Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 674 The frightened bird
Liu Erlang helped Zhao Zhongliang recruit men in the border town. With his extensive knowledge and silver tongue, he gained the trust of more people.

With the addition of rice, grain, and medicine sent to the border town by Madam Xie, the progress was exceptionally smooth.

He had helped recruit the people, but he was worried about how to train them properly. It was only then that he realized how formidable Madam Xie was.

Not only did he have a keen eye and entrust Zhao Zhongliang with important responsibilities, but he also made all the necessary arrangements for Zhao Zhongliang in advance, giving him the position of Dubaozheng, which would allow Zhao Zhongliang to train troops openly and legitimately.

Zhao Zhongliang had long ago spotted a group of bandits in the mountains. He led his militia to surround and wipe them out, eventually capturing all the bandits. Although two people were scared away that time, those who dared to stay were all men of courage.

In other words, from the very beginning, their militia team, regardless of whether they were new or old, young or old, was not just all talk, but was trained in real combat.

Therefore, the militia team was different from other groups. What was even more remarkable was that Zhao Zhongliang was exceptionally loyal to Madam Xie, and he never forgot to mention Madam Xie when facing the militia team.

If Madam is in danger, everyone will risk their lives, but we cannot lose our lives needlessly because of a momentary wrong decision. Liu Erlang came to help Zhao Zhongliang to learn from his strengths and make up for his weaknesses; if he fails to do so, he will have failed Madam's entrustment.

Zhao Zhongliang reached out and patted Liu Erlang on the shoulder: "You follow behind. There are still people ahead who haven't had time to escape. Let's go over there and take care of them first."

……

The people who attacked Xie Yuyan tonight were well-prepared and far outnumbered them, making it difficult for them to cope.

However, just as they were about to give up and allow those people to break in, the traitors mentioned by the generals suddenly lost much of their momentum.

Standing not far away, Xie Yuyan, who had been keeping a close eye on the battle, immediately looked at Su Man for confirmation: "Has anything changed?"

Su Man nodded firmly: "It should be them who have arrived."

At that moment, the general was injured and had just been brought down to have his medicine applied when he heard Xie Yuyan and Su Man's conversation. He was immediately confused. Who came? What was going on?

The next moment, the general got his answer; he heard the sounds of battle coming from a distance.

"What's going on?" the general exclaimed excitedly. "Is this commotion coming from behind the rebels?"

Xie Yuyan nodded.

"Who is it?" the general asked again.

Xie Yuyan remained silent, but Guo Chuan beside her said, "It's the militia from the border town. They must have come to help us. They were supposed to be waiting in the border town to meet the caravan, but the caravan was late, and they were anxious. They must have searched along the way and found their way here."

This sounded plausible, and the general thought it made sense, but he didn't believe it.

Xie Yuyan said, "Let's take advantage of this moment, coordinate from the inside and outside, and capture the traitor."

The general nodded.

Su Man and Guo Chuan acted on their own, and the generals were also preparing to pick up their weapons again and follow, but Xie Yuyan stopped them.

“Even if things take a turn for the better, we may not be able to win,” Xie Yuyan said. “After all, they have too many people.”

The general thought that Lady Xie was scared. A woman would be flustered when she saw such a scene. He had previously found it strange that Lady Xie was like a stone at the bottom of a river, unshakable no matter how turbulent the current was. Now she finally lost her composure.
“I think we can put in a little more effort,” Xie Yuyan said. “This will have to be done by the general.”

As a result, the general, confused, called out Yang Jun's name. To his surprise, the name actually worked; the rebels indeed panicked and fled right under their noses. What was originally a difficult position to hold had now been turned into an offensive one. The general was somewhat dazed. He was grateful for Lady Xie's presence; she had brought most of her own men, who immediately obeyed her orders. His own soldiers were simply being swept along. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have seized this fleeting opportunity.

Most of the rebels retreated, but a small number were trapped by them.

Just as everyone was locked in combat, the militia finally arrived, and the general saw them fighting fiercely... but they were also exceptionally ruthless.

The general couldn't help but frown.

As if she could see right through him, the general heard Madam Xie say, "They are all border people who formed the militia with the court's permission to protect their territory. If they didn't have any courage, they wouldn't be alive today. Besides, Zhao Zhongliang is the head of the militia, so he naturally had to do his best to save the court's troops when he discovered that they were under attack."

The general was taken aback, but immediately realized that he could not regard the militia as ordinary people.

Seeing the general nod, Xie Yuyan said nothing more. He had to bring up what needed to be mentioned, because the court would need to verify his testimony if they investigated in the future. Rather than letting the general speak recklessly, it was better to give him a reasonable explanation first.

Those who hadn't managed to evacuate with Yang Jun were all captured by the combined forces, and Xie Yuyan then saw Zhao Zhongliang rushing over.

Zhao Zhongliang, Liu Erlang, and others bowed to Xie Yuyan.

Without pausing for reminiscing, Zhao Zhongliang pointed in the direction Yang Jun and the others had left: "They went that way, and there are dozens of people following them in scattered groups. If we just follow them like this, we might not be able to catch them."

After all, they need to leave people to guard the prisoners, and they don't have many people to take with them. They are also unfamiliar with the surrounding area. Taking all these factors into account, their chances of success are slim.

Liu Erlang glanced at Xie Yuyan and, seeing that Madam Xie showed no sign of anxiety, felt relieved.

Xie Yuyan said, "No need to rush, let's rest for a while."

The general went to check on the casualties, while Xie Yuyan, Zhao Zhongliang, Su Man, and others went to the side to talk.

Zhao Zhongliang spoke first, asking, "Was the man who led the attack on Madam today the same Yang Jun who was just called out?"

Xie Yuyan responded, "Yang Jun, the current Military Commander of Fujian Circuit."

Liu Erlang looked surprised; he hadn't expected that a military commander would personally lead a group of people here.

“The investigation into Xie Yizhi has alarmed him,” Xie Yuyan said. “He will be even more panicked after tonight.”

Zhao Zhongliang asked, "Wouldn't he secretly return to his post to avoid being caught red-handed?"

“Possibly,” Xie Yuyan said. “Therefore, we must press on and not let him escape, otherwise capturing him will take a lot of effort…”

Furthermore, there were people waiting for Yang Jun to take the stage and perform.

"Then what should we do?" Liu Erlang asked, genuinely at a loss for words.

“We’re waiting for someone,” Xie Yuyan said. “She will help us keep Yang Jun here.” After so much time, I believe the leader of the Demon Cult must have figured it out by now.

Given the choice between watching Xie Yizhi escape unscathed and dragging everyone down with her, someone like Xu Shu would likely choose the latter, hiding her whole life and always trying to gain a legitimate identity. How could someone like that be willing to become a laughingstock in other people's mouths?
(End of this chapter)