Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 231 Filial piety is the most important virtue. What’s wrong with that?

It is worth mentioning that because the fifth son Chen Feiqing’s head was cut off after he was killed, Mrs. Wang did not know that her second son had died.

After realizing that the situation in the mansion had stabilized, Gong Tianwu was ready to lead his men to evacuate the mansion. However, just as he was about to go out, he ran into his second uncle Cui Zicheng, who was accompanied by a dozen of his close associates.

It was obvious that he had also rushed over in a hurry, his head and face covered in sweat. When he saw that Gong Tianwu and his sister were safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Cui Zicheng knew clearly in his mind why he was able to rise from a peasant to an official.

As soon as he came over, Cui Xiaoyi pulled her brother and said with tears streaming down her face:

"How could this happen? How could this happen!! He actually watched his brother die without helping him!!"

Cui Xiaoyi was crying as she spoke, so her words were quite unclear and she stuttered.

Cui Zicheng only listened roughly and understood some key words, so he followed his sister's meaning and said angrily:

"How could he do this? He didn't even save his own brother. This person's character is so low!!"

Cui Xiaoyi cried and complained for a while, but she was exhausted and sat beside him sobbing.

At this time, Tan De pulled Cui Zicheng aside and whispered:

“Actually, this is what happened before.”

After hearing half of what he said, Cui Zicheng suddenly felt a cold sweat on his back, thinking that he was too careless. When Tan De finished speaking, he immediately said righteously:
"Filial piety comes first among all virtues. What's wrong with that? The premise of saving people is not to sacrifice yourself, not to mention that there are close relatives and elders around. Well done!"

After hearing this, Cui Xiaoyi looked up in surprise and said in shock:
"Why did you suddenly change?"

In fact, the two brothers of the Cui family are quite keen on power and wealth - this is also human nature, so they must know where they should stand at this time?
Cui Zicheng's thoughts were even more extreme. He thought to himself that this bastard died a good death. If this idiot didn't die, how would my nephew take over? It would be best if all the six in front of him died.

After hearing what he said, Gong Tianwu said slowly:
"I had no choice but to do that under the circumstances. My mother places great emphasis on the relationship between brothers and sisters, but you understand the dirty things that happen in the mansion, uncle. You should stay and comfort mother."

Cui Zicheng immediately patted his chest and said:
"Seventh brother, go and do your business. I'll come over here to help. I'll ask the third brother to come over later."

Gong Tianwu nodded slightly:
"Oh, Third Uncle, when I was guarding my mother just now, I killed about twenty thieves. They were all spies sent by Che Mingguo. I can't reveal my power. You can cut off their heads and report your achievement."

Cui Zicheng's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately walked over with a few of his confidants. After a while, he came back and said excitedly:

"These guys are from the Blood Axe Battalion, the elite frontier army of Cheming Country! So many heads are wasted on me. I'll just take five to level up."

Gong Tianwu pondered and said:

"So what do you mean, uncle?"

Cui Zicheng said:

"Of course I sold it, or I could give it as a favor."

Gong Tianwu said indifferently:
"Okay, you arrange this matter. If you sell it, give me half of the money. My expenses have been high recently, and my third uncle has been so worried that he has white hair on his head."

After Cui Zicheng came over, Gong Tianwu decided to take his men away. After he walked out of the courtyard gate, he suddenly said to the top of a big tree next to him:

"I'm surprised you would wade into this muddy water."

The rest of the people were a little surprised, but soon they heard a hoarse and strange voice coming from the treetops:

"I came here because I sensed a strong murderous aura here and was afraid that something might happen to these two rare geniuses in our wolf clan. Young Marquis, please don't overthink it."

The others hadn't reacted yet, but a guard who had participated in the battle before immediately recognized the voice:

It's the beast called Bei Li! !
His nerves were suddenly tense. When did this guy sneak here?
Gong Tianwu smiled and said:
"I'm glad you can come. There happens to be a rather tricky matter here. Mr. Bei should be the most suitable person to do it."

Bei Li immediately became alert:
"No, I'm not, I'm not free!"

Gong Tianwu laughed and said:

"Listen to me first. Five hundred sheep. Go to the old place and collect them."

Bei Li hesitated for a moment and said:

"what's up?"

Gong Tianwu said:

"My subordinates have discovered something very important. The way the people in Sansheng City use to pass messages is quite special. They use some flying squirrels with demon blood. To be honest, I don't like seeing them running around everywhere."

Bei Li heaved a sigh of relief, but still looked embarrassed:

"I see. That's not an easy task. I need to drive the wolves, so I need five thousand sheep!"

Gong Tianwu laughed in silence and said:

"In fact, I know that if I insist on offering only 500 sheep, you will definitely agree, because I am the only one in Sansheng City who is willing to keep my word and make a deal with you."

“If it were anyone else, even if they promised to give you 5,000 sheep, wouldn’t you be afraid it was a trap?
"But since you, Mr. Bei, have spoken, I have to give you some face. I will drive the seven hundred sheep back to your old place within three days."

Bei Li rolled his eyes, and suddenly realized with great sadness that the human in front of him was actually telling the truth. He could only sigh and say:

"Seven hundred sheep is fine, but you have to send some people who know how to roast sheep to help. You also need to prepare a hundred jars of wine. I want to host a banquet for my people."

Gong Tianwu said:

"No problem, but you have to promise me to ensure the safety of these people."

Bei Li laughed strangely:
"Don't worry, they won't lose a single hair - even the dumbest wolf cub knows that mutton is delicious, while human meat is old and tough."

***
In the dim secret room, the flickering candlelight illuminated several faces with different expressions.

This is the hiding place of Che Mingguo's secret agents in Sansheng City. The air is filled with a faint smell of herbs and blood.

In the courtyard next door, a large number of soldiers were sitting on the ground, eating roujiamo and drinking steaming hot thick meat soup with heavy salt added, but almost no sound was made.

Other soldiers had already fallen asleep leaning against the pillars or stone steps, snoring softly. In the house next door, the spy chief Gu Nan sat in the main seat, his brows knitted, holding a bloodstained secret report in his hand. There was a fresh knife wound on his face, the blood had not yet dried, making him look particularly hideous.

He said in a deep voice: "Everyone, let's first listen to the losses we calculated this time."

Qin Shuang nodded, opened the account book in his hand, and whispered:

"In this operation, we lost a total of 47 people, and 23 people were missing in the West Courtyard. 18 of them were members of the Blood Axe Battalion, 3 were hidden weapon masters, and the rest were experienced secret agents. In addition, 24 people were seriously injured and will not be able to carry out missions in the short term."

After hearing this, Gu Nan's face became even gloomier:
"Why did the West Court suffer such heavy losses?"

Qin Shuang said:
"According to our subsequent investigation, we found that although most of the West Courtyard was occupied by servants, one of the Marquis of Zhenbei's concubines actually lived there. Her name was Cui Xiaoyi, and she gave birth to the Marquis of Zhenbei's seventh son."

"The seventh son of the Marquis's mansion has been rising very fast recently. He must have sensed something and placed a master, two dogs with half-demon blood, and several guards in his mother's courtyard. Our people were killed in their hands."

Taowu, who was sitting in the corner, sneered. His left arm was wrapped in a thick bandage, and blood was faintly seeping out. It was obvious that the injury was not light. There was a bit of arrogance and disdain in his tone:
"Haha, you believe this too. The Seventh Young Master is just a brat. I think he is just a pawn. There must be a master behind him."

Gu Nan glanced at Taowu and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say much.

He knew that Taowu was the seventh disciple of the national teacher, that he was very powerful and had an unruly character, so it was not appropriate to argue with him at this time.

Qin Shuang saw this and quickly tried to smooth things over:

"Although the losses were not small, our actions also achieved significant results. We killed the five sons and two daughters of the Marquis of Zhenbei."

"Especially the death of our strategist Xie Desheng, which has dealt a heavy blow to the Marquis's Mansion. This man, nicknamed 'The Divine Calculator', was the right-hand man of the Marquis of Zhenbei. His death is enough to plunge the Marquis's Mansion into chaos in a short period of time."

"Even if our operation ends here, it will be worth it if we can kill Xie Desheng."

Gu Nan nodded, his expression slightly relieved:
"Xie Desheng's death is indeed a great gain. However, our losses cannot be ignored. Especially since Lord Taowu was injured, I'm afraid our next actions will be affected."

Upon hearing this, Taowu snorted coldly and said directly:

"You also know that I was injured after trying my best, so that's the best. So the agreed reward should be doubled, right? Five thousand taels of gold is not extortionate. You have to know that I risked my life this time and almost lost it."

Gu Nan frowned, and said with some embarrassment in his tone:

"Master Taowu, we have already agreed on the remuneration. I'm afraid it would be against the rules to increase the price at the last minute."

Taowu sneered, his tone was aggressive:

"Rules? I almost lost my life, and you're talking to me about rules? If I hadn't taken action, would you have been able to kill Xie Desheng?"

Gu Nan was also a little angry, and immediately retorted:

"I've always heard that the Imperial Master's words are as good as gold, but I didn't expect that his disciple would be so fickle and raise the price!"

Upon hearing this, Taowu's eyes suddenly became bloodshot and he immediately placed his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist. The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Seeing this, Qin Shuang quickly stepped forward to smooth things over:
"Master Taowu, your contribution is known to everyone and we will not forget it. However, we are indeed a little short of funds at the moment."

"However, our final move is about to be made. Success or failure will be decided before dawn. General Zhao Shang of the Tianyong Army will soon attack the city."

"As long as the army enters the city, the wealth of the entire Sansheng City will be at our fingertips. By then, let alone doubling the reward, even tripling or quadrupling it will not be a problem."

Gu Nan heard this and nodded, his tone softened:

"Qin Shuang is right. Lord Taowu, please wait patiently for a few more hours. Once the Tianyong Army enters the city, everything will be as you wish."

Taowu snorted coldly, but did not continue to be aggressive. He just said coldly:

"I hope you can keep your word. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Qin Shuang smiled and nodded:

"Of course, Master Taowu, don't worry."

The atmosphere in the secret room finally eased, and the few people discussed some details before dispersing.

Gu Nan looked at Taowu's departing back, a trace of gloom flashed in his eyes, and he whispered to Qin Shuang:
"This person is unruly and will probably be a problem in the future."

Qin Shuang smiled slightly and whispered:
"Don't worry, leader. Once the Tianyong Army enters the city, he will naturally understand that cooperating with us is the best option."

Gu Nan gave a sarcastic sneer:

"Haha, five thousand taels of gold, what a big appetite. Now is the time to use people. Let's coax him to work hard first. Once we take over Sansheng City, we can slowly deal with him."

As he spoke, Gu Nan stood up. Perhaps because of the wound, his face suddenly changed and he took a step back.

To be honest, Gu Nan devoted his life to the entire Che Ming Kingdom and died for it. He was nearly sixty years old, and in order to boost morale, he put on armor and fought on the front line with the soldiers.

However, the Marquis of Zhenbei made his fortune through military merit for generations, so they treated their soldiers generously. Any disabled soldiers who had made great contributions and had no one to rely on would be taken in by the marquis's mansion. They were called servants, but in fact they were directly provided for their retirement.

Therefore, even if this group of people caught the Marquis' Mansion at its weakest, they would still encounter great resistance when they rushed in.

Qin Shuang immediately went to help his old boss, and at this moment, the spy outside suddenly reported:
"Sir! We agreed with the Tianyong Army to use flying squirrels to communicate every hour, but the flying squirrel that came this time was covered in blood and had no information tied to its leg."

"Not only that, the other flying squirrels we released earlier seemed to have been attacked by wolves, and suffered heavy casualties."

After hearing this, Gu Nan's heart suddenly sank, and he said in a low voice:
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The spy was speechless, but of course he was already thinking MMP in his heart, "I rushed in as soon as I got the news, don't you feel any pain in your waist while you're talking while standing?"
Qin Shuang felt as if he was poured with a basin of ice water, and asked hurriedly:
"Where's the flying squirrel? Take me to see it quickly."

***
Near the post station fifteen miles away from Sansheng City, flames shot up into the sky, dyeing the dark night sky blood red.

The raging flames were like the tongue of a giant beast, licking the earth and devouring everything that could burn.

Thick smoke billowed, blocking out the stars. The air was filled with a burning smell and a strong smell of blood, mixed with the pungent smell of burnt wood and leather, which was nauseating.

(End of this chapter)