Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 22 Killing in the Night

As the sunset came to an end at dusk and the last ray of light disappeared in the sky, some figures quietly appeared in some alleys in Wanqiu City.

"Remember this later. Kill all the guards guarding the city gates, open the gates, and let the troops outside enter the city. The rest of the troops will go to Xie's mansion. If you see the carriage of the Huaiyang governor, act accordingly!"

A man in plain clothes looked at everyone around him, seeing that they had all received swords, and began to give instructions.

Hearing the man's words, the others nodded, and then at the signal of the leading man, they all walked towards the city gate.

Wanqiu City returned to its tranquility under the night sky. Because of the Xie family's banquet, the restaurant that used to make people blush was no longer as noisy as before. Most of the shops on both sides of the street, except for a few that were open occasionally, could only see the reflection of candlelight.

"quick!"

"quick!!"

Under the urging voices, the dense footsteps of hundreds of men were heard in the street.

A shop owner who was closing his shop heard the noise, took a step forward curiously and looked towards the street. Then, when he saw a group of men walking past him with swords in their hands, he was frightened and instantly stepped back, sitting down on the ground.

It was not until a long time later that the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief after not seeing these people hurt him. He sat on the ground gasping for breath with a pale face. When he came to his senses and saw those people walking towards the city gate not far away, he seemed to realize something. With a look of horror on his face, he stood up and closed the gate desperately.

"It's dry, be careful with fire! At the first watch..."

Two night watchmen were walking on the street, one holding a gong and beating it, the other holding a candle.

As the county seat of Huaiyang County, Wanqiu was naturally equipped with night watchmen who would start ringing gongs at the first watch after dark. In times when a curfew was required, they would also serve as a reminder to the people not to wander around the city without permission.

"The weather is dry..."

However, as the two night watchmen were walking, they suddenly realized something was wrong. They suddenly saw many dark shadows flashing in front of them, and there were also dense footsteps.

Soon, the night watchman discovered something and dropped his gong and candle in horror, then turned around and ran away.

West Gate of Wanqiu.

Clusters of braziers illuminated the area below the city gate, and more than a dozen soldiers holding long spears were guarding the gate.

There were torches on the walkways on the top of the city walls, and soldiers patrolling could be seen coming and going from time to time.

But at this moment in the corridor, a man in cloth was leaning against the wall with swords beside him. He felt the cold wind blowing from the top of the city wall, rubbing his hands constantly, wishing he could take the torches in the city road into his hands.

When they thought about their luck, no one felt resentful despite the cold wind. After all, if they had been luckier before and had drawn a long wooden stick, they could have gone to the shop and waited.

"Will anyone really come?"

A sturdy man said this with some doubt, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw the city guard who had just patrolled in front of him suddenly stop and look outside the city.

"Oh no! There is an enemy attack outside the city. Go and report to the governor!"

A soldier exclaimed.

Hearing the words of the soldiers, the Zhao family warriors who were originally sitting on the ground and blowing the cold wind looked at each other, picked up the swords beside them curiously and stood up.

Then, everyone saw that outside the city wall, the originally dark plain suddenly appeared with countless spots of fire.

Seeing this scene, everyone knew that there were actually people outside the city who wanted to attack Wanqiu City.

"kill!!"

"kill!!!"

Suddenly, they heard shouts of killing from the city behind them. Everyone ran back to the inner city wall and saw hundreds of men with swords and knives rushing out from the dim streets of the city.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhao family's followers and assassins quickly rushed to the city gate, determined not to let those people open the gate at all costs.

After a while.

At the West Gate under the cover of night, the Zhao family warriors and the soldiers defending the city fought against the thieves who attempted to seize the city gate. Amid the roars of killing, people were soon seen falling down tragically.

Men were hacking and killing each other, men were leaning against the city wall with bloody heads, and countless men were lying on the ground holding their chests.

As the number of corpses on the ground increased.

At this moment, both the thieves who were trying to capture the city and the people who were defending the city were a little confused.

The thieves could never imagine why there were so many people guarding the west gate, and many of the men were not dressed like soldiers.

The defenders of the city clearly felt that these bandits were not ordinary refugees at all. They were no weaker than them in terms of ferocity or swordsmanship.

However, no matter how confused they were at the moment, there was no room for thinking. Both sides knew that their life and death depended on this moment.

The gates are open, the thieves live, the defenders die.

If we guard the city gate, the defenders will live and the enemy will die.

So under the cover of night, people from both sides fought desperately, trampling on corpses one after another, and killing each other with swords.

"kill!"

Fortunately, not long after, with the sound of horse hooves coming from the streets of the city, the city defenders poured in densely under countless torches.

Seeing this scene, the men who tried to open the city gate all looked desperate. They looked at each other and knew that they could not capture the city gate. They became discouraged and dropped their weapons in surrender.

Only a small number of men on the periphery had the time and opportunity to escape under the cover of night.

"Catch him!"

The people who led the many soldiers were Zhao Zi and Zhao Yong. The two brothers, who were authorized by the governor Zhao Tuo, looked at the bandits in front of them with murderous intent in their eyes.

Looking at the corpses all over the ground, both Zhao Zi and Zhao Yong knew very well in their hearts that if Fu Zihou of the Fu family had not reminded Zhao Han, it would probably be someone from their Zhao family who would die tragically on the ground soon.

"Defend the city!"

Zhao Zi rode on his horse and gave instructions to the soldiers behind him.

Following Zhao Zi's words, the three deputy generals quickly took orders and led their soldiers to climb up the city wall.

"Second brother, that kid is amazing! He actually guessed it!"

Zhao Yong's sturdy face had completely changed at this moment. As much as he doubted the young Fu Zihou in the past, the current scene was as big a shock to Zhao Yong.

"Yes!"

Zhao Zi also looked very solemn. He rode forward and looked at a thief who was detained by the soldiers.

"Who is your leader? Tell me and I will spare your life!"

Zhao Zi asked, his eyes full of coldness. As long as the thief didn't answer, he would make him wish he were dead.

When the man saw the ferocious look of Zhao Yong who was riding a horse nearby, and then saw the look in Zhao Zi's eyes, his face turned pale. He was so discouraged that he finally chose not to be stubborn.

"Lu Mingyue!"

The man said, bowing his head slightly, praying to escape death.

"It's really him!"

Zhao Zi was surprised. Even he was a little shocked at this moment and looked at the night sky outside the city.

Zhao Hu was riding a horse beside him, his eyes wide open, his mouth trembling, but he couldn't make a sound. He sat on the horse with lifeless eyes, and his burly face was full of trance.

...............................

Inside the Xie family mansion.

As it got dark, the Xie family's banquet had already begun. Hundreds of candles lit up the entire main hall, courtyard, and even every corridor of the Xie family's house.

The representatives of the prominent families sat in the main hall, while the rest sat in the courtyard, and the female relatives who came with them sat in the backyard.

The servants of Xie's house came and went, carrying jug after jug of fine wine to the guests. And in the midst of the laughter and joy, a servant of the Xie family ran into the Xie's house in a hurry and ran quickly down the corridor.

At first, no one paid attention to the servant, but when they saw the servant's frightened look, they realized something was wrong.

In the main hall.

Xie Daohong and other members of the Xie family were chatting with prominent families and old friends from all over the place, raising their glasses from time to time to express their gratitude for coming. Suddenly, they saw the servants coming to the main hall in panic.

Just as Xie Daohong was about to ask why he was so panicked, he saw the servant kneeling down.

"My lord, my lord, something bad has happened! Outside the city, there are thieves leading a large army, and they seem to be preparing to attack Wanqiu City!"

The servant reported breathlessly.

As the servant's voice fell, the people from the prominent families who were kneeling behind the wooden tables on both sides of the main hall were all shocked. Many of them stood up and looked around with panicked expressions.

"Speak slowly!"

Xie Daohong did not expect that someone would actually attack Wanqiu City. He was caught off guard at the moment, and Zhao Han's words instinctively emerged in his mind.

But right now, the most important thing is what the situation is with the city gate.

"Report to the Lord..."

The servant quickly told what he knew and told Xie Daohong that there were many thieves in the city just now. They wanted to hide at the city gate under the cover of night and lead the thieves outside the city into the city. Fortunately, Zhao Zi of the Zhao family sent people to guard the city gate in advance, and they were able to stop them.

Outside the main hall of Xie Mansion.

The nobles who had been drinking and having fun and watching the women dancing under the pavilion now knew what had happened at the city gate. They were all shocked and at a loss, looking a little uneasy, wondering whether they should leave and find a place to settle down in advance.

Unexpectedly,... someone actually wanted to attack Wanqiu!

"Someone really wants to attack Wanqiu! What should we do now?"

"It seems that the Zhao family sent people to guard it in advance!"

"The Zhao family? They are the clansmen of that man just now? He..."

After learning the current situation, the city gate seemed to have been guarded, everyone felt relieved.

At this time, everyone thought of what a man named Zhao Han had said to the Xie family not long ago, so they looked left and right.

In the courtyard.

Behind a wooden table, Xie Shufang and Xie Shudu were also confused. They couldn't help but turn their heads to look behind them, where Zhao Han was kneeling at another wooden table.

Zhao Han, who had been silent since the banquet, heard that there were real bandits attacking Wanqiu City. Immediately, the image of Fu Zihou telling him about this emerged in his mind.

Zhao Gu standing by wasn't in much better condition, with a bewildered look on his face.

"Brother Han, who told you this?"

It was not until he heard Xie Shufang's voice that Zhao Han came back to his senses. When he saw Xie Shufang, Xie Shudu, and other people around him looking at him, he

Only then was Zhao Han willing to reveal the name he had been hiding in front of everyone.

“It’s Zihou!”

Zhao Han said this to the brothers Xie Shufang and Xie Shudu, then looked at the puzzled eyes of the others around him and murmured the word "Zihou" in confusion.

"His name is Fu Zihou!"

Zhao Han spoke again, and then told everyone the whole story.

After hearing what Zhao Han said, the brothers Xie Shufang and Xie Shudu looked at each other in silence.

Zihou?

Hearing this name, the two brothers recalled the young man introduced to them by the brothers Zhao Han and Zhao Gu.

It's him! ! !

In the courtyard, among the many guests, listening to the noisy discussions all around, Wang Ji couldn't help but look at Xue Shou, and then they both shook their heads.

"Xuanling, do you know this Fu Zihou? Or have you heard of this Fu family?"

Xue Shou turned to look at Fang Xuanling and asked curiously.

Fang Xuanling shook his head and was about to say that he had never heard of it either, when he suddenly saw another servant not far away, hurriedly running down the corridor to the main hall.

Many people in the courtyard saw this scene, and soon everyone quieted down. After all, they were now in the city, and there were thieves outside the city.

"Sir, there's news from the city gate that those who were arrested... their leader is called Lu Mingyue!"

The servants' reports in the main hall were neither loud nor soft, but their vague words were heard by everyone.

At this moment, everyone was stunned and looked at each other in shock.

Lu Mingyue!!!
It’s really Lu Mingyue!!!

In other words, the young man named Fu Zihou today, only observed the abnormality of the city gate, and concluded that someone was attacking the city, and he also guessed that the other party was most likely Lu Mingyue!
This……

Soon, the name Fu Zihou became a topic of conversation among the many guests who came to Xie's house, and they kept asking about his background.

And in the backyard of Xie Mansion.

After learning about this incident and finally understanding the whole story, many women also started talking about this unfamiliar name.

"Ah, it's him!!!"

When Li Huanzhu heard Lai Ling's surprised tone, he suddenly became curious, and then he remembered that Lai Ling had said today that in addition to the two Zhao brothers, there was another young man.

"So that young man's name is Fu Zihou!"

Li Huanzhu thought that because of this incident, he began to become curious about the young man he had never met before.

Seeing the surprised looks of the other women, it was not difficult for Li Huanzhu to imagine that the situation in the front yard of Xie's house was probably the same, or even worse.

"But if it's him, why doesn't Zhao Han say it out?"

Lai Ling said in confusion.

When Wei Yanyu heard Lai Ling's words, her beautiful eyes couldn't help but look towards the front yard, recalling the figure she saw and the mocking voice she heard before sunset.

the first time.

Wei Yanyu's heart began to beat faster.

Under the night.

Outside Wanqiu City.

Lu Mingyue rode on horseback, commanding his army, looking at Wanqiu City from afar. When he saw the fire burning in Wanqiu City and no movement for a long time, he had to accept the fact that his plan had failed.

But Lu Mingyue couldn't understand why the people he sent out were his former confidants and elite soldiers who had followed him into the battlefield.

Why couldn't they capture the city gate when they all had weapons?
"withdraw!"

Lu Mingyue didn't wait any longer.

There was a lack of siege equipment. In addition, it was dark, and most of his troops were refugees who had arrived secretly. It was impossible for him to launch a siege on Wanqiu.

What's more, there are quite a few defenders in Wanqiu City!

We have to go back and think about it in the long term.

(End of this chapter)