Tiger Guards

Chapter 637 A Twist of Fate in Court
The next morning, Zhao hosted a banquet and invited Zhang Chang, the Chief Clerk, to attend.

During the banquet, Xin Pi suddenly entered through a side door, holding up an imperial edict: "By imperial decree, the traitor Zhao Ji shall be punished; all others shall be spared!"

The sound of the Qiang flute in the hall stopped abruptly. Zhang Chang glared, puffed out his beard, and pointed at Xin Pi: "Xin Zuozhi, have you come here to bring disaster to the villagers?!"

The state officials who accompanied him to the banquet drew their swords, but their stances were clear. Only five people stood beside Zhang Chang, and they were mostly Zhang's protégés and former officials.

They also had complicated relationships with various families in Tianshui. At this moment, their attitude was wavering, but they still turned their backs to Zhang Chang and pointed their swords at the officials and scholars who were closing in on them.

The local official Yang Fu was pushed and shoved by the chaotic crowd. He was not resolute and was pulled and pushed to the outermost edge by his relatives, where he could only stand on tiptoe and watch.

Seeing Jiang Jiong draw his sword and tightly protect Zhang Chang, he hurriedly tried to push forward.

Other officials and scholars also pushed their way forward, trying to persuade their good brothers to come back.

Just as the standoff was taking place, the soldiers from various families who were lying in ambush inside the mansion suddenly rushed out. Zhang Chang's guards numbered only about twenty men. Seeing that the ambush was large and powerful, and that they had lost Zhang Chang's command, while the bandit Cao Yin Feng was on the opposite side, their will to resist was not firm. After a brief confrontation, they abandoned their weapons and were captured.

The chaos outside the hall was quickly quelled. When Zhang Chang saw that the guards had failed to reach the backyard, he knew that he was doomed.

Looking around at the angry-looking heroes of Tianshui, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly: "You are all courting your own destruction. Hand over Xin Pi now, and I will plead with the Grand Tutor for mercy. You will still have a chance to redeem yourselves through meritorious service. Otherwise, when the Grand Tutor's army arrives, although your families may not be as well-off as those in Taiyuan, you will certainly not have a good end."

Zhao Rong suddenly stepped to the front, pointing two Han swords at Zhang Chang: "We have received the country's favor for generations. Now we are ordered to punish the traitors. We should sacrifice ourselves for the country. How could we value personal matters?"

"You idiot! How could Uncle Zhao Yuan have such a stupid nephew like you!"

Zhang Chang was furious and pointed at Zhao Rong, cursing, "The Zhao family will prosper, and you children will be slandered by your own descendants for a hundred years!"

"Rebel!"

Zhao Rong cursed, "Even now, you're still trying to intimidate the traitor Zhao!"

Zhang Chang was so angry he couldn't speak, but because of his father Zhang Huan's reputation and his own good name, the people around him just drew their swords and pointed them at him, and even Zhao Rong didn't dare to step forward to fight.

Enraged, Zhang Chang lost his temper and roared, "You idiot! Don't you know that the Grand Tutor's army has already passed Jieting and will soon arrive at Tianshui!"

"Hmph! You think you can intimidate us righteous men by invoking the infamous name of Zhao?"

Zhao Rong sneered. Xin Pi held a sword in his left hand and raised the imperial edict high in his right: "Originally, out of consideration for the loyalty of the Zhang family, I thought you were a loyal and patriotic man who had no choice but to submit to the traitor. Now it seems that you are indeed a confidant of the traitor Zhao! You should be executed!"

Shouting, Xin Pi looked around and said, "Righteous men, what are you waiting for? Make your move!"

Immediately, several young scholars, their blood boiling with passion, stepped forward and thrust their swords at him.

Zhang Chang's five subordinates had no choice but to step forward and brandish their swords, the swords clashing against each other with a continuous clanging sound.

But more people attacked Zhang Chang from behind with swords. Zhang Chang was stabbed in the waist and back. He turned around and swung his sword to defend, but more swords came. Instantly, his right hand holding the sword was cut off, and seven or eight swords were inserted into his chest.

These people drew their swords and retreated, and the others also gave up exchanging swords. They all looked at Zhang Chang, whose body was trembling, and no one dared to step forward to deliver the final blow.

Jiang Jiong, holding his sword upside down, helped Zhang Chang back to the pillar. Despite the sword wound in Zhang Chang's lungs and blood seeping from his mouth, he still clenched his teeth tightly, his slightly graying eyebrows standing straight up, his eyes wide open as he stared at these fools.

Leaning against the pillar, he turned his head with difficulty to look at Jiang Jiong: "Abandon your sword... If you wish to save your fellow villagers, you must ask the Grand Tutor for help..."

As he spoke, he stared wide-eyed, tilted his head, and looked up at the roof beams and pillars blackened by candlelight.

One of the subordinates, seeing his elder brother standing opposite him with a sword in hand, broke down in tears and charged forward with a strange howl.

His brother and relatives pressed down with their swords and tried to back away, but the others couldn't react in time and watched as he crashed into two swords, the blades piercing through his chest and back.

The swordsman was so frightened that he dropped his sword and looked at the other man's brother with a terrified expression.

The older brother stared intently at his younger brother with a tense expression, and the two brothers stared at each other in front of a crowd.

Until his younger brother breathed his last, his body slumped forward and collapsed to the ground. Soon another subordinate also reacted, turning to look at Jiang Jiong: "It was our dereliction of duty that we failed to protect you, sir. We entrust the affairs after your passing to you, Lord Jiang."

As he spoke, he took his sword and walked forward, but the villagers opposite him all retreated. The man was furious and, in despair, he swung his sword wildly, but no one fought him.

After futilely slashing seven or eight times, tears welled up in his eyes. With a strange laugh, he held the sword to his left shoulder and slit his own throat.

Only by dying here can I prove my innocence and loyalty.

Jiang Jiong watched numbly as his colleague fell backward. After glancing at the remaining two colleagues and his relatives, he lost all interest in life. They looked at each other and thrust their swords into each other's vital points, causing them to fall to the ground together.

Blood flowed down the ground, soaking Jiang Jiong's socks. He was too weak to lift his sword to look at the smooth blade, his lifeless face reflected in its image.

He held the sword to his neck, but Yang Fu stepped forward and deflected it with his own sword: "If you die, who will take care of Zhang Gong?"

Zhao Rong and Xin Pi were both silent at this moment, the air thick with the smell of blood, and all the scholars from Tianshui present were filled with sorrow.

"It's just a matter of dying sooner or later."

Jiang Jiong discarded his sword, his gaze indifferent as he looked at his relatives and friends in the crowd: "Please leave Zhang Gong with a complete corpse, otherwise Yishan can kill me."

Yang Fu turned his head and glared at Zhao Rong and Xin Pi. Yang Fu's dozen or so cousins ​​and several Jiang clan scholars stepped forward with swords drawn. They could not stand by and watch Jiang Jiong be forced to his death.

Zhang Chang had already spoken before he died, giving Jiang Jiong a reason to live.

This is no longer about killing Jiang Jiong, but about cutting off the last escape route and guarantee for the scholars of Tianshui.

Zhao Rong and Xin Pi exchanged glances. Xin Pi's ancestral home was Longxi, and his influence here was far less than Zhao Rong's.

Xin Pi wisely lowered his head, and also lowered the imperial edict that he had been holding high in his right hand.

Seeing this, Zhao Rong nodded to Yang Fu: "Lord Zhang was also misled by the traitor Zhao. Now that the arrow is on the bowstring, we have no choice but to release it. Otherwise, we would not have intended to harm Lord Zhang. This matter is settled. Those who wish to leave may help Lord Zhang's coffin out of the city."

Yang Fu then sheathed his sword, took off his outer robe, and stepped forward to cover Zhang Chang's head, who was leaning against a pillar, staring at the roof with his eyes wide open.

He then kicked Jiang Jiong, who understood and squatted down to carry the corpse.

The other members of the Yang family also sheathed their swords, and the relatives of the four subordinates who committed suicide also came forward to collect their bodies. Several people couldn't help but sob softly.

The somber atmosphere in the hall intensified when someone burst into tears.

As the group carried their suicidal brother away, they all glanced sideways at Xin Pi, Zhao Rong, and the Zhao and Xin family members.

The traitor Cao Yin Feng immediately said, "I will go to the prefecture and order the gathering of more than a hundred men in the city. These are all Zhao's trusted confidants and key figures, and they must not be spared. Only by killing these people can we seize the city's garrison."

Kill these military officers personally promoted by Zhao Ji, then show the imperial edict, and have the various households surround the military camp. This will naturally subdue those ignorant low-ranking officials who are like cattle and horses.

Seeing that Yin Feng's words made sense, Xin Pi looked at Zhao Rong and asked, "General Who Pacifies Bandits, what do you think?"

Zhao Rong then bowed to Xin Pi and said, "I still need to hear the angel's teachings."

Xin Pi had no choice but to nod to Yin Feng: "We must hurry and not hesitate. Otherwise, the officials and soldiers in the city will become suspicious, and we will be doomed!"

"Yes, please cooperate. Success or failure hinges on this!"

Yin Feng didn't waste any time. He looked around at the officials of the prefecture who had rebelled with him and said, "Follow me to escort Lord Zhang's carriage back to the prefecture."

"Here."

The state officials responded listlessly, but Yin Feng couldn't care less about that at the moment.

(End of this chapter)