

Especially amidst the shouts from the foot of the mountain, he couldn't get everyone to obey his commands.

……

Down the mountain, Wang Hu, dressed in the armor of a Liang soldier, held a freshly severed human head in his hand, his face beaming with smiles.

This Jiang Sanniang is indeed formidable. She had everyone secretly kill people, put on the clothes of Liang soldiers, and then declared that they were the Dragon Guard Army, shouting out words of suppression of the rebellion.

The real imperial soldiers were immediately terrified and dropped their weapons.

That wasn't all; they ordered all the kneeling soldiers to shout along with them.

"By imperial decree, the rebellion is quelled... surrendered soldiers may be spared..."

More and more people joined them in shouting, making it seem as if there really was a Dragon Guard army suppressing the rebellion.