Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 638: Leave
The officers of the Xiang Army looked at the captain in front of them.

Zhao, the head constable, has recently received a lot of bribes from Liang, the supervisor, in order to cooperate with Liang in apprehending bandits.

The supervisor had the responsibility of overseeing the local militia on a regular basis. Now that the militia had turned around and asked for their help, Chief Zhao naturally couldn't let this opportunity pass. He wanted to help Supervisor Liang gain merit so that the militia would be less subject to the control of the government in the future.

Furthermore, as Liang Jianya said, he didn't need to actually take action. He only needed to intimidate the bandits at crucial moments. Every time they sent troops to help the government, the government would owe them a favor. Would they be shortchanged on military pay this year?
If we put in more effort to help the government arrest the man, he might be able to get more benefits from the government so that they can stay here next year instead of being reassigned to do menial tasks like dredging the river.

"I actually hope they make a bigger scene, so that all our efforts won't have been in vain."

Zhao, the head constable, mounted his horse and led a group of men into the valley. Before they had gone far, they saw the light of torches coming towards them.

Those people waved torches and shouted at them from a distance.

Zhao, the head constable, frowned and rode swiftly to the group, reining in his horse. He hadn't seen them clearly from a distance, but now, seeing their condition, he was astonished.

The men were disheveled, their faces and bodies were filthy, and one of them had a large bloodstain on his clothes, clearly indicating that he had been in a fight.

“Sir,” one of them stepped forward and said, “we have discovered traces of the Demonic Cult. We heard there is a large camp of garrison troops here, so we came to report this.”

Zhao, the head constable, was on his way to arrest people when he heard this. He understood immediately that these people had probably run into the demon cultists. With these people reporting the news, he would have a more legitimate reason to act, and he would be able to give a reasonable explanation if the court asked him about it later.

Chief Zhao asked, "How do you know they are members of the sorcerer's cult?"

A long-faced man wiped the sweat from his face and pointed to the bound man behind him: "We caught him. He was wearing that Mani Buddha thing."

Chief Zhao had naturally discovered this person long ago, but he needed everyone to report to him.

"He also confessed that he was a member of the Demonic Cult."

Another person chimed in.

After a few people had spoken, Zhao, the head constable, gestured for his soldiers to come forward, drag the man over, and then pulled the rag out of the man's mouth and took out a Buddhist amulet from his pocket.

Zhao Dutou reached out and took the Buddha amulet. Upon seeing it, he was overjoyed. The credit had really fallen into his lap.

The believer immediately knelt before Zhao, the head constable: "I am not a true believer in Manichaeism. I was forced by them. If I don't work for them, my whole family will die at their hands."

"I only dared to escape this time because of their internal strife, but I never expected to run into these gentlemen on the way..."

The believer looked regretful.

"Please, sir, do me justice. I am willing to lead you to arrest him."

After the believer finished speaking, he kept kowtowing on the ground.

Zhao, the head constable, asked, "How many members of the Demonic Cult are still nearby?"

The believer thought for a moment and gestured with his hands: "Including those from Zezhou, there are at least a hundred people. They all left the church in different places. The leader ordered everyone to gather here, saying that he was going to deal with some kind of caravan."

As he spoke, the believer cautiously glanced behind Zhao Dutou: "I'm afraid you'll need to take more men with you, sir. Something big has happened in the church today. Several missionaries have led a rebellion against the leader, and the two groups are currently fighting each other. The situation is very chaotic. If you go now, sir, you can take them down in one fell swoop."

Such an opportunity could not be missed. Zhao Dutou was secretly delighted and immediately ordered his soldiers: "Bring another team of men here."

Soon the men and horses arrived. Zhao, the head constable, ordered a few men to lead the way. After walking for a while, he realized that this was not the direction of the valley.

"Where are they?" Chief Zhao asked. "Just now I clearly heard the sound of firearms exploding coming from the valley..."

Before Zhao Dutou could finish speaking, he saw several people riding away quickly in the distance. In the darkness, he could not see who they were, but they had obviously seen the imperial troops and fled at the first sign of trouble.

Such a sneaky behavior must be suspicious.

“Those must be people from the Holy… Demonic Cult,” a follower shouted. “They’re trying to escape.”

Having encountered the heretical cultists, Zhao, the head constable, could not ignore them. He immediately ordered his men to give chase, but to be on the safe side, he turned to the men around him and said, “Go and check over in the valley. If you find anything wrong, come and report back immediately.”

In this urgent situation, this is the only arrangement we can make.

Private Zhao walked forward, and the few men who lagged behind looked at each other before catching up: "General, we can also help." Private Zhao frowned. When did the people of Daliang become so enthusiastic about fighting against the demonic cult?
However, he really had to bring these people with him, so that they could be sent to the government office as witnesses to his deployment of troops.

……

The soldiers on the other side of the valley were exhausted from the ordeal.

When the fourth drumbeat sounded, they were not as nervous as before. Most people thought that those people were just throwing firearms and would not really attack. But just then, a group of people suddenly rushed over and engaged them in battle.

The defenses were lax, and they were caught off guard, resulting in more than a dozen people being seriously injured.

“With such a commotion, the Xiang Army will definitely be alerted, and these people will flee just like last time,” Zheng Wenhuan said, looking at Liang Jianya. “Don’t be fooled by their current antics; the situation will change soon. When that happens, we’ll join forces with the Demon Sect and have the Xiang Army block several exits, suffocating the Xie family here.”

Just as Liang, the warden, was about to respond, he saw Xu Lai walking quickly over.

Xu Lai bowed to Liang, the prison warden, and said, "Your Excellency heard that we have suffered heavy losses here and sent us to help."

When Liang, the warden, saw the demon cultists following him, he breathed a sigh of relief. All of this was within Xia Dalang and Zheng Wenhuan's calculations. As long as it could be carried out smoothly, no matter how many firearms the Xie family had, it would be useless.

Firearms will be consumed, and besides, after close combat, those things are useless.

Liang, the guard, said, "We'll make our move once the local troops arrive. Now gather your men together and await our instructions."

Xu Lai nodded, then looked around as if he had thought of something. "Aren't our clothes a bit too conspicuous? I heard the Xiang Army is coming. What if they mistake us for Xie's people during the melee..."

After thinking about it, Liang, the guard, felt that Xu's words made sense: "I will have someone find some leather armor for you, so that you don't hurt your own people."

Xu Lai cupped his hands in greeting: "Then I'll trouble you to keep me under guard."

As Liang, the warden, watched Xu Lai and the others leave, he felt rather sorry for them. He wished that so many men could work for him in the future.

Zheng Wenhuan observed this and smiled, asking, "How is it? Are you confident now?"

Liang, the supervisor, said, "We will definitely capture the Xie family today." After being trapped in the valley for so many days, they can finally return to the government office to claim their credit.

……

Xu Lai had armor brought over, and first selected several sets of armor to place in front of Tang Xing and the others.

Xu Lai said, "You will put these on in a little while."

Wearing these clothes allows one to blend in with the soldiers and avoid being easily discovered.

After the fighting broke out, more people were injured, and as they carried the seriously wounded men from the caravan away, they became less conspicuous.

Chen Rong was worried that the local militia might come.

“Don’t worry about that,” Xu Lai said. “Madam said that it has been arranged and someone will send someone to evacuate the nearest garrison troops.”

As for the specifics of how to do it, Xu Lai wasn't quite sure; Madam Xie only told him to leave some people to help.

Tang Xing and the others put on their leather armor, just as the last few grains of sand were falling from the hourglass in front of them.

There was a moment of silence outside, followed by the sounds of fighting.

Xu Lai helped Tang Xing up. The believer who was guarding outside, who had just been talking to the soldiers on guard, suddenly covered the soldier's mouth and nose and plunged the dagger in his hand into the soldier's chest.

　I just arrived in Suzhou yesterday and started having a headache. I took some medicine last night and slept it off.

　　I can leave for home tomorrow, and things will be settled the day after tomorrow, allowing me to resume regular updates.

　　I can still write when I get back to the hotel tonight. If things go smoothly, I can even update another chapter.

　　I can still write on the train tomorrow, so I should be able to update.

　　(End of this chapter)